How has the past month gone for you? I hope it’s been happy 😀 August is special in our family because it includes my Mom’s birthday, my late Mom-in-law’s birthday and my parents’ wedding anniversary, which we remember even though my Dad passed away almost 20 years ago.

Isn’t it amazing how some memories can feel as if they belong to a distant lifetime, while others reach vividly across decades as clearly as yesterday? Last weekend we celebrated our Mom’s 77th birthday, including a fabulous brunch at the Constantia Nek restaurant in Cape Town.

It was a blessedly rainy day (complete with a rainbow), which was so welcome for the Mother City. Fifty-four years ago, it rained too, on the day of my parents’ wedding and their reception at the same restaurant, which has hardly changed at all. Here are some pics of our time together:

Naomi Estment & Family having Fun in Cape Town
 
Do you like to tell visual stories, for example via layouts that share a taste of a fuller experience you’ve enjoyed? This can work well in social media posts, blog posts and e-newsletters, saving readers from scrolling through multiple photos and helping web pages to load more quickly.

In that case, it’s fun to spot opportunities that will contribute to conveying your story, such as the rainbow pic above that I snapped through the windscreen of my Mom’s car. It’s also worth keeping in mind how you can position your images for the best visual appeal.

This can be super quick and easy to do. For example, I created the above collage using the simple Layout app on my iPhone. You can get more sophisticated with Photoshop but this isn’t necessary, especially for smartphone pics, which are ideally suited to using in your layouts.

That’s because smartphone photos are lower resolution than those from higher end cameras, so displaying them in smaller proportions can reduce quality concerns. Do you have any special highlights to share from your month? I’d love to know in the comments below!