SF Instagram Photo Walk

Tonight Brian and I joined a group of fellow Instagram enthusiasts for a San Francisco photo walk with Josh Johnston of Bunch of Squares. Josh is traveling by train February through March to several cities throughout the U.S. to host photo walks. For details by city, visit the schedule on Facebook.

This is my favorite shot from my set because it really says “photo walk” to me. It was pretty funny to see a group of us wandering around holding our phones up at the sky. Or maybe it was even funnier to see a whole table of peeps at dinner, each of us heads down on our iPhone! Ha! No, we did chat, too, and it was great to connect with other people just as IG obsessed as us. And it was awesome to hear someone mention our app Instagram Tips as a great resource and they were all excited to find out that it was our app!

A little street art grab on the way to getting some grub.

And of course, I couldn’t resist a classic Bay Bridge shot.

I hear there’s talk of an Oakland weekend photo walk in March. I would love that!

Week of Wild Weather

Here are some Instagrams from this week’s wild weather. On Wednesday we had hail/rain/sunshine/hail/rain. Which seemed crazy because just a few days before that…

… Brian and I enjoyed a lovely hike at the Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve here in the East Bay under blue, sunny skies. It was a gorgeous weekend…

… and beautiful cherry blossoms hinted at spring.

Sigh. This weekend it’s temperatures in the low 40s (which is cold for us Californians! whine, whine!) and rain, rain, rain. Above is a pic from today of raindrops on Lake Merritt. The good thing about the crappy weather is it’s a great excuse for cozying up at home and resting!

Instagram Obsession and Insights + IG Tips App

For the past several months my husband and I have been going out on Instagram photo walks together around Oakland. It’s been fun to develop a shared hobby, explore new locations, and play with a different creative medium.

We were both sick for awhile, but this weekend was the first time we were out and about again. And the weather is absolutely amazing (it’s sunny and in the high 70s today!).

Here’s a shot from yesterday when we visited Lake Temescal for a bit after eating lunch. There were even people going for a dip in the lake it was such a nice day!

I’ve been enjoying exercising my photography muscles with this fun app and I’ve appreciated the new insights I’ve had into my creative process.

  • An unfamiliar medium encourages you to look at things differently. When I do intuitive painting I’m used to diving deeply into my own internal world but with photography, I’m more focused on my external world. I’m paying attention to the environment, to the details, to who and what is around me.
  • You have to try many different angles to get the shot. As a newbie photographer, I’ve learned one of the best things to do is to approach the subject from different angles. Shoot from above, below, move to the left, to the right. Experiment with where you are in relation to what you’re shooting. It’s a great metaphor for seeing how you can turn a situation on it’s side to discover new insight.
  • Indeed, a picture is worth a thousand words. It’s been fun to follow fellow IG’ers from across the globe. We may speak a different language and I may not be able to read their captions or comments, but I can still see the world through their eyes when I look at their photos. It’s inspiring.

Join in the fun!

You can see a feed of some of my Instagram photos here or on flickr. Or if you’ve got an iPhone, get the app. You’ll love it! It’s got the social media connection aspect of Twitter and cool photo filters like the Hipstamatic app. You can follow me on Instagram at “jennlee.”

Instagram Tips App

If you want an orientation to Instagram and some tips on how to best use it, check out the pet project my hubby and I have been working on: the free Instagram Tips iPhone app. We’re doing an update this week that will talk about the new hashtag feature and more. Enjoy!

Look what came in the mail today!

OMG! Today I had the best surprise. My publisher New World Library sent me an advanced copy of my book The Right-Brain Business Plan: A Creative, Visual Map for Success. I can’t tell you how amazing it was to hold the book in my hands for the first time. I was flooded with so much emotion – joy, the feeling of accomplishment, pride in how much work went into this baby and how beautiful it turned out, and excitement that soon the book will be in the hands of many more people who are looking for a more fulfilling way to do business. That just brings tears to my eyes (you can see my used tissue in the background of my photo!).

I showed the book to my hubby and to my fabulous friend and illustrator Kate over FaceTime on my iPhone this afternoon and then tonight I video Skyped with my parents to let them get a glimpse of it, too!

Anyway, I’m thrilled about the things we’ve got planned for the launch next month and I can’t wait to share more very soon. If you want to be in the know, you can sign-up for my newsletter to get the latest deets about what I’m cookin’ up for you creative souls.

I hope I can sleep tonight… I’m just so over the moon!!!

I get to be a Squammie again!

Yay! I got my Squam Art Workshops confirmation today. I had such a great time last fall and I’m really looking forward to returning in September (it seems so far away!). Thrilled that my friend, the lovely Kimberly Wilson, will be there, too.

I’m a sucker for boxes, so I signed up for Art & Spirit Boxes. It looks like fun! I also adore hand-lettering, so I signed-up for that, as well. In addition to art and creativity, I appreciate that there are some self-care focused workshops, too.  I’m stoked that I will also be doing a yoga class with Michelle Madden Smith. I enjoyed her free class during the last retreat and am looking forward to a yummy, spirit-filled practice. And I’ll be taking Jen Lee’s course Care & Keeping which sounds like another juicy opportunity to tend to my creative spirit.

I’d love to hear if you’re going, too. One of the fun things was getting to meet fellow creative bloggers in person. And if you’ve been thinking about going… do it! 🙂

New Years Sale on Unfolding Your Life Vision Kit

Since January is the perfect time to envision your year and beyond, I’m offering a sale on the Unfolding Your Life Vision Kit.

Now through Saturday, January 8th (9pm Pacific), you’ll get 15% off your order by entering the code VISION2011.

Yesterday afternoon I put together my collage book for 2011. My word for the year is Shine so I made it out of sparkly gold paper, light blue for Right-Brain Business Plan, and a dark sage green for Artizen Coaching. I included words and images to help me focus on health, exercise, eating more veggies and raw food, my book launch, creativity, expanding my business, money and abundance, spirituality, connection, and more.

Here’s a peek at what I put together. I get so inspired when I look at it. It’s going to be a fabulous year!

Setting 2011 Intentions + Picking My Word

It’s the new year and for me that means setting my intentions and goals. One of my favorite things to do is to get out my Wish Box and write out my vision on a little cards that I stick inside the box. It’s fun to pull out old cards and see what’s already manifested.

In 2010 my focus was “Grounded Growth” to help lay the foundation for 2011.

This year, using Goddess Leonie’s fabulous Goddess Planner again, I picked the word “Shine.” Now that 2011 is here and my book is launching next month (yipee!!), I’m gearing up to put myself out there in a bigger way. I set the intention to let my creative work and life purpose radiate naturally from me as I expand my reach and grow myself and my business even more.

I’ve been dreaming up lots of new and exciting things for 2011 and I can’t wait to share more in the coming months.

What’s your word for the year? What intentions and goals are you setting for yourself in 2011? I’d love to hear.

A Decade in Review

After completing my 2010 year-in-review exploding box, I also did an illustrated reflection on the past decade since so many significant things took place in the last 10 years. (Technically I drew 11 years, but it made sense for me to capture it this way and besides numbers are not my strong suit – haha!)

I moved up to San Francisco in 1998 and that really helped pave the way for some transformative decisions and events. When I look back on the first half of the decade a lot of it was about laying the foundation in my personal life – getting married (Brian and I had already been together seven years before we tied the knot), buying our house, and also embarking on my personal growth journey. I also focused intently on climbing the corporate ladder, even though I ultimately knew I wanted to do something else.

Getting coached, coaching other people, and participating in a leadership program  helped me to clarify my vision for the next half of the decade.

It was much easier to remember what happened from 2006 (that’s when I started this blog) since that’s when I took the leap from my corporate job to working for myself. In the second half of the decade, I gave myself permission to live my life in much more alignment with my values and passions. So many exciting and fulfilling things have unfolded since then. And I can’t wait for all of the amazing things to come in the new year and new decade.

Wishing you a fabulous 2011!!

Celebrating 2010: A Year in Review

With the year coming to a close, I took some time today to reflect back on 2010. In 2008 and 2009 I made exploding boxes to commemorate the year and this year I decided to make another one. It is such a fun keepsake!

What I’m celebrating from 2010:

Career/Calling

Personal Growth

  • Participated regularly in bi-weekly Nurture Huddle calls
  • Invested in high-end mentoring program
  • Participated in Art Every Day month for the fourth year
  • Did morning journaling and read lots and lots of books

Wealth & Abundance

  • Hired a new, super awesome bookkeeper
  • Worked with bookkeeper to develop a budget and forecast
  • Kept up with monthly managing the moola
  • Put myself back on payroll for most of the year

Health & Wellbeing

  • Practiced yoga regularly
  • Attended step, body conditioning, and Zumba classes
  • Went swimming on hot, sunny days
  • Tried acupuncture for the first time
  • Treated myself to getting a massage every once in a while
  • Honored my self-care Fridays

Relationships

Physical Environment

  • Moved from shared office to my own creative space
  • Had housecleaner come regularly
  • Organized dresser drawers

Fun & Recreation

My reflection questions:

What was the most exciting, heart-stirring thing that happened in your life and/or business this year?
I finished writing my book. It was a challenging, all-consuming, and super-exciting process. I can’t wait for it to come out in February.

What was your biggest learning?
I have extremely unreasonable expectations about what I can get done. I need to give myself a break. Really!

How did you stretch yourself?
Putting together the book definitely stretched me. I invested in a high-end mentoring program with Andrea J. Lee. This was a stretch financially and also mentally because it means I’m stepping into my business in a much bigger way which is a little scary and also super exciting.

What did you enjoy doing that you want to do more of?
More yoga, more time with friends, more nourishing self-care Fridays, more creative time.

What do you need to stop doing or let go of?
Feeling like I need to do everything (and getting down on myself when I’m not able to).

What new opportunities are available for 2011 and beyond?
Leveraging the book launch to expand my reach further and to grow my business more, developing new offerings for creative entrepreneurs, creating coaching programs, developing new products, speaking, having more free time, more fun collaborative projects with creative cohorts, a vacation with just me and Brian, and much more!

Celebrating with Kate

Last night Kate and I enjoyed a celebratory dinner at Kirala (yum!) in honor of finishing my Right-Brain Business Plan book. (Wish we got a better pic. Oh well.) Kate is a fabulous friend plus my ultimate creative cohort – she designed my brochure and my Unfolding Your Life Vision Kit, she designed and illustrated my Right-Brain Business Plan e-Book, and she did all of the darling illustrations in my forthcoming book, hence the celebration.

In 2008-2009, Kate, her sister Molly, and I even did a fun, collaborative project together called Kiss the Paper (and we celebrated the completion of that year-long blog at Kirala as well, at the same table even!). Kate launched a new blog this month called eat 30 where she documents her new habit of eating breakfast daily. It’s been fun to get a glimpse into her mornings.

I feel so fortunate to partner with such a talented, loving, and sweet friend. Thanks so much, Kate! You’re the best. xoxo