Sara’s Supper Club

This is long overdue but I’m so happy to introduce you to my first mamaprenuer of 2013.  Meet, Sara Hart of Sara’s Supper Club.  When she responded to my mamapreneur call I knew I definitely wanted to feature her.  I absolutely love the idea behind her business and I know there are plenty of local families who would desire her services.  I even got to sample a week’s menu and it was fantastic.  I loved how she rates each recipe by difficulty and time involved so you can pick which meal fits into your schedule on any particular day.  The ingredients are all super fresh and hand picked from Whole Foods.  I spent a bit of a beautiful sunny morning with Sara and her amazingly bright and outgoing children.  I think the images will give an accurate description of just how that morning went.  So, without further ado….meet Sara!


Business Name:  Sara’s Supper Club

How did you come up with that name:
I was brainstorming names with a friend. I wanted it to be personal, tie in the food/dinner aspect of the business, and also make it seem like a something you want to be part of and belong to.

Website: http://www.sarasupperclub.com

How long have you been in business?
Since November 2011


Please explain a little bit about your product/business and how you developed the concept behind it:
Sara’s Supper Club is a subscription service that delivers ready-planned grocery bags with original recipes + fresh matching ingredients for four dinners per week for a family of 4-5.

I decided to start Sara’s Supper Club as a tool for families to confront the reality of a busy lifestyle and the daily struggle to find the time and inspiration to cook dinner. We want to do it all these days, and it’s a shame if home cooked dinner has to suffer in order to make due with activities, work, exercise etc. Cooking dinner for some has also become a boring task when inspiration falters and the kids complain. Having someone make the decisions for you and not having to spend time planning and shopping, makes cooking a lot more fun and inspiring. My customers love the fact that they learn how to cook new things and eat healthier and with much more variety then before.

What makes your product/business so unique?
There are other solutions out there to help families put dinner on the table, like meal planning website, large prep-kitchens, food blogs, private chefs etc, but my service tries to combine most of them all into one, plus that it is very affordable and convenient for what you get, something everybody can afford.


What is the hardest part or have been some of your struggles starting your own business?
Everything takes so much longer when you have to do it by yourselves. Things I didn’t think was doing to be a headache ended up sucking a lot of time and energy out of me, like the website and report system behind it, when all I wanted to focus on was the recipes and customer service.

How many children do you have. What are their ages? And ages when you started your business?
I have a daughter, Alice, who just turned 4 and a son, Xavier, who just turned 2. They were 9 months and 2.5 when I launched, but my daughter was only a few months old when I started thinking of the idea.


What are some of the creative ways you have found to juggle being a woman, a mother, a business owner, and a wife?
Less sleep!  Let’s see, I never shower in the morning anymore, and I often go to the gym and grocery store at night. As for any mom, working or not, it’s important not to get too wrapped up in every day chores and duties and neglect the fun, so I make sure I laugh and joke with my kids everyday, and to kiss my husband as often as I can!



Who is your biggest inspiration?
My mother, who has worked very hard her whole life, raising 3 children alongside a busy full time job without ever complaining and always making sure her family was happy. My parents have a great way of working together and have always shared all main responsibilities, which is something I admire.

Now for some fun and easy questions….

Favorite meal?
That is a very difficult question, as I love to cook and to eat. Breakfast is definitely my favorite meal of the day (it’s the reason I get out of bed in the morning..), and I have oatmeal with cinnamon, apple sauce, and farm fresh milk, so that might have to be it.  Otherwise I love to eat with the season! In Sweden we have a period in the middle of June when the new potatoes and strawberries are freshly picked and those are to die for. I also love corn on the cob and New England is a fabulous place for that at the end of the summer. Spring asparagus, apples in the fall and Brussel sprouts are other favorites, along with Swedish meatballs with lingonberry jam of course!

Favorite Dessert?
I have celiac and thus can’t eat gluten, which many classic desserts contain, but Ice cream I can eat, and I love love love all the fantastic home made ice cream in New England! There are little shops everywhere and one better then the other. My favorite is Somerset creamery by North Falmouth on Cape Cod, and their Black Raspberry flavor.

Favorite restaurant?
Ten Tables in Jamaica Plain. Their tasting menu with wine pairing always delivers, and to a good price!

Favorite piece of clothing or accessory?
Skinny jeans (blue or black) and a scarf

Favorite vacation spot?
It will have to be the west coast of Sweden where I go once a year to visit my family. We also spend a lot of time on Cape Cod in the summer which is wonderful, and I love to go skiing in the winter if I get a chance.
Deep at heart I am a beach girl though and my dream vacation is to an exotic island like Bora Bora or Seychelles. A girl is allowed to dream, right?

Favorite childhood memory?
Crab fishing off the dock of our summer house in Sweden. There are tons of small crabs in the water off the west coast where I used to spend a week or two every summer as a kid. My sister and brother and I used to spend hours fishing them using mussels as a bate and a net, and after collecting tons of them in a bucket, we would just poor them back out again.

What book is on your nightstand?
The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen (but it’s been there for a while…)
 
On any given day, what makes you smile?

My kids and their funny comments. They have an opinion about everything and their observations put a fun spin on things going on in our every day life that we tend to overlook.

When you have free time (ha!) what would your ideal day entail?
I assume you mean free time without kids:-)  Small things: Enjoying a coffee and reading a good book, a nice wine lunch with my husband, go for a walk by the ocean, and time to phone an old friend. Since many of my best friends are in Europe I never seem to have to the time to talk to them on the phone because of the time difference.

Sophie - May 17, 2013 - 6:49 pm

What a gorgeous family! Love all of color and the passion you captured in the images, both for her family and her awesome business. :)

Natalie Clayshulte - May 10, 2013 - 7:51 pm

This is such a brilliant idea for a business. Love it. What a beautiful family!

golden hour : boston family portraits

It’s a little crazy to think about it since we are just now emerging from winter and finally into spring but now is the time to start thinking about your fall family portraits!  Yes, I did just say that!

Even if you are in Boston or the surrounding areas and want a rural, quintessential fall shoot, no worries–there are plenty of locations in my immediate are that are great for your family portraits.

I loved working with this beautiful family with baby #2 on the way.  And this little girl couldn’t have been more precious!!  Oh, that gorgeous little face–swoon!! I bet she is going to be a great big sister!

Enjoy! xoxo

and with the very last drop of light, I got these shots…

Sophie - May 17, 2013 - 6:50 pm

Absolutely love your work. Wish we lived closer for Fall portraits!! One day… :)

AKP Photography - April 28, 2013 - 9:45 am

Beautiful session of a super cute little girl :D Amazing light too!

Leann - April 25, 2013 - 7:55 pm

Wow oh wow sooo magical and your work is just stunning!!!

Sandy - April 25, 2013 - 4:42 pm

So very beautiful. Oh why do you have to be on the other side of the world!!

Michelle - April 25, 2013 - 4:17 pm

In love.

audra - April 25, 2013 - 3:27 pm

holy guacamole! wowzers…gorgeous…:-)

conor : boston newborn photographer

Oooooohmygoodness.

This newborn baby boy was such a little love and so, so beautiful.  One of these shots of him is a favorite of mine–it totally melts my heart.  Before we started, I couldn’t resist getting some shots of big sister, who I also photographed when she was a newborn back in 2010.  Are YOU expecting?  Now is the time to start thinking about booking your newborn photographer!!  Whether you are in Boston, the north or south shore, Cape Cod….I come to YOU!  You don’t even have to get out of your jammies–unless, of course, you want some portraits with you and your new bundle.  Right now, for my FB fans, I am offering a complimentary maternity session when you book your newborn session until tomorrow only.  So what are you waiting for?  Email me for further details.  Enjoy!  xoxo

This one below (top) is a fav!!

And for the photographers out there who might be curious, no actions were used on these.

I only did a few exposure tweaks in ACR and then some skin softening, cleaning up the skin a bit, leaving his little peeling hands alone and some blanket fading techniques.

So, images don’t necessarily need to be all gussied up with actions or presets to be beautiful.  Sometimes simple is the way to go!

 

Sophie - May 17, 2013 - 7:03 pm

Simple is definitely the way to go. So soft and sweet. Absolutely gorgeous!!

LISSETH AGUILAR - April 23, 2013 - 11:21 am

son maravillosas estas tomas realmente angelicales y dulces ¡¡¡¡¡FELICIDADES!!!!! saludos…

AKP Photography - April 13, 2013 - 3:59 pm

These are all soo sweet and beautiful, he has such a beautiful big sister!

Natalie Clayshulte - April 12, 2013 - 9:08 am

I love the simplicity in your images. It allows all the focus to be right where it should be — on the beautiful subjects. Lovely!

Sandy - April 11, 2013 - 10:19 pm

Pure beauty, what a stunning collection of images

Jen gagliardi - April 11, 2013 - 9:36 pm

So pretty and simple! Love the soft colors! You are definitely an inspiration!

dreamer

I can’t believe it….SPRING is HERE!!!  As I sit her on this glorious April afternoon writing this blog post, my office windows are open and the breeze is blowing in.  It’s amazing how a gorgeous day can set you straight and get you motivated and in such a good mood.  But that happiness is coupled with a little bit of sadness.  I’ve decided that this will be my last blog post.  Last and final.

april fools

Alright, alright.  I’ve never really been good at April Fools jokes.  My husband, on the other hand, that’s another story!  I am excited to share that I was part of the Dreamer Journal’s April issue, alongside some uber talented other lady photogs, writer and artists!  And that, my friend, is no joke!  You can see all of the issue’s fabulousness below. Rabbit, rabbit!

AKP Photography - April 1, 2013 - 2:41 pm

This is awesome!!

And im glad youre not quitting the blog(I forgot it was april fools day :P Youre the only one who managed to fool me today congrats :D Lol)

Sandra Bludau - April 1, 2013 - 1:47 pm

too cute! xo

strength and beauty : boston maternity portraits

Cancer.  Sucks.

It seems we are all affected in some way now.  Your cousin, your friend, your father, mother, neighbor…that fickle finger of fate poised, ready and waiting.  The word incites so much sadness, worry, pain, and grief but also inspires strength and hope.  People become fighters, pulling from their very core a fierce and fiery will to become survivors.

Meet Jane.  She is as sweet and beautiful as they come.  We met in April 2009 when I photographed her newborn son, Jackson.  A few months later during a family trip to the Canadian Rockies she was experiencing vertigo.  After a trip to the chiropractor with no resolve she visited her primary care doctor who suggested a full body physical.  It was during  this checkup that a large lymph node was discovered.  Her doctor wasn’t alarmed but wanted to do some testing to be sure.  A week later she was called back to the doctor’s office.  As she sat with baby Jackson on her lap she was informed that it was Hodgkins Lymphoma.  “I didn’t think cancer could happen to me, but what I have learned from my journey is that cancer has no boundaries, it can happen to anyone, even young children. From that moment, I realized that Jackson’s role in my life was much greater than a newborn baby. He and Chad (husband) were my inspiration and my rocks – they are what got me through that day and every day after.”

After months of radiation and chemotherapy, in December 2009 her PET scans came back clear!  She had won the fight!! Since then Jane has given back to all those who are still fighting the fight.  As an integral member of the Leadership Team for the Boston Light The Night Walk, she shares the mission of LLS with others and works to recruit new teams and walkers.  Jane is thankful to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and hopes that with their research, there will be a cure for all blood cancers.  Now, lets fast forward a couple of years .  She was given the green light by her doctor to try for baby #2 and in October 2012 they welcomed Cal to their family.  Prior to that momentous  day, I spent a morning with Jackson and Jane getting these gorgeous maternity shots.  Thank you Jane for being YOU, for your light and positivity!

You can read more on Jane’s story in her own words here.  Also if you’d like to donate on her team’s fundraising team click here!

AKP Photography - March 31, 2013 - 8:40 am

What a stong beautiful story! And beautiful photos!!

Natalie Clayshulte - March 30, 2013 - 8:44 am

What a beautiful story of hope and healing. Thank you for sharing it as well as these stunning photographs. She is a beauty inside and out!

Wendy Sweet - March 28, 2013 - 11:31 am

What a story!! And beautiful mama!!! Great job steph!!!

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