A sneak peak of Lola

I met Lola's parents at a park in Culver City on Saturday for less than 2 hours and shot 653 pictures!! As you can imagine, it's going to take me a while to get through editing all of them, but here is a sneak peak...a picture I worked on last night so I could show everyone how beautiful she is....

In other news, I am signing up for an InDesign class at SMC today IF there are still seats available. I've heard that InDesign is a fun program to learn so I'm very excited.

A bit of advice....DON'T wait until the last minute to book your airline tickets ANYWHERE!! For some reason, I thought it would be a good idea to wait for a while to book flights to San Francisco for a trip celebrating my brother's 40th birthday in a few weeks. Well, waiting did not get me a better deal....and I'm bummed because I should have been more prepared. Take it from me...just BOOK it if you find a decent price!

Earthquake yesterday! I work on the 3rd floor of a building in the valley and I'll tell you something - our whole office was swaying and it was pretty SCARY. I even got a bit queasy like I was sea sick. Anyone who's lived here less than 14 years and says "oh, that was nothing" must have not felt it like I did because it was the biggest quake since Northridge in 1994.

What I've been up to lately

I had a great portrait session on Saturday with the most beautiful 2 year old girl around...Lola! I have not started editing the pictures, but when I do, they will be on my blog immediately (this week).

I thought I'd take today; a boring Monday and talk about what's been on my radar lately in regard to what I've been reading, listening to, and searching for on the internet :)

READING:
A few months ago I started a book club which has been a BLAST and allowed me to read some pretty interesting books including this month's selection which is interesting to say the least. We're reading Fear of Flying by Erica Jong which was written in the 70s and very controversial because it's one woman's exploration into her sexuality, among other things. It's proving to be a nice change from our last book Profiles in Courage by John F. Kennedy ;)

I am also reading Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson and it's given me so many amazing tips for shooting which I've already implemented. I LOVE this book!

LISTENING:
Lately, I've been listening mostly to Air America in the car (I'm a huge fan of Stephanie Miller) so I don't listen to much music except at work, where I tune into all 80s stations on Itunes!

SEARCHING:
Well, this is where I spend most of my time....on the internet doing research on photography, being environmentally friendly, and being inspired. Some of my favorite photography sites are:
www.sweetmondayphotography.com
www.jasminestarblog.com
www.drewbphotography.com
www.julesbianchi.com/blog
http://briankhang.blogspot.com/
www.thebschool.com
www.photographymentor.com
www.opensourcephoto.com
**the last three sites listed are great for TONS of information that applies to shooting***

Some other sites that I love:
www.edbegley.com/environment/ - great tips on how to make your home more eco-friendly
www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/ - I read this book and it totally inspired me!
www.kayak.com - my favorite place to find good prices on flights

WATCHING:
I will start off my saying that I'm not as big a TV fan as I used to be. Maybe the older I get, the more I want to read...who knows, BUT there are a few shows that I really can't live without right now, including:

FLIPPING OUT!! If you haven't seen this show on Bravo, it's a must, especially for people who have any inclination in themselves of OCD and can laugh at it. The show follows Jeff Lewis, a well known house flipper/interior designer in LA.

TOP CHEF - This is Lee's & my favorite show...we are big fans and just found out that Top Chef season 5 started taping in NYC this month and will continue taping WHILE we are visiting. Let the stalking begin... :)

WEEDS Season 3 - I don't have Showtime so I just finished watching WEEDS season 3 on DVD last night. Such a good show, but not sure I can wait that long for Season 4!

And almost nightly (when we can), Lee & I watch Countdown with Keith Olbermann. Can you believe that one of his first jobs was as sportscaster on KTLA? Gotta love that he's a true New Yorker though.

DOING:
Besides taking pictures, I have been playing tennis every sunday with Lee trying to improve my skills, spending lots of time with my friends, and LOVING my dogs :)

That's my life...pretty fun!

More From the Hollywood Bowl!

Here are the rest of the pictures that I took while at the Hollywood Bowl last Sunday. If anyone here in LA has never been....it's a MUST! Mom, when you and dad are here they're doing "A night of old Havana...Mambo Style". Wanna go?

Hope everyone enjoys the pictures as much as we enjoyed our night!

Lee & Richard

Me & Achee

The nice spread...yum!

Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings...fabulous!!

I absolutely LOVE these little girls

More Sharon Jones

Feist

Today one of my oldest friend's Jennie just had a baby boy - Curtis William (Curt). I met Jennie in the second grade along with our friend Sherry and the three of us have remained friends ever since. These girls, although I don't get to see them much, really keep me grounded and know me in a way that many people don't. Their friendship is one of the jewels in my life - precious and irreplaceable. Seeing pictures today of Jennie's baby touched me so much because omg....my little 8 year old friend just had a baby! Where did the last 23 years go?!? Jennie & Will - I'm so incredibly happy for you both - you're going to be great parents! I'm ready to buy my plane ticket to meet him :)

Here is a picture of Jennie, Sherry, & I. Pictures of Curt will come when I get to Chicago for his photo session!

August special on portraits!!!

I planned to finish editing my Hollywood Bowl pictures last night to post on the blog, but I fell asleep on the couch at 9pm reading a book called "Understanding Exposure". I was waiting for Lee to finish working on our good computer, but couldn't keep my eyes open. Thankfully I made it to bed at some point in the night so I could turn the alarm on. I slept until 6am this morning...so good! Hopefully I'll post the rest of the pics tonight, if not tomorrow morning. Happy Thursday!

In the meantime, for an update...I'm working on my logo right now which is SOOO exciting, and then I'll be aggressively working on my website when the logo is done. My blog will also look a bit different which will be fun.

I am advertising a "new business" special starting in August, so if you know anyone who would like family portraits (kids, pets, couple), please let me know.

The special is $250 and includes a 1.5 hour shoot, CD with 15-20 edited images, and 2prints of your choice. This is a great deal so don't pass it up! I won't book more than 4 clients on the weekend (2 on saturday and 2 on sunday), so let me know if you're interested.

Only in LA....

This past weekend was a blast! Saturday night we attended GLOW in Santa Monica - the all night art festival and it was amazing! There were 40 thousand people at the beach and the Pier....it was incredible. I searched for some pictures on Flickr and here they are.

http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=all&q=GLOW+santa+monica&m=text

I didn't bring my camera because I knew we'd be sitting on the sand all night and I didn't want to take any chances. We arrived at 8PM with our dinner in hand to spend time with friends. We didn't leave until 3AM and it was so awesome to see how the beach filled up with people of all ages, even babies. There were massive art installations all over the beach that all glowed in the dark. Come to find out the significance of the whole event was the Grunion run that took place late at night. We walked to the surf and were able to see the Grunions mating...so very cool!

On Sunday we slept in, hung around the house and then went to the Hollywood Bowl for the night with some friends. It was a beautiful night with great music and great company. We heard Pacifika, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, and Feist. Lee & I made a fabulous dinner and took the bus from Santa Monica instead of driving which was SO GREAT (I highly recommend this to anyone going to the Bowl). I got some great pics, one of which I will share today. We got home very late and I was EXHAUSTED, but I couldn't stop thinking about how lucky I am to live in such a great place that offers so many unique experiences. Only in LA......

Stop and smell the flowers....

Is what I had to remind myself many times this week. Sometimes I get completely wrapped up in life, work, responsibilities, deadlines, and more responsibilities. I started a book club a few months ago and have failed to finish the last two books on time because I've been "too busy". The second one, I didn't finish at all. I know that my life is important, but sometimes I wonder if I worry too much about the responsibilities and not enough about stopping to take a breath(or read a book). I literally fell asleep this week sitting on the couch with my laptop on my lap - no joke. So this weekend I'm going to remind myself to stop and smell the beautiful flowers...especially the ones in my backyard.

This weekend, we're hitting the streets of Santa Monica with our friends to attend GLOW, an all night art festival around the city - FUN! Then on Sunday night, we're going to our annual KCRW concert at the Hollywood Bowl. Gotta love LA!

More from the Dodger Game

Here are the rest of pictures from the Dodger Game with Graham....so fun!

Graham's First Dodger Game!

There is nothing like experiencing a child's first of something. The first time they eat peas, the first time they stand on their own without holding onto anything, and of course....the first time they go to a DODGER GAME!! :) On Friday night, Lee & I had the pleasure of taking Andrew, Julie, & Graham to his very first Dodger Game at the ripe old age of 9 months. It was so fun....he was SO overwhelmed. Can you imagine those little eyes seeing tens and thousands of people for the first time? Considering the circumstances, he did incredibly well and only shed tears once the whole night. I will be posting more pictures this week, but here is a peak.

Is he not the cutest thing ever? Look at his little outfit!

Friday night was the kick off to such a fun weekend celebrating Lee's BIRTHDAY!!! This year he turned 29+3! On Saturday we went to the LA Wine Fest with 7 of our friends and had a blast (to say the least), followed by the most delicious burgers at the new Father's Office in Culver City. If anyone likes wine/beer tasting events, definitely check this event out for next year...it was truly amazing. On Sunday, we spent time with Lee's family which was so nice. I think it was a successful birthday celebration all around....Lee seemed very happy.

Santa Monica Beach Club

You know those moments when you've been thinking of something - an invention or business idea and then find out it's already been done and you're a bit disappointed that you didn't think of it first? That happens to Lee & I all the time, like when we found out that there was ALREADY a car seat towel/cover in production somewhere!!

Well last night I found out about something that I've been talking about FOREVER - something that we need in Santa Monica, something that I even mentioned to Lee last Saturday when we were driving down the PCH from Malibu. A public beach club!!! My friend Achee informed me last night that one is being built at 415 PCH!! The difference with finding out this information as opposed to the car seat towel is that I'm ELATED and HAPPY as can be...someone has answered my prayers. Supposedly construction has been underway for at least a year (not sure how I didn't know about this) and should hopefully open in Spring of 09'.

The only details I know right now are from the Friends of 415 PCH website, but there will be a pool, cafe, clubhouse, beach activities, and MAYBE paddle tennis. All of the $ to build it was donated by the Annenberg Foundation...how cool! This is going to be amazing for all of us beach lovers. I'll see you all there in 09!!

If anyone is as excited as me, check out the website of Friends of 415 PCH www.friendsof415pch.org.

My little friend

Lately my feisty little companion has been overly sweet and loving. It all started Memorial Day weekend when we left the dogs with our wonderful new dog sitter Marcela. I'm not sure what she did, but Rocky was like putty in her hands and he's been a little different ever since. Maybe she's the REAL dog whisperer!! Needless to say, I'm pretty much in love with Marcela now and actually can't wait for her to watch the dogs again. Next time I'll have her work on Rocky's sleeping habits. When they're good, he's the cutest thing EVER, but when they're bad he's up 5 times a night and can't get on our bed himself. You know what that means...I'M up 5 times a night! Thank God for coffee....

Here is a picture of the SWEET sleeping Rocky.

**If anyone would like Marcela's #, please let me know**

More of Freddy & Laura's WEDDING!

Happy Belated 4th to everyone! I spent 3 wonderful days relaxing at the beach, riding my bike around town, and catching up with friends...it was blissful! Oddly enough, I didn't take any pictures, but for your viewing pleasure I have the last handful of photos to show from Freddy & Laura's beautiful wedding.

Later this week I will be posting a few cute shots of Rocky my always faithful companion and best subject along with some info about what I've been up to in the last few weeks - reading, researching, and doing.

Enjoy these pics!

Here is a picture of Lee & I - happy as can be for our friends!

More green

Ketubah signing!!

BABY at the wedding...so adorable

Amazing cake from Jamaica's Cakes on Pico Blvd. Isn't that red wall amazing??

Love the table setting

First Dance

Now I know this picture is blurry, but I couldn't help posting it because Freddy's expression is just SOO him.

Laura at the bar....CELLL-E-BRATE good times!!

The room at the end of the evening

There is a very cool wall outside of the Marvimon and Sweet Monday had a great idea of "ending" the night there with some pictures. Here is my take on them.

LOVE the peace signs!

Laura & Freddy.....WEDDING!!

This is so exciting for me to post wedding pictures on my blog!!! I absolutely LOVE weddings, not just because they are always SO beautiful, but because of the sheer energy and emotion of the day when families and friends come together to celebrate the promise 2 people make to one another. It's just really cool! It's especially cool when you know how right those two people are for each other...like Freddy & Laura. They are a perfect match and their wedding day was a perfect day.

I will post a few images and then include a slideshow that I created at the bottom. Part 2 will come later...I have a few more pictures to work with.

Enjoy!

Beautiful location...The Marvimon in downtown LA

Gorgeous flowers everywhere!

Lee & Mike

Freddy's adorable nephew

The ceremony!

Isn't Laura's bouquet beautiful??

I am in love with this picture...my fav

And here is the slideshow...I hope this works!!