A few weeks ago, I wrote about how I’ve been setting aside time every day to work on some passion projects: leather-bound family albums as well as home videos. I’d said I wanted to tackle Emma’s “first year” album first, but once I’d laid everything out, I realized we still had a solid nine months until the end of year one. ;) So instead, I finally made our wedding album–something I’d been meaning to do for SO long.
Before I start, though, I should mention that I recently found the most adorable coffee shop in Lakeview, the neighborhood right above Lincoln Park. It’s called Heritage General Store, and it’s actually a coffee and bicycle shop. Mitch is crazy into biking, so convincing him to accompany me up there this past Sunday was easy. :) We snapped these pics, grabbed doughnuts and coffee, and chatted up the bicycle repair guy about having his bike repaired. (The guy gets flat tires every week and we don’t know why. It’s so frustrating!) Isn’t the shop stunning? I love how bright it is! (This is what I wore.)
Anyway, I recently finished the wedding album project at Heritage on my HP Spectre laptop, and I’m so happy with the results. It was a HUGE project, as I made edits to a lot of the photos. (Cropping, brightening, etc.) But doing it on the Spectre was ah-mah-zing. Its full high-definition, edge-to-edge Corning® Gorilla® Glass display makes editing fun. The resolution is breathtaking, and it totally helped me relive our wedding! (Looking for photo editing tips? See how I quickly and easily edit my photos here.)
I also plugged my earbuds into the Spectre and jammed out (not to kids’ songs — haha) while working. I’ve mentioned this before, but the computer’s custom-tuned Bang & Olufsen audio system is incredible. Right now I’m listening to a lot of alternative country, like Ryan Adams (surprise, surprise), the Jayhawks, Emmylou Harris, Loudon Wainwright, Wilco, etc. And I have to admit: the Spectre’s sound system definitely inspired me to pick up my guitar again. Emma likes it! Poor thing.
While I’ve been an HP Spectre owner for a few months now, I’m still so impressed with the machine. I love that at only 10.4mm thin, it’s super light and easy to transport, but I also truly think it inspires me to be more creative. As it features full Intel Core power, it runs my programs at lightning-fast speeds, and I no longer have to deal with the frustration of the “spinning wheel of death.” (Anyone else hate that thing?! Brings back memories from my newspaper days…) And again, the Spectre’s beautiful screen makes my photos come to life!
The next project I’m undertaking with my Spectre is a little site re-design. It won’t be a complete re-design, but I’m going to be making a few adjustments that will hopefully make this blog a little prettier and easier to navigate. I can’t wait! I’m going to be rolling out the updates in a couple of weeks, so if you have any suggestions on how I can make the site better, please weigh in! My Spectre and I are waiting! ;)
How would you use the Spectre to be more creative? Any suggestions on how I can make the Kelly in the City design/navigation better? What’s missing? I’d love to hear!
This post is sponsored by HP, but all opinions are my own. As always, thank you so much for supporting the partnerships that keep Kelly in the City up and running!
A coffee/bike shop combo is adorable! You’re really making me want to visit Chicago even more. :)
Yay for some alone time to work on what you really want Kelly!
The Adored Life
Heritage is such a cute spot! I haven’t been in so long but I love that you finished the album!
The wedding album looks amazing! I was wondering if you could do a post on how you made the actual album? From what program you used, to how you printed it and all of those interesting things! I would love to be able to make mine and my fiances parents albums after the wedding!
Hi Susie,
So sorry for the delayed response! Mitch and I use a professional printing press that unfortunately only accepts professional photographers as members. (Back in New York, I did wedding, family and event photography, and here I shoot freelance.) That said, Mitch makes albums for clients all the time! They’re nothing short of incredible — he’s a truly gifted designer. If you’re interested, feel free to email Mitch! His email is mitch@kellyinthecity.com. (The cutest, right? He handles a lot of Kelly in the City and freelance business for me! Hehe!) He can walk you through all the options. It’s super easy — Basically all you need to do is send your images to him in the general order in which you’d like them to appear, and then make some simple decisions like color of the letter, what the album says on the front, and how many pages/about how many photos you’d like on each page. (And if there are any super special images that you’d like played up.)
In terms of doing it on your own, I’m not really sure as I’ve always used my printing press. That said, I just started working with Shutterfly for a project and I’ve been SO impressed with their stuff! Haven’t checked out their albums yet but worth looking into! :)
Let me (and Mitch) know if you have any questions! SO happy to help!
xoxo!
Kelly! Thank you so much for this detailed response! Firstly, that email address is adorable! So sweet how much he helps you! We’re getting married in November so I will definitely reach out to Mitch once we get our photos back to make surprise albums for my parents and in-laws! Have a great weekend!
Hahaha — Aw thank you! Mitch is such a gem; I’m so lucky to have him. This blog definitely wouldn’t exist without him! Anyway — YAY! He’s next to me now and says he’s super excited. Talk soon, Girl! xoxo!
The wedding book turned out so good! And this coffee shop is adorable! I need to go asap!
I second Susie’s comment. I was going to ask the same questions about your album! Any information you could give on how you made the album and what programs and company you used to create/print it would be really helpful. My son just turned one last week and am excited to make his first year album. Your wedding album looks beautiful and would love to have a quality album like that for my son. Thank you!
Hi Veronica! I just replied to Susie’s comment above — Just wanted to make sure you got a notification about it. ;) Mitch says he’s super happy to help if you’d like to do it through him! His email is mitch@kellyinthecity.com — Let us know if you have any questions!
Hi Kelly, thanks for the information. Coincidentally, I actually do some photography – family portraits, senior pictures, event photography, and have even dabbled in some wedding photography – but have never done albums for clients. I’m on a bit of a hiatus being mommy right now, so I’m not sure if my past experience qualifies me as a “professional” photographer with your press. Is your press by any chance Miller’s? I’ve never used them for their books. Thanks for any additional information you can give!
Hi Veronica! I actually DO use Miller’s Lab! Maybe try to get in touch with them?! I signed on with them years ago and I believe I needed to give them my tax/LLC info… But again, that was a very long time ago. :) Definitely look into it… I don’t really know what their requirements are but it sounds like you’re perfect for it if you shoot family, senior, event and wedding photos! :) xoxo!
I agree with comments below – can you share what service/product you used to actually print the album? I always want to order some, but the ones I see online always look so cheesy, and it’s really hard to tell what the quality is actually going to be like when you get it. I would love any insight to selecting a good one!
Lindsay — Just replied to Susie’s comment! (See above.) Mitch would LOVE to help you out if you’d like to go the professional route… Just drop him a line at mitch@kellyinthecity.com. He makes TONS of albums for clients — He’s amazing! <3
awesome photos, just loved all of that…
happy friday