They're Coming For Me

We walked past the bush on the Chico State campus, and I could smell it. Something delicious.

So I turned and looked, and saw a bush laden with gardenias. Heavy with them. Now I don't know about you, but that's not an everyday sight around here. I've seen a small gardenia bush (my mother has one, and she treasures every blossom). It was the largest group of gardenias I'd seen outside a wedding or a flower stall.

And they were gorgeous, and perfect, and did I mention? They smelled like heaven.

So, I did what any normal woman would do in the same situation. I lost my head (and my ethics!) and I stole a gardenia. And not just any gardenia, I found the most perfect,unblemished one to take with me.

It sat in my lap for the whole four hour drive back from Chico. Now it's in my kitchen, perfuming the room. Every time I walk in I take a deep breath. So, maybe it was wrong to pick the flower. But I don't regret it for an instant.

Film on a Friday - Mandy and Tony's Wedding!

We went to Mandy and Tony's wedding as guests, not photographers, so I knew I didn't want to bring my big honking DSLR and get in the way of the 'real' photographers of the day. But I always do want to take pictures. It's my compulsion.

So I brought the film camera and a couple of rolls of film, and it was so fun! Have I mentioned yet how much fun film is? No? Well, maybe you haven't been listening.

Also, I love the highlights. Digital highlights just suck in comparison. There's no other way to describe it. On film, highlights are like buttah. Digital? Not so much. More like margarine.

(If you have strong feelings about butter versus margarine, please do not weigh in in the comments. If you have strong feelings about film versus digital, please do.)

Everyone has to take a photo of the wedding kiss. It's like some sort of rule or something.

Another rule is that I have to take as many photos as possible of Evan. When he sees them later, he will say, "why did you choose such a funny looking guy to be with?"

But I think he's pretty cute.

Champagne! I think this is self explanatory.

Also, first dance. Another rule. (At our wedding, I could not wait for the first dance to be over. So much so that we ended up inviting everyone onto the dance floor after only half the song. Mandy and Tony handled it with much more aplomb.)

Cigars!

And more cigars. Fire and smoke are fun in pictures.

The guys, looking way more dapper than I've ever seen them before.

Ummm, yes. More smoke.

Some party games. This one was really fun. Except that I sucked at it. But Evan said it was fun for him. I think that's because he always won.

And a gray mustache that made the rounds.

A photo of us! Together! Awesome!

And, that's it!

Little Flowers

These Are My Salad Days

Summer is approaching fast, and we're eating more salads to celebrate. They're lovely: simple, light, delicious, easy to throw together and totally guilt free.

A current favorite is Trader Joe's Herb Salad Mix with tomatoes and carrots and some cilantro dressing. Yummy!

My Birthday Shoes

These are my birthday shoes. Aren't they cute?

The first time Evan saw them, he said they looked like bowling shoes.

I promptly decided to divorce him. But . . . then he did something cute (like he always does) and I reconsidered. Still, a man needs to learn not to mess with his woman over shoes. It's always a bad call.

The shoes come from J Shoes, a British shoe company that makes really lovely footwear. I particularly love the old-fashioned look of the soles of these ones, and I had to take a picture before I put them on and permanently scuffed them up.

So why are they my birthday shoes? Well, J Shoes was crazy generous enough to email me with an 80% off coupon during their winter sale (which is now over, sorry ladies), making shoes that had previously been $200 (out of my general price range) a mere $20 (MUCH more doable).

Needless to say, I bought a few pairs. So many, in fact, that I just never really put these ones on. I mean, they're white, which can be a difficult color in footwear, subject to so many rules that I can never really figure out when one is allowed to wear it. And it was wintry and rainy for a while, which is also not a great time to wear white shoes.

So they stayed in the closet until May 20 (my birthday) when I finally brought them out. I wore them to my birthday dinner with Evan and my brother and his girlfriend. It was a nice, casual, Thai dinner. (No bowling involved!)

It was a good night, and a great birthday. And what can I say? My feet were happy.

Merri

Merri's a budding actor and she needed some new headshots, so we got together to take a few photos in my 'studio' (read, part of my house that I have configured to do some portraits in - it's nothing fancy but it does get the job done and it's nice for a little more control)

It was such a great shoot. First of all, Merri is awesome, which I think is pretty obvious to anyone who's had the pleasure of meeting her, even briefly. Also, it was just really nice, laid back and relaxed.

We started with some portraits near my hallway window, which has great light.

And then we pulled out my black background, which I've been itching to work with.

Wouldn't you just kill for those dimples?

And then we moved on to my new posing couch, which I absolutely love working with.

And finished up with a few more shots in the hallway.

Doesn't she just have the most gorgeous eyes?

Merri, you're amazing, and I'm sure you're going to take the acting world by storm. Can't wait to see where these new photos show up!