safety nets

 

Taking risks is not easy for everyone. Who am I kidding? Taking risks is not really easy for anyone. Because taking risks usually means doing something that makes us feel unsure, uncomfortable, unsafe, or uneasy. And that is hard.  Yet, people  take risks every day. Some big and some small. But, no matter the size, or the significance (or even insignificance) of the risk, what does matter is that we stepped out of comfort zone for a while. We pushed ourselves, put ourselves out there, leaped, took the plunge, dove in.

One of the best part of a community like this one here at Shutter Sisters is that in each other, we have a support system, a cheering section, a life ring. It doesn't always make taking risks less scary but knowing that there is a safety net of sisters here for you can really help remind us that we're all in this together.

Are there risks you've taken that you'd like to share? How about risks you want to take but are afraid to? The more we share our fears, the less power they have over us. Remember, you are not alone. We're here for each other.

mail

My best friend of many years was here visiting from Alaska last month.  I've known her since I was in the 3rd grade.  We grew up on the same street, only 3 house apart.  Even though she went to a private school and I went to public school, we were inseperable and were together everyday after school.  When it was time for high school, she moved away, but not so far that we didn't spend most of our weekends together.  It wasn't until she married and moved to Alaska that that all changed.  She may have been thousands of miles away, but our friendship was permanent. 

Last month, on her way to Colorado for her daughter's wedding, she made a detour to California to see me.  It had been ten years since we had last been together.  I cherished every minute of the week we had together and before I knew it, it was over and she was off to Colorado.  After she had gone, I went through all the photos I took while she was here and wanted her to have something to remember our time together, so using some of the photos I had taken using Instagram, I first made a collage using the Diptic app. Then, using the Sincerely Ink app, I used the collage to make a postcard.  I sent one to her as well as myself.  I don't know when I'm going to see her again but until then, I have this postcard.  It sits on my desk where I see it every time I sit down at my computer and apparently, it's where she keeps hers, too.  We may live in a digital world, but thanks to apps like Sincerely Ink, I'm rediscovering 'snail mail', and that's a good thing!

Speaking of snail mail, who wouldn't want to receive one of these gorgeous necklaces in their mailbox from the lovely Stacy De La Rosa of Bella Wish?!  Stacy has graciously offered to give one away to one lucky winner. Just leave a comment here no later than midnight Wednesday, Sept. 26th!  Stacy's also giving our readers who wish to purchase a necklace a 10% discount.  Promo code: ShutterSisters10

UPDATE: Congrats to Shari Sherman!  You're the lucky winner of the the gorgeous necklace!!

last call for Oasis registration

Don't let us disrupt your Sunday plans, in fact, we're only interrupting your weekending activities to remind you that registration for the Shutter Sisters event Oasis will end on Friday, Sept 7th at noon PST. There are only a few more spaces that are open and they'll only be available for a few more days.

We've been spending a lot of time in Palm Springs lately, specifically at Ace Hotel and Swim Club and we can only say, we are bursting at the seams with excitement at being there with so many sisters of the shutter. It's pretty much going to rock and it's only a few months away. We are counting down the days and would love to have you doing the same with us!

Today's prompt is "books" and we do hope you choose to book your spot at Oasis before it's too late. 

together in spirit

We contributors cannot gather together in person to share moments too often, geography gets in the way of that!  So Saturday's collective moment was a special day for all of us, a way to gather virtually. From California, to Oregon, to Nebraska, to Maine, to Canada and London, we took that day to gather in spirit and share a bit of an adventure.  When we began thinking of ideas of how we would share our moment, we decided to choose a theme of sorts, one that would help us weave our day together with a common thread, an added way of making us feel a little more connected acroos the miles.  With Oasis coming in the fall,  and all of us contributors in the summer season, we chose the theme of "refresh" for our day.  Once that was chosen all we had to do was choose where to adventure, and what refresh would mean to us. Of course the unspoken theme of the day was FUN. 

Here is a glimpse into our collective moment on Saturday...

"Exploring like tourists in our hometown was so much fun! What a great way to spend a summer moment." -Tracey

"Something about showering outdoors nurtures my younger self and i love to love her." - Myriam

"I live less than 30 minutes from Naples Island and canals and have never visited before. As one resident told me, 'It's our favorite secret'. I'll definitely be visiting again." -Chris

"We went to the pool and watched our boy enjoy his independence. The pool has zero entry and he walked in and out of the pool about 500 times by himself. He found a pool ring and put it on his head which is when I snapped this picture.  He is a comedian and loves using props to make us laugh! It was a perfect summer day!" - Paige

"We went to Cambridge, played with bubbles in the woods and then spent some time by the river. Big smiles all around." -Xanthe

"On Saturday afternoon, the fountains of downtown Portland called and we answered. Filled the picnic basket with sandwiches and juicy slices of watermelon, grabbed a few beach towels and off we went. We waded and splashed our way through as many downtown fountains as we could and fit ice cream cones and tall cold bottles of mexican coca cola in between.  Summertime in the city. Nothing like it." -Andrea

"We drove up to Clear Lake, a beautiful resort area in one of Canada's National Parks. I love it there. Of all the special moments, this is my fav! I was behind taking photos....as I walked toward 'my boys' I couldn't help but smile... the way Ben is looking up at John.... 'sigh'.... heart warming.... 'Click'...for me....a perfect moment." -Kim

 

"He ran as fast as he could, dangling the starfish out in front of him like a tiny prize coughed up from the sea. It was our very first starfish! I feel like a kid all over again on the coast of Maine. Our moments spent together on he beach will not soon be forgotten." -Meredith

"We felt like we were on a mission for fun all day long. We hula-hooped in the park and then cooled off with a splash in the fountains. Cooked a summer dinner on the grill and then walked to our local ice cream shop for a sweet treat.  Later, when the sun went down, we lit sparklers in the dark. Mission fun accomplished." -Kristin

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Moments of our shared day.  Miles apart, gathered in sister spirit.

A special thank you to Haagen-Dazs and their 50 Summer Moments project for inspiring us all month long. Let's keep the moments going, share a favorite moment from your weekend here with us today.

let's share a moment between us

You may recall earlier this month we mentioned sharing a collective moment together, as a special way to celebrate this month of moments. You know, kind of a sisterly thing. That moment will be taking place one week from today.

Please join us from wherever you may be on Saturday, July 28th and share a moment (or lots of moments) with us...all of us...together.

Beach day, pool side, water park, road trip, bike ride, county fair, picnic, ice cream shop, whatever your idea is for the perfect summer moment, we want to share it with you. Kind of a like a big group hug, through pictures.

Want to join us? YAY! All you need to do is take pictures of you doing whatever it is that you're doing next Saturday, July 28th and share them via your favorite social media platforms; instagram, twitter, facebook, flickr, etc and tag your images #ssmoment. And because this summer sister moment has been made possible with the help of  Haagen-Dazs, we'd love it if you also tagged your shots #hdmoment too so your photos can be considered for the Haagen-Dazs 50 Summer Moments e-book, coming out in the fall. Fun!

Then, we would love to round up all the best photos from your day, in the comment section on next week's post so be sure to check in and leave your links. We just might be giving away a goody or two that day, just for kicks!

Please grab our "share a moment" button (check it out up there on the left) , show it off around your corner of the web and let everyone know you'll be sharing some time with Shutter Sisters next weekend. It'll be one super-awesome collective summer moment!

You in? Sweeeet!