Living What I Love

Pumpkin patch!

A few weekends ago Chad and I went out to a pumpkin patch in Renton with his sister, brother-in-law and their twin girls. It was a sweet little farm, complete with geese, chickens, a calf, pigs, old tractors and trucks to climb on and plenty of pumpkins. The girls picked out one each and Uncle Chad surprised them both with a mini pumpkin, too. =) One of my favorite fall things, for sure. Hope you're getting out and enjoying the season!

My photos on Groupon

Yesterday I noticed through a friend's facebook post that a photo I took back in Ann Arbor at 826michigan last spring was the photo featured on Groupon's deal of the day. Pretty exciting! It's from a field trip, where 2nd grade students come by bus to 826 for a 2-hour creative writing workshop, and leave with their very own storybook. Anyway, I love this photo and it's always fun to see your work pop up in unexpected places. I've been told that a set of my photos has been enlarged + presented in a place I'd probably least expect them to be showcased... more on that later, stay tuned!

Yes: tea.

A fall wind whipped in Seattle today, and I spent a few hours with my friend Eva at an absolutely lovely tea shop called Remedy Teas in Captiol Hill, sipping a pot full of chai pu-erh (delicious and so seasonally appropriate) and nibbling on a piece of harvest squash bread with butter. We went there with the express purpose of 'doing work', and work did get done, but I also found myself luxuriating a bit in the place itself, and watching Seattleites go about their day, and enjoying being inside looking out of large windows while rain poured for a bit outside. The tea pots they serve there are kept hot by an ever-burning tealight underneath this little metal stand, and the minimalist in me loves the Bodum double-wall glass teacups they use, too.

Remedy prides itself on being a bit of an herbalist of sorts, catgorizing their teas by type and also listing not only the ingredients but the benefits of each concoction. I really do kind of believe tea can often cure what ails ya. Drinking any kind of tea, even the caffienated stuff, always relaxes me in a way that drinking coffee never can. I loved the mix I tried today, and here at home I have a bag of looseleaf leaves of #128 mind body soul that is just the thing to unwind after a long day at work. If you're in Seattle, the shop is amazing and I highly recommend spending a rainy or blustery Sunday there in the company of friends or your laptop. =)

Lake Serene

Another day where the sun shined from dawn to dusk. I feel like we're getting this completely warped view of Seattle, but whatever, we are not minding. We spent yesterday out-of-doors hiking the 7.2-mile trail up to Lake Serene and back. The hike's about an hour's drive northeast of the city, but don't worry, the hike is worth it and there is a Dairy Queen in a little town called Monroe conveniently located on your way back so you can gain back most of your calories burned on the trail quickly and deliciously. (Blizzards did the trick for us. Mmmm....)

The lake is reached at the summit of the hike, and it's a great reward. It's incredibly smooth and clear (and cold!), with huge rocks all around for munching on your trail mix and soaking up the view. We had an amazing morning on this hike, I'd definitely recommend it! Washington, so far - you're pretty impressive.

 

To friends + Happy Friday!

It's almost the weekend, hooray! I'd like to take this Friday morning to give a shoutout to friends. Old friends, new friends, the kind of friends who you see rarely but always have a complete blast with in the short time you spend together. I've been feeling very blessed lately with the amazing people in my life. We had close friends fly to Seattle last weekend to surprise Chad for his 30th which meant so much; I've just booked a flight to watch an old college friend and fellow Sconnie get married in a few months; I made a new friend here in our building who I can't wait to hang out with; and I thank the nerds every day for Gchat, allowing me to keep completely up to date with friends in faraway places on the daily.

Hoping you have a great weekend filled with your favorite people. Happy Friday everyone!

Some outtakes from Maddie's and Maria's senior photo session, June 2011.

things I've made

Moving into a new apartment always fuels my DIY instincts, so I thought I'd share a few projects/things I've made recently as well as a painting I made a bit ago. People get intimidated about art on the walls, but it doesn't have to be something expensive or, if you want to try your hand at making art yourself, difficult. I'll show you!

I've always loved the cross motif - not the religious cross, more like the medical cross. I wanted a smaller piece to go above our bed and it needed to be cool and graphic. One trip to Blick, a 10"x10" birch board for $8 and $2 tube of black acrylic paint later, and I was on my way. I measured out the width I wanted (2" square), measured the center of the board, and penciled in light lines at the edges of the cross design. Then I laid blue painter's tape over the lines, using an exacto to make sure there were no frayed tape edges sticking into the cross design. Two coats of black paint dried in between with a hair dryer on low, et voila! A really cool, easy + affordable piece of art. I love how it looks in our bedroom:

Simple + cool. See, you can do it!

Next up: our Bosse stools from IKEA were pretty in their natural birch tone, but with the pale yellow renter's walls I wasn't totally digging their vibe. Using leftover wall paint from our deep teal accent wall, that blue painter's tape again, a measuring tape + pencil, I transformed them into something unique and more "us." Loving them now!

(Bosse stool as they come from the store, courtesy of IKEA.com)

I just measured 20" up from each leg's base and penciled/taped it in.

One down, one to go.

Done! So pretty.

Luna approves.

Last but not least, I thought I'd throw in the striped painting I created awhile back with our wedding date (9.6.08). The tricky part with this one was getting the lines to be straight, but with a measuring tape + pencil marks in a few places for each, it worked pretty well. Painters tape is your friend here, too. (Stuff is amazing!)

(in our old apartment - it's still in the bedroom in our Seattle place but on the wall opposite the bed.)

Don't be intimidated! A trip to your local art/craft store and $20 or less, some painter's tape and a little brainstorming can make a big impact on your apartment walls.

One awesome fountain

Chad and I walked Luna to Seattle Center this weekend mostly to enjoy some sunshine and sit and watch the local kids play in the fountain there. Before you think, 'That's kinda lame', just wait. This isn't your run of the mill smallish fountain with a steady, unintimidating flow. No. This is something from a another planet; even the thing itself looks like a spaceship recently landed in the middle of Seattle. It intermittently shoots water from all sorts of weird places, but the main attraction comes from the four spouts on top that with no rhyme or reason suddenly shoot jetstreams of water hundreds of feet into the stratosphere, then with a burst of air shoot them higher until they fall with a thunderous crash back to the concrete and onto the heads of the tiny kids below. It's fantastic fun and so hilarious to watch. We sat there for a good 45 minutes, mostly wishing we'd worn our swimsuits. Next time, fountain. Next time.

You'd think this was 'full blast.' Not quite....

This kid sees the steam. He knows - STAY BACK! She's about to blow!

!!!!!!!

It's about here you could hear the high-pitched screams of little girls... and probably some boys, because:

...what goes up has got to come down. BOOM! So. Awesome.

Yet another point for the city of Seattle.

And p.s.: the corn dog stand near the fountain has *super* tasty dogs.

Summer in the city

Last Sunday was an absolutely brilliantly perfect summer day in Seattle. Chad and I took the day to hit up the marina, the beach, and to walk around Ballard. We happend upon Cupcake Royale and (oops!) ate one. It was in the low 70s with a breeze, and there's not much I'd rather do than mosey aimlessly around the city, watch people, and eat cupcakes with my husband.

Beach, Puget Sound, and the Olympic Mountains. Not a bad view, Seattle, not a bad view at all.

Ah, the days of building sandcastles at the beach all day with your best friend. I miss those.

I feel like it's a rite of passage in Seattle to own your own sea kayak.

Even hipsters love the beach.

Loving our new city! Happy Friday everyone, + have a fabulous weekend!

BFF's

This post is for wishing my very best friend Allison a happy 28th birthday today!

Allison and I have been friends for over twenty years. TWENTY.

Since:

Swimming lessons at the Y, ~1989

And definitely since:

Buckling up for safety at the pier on Lake Geneva, ~ 1991

Thankfully now we've both grown into those teeth and gangly legs, and have better taste in hairstyles and swimsuits:

Chicago visit, 2010

Happy birthday, Al! Love you, mean it, + couldn't imagine a better best friend. You're my lobster. ;)

minty fresh

In honor of St. Pat's, though I have not a single drop of Guiness-laden Irish blood in me, I thought I'd do another color study: GREEN.

signs of spring!

the squirrels in Ann Arbor are ridiculously trusting of humans; if I'd have had a peanut this guy would've eaten it out of my hand!

Every time I look at this color nail polish I want to get a Shamrock Shake. Which is why I'm taking it off... tonight.

downtown Ann Arbor - so pretty. Can you spot the green?

Oh hai, cute coat!

this last photo has absolutely nothing green in it. but since chocolate + mint are such a good combo:

aaaaaaaaaah! Wishing you puppies, green beer, and four-leaf clovers this St. Patrick's Day.

Erin Go Bragh!

from the archives

Finally finished re-vamping and sprucing and OCD-ing my way through my iPhoto and piles of photos from 2004 to present. The large majority of them I've looked at dozens of times, posted to Facebook, seen on my screensaver, etc.

Except for these two little gems. I have no idea who took this shot of me, waving like an idiot at the top of some Russian Hill hill, Transamerica in the background circa 2007. Or who I was with, or what we were doing. But I kinda love it and the mystery only makes it better. This was almost immediately before realizing it was time to start highlighting my hair if I wanted people to still call me a blonde, after landing my first real job post-college, and not long after moving to the great city of San Francisco. This photo makes me happy just looking at it because it reminds of that feeling you get when you move to a new place that's full of interesting and beautiful and scary and funny and weird things to discover.  Plus, I'm wearing this exact same sweater today. Serendipitious? I think so.

This photo also reminds me, simply, that I'm really glad I cart around a camera almost all the time. Even if it is, sometimes, a crappy point and shoot with improper exposure and a little grain. It's so worth it.

Without that old Sony banging around in my purse, I never would have captured this little sidewalk art gem, either. Isn't it the greatest? Taken that same mystery San Francisco day back in 2007. I just looked down and there it was.

I love you, photography.

reverse psychology

First, apologies for the radio silence lately. A few days after my birthday I got really sick, took a few days off of work and spent all last weekend doing my best J.D. Salinger recluse impression and I *still* have this stupid cough keeping me up all night. Winter. Bleh. Over it.

In an effort to psych out the weather into turning springlike a little early (just a little? Tomorrow is March, when people in normal climes enjoy at least a bout of days in the 50s or 60s...), I figured I'd post a few last winter photos. These are from a ski trip Chad and I took with friends from school at the end of January up to northern Michigan. Beautiful snow but oh, so cold. We put to good use our cabin's fireplace and comfy couches, though, skied, ate greasy food at the lodge, and played some kickball in the feet (upon feet!) of snow.

So, here it goes: I love winter! I never want it to end! This gray crusty leftover snow making everything look post nuclear fallout is so..... interesting! (Did it work?)

View from our bedroom. Cozy.

In my bag

I've always loved the set on flickr called what's in my bag, so about a month ago I emptied out my trusty carryall and shot what's in mine. There's something really fun and voyeuristic about seeing inside someone's bag... it definitely gives a slight inkling of the person who carries all of those things, and feels somehow a little bit sneaky, too. This is one of my favorites. Clean and pretty-looking essentials (even the Muji pens... I still love to color). Anything that's organized neatly with a side of OCD gets my vote. 

The contents of my bag won't shock or surprise, but this is generally a version of the things I lug around every day:

:datebook (I'm oldschool and still prefer to write everything down, with a pen), minty gum (never cinnamon or fruity, ew), my iPod touch (lots of Robyn), my little point and shoot (though this cute little orange one is r.i.p...), my phone, a Pilot Varsity pen, MAC lipgloss + lipstick, chapstick, wallet, and my little Moo card holder for my photography biz cards. If you catch me in the morning, I've also got my to go tea mug filled with green tea to get me through the day.

And my bag? My trusty, uber-durable and utilitarian Timbuk2 tote:

It's definitely not sexy, but I'm finally at peace, in my wise age of nearly-28, with the fact that I am not a purse girl. I can appreciate a Coach bag just like any girl (are those even still cool? I can't keep up) but I tend to need a bag that fits my shiz, looks smart, and that I can wear on my shoulder day after day. Timbuk2 bags and I have gotten along for about seven years now, and I'm sure I'll stay faithful to this relationship for a long time.

Hope you enjoyed the peek! I showed you mine... now what's in yours?

 

Accidental Collector: Stripes Edition

Remember that post about my crazy tea stash? Yeah, well, turns out I have a *crazy and unwitting amount* of something else, too, this time in my dresser drawers: stripes! You guys, I swear I never realized the magnitude of my stripe-hoarding. Observe:

Fifteen! That right there is fifteen short-sleeved t's, long-sleeved t's, sweaters and sweatshirts.

I guess you could call my obsession... patriotic? I do have a lot of the red/white and blue/white variety. America!

The final blow: even my camera bag is striped.

Stop loving stripes: I can't! The heart wants what it wants.

Sunny Friday

The sun is shining today in Michigan, making me suffer *marginally* less from S.A.D. than usual... but I still feel like I could use some cheery imagery to kick off the weekend. And anyone living anywhere but California or Florida will probably agree. 2 feet of snow? Your car's still buried under a drift the size of Jay-Z's yacht? Three days after the blizzard and your Sorel boots are still no match for the piles of slush? These are for you:

Big Sur, California coast. This was in February, too, I believe, about 4 years ago.

Look at that dog, lovin' life. Dogs have it good in CA.

Green! Remember that color?

My husband, the gymnast.

Feeling a little better? Me too.

Happy weekend, friends!

 

Wolverine vs. Buckeye

A few weekends ago, some friends who inhabit an apartment known as the "Cali house" (since most of them hail from that fine state) invited us over for a wine tasting party called Wolverine (University of Michigan, ie wine costing around $20...though in my opinion the fine wines should have been called the Badgers) vs. Buckeye (the University of Ohio, Michigan's sworn enemy and the below $10 bottles). Every guest had one glass and a score sheet numbered 1-12. In teams of two, we were asked to taste a little of each of those twelve bottles and try to determine which was the "nice" wine and which the "cheap". The bottles were all covered and opened, so you couldn't cheat by looking at the label or cap.

A fine idea for a party, and good times were had all around, until scores were tallied and it was divulged that Chad and myself, California residents for 3.5 amazing years, guessed the least amount of Wolverines and Buckeyes correctly. Wah-waaaaah. Ah, well. After the third sip, they all taste the same! (And most people didn't fare that much better than us.) Former California residents or no, I never said I didn't appreciate a little Two Buck Chuck now + then. ;)

it's the weekend, baby.

Yeah!

Even if it doesn't make you jump for joy like my friend Erica, I hope you all have a good one! My husband, a bunch of friends and I are heading up north to ski a "mountain" (a Michigan mountain anyway...), hang out, drink warm drinks, and maybe even play some Bananagrams. And for me: shoot some cozy indoor wintertime photos. It's been awhile.

back to the start

Finally: my iMac is safely back on my desk and after a semi-nervous breakdown, all my photos, music, documents and various other files are in their rightful place(s). Here's to hoping the new hard drive runs like a champ for another year at least, after which I can hopefully get a new iMac. This baby has been working hard for me for five years now, and we've had some good times. Though it was a major pain to manually (yes, manually) re-organize all my photos, it was also kind of a trip to go through old files.

It also reminded me of how I got the whole dSLR/real photography bug to begin with: my friend Richard. He and I had worked together for a bit in San Francisco, and after I left to start my full-time job, we stayed friends and found out we had a lot of common interests, photography being one of them. He'd bought himself a Canon Rebel XTi, and after a few days of playing around with his camera, I was hooked. I saved up and a few months later, bought myself the same camera. Richard is monstrously talented and was (is!) always five steps ahead of me, but it was so fun to have a friend who shared my passion and who could teach me a few things, too. Under his enthusiasm and unassuming guidance I got the confidence to get out and shoot more, buy better lenses, and even book myself a few first gigs.

One of the best things we used to do was get together for spur of the moment photo walks. San Francisco is a treasure trove of different neighborhoods, people, cultures, geography and views... views for miles. On this day, we schlepped our gear out to Sea Cliff, home of the rich + famous, and capture SF at its foggy best. Richard now runs a super successful and fun company out of SF and LA (Project Photobooth, hire him!!), but he and I still geek out over photography via gchat all the time. Here's to friends who share your passion, encourage and inspire.

 

 

twenty eleven

Welcome back, hey!

Happy new year, friends. I'm back in Michigan after a great week off work and time spent with lots of family, friends, and puppies. =) The first few days of 2011 entailed some slight setbacks, namely the failing of my iMac's hard drive (replacement being installed as we speak, and a full backup completed before the crash so here's to everything loading back up as it should!) and the new year's eve-related dropping of my little point and shoot Canon. Ooopsies. Remind me to from now on *walk*, not drop or toss, my small camera to the group-shot-taker. Yeah.

As the above are merely material things and, for the most part, fixable or replaceable, it's all good. I'm looking to this year with happy anticipation, as it will soon be filled with lots of excitement and change. The next few months will be de rigueur, but come May 2nd - whew! So many good things! My husband and I are embarking on a 2-month adventure through Eastern Europe, Turkey and Greece, returning to the States to hop a plane to San Francisco for a good friends' wedding, and then packing our car back in Wisconsin for the road trip out to our new home city - Seattle, Washington!

Since my home computer is out of commission at the moment, I don't have a lot of photos to share but did snap a few quick shots of one of my favorite Christmas gifts this year. My mom made me a copy of this great old photo of her paternal grandparents, Magdalena and Justin, standing in the branches of an apple tree in their orchard in Illinois. I saw the photo earlier this year and loved it; it tells such a story on its own but leaves me wishing for more information, too. Old photos always have that great air of mystery. I've already framed it and put it up on my wall. Someday, when I have a house, I'm picturing a large wall, maybe a hallway, filled with framed family history photos. I think it's important to recognize and remember your relatives, even the ones you never got the chance to know.

current living room wall art, clockwise from l to r: not sure of the artist, but it's from Velocity in Seattle; "Ice, Iceland" print from tomfowlks on Etsy, Warm Wishes Swedish Dala horse letterpress card, my beloved San Fransisco's Golden Gate Bridge print (by me), and my new family history print. Happy with it. For now. I like to use this wall as a rotating gallery.

With all luck I'll have my computer back and re-loaded in a few days. Until then, enjoy the snow and as always, take lots of photos!

the glöggbööth

a few weekends ago i planned my office's holiday party, and like last year we went with a swedish glögg theme. glögg is basically a mulled red wine served warm and traditionally enjoyed in tiny mugs as it can be rather strong, and meant to be savored. i had to make the glögg via shortcut and more cheaply than my family's recipe (which has all sorts of crazy stuff in it!), so i found a great winery in vermont (boyden valley winery) that sells it by the bottle and ordered a few cases. to that i added a little vodka and brandy, along with almonds and golden raisins and heated everything up in a few crock pots. i think our party-goers enjoyed it as all 18 bottles were gone by the end of the night. evidence below in the glöggbööth. ;) 'god jul', btw, is 'merry christmas' in swedish. ridiculous accroutrements courtesy of our prop closet. 

 

 

6 questions

i was tagged by my friend brittney at hush n wonder to answer a fun and quick little survey. i haven't done any of these yet, and since it's snowing outside and i'm finding myself having a relaxing, lazy sunday i thought it'd be the perfect time to fill this out. i hope everyone in the midwest is enjoying the snow! it looks so pretty outside of my living room window.

1. what were you doing ten years ago?

hmm... ten years ago i was seventeen; a senior in high school all excited to go to college in madison. i had my first serious boyfriend and was driving and going to concerts and taking the train to chicago and feeling very grown-up and ready to take on the next phase of my life. =) i was playing volleyball and softball with my friends, and going out for early-morning breakfasts before school at daddy maxwell's. i was loving the tv show 'friends'. my bedroom had light pink carpet (ha!).

2. what are 5 things on your to-do list today?

-make it out of my pj's and out of the house

-get to the grocery store and the gym

-get outside to enjoy the snow. ever since i was little, i've really enjoyed taking a walk by myself in the snow. there's no quiet or peace quite like it. it's first big storm of the season and it's those perfect big, fluffy flakes.

-edit photos from a recent shoot

-celebrate a close friend's departure for three months in argentina at a dinner party this evening.

3. snacks you enjoy?

-any kind of fruit

-salty chips

-baked goods: donuts, chocolate croissants, or a piece of fresh baked pumpking or banana bread. preferably with a chai latte in accompaniment. ;) if these things were magically healthy, i would love to have a proper swedish 'fika' every afternoon with a friend at about 2:00 with a small baked good and some chai or coffee. i think it's such a cool tradition.

4. places you've lived:

-williams bay, wisconsin

-madison, wisconsin

-elkhorn, wisconsin

-san mateo, california

-san francisco, california

-ann arbor, michigan

and soon: seattle, washington!

5. what are 5 things you would do if you were a billionaire?

-build a cozy but modern house on lake geneva and have all my family and friends there to visit me every summer, with lots of big dinners outside by the water

-buy my mom her long dreamed-of bmw and a little writers' cottage in new hampshire

-have a horse, which has been a dream of mine since i could form coherent thoughts. =)

-fund as much m.s. research as i could - two of my aunts have it and it's a disease i would really, really like to see eradicated in my time.

-be able to travel back to sweden once a year or so. maybe a little pied-a-terre in stockholm, too. ;)

thanks for tagging me, brit! that was fun.

beginning to look a lot like...

christmas! not sure about you, but i love the holidays. everything about it. it's only a few mere hours past thanksgiving and i'm ready to string twinkle lights, fire up some candles, and play my favorite christmas albums (vince guaraldi's charlie brown christmas, nat king cole, and some newer stuff...).  i so look forward to dressing up for parties, making some swedish glögg to share with friends and family, wrapping presents (i'm ocd and i shop early, and mostly online - thanks amazon prime!), baking and cooking. it's only two weeks into december but i already have some fun holiday-esque photos to share. lots more to come! now all we need is for a little snow to stick...

downtown marshall, michigan

lindy checking out my aunt's awesome vintage store, amazing grace antiques, in marshall

little gracie, aunt deb, my cousin danielle (and grace's mom!) + me

aunt deb's window display - so cute!

went a little nuts with the craft paper, stamps and jingle bells on sunday, but i'm happy with how the gifts all turned out!

hope you're all finding joy in the little holiday things, too. =)

 

hot lips.

i was recently inspired by two fellow bloggers (anna at door sixteen and jules at pancakes and french fries) to rock a lip color other than my usual, boring sheer-ish gloss. and a lipstick at that. lipstick! i.e. what i falsely assumed only my grandmother (her favorite: clinique), j.crew models, and drag queens wore. though i wish i had the cojones to wear a great red with the aplomb of anna and jules, i went with a rather shocking pink instead: lustering by mac (the best). i kind of love it. excuse the grainy mirror-reflected self portrait; i am luckily much better at photographing *other* people than i am at snapping shots of myself.

the moral of this story: ladies other than j.crew models and lady gaga *can* rock bright lips. you just have to put it on and own it. ;)

planes, trains, and automobiles.

i meant that quite literally.

chad, my dad and stepmom and i visited the henry ford on a rainy saturday afternoon when they were in town a few weeks ago.

that h. ford collected some very random things. the highlights: the bus rosa parks first protested in. the last car jfk ever rode in. the most giant train i've ever seen. and, on a lighter note, the oscar meyer weinermobile. hot dogs for lunch were thoroughly enjoyed post museum tour. america!

who knew henry appreciated great mid-century modern design? the eames chair: mmmm.

giant dot candy! 

*the* bus rosa parks sat in. pretty cool.

jfk's last ride: sad.

narrowly escaping becoming a train sandwich.

a whole new level

a few posts ago, i wrote about tea: how much i love it, what kinds i drink when, and how my cabinet is overflowing with tins and boxes of it. thanks to the magical powers of the internet, a representative from pg tips tea contacted me and thanked me for mentioning their brand in my post, and would i like to try some of their new green tea? SURE i would! free stuff to try, all from blogging? i could get used to this.

needless to say it was only a few days until a fedex package arrived at my office with my name on it, complete with the tea as promised and a nice note from the woman who contacted me. so fun! and the tea *is* very good - a nice, clean green tea that comes in pg tips signature triangle tea bag that i understand helps the tea breathe better while it's brewing. makes sense.

i certainly don't plan on name-dropping brands or products in the future just to try to weasel my way into more packages at my door, but it was an interesting lesson in how my seemingly inconsequential posts reach all sorts of people and places. to blogging!

color capture: yellow

the happiest color, i think!

....so....

...i went to get something out of the cupboard last night and suddenly realized i have a little bit of a tea 'thing':

yeah. looks bad, i know. however, i bring a thermos of tea every single morning to work, and often have something decaffeinated at night, so i do drink it all, and often! still, this is bordering on obscene.

there is just something about a cup of tea, though. i've never liked coffee much; there are the occasional times when an iced caramel macchiato from starbuck's tastes really good, but usually the caffeine in coffee leaves me feeling weird. a nice cup of green tea in the morning makes me feel both alert and healthy, and i like the tradition of tea drinking that goes back so far in history and crosses so many cultures.

my favorite out of all those tins and boxes? anything by the republic of tea, especially their green teas. i'm really into the matcha green tea right now. when i'm sick, there is nothing better than a mug of throat coat by traditional medicinals (thanks, katie stub! she taught me that freshman year of college). the super cute white tin with the ice cream cone is a homemade tea i bought at the diy fair last fall called frosty almond by herb + ginger , which is awesome for fall and winter. and the far left one, pg tips, is apparently the uk's #1 tea. so if the queen of england should stop by, i'm able to serve her a proper british tea! though admittedly i'd be more excited to serve a cuppa to helen mirren as the q.e. instead, love her. 

so, obscene or not, this is what hides in my cupboard. any other tea addicts out there?

my FAVORITE time.

fall!

for many reasons, but mainly for the cooler weather, for the apples, pumpkins, and cider donuts, toasty drinks, and because i can finally wear my BOOTS. brown leather boots, they're where it's at, ya'll. the most perfect september day today, and some friends and i celebrated with a little trip to a nearby apple orchard to pick us some apples, dodge the bees, and grab a few donuts to go. days like this, i love living in michigan. get back to me in a few months when it's -12. but for now, it's lovely!

on road trips (and side of the road stops)

last weekend, chad and i drove up to the sleeping bear dunes area with nothing on our agenda but climbin' some dunes, swimmin' in some lakes, and maxin' + relaxin'. happy to say we accomplished all of the above. road trips are so fun, no? good tunes, good conversation, plenty of candy and a few hours later, you're there, man.

we were especially blown away by the color of the water in this part of lake michigan. this mighty great lake has many sides; the one both chad and i are used to seeing is from the milwaukee/chicago viewpoint. from there it's always pretty, but a much deeper cobalt blue and not exactly the most inviting for swimmers (who knows what's in the water over there...). in northern michigan, though, there aren't any nearby big cities to invite runoff or chemicals or otherwise nasty things in its waters, and the water is SO clear you almost think you've landed in the caribbean instead of the upper midwest. behold:

after we had sunned, swam, and eaten ourselves silly for two days we decided to hit the road back south-bound. (or, as we overheard some local folk at a gas station call us, 'down-staters.') it wasn't long into our drive that i saw a bright blue antique chevy truck with a flatbed full of firewood and a sign propped against it that read: "morels + firewood" morels?! as in, the mushrooms i'd read so much about and always wanted to try, but not being an educated mushroom hunter myself, unable to sample? (and somehow the bag of dried morels at whole foods i saw once wasn't very enticing, especially since it was .5 oz for about $21, i think).

anyway, since my husband is awesome, he pulled over right away and we moseyed over. from the other side of it came two slinky, wary-looking german sheperds. hmmm. not exactly inviting. but then we spied a set of dirt-and-age-gnarled bare feet under the truckbed and this amazingly gnome-like off the grid woodsman guy stepped out and said, 'howdy, folks!' he was probably 5'6" and 110 lbs, late 60s, had a long gray beard and wore sunglasses, a winter cap, rolled up jeans and a blue button up shirt that looked like it had stood the test of many, many years. i was immediately intrigued. we told him we were interested in his morels, and he proceeded to educate us on not just the mushrooms in questions and the best ways to cook them, but his various inventions (wood burning stoves that heat his whole house off the grid; a variation of rose that looks like it was splattered with four different colors of paint) and the trials that followed (damn the man - patents are expensive!). i have no doubt that he worked on that truck and kept it running himself, too.

we paid up for our one ounce bag of dried morels (which we can't wait to try ground up like pepper over chicken and baked, like he suggested) and *tried* to be on our way, but the guy was so intent on sharing stories with us that we didn't end up leaving for about fifteen minutes. after we'd thanked him and gotten back on the highway, i was immediately bummed that i hadn't asked him if i could take his photograph. because guys like that are not a dime a dozen, and he certainly wore his adventurous and unusual life on his face. what an interesting man.

i do, however, have a photo of our spoils:

morel mushrooms with a side of storytelling. you never know what you'll find on a road trip! just have to keep your eyes peeled.

the weekend.

driving home to wisconsin, we caught this sunset. an upside to chicago traffic!

i got to spend time with my mom and my sister maddie, who has very stylish tom's and very beautiful red hair =) :

we stopped down at the george williams pier, where i whiled away many a day getting a tan (and getting paid for it) - lifeguarding summers in college. also known as one of my favorite places, ever. lake geneva is the prettiest around 6pm in the summer.

the night before we had to head back to michigan, we made last minute dinner plans with some good friends of our and then stopped by their house to see their daughter. she is SO cute. moves a bit fast even for my f/1.4, but i got a few snaps in:

Upgrade ya

I have to share that not only did my husband bring himself back from Seattle this weekend, but he also brought me THIS:

the Canon EOS 7D camera. As in, what I've been lusting over for about 1.5 years now. Compared to what I was shooting with, my very introductory bottom-of-the-line Canon Rebel XTi... I can't even describe. Picture driving the used Honda Civic you've had since high school (trusty, runs great, you kind of have a soft spot of nostalgia for it but leaves much to be desired) and then suddenly someone drives a brand new AUDI A6 with a big red bow into your driveway and says, "Here." This is going to make my upcoming projects so much sweeter, and so much more fun.

Awesome!

summer. it's hot, but these things make it (almost) worth it.

i have been accused of getting a teens bit cranky when it gets hot outside. well?! blame my swedish blood; i'm really meant to wear elk skins and live in an ice igloo, or something.

however, it's not all bad, june-august. some things that are awesome about summer:

lake michigan + a beach. this one was silver beach in st. joseph, michigan. not as good as south haven, in my opinion, but a nice beach nonetheless and the waves were SO FUN that day! i had to get out into the water to swim and jump waves twice - and both times i was reminded how much i love to just be in the water. nothing quite like that feeling when you dive down and all sounds cease except that funny little mystery tinkling sound (sea fairies?). love.

visits from friends who live halfway across the world. this is my dear, dear friend celina. she and i have been friends for about 14 years now, and even though she lives in zurich, switzerland, we manage to see each other every few years and pick right back up to wherever we left off last, giggling and re-hashing stories and staying up too late, oh, and almost dying a tragic death by tornado in briarwood mall. whew.  aren't friendships like that the best?

summer art, diy style. the ann arbor art fair was going on all this week, and while i checked it out and saw a few cool booths, most of the stuff isn't really my style. then i moseyed over to the blue house ann arbor saturday afternoon for their little diy sale and LOVED everything i saw. gotta love mittenmade!

top of the park.  because who doesn't love free live music in the park? lindy and i definitely do. also, a 5-year old boy who ran past us fresh from the face-painting booth and screamed, "I'M A ROBOT!!!" he loves it, too.

just-passed thunderstorm clouds. these were wicked awesome. celina and i had to go outside to fully enjoy these surreal skies. that one in the background was still sparking with lightening streaks. nature sure is awesome sometimes. even when it forces us to be shuttled into long emergency tornado shelter hallways by mall cops for forty minutes when all we wanted was to browse us some j.crew and banana republic.

watermelon. never enough watermelon. this salad is super easy, fyi. fresh melon, drizzled with light olive oil, salt, pepper, mint and feta. MMMMMM.

loud nails. this is literally the most perfect summer shade ever - essie's california coral. somehow it just doesn't work in winter.

stuff I bought in Seattle

I don't know about you, but when I travel, one of my favorite things to buy is art. Not major, antique oil-painting kind of art, but smaller, unique, fun kind of art. Here's what I got:

The green one is actually a greeting card from Elliot Bay Book Company - but I love screen prints and I think Seattle has such a cool skyline; I'm going to frame it eventually.

I know, you're thinking: Stamps? Really? But I found a whole tray of these at Wilson Kennedy and the orange and white fish jumped right out at me. What a cool image. I decided I had to take him home but he'd be lonely in a frame all by himself, so I picked out five more in similar colors to keep him company. Also, there's nothing better than getting a handwritten letter in the mail with a cool or interesting stamp in the upper right. The U.S. needs to make better stamps. Coolest I've seen lately are the California Marine Life ones.

 

This is an original watercolor + ink drawing that I picked up at CakeSpy in Capitol Hill. I already framed it and I think it's so beautiful.

Okay, I didn't get these in Seattle (I got them at Notice in Lake Geneva, WI) but these Momiji dolls just made me smile and are now watching over my desk while I edit photos. ;)

Some more 826.

Drop-in tutoring at 826Michigan: homework help! down-home remedies (chamomile tea bags) for itchy allergy eyes! an awesomely tacky gold couch! robots! all good things.

 

 

 

 

may 2010

aviator shades.

I forgot to add this one to the earlier post with photos from the anniversary photoshoot. I think this photo is really cool, and also it makes me laugh, because my dad has been wearing those SAME exact aviator glasses (ahem, clip on aviators, a man's gotta see out the cockpit) for about 35 years, and now that they're back in style again he looks so HIP. This post will make him laugh, too. Here's to your hipness, Dad. May all your style choices be so cyclical.

want to go to there.

The Terrace, Madison, Wisconsin. Meeting place for all good things: a beer (Spotted Cow, naturally) with friends, live music, those great iconic chairs, the cow sailboat, and best of all front row seats to the gorgeous views straight out - Lake Mendota. Whiled away many an hour/day/night at this spot, both during undergrad and on my visits after I graduated. Really miss it there this time of year! Hope to see ya soon, Madison. <3

summer 2009

giving it a go...

The world of wedding photography, that is. I'm second-shooting with a friend of mine tomorrow... excited + nervous but very much looking forward to seeing a full wedding from a photographer's viewpoint and learning as much as I can. Two weddings of my own to shoot in the next few months! I'd better take notes.... wish me luck! Oh, and have a lovely weekend.

Photo from a friends' wedding last week in Livermore, CA (attended as a guest but obviously I couldn't NOT bring my Canon). ;)

Lake Geneva

I was home this weekend to see family and also to shoot some senior photos of three soon to be Elkhorn High School seniors. More to come from their session, but as I was scouting out good photo locations with my sister, I had to stop and snap a few Lake Geneva shots. I grew up on this lake, worked on this lake, have swam in it and sailed on it and read many a book by it, and it never ceases to take my breath away. Such a beautiful place. These photos were shot down at the Riviera docks and they're of Gage Marine's cherished old fleet of touring boats. Such craftsmanship. The first one below is the bow of the Lorelei, my favorite.

Everything's coming up roses

At least around here. I had to bring my camera along on my walk to work Friday morning to show you. It definitely feels like summer around here; this is the hottest late May I can remember.

(not roses, but pretty nonetheless!)

painted

I was sitting in the living room tonight reading and glanced up just in time to catch these gorgeous clouds. They looked like a Renaissance painting. I had to put down my book, grab my camera, and go outside to capture it.

It's been very hot here in Michigan this week which has the tendency to make me kind of crabby. Tonight was a good reminder of what those muggy summer days can bring at sunset in the Midwest. So pretty. And also, that life is better when you notice things. Tomorrow, I'm going to bring my camera along on my walk to work to capture the hot pink rose bush hungrily overtaking a neighbor's front porch - incredible.

Sometimes I like to make stuff.

*Someone* didn't like the print I had in this frame before, so a few weekends ago I made something else to put in it.... a Frenchie. ;) If I can't have a real one yet, might as well have a rainbow-striped one on the wall, no? Pretty happy with how it turned out:

Amazing what you can do with a little cut paper.

Cowboy, baby.

Came home tonight to find this guy hangin' out in our living room, strummin' away. All plaid shirt and gee-tar. I liked it.

Liked it even more when he surprised me with "Fields of Gold." He just taught it to himself today.

Thanks, Earth.

For things like this:

Lake Mendota, Madison, WI. And those insane clouds in a blue blue sky.

And this:

Wild flower in Muir Woods, Marin County, CA.

And this:

Home of the artist Carl Larsson, who loved the outdoors, central Sweden

And this:

total serenity: a secret spot outside Elkhorn, WI

And this:

A hike in Marin County, CA

and lastly, this:

Yosemite Valley from way, WAY up a mountain.

I'm very thankful for your beauty and awesomeness.

down on the farm

my dear friend kate ("other kate") lives with her husband and brand-new baby boy on a farm just over the wisconsin/illinois border. in illinois, but we forgive her that. her husband's family has run their dairy farm for many, many years, and kate has taken on a lot of the 'farm chores' for herself. she gets up every morning, early (SO EARLY), to feed the chickens and milk the goats. her husband gets up even earlier to milk all of their cows. kate, in addition to doing the aforementioned farm work plus the occasional chicken butchering or calf feeding, also works full time as a social worker and then makes dinner most nights for her family. she's now, recently, also a mom.

so basically, she is awesome. on a visit to see the full farm operation last summer, chad and i were amazed at all of the knowledge and all of the skill that it really takes to be a farmer. kate's family also grows corn and soybeans, mostly for feed for the cows but also to sell. it's a tough life and there are never ending things that have to be done, day after day. something that is a far cry from this city girl's life, and yet i'm always really interested in the day-to-day things that happen on their farm. i would never in my life think, 'hey, let's get some goats for our barn and learn how to make goat's milk.' even though i DIE for goat's cheese. i die. little rachel zoe for ya.

anyway, chad and i went to get the full cow barn tour last summer while we were home. we'd been to their house a bunch of times, of course, but never really seen a slice of their life on the dairy farm. it was such a gorgeous, quintessential midwest summer night. again, i only had my point and shoot but some of these photos are worth sharing. just a reminder that our food comes from people who work really hard and, hopefully, from people like kate and her family who also care a whole lot about how it's cultivated.

also, i know i'm a midwest girl at heart but i think this part of the country is so gosh darn beautiful in the summer. makes me want to find a quiet, cornfield-lined country road and drive with the windows down while blasting some little big town. i guess i am a 'little bit country', too.

the two kates! the end. =)

blooming things/weird things

This past weekend was a lovely one spent with Chad's parents, filled with walks, museums, ice cream, the Festifools parade by chance (a testament to the many strange people inhabiting Ann Arbor, Michigan), more Bananagrams, and SO MANY blooming trees! I wish I knew their names....so beautiful.

Weird exhibit #1 - this brick, written on outside of Sparrow Market in Kerrytown. Ooooookay!

Weird exhibit #2 - the FestiFools parade, where people make large creatures out of paper mache and parade around Main St. with them on sticks. Why? Not really sure! But it was entertaining for about 10 minutes. Chad + I definitely enjoyed the TMNT entry. Turtle Power!

Pretty flowers #2: outside the UM art museum and with a mystery guest in the background.... I have no idea what these trees are called but their blooms are so tropical-looking and gorgeous. 

*disclaimer: I grabbed my little Canon and not my dSLR, explaining away the semi-crappy quality of these photos. Better next time, I promise!

An unconventional Easter.

But a great one nonetheless! Chad and I headed over to have brunch with friends, which was followed by: egg dying, bocce ball in the park, egg hunting, prize tallying, flip cup, and Bananagrams. Sunday Funday, Easter style.

I'd forgotten how much fun dying eggs is (even if the evidence stayed on my hands all day).

 

These were hanging from someone's front porch. We thought they were hilarious (and very apropos)!

Bocce, anyone?

Flip cup cheer section

Moo cards!

Finally ordered myself some mini Moo business cards. 100 cards for $20 - not bad, and they came out pretty well! Plan to find fun nooks and crannies to "leave" them in around town. =) Highly recommend the site for business cards (mini + regular sized) and also postcard-sized cards which would be awesome for save the dates or product presentation. I heart the internet. www.moo.com

Published, holla.

Last week, I got word from a random iPhone app company called Schmap, who wanted to ask permission to use a photo I took of the Stockholm Public Library in Stockholm, Sweden, for their app.  Obviously, I said, "For sure." Here's a link if you want to check it out! Kind of a cool app, too, for all you iPhone users out there.

http://www.schmap.com/stockholm/sights_vasastaden/#p=242290&i=242290_10.jpg

Also, speaking of getting published, a few months ago I was VERY, very excited to have one of my submissions to Pictory Magazine chosen for the "Life Before Your Eyes" showcase. Pictory is an online photo/writing magazine that was started recently by Laura Brunow Miner. Every month or so, there is a new showcase with photos and text from talented and creative people all over the world. Ms. Miner and usually an esteemed guest judge are the ones who pour through all the photos and stories and decide what makes the cut. Truly an honor to be chosen, and in case you haven't seen my submission, here it is:

http://www.pictorymag.com/showcases/life-before-your-eyes/#pictory-254

Here's the photo again, of my dad and the RV-6 plane that he built by hand:

Rock on, Dad. Another person livin' what he loves.

News!

Great news! I recently booked my first wedding! I'll be shooting photos for some friends when they tie the knot next fall. I couldn't be more honored or excited and am already prepping for the shoot - seven months in advance. I also might be shooting another wedding this summer! Funny how things sometimes start happening all at once. 
California poppies, Spring 2009

getting so excited for....

SUMMER:

....the farmer's market....

...huge fluffy clouds (preferably over Lake Mendota in Madison, WI)...

 

..driving out to the beach in South Haven on Lake Michigan for long, lazy days...

...when all you want to do is stuff your face with fresh fruit and vegetables because there are so many of them available in the summertime...

...and finally - bikes! I want a bike SO BAD. I used to have the coolest Trek mountain bike, but it has since moved on to another owner and I'm cursing myself for selling it. So I'm on the hunt for a bike I can both ride seriously and ride to work/the farmers market/through town, etc. There's just something about that freedom: get on a bike and the world is yours. You can go anywhere. Ten years old all over again. =)