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Post #55: A Day in Pictures

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Today, I decided to take the day off.  Along with the American and his mate, we all watched the Euro 2012 games. Afterwards, we set out to wander around the city with the aim to have a picnic in the Marina.  The day off was much deserved and enjoyed.

Post #55: A Day in Pictures.

Sometimes I forget just how beautiful San Francisco is. All you have to do is just step outside. It was invigorating to spend the day outside exploring, appreciating the beautiful architecture and natural environment of the area.

In stark contrast to the rest of the Bay Area, June and July in The City seems to genuinely be the coldest months of the whole year. And today was your typical San Francisco summer day.  We wore our winter jackets, and sipped our bowls of coffee in North Beach to warm up.

Here’s a selection of what we saw along the way.

How was your Monday?

The Great Writing Challenge 2012

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The sky is the limit. So what are you doing to push yourself creatively in 2012?

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What is the Life List?

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Find out more about the Life List, and set about making your own list to help you live a conscious and empowered life.

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Post #54: Giving Up Cable TV

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Post #54: Giving Up Cable TV

Living without cable has not been as difficult as I imagined it would. It’s been over a month since we pulled the plug, and I have found it liberating. There’s no more ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians’, and I feel smarter for it.

Since giving up our cable TV habit, we’re communicating more. We read more books, engage more in our writing and creative challenges, and fill the time with discussions whilst lounging on our rug. We listen to music, we dance (well, I do), and we jam with our new instruments.

We have not gone off TV cold turkey – we still watch a few things via Netflix streaming – but there’s a more healthy balance in our life. But I do miss being able to fast forward the ads in Jeopardy.

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Welcome to the fifty-fourth post of  the Great Writing Challenge of 2012.
At least three days a week until the end of the year, I will post about a topic of choice. The stipulation: it must be 250 words (or more), and positive in tone.
If you would like to suggest topics for me to write about, please email me at TheRebeccaProject [at] gmail [dot] com.

Post #53: Instagramming

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Post #53: Instagramming

Instagram. It’s the first thing I look at each day after my alarm plucks me from my sleep. Before Twitter and email. Even before the weather forecast.

I love seeing other people’s lives and feeling like I’m a part of it. Seeing how their life looks provides me with a greater understanding of them. Some of the best photography is not the physically stunning scenery, it’s the snippets of real life: watching coffee brew on a windowsill, a blooming flower, toes immersed in water.

Facebook recently purchased the SF-based Instagram for a staggering $1 billion. It’s what every start-up dreams of: to have your idea fill a niche so valuable, that you cannot possibly say no to the offer. And a billion is something few people would be able to turn down. But much like any big company gobbling up a smaller start-up, I imagine Instagram’s demise to be fairly swift.

So, while the app still bringing me joy, here are my top 10 instagrammers to follow:

1. sandrajuto

Sandra Juto is one of all-time faves. She’s a Swedish artist, illustrator and graphic designer living in Berlin with her husband. Each day, it seems the Swede goes on long walks around her new adopted city of Berlin, makes wrist worms, creates amazing illustrations, drinks tonnes of coffee and eats amazing food. I have always wanted to live in Berlin, and I think I love her Instagram stream the most out of anyone I follow.

Site: Sandra Juto

{Source: sandrajuto}

2._frommetoyou

Jamie Beck is a photographer who is chasing her dream of being a fashion photographer. She’s based in New York, and dresses like a Hollywood bombshell. I love her sense of style and the interesting places and faces she encounters. In partnership with her fiance Kevin Burg, they have pioneered ‘cinemagraphs’: they’re not quite photos, and not quite video.

Sites: From Me To You and Cinemagraphs

{Source: _frommetoyou}

3. theoriginal10cent

Lori Andrews is a self-confessed ‘insanely happy interior designer and photographer’. She lives somewhere in Canada, and posts some of the most beautiful images I have every seen. She’s the best looking 44-year-old woman I have ever seen – must be something in the water up there.

Site: The 10 Cent Designer

{Source: theoriginal10cent}

4. thiswildidea

I think I’ve posted on the blog once or twice before about Maddie the Coonhound. Well, Theron Humphrey is the owner of the adorable po-faced Maddie who likes to stand on things. He’s on a quest to meet one new person everyday, and tell their story. It’s interesting to see the people he meets, and what Maddie’s up to next.

Sites: Maddie on Things and This Wild Idea

{Source: thiswildidea}

5. Cinloughridge

Until about a week ago she used to live around the corner from me, and always wondered if I’d ever bump into her when out and about. What I loved was waking up and finding out what the weather is like outside my window by looking at her feed of a morning. SF is cool like that.
I really admire her perspective – so clean and joyous. She takes the photos that make you notice the beauty in the simplicity of life.

Site: Cindy Loughridge Photography

{Source: Cinloughridge}

6. hellosandwich

Ebony Bizys is an Aussie artist and graphic designer living in Tokyo. She makes cute things, and love seeing the aspects of life in Japan. She has a craft book coming out shortly – it’s so great to see Aussie girls do well! And we could totally bond over our love for mt tape.

Site: Hello Sandwich

{Source: hellosandwich}

7. bonnietsang

Bonnie Tsang is a lifestyle photographer based in Los Angeles, CA. Her Instagram feed is chock-a-block with great photos, particularly of amazing food. She never fails to make me hungry.

Site: Bonnie Tsang Photography

{Source: bonnietsang}

8. grantourismo

Lara Dunstan and Terence Carter are living my dream life, trekking around the globe and writing/photographing it all. I would love to meet them one day and ask them 20 questions. I particularly liked the session they did the other day at the Art Gallery of NSW, which is one of my favourite places in the world.

Site: Gran Tourismo

{Source: grantourismo}

9. sfgirlbybay

Victoria Smith has a great design blog I read regularly, called SF Girl By Bay. I like her design aesthetic, and really admire her work. And the woman is cool because she blogs in a hammock or a teepee. Bonus points for the adorable dog.

Site: SF Girl By Bay

{Source: sfgirlbybay}

10. gemmacorrell

Gemma Correll is a Norwich (UK) based freelance illustrator. She has two pugs, Mr Pickles and Bella, that feature regularly on her feed in both the flesh and in cartoon form. And her love for eating Nutella out of a jar with a spoon? We’re kindred spirits.

Site: Gemma Correll

[Source: gemmacorrell]

Are you on Instagram? Join me at TheRebeccaProject.

***
Welcome to the fifty-third post of the Great Writing Challenge of 2012.
At least three days a week until the end of the year, I will post about a topic of choice. The stipulation: it must be 250 words (or more), and positive in tone.
If you would like to suggest topics for me to write about, please email me at TheRebeccaProject [at] gmail [dot] com.

Post #52: The Wind

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Post #52: The Wind.

In the book ‘Chocolat’ by Joanne Harris (and the movie of the same name), I saw in it something I recognised in my own life. The main character is called to pack her belongings and move on by the wind that blows through her French town . And for a while now, those winds have been again calling my name.

Every 18 months or so, I feel the need to return home. This time it was almost to the day. It sneaks up on you quietly, then, if ignored, with greater rumbling and urgency. The universe is telling me to move on, but I need it to give me some time. Some of my avoidance strategies includes reorganising my workspace and apartment, and I did both yesterday. But still, I know what I have to do: I have to go home.

It’s as though I am pulled by some invisible gravitational force back Down Under. I need to return home to be recharged and reenergised by the colours, the sights, the sounds, the smells. The simplicity of being ‘home’, and reconnecting with family and friends. And if there’s one thing I have learned, it’s that this pull must be acknowledged, otherwise I will be miserable.

So I look forward to returning home for a little bit and using this adventure to start a new chapter in my life as a citizen of the world. Who knows where we’ll end up next?

***

Welcome to the fifty-second post of the Great Writing Challenge of 2012.
At least three days a week until the end of the year, I will post about a topic of choice. The stipulation: it must be 250 words (or more), and positive in tone.
If you would like to suggest topics for me to write about, please email me at TheRebeccaProject [at] gmail [dot] com