minding my nest

practicing the art of an ordinary life

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recent blog posts

  • Little Saturday Delights

    Little Saturday Delights
  • Learning to See | Keeping Hope Alive

    Learning to See | Keeping Hope Alive
  • Spring Is a Happiness

    Spring Is a Happiness
  • Learning to See | The Courage To Be Happy

    Learning to See | The Courage To Be Happy
  • Learning to See | A Still Lifestyle

    Learning to See | A Still Lifestyle

Learning to See | A New Perspective, a Lesson Revisited, and a Gift Reopened

When I wrote this post in January 2018, we had recently learned that the company my husband worked for at the time had sold and was being acquired by company in Kansas City. We had a lot of big decisions to make and I was really struggling with how to move forward. Opening my mind and my heart to ... read more

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Learning to See | My Month of Mornings

I've never been much of a morning person, but in January of 2015 I needed some inspiration for my third round of doing a 365 photography project. Sometimes inspiration can be hard to come by, especially this time of year. In this post I am sharing how something as simple as taking photos at a ... read more

Filed Under: Learning To See 5 Comments

Learning to See | Beauty in the Broken Places

Today's post in my photography series is from January 2017 during my time as a contributor to a collaborative photography blog. Focusing on Life was heartchild of my friends and photography mentors Terri and Dotti. From 2013 to 2017 I shared my stories there and documented my journey as a ... read more

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No Day Like Today

I went to Trader Joe's this week, and along with my salad mix, lentils, and sparkling water (I can hear my dad gagging right now), I also grabbed this delightful bunch of tulips to add a little color to my kitchen table. Anyway, here we are 11 days into the new year and I'm just now starting to ... read more

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Learning to See

To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place… I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them. ~Elliott Erwitt In my last post, I shared that this year marks my 10th anniversary of ... read more

Filed Under: Learning To See, photography 4 Comments

The Photographer I Have Become

Ten years ago today I looked through the viewfinder of my Canon EOS Rebel XS, pressed the shutter button, and captured this photograph. This photo marks the beginning of my first photography 365 project which basically means taking one photo every day for an entire year. At the time I was a ... read more

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My New Photography Class Is Here!

Here’s where you can find me on the web

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About Me

Hi There! I’m Kelly. I am a wife, mom, light seeker, homemaker, and storyteller. From an empty nest to an abundant life, all it took was a little time, a lot of faith, and the courage to see my life differently.

You can read more about my story here.

So now, armed with my trusty Canon camera, here is where I share my journey to live an inspired and intentional life.

Welcome to my little corner of the interwebs!

Learning to See Photography Series

December Daily® 2022

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AROUND THE WEB

Regular Contributor to Focusing on Life.

Story Teller for Ali Edwards Design Team

Currently Teaching at Big Picture Classes.

My Portfolio - Kelly Ishmael Photography

Happy Monday! I’m celebrating the first day of S Happy Monday! I’m celebrating the first day of Spring with a vase full of daffodils I gathered from around the yard. We had a hard freeze a couple of nights ago and I was worried that it would damage all the blooms. Thankfully the rest of the blooms outside survived so it’s a basically win-win. I love it when that happens. And it hope these blooms make you as happy as they do me! 💛🌼
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#tv_flowers #ethereal_moods #still_life_nature #dofnature #dof_brilliance #bokeh_bliss #bokeh_and_blur #transfer_visions #tv_flowers #tv_fadingingbeauty #tv_depthoffield #tv_allnature #tv_closeup #jj_justnature #moody_tones #raw_allnature #moodforfloral #moodyflorals #inspirenaturenow #charming_nature_ #ihavethisthingwithflowers #nb_nature_brilliance #kaigarden2023
Living in mid-town Tulsa, there’s a phenomenon t Living in mid-town Tulsa, there’s a phenomenon that happens this time of year…when driving down Peoria, the traffic slows down to a crawl right in front of Woodward Park where drivers are taking in the glorious sight of the daffodils in bloom.

Or maybe that’s just me. 🙈

At any rate, seeing the entire hillside covered in happy, yellow blooms is a beautiful sight to behold. Especially after months of nothing to see but a bare, colorless landscape. And because I live close enough to walk to the park, I brought my camera and my best girl / walking companion along with me one evening this week to try to capture some of the beauty. 

While I was crouched down amongst the blooms, I saw a gal turn into the park and get out of her car to take a few photos. We smiled at each other and she told me she just had to stop to take a few photos of the blooms. It would appear that I’m not the only one who was overjoyed by this sight.

I think it’s fair to say that more than any other time of year, Spring is the season of hope. Or maybe, a little more accurately, the season of restored hope. We endured the cold and barren season and now here is life and joy that we were hoping for, right in our midst.

Spring in a park setting is an obvious place to find beauty, but today in my photography series, I am sharing a story about finding beauty in the most unlikeliest of places and finding a little hope in the process.

You can find all of the posts in my photography series via the link in my profile. As always, thank you for letting share my stories with you.
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#tv_flowers #ethereal_moods #still_life_nature #dofnature #dof_brilliance #bokeh_bliss #bokeh_and_blur #transfer_visions #tv_flowers #tv_fadingingbeauty #tv_depthoffield #tv_allnature #tv_closeup #jj_justnature #moody_tones #raw_allnature #moodforfloral #moodyflorals #inspirenaturenow #charming_nature_ #ihavethisthingwithflowers #nb_nature_brilliance
March is… 🌸 riding the spring weather roller March is…
🌸 riding the spring weather roller coaster
🌸 sleeping with the window cracked and throwing on another quilt
🌸 waking up to the morning songs of the cardinals, robins, and chickadees
🌸 resuming my morning walkabouts
🌸 the joy and delight of new blooms in the garden
🌸 enjoying that one extra hour of light after dinner
🌸 a feeling of lightness from the new season coming right around the corner
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#gatheredstyle #foreverfaffing #loveliest4 #astilllifestyle #floral_faffery #still_life_gallery #tv_stillife #jj_still_life #tv_living #global_ladies #transfer_visions #tv_neatly #tv_flowers #tv_retro #etherealmoods #moody_tones #moodforfloral #moodyflorals #curated_nature #ihavethisthingwithflowers #stylingtheseasons #petalsandprops #floralperfection #thefolkpr0ject #blissfulphotoart #creative_florals
Pretty in pink and currently making me ridiculousl Pretty in pink and currently making me ridiculously happy. 🌸
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#tv_flowers #ethereal_moods #still_life_nature #dofnature #dof_brilliance #bokeh_bliss #bokeh_and_blur #transfer_visions #tv_flowers #tv_fadingingbeauty #tv_depthoffield #tv_allnature #tv_closeup #jj_justnature #moody_tones #raw_allnature #moodforfloral #moodyflorals #inspirenaturenow #charming_nature_ #ihavethisthingwithflowers #nb_nature_brilliance #kaigarden2023
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