Archive for the ‘Random’ Category

Happy Friday! Last week was utter insanity and I did, indeed, skip Friday Five! I had the best of intentions. My brother and his girlfriend were out to visit, and I took my camera with us when we went to Balboa Island. However, we arrived there and I went to grab my camera…no card, no batteries! I was prepping for a wedding so all my batteries were being charged and I’d taken out my cards to format them. I’ve never arrived to a portrait session without everything I needed, but this wasn’t the first time I forgot something for a personal project! Oh, well!

1. Herb garden

My husband and I live in a condo, so we don’t have space to plant anything. Even if we did, I don’t have a green thumb and I doubt we’d have a vegetable garden. However, we always have a potted herb garden! I learned long ago when a recipe calls for fresh parsley, dried is not an acceptable substitute. Herbs pretty much grow like weeds and don’t die when I forget to water them…which is often. I love having a fresh herb garden!

2. Raspberry Thyme Smash

Another reason I like having a garden is a few select drinks I make in the summer that require herbs :) A couple of  summers ago we went to the JW Marriott for a weekend trip. The stay was amazing, but I also had a drink there I’ve never forgotten – it was raspberries muddled with thyme and it was delicious! The version from Bon Appetit is the closest I’ve come to recreating it. I like to add a little club soda because I like bubbly drinks :)

3. Caffeine

My position on caffeine can be summed up via someecards:

I admit I love energy drinks, which I know are not great for you, so I’ve been trying to transition to tea. I love Yogi Vanilla Spice Perfect Energy tea because it has a healthy caffeine kick :)

The only problem with tea is it takes FOREVER to make and drink tea. Heat the water to boiling. Brew the tea. Wait 15 minutes so you don’t scald off your tastebuds. Fortunately, I just discovered a website that provided me a solution to my tea making quandry!

2. Fab.com

I read about this via Perfectly Cursed Life and I just love Fab.com! It’s similar to the Rue La Las of the world, but instead of clothing or beauty, they focus on home goods, as well as offbeat items. I have pretty modern taste and a lot of their items appeal to me, but I only recently purchased something from the site! I bought this Takeya tea maker which I just love!

It’s perfect for brewing large batches of tea. Then I can refrigerate and heat up when I want a little tea. Non-scalded tastebuds, rejoice!

5. DRY soda

I don’t drink pop. That’s right, I said pop, I’m from the midwest! ;) I mean, I use it as a mixer for drinks, but in general, I never crave it. I don’t even like cola. But I DO like buying new, trendy things! I don’t remember where I heard about DRY soda, but I was pretty excited to see the lavender flavor at Ralph’s.

This is SO GOOD! It’s probably not for everyone, but it’s the perfect combination of lavender, a touch of sweetness, and bubbles, of course! It also smells divine! A bit of a relaxing soda (pop), if you will.

Happy Friday!

Today I had a rare double-header for portrait sessions. A family photo shoot in the morning, and an anytime shoot in the afternoon! I’ll have more up later this week, but until then, enjoy!

The always amazing Riley family…

…and the unfairly photogenic Jessica + Young!

I hope you had a FANTASTIC weekend!

Whew! What a crazy week. I was in northern California until last night. It’s incredible to me how diverse the state of California is. You have the desert, beach, and northern California seems to be its own thing. It actually reminds me of Michigan. The trees and farmland are pretty similar, and it has a flatter landscape, although of course you can still see mountains in the distance. At least I think they’re mountains. I’m a little shaky on my northern California geography.

Today’s Friday Five is some pictures I took on my phone. I considered bringing my 7D, but between my laptop, tablet and purse, I thought I had plenty to take on the plane already. Nearly every time I consider taking my camera and leave it behind I regret it. I know a lot of people love taking pictures on their phone, and it’s super convenient, but I can’t help but compare them to the beautiful pictures I take with my DSLR :)

I saw more horses and cows in my time there than I probably have in the past 10 years combined. This was such a beautiful tawny-colored horse that I wanted to come closer…but he or she seemed a little wary of me.

The Sacramento airport’s baggage claim. I don’t mind flying into Sacramento, pretty decent food, easy to get in and out of, and most importantly, free Wi-fi!

You can’t see them too clearly here, but I drove through an area with lots of windmills. If you can see them, it’s a picture of windmills. If you can’t…it’s cows.

Yay big trees! Maybe it’s because I grew up in Michigan, but I appreciate large trees. I mean, a palm tree is nice-looking and certainly says something about where you are, but a tree like this, with branches reaching towards the sky, simply seems more rooted to me. It feels like it has a history.

Last but not least…duck face with a giant pinecone from Lake Tahoe.

I’m proposing a new rule…you can ONLY do duck face and take a picture of yourself if you are able to procure a pinecone the size of your face. Otherwise…just say no. ;)

Happy Friday!

1. Sad songs disguised as happy songs

I listened to “Pumped Up Kicks” for a solid month before realizing, “Hey, this isn’t a happy song!” I recently discovered the song “Damini” by USS thanks to 89X, one of my favorite Detroit stations, and the power of internet radio. The first time I heard it played the DJ talked about the story behind the song. It’s a true story about an elephant named Damini, who had befriended a younger, pregnant elephant.  When Champkali died in childbirth, Damini lost all interest in food and stayed in Champkali’s enclosure for days. Caretakers did everything they could, but she died a little over a month later, apparently of grief. I’m sorry if you’re all choked up now, but the song is too amazing not to hear! This isn’t a music video, but the quality is still great. I’ve been listening to this all week.

2. Fanny pack Running belt

I’m at the beginning of the Couch to 5k program, which is awesome. I can play the program while playing my music, and it will interrupt for a moment to tell me when to walk and when to run. The problem with this is I need to have my phone on me when I run. I don’t trust myself for it not to go flying out of my hands, and my Olive Oyl arms are too small for armbands. So I bought this running belt. I put it on to show my husband and he said, “Is that a fanny pack?” Aw. Hell. No! I have issues with fanny packs and although they were semi-cool when I was 8, I wouldn’t be caught dead with one now. But apparently this is a runner’s fanny pack? I will say it’s quite comfortable and easy to change songs and look at my progress while running. In the name of denial, however, I will continue to call it a running belt.

3. Trader Joe’s Roasted Seaweed Snack

Trader Joe’s sneaked up on me. The first few times I went, I just picked up some frozen entrees but didn’t really get the big deal. Then I started trying out a few more things. Roasted garlic hummus. Turkey jerky. Lobster ravioli. Fruity Flakes. Before I knew it, I had quite a large list of “must-haves.” I can now add these to the list. They LOOK like tissue paper, and in many ways they’re like eating tissue paper. But they taste like seaweed, are super-crisp, and slightly salty. I’ve been eating a package a day all week. Consider me addicted!

4. Nothing like a good book

I love my Asus tablet. I love its integration with Google, that I can download videos and movies, and watch books on the go. But after using the Kindle app for a few months now, I find I prefer real books. It’s just too easy to forget about my e-books, and I never quite feel I get “into” them the way I do holding a book. The convenience can’t be beat, but I see myself ordering real books for some time. Obviously that’s one of those things that makes me old and crotchety, I’m sure.

I recently re-read Into Thin Air, which is another quirk of mine, re-reading favorite books. This is such a fantastic piece of non-fiction. I can’t more highly recommend the book.

5.  I’m not a morning person. My husband is. I can’t tell you how much that annoys me. He wakes up, practically bounces out of bed, small forest animals start flocking to him…meanwhile, I flop out of bed, crawl downstairs, get some form of caffeine, and wait for it to take affect. Talking to me is dangerous during the non-caffeinated stage. Responses include grunts, clipped one-word answers, and glares.

So you can understand my husband’s surprise when I said I was getting up before sunrise a few weeks ago to take pictures of flowers. Those pretty yellow flowers that are out this time of year (they’re actually weeds, I guess) are only here for a short while. Just like people, taking pictures of flowers mid-day isn’t the greatest, especially if there’s no shade. It’s just too contrasty. So I actually rolled out of bed and took a few photos.

I’m not exactly going to win any awards with these, but they’re pretty, no?

The best part was catching the sunrise, though! I rarely stop and think about how the sun rises and sets every day, and how beautiful it is.

And then I came home and went back to bed for two hours. Some things never change!

1. The run-around

So, I don’t run. I’ve always exercised in one way or another, but running has never really appealed to me. I’ve started running in very short stints at various points throughout the years, only to conclude in a few months, “This is boring.”

But you know what would make me run?

ZOMBIES!

I’ve been aware of Run for Your Lives for a few months now. It’s a 5k obstacle course complete with bloodthirsty zombies chasing you. I posted the race on my Facebook wall a couple of days ago, and the more people that commented, the more excited I got. Plus one of my good friends committed to the Temecula race, and my husband said he wanted to go, too! It seems like a lot more fun than just running. Plus, let’s get real here: the zombie apocalypse IS coming. I simply view this as training.

Now there’s only the teeny, tiny little detail that I don’t run. I can’t run a 5k. I’m pretty sure I couldn’t run a 1k right now. Fortunately, my friend wan just trained for a 5k and she utilized the Couch to 5k app. So, looks like I have 9 weeks of training on my hands, which is plenty of time. I believe these shoes were made for running. So that’s just what I’ll do (ha ha).

I just hope the REAL zombie apocalypse doesn’t come before October. I want to be ready!

2.  The best pink lipgloss EVER!

Bold statement, I know? Well, consider exhibit A before you label me a liar:

This is just what’s in my purse. I don’t think they’ve invented a wide enough lens to capture my entire collection.

I decided this was the best lip gloss ever when I realized that it’s the only gloss I’ve repurchased in…8 years? I love buying new stuff, so repurchasing a makeup item is pretty rare. But Carmex Moisture Plus is the perfect balance: very light, just enough color, and ALSO has SPF! It comes in a few different colors, but pink is my favorite.

3. Agave

I remember the day we got our fish. It was my husband’s birthday, and I was planning on making a fancy dinner: filets, twice baked potatoes, and sauteed mushrooms were on the menu. Instead, I put two of my fingers directly on the heating element in our oven while pulling out pans, and we had pizza. Oops.

Our friends gave us Agave, which is perfect, because when their daughter turns 3 this summer, we’re giving her a puppy! They gave us 6 months. Oh ye of little faith. I think this little guy is going to last at least 7!

Here is is trying to play hide-and-seek. He’s not very good at it.

More than 5 goldfish I had as a child went to goldfish heaven, but I promise to take good care of you, Agave!

He looks kind of worried, huh?

4. Amazon Cloud

Oh, Amazon. I love you so much. First you had me with your Prime service. I’ve happily paid for Prime each year to be assured of 2-day delivery. I was just buying books at the beginning, but now I purchase everything from cleaning products to camera gear.  I’m honestly a little scared to add up my yearly spend.

A few months ago, I discovered the Cloud. It came at a perfect time, when my iPod conveniently stopped working (it was an iPod mini…RIP) and then iTunes decided to wipe out all of my non-iTunes music. I’ve never been an Apple fanatic, so when I learned I could download music via Amazon MP3 and transfer it to my cloud, and then be able to play my music ANYWHERE from my phone…it’s like the clouds parted and angels sang. Yes, I am always this dramatic, why do you ask?

It’s one of those good / bad things, though. See, with my fancy HTC phone, I can download music anywhere, at any time. Before I could only download it at home, on the computer. Now, if I’m driving around and hear a song I like, I just download it. It’s dangerous, people. Very dangerous.

“Gold on the Ceiling” by the Black Keys is my favorite song right now. It has such a great rock-n-roll vibe to it.

5. Halfpops

Sometimes I get tunnel vision. My friend weezermonkey recently blogged about a delicious new snack she had tried, Halfpops. I am not kidding in that I could NOT stop thinking about this popcorn. I am a salty treat addict, particularly when it comes to popcorn. I have microwave popcorn every night, and the concept of half-popped popcorn seemed brilliant to me. BUT…the closest location to purchase these tasty treats was Newport Beach. I KNOW. Other side of the world, amirite?!?!?!

I’ve never done this, but I contacted Halfpops. I HAD to have this snack. And mostly I was joking, but I think they became convinced of my dedication when I sent this haiku:

Delicious Halfpops

Why do you play hard to get?

Get in my belly

Sooo….I have a case of Halfpops now and they are just as amazing as I imagined they would be!

Don’t act like you’re not impressed I got a personalized note:

I kind of went a little crazy pretending I was a commercial photographer. Minus the set and professional lighting equipment.

They have two flavors: natural butter & pure ocean sea salt, and natural aged white cheddar. Both are fantastic, I honestly can’t choose between the two! Both flavors are the perfect combination of crunchy and popcorn-y. Does that make sense? No? All you need to know is they are addictive.

They’re currently available at Bristol Farms and well worth the trip! Which I shall be taking once my supply runs out.

Happy Friday!

Three weeks in a ROW? I know! This is CRAZY!

1. I didn’t win the lottery

MegaMillions is old news by now, but I just wanted an excuse to show you my Paint-edited image.  Photoshop is meant to be used in a realistic way to edit photos, but sometimes I feel Paint is the only program that gets my EMOTIONS across! In any case, I’ve only played the lottery twice in my life, and so far it’s a big fat fail! Time to return all those Chanel handbags…

2. Shy Photographer

As anyone knows who has worked with me, I have a “take charge” attitude when it comes to a shoot. My husband accompanied me to some of my early shoots, and I remember once arriving in an urban environment for an engagement session, and asking worriedly, “What if people won’t move when I’m shooting?” It turns out I don’t need to worry, because everything else kind of fades away when I’m working with my clients. But one form of photography I LOVE is street photography, and that is where I categorize myself as a shy photographer. In an actual portrait session, it’s expected to take pictures of my clients – but I feel kind of odd taking pictures of people I don’t know!

Anyway, hold on to your hats, because there IS a point. I did a little “street shooting” in Oceanside this week. And I felt weird about it, but it was fun too. For all of 10 minutes!

I think images like this is why people are passionate about street shooting. Look at this sweet couple. This old man is helping his wife with her jacket. Sniff.

3. Gilmore girls

So…I’m kind of a fan of the show. I only bring this up this week because when my husband is out of town, I love to watch Gilmore girls! Not that he doesn’t enjoy it JUST AS MUCH AS I DO, I’m sure, but it’s nicer to indulge when he’s not around :) I’m in season 5 right now. I love everything about this show – Lorelei and Rory’s relationship, the wacky town, the culture references, the fast way everyone talks. Once my husband and I were watching and he said, “Everyone is witty on this show. How do they have time for that?” Well, I suppose they have time when the script is written specifically for them! I’ve always been a Luke & Lorelei fan myself. In my dream world, they end up happily ever after!

4. Late adopter

When fashion trends come out of the gate, I tend to hate them. There are a few fashions I’ve never reversed my opinion on (I’m looking at you, gladiator sandals), but I eventually warm up to some of them…right as they go out of style. In this case, I recently picked up a pair of fun patent nude wedges. Now, I’ve made my distaste for skinny jeans very well known. I like them – under boots. My mind was SLIGHTLY changed once I realized they can indeed look fantastic with a bit of a heel, and it fact the skinny jean excels at showing off fabulous shoes! We’ll see if this look makes its way out the door, though. This picture was taken in the garage.

5. Teddy Ruxpin

My youngest brother sent me a link Thursday for the movie, “Ted.” (Now, if you look this up of your own volition, I have to warn you it’s incredibly raunchy and NSFW…and if you like Seth McFarlane, you’ll love it!) I wasn’t able to watch the trailer immediately, but I sent him back a text saying, “It’s like Teddy Ruxpin!”, to which he responded, “Who’s that?” JIGGA-WHAAAAAAAA? So I tried to explain, “It’s a bear…with a cassette tape in his chest.” Okay, that sounds creepy, right? Anyway, coincidentally the day before I was going through my nightstand and found THIS cassette player! I think it’s been in there for at least 4 years, and it looks pretty new, so I have no idea how or when or why I purchased it! But I guess I better save it. It’ll be worth big money one day.

Happy Friday!

Yaaaaay Friday! I am so excited that it’s finally Friday. My husband has been gone all week for work so it’s nice to have him home :)

1. Guacamole

You might think this is weird to put in the Friday Five, but I was thinking about my relationship with avocado not too long ago. In 2008 I remember going out to lunch with some co-workers at a sandwich shop. My sandwich came with avocado and I said, “Ugh! Why do that have to put this stuff on everything out here?” My co-worker smiled and said, “Oh, just you wait…pretty soon you’ll be ordering a filet and ask for some guac on the side!” Well, I will say I’ve never done that, but I have become quite fond of guacamole. When avocados are in season, I’ll make up a fresh batch…and then eat the entire thing. It’s a healthy fat, right? RIGHT?!?!?

2. “When I was your age…”

My husband and I were in Vegas a few weeks back and stopped in the Aria. It’s simply amazing, how the hotels out there are practically little cities you can get lost in all day, but we ended up going to the View Bar and I was overly impressed that they had MATCHES! Now, I don’t smoke, but how crazy is it that matches are retro now? So many things are retro from my childhood…Discmans (have you ever tried to run with one of those things?), calling friends on their house phone, the sound of a dial-up modem, NOT being able to pause TV. So yeah, I took these when I left.  Well played, View Bar. Well played.

3. Spray and pray

For most intents and purposes, this is a joke in the photography community. It means, if you don’t know what you’re doing, just take a ton of pictures and a few of them will turn out. It’s never been actual advice…until now. A former photographer set up something called “The System,” which is essentially a 10-step process to becoming a “rockstar” wedding photographer! There’s some good marketing advice in there, but the photography community at large is in an uproar regarding the guide’s advice to literally “spray and pray” as well as, “if you don’t know what you’re doing, just put the camera in P mode!” I don’t think I’ve ever commented on industry events in my blog, but this is incredibly shameful. No one should shoot a wedding if they don’t know what they’re doing, they don’t know their camera back and forwards. I personally think wedding photography is among the toughest types of photography, because there are no do-overs. If you blow the exposure during the ceremony because you don’t know what you’re doing, there IS no going back. Photography is like any other path in life: there are a few who are innately talented, but even so, most of us need to put in blood, sweat and tears to be successful. There are no shortcuts. Especially when it comes to memories. All right, rant over!

4. Get Out of Here, Carl!

I am a huge “Walking Dead” fan. I LOVE this series! It’s so interesting how the characters deal with real-life issues while also figuring out this whole zombie thing. The season finale was two weeks ago, and I can’t wait for next season. I recently discovered Get Out of Here, Carl! and it slays me. Oh, Carl! Why are you never in the house? You troublemaker, you!

5. Friends and family

March has been a CRAZY month! My brother, my husband’s step-daughter, and my parents were all in to visit. My parents ended up staying in San Clemente for a week, and then came and stayed with us the last 5 days of their trip. They just left Wednesday! They’ve been coming out every year since we moved to California and it’s always great to see them. It also seems like they also get some bad weather, but oh well! It’s just a holdover from our camping trips when I was younger and it always, always, ALWAYS rained.

I took this picture by balancing my 7D on the TV speaker. I actually had to use the manual to figure out how to use the timer. Oops!

Happy Friday!

Truth be told, I’m not really into Valentine’s Day, or at least not in the sense of going out to a fancy meal or receiving a bouquet of roses. Of course, I LOVE romance, but something about having a day where it’s expected turns me off. My husband and I don’t make any plans; we’re both very laid-back and spending a night at home together is just fine with me :)

That doesn’t mean I don’t like the sweetness of Valentine’s Day, though! I’ve been dying to make these cookies for awhile and how ADORABLE did they turn out?

These are just like those big sugar cookies you see at the grocery store, with a new theme for each holiday. Except these are about a MILLION TIMES better! Seriously. 3 sticks of butter will do that to a cookie. 4, actually, if you count the icing.

No matter your views on Valentine’s Day, I hope you are enjoying it, in your own way, with those you love!