Some days you just feel like this!

And yes, it is in reference to this post

Happy Friday, everyone. I hope you all have a great weekend. I'll see you Monday.

Sometimes, if I get up early enough and look out the office window I am rewarded with some of the most beautiful light hitting the trees and plants out front of the house. And I feel revitalized.

Today, as I take a short break from getting dressed for a memorial service for a friends' father I can't help but think about life and death. I've known some very young, amazing people who were taken before their time. I've known a grandmother who was ready to be reunited with her one true love. I've lost friends, neighbours and four grandparents. I have felt the loss deep in my bones. And so on this day, I send my thoughts out to Carol and her family and hope that they can make it through this rough period in their lives and discover the strength hidden within them.

I can't believe that at 27 I'm still scared. Scared of failing. Scared of succeeding. Scared of not knowing what comes next.

I'm watching everyone around me; what they're doing, what they aren't doing.

I need to stop this. There is only me.

I've had it in my head for a while now that I'd like to sell prints on Etsy. Over the years I've gathered up a few photos that I truly believe that others might like, and I have a lot more on the way.

I can guarantee that I won't be selling any prints that I don't absolutely love, just like I would never put any artwork or photography up on my own walls that I don't love. And I wouldn't expect any of you to either.

I urge you to take a look through the photography being sold through Etsy. There is some wonderful talent, like Little Brown Pen and Alison Claire Photography. Here is some specific art & photography that I'm really drooling over.

1. Last Light Paris photograph 2. Aqua Dandelions 3. Vintage Camera with flash watercolour print 4. I'd Rather be doing this today - film print

I'd love it if you'd drop by my shop and have a look around and see if anything tickles your fancy. I have some great new shots on the way as well. And if nothing in the shop is your taste have a look at the other photography on the site; there is some really amazing work.

It's often hard to put into words how I feel about having moved from Ontario, Canada here to Las Vegas, Nevada without coming off sounding ungrateful, resentful or homesick, (the truth is I'm really just the latter, but only at certain times). So I'm just going to say this about the upcoming season: there is nothing like fall in Ontario. The reds, oranges, greens and yellows popping up all over town. The crunch of the fallen leaves under your feet. The cooler air that means jeans and hoodies. I'm really going to miss it this year.

See this nightstand? It needs a makeover.

The husband and I will be making two new nightstands for the bedroom in the new house (I will definitely document the process!) and so I'm looking to spruce this one up for the spare bedroom. Dom wanted to just get rid of it but despite being a little chipped and not very sturdy its perfectly fine. Like I said, it just needs a makeover.

I'm finding inspiration in these photos, whether that be the colour, design or just how they are decorated on top.

1. Distressed gray nightstand from Ballard Designs 2. William Sonoma nightstand via Pinterest 3. Apartment therapy via Pinterest 4. Apartment therapy via Pinterest 5.

That distressed grey? Love it, but it might blend in to our bed too much. Crisp white? Always. Bright colours? Definitely. And love the look of that wood and the simple, scarce decorating.

I'd better stop now or I never will, but keep an eye out for a post on my nightstand make over!

YOU CAN NOW SEE THE FINAL PRODUCT HERE

As I mentioned yesterday its been raining a fair amount here in LV. I woke up to the sound of it pounding against my bedroom patio door and after taking a moment to stretch and wipe the sleep from my face I padded into the kitchen to put water on for tea and then reached for my camera.

Downstairs in the kitchen I pulled the screen door open just a crack in order to smell the sweet rain that (honestly!) I have missed from back home. It is still quiet outside and as I sip my tea I can feel a cool breeze drift into the house. It made me think of these photographs.

I'll make bracelets, and start on a few new art projects today.

What is your day shaping up to look like?

This year I'm starting a business.

Where am I in the process? Right now I'm in the "okay I'm ready to go but sitting here checking my email for new client inquiries and calling my cell phone to conclude that yes, it does it fact work" stage. Also known as the "lots of time but no clients" stage. It doesn't help that I had to start over with licensing after moving here and have been stuck with a learner's permit stopping me from being able to drive on my own. What about I can't drive anywhere to meet you for a session screams "I'm a professional"? Wait, don't answer that! So needless to say I'm at the beginning. For the second time around.

If you didn't already know I'm a Canadian born and raised. This past January I picked up my life and moved to Las Vegas, Nevada where my then-fiance has lived since he was eight (we have since married). Back East I had a full time job at an internet marketing company but I had also started a photography business on the side. I had reached the point where I was booking new clients based solely on past satisfied clients. Awesome. Things were starting to look up. Still, moving to another Country was something I was willing to do for love. What this meant, however, was that I was going to have to start fresh in a city that I knew nothing about.

Great. Now we're caught up.

Starting fresh. It's a daunting feeling, hardened by the fact that I'd left a vast chunk of my support system/cheering section back in Canada. This time I really am starting on the ground floor. Hell, I'm probably in a sub-basement of some kind. Needless to say I'm like a sponge at this point; absorbing any kind of guidance or encouragement that I can (which much to my surprise has come not from those I had expected but from people who feel new to my life - and in fact many are). I'm reading a lot: how-to books, how-not-to articles, books about the creative process and more. It's no surprise that on my book devouring journey I came across "Rework" by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson And well, needless to say I've learned a few things. In an attempt to keep my findings brief, organized and coherent I give you... headings.

Constraints are really advantages in disguise

Rework talks about the importance of not allowing yourself to be sucked into constraints. "Limited resources force you to make due with what you've got. There's no room for waste and that forces you to be creative... so before you sing the 'not enough' blues, see how far you can get with what you have."

Um. Dead true. Right now I have the knowledge, the desire and the equipment but I lack little things that I now realize I am using as an excuse: "But I don't have my packaging figured out yet," "I should really decide right now what I'm going to do about family and friend discounts," "I should think about this one last lens, then I'll be good." All of these things= excuses, excuses, excuses. Limited resources doesn't mean that my work will not be done to the best of my abilities. As the book says: it just means I'll have to be a little more creative. Nothing wrong with that, nothing at all.

You need less than you think

This point is somewhat tied in to the first point but also serves to stand on its own. The premise is that while you may eventually need to go the bigger, more expensive route you more than likely don't need to right now. You need less than you think.

We're called Starters

"Let's retire the term entrepreneur. It's outdated and loaded with baggage. It smells like a members-only club. Everyone should be encouraged to start his own business, not just some rare breed that self-identifies as entrepreneurs.

This speaks volumes to me, and not just because there is something so unnatural about me opening my mouth and uttering the words "I am an entrepreneur." I'd much rather just say that I'm starting a business and leave it at that (besides - I suppose - further expanding on what it is that I intend to do).

Sell your by-products

Think of the lumber industry selling what used to be considered waste: sawdust and chips. "You can't make just one thing. Everything has a by-product." I'm thinking of those photos that I snap in between client frames; the old coke bottles off to the side of where your clients are posed hand in hand; or the sunset shots snapped during a wardrobe change. By-products. Try and sell the prints in an Etsy shop (more on this in another post) or sell them as stock images. "There's probably something you haven't thought about that you could sell too."

Get your beauty sleep

A lack of sleep causes you to become more stubborn and irritable, and has a negative effect on your creativity and morale. As a creative, do I really need to say any more?

We had plans for our day: Dom was going to work for a few hours while I stay at home and then he would come by and pick me up before heading out to meet some friends at the M hotel pool. I sat cuddled up in the oversized chair reading, had an accidental nap and then got ready for the day. It wasn't until nearly noon that I looked outside and realized it was overcast and raining.

With our plans to head to the pool obviously changed we met up with a friend for brunch at DW Bistro. Neither Dom or myself had either been there.

I will be the first to admit that I'm great at starting things - art projects, cleaning, photography projects, blogs - but horrible at finishing them. Heraura has been around for many years and has been in so many places that I can't even begin to remember or list them all. What I do know is that I've never really been happy with it; it's never been what I want it to be. And well, it's time to change that.

Heraura has a new home here on Blogger. A new design. And hopefully a new outlook.

I used to think that no one could ever have any interest in reading this blog because I don't lead the most exciting life. In fact, I've often referred to my life as boring. But then I read somewhere that my life is only boring if I make it boring, and it will sure as hell be boring to everyone else if I keep saying that it's boring. So I've done some digging into my life and I've come to realize that it's not boring; it's simple. And there is nothing wrong with that.

A simple kind of life. My life. And I'm okay with that.

• I read this post ("When to work for free: where do you draw the line?") probably once a week just to remind myself that I should say no sometimes.


• I only discovered this blog a few weeks ago but it's quickly become on that I check often. Head on over to Not Without Salt and it won't take you long to figure out why.


• I've known for a while that I want to do a daily photo when I'm pregnant, but goodness gracious; I'm going to turn them into a video like this at Pacing the Panic Room.