Kim Schmidt Photography LLC Princeton, NJ Photographer

Yesterday I woke up thinking how I wanted to document a day in my life – and I did it with my iphone. All photos are processed with the ShakeItPhoto app. I’m blessed that I was able to sleep in yesterday as it was my “Saturday” considering today I’m photographing the Seminary’s Commencement service. Can’t forget the generic Zyrtec that saves Anthony and I daily from allergies. Jammed out to the Glee Vol 3. Deluxe Version while running. Played a little Pac-Man on google (Pac-Man is celebrating 30 years). Edited some photos from a lecture. Took advantage of the sun beaming on our patio. Made a bomb-diggity chicken dinner. Used some fresh parsley from my patio garden on fresh corn. Only emptied the dishwasher once (oops!). Watched a few episodes of Mad Men Season 2 with Anthony. And lastly I got caught up on my Professional Photographers Magazine. I had 4 issues including January to read!

I challenge each and every one of you to do something like this. Truly document a day in your life. You won’t regret it when looking back to the mundane things you do daily. I also offer a package titled “day in the life” that documents your family’s day from sun up to sun down. Contact me for more details.

kim schmidt photography llc

This past weekend, Anthony and I drove down to Philadelphia to see family that were in town. The sun was beaming down, the temperatures were perfect, and Independence Hall/Liberty Bell (aka touristy areas!) had the right number of people. We have vowed to explore the city more over the coming months as we’ll be in NJ almost all summer long. There is so much history and rich culture in Philadelphia that we want to soak it all in before we leave this area.

Uncle Frank, Amelia (the grandbaby!), and Aunt Debbie

I love that we found this little nook off Market Street. It’s not an unknown place as Ben Franklin use to go through that “road way” daily. But it was a new place to us. After all the student population left, it was actually quite peacefully.

Continuing to play with my macro lens on this beautiful round flower.

kim schmidt photography llc

I’ve traveled the world twice over,
Met the famous; saints and sinners,
Poets and artists, kings and queens,
Old stars and hopeful beginners,
I’ve been where no-one’s been before,
Learned secrets from writers and cooks
All with one library ticket
To the wonderful world of books.
~ Anonymous ~

A little over 4 years ago, I jaunted into the Nashville West End Border’s and purchased The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. That day changed my life. I starting reading, and not just leisurely but avidly! Since that day I have read over 225 books (I know this because I have kept track on goodreads.com since 2006). I discovered the Nashville Public Library system REAL quick. There is no way on our measly income to purchase all those books, and I didn’t want to own all of them. There are a few select that I will buy or request on PaperBack Swap.

Reading is empowering – I have learned about Afghanistan through the eyes of a child, the Chinese custom of footbinding, the outrageous life of bounty hunter in Trenton, Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal, memories of a boy solider in Sierre Leone, life as a young girl during Biblical times, the leprosy colonies on Honolulu island in the 1890s, the struggles to get schools specifically for girls in Pakistan, the events leading up to the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, in-depth look at how our food, specifically meat, is produced in our country and many many more! My hope to the readers of this blog is that you have books that you look back fondly of and have learned something from them.

Here is a small sampling of four books I read this past winter. These are four that have stood out to me and that I would recommend to any of my readers (okay maybe not E-Myth Revisted unless you have plans or are already in business).

Here is my entire list on goodreads.com. Feel free to browse what I have read.

kim schmidt photography llc

Several weeks ago I had the opportunity to tour the grounds for sculpture in hamilton with the central nj tri delta alumnae group. It was the perfect day – weather was gorgeous and the fellowship was wonderful!

The beautiful ladies!

kim schmidt photography llc

You can view my Earth Day post from last year. An update this year…

• We still recycle everything that can be recycled in our area.
• We continue to use cloth napkins. Our neighbors always laugh when we bring them out for our weekly cookouts.
• I continue to use reusable shopping bags.
• I have acquired even more Kleen Klanteens – I think I have a small obsession with them.
• We have started to buy our food locally this year. We watched Food Inc., I’ve read both Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and Eating Animals and my eyes are now very much open. We as consumers have the right to know what is in our food, but big businesses are not allowing it to be made known. We as consumers have the power to change that by choosing to eat locally and support local businesses. I am becoming very passionate about this.
• For my birthday Anthony got me the Shark Deluxe Steam Pocket Mop. I asked for it because our floors are disgusting and I hate mopping. I’m in heaven! I’ve had it for two days and I’ve steam mopped the floors twice. This is cutting down on water use (I use about 8 ounces of water for our entire place) and the pads are washable. ETA: I’ve had several people ask about using these on hardwood floors. We have crappy (seriously very crappy) parquet flooring and I’m not worried about ruining them (Our apartment is set to be torn down next year – that says a lot!). I did some research and there was mixed feelings about using them on hardwood. My mom has a different Shark model and hasn’t had any issues on her hardwood floors. If you do get it, I recommend getting it from BBB, using the 20% off coupon that is always in the mail, and if you have issues you can take it back. You can always try it on a small spot that isn’t noticeable to see if it works.

We need to be aware of what we do to our Earth. Leave a comment with what you are doing. I always love to hear them!

kim schmidt photography llc

Anthony and I drove down to Wilmington, Delaware to the Hagley Museum to celebrate my 27th. It was very peaceful, we had beautiful weather, and it was just what I needed.

This photo is of the family home – Eleutherian Mills. 5 generations of the DuPont family lived in this home. It was built in 1803.

We also spent the evening with all our neighbors/friends cooking on the grill. I am so thankful we live in this great community – and that they all came out to celebrate. I’m pretty sure I got them with homemade cupcakes!

kim schmidt photography llc