Rush and Rest

Five Beautiful Stock Photography Websites

Remember a long time ago when everyone was stuck using ugly clip art or shelling out lots of money for the usage rights to a professional stock photo? Thankfully, we don’t live in that world anymore and there is a plethora of great options that are free or low cost with liberal permissions that allow you to include the photo in your business, branding, or website. What I also love about this new era of photography is that anyone who takes a captivating photo can choose to share their image or make it available through these services – spread the art love. YAY!

Here are five of my favorites:

1. Unsplash. 10 free, high-resolution stock photos every 10 days.

2. Stocksy. An artist owned cooperative that provides stunning photos. Prices range from $10-$100.

3. Death to the Stock Photo. Free, commercial use photos, sent to you via email each month. Or, you can subscribe to a premium subscription for $10 a month.

4. Shutterstock. Lots and lots of gorgeous royalty free photos that can be purchased individually or via an annual subscription.

5. Gratisography. Whimsical, free art for personal or commercial use.

Do you have a favorite that isn’t on this list? I’d love to know!

Sweet Finds: Audra Mulkern Photography

Today I want to introduce you to someone so lovely. Her name is Audra and she is a farm-to-table photographer from my very own backyard in the Snoqualmie Valley.

It’s safe to say I have a lot of local pride about my tiny hometown of Carnation and Duvall {I sometimes refer to both of them because we lived directly in between} so I was tickled to discover that Audra had photographed some of my favorite local farms and spaces I love so dearly. She even published a book documenting the entire season of our farmers markets! Her images perfectly capture life in the valley and the roots of the people who care so much about growing sustainable food while taking care of our gorgeous landscape. The older I get, the more I realize how lucky I was/am to get to grow up in a little slice of the country. Nothing beats it!

Audra also authors a blog series titled The Female Farmer Project – featuring dedicated women who manage to weave a farm life into the mix of raising families and the “jack of all trades” duties that us women frequently take on. So inspiring!

I would encourage you to visit her website to see some of the beautiful photographs and get a sneak peek into farm life in the valley. Enjoy!

Friday Favorites + A Social Media Update

Photo by Nataschia Wielink Photography

Happy Friday friends! We made it through another week. It’s been so great finally getting to share this updated space with you over the last few days. It feels good to be back! Here are a few of my favorites from the week:

1. The prettiest outdoor movie night I’ve ever seen and secretly wish I would be invited to.

2. I loved Heather’s post on slowly growing a blog. It’s similar to my outlook as well.

3. This was floating around Facebook yesterday but it’s too good not to share again.

4. It’s like the Pinterest of Etsy. I can’t believe I didn’t know!

5. You know what Martha? You are right, some bloggers are not experts. I still love you.

6. I love Umba’s transformation and am officially obsessed with the styling in their lookbook.

7. TEN FREE PRINTABLE 2014 CALENDARS.

8. I can’t wait to try this recipe for milk cookies!

Quick programming note!

If you follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or BlogLovin’ – NO ACTION IS REQUIRED TO UPDATE TO THIS NEW BLOG. Note that you may see names/titles refresh but otherwise, it’s business as usual. For Facebook specifically, I’ve decided to keep my existing URL (facebook.com/pecklife) because if I change it or start a brand new page, my “likes” don’t transfer over and I know we are all getting sick of the world asking us to “like” yet another FB page. Such a bummer. The name of the page WILL be updated to “Rush and Rest” in approximately 12 more business days {Thanks Facebook!}

Ten on Ten: March 2013

Welcome back to the ten on ten project, put together by the lovely Rebekah.

Today felt long, maybe because of daylight savings time? Sky and I hung out at home all morning….being lazy, snuggling, doing laundry, and eating two breakfasts. In the early evening, we joined our close friends for dinner to celebrate a birthday! Minus my depression over {still} not being able to have a drink, I had the largest crab cake of my life and a good time was had by all. Can you believe there is an azalea blooming in the yard already? I know I’m craving spring hard when I start dreaming about how I want to cover the deck with strawberry planters and herb pots for the summer….can’t wait!!

Ten on Ten: February 2013

Welcome back to the ten on ten project, put together by the lovely Rebekah. We spent our weekend at Suncadia in a house we rented with friends. Even though the snow was almost non-existent, we still had a great time. We got home early this afternoon and have spent the rest of the day cleaning, organizing, and counting down the minutes until bedtime because of a certain little mister who only napped in the car. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!