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santa cruz

Tied to Tenerife

If you come from La Laguna, a small city (village, really) in the north of Tenerife, it’s one of those places where you are…

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Hi, I’m Steph.

I’m a freelance social media strategist, content creator, and photographer who loves to support and promote small businesses. Born in New York, I currently live in Tenerife in the Canary Islands, Spain (after 16 years in London) with my husband Jorge, our kids Emilia and Sebastian, and our lazy cat Oakley. Beyond work and family, I love to travel, read, explore with my camera, blog, bake, try new restaurants, and drink lots of tea. Read my story here!

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Hi, I’m Steph.

I’m a freelance social media strategist, content creator and photographer who loves to support and promote small businesses. I’m a freelance social media strategist, content creator, and photographer who loves to support and promote small businesses. Born in New York, I currently live in Tenerife in the Canary Islands, Spain (after 16 years in London) with my husband Jorge, our kids Emilia and Sebastian, and our lazy cat Oakley. Beyond work and family, I love to travel, read, explore with my camera, blog, bake, try new restaurants, and drink lots of tea. Read my story here!

Shop Photography Prints on Etsy

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littleobservationist

I’ve just launched a few new prints on Etsy, now

I’ve just launched a few new prints on Etsy, now shipping from the U.S. Have a look at littleobservationist.etsy.com if your wall could use a shake up!

[Use BRIGHTENMYDAY for £3 off 💕]
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#figaro #etsyshopownersofinstagram #photographyprint #pinkaesthetic #pinkpinkpink #pinkaesthetics

📸: Mesa Del Mar in the north of Tenerife

……..

Hello from Tenerife, four months in.

I’ve re-opened my Etsy shop (prints are now shipping from New York because the postal system here is not so reliable - thanks Mom & Dad!). If you know anyone who needs a print, head over to littleobservationist.etsy.com. DM me for a £3 off code!

What else… It’s hot here in the Canary Islands - high 70s (mid 20s C) and sunny this week. (Too hot for this cold-loving Buffalonian, but I’m sure some of you would consider it perfect weather.)

We had our first visit from London friends this past month. They filled the house with the giggles of two extra small children, lots of stories and tea, and a night of nostalgia playing our favourite card game, shithead.

In four months, the kids’ ability to communicate en español has pretty much surpassed mine. I am learning plenty of new vocabulary related to pirates, insects, and space though thanks to their homework.

Sebastian turns three this weekend, and asked for an insect party so we (mostly I) had fun making a beehive piñata for him, and on Friday, I’ll be holding up in the kitchen to construct a bee cake and insect cupcakes.

The week days here pass in silence or podcasts while I work at home, Oakley curled up next to me, the volcano and the goats out one window and the ocean out the other (when there’s no calima from the blanket of Saharan dust that occasionally stifles the islands.) And then the evening chaos. Weekends usually involve visits to the grandparents’ house or some activity with Jorge’s friends.

Not sure what else to update you on, but open to questions and requests if there’s anything you want to know or see! It’s been a while since I’ve posted a long update, but I am posting to stories, so stick around. 😊
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#tenerifefelicidad #mesadelmar #tenerifenorte #tenerife #expatsinspain

Hello! Thought it was time for an update. If you m

Hello! Thought it was time for an update. If you missed it, we moved to Tenerife on December 31. Life in the Canary Islands is, as you’d imagine, vastly different from the lively streets of London where I spent the last 16 years, and the suburbs of Buffalo, New York, where I spent my first 23. It’s very much a new chapter.

From our porch, we can see El Teide - the volcano, often tipped white with snow, the sea that looks calm from here, but up close bashes the north coast of the island in a fury, and eight goats who live across the street. Roosters crow in the distance throughout the day while I’m working. Everywhere, there are palm trees and cacti and colourful houses with traditional curved tiles. It’s been fun exploring so far, and I hope to venture to some places I haven’t been before, including some of the other islands, whenever we have the opportunity.

There are definitely challenges. My Spanish is slowly improving, but navigating everything from school comms to restaurant menus to everyday conversations takes a lot of focus. I started experimenting with the buses this week (which seem to function well, but infrequently) but otherwise there’s a lot of sitting around in cars and traffic. And yes, what they say about Spanish bureaucracy is true; everything will always happen mañana (and many mañanas thereafter). There are also a LOT of things I miss about London, but that’s for a different post.

At the moment, our house is full of boxes; about 180 of them arrived with our container last week, but we unpacked the books and I’m thrilled to have a little library wall that I’ll share in stories once some of the mess has been cleared!

Let me know what else you want to see here…
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#tenerifenorte #tacoronte #somostenerife #tenerifefelicidad #expatsinspain #tenerife_es_asi

Lunch & a walk in the fishing village of El Pris i

Lunch & a walk in the fishing village of El Pris in the north of Tenerife.
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#tenerifefelicidad #tenerifenorte #elpris #tenerife_love #tenerifeisland

For anyone who didn’t see the news on Facebook,

For anyone who didn’t see the news on Facebook, after 16 years living in the beautiful chaos of London, it is time for the next chapter.

Today was our last day in London. Tomorrow we are chasing new adventures and moving to Spain!

The kids will have the opportunity to grow up with a bilingual education near at least one set of grandparents and enjoy the beaches and delicious food where we will be in sunny Tenerife in the Canary Islands. We’ll be living near (and eventually in) the colourful UNESCO Heritage city of La Laguna in the north of the island (just off of the coast of Morocco, about 2.5 hour flight from mainland Spain).

Happy New Year to all of you! I’ll check in once we are settled!
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#igersspain #leavinglondon #tenerifefelicidad #canaryislands #canaries #tenerife #tacoronte #tenerifenorth #tenerifetag #somostenerife #tenerifephoto

Backing up to my last post, the news I was going t

Backing up to my last post, the news I was going to share with you in this post will be in the December post instead. Suspense. For the next few months at least I’m still posting around once a month, giving myself some space from social media outside of client work to focus on some other priorities and projects.

This is a photo from Buffalo, NY. It’s the start of Elmwood Village. We went home for a month over the kids’ summer break - four years since our last visit - and it was fun to spend two of those days with Jorge—child-free for a change—exploring this vibrant city that I grew up so close to but never really got to know apart from our occasional trips downtown for Sabres games.
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#elmwoodvillage #elmwood #buffalonewyork #buffalo #716 #upstateny #buffalony #travelbuf #buffalove #explorebuffalo #risebflo #featuremeigersbuffalo #buffaloforreal #buffalove16 #capturebuffalo #yeahbuffalo #igersbuffalo #viewbuffalo #buffalonewyork #iamsobuffalo #buffalodigest #backyardbuffalo #onlyinbflo

Just checking in with a quick hello! And a pink fi

Just checking in with a quick hello! And a pink figaro. How’s everyone?

As for me, I’ll be continuing to post about once a month for the rest of 2022. I do have some exciting news to share (hopefully very soon, and hopefully in my next post), which is where I’ve turned my energy to recently. I’ve also been fully booked with client work since Sebastian started full time nursery last month and, though I miss our long afternoon nap walks, I do really love having the space for my work again. I’ve also added a few new prints to my Etsy shop (link in bio) if anyone’s getting a head start on the xmas shopping!

Hands up if you’d like to give this car a spin! 🙋‍♀️
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#figaro #carsoflondon #prettycitylondon #prettylittlelondon #london_is #mylondonfairytales #londonbylondoners

After a month away, flying over London into Heathr

After a month away, flying over London into Heathrow is magical. As always, no matter how much fun we have wherever we’ve been, it’s good to be back. ❤️💙

Instagram post 17952841732935803

Instagram post 17952841732935803

📷 Chinatown wanders. Just checking in for what

📷 Chinatown wanders.

Just checking in for what seems lately like my one monthly post. I’ve purposely deprioritised my personal Instagram for a while and I’ve been using the time I used to spend here on some other exciting things - which I’ll share in the next month or two.

It’s been a busy month: regular social media client work, a sports day photoshoot, lots of writing and editing projects, creating some new digital downloads for my Etsy shop, more children’s birthday parties than I can count on one hand, a rare night (or a few hours at least) out with Jorge at Pedro Paricio’s latest Halcyon Gallery opening, and some big plans in the works.

Yesterday was Emilia’s last day of reception (!!) and we’re slowing things down for the summer, heading to New York for a month to spend some time with family and friends there. Can’t wait. (For the destination, not the journey 😆.) It’s been four years since I was last home.

I’ll be carrying on as usual with my regular client work, but no extra projects till September. Feel free to get in touch in the meantime with ideas, questions or requests though!
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#thisislondon #hellolondon #chinatownlondon #londonbylondoners #chasing_facades #facadelovers #straightfacade #hello_facades

It’s been a month since my last post here. I’v

It’s been a month since my last post here. I’ve taken a small break because life is busy!

Among other things, I’ve been working on quite a few copywriting projects (most of them travel related, a good chunk of them blog posts) alongside my regular client work. A few small projects will be finished soon so I’ll have about 3-4 hours a week opening up for something new - rare but exciting!

I’ve also created and added some new digital downloads to my Etsy shop—something new for me! They are travel posters, but more on those in another post. If anyone is interested in testing the buyer journey and sharing feedback with me, I’ll send you a code for a free one. Just DM me.

There are a few new London prints up as well - littleobservationist.etsy.com

Hope everyone is having a great week!
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#etsysellersofinstagram #londontravelposters #bigben #instalondon #londonthroughmycam #hellolondon #londonlover #londonadventures #astoryoflondon #londonerslondon #its_so_london #prettycitylondon #prettylittlelondon #mydarlinglondon #london_city_photo #gramminginlondon #londonbylondoners #toplondonphoto

I’ve been slowly adding some new prints to my Et

I’ve been slowly adding some new prints to my Etsy shop. This one is from Tenerife, from a walk in Puerto De la Cruz, a bright blue hot sky behind a tall cactus.

Currently focusing on adding some photographs of my London’s iconic sites for anyone missing this magical city!

(Feel free to use the code “BRIGHTENMYDAY” for £3 off. Shipping worldwide.)
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#tenerifenorte #blueskyphotography #cactilove #cactusphotography #tenerifefelicidad

Side 1: Moody London. Light and shadows. Long walk

Side 1: Moody London. Light and shadows. Long walks. Tiny moments of quiet among the chaos. 🚇

Slide 2: Farmer Sebastian says “Moo Moo, I’m two!” Happy birthday, my cow-obsessed, kind-hearted and hilarious wild one. 🐮❤️

Just popping in to say hello. Work is busy and farm parties needed planning, so I’ve had very little time for my own Instagram lately! (Seeing how this goes with no hashtags today because experimenting…) Hope you are all well and, if you’re in London anyway, enjoying the recent sunshine. ☀️

Today is my 5-year anniversary of being fully free

Today is my 5-year anniversary of being fully freelance only!

A huge thanks to all of my amazing clients, past and present (a few who have even been with me the full five years and then some!), to everyone who has recommended me along the way and to Jorge and the kids for putting up with my sometimes awkward working hours and everything else that comes with freelance life.

Here’s to another five years of creativity, flexibility and fulfilling work with people who make it a joy to check my inbox. ❤️
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#freelancelife #freelancelifestyle #freelance #freelancer #socialmediastrategist #copywriters #freelancephotographer

One of life’s little luxuries that I love is to

One of life’s little luxuries that I love is to have time to leisurely browse the shelves of beautifully curated bookshops like Daunt in Marylebone or Stanfords in Covent Garden (where I took this photo the last time I had that opportunity two months ago) or to lose myself in the haphazard stacks of slightly musty secondhand treasure troves that are dotted around the city. Even better if there’s a cat curled up im a corner somewhere and a cafe attached or nearby to enjoy a tea and cake and start digging into the stack I’ve chosen to take home! ❤️

What’s your best book recommendation so far this year?
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#bookshops #bookshopsofinstagram #bookshopsoftheworld #bookstore #bookstoresofinstagram #bookstoresaroundtheworld #coventgarden #prettycitylondon #prettylittlelondon #metroldn #thisislondon #mylondonfairytales #london_is @stanfordstravel

How’s Easter break going for everyone? We’ve

How’s Easter break going for everyone?

We’ve done a week of holiday camp, some messy egg decorating (see stories), Easter crafting, and plenty of snacking. Not sure what else is to come 😂

This is an update for the purpose of an update because it has been a while. I’m working on a lot of writing and editing projects at the moment alongside social media work for some of my lovely retainer clients.

📷: Photo from Tenerife, where we are not.
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#unrelatedcaption #tenerifeisland #tenerifefelicidad #canaryislands #beachview #traveldreamseekers #discoverspain #explorespain

📷 : London city walks. I always tell my Instag

📷 : London city walks.

I always tell my Instagram clients not to look at my account as an example; it’s been 9 days since my last post for one thing! 🤦‍♀️

Busy week as usual, and some fun creative projects coming up, from writing to photography to e-commerce stuff and some social media strategy too. Really enjoying the mix of clients I’m working with right now, and they are all such wonderful businesses and—more importantly—people too!

And at the end of this week, we hit the Easter break juggle. What does everyone have planned?
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#prettycitylondon #thisislondon #metroldn #londonenthusiast #londonthroughmycam #hellolondon #londonlover #londonadventures #astoryoflondon #londonerslondon #londoncityworld #london_city_photo #its_so_london #london_is

📷 : Blue skies with Tenerife’s volcano El Tei

📷 : Blue skies with Tenerife’s volcano El Teide in the background from a few rare child-free hours in December at @punta_paradiso.

Looks like we should a nice week shaping up in London too. Have you been out enjoying the sun?
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#puntahidalgo #tenerifeisland #tenerifenorte #tenerifelicidad #tenerifedays #canaryislands #discoverspain #explorespain #spaindays #poolvibes #blueskiesandsunshine #palmtreesandpools

📸 : Jamaica Wine House, London. Guess it has

📸 : Jamaica Wine House, London.

Guess it has been a while since my last post!

The weeks are flying lately. I’m soon to have a 5-year-old, so I’ve been spending my spare time recently planning for a birthday bash this coming weekend with nearly 30 kids after we had a 100% yes rate on the RSVPs 😬 She’s very excited for her rainbow/bouncy castle extravaganza though! Next project: cake & cupcake baking. Stay tuned for Stories pics unless it’s a total flop 😂🌈🎂

I’ve also been super busy with client work. Things are really picking up after covid/mat leave coincided and it’s soo good to be back to working from cafes and co-working spaces too. I have 11 clients in rotation at the moment, a handful of retainers and the rest project-based. Two are new this month, and one of my old favourites is coming back after a Covid break.

They are all art/travel related or small businesses (or both) and I love the variety of work, from writing projects to social media and strategy to photography. I enjoy each one of them for different reasons.

Etsy shop is still ticking along too!

What’s everyone else been up to since we hopped into March?
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#jamaicawinehouse #freelancelife #socialmediastrategist #metroldn #thisislondon #instalondon #londonthroughmycam #hellolondon #londonlover #londonadventures #astoryoflondon #londonerslondon #visitlondonofficial #mytinyatlaslondon #loves_london #london_enthusiast

Who needs a broom when you have a perfectly good p

Who needs a broom when you have a perfectly good palm leaf? Love the colours of this UNESCO World Heritage city where my in-laws live.

📸 La Laguna, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.
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#tenerifeisland #lalaguna #lalagunatenerife #tenerifenorte #tenerifetag #tenerifelicidad #tenerifemagazine #sancristobaldelalaguna #discoverspain #canaryislands #islascanariasoficial #explorespain #chasing_facades #facadelovers #straightfacade #hello_facades #ihavethisthingwithfacades

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