10 on 10 - March 2016

This month has been a little cray ...in a good way. If you hadn't heard, I recently left my day job, and I wrote about it here. It felt so good to walk out those doors for the last time, and to know that for the next couple of years I will be working harder than ever, but for myself. Freedom!!

Before we get into my most recent happenings and where I plan to go from here, below is the list of other 10 on 10 contributors. ...and for those who may be new to the blog, 10 on 10 is an ongoing project with other photographers around the country. We post 10 photos of our own lives on the 10th of each month, because while we all continuously preach the importance of documenting life to our clients, our own lives sometimes get pushed aside. We are here to contribute and share our own mantra: life is worth documenting.

ANYA ELISE PHOTOGRAPHY | AMY STRAKA PHOTOGRAPHY

BUTTON MEDIA | LELIA MARIE PHOTOGRAPHY | POGO PHOTO

SATIN SKY PHOTO | SHAW PHOTOGRAPHY | TWINTY PHOTOGRAPHY

Now, onto my most recent shenanigans...

This last month has been a little chaotic; still getting the hang of being a student again, quitting my day job, and ramping up my business to be a sustainable income has been exhausting and sporadic. All of this to say, that this is the first time in 2.5 years that I'm going to cheat a little bit at 10 on 10. This series is from two different days this past month. One we spent with our favorite niece, and the other we spent with some very good friends who visited from Seattle.

Our niece is one of my favorite humans. Watching her develop and grow into her own person has been so much fun. She's not a baby anymore. She's a real girl.

Joey and Ryan are also two of my favorite people. Sometimes in life, your path crosses with someone that you feel an innate connection that seems to transcend a lifetime. Things click and we all just get one another without much effort. I feel lucky that they've been so close over the past year and are willing to travel down and spend some time with us. They even came on a nice, sunny Portland day.

That about wraps it up for this month. More posts over the next month, so stay tuned. :)

10 on 10 - February 2016

This month's 10 on 10 is getting deep. It's about the strength of family and friends and the importance of love and community, about remembering those that are lost and spreading the love.

Before we dive deep, make sure to check out the other contributing 10 on 10ers who also chronicle a day of their own life each month and post it on their blog. 

ANYA ELISE PHOTOGRAPHY | AMY STRAKA PHOTOGRAPHY

BUTTON MEDIA | CASEY BRODLEY | LELIA MARIE PHOTOGRAPHY

POGO PHOTO | SATIN SKY PHOTO | SHAW PHOTOGRAPHY | TWINTY PHOTOGRAPHY

This month we spent a lot of time with good friends. As I move into a phase of my life where I'm taking on more work and my responsibilities are spreading more thin, I realize more and more how imperative it is to foster the relationships that I value; because when life is shaken at it's core, it's those relationships that bind even tighter.

About a year ago, a really sad thing happened to some good family friends of ours. Their family lost two very loved women. These two women were sisters, and daughters, and friends, and girlfriends, and one was a mother. It's an unimaginable hardship for a family to go through. As a friend, it's hard to know what to say because there is often nothing to say. If anything, it gives those closest the chance to show their love and support. To just be there and be available.

This last month, there was a memorial organized to remember these women. We wrote letters and notes, attached them to balloons and sent them flying. It was both personal and shared, and it really was beautiful. We shared moments of struggle, moments of happiness, and gave an overwhelming feeling of love. Love for one another and love for those gone too soon.

Sarah and Megan you are still so loved. We are here to remember you and to love and support your family.

Until next time...

10 on 10 - Jan 2015

Happy beginning of the year, and happy 10th! Once again a new year brings on new goals and revitalized ambition. It's a bit cliche, I know, but it's nice to have a time annually when you can actually focus and review past accomplishments and areas of potential improvement.

Before we get too far into that though, let me make sure to encourage you all to check out the other 10 on 10ers. As always, they will have something good for you on their site as well:

CLB Creative

Shaw Photography

Twinty Photography

Anya Elise Photography

Button Media

Brittany Conner Photography

Back to the new year. One of our big goals for this year is to spend more time with our niece. If you couldn't tell yet, we're a bit obsessed with her. Who wouldn't be?! She's about the most fun ever.

Last week we went down to Mac to spend the day with her and the fam. I love seeing how much she grows and how much she has learned each time we see her. And I really love seeing how much she loves her uncle and wants to crawl all over him. I find that too often we get caught up in all the complexities of life: work, school, house work, etc., and while those things are all important, I try to take a step back and look at what we have right in front of us. Hit the pause button so to speak. Be present. We have so much to be thankful for and I want to be in the moment and soak it in, because this little girl is already a year and half old and I have no idea how that happened.

Myra, we love you so much and can't wait to see all the new things you do. Well, that's not true, we can wait, you already grow too fast. It's amazing to watch you learn and experience the world. You wear us out every time we visit, but we always walk away with the biggest smile and can't wait to see you again.

Until next time,

Courtney Z