branding for my photoblog

i've had that love/hate fun with re-branding/rebooting my brand for Studio Britt. it's hard to get past each creative roadblock, but once you do you feel great! i love the direction my new logo went. i initially had my sister sketch out some ideas since she's brilliant with sketching typography and i'm more of a digital cat. her handwritten type for studio led me to find this sweet font. i love it!

so i think i've finished it but you know how that creative bug never quite dies. the website is done and i'm wrapping up my marketing materials and business cards. i'm hoping to get those sent off to print this week and maybe pass them around local bulletin boards next weekend. i think the feel from this branding page really does represent the type of sweet magic i try to get in my photos. i'm nowhere near the photographer i'd like to be, but i do have a sort of style and i'm trying to find strength in it. so without further rambling, here's the branding Studio Britt Photography! i'd love to know what you think!

vitamin d deficiency

you learn something new every day! i'm serious. i had post partum depression with both my girls and have had at least a low level depression for as long as i can remember. i'm a two scoops of emotion kind of lady. so i would say that i have gone very far down the depression research rabbit hole and i have never come across the words vitamin d deficiency. in november, susan, my wonderful MIL, said i looked a little paler than normal and asked if i'd had my vitamin d levels checked. baltimore is a very cloudy place, i've discovered, and november was about the time i was starting to see improvements in the severity of my depression. i didn't ask my doctor about it at the time but as the weeks went by and i still had that need to sleep all the time, i figured i should at least check with her. my doctor, being incredibly awesome, ended up bringing it up with me before i got the chance!

so i had my bloodwork done and i do have a deficiency. i am oddly excited about this. i mean, this means i'm not the laziest piece of work ever! there's actually something still wrong! i was feeling really down recently because while mentally i can definitely see improvement, my body is still so lethargic even when i push myself to get up and workout 3 times a week and clean the house. knowing that this feeling will eventually go away and i'll have my energy back feels incredible. now we just wait and watch for improvement. i have 8 weeks of the supplement so i guess i'll report back in 2 months haha.

resolutions!

yeah yeah, it's almost february. i'll get there.

so this year i have the regular lame-o resolutions and a few bucket list things i'd like to accomplish. i might as well write them down so they're on record to look back and keep me semi-accountable.

this year i want to:
-- quit soda down to once a day or not at all
-- increase my water intake
-- eat more real food, especially fruits
-- try a class at the gym and stick to it for 6 weeks
-- taking all the above into account, lose a significant amount of weight
-- accomplish something creative that's real
-- organize the basement
-- purge/donate/sell all unused clothes/toys/items
-- print more pictures to be framed
-- write thank you notes
-- heal enough mentally that i reduce my need for weekly therapy
-- read helpful books and guilty pleasure books, preferably 12+.

i'm trying to incorporate weight training into my workouts but have no idea where to start, so i think a sculpting class might be exactly what i'm looking for.

and by creative, i mean get my photography site/marketing done enough that i actually start to get calls for work AND/OR take a fun class like the photography track at the baltimore city community college or a local calligraphy course.

i'm doing a smidge better on my water and eating, but i'm still not on fire for it yet.

genevieve and i just purged the toys ready for sale and donation in the playroom. now i actually have to cart them out and list them online.

a decent list, overall, i think! maybe i'll even be so good that i'll cross them off as i go. but let's not get too fancy.

bringing me back to life.

so i kind of disappeared for the better part of a month, yes? i feel like i'm trying to shed my skin and it just won't leave. granted, we're only twelve days into the first month of the year but when you're ready you're ready.

to start the year i feel like i can't really blog (or live) if i can't be honest about my life, so i'm going to lay it all out in an effort to feel a little freer from this. keeping it a secret is such a burden when you're a natural over-sharer. and what's a blog without a little too much information? ;)

my therapist calls it major clinical depression and anxiety. so i have a therapist. and a mood disease. this means i'm on a boatload of medications to level out my emotions and my brain, plus it means i'm always riding the shame train. i've been in therapy for 4 months and i'm a long way from where i was in the beginning even though a lot of days it doesn't feel like it. i think the one of the worst things about having major depression aside from the lovely thoughts attacking me all day long is the way it makes me behave. the fatigue was so bad that i couldn't get up to cook or play with the kids. my house has been a mounting disaster for months but i just haven't had the energy. the fact that i'm cooking meals and playing with my daughters now is huge for me. cleaning and, gasp, organizing is still where i'm coming up short. and if you look at me the wrong way i still might burst into tears. i'm a smidge better than that now but only a smidge. having this today totally sucks. i'm sure it would have sucked equally back when it was less public and referred to as melancholia (abe lincoln had it!), but now it's almost cliche. i'm A) a mom, B) a momtog/wannabe photographer and C) i have a mood disorder. isn't that what all the cool kids have nowadays? *womp womp*

but i'm trying to move forward and take hold of my life. i have felt very motivated with the new year and my improvements in therapy, so i'm going to try and "go for it" in a few areas of my life. i'm going to try to quit soda and lose weight. like really try. not go to the gym but grab a diet coke on the way out kind of try. and i'm going to try to launch my photography here. the worst that could happen is it could go the way it is now, which is nothing. i'll build up my portfolio and do a little marketing and see what comes of it.

i've been reading a lot of books about depression and self worth and have been searching for a bible verse that really feels comforting. i've never really had a verse that stood out to me in times of need but this time, i keep hearing/seeing this one come up and really believe God is showing it to me.

Psalm 34:17-20

17 

The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;

    he delivers them from all their troubles.

18 

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted

    and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

19 

The righteous person may have many troubles,

    but the Lord delivers him from them all;

20 

he protects all his bones,

    not one of them will be broken.

"...and saves those who are crushed in spirit." i would say crushed in spirit is pretty much how i would describe myself these last few months. so i'm clinging to this as if He had written my name down in that verse. it means i might just resurface.

my word for this year is REVIVE and i am planning on doing just that.

christmas morning happies for moi.

while i'm prepping to take some more christmas card pictures of the girls, picking a christmas card to order, getting the house thanksgiving ready, planning the thanksgiving food schedule...i've been thinking about what would make me happy on christmas morning. that's not an un-fun job!

in some ways i just want general girly goodness but then there are a few specific things i'd love to have. of course, i just had a fantastic birthday -- minus the hair, but the idea that i was getting pampered was the good part, so i feel a little selfish actually thinking of more things. but here i go anyways!

earrings // camera // curling wand // speaker // popsugar musthave

i think of all of them, the earrings are the most spectacular. i only rate them over the musthave box because i've had the box all year so the earrings are a new spectacular thing to lust over. they come in the multicolored, gold sparkle and silver sparkle. i want all of them! they're way too expensive for mom earrings but just inexpensive enough that i'm tempted so on the wishlist it goes. aren't they pretty?

the fujifilm camera looks so fun! i'd rather print my instagram photos directly, but i'm not a stranger to carrying a camera around with me! it would be so fun with the girls.

i got my sister a curling wand for her birthday and i've been wanting my own ever since. i don't know how to use it, but kara certainly looks good using hers and i want to try!

and a little speaker since i'm always turning on pandora with the kids in the playroom or playing an audiobook for myself while i do the dishes or fold laundry.

in general, i'm loving painting my nails lately. it gives a little pep to my day to glitter a little. and since i'm a solid color shirt kind of girl, bib necklaces are what i've been craving to dress up my outfits these days. and last in the "in general" category are workout clothes, or giftcards for workout clothes. i've been going steadily the last few months(!) and while i don't necessarily see big differences, i'm working towards it and have started the habit successfully. and i've noticed a definite need in gear when i'm running around in the dark in the morning looking for clean workout pants.

and last but certainly not least, the popsugar musthave box. i have absolutely loved getting it each month and am going to be seriously sad when it's over. i wish the holiday box isn't $100 because i'd love to give them to everybody i know! i'm sure it'd be a great special edition box.

-------------------------------------------------------

so, that's the scoop on me! some are sweet, simple things i peruse at target while others are more what i window shop for. that's the fun of the christmas list!