insta-cool.

 

i follow alot of people i don't know on instagram.

and it makes me feel a little like a creeper.

but i do it because they put out some of the coolest photos.

it's like a magazine every time i click it open...

and we all know how i feel about magazines.

...and photos.

i'm definitely a visual person.

 

 

so.

if you're on instagram and you like gorgeous photos too, i suggest following this lady:

@sarahshermansamuel

 

she's the founder of smitten studio.

she makes things. good things!

has a killer closet.

looks to have the cutest relationship with her husband and two pups.

travels to far off destinations.

was the girl behind this party.

and is owner of this lake cabin. more about their renovation here.

(the previous 2, all over pinterest)

 

more importantly, she takes innately cool instagram photos.

i just think some people get it, some don't.

she gets it.

 

here's some:

 

 

happy monday.

 

 

JILL

 

 

geronimo!

i love instagram, it's no lie.

nor is it a secret.

but i love watching more than participating.

i don't really feel my life is filled with that much interesting, beautiful, exciting stuff to shove into the world's face... but i know that i am! so i am trying to be better at it. seriously, life is beautiful. (cliche but true. don't roll your eyes at me.)

i feel a tangent coming on, but the other day at dinner with friends, i was discussing this very same fact: that i should/want to be taking more photos. i love photos. i love taking photos. i certainly love looking at photos. i want to document my life from here on out with tiny little square grams with innately cool filters applied. (oh the filters... they alone make ordinary life fancier.) so we implemented a one-(at least)-a-day photo challenge. of which i am not holding up my end of the bargain, but i intend to... fully.

you can follow along here: @jabarrier

back to today's post.

this lady, jihan zencirli, creator behind (my favorite) geronimo balloons,

creates the most lovely instagrams.

her life is full of craft, color, frill, ballooooons, and pretty festiveness and i can't get enough.

her instagram feed instantly makes me happier,

even in the crappiest of days or moods, and there have been a string of those lately...

her photos make me smile.

so i'm sharing a few with you today,

but you can follow her daily

@geronimoballoons

and i encourage it.

this was a sample.

there's so much more.

not only does she share her balloon/frill making, she has a cute little pup with 3 legs, and she drives the. coolest. vintage. light blue. car. ever.

love her.

love her balloons.

JILL

spring.

i wish our spring would get here and then decide to stay here.

it gets warm and gorgeous, then laughs in our faces with cold.

then warm, then cold.

enough already! at least there was no snow. i know some of you northerners got some of that junk in the last week, and i'm not sure how i'd mentally handle it ;)

anywho...

these photos dazzle the photography lover in me.

for lots of reasons. the warmness for one, all her floral prints for two, and the scenery for three.

thought i'd share em with you.

from marie claire netherlands, april 2013.

happy monday.

JILL

afternoon delight.

you guys.

i came across this photo on pinterest yesterday and i think i got a little emotional.

is this not so damn gorgeous?

the dress. the photo. the veil. the pose.

have a great afternoon :)

JILL

{image via kissthegroom}

shoot happiness.

stephanie rausser is a photographer i've stumbled upon in the last few months.

and the more i see, the more i love.

i (and you!) have seen her for years, just not knowing it was her, well i didn't at least.

she has photographed for conde nast traveler, glamor, health, people, real simple, self, shape and more and more magazines. she does commercial work for big people, like target. and a whole other long list i won't mention but it's here on her website.

what i really love most about her photography, is how she captures people at their happiest.

it doesn't look like she tells you to stand there and look to the left. now smile.

now, turn your chin down. bla bla bla bla.

it looks like she's getting you being you doing something you enjoy doing.

especially with children.

goodness sakes.

i mean. a sparkly backdrop with a prego belly? yesss.

happy, love, happiness, joy, love, and more happy.

she captures all the best feelings.

and in my opinion, she does it better than the rest of us.

go here to see lots lots more.

i want to be her when i grow up. you know what i mean.

she makes me want to grab my camera and never put it down!

to shoot more happiness.

especially the happiness going on around me in everyday life.

stephanie chronicled her daughter's relationship with her doll, coco, and

i haven't seen a more grand way to document a stage in a child's life such as this.

note to self: please remember to do this with your own children.

it is priceless and perfect, and being in paris doesn't hurt the cause, either.

here are a few of the photos she got of her daughter with her doll, but you should most definitely watch the whole video (with the music up if you can swing it).

i hope i haven't photog'ed you out with this post and all last week...

but i kinda like it if you haven't gathered that by now.

JILL

and if you need someone to capture you being you, i will most certainly try my hardest and enjoy every second of it. go here for more details.