I have a passion for food. I have a passion for cooking. I have a passion for fresh produce. This photo is a tribute to all three of these. :o) Jared and I have had a garden for several years now and we always grow lots of varieties of peppers. I love using them to make fresh salsa and putting them in sauces, stir fries, etc. I really should learn not to post food photos unless I have a snack in front of me, because they always make me hungry! :o)
This zen pile of rocks was sitting along the banks of one of the rivers running through the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee. Austin and I stopped to take some photos and discovered a whole group of these little towers. Very zen, loved it.
I am always intrigued by plants that are able to grow in seemingly impossible places. I always find them inspirational in a way. When I lived in the Journey House, we had a plant growing up through a crack in the fireplace for awhile. I can't recall if I ever did get a photo of it or not, but it was super cool, I used to stare at it for hours instead of studying, lol!
This photo was taken in an airport. I honestly can't remember which one now... but I was on a layover and just loved this terminal. It let in so much light and had such a neat effect, it was almost even a little dizzying but I still liked it :o)
Downtown Detroit has really worked hard over the last decade to revitalize the downtown area and create a place that people WANT to go, and feel safe and comfortable doing so. One of the things they did was create the Riverfront which includes beautiful fountains, landscaping, walking paths, etc, and this very cool Michigan carousel. All of the creatures are native to Michigan's wetlands and marshlands (even the mermaid lol!)
I've posted photos taken in Tennessee before, and this one goes with that collection :o) This was taken on a hike in the Smoky Mountains with Austin on one of our trips down there. I love moss, always have. I used to find a patch of it while playing outside somewhere and make up entire worlds that lived within it. I LOVED this tree and the way the branches were 'spoking' out from the trunk. The moss, of course, sealed the deal for me!
So normally I would say there is definitely such thing as too much gold leaf. This cathedral however proved me wrong :o) This is a cathedral in Mexico City I had the pleasure of touring on a business trip a few years back. The beauty of the architecture was simply intensified by the colour and beauty of the Mexican culture influencing it. I could have spent hours there :o)
This photo was taken in Orlando at a hotel whose walls were treated with crushed seashells which was awesome :o) Think stucco but with shells. Anyway I loved the curve the fisheye gave the wall which usually trips people out and makes them not able to see what they're looking at.
This photo was taken at the International Auto Show several years back. I love going because of the details they usually put into the displays. I love light, so the cluster of light fixtures made me happy :o)
Today's post is sending out positive vibes that I will be getting a call this week from the Palace of Auburn Hills regarding good news about a potential job! I had an interview there last week that I think went very well, but there would be definite pros and cons should I even get an offer, so I'm hoping they are interested enough to at least take me to the next step in the process before I'd have to make a decision! I love the Palace, and I love the energy there, so here's hoping I get to be a part of it in the future as more than a fan in the stands! :o)
This photo was taken at one of our former fave locales (it's no longer in business, we were crushed!). The awnings over their windows were made from old shutters which I thought was super super cool. Unfortunately I couldn't get a good angle to capture the colours as vibrantly as I would have liked, but this at least gives you a feel for the coolness of the shutter awning :o)
I have a few photos of soaring birds that I have been able to capture. This one however is one that encompasses so much more than just the bird. I love the sky in the background. I also love the way the light is hitting the gull so starkly, creating such drama. This photo makes me feel so uplifted... and helps me to focus on achieving dreams. I hope it does the same for you!
I am so very much looking forward to seeing my wedding gown all finished! This photo was taken in a dutch market, but the sharing of this photo was inspired by my excitement over my gown :o) For those of you who don't know, I decided to repurpose my mum's gown, and my aunt is the one performing this labour of love for me! We're keeping the same basic structure, just updating some of the fabrics (read: less lace!). This was never a dream of mine, or of my mothers, but we're both very excited about it. It's going to be gorgeous :o) For the sewers out there, I hope you enjoy the photo, for the brides out there, I hope you enjoy the story :o)
Today's photo was taken at my cousin's bridal shower many years ago (weird that it was so long ago now!) By now my more dedicated readers should know of my obsession with candles :o) I just like this photo so I'm sharing it... no real back story here.
I do love skittles... for the record. But I also love rainbows... a fact about myself I had somehow forgotten until I met my friend Erica and she was a rainbow enthusiast as well! This rainbow was captured in Alaska while I was out on the lake in a paddle boat... or a canoe... I don't really remember which... with my friend Bryan from Georgia. I was so excited at the size of it... it took up almost the entire sky! Of course, this was also before I had my fish eye lens so I could only capture so much of it.
Today's Photo was taken in Myrtle Beach, SC. I was so excited that the moon came through in it relatively clearly (I have really bad luck with moon photos). It was shot just after sunrise when the moon was already beginning to fade. Ever since I was very young I can always remember the moon being a real source of comfort because no matter what, I could almost always see it if I looked hard enough for it.
Today my baby brother turns 25 years old! It seems impossible. Funny isn't it how we can age ourselves, but those around us getting older seems outrageous? Yeah, Jared makes me feel that way a lot. This photo (I'm sure I didn't take it) was taken in our house in London, Ontario... must have been shortly after we moved there since we hadn't replaced the orange shag carpeting yet... :o) I used to call Jared Fox Eyes when he was younger because he had these dark brown eyes that were in perpetual slits because he was always grinning like this. He also had fiery red hair when he was younger (my mum has a ton of red in her hair, it just hides well) which added to the whole fox look in my head. Anyway, I've blogged before on how much I love my brother, but I wanted to take today's entry to just remind him of that and wish him a very very happy birthday. Here's to the next 25 J... I love you!
This photo was taken during a shutterbug frenzy at sunrise in Myrtle Beach on a little girls' weekend I took with my mum. I loved the way the sky looked absolutely painted and was so pleased when the photo captured that feel as well.
I LOVE breakfast food. A lot. There was a time when I kept a minimum of 12 varieties of cereal in my kitchen at all times. I love my eggs sunny side up with super runny yolks to dip my toast in. I love extra crispy bacon. I love pancakes. I will not leggo your eggo because I am going to eat it. Today's photo is a tribute to BREAKFAST. :o) I shot this in a dutch market on one of my trips back after we moved to Michigan.
There are few sounds in this world that absolutely dissolve me. One of those sounds is the cry of the loon. It is a sound so primal and so full of depth, it stirs something deep in me. It also makes me feel so homesick it's ridiculous. I was fortunate enough to fall asleep to those sounds again 5 years ago when I went to Alaska with my family for a church camp. That's also where I took this photo. This loon was searching for food and diving down occasionally after fish. This shot was taken just as he was about to dive again.
This photo was taken at my mothers' MBA graduation. The chairs were waiting (as were we) for the graduates to enter the hall and take their seats. We were all so incredibly proud of her... she worked so hard to get to this point, and graduated Suma Cum Laude (show off!) ;o) I loved the contrast in the colours and the uniformity of the chairs. The photo itself really evokes a lot of those emotions for me so I hope you like it :o)
One of my all time fave local bands is the Orbitsuns. Austin opens for them regularly, and I think all of their members have at one time or another done studio work for Austin, and he also shares the stage with them almost anytime we go to a show. I took this photo at one of their shows, showing off Vinnie Dombroski's famous arm and his Orbitsuns guitar. I really love watching Vin on stage, he is a true master entertainer.
Anyone who knows me should know that The Emperor's New Groove is one of my all time favourite movies. This is also the reason for my obsession with llamas, and the reason my pet turtle was named Kronk. If you haven't seen this movie, you must. Don't bother with the sequels, I haven't, but see the original. Right now.
That being said, I took this photo in Dexter, MI when my roommate at the time took me to her hometown for a day and we hung out doing all kinds of fun stuff, including searching out a llama farm for me to oggle the llama faces and take a bunch of photos :o) I loved this one particularly because it looked so much like the llama was grinning at me.
I recently spent the weekend in Ohio visiting my 4.5 year old goddaughter. I remembered thinking as she was developing from infant to toddler to child that she would be like me in that her face was changing so much from year to year... but then I came across these photos from her baptism... and her face hasn't changed nearly as much as I perceived at the time. She has the exact same eyes and smile (although she has teeth now lol!) Kids are one of my very favourite portrait subjects because I feel they usually wear their souls out on their sleeves, making them super easy to capture. Nat is no exception... her eyes tell you everything!
One of the few things about cars that I find even remotely interesting are the shapes and colours of cars from the 1950s. This car was on display at the Henry Ford Museum when I went a few years back. I loved the way the cars back then looked like they were trying to fly... very Jetsons :o)
Today's photo is an effort to wake myself up, even though I don't drink coffee! I've just been dragging all week for some reason... guess I haven't been sleeping well the last few nights. Anyway this photo was taken at a little cafe this summer when I was there with my mum and dad for breakfast. I was in a severe shutterbug mood and this coffee was literally steaming... if you look closely near the rim of the mug you can see some of the wisps of steam. Wishing you all far more energy than I seem to be able to muster today... here's to nothing but improvement!
Today's entry is dedicated to my sweet baby darlin'. When we were in Berlin in 2008 he LOVED the Ampelmann (that's the name they have for the little dude on the crosswalk signs...) He wears a hat, which I think is uber cool :o) Anyway I took this photo on one of my many stints in Berlin and just liked the lines of the shot more than anything else, so I thought I'd share!
I've really been missing my kitties lately. For the really dedicated readers, you may recall that two of my cats ran away last spring (Herman & Fowler). The last couple of weeks I've been thinking about them A LOT and wishing we just knew for sure if someone had taken them in and ignored the fact that they had homes, or if something awful happened or they lost their collars and got picked up by a shelter or WHAT... anyway, I thought I'd post this photo today of Herman taking a snooze on our rocking chair, one of his favourite places to relax... I remember searching for my camera to take this praying he wouldn't move because I was cracking up at the way he had his face smashed into the cushion and really wanted to capture it! So glad I did... miss you boys, hope you find your way home again someday!
Today's entry is dedicated to my sweet baby darlin'. When we were in Berlin in 2008 he LOVED the Ampelmann (that's the name they have for the little dude on the crosswalk signs...) He wears a hat, which I think is uber cool :o) Anyway I took this photo on one of my many stints in Berlin and just liked the lines of the shot more than anything else, so I thought I'd share!