Thanks to Shutterfly Gallery, I’ve discovered the holidays aren’t just about finding parking spaces in overcrowded malls. Do I sound cynical? Don’t mean to be, just not a big fan of the whole shopping mall experience. I’m actually quite the holiday romantic, which is why I was delighted to learn we have so many beautiful December wedding books.

Is it wrong to be burnt out on the cold weather already? Would you forgive me if I steered away from fall leaves, pumpkin pie and baked apples? I know Thanksgiving is around the corner and I should talk about family gatherings (like Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade), and dinners (pages 2 through 5 are making me hungry)…but what I really want to talk about is warm weather and exotic locations.

Rhonna Farrer designs digital kits for http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/, and has been published in the Designing With line of books, Home Companion, Creating Keepsakes, Scrapbooks Etc. & others. Check out her site www.rhonnadesigns.com where she shares ideas, links, inspiration, challenges & enjoys connecting with artists from all over the world.

If you’re like me, a classic point-and-shooter, you have probably never even asked yourself if you should use RAW or JPEG files for your images. But if you’re starting to dive deep into photography, I highly recommend Henry Barbe’s below article, which discusses whether “to RAW or not to RAW”.

I would like to introduce you to a very special Shutterfly Gallery member, Sister Pauline Quinn, who began a life-changing service connecting dogs with people in need. She started small, but through hard work and a strong belief in giving hope, she grew her dream into a world-wide program. In this article, Pauline shares her journey, and talks about how her special Shutterfly photo book helps her continue making that dream come true.

Let me preface this piece by admitting that I am an almost-California-native whose comfort zone sits squarely between 65 and 75 Fahrenheit. That said, I’m going to give you my two cents anyway.