frequently asked questions

 I have tried my best to gather up all the most popular questions that I am asked weekly via email and comments.......here they are.

About the Blog

Do you actually live in a little red house?

We do. We recently moved and oddly enough ended up in another little red house.

Photography

I shoot with a Canon 5d Mark II (photos+video.) I shoot mostly with a 35 f/1.4, a 50mm 1.4, and a 24-70 f/2.8 I have several polaroid cameras (totally out of film now.....boo), and I also have fun with my instax mini, and I love instagram. 

I edit my photos with completely outdated software--Lightroom2 and and CS3.

Are you still shooting Weddings? Portraits?

I am not right now. 

Can I use your photo or recipe on my blog?

Please email me for permission before you use any of my content. And please always link back. 

Thank you. 

I love shout outs so thank you for all the links from your blogs! You guys are the best.

Will you add me on facebook/twitter/instagram/follow my blog/comment on my blog/link to me/email me/page me/fax me/etc.

I kind of enjoy spending time OFFline.....you know? 

My personal facebook is for friends and family only, if you add me as a friend, I will politely decline, although I'm sure you are a wonderful person. And please stop trying to add my husband....because that's kinda weird.

PLEASE come join the blog page HERE-I'd love to have you!

I really only do blog updates on twitter (no offense to all you active tweeters, I am just not that interesting)

My Instagram is @_sheenarae 

I only read a small number of blogs.

I do try to answer questions I get via email. TRY being the key word. I get quite a few emails each week, and I need to wash dirty underwear and feed my family and all that stuff. So if I don't get back to you I am very sorry, it must have been an exceptionally dirty underwear kind of day.

I got an email once that told me I ruined her sister's birthday because I hadn't replied to her comment and something....about the cake pan.....didn't work.....I don't know. But I did think it was funny. I never realized I had so much power! I ruined someones birthday that I'd never even met. I guess I imagined someone with so much power would have more money and better hair. 

Point being: I am really sorry if I can't get back to you. 

Please try not to hate me, I really am not a terrible person.

Will you review my product on your blog?

If your product is something that fits right in with my lifestyle and blog, then send me a note and we will see if it will work out. 

Will you post more gluten free/vegetarian/crafts/DIY/more of this or that/etc?

I don't usually make anything specifically FOR the blog. I just blog about whatever food or project we might be working on.

Could you include nutritional value/calories in any of your recipes?

Oh sorry, I have too much laundry to fold to do that one.

The Cookbook

So many questions about this! I'm glad you are all so excited! I am photographing a cookbook for Whitney Ingram. She is an amazing cook, and the coolest girl-you would just love her. The process has slowed, but only so the book can be nothing short of perfect. It will be done this year.....more details to come!

Personal

Are you a mormon? 

I am. You can read about it HERE. (please don't yell at me.....that one got pretty heated)

Hair

my mom is laughing right now. 

I get so many questions about my hair and I wish I had any answers for you. I literally have horse hair. I'm not just saying that like it's a clever adjective. I grew up with horses, my hair is LITERALLY just like horse hair. It's mostly in a braid or some kind of mop on top of my head daily. When it's curly, I have to use a pretty heavy gel (I have a TON of hair). I like Biolage Sclupting Jelly or Molding Souffle and either air dry (for hours) or use a diffuser. I have no preference in shampoos, and often use Burts Bees or Yes To produts. If my hair is straight, I blowdry it and smooth it out with a large curling iron. I use a little bit of coconut oil to make it a little more "human like", and I have a Redken hairspray I like. There will be no hair tutorials soon, as I have no idea what I'm doing most of the time.

Where do you shop?

I hate to shop. I really, really hate it.

I am very boring and buy v-neck Ts in every color at Target, and like to shop the clearance section at J Crew. Most of the stuff in our home is from garage sales, thrift stores, or our grandparents' basements.
For outdoor gear we love REI, backcountry.com, Steep and Cheap (get the app!) and a Patagonia sale is a great day.

Do you Homeschool/Why don't you homeschool?

When we moved into our house I didn't want to switch the kids' schools with only a few months left. We homeschooled for the last 3 months and LOVED it. I'm still checking out schools where we live now, and looking for any homeschool groups that might be (?) in the area to see what we will do come fall.

Any advice for running? 

I wrote these posts (here and here) last year. I have changed my running a bit--I mostly run trails now which is a whole different game, but the basics for starting are all there. 

I want to change my diet/lifestyle but don't know where to start. 

I wrote a series of posts about our slow and steady change. Find them HERE and start at the bottom. It can be very overwhelming trying to change everything at once. Little steps here and there will help you get to where you want to be. For my definition of "healthy", read HERE.

Can I ask you about your Lyme? Why don't you talk about your Lyme much? 

How is your Lyme?

I get emails weekly about Lyme and do my best to respond in a timely matter, because I know what it is like waiting for answers. I don't talk about it much, only because it's really pretty boring.

I am currently feeling the best I have in years! We are very excited:)