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Y esterday was my first full day back to work from vacation. And let me tell you something: IT WAS SHOCKING. I'm all, like, Whaaat?! No beach? No fruity, frosty beverages? And where's my CABANA BOY??! I kid, Internet, I kid. I have so many emails in my inbox it's staggering, but I'm working at minimizing Mount Everest one airplane-sound at a time (if you use Mac mail, this will be terribly funny...trust me...like so funny you may just bust a lung laughing so hard).
I've received quite a few emails regarding my last post about Showit Sites, so I thought it'd be a good idea to dedicate a single FAQ post to answering a few questions because I feel terribly not being able to personally respond to every email. I want to preface this post by stating that, yes, my photography website is a Showit Site, and I unabashedly love it. It was a perfect fit for my business and I cannot adequately express how it's catapulted my business into a new sphere...all with a simple website. My site is completely custom, unique, and buttresses my brand in ways I never foresaw. I'll step away from my soapbox now, but I just wanted to say everything outright so this post is transparent...comments will be deleted if you say something mean...because I'm the Queen of Jasmineville and jerks will be banished. Holllllla!
Is it hard to design your own site?
No. The short answer is no because of a few things:
1. The client support is fabulous! The Showit support crew work very hard at making sure questions are answered in a timely manner and they pretty much rock my socks off!
2. There are online tutorials teaching users how to use Showit
3. Stylegroups are provided as a starting point to proffer ideas and aesthetics to make designing easier, but everything about the Stylegroup is changeable so nothing must stay the same!
Much like any other tool, Showit Sites must be learned. I view it the same way I view Photoshop...I was intimidated in the beginning, but once I got the swing of things, life was good! In case you're not into designing your own site, here are a few AMAZING Showit Sites designers (be sure to tell them I sent you their way and they'll treat you extra nice and send you cookies...or they'll send me cookies...either way, sugar is always a good thing!)...
Nate Sees of Sparrow Visual - This is the designer who helped me with my site...love him!
Nick Haskins of Spilled Milk Designs
Jefferson Todd of Moka Designs
How long is the commitment to Showit Sites?
None! That's the best part. In fact, you can DOWNLOAD IT FOR FREE for a month to see if it's a good fit for you. Often times entrepreneurs get stuck into a website design for a year or so, but now there's no pressure to subscribe if it's not the best fit for your business. Love it!
Is Showit Sites expensive?
Well, it costs less to fill up my car with a tank of gas. The cost is only $39/month, but if you use THIS PROMO CODE, it'll only cost $32/month! Holllllla! I was originally given the promo code a couple months back for when a spoke at a local college and offered it to the students, but I'm passing it along to my blog readers too because it's been working for others ever since...hopefully David Jay won't hate me! ;)
Where can I find other Showit Sites websites?
There are quite a few Showit Sites in use, but here are a few of my favs...
I'm partial to LyraLyra.com because I photographed Lyra for her bio headshot a couple weeks ago! ;) Her site is fabulous and I think it truly captures her beauty as a children's photographer. Here's the photo she used on her site: |
I adore the clean aesthetic of WayneToshikazu.com...I prefer clean and modern designs and Wayne hit it out of the ballpark in my opinion. He designed it himself and I'm truly impressed!
I think JeffNewton.com is a beautiful depiction of an image-driven website. His imagery is sleek and the site design works so well together.
The ever amazing and industry leaders, Jen and Steve Bebb used Showit to create their FusionIsNow.com website, which is awesome and features their new instructional DVD on how to use the new Canon 5DMarkII video features. You have to check out the trailer and see the video they produced...makes me so excited to start using my MarkII to create videos!
I was drawn to the spunk and funk of Sarah-Q.com...I LOVE it because it truly shows off who Sarah is! I've never met Sarah or ever corresponded with her, but I feel like I know her just from her site. Now THAT'S what makes a site good...something that helps you shake what your mama gave you!
Okay, so I hope this information helps out at least one person and if there's anything else I can offer, I'll try to respond in the comment section as soon as I can. I'm still working on my recent wedding as well as working on many other things, but I'm here to help. It's a new year, so why not start off with a new website?! And in case you want to send me cookies for my advice, I'll take them. And eat them in one sitting. 'Cause that's how I roll.
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Wedding Favorites : 2008
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© Jasmine Star. This post cannot be republished without permission. Stealing makes me sad. |
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T his morning I helped JD pack for a trip he's taking to Santa Barbara. I folded his clothes and strategized outfits (classic categorization of a Type A personality, eh?), and zipped his bag closed. Tightly. As to show there's no more room for another piece of clothing. At all. We walked downstairs and JD asked if I packed his sweater.
Okay, so this isn't just any sweater. It's a sweater he bought about five years ago and an item he thinks is the coolest thing since corduroy stretch pants. He thinks it's a sweater that can triple as morning wear (to walk the dog), casual wear (he wears it going out to lunch), and church wear (yes, he's even worn it to God's house), but I think it's due time that blasted thing is cut to shreds and used as kindling. You know, since I start fires and all.
I explained there's--obviously--no more room in his bag and the sweater should be left in my claws...I mean, hands. JD's almond eyes squinted ever so slightly and he darted upstairs for his sweater. It's my favorite sweater, Jaz, he said as he stuffed it in his bag, because it reminds me of you! Riiiiiight.
That's the difference between us. JD has favorites, and, well, I have a hard time sticking to a singular shampoo, much less choose favorites of anything. Especially wedding photos. This morning I sat at my computer and tried narrowing down my favorites, but was completely stuck. I, instead, chose a few photos that made me smile and collected the rest of the photos into a 2008 Wedding Slideshow! Holllla! |
T oday, I lifted my eyes and saw a canopy of trees filled with monkeys. I was sitting in a natural hot spring after having taken a mud bath, and I tilted my head back to see dozens of monkeys swinging from lush, green trees. If they could talk I'm sure I'd hear idle talk of banana thievery and a recent branch misgiving resulting in a tail injury. If I could talk to them, I'd detail just how happy I was. Sitting there, next to JD, rubbing off traces of volcanic mud from my sun-kissed skin.
This afternoon, my sister, JD, and I spoke about our goals for 2009. Not New Year's resolutions, but goals. A way for us to keep each other accountable throughout the next year to ensure we're on the same page and aligned to reach our hopes. Some of my goals were repetitive (I've been swearing to lose 15 pounds every year since I was 11-years-old), were honest (I need to be a better wife), and some were work-related. Voicing my goals for the year was a little tough (I mean, really, if I fail, I look like such a LOSER), but I take solace in knowing there are two people in the world who will keep me accountable to what I set out to do.
I hope and sincerely encourage you to write out your goals because at this time next year, you'll be able to see what needs improvement, how to grow, and--most importantly--to see how far you've come. Afterall, if you don't know where you want to go, you'll always be lost. |
| Here's a recent picture my sister snapped of JD and me from our photo safari yesterday. Yes. Yes, I know I look like I dressed myself like I was blindfolded in a farm town costume store. Oh, but cut me some, slack, Internet...it's hot in Costa Rica and I just wanted to be comfortable! |
T he New Year always brings about this crazy sense of hope for me. This wild and brazen feeling down in my gut (ahem...my rather big, holiday gut!) that makes me believe I can do just about anything I set my mind to. New beginnings mark an opportunity to leave my fears and doubts from yesteryear behind and dream for impossibilities.
I, however, know that impossibilities are, well, impossible without the help of my amazing family, friends, and clients. The people I am surrounded with next year makes me so darn hopeful for the things to come. God has been undoubtedly good to me and though I'm completely undeserving of such blessings, I humbly accept such goodness. Okay, okay. So I don't really humbly accept...it's more like Bring it on, God, BRING IT ON!!! But you get my point.
I just wanted to take the time to thank you, my fabulous and ever-so-fierce blog readers, for making me feel like the luckiest girl to be alive. Though we are connected via an illuminated screen, I feel the love and encouragement. I appreciate your time more than I can adequately express. Thank you. I hope you spend this New Year's Eve surrounded by your most favorite people and 2009 yields life's sweetest fruit!
And because posts are always better with pictures, here's a [terrible] snapshot of Bianca, me, and JD at dinner last night. We ate at a delicious restaurant owned by an Israeli chef trained at Le Cordon Bleu called Seasons. It was a splendid evening and a night I wish I could recreate it for eternity...
Happy New Year! |
I forgot where I was when I woke this morning. The melodic tunes of a Costa Rican trio floated into our casita this morning and mouth-watering scents of breakfast foods wafted through our windows. I woke to the sounds of birds who sing like New York construction workers whistling as a pretty girl walks by. Wheeeeet, Wheeeeeeeele
My sister, Bianca, knocked lightly on our door and reminded JD and me the owners of our villa were throwing a party. In the morning. That's just they way the pura vida is experienced. Parties in the morning. Work will be still be there after a few mimosas, so why rush life?
Bianca decided to join us here in Costa Rica and it'll be nice ringing in the new year with a piece of my family. I fear, however, she'll now want to go with us to EVERY destination wedding because we're having the time of our lives. She promises she'll be the best bag carrier in the world. Ever.
After a long brunch, we went to the beach and swam in the warm water. We found warm pools of beach water (which felt like warm bath) and read until my eyes were too heavy to keep open. I then retired to a beach towel and slept under the warm sun.
We're off to dinner in a couple hours where we'll watch the sun set and anxiously await what tomorrow holds. Although we're in no rush for it to arrive. I think that's what they call pura vida, the pure life.
Here's sneak peek from yesterday's wedding...the full post will appear on the blog when I return home from vacation. |
H ola de Costa Rica! We've arrived and have adjusted to life in Central America quite well. Many thanks to the blog commentors who let me know Costa Rica was in CENTRAL!! America, and not South America as I had mentioned in a previous post. Yo, it ain't my fault I don't know much about geography...blame my mom...I was home schooled!! ;)
We're off to shoot the wedding today and experience Pura Vida in many new ways...I can't wait to blog about this amazing couple...I just love them! We flew into San Jose early yesterday and had to take a small plane to Tamarindo, which always scares the living daylights out of me, so here's a picture of me giving JD a last-minute kiss in case anything happened and we fell from the sky! |
T oday has been one of those days when I feel like I'm in some weird movie. A movie where time is flying by and I feel like I'm not moving. But I know I should be. And there's swimming cats floating through the air. Okay, that last part was made up, but I kinda liked the idea of swimming cats so I just wrote that. Wow, I'm so cool.
In all honesty, I've been running wild since Christmas because JD and I are leaving to Costa Rica today for a destination wedding. We'll be out until January 5, 2009, so if you call or email, our responses will be delayed. Thanks in advance for understanding!
I'll be blogging our adventures, so stay tuned for our wild South American vacation, none of which--I hope--involves swimming cats! :) |
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