hi, i'm Ali
Photographer, boy mom, dog mom, chocolate-lover, reader, and wife to a busy maker. I'm the voice you hear and read at Life Outside the Shop. From new project how-to's and DIY home updates to the ins-and-outs of building a family & multiple businesses, Life Outside the Shop shares what is really looks like to figure it out as you go.
October 21, 2020
“Do you feel so different!?”“Do you have a bit of post-wedding letdown?!” One week and three days after “I do” I can give the same answer to both questions: “No!” A glorious, abundantly happy, extremely grateful, “no!”. Okay – maybe that is a little bit of a lie. I definitely feel more adult saying things […]
October 20, 2020
Here it is! Finally! Learn how to make a pallet wood decoration – step by step. In other words, you get to learn alongside me while Sam teaches us to build something. I’ve promised this video at least I don’t know… 30 times… in our past Behind the Scenes post and video, on Instagram, and […]
October 9, 2020
The Sunday before our wedding, we dusted off the old (and Sam’s brand new!) pew pews and went skeet shooting with his parents, family friends, and our friend, Chuck! Is there a better way to let off some steam and stress the weekend before your wedding? The only rules we had while skeet shooting were […]
October 7, 2020
I almost started this post with, “this is long overdue” but I don’t think that is actually true. First, Life Outside the Shop hasn’t been around for long so “overdue” doesn’t really exist yet. Next, loss feels almost impossible to verbalize when you’re in the thick of it. And, writing things down feels vulnerable, permanent, […]
September 28, 2020
We’re actually calling this wrap-up 4.5 because we had to do two takes. One on Friday which was the HOTTEST of messes and then a redo on Monday morning. Thank goodness we both took the week off from work before the wedding and had the time and space to get after it this morning. On […]
September 25, 2020
Sure, DIY and step-by-step how-to videos are fun (and we have that coming your way soon too), but it is the behind the scenes stuff that really takes the cake if you ask me. Thats why we’re taking you behind the scenes of our pallet wood decor project day! Sundays are sacred days around here […]
September 21, 2020
Welcome back to our weekly wrap-up where we share what is going on both inside and outside of the shop! Hmm… what were we up to this week? Sam is movin’ through some pallet wood wedding signs for our big less-than-2-weeks-away day and I’ve been chipping away at my second video editing experience. We’ve also […]
September 19, 2020
Oh Trader Joe’s, you did it again. As always, this year’s Trader Joe’s Fall Haul did not disappoint. They brought back old favs and I found some new products I can’t wait to try. If you know anything about me, you know that Trader Joe’s is my FAVORITE place to shop. And Sam? Well, this […]
September 14, 2020
Welcome back to our weekly wrap-up where we share what is going on both inside and outside of the shop. We had some BIG things going on this week. Sam finished up two Shadow Boxes, we filmed and published his CNC Enclosure Tour, and MOST excitingly (to me, at least), I edited my very first […]
September 12, 2020
GUYS I DID IT!! I officially opened up Premiere Pro and gave video editing a shot. Sam has a million things on his plate, and I decided it was finally time for me to step up, put on my big girl pants, (start to) learn how to use Premiere Pro, and get after some video […]
