book update

remember how i've been working on trying to write a book for about 2 1/2 years now?

i put it on the shelf during the last trimester of my pregnancy and have picked it back up again.

throughout this whole process, i've found that allowing for periods of "down time" with the book, periods of time in which i'm just letting it "sit," has actually proven to be helpful. it seems that every time i come back to the book after having a little break from it, i have new insights and ideas on what to do next, different directions to pursue, and improved perspective on how i want the finished product to be.

this stop-and-go method of working is pretty different than my natural inclination and habit of working. i usually am the go-go-go-until-it's-finished type of person. so, at times, as i've had to be more slow and patient with this process, i've often worried that it will never be finished and, instead, in a perpetual state of "in progress." i would hate to have that happen. i've worked so hard on this and to just have it never amount to anything would be so disappointing.

a few weeks ago, when i started working on it once more, i found myself deleting essentially the entire first half of my manuscript. i honestly think it's the biggest improvement yet.

one of the biggest things i learned as an undergrad art student was this:
when you're working on a painting (or anything else creative) there's often one part or aspect of the piece that you really come to love. you love it so much that you start working around it, but keeping that one small part totally in tact. when you realize this is happening, that's when it's time to totally obliterate that precious little part. it's only when you allow yourself to sacrifice that single, beloved aspect of your creative work, will the rest of piece, as a whole, really start to take shape and succeed.

that totally makes sense in my little art nerd brain but i'm not sure about anyone else's...

anyways. that's what i did with my book. it was hard, and took a while to get to this point, but cutting out so much of it, is really helping it move forward in the best direction.

and now, i even have a real-life, super legit editor who's agreed to work with me! you know how nie nie recently published her story? amy hackworth, who was the ghost writer for stephanie nielson's book, and who writes for designmom (and who is also a good friend of ours) is going to be editing my manuscript and giving me advice about publishing! hoooooray! i'm so excited and blessed to have amy's help.

onward!

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you can read more posts about my book here and here and here

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this past week has been kind of slow. hero and i have been quarantined inside the house because i've been sick with a bad cold (that chas has also been stricken with for over 10 days now). thank goodness hero hasn't gotten the bug! so we've been laying low. in fact, last night was the first time i left the house allllll week.

so with all this time on my hands, i've been thinking a lot about our little film business. you're probably all sick of hearing about it but, like i've said before, it's been such a fun, healthy creative outlet for me during the sometimes long days at home. and we discovered that we love filming weddings and want to do more of that kind of work!

i've been brainstorming some different ways to help promote our film work and came up with a fun idea!

so here it is:

if any of our awesome readers (that means you!)...

1. blog about your fave kelly arts: films video and embed the film in your post 
2. include a link to kelly arts: films
3. and, in your post, encourage people to like our facebook page

then just email me at youngpeoplelove@gmail.com with the link to your post, and a 200x100 ad for your blog/shop, and i will post your ad on my blog right away and keep it up through the end of december! 

so whattcha say!? wanna help each other out? you promote kelly arts: films, and i'll promote you!
easy peasey :)

i (phone) spy

this month has been an exciting one! november was filled with so much good food, a huge snow day, and a brand new baby niece! 

so much to be grateful for. 

instagram @samajama

cyber monday special!

happy cyber monday, everyone!

time for a little shameless self promotion... tee hee.

over at kelly arts: films, we're celebrating by giving everyone 25% OFF ALL FILMS- including weddings! so book your shoot today and take advantage of this great deal :) 

email kellyartsfilms@gmail.com

check out our website

like us on facebook 

thanksgiving

we spent thanksgiving with my parents and sisters (minus rosie in jerusalem). because most of chas' family was in new york this year, we also got to have his mom, sister, and brother-in-law over for the day!

thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. to me, it has all the love, happiness, family, food, and relaxation as christmas but without the added expectation of presents and all the stress that sometimes come with christmas cheer.

we're lucky to be close to family and it's always so fun to get together and be with all my sisters.
and then, to spend the next day with just our own little family, sleeping in and hanging out in jammies for most of the day...this really is the best time of the year!

you may not know about this blog...

but you should.

my little sister, rosie, is spending the semester living in israel at byu's jerusalem center. she's been keeping us all updated on her adventures through her blog. her pictures are beyond amazing and her writing cracks me up!

so if you're looking for a blog that has a different flavor than most anything out there, check out rosie.

she for sure didn't ask me to write this post or anything- i just love getting to read up on her crazy travels and drool over her pics so i thought i'd share the love with you all!

a tuesday morning resolve

yesterday, while watching more antm than i care to admit, i decided to fully embrace and love every bit of this season of my life with hero.

i have a baby who likes to sleep a lot. it's a huge blessing and i know i'm lucky to have such a great sleeper. the only downside is that i'm stuck inside my house for hours on end with very little to do. as i've mentioned, it can get boring and it can lonely. BUT i can handle feeling a bit bored and lonely. it's such a small price to pay for a sleeping baby. and eventually she'll sleep less and then my life will likely  never be this kind of wonderful slow-paced ever again and i'll have wished i had enjoyed it more.

so that's my resolve. enjoy the heck out of the free, quiet hours at home. and if some of that time is wasted watching antm or browsing pinterest, that's ok. i don't want to miss this short period of our lives because i was too busy focusing on how i wish it were different.

giveaway winner

congrats to urban wife! you've won the sweet honey bunch giveaway :)

5 months

   5 months!? this is getting out of control!

these pictures have got to be some of my favorite of little h. she's such a goof lately and i was so excited to be able to capture that aspect of her growing personality in these shots.

at 5 months old, hero is...

starting to eat baby food! chas and i have way too much fun feeding her and watching her reactions and trying to figure out how to use her mouth and tongue.

exploring the whole new and wonderful world of her "exersaucer." last night, we decided she needed to start practicing sitting up and exploring new toys. so after a late-night family trip to target, hero girl is loving her time in her bouncer toy chair thingy.

laughing more and more! her favorite is when i smell her feet and pretend to start gagging loudly. (that's actually how i got her to laugh and smile in these pictures!) she'll probably get sick of the joke soon, but for now, i'm milking every second that she thinks it's hilarious. :)

still sleeping through the night like a champ.

getting "wrist jam" every now and then. i mean, check out those rubber band wrists! total lunch lady arms.

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we love you, sweet bung!

i had a little breakdown last night.

 sometimes being at home all day by myself can start to eat away at me. i try my best to work around hero's nap schedule and get out of the house whenever i can but sometimes it just doesn't happen and the isolation and loneliness bubble up to the surface.

and it's a tricky feeling to feel sad about staying at home, taking care of my baby. i know i am so lucky to be a mom, have such a sweet, healthy little girl, and to get to stay home and be the one who takes care of her and loves her 24/7. i am truly so, so blessed.

i don't want to be ungrateful.

i'm trying my best to find ways to be productive during this time (our film business and writing my book). and then there are times when i just want to take advantage of this quiet, slow pace of life that hero and i live right now and stay in my jammies until 2pm- which i definitely do from time to time. but, in the midst of everything, there are still days that feel long, boring, and alone.

so i got pretty sad last night.

chas asked if i wanted to plan a little getaway trip with my mom and sisters. he told me how much he appreciated all i do for our girl, what a great mother i am, and his desire to support me in any way he could.

and he made me pancakes for breakfast.
i love him so much.

i feel better today. good, not great. i'm trying to focus on the positive and be grateful for every moment.

there are different benefits and different challenges with every season in life. and it's ok to be sad about the challenges.

the sadness always goes eventually and tomorrow is a chance to feel better.

new film! heather pickett photo promo

this past weekend sure was an exciting one! not only did we get dumped with snow (1 1/2 ft!) but we also got to spend friday and saturday morning filming the sweetest little newborn photography sessions!

heather of heather pickett photography asked if we could do a promo video for her business and we are so grateful for such a fun opportunity. heather is amazing at what she does and it was a joy being there and capturing the magic of how she works with these tiny, new babies.

and seriously, guys. i've probably cried a total of 3 1/2 times while watching this footage.
see for yourself and have a great monday!

giveaway: sweet honey bunch

so, so excited about today's giveaway! let me tell you how HARD it is to find cute headbands for girl babies that aren't those ginormous, bejeweled fake flowers. i know a lot of people love those but i just kiiiinda hate them. :)

then jenny of sweet honey bunch contacted me and my baby accessory prayers were answered! not only does she not do the huuuuge flower thing, she also has a super refreshing and unique variety of looks for her headbands. three cheers for jenny!

today, sweet honey bunch is giving away any headband of the winner's choice!

to enter: 

must be a follower of young people in love

then just check out the amazing sweet honey bunch shop and tell me which item is your favorite in your comment

for extra entries: 

favorite sweet honey bunch on etsy

like sweet honey bunch on facebook

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sweet honey bunch is also offering all readers a special 15% discount off your entire order with coupon code "youngpeopleinlove"
(coupon expires on November 23!)

good luck!

cousin time

headband c/o sweethoneybunch 

i love having my sister just a 45 minute drive away. it's been so fun to be able to sit around with her and be moms together.

yesterday, we did a little cousin photo shoot with her amazing new chairs. also, it was hero's first time wearing her big girl jeans ($5 target score!) so clearly that was something that needed documentation :)

i love how these pics really highlight my neck-less wonder of a baby. i can't believe how chuuuuubby she's getting!

sarah and i are super excited for next summer when hero will be just over a year old. that's when these two are gonna start having fun together...and probably making each other cry. but hey- you're not really having a good time unless there's a little bashing going on, right?

giveaway winners!

we have three winners to announce today!

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the winner of the paule t.b. illustration giveaway is... 

the winner of the trama textiles giveaway is...

and the winner of the urban outfitters giveaway is...

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a big congrats to all the winners!!!

send me an email at youngpeoplelove@gmail.com and we'll get your prize on it's way to you!

just three

yesterday, hero turned 5 months old. i can't wrap my brain around the fact that, in 4 weeks, she'll be 6 months old.

i told chas this morning that she's growing up too fast and how strange it is that you only get such a short amount of time with them as babies. then their baby-ness is gone forever. this morning was the first time that i felt a little sad about it all.

it's almost enough to make me want to start trying for another.

but then i miraculously fit into a pair of pre-pregnancy jeans first the first time yesterday and about died of happiness. nothing short of skipping merrily around the house for a good 10 minutes. (i'm getting joyous little butterflies in my tummy right now just thinking about it.)

so no. i don't think a pregnancy is on the horizon for us. i need some more time with my "normal" body and more time with hero, and only hero. i have the rest of my life to be stressed out with multiple children. i'm gonna hold onto this little perfect time, when it's just the three of us, for a while longer.

gratitude

november is my favorite month because november is all about thanksgiving and thanksgiving is all about gratitude and family (and food!).

i've been hesitant to post these two videos because i'm sure they are only super cute and funny to chas and i. but then i remembered that this is my blog and this is the very stuff that makes up most of my life now. and, most importantly, i am so, so grateful for every single one of these kinds of moments. so i'm posting them :)

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this first video was taken a few weeks ago. hero is practicing how to grab with her hands (a skill she has since mastered). but here, she's trying soooo hard and getting soooo frustrated. watching her be so focused, fail, break down, regroup, and try again reminded me of myself sometimes. haha. don't we all have those moments of total break down?

anyways, i'm glad i have this video because one day shortly after this was shot, everything clicked and she was suddenly able to grab and hold onto things without even trying!



this second video was taken on halloween night (hence chas' amazing shirt).

hero was having a hard time going to sleep. chas was holding her, letting her cry and get some of her sadness/stress out. in this clip, she had just finished a good cry and was feeling much better about life. that's when chas' started to play this little game with her that she loves. she's always so silly with her daddy!



i was actually doing this with her yesterday and every time i paused a bit, she'd grab my hand and push it closer towards her mouth until i started moving my finger up and down like chas does! so funny.

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so this thanksgiving, i'm most grateful for every day i get to spend with those cheeks.

i (phone) spy

instagramming @samajama

fewf! last month sure was a busy one!
and now it's suddenly november 1st and i realized i didn't let you know that there are currently new sponsor spots available. how terrible!

email youngpeoplelove@gmail.com if you're interested :)