Neglected Space

I've been neglecting my blog a lot lately to take care of other business. Recently that business has become rearranging my house and learning to share space with another person. My boyfriend started moving in with me at the beginning of February and while this has been a very long move it's still been stressful. I love that we're living together, but trying to consolidate stuff is tricky when the shared space is a two bedroom duplex. We suddenly found ourselves with two of almost everything. Compromises were made about furniture, but books, records and DVDs were a non compromisable area for us. We're currently working on storage solutions and floor plans. All of this means that my photography and his drawing has taken a bit of a break. We starting to finally put stuff on the walls and get the closets in order. 

While our styles are in sync with each other we still have a long way to go. Also, we've hit a bit of a speed bump as one of our three cats passed away last night. So we're trying to pull ourselves out of a funk and use house work as a distraction. 

I should have some new pictures soon I hope. 

Xoxo

Sasha

Boyfriend Art

My lovely boyfriend, Me. Sparks has set up a society6 account. He's working on getting lots of art added to it this week. He's got some awesome deals on art prints, phone cases, t-shirts and other fun stuff. Go check him out www.society6.com/jeffsparks 

I'll definitely be getting some of the throw pillows for our living room!

Xoxo

Sasha

Minimalism challenge update

It was a little boring writing about each day's challenge so I decided to do a few at a time. So far I've defined goals, evaluated commitments, examined daily habits, started learning a new skill and the two most challenging things: cleaned out my closet and didn't buy anything for 24 hours. I'm half way through with the challenge and while it's been very introspective some of the challenges were not feasible in my life. For example, not checking email until lunch. Email is a major part of our business, so while I didn't check my personal email I still had to check my work email. 

In other news, I'm working on some new photo ideas as well as helping Jeff set up his society6 page. I'll have a post about it when he gets stuff complete. 

Xoxo

Sasha

Minimalism day 9

Day 9's challenge was to downsize my beauty products. I don't really wear make up, but I have accumulated lots of costume make up and hair supplies for pictures. So after sorting through all of it I think I got it downsized nicely into things I actually use. 

Everything in the medicine is what I use every day. 

My make up now fits neatly in a little wire divider. Nice and organized. 

Xoxo

Sasha

Minimalism challenge days 7 & 8

Day 7 of my minimalism challenge was to streamline my reading list. This was hard because I'm one of those people that has multiple books going at one time. I decided to focus on one book and evaluate my other choices. What it came down to was setting aside Hollow City, the sequel in a series that I had started, and focusing on finishing Eyeless in Gaza, which I'm really enjoying. After that I've got three more books on my list: Eye of the World, The Gold Finch and a book that my boyfriend got me for Christmas (with a french title that's hard to spell). I think focusing on one book will allow me to slow down and enjoy reading each piece. 

Day 8 of the challenge was to learn to enjoy solitude. There wasn't much learning here as I crave alone time. I love having a day to myself where I can relax and work on my photography and crafts. I especially enjoy cooking for myself. It lets me try new recipes and slow down and enjoy the cooking process. 

I'll have another post later today about day 9's challenge. 

Xoxo

Sasha

Minimalism day 6

I'm a day late with this post, but oh well. The challenge was to follow a morning ritual. This is hard for because my mornings are usually so rushed since I leave for work very early in the morning. One ritual that I have though, is to make a cup of green tea every morning. I love using my tea kettle (unless I'm in a major hurry then I use my kuereg). It's a nice little four minute breather amidst the chaos while I wait for the water to heat. 

On weekends when I have more time Jeff and I have coffee and listen to records. Both rituals are nice, but I prefer the slower paced weekends. 

Xoxo

Sasha

not quite myself

i'm not quite myself lately....

...but i'm okay with that.

xoxo

sasha

Minimalism challenge days 4 & 5

Day 4 of the minimalism challenge was no complaint day. This was super easy because it was Saturday and all I did was go shopping with my mom. Not a lot to complain about. 

Today's challenge is a little more complicated. I'm supposed to identify my 3 main priorities. I'm not sure what constitutes a priority in my life. I suppose number one would be my job. Number two would be the cats and I suppose number three would be photography. It seems weird to list them like this, but it was nice to think about what I think is important. 

Xoxo

Sasha

true love

the truth is simple

you do not die from love

you only wish you did.

xoxo

sasha

* i love this quote from erica jong. it perfectly describes love most of the time.

*my slip is from anthropologie

*exciting news! my boyfriend and i have both decided to start accounts on society6 to sell our work. we're in the process of selecting and editing pieces that will be available. if there are any specific pieces you guys would be interested in getting a print of let me know.

Minimalism challenge day 3

Today's minimalism challenge is to de litter my digital life. This is definitely something I need to do not only with my phone apps, but with the list of emails I subscribe to. 

My shopping apps are what's most out of control. I don't use most of them and they tend to clutter things up. So today I'll be removing myself from email lists and evaluating what apps I really use on my phone. 

I'm really pleased with how well this challenge is going so far. My least favorite was the first day because I spend a lot of time online for work and for researching picture ideas. Although it was hard it really put into perspective how much time I waste online. 

Xoxo

Sasha

spider web tears

i will not say do not weep....

...for not all tears are evil.



xoxo

sasha

*new pictures finally! i've been busy, busy, busy working on new ideas, but haven't found a lot of time to shoot any of them. i should have a few more new things up this week. also, you can follow along with my 30 days of minimalism challenge that i'm doing.

*my dress is from free people

Minimalism day 2

Today's minimalism challenge is to meditate for 15 minutes. I really enjoyed this challenge because it gave me a chance to clear my mind and wash away the stress from the day. 

I chose to meditate on my yoga mat in front of my little hallway shrine. It was very serene and peaceful. 

Xoxo

Sasha

30 Day Minimalism Challenge

Today is day one of the 30 day minimalism challenge that I'm trying out. 

Day one's challenge is to stay offline for one day. No instagram, Twitter, blog reading or email all day. (I wrote this last night so I wouldn't be cheating) this will be the hardest day for me since I'm constantly checking my phone and reading blogs and online news articles. However, I do like the idea of a challenge that eliminates things that aren't super important to life, but have somehow started taking over one's life. I'll have more updates tomorrow. 

Xoxo

Sasha

Muse by Lucca

Over the holiday I got the opportunity to shoot some photos of a store that my friend owns. It's called Muse by Lucca. The store has an amazing selection of the most beautiful housewares and accessories as well as some great clothes.

Iron Masters made all of the custom tables and store fixtures to add to the overall modern elegance of the store.

Muse is located in Penn Square Mall in Oklahoma City. If you're in the area go by and check them out!

xoxo
sasha

*I really loved getting to photograph muse, it was a nice change from shooting portraits. I look forward to photography the other lovely Lucca stores.

*I have a lovely announcement that I will share in a couple days regarding my photography. I can't wait to tell you guys about it.