a quick succession of busy nothings

november 2010

2011-09-13T10:43:00.004-06:00

November was a good month cause we felt a little more settled. We took a little trip to Paris cause Zack was representing his former employer and scoping out some galleries for him. So naturally I tagged along.

We also got our little car and had to get used to driving here. It's a white Nissan Micra- 1993 car of the year, and is about the size of a 4 door mini. We're pretty proud of it, though some people judge us for it. Whatever, it does the job. I was pretty nervous driving at first though. Luckily it's an automatic.

Over Thanksgiving my sister Trish came to visit, which was so nice. We saw Tintern Abbey, spent some time in Cardiff, and London. And of course we had a nice little Thanksgiving dinner. I slaved over the turkey pringles all day. Yum!

october 2010

2011-09-13T10:18:00.006-06:00

October 2 we arrived in London on a redeye. We had not slept and rented a car straight away with no sat-nav. We drove straight to a realtor (or estate agent) in Newport, Wales- having not lined up a hotel or an apartment beforehand, just hoping something would work out. We were both sleep deprived and stressed to the max. Poor Zack had to hop in thatdriver's seat on the wrong side of the road. A near miss here and there, but nothing went wrong thankfully. We met with a realtor called Matt- our "first friend in the UK" we called him because he came into work on a Saturday for us and walked us straight to the flat we ended up signing on that day. It was fully furnished and was a block away from an ASDA superstore. We were all set!

In the following few weeks we had many more stresses- setting up a bank account, getting used to a tiny fridge, learning the bus system, getting Zack into school and started on projects. We took a trip to Abergavenny, tasted Welsh cakes (yummy) and Welsh faggots (truly disgusting with a bit of bone in the meaty wad- just douse it with gravy, it will be fine), mushy peas, chips and crisps, and found our tiny ward of about 50 people, mostly old.

My favorite memory from October, though, was riding the bus on a rainy evening to Llandaff, near Cardiff for a walking ghost tour. It was cold and rainy and a little creepy. Halloween isn't as big here as in the states, so that was our little celebration. Zack took this photo hoping to catch a ghost or two. I tried to look scared just in case anything showed up, and I was a little spooked, but not too bad.

oh how long it's been

2011-09-13T10:08:00.003-06:00

so here we are, months and months since i've posted on this blog. and then today i just decided to. we've had a busy time, lonely time, good time, hard time, everything and anything time since we've lived in the uk. our time is winding down to a close in a few months time and i thought i'd kind of catch up on some things i remember from each month of living here so far. i will post once for each of the months up til now. see how that goes. sorry for the lack of posts.

check out my other blog

2011-02-05T08:40:00.004-07:00

i post more often here these days:

brendabarrettphoto.blogspot.com

we made it!

2010-10-05T06:39:00.002-06:00

after a long journey, we have moved to wales! it seems like we've been stressed consistantly for about 2 months now. every day. but we're here. the stress hasn't ended yet, and we still have a lot of settling in to do, but we have an apartment and we have each other. plus we even have one friend. ok, most people wouldn't consider their estate agent their friend, but we can't really be picky. anyway, we'll have internet in a few days hopefully and will start getting some pictures up. for now, just know we're still alive. we love and miss you all.

peanut butter and memories

2010-06-02T12:06:00.004-06:00

i was shooting a product at work that required me to make a pb & j sandwich today. as i opened the fresh jar of peanut butter i got really excited. my grandma used to let us draw a design in the unmarked peanut butter, if we were the first to use it (and believe me there was definitely some argument over it with my siblings whenever that opportunity presented itself). so, having no competition, i lifted the seal and got right down to business. i drew what i always drew- a heart. i love my grandma and miss being able to spend time with her. that's definitely a priority when we go back to utah.

lillian crowe jewelry

2010-05-26T10:48:00.003-06:00

while at the brooklyn flea, i fell in love with lillian crowe's jewelry. i couldn't pass up buying one of her necklaces, although it was tough to choose which one. i ended up getting the small whistle.

but it was a tough choice between that, the ball locket,

and the silhouette.

all so cool. check out her website here.

best chocolate cupcakes

2010-05-26T10:36:00.003-06:00

speaking of good desserts...

my sister trish introduced me to the world's best chocolate cupcakes. the place is the chocolate room, also in brooklyn. i don't even buy into the whole cupcake craze. cupcakes are fine, but they're not to die over. usually. these cupcakes, however, are so moist (but not like cake mixes that are crumbly) and the frosting, oh the frosting. i could eat a whole tub of it. in fact, just thinking about it makes my mouth water. it's super creamy and rich. it tastes like melted chocolate, and it's smooth, dark, and shiny. i don't know how it's possible, but it is the best thing i can imagine. go try it for yourself.

best darn red velvet cake ever

2010-05-26T10:22:00.004-06:00

last saturday i went with my sister mip and bro-in-law hadleigh to brooklyn to check out the brooklyn flea (which had some really cool stuff, by the way). before we could make it there, we had to stop at the cake man's tiny brooklyn shop and get some red velvet cake for the road. that's all they sell there, with or without nuts. and it's amazing. go have some.

wales!

2010-05-24T10:24:00.003-06:00

hey everybody, we're moving to wales! zack has been accepted into the mfa program at university of wales newport. the semester starts in october so we'll be packing up here in september, heading to utah for a bit, and then hitting the road for newport. we'll be sort of sad to leave new york, but we're so exciting to be moving on.

p.s. guess what the population of sheep is in wales. it's a lot more than people.

self portrait

2010-04-18T09:42:00.003-06:00

so my friend gaby got hooked up with this project where a bunch of photographers submit a self portrait and pay a little, and then a book is designed with all the portraits inside. those who participated get a copy of said book. when she first told me about it i was intrigued, but i didn't have enough time before the deadline. then, luckily, they extended it. here is my contribution.

i tried to go with a very natural looking, unretouched (for the most part), plain and simple shot. any thoughts?

vampire books

2010-03-08T13:08:00.002-07:00

ok, so i'm obsessed with vampire books. what can i say? i'm sorry? i'm embarrassed? well, i'm a bit of both, but sometimes we just can't help the way we feel.

here's the one i'm just starting (after reading part of the house of night series, and part of the vampire diaries series). why not just be honest, right? anyone else out there with me?

homemade bread, at last!

2010-02-27T11:17:00.003-07:00

so i've been trying to get up the courage to make homemade bread for some time now. i don't know why the task seemed so daunting, but it's taken me months to actually do it. so that's how i spent my friday night, baking bread. i used my great grandma walton's recipe for whole wheat bread, and man is it good. here's what it turned out like.

i must say, it felt good using a recipe that's been in the family for so long. now if only i had the time to do it more often.

retouching

2010-02-18T13:01:00.005-07:00

just a little before and after i'm pretty proud of. i had to take the pattern on the glasses completely off and add other ones that were lighter (a painstaking selection, let me tell you). then i had to combine it with the yellow lemonade image. then i had to turn the yellow lemonade pink. anyway, that's what i've been doing today...

cool glasses will be available on uncommon goods soon.

reading again!

2010-02-17T11:10:00.004-07:00

yay! i've gotten really into reading again. now i can stop feeling bad about myself for my lack of interest. i'm currently reading about 5 books, some not as challenging as others, i.e. wimpy kid.

i'm obsessed with books on tape too. they're so enjoyable on my super long commute. too bad i'm rapidly running out of my stock. while in utah a couple of weeks ago, i checked out several from the orem library (a great source if you're in the area) and downloaded them to my ipod. i have listened to "on chesil beach" by ian mcewan, "the scarlet letter" by nathanial hawthorne, and "washington square" by henry james. i am currently listening to "a very long engagement" by sebastien japrisot. then all i have left is the second harry potter, which i've definitely already read. anyone know of an online source for audio books?

the christmas season

2010-01-22T10:08:00.008-07:00

i'm such a slacker at posting on this blog. better late than never though, right?

here's our christmas tree in ny. (not the one above obviously. that's the rockefeller tree of course) i don't think i was ready for that second picture but, unfortunately it's the best full view of the tree.

zack and i went to utah, where both of our parents live (about a 2 minute drive from each other). it's always hard to divide up the time between families and friends, but we sure try.

christmas day was busy busy. we stayed at zack's house, so we had christmas morning with his family. his brother josh called from his mission in canada. he sounded good. he's actually coming home today, and the whole family is very excited to see him. it's hard to believe he's only been gone 2 years, it feels like a lot longer. after a few hours at z's parents we went to my parent's, only to discover the family had already gone to my grandparents. so we made our way down there. we ate brunch and opened gifts. then quite a bit of back and forth between my parent's and zack's parent's, but we always love seeing family and the gift exchange is always exciting, to say the least. we even got to talk to my brother eric who is on his mission in guatemala for almost 2 hours. it's hard with 20 people trying to talk on 2 phones, let me say. but it was so good to hear from him. he was totally speaking with a little spanish accent. ha ha.

anyway, for christmas i gave zack these boots. he has returned a couple pairs now trying to find the right size, but we're determined to get it right. zack got me this keyboard. i'm so excited to finally have something to play and practice on out in ny. i also got a long desired wacom tablet for retouching, a new coat, several cookbooks, and lots of other things. for my sister trish, and my sister in law cora (who's names i drew) i made skirts. i wish i was a little better at sewing, must practice up on that.

the day after christmas we went up to salt lake. we ate at crown burger, which is usually really good, but was really busy cause of a jazz game, which really made everyone kind of upset we chose it. blah. then we went to temple square to look at the lights. it was freeeeezing outside and i was too cold to take many pictures, but here are a couple.

a couple days after christmas we went with zack's family to the manti, ut temple. i had only ever seen if from the outside, but it was beautiful on the inside. it was snowing that day, and very cold, but it was a wonderful experience. that night, we went up the provo canyon to meet up with my family who had rented a cabin in aspen grove, right by sundance. we spent the next couple days there snowshoeing, sledding, and hanging out. it was so much fun that we're hoping to go back again next year.

all in all it was a great holiday. can't wait for next time...

a little taste of amsterdam and antwerp

2010-01-08T09:22:00.007-07:00

in november zack and i went to amsterdam and antwerp with my sister trish. it was meant to be a work trip for the two of them, cause their boss was having a show opening in den haag. but their boss didn't end up coming. so it was mostly like a vacation. it was pretty awesome.

this is what basically every block looks like in amsterdam. so pretty. and the building are all wonky. they said they were taxed on the width of the building so they built them thin and deep. and lots of these are older than the u.s. of a.

eating french fries with mayo. this was our first item of business i'll have you know.

the furniture hooks they built onto the buildings cause the buildings were too narrow to get furniture upstairs. they had to pull it up outside and put it in through the windows.

in antwerp, belgium zack and i took a tourist tram. it was really bumpy on those stone roads, but amazing none-the-less. this was our driver.

belgian waffles in belgium. zack's was warm and gooey. mine was cold, but covered in chocolate.

one of the many cathedrals in antwerp. so pretty. a man was playing his violin outside the doors and it really felt like we were in a dream or something. the music fit perfectly with the surroundings.

the same cathedral at night.

a not so old building in den haag. really, 1818 seems new there.

waiting at the train station in amsterdam to go back to the airport.

don't be thankful like the pilgrims

2009-11-24T19:51:00.004-07:00

i was on the train today and this rad guy was playing a very cheap looking electric guitar plugged into a tiny amp he was wearing on a strap like a shoulder bag. it sounded similar to the "freedom for my people" track on u2's rattle and hum (minus the harmonica). listen here. he was playing a blues song. it was amazing. at the end he told the whole car something like this:

"thank you ladies and gentlemen, i want you all to be grateful this week. when the pilgrims came to america the indians taught them how to plant crops and get food, (etc.). the indians gave them all that and you know what the pilgrims gave them back? the small pox. don't be grateful like the pilgrims, ladies and gentlemen, be grateful by making someone's life better."

it was so great. and it makes me really want to be grateful by making someone's life better, cause that guy made my terribly long train ride a little better.

get on your boots...

2009-10-10T20:47:00.003-06:00

i am now the proud owner of these hunter lady n boots. just waiting for them in the mail. hopefully my hefty calves aren't too substantial to fit into the slender leg openings that is typical of hunter boots. i guess we'll see...

pumpkins make me happy

2009-10-08T20:08:00.005-06:00

when life gets you down, there are always pumpkins. my sister anne was in town last weekend from richmond and we decided to go to the pumpkin blaze at the van cortlandt manor, very near to sleepy hollow (in the hudson valley). it was amazing! crazy what you can do with some pumpkins and some imagination. if you're in the area it is definitely worth the $15 to see the 4,000 jack-o-lanterns. yay!

pictures are thanks to anne, i forgot my camera.

Frenchies

2009-09-26T08:47:00.003-06:00

this movie was not as good as i hoped it would be. audrey tautou is beautiful as usual, but the story and the flow of the whole thing left something to be desired.

the paris theatre, however, never disappoints. if you're in new york, you should see whatever movie is playing there, simply because it's a great theatre. plus the popcorn is the best.

2 years baby

2009-09-22T14:25:00.004-06:00

happy anniversary to my dear husband! looking forward to many more...

the space in between

2009-09-21T21:56:00.004-06:00

so it's been a long long time since i've posted. it's not that i haven't had things to post about, it's just that i lost interest. we'll see if i'm coming back around, or if this is just a fluke. to start over, here are a couple of pics i took over labor day weekend with my friend gaby. she and i decided to try taking pictures for the fun of it once again.

this is the view from the park across the street from my apartment of the g.w. bridge. i can't see this view from my apartment, only if i walk to the top of the hilly park, but i still like it.

and this is a dumpster i saw in the park. while gaby was shooting something beautiful, no doubt, this is was caught my eye.

so there you go. first post in months and it contains a dumpster.

public enemies

2009-07-08T09:05:00.000-06:00

this movie is amazing. go see it.

i'm proud to be an american, where at least i know i'm free...

2009-07-08T08:28:00.007-06:00

we had a good 4th, mip, hadz, and i. we ate a late breakfast of doughnuts and smoothies. then we went and rowed boats on the pond by the bethesda fountain in central park.

after an afternoon of wandering around and drinking jamba juice, we ate at cowgirl. it was some good food, but mostly i like the patriotic taxidermy.

then we went to hadz's office on the 33rd floor to watch the macy's fireworks on the hudson. it was a perfect view.

jonathan richman

2009-07-02T10:33:00.005-06:00

zack has long been into the music of jonathan richman, the lead singer of the modern lovers. a couple weeks ago we had to good fortune to see him live at the bowery ballroom for only $15. i have always appreciated his music, whenever zack has put it on, but something often happens to me when i see someone live (especially if they're good, and he was amazing). i find myself with a new respect and a deep love for the music. he is so talented and was so gracious. so with that being said, you should listen to jonathan richman.

p.s. for all of you in utah, he's playing at kilby court tonight. it will be amazing, i'll tell you that right now. go, for heaven's sake. go.

yay!

2009-05-19T14:09:00.004-06:00

we have internet again, after a full week without it! turns out the circuit we were connected to broke. not our fault. and it only took zack and i both about 6 hours on the phone, a million different stories from a million different people, and me yelling at a man named ben (whom i could hardly understand) to resolve the whole thing. one thing i will say is this: if you can avoid dealing with verizon in any way, shape, or form, do. please do.

aren't old photos amazing?

2009-05-11T21:32:00.006-06:00

when i was in utah i went with my mom to my grandparents house. they pulled out some old photo albums and i took a few photos of their old prints.

this is my grandparents. weren't they such a good looking couple?

this is my dad as a baby. people used to tell my grandma what a beautiful girl they had. they just thought his blue eyes and blond curls were so pretty.

and this is maybe one of my favorite photos ever. this is my two uncles and my dad. from left to right: uncle wayne, uncle bill, my dad. priceless. it makes me want to play cowboys and indians.

happy mother's day

2009-05-10T11:11:00.004-06:00

to all you lovely mother's out there (especially my mom) happy mother's day! this is a picture of my mom and me from my wedding. she does so much for me and i'm so thankful for her.

this is what they handed out in church today, flowers for all the mothers (and future mothers).

my primary girls (ctr 5 class) loved my single pink tulip so much, they decided to take turns holding it. sadly the stem didn't make it through the end of church. i still think it looks nice chopped off in this little bottle though.

sunrise

2009-05-08T21:39:00.002-06:00

how many times have you actually watched the sun rise? i can pretty much admit that i haven't done it many a time. but i did today. as i was driving back to new york in a chinatown bus, the sun was rising over the skyline. isn't it amazing?

virginee

2009-05-08T21:21:00.005-06:00

so i decided last minute to go to richmond, va to visit my sister anne a few days ago. richmond is such a cool place. so much cool architecture. i was able to go with anne to one of her projects (a building up for historic nomination). it was a cool old factory, now offices, that will be turned into condos. unfortunately i didn't get any pictures of that place. here is an average street in richmond, tons of old buildings.

we had a grand old time. we ate at buzz & ned's barbeque, which was amazing.

we went to a really cool antique mall, west end antiques. i found some pretty cool little things there. these are a few treasures i didn't purchase. next time.

a cool motel sign we passed

this was in hollywood cemetery. i'm not sure if there's something wrong with me or not, but i secretly love old cemeteries. they are fascinating to me. this one has over 18,000 confederate soldiers buried in it. it makes me want to learn more about the cival war.

this is a cool old theatre, the byrd that still plays movies. on saturday nights a man plays the mighty wurlitzer (the theatre's organ) before the movie. i'm so sad i wasn't there on a saturday to hear him play. definitely going to do that next time though.

Yay eric!!

2009-05-08T16:01:00.007-06:00

my little brother eric received his mission call today! and the verdict is...

the guatemala, guatemala city south mission!!!

it looks like a beautiful city and country.

i wasn't with him when he opened it, but he sounded very excited over the phone. congratulations eric!! we're all so proud of you!

he reports to the provo, ut missionary training center on august 5th (my birthday) to begin training and learning spanish.

*zack was betting on russia, i was betting on brazil. i was sort of close.

blair family, candice stringham, and styling

2009-04-28T14:35:00.004-06:00

the other day i helped long time friend candice stringham on styling a photo shoot of the lovely blair family. if you have never read design mom, you should. it will blow your mind. anyway, the blairs are moving and it just worked out for all of us to collaborate on this wonderful shoot. take a look at candice's blog too. she does great work.

grounded

2009-04-27T21:27:00.005-06:00

yesterday my lovely sister trish and i went to, what we so lovingly refer to as, beach church. it's when the weather is really nice on a sunday and you go to the beach, (sometimes instead of the end of church, hence the title "beach church"). it was a perfect, relaxing afternoon spent enjoying nature. after returning home with a crazy splochy sunburn in odd places, however, i have decided that i am grounded from putting on my own sunscreen. i wouldn't be so upset about a sunburn if i hadn't put in the effort to stop it from happening. joke's on me i guess.

"looks like someone needs to visit dr. z (the "dermatologist" who advertises in the subway)" says zack.

marty robbins

2009-04-27T17:28:00.003-06:00

zack got this record for me a while ago after i told him my dad used to sing "el paso" to me as a little girl. i love love love marty robbins these days. can't get enough of that smooth, mellow, old-timey country music. give it a try, you probably won't regret it.

it was just like christmas

2009-04-27T17:03:00.004-06:00

speaking of that conference, zack realized a few days ahead of time that he didn't have some of the things he needed for the presentation. they were home in utah. safely stored away in his parent's closet. and his parents were in california. rats. so i had to get a last minute flight (four hours before having to leave for the airport) and jet off to sunny utah. woe is me. only when i got there it wasn't so sunny. it was snowy. it felt like coming home for christmas.

while in utah i went to treasures antique mall in springville with my brother mike, my mom, and my grandma. as usual, it did not disappoint. after several hours browsing all the different booths we went to the art city trolley for lunch. yum.

i didn't take many pictures while in utah unfortunately. but i did spend a lot of time with friends and family and had so much fun.

p.s. just for your own reference carry on baggage can't actually be as large as they say it can. at least not on continental. my bag even fit in the little box they have for you to check the size, but they made me check it anyway. that silly crabby lady. oh well, at least i didn't have to pay to check it.

the thing zack made me

2009-04-27T16:59:00.002-06:00

last weekend zack and dear friend dan barney were collaborating on a presentation at the national art educators conference in minneapolis. apparently they had people there trying to pimp their products. zack drew this for me there and it arrived in the mail today as a beautiful, shiny, plastic plate. any questions?

so remember when i used to post sometimes?

2009-04-10T14:08:00.003-06:00

well, here you go. a few weeks ago we had some friends in town and rode the free staten island ferry with them. here are some shots from the trip.

assisting

2009-03-18T09:06:00.004-06:00

i've been assisting my friend kendra smoot lately. she's an amazing prop stylist. i was kind of excited about this shoot that i assisted on because i love real simple magazine so much.

the shoot was at a beautiful house in connecticut and turned out really nice i think. sorry the scans are so bad, you should really just go get the magazine cause these are only two of the images.

p.s. i made that sink skirt. good times.

U2 on good morning america

2009-03-09T07:40:00.004-06:00

the other day, friday march 6th to be exact, my sister trish (the biggest u2 fan there ever was) found out that u2 was going to be on the good morning america show. they were going to play at fordham university in the bronx, really only 10 minutes away from where we live. one problem... it was only open to fordham u. students and faculty. we woke up at 5 anyway, determined not to miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. there were nypd cops and school guards everywhere. we snuck into one gate, ignoring a guy yelling at us, only to find out the building was completely fenced in. we walked around the other side, and past the same guy in shame. we walked around the entire campus, considering jumping fences and wondering if the onlooking cops would be fast enough to catch us. finally, we sucked it up and asked in all honesty if there was a way. the nice lady cop said we could come in if we could find a fordham u. student with i.d. to go in with. yay!

the next group we saw let us come in with them and the rest is history.

the cast of good morning america

u2 coming out of keating hall (i think), after a 2 hour wait

playing one of their 6 songs. i've never been this close during any u2 show i've been to, and this one was free!

u2 being interviewed by g.m.a. lady (can't remember her name). they didn't have microphones at first and bono asked for one so the crowd that was there could hear, not just the t.v. audience. the first thing we heard was, "see that's why you're u2, that's what you're all about. you care about your fans" (from the g.m.a. lady). or maybe they just have a brain. all in all, it was a beautiful day.

sad story

2009-03-01T21:52:00.006-07:00

so zack and i were making some pretty important life decisions over the past few days. we had to decide if we wanted to break our lease and leave our noise ridden crazy apartment (and possibly get taken to court for doing so), if we wanted to sign a new lease to another apartment, if we wanted to help a girl get into the old apartment (to avoid the possible legal ramifications), if we wanted to scrap the whole new york thing totally and become hobos, etc. we happened to be on the street while discussing some of these things for a few minutes when all of the sudden...

we were pooped on. quite literally. what was that liquidy splash? we looked up only to see the pigeon's tail peeking over the edge of the building. i started immediately sobbing and shaking with disgust while zack took my hand and led me to the target bathroom a couple blocks away. at least zack can keep a cool head with poo in his hair.

more homemade goodness

2009-02-23T15:08:00.004-07:00

i started making these button gift tags. what do you think? to purchase click here.

i made these

2009-02-20T09:47:00.003-07:00

and then ate them.

here's the recipe:

2 cups all purpose flour (slightly more if dough seems too wet)

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 tbsp vanilla extract (cause my grandma taught me to always put a little extra, it makes the dough taste better)

1 egg

1 egg yolk

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup dark chocolate bar chopped into small pieces

directions:

1. preheat the oven to 325 degrees. line cookie sheet with parchment paper.

2. sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside

3. in a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown and white sugar until well blended. beat in the vanilla, egg, and yolk until light and creamy.

4. mix in the dry ingredients until just blended. stir in the chocolate chips and chopped chocolate bar by hand using a wooden spoon.

5. drop spoonfuls of cookie dough onto prepared cookie sheets and bake for about 10 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned. cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

more from photo shoot with gaby

2009-02-09T21:32:00.006-07:00

paris arcades relics. all one euro each. i could have purchased a whole suitcase full of stuff.

i sort of liked that one in black and white too.

photo shoot with gaby

2009-02-07T14:40:00.006-07:00

i shot a bunch of still lives with my friend gaby today. hope you like them, cause there are lots more to come.

Early Thursday

2009-02-04T14:08:00.006-07:00

My sister Mip and I have started to get our Etsy shop (Early Thursday) going, for real this time. We named it Early Thursday because when we were in elementary school, we got out early on Thursdays. It was our favorite day of the week. Anyway, take a look at our Valentine's cards and other cards. We'll be posting other things shortly. Stay tuned.

then the next day

2009-01-28T23:05:00.006-07:00

i photographed them on the windowsill.

turns out i liked the windowsill on it's own just as well. oh well, i gave the flowers a chance.

cheesy photos

2009-01-28T22:36:00.008-07:00

so i don't really photograph flowers. never really have much. but then one day i did. and i sort of liked it. and then i thought "these could go on a calendar". and then i was sad and had to blog about it. sorry for the cheese.

at the moulin rouge you'll have fun...

2009-01-17T09:04:00.004-07:00

unless it's under construction your first time in paris. i was upset. darcie, this is why i didn't post it to begin with. sore spot, if you catch my drift.

etsy

2009-01-13T21:14:00.004-07:00

i've started, slowly but surely, to make things for etsy. check out my shop if you want.

la vie en noir et blanc

2009-01-12T21:17:00.013-07:00

i love paris in the fall...

2009-01-12T20:22:00.007-07:00

i have realized recently that i never got around to posting about paris. so much to post on the subject, i just haven't had the gumption. anyway, i got some scans of my film today in the mail (thanks mom) and have many favorites. here's a start.

cimetiere du pere lachaise. where oscar wilde's grave is.

another image from the same cemetery.

the view from one of our balconies in paris with the sun rising on the buildings. more to come soon.

one time in paris...

2009-01-12T20:10:00.005-07:00

i lathered on some chapstick and kissed this really dirty grave. "you don't know where those lips have been" (paris je t'aime). at least oscar wilde is a really cool author. if you've never read the importance of being earnest, you should. it will only take about an hour. i hope i haven't contracted some disease or infection from doing this, but i won't ever say i regret it. vive la vie!

better late than never

2009-01-07T19:11:00.003-07:00

photo by zack

zack and i were at duane reade 2 days ago and found this lovely tree on clearance for $5. we just couldn't pass it up, even though christmas has long since passed.

listography

2009-01-06T12:29:00.009-07:00

check out these funny books

zack and i got the listography one and are just starting to fill out a page a day (we split the page into a column for each of us). last night's list was all the pets we've had. good memories. i think it will be really cool to have finished though, since neither of us really write in a journal and they're such obscure things you would probably never write about anyway.

accidents for the holidays

2008-12-13T15:00:00.003-07:00

the other evening, in preparation for a homemade christmas party, i was working like crazy on a present for my dear friend gaby (who's name i drew). i was using scissors to cut something that really shouldn't have been cut with scissors, and sliced my finger open. i always get so woozy when i spy even the slightest drop of blood and was completely alone, so i shakily bandaged myself up and then put my head between my knees.

soon enough i felt better and got together with mip and hadz. then came the call that my sister trish was in an ambulance on her way to the e.r. she had been hit by a car while crossing the street on her way home from the subway, about one block away from home. it was a hit and run. luckily she is ok, other than bumps, sprains, and bruises.

i would like to say, though, that it makes me sick to think that some person out there knows what they did and washed their hands of it. so if you've recently hit someone with your car and drove away from the accident without fessing up, (and are currently reading my blog), please know that many people are very upset with you. that is all.

one more christmas thing

2008-12-11T15:08:00.002-07:00

if you're not getting a christmas tree this year, like me (sniff), then at least your place can smell like you have one. this stuff is amazing.

christmas music, yay!

2008-12-11T14:26:00.005-07:00

you may or may not know, but i really love christmas music. if there was enough variety i could listen year round. it's just so nice sounding. anyway, i have a lot of new and old favorites playing this year. here is my current playlist:

it's that time of year- manhattans

it's beginning to look a lot like christmas- bing crosby

x-mas song- fireflies

donna & blitzen- badly drawn boy

(everybody's waiting for) the man with the bag- kay starr

have yourself a merry little christmas- bright eyes

the christmas song- the raveonettes

what are you doing new year's eve?- mel torme

christmas dreaming- frank sinatra

oh little town of bethlehem- bright eyes

lo, how a rose e're blooming- feist

god rest ye merry gentlemen- pedro the lion

i've got my love to keep me warm- billie holiday

merry christmas (i don't want to fight tonight)- the ramones

santa baby- eartha kitt

the first noel- pedro the lion

all that i want- the weepies

candy cane children- the white stripes

the christmas song- nat king cole

snowflakes- evangelicals

the little drummer boy- deerhoof

silent night- my morning jacket

what child is this- dave brubeck

winter wonderland- dean martin

carol of the bells- the bird and the bee

santa claus is coming to town- mason jennings

have yourself a merry little christmas- hem

holiday mood- apples in stereo

plus i'm still in love with low's christmas album and sufjan steven's. i love all the old crooners and elvis. why not?

listing wishes

2008-12-01T11:50:00.010-07:00

well it's christmas time again, and i'm sure those of you who read my blog are just dying to know what i would ask for. well, i won't keep it from you any longer. my wishes are simple this year.

normal jeans that fit me right and a pair of cords. haven't had some of those in years.

a warm, cute, and long coat.

a hairdryer with a retractable cord. so much easier to store. rosemary mint anything from aveda. a wood handled brush.

and some boots that hopefully won't wear out in a year.

nothing too glamorous, just some things i need but haven't been able to get yet. that's all.

first dublin

2008-11-25T09:34:00.017-07:00

when we first got there it was five in the morning. we had a little trouble figuring out the correct bus transfer/ bus stop to get to our hotel so we didn't actually get there until 9 or so. but the good news is that we figured out we had the flag down the bus (it doesn't automatically stop at the bus stop), you have to have exact change in coins or you can't ride, and dublin is cold when it's rainy and you're waiting outside for a bus for a couple of hours. good times.

at least our hotel was cool. it was called the charleville lodge and was a little out of dublin city center, but easy to reach by bus (once you figure them out). look how tired we were that first day.

dublin is full of cute little buildings and row houses.

lots of them have unique doors. i once heard it's because the men would come home from the pub at night drunk as a skunk and couldn't figure out what house was theirs unless they could distinguish the door somehow.

photo by zack

the ha'penny bridge and christchurch cathedral.

more cute buildings by the river and an awesome neon sign which covered an entire building. yes it does say "the happy ring house" and the diamond ring flashed, as well as the bells. unfortunately the groom was burned out.

cute little irish looking building by dublin castle.

a pub (one of millions but this one had really cool windows), and some mansize tissues.

death rests within.

medieval stuff.

this was on a street they have with lots of cute shops and the christmas decorations were up already. it was rather charming.

dublin castle from the chester beatty museum. we had a good couple days in dublin, saw lots of pubs and drunkards, met nice people, ate irish food, saw illuminated manuscripts, old libraries, and photos of ireland. then we were off to paris...

halloween, a bit late

2008-11-25T08:57:00.009-07:00

this is what we ate in the morning.

these are the other freaks costumes: a corpse and an undertaker, and the morton salt girl

and this was zack's costume. he was a heavy metal drummer and made the drums himself. unfortunately they could not withstand his rocking. they looked really cool though.

the walk home, just carrying a coffin. i love my hood.

one time...

2008-11-23T12:05:00.002-07:00

i made good ol' mac and cheese with peas in it which, by the way, is one of my favorite thing (because yes- i am four years old). anyway, once i was finished stirring the bright orange powder into the hot noodles and milk, this is how the spoon came out. i'm not sure why this is the funniest thing in the world to me, it just is.

what a sweetie...

2008-11-21T09:57:00.005-07:00

my dear husband gave me a trip to europe (dublin and paris) for our one year wedding anniversary in september. we just got back from the trip and i am very happy to tell you that i love europe. everything was amazing from the food to the museums, the architecture to the weather. the only thing i didn't really enjoy was the crazy rude parisians. anyway, i'll definitely be posting pictures later, zack just has the card reader on a job at the moment.

pumpkin festival in central park

2008-11-11T18:28:00.007-07:00

a few days before halloween zack and i went to the pumpkin festival in central park. it was rainy and cold and very fall-like. i love pumpkins and, although we missed getting a free one, it was quite enjoyable.

they got elementary schools around the city to carve all the pumpkins. it was really cool, there were hundreds lining the paths.

this column is right near the bethesda fountain and it randomly has a witch and an owl carved into it. how appropriate.

my poor pumpkin

2008-11-10T15:45:00.004-07:00

before and after

about time for a new posting

2008-11-10T15:19:00.004-07:00

so i was just waiting for something important enough to post about and here it is. my favorite port-a-potty company "johnny on the spot".

just kidding, really we just haven't had internet for about a month. good times.

delayed response

2008-10-09T11:02:00.004-06:00

so gaby tagged me ages ago, and i just haven't gotten around to responding yet. such a bad blogger. here goes...

10 years ago i...

1. was just starting high school

2. thought i wanted to major in piano performance

3. hated wearing shorts and short skirts

4. loved u2, the cranberries, and bush

5. was definitely chubbier than i am now

5 things on today's to-do list

1. get ready for the day at some point

2. retouch amelia bedelia pictures for mip's (my sister's) freelance design job

3. take vitamins and drink lots, cause now i'm definitely getting a cold

4. help zack shave his head again

5. clean, clean, clean

5 snacks i enjoy

1. goldfish crackers, whole grain variety (although i do thoroughly enjoy the new graham goldfish)

2. anything to do with ice cream or frozen yogurt

3. trader joe's peanut butter filled pretzels

4. trader joe's vanilla almond granola bars

5. dried fruit

5 places i have lived

1. salt lake city, ut

2. provo, ut

3. new york, ny

4. south provo, ut

5. and new york again

5 jobs i have had

1. photo processor- campus photo, provo

2. photo archivist/ darkroom printer- special collections, harold b. lee library, byu campus

3. studio manager for photographer rodney smith, palisades, ny

4. assistant for photographer nicole hill/ retoucher- rubberball, orem, ut

5. freelance photographer/ retoucher- uncommon goods, brooklyn, ny

5 pet peeves

1. people being unnecessarily rude

2. the bed being unmade when i get in it at night. i can't stand the sheets and blankets all twisted.

3. people with disgusting habits in public places (i.e. picking their nose next to me on the subway, smoking right in front of my while walking on the sidewalk)

4. unruly children whose parent's don't really care

5. apartments with major problems and landlords who don't care

5 things that bring me joy

1. rainy fall days

2. pumpkins (i'm really not trying to copy gaby, we just happen to have some things in common)

3. my family, especially zack, and friends

4. a good road trip

5. a good treat (ice cream or anything pumpkin flavored preferably)

5 people i tag

1. zack

2. adam and darcie

3. ashley mae

4. clay and ashley

5. marc

sorry for the lack of blogging

2008-10-08T13:51:00.003-06:00

busy times here. we've gone to pennsylvania, jersey, and utah. we watched conference. we applied for apartments. we applied for jobs. we've just been busy in general. things will happen on this blog soon though. wait for it.

teal laundromat

2008-09-10T20:44:00.003-06:00

with a cool ceiling

crazy museums

2008-09-07T17:33:00.006-06:00

while we were on the trip last weekend we went to the mercer museum and the fonthill museum both of which were insane. both were built by henry mercer, one to house his collection of art and antique artifacts, the other for his own house.

he was a tile maker by profession, but also loved archeology, history, art, etc. he found it really important to collect and catalogue artifacts of everyday life, as well as art and historical objects. he wanted his collection to be safe from fire and elements, so he built his house and his museum out of concrete, with totally inexperienced workers. they would built what they wanted to room to be like with anything they could find and cover it with sand and concrete. once the concrete was set, they would take out all the garbage. they also made molds for the columns and things out of wood, so the concrete set with wood grain in it. it was so crazy to see how much stuff he had in there. everything from boats and carriages to old medical supplies and dishes were on the walls, in little rooms, on shelves, and even hanging from the ceiling.

unfortunately i could take any pictures inside, but the outsides were crazy too. the picture on the left was his house, which he called his concrete castle, the one on the right is his museum. nuts. if you're ever in bucks county, it's definitely worth seeing. check out this link.

our trip to pa

2008-09-07T15:22:00.007-06:00

last weekend we went to pennsylvania and new jersey. mostly to small towns, but we stopped in philly too before we headed home. here are some photos.

this is frenchtown. it was sunday evening when we got there so unfortunately not much was open. it looked cute though.

so we hung out by the delaware river and took these pics. good times.

zack's new little friend

2008-09-07T15:18:00.003-06:00

stella smoot. zack is rather good with kids. it seems like they always take a liking to him.

astroland to close for good

2008-09-05T14:34:00.004-06:00

i knew it was necessary to take that ride on the cyclone. although the cyclone itself will not be closing, because it's a historic landmark, the park that surrounds it will close it's doors for good this sunday. it's the end of an era. read more here.

and the polaroids

2008-09-03T15:18:00.007-06:00

coney island baby

2008-09-03T14:03:00.005-06:00

zack and i finally went to coney island the other day. we've been wanting to go ever since we got here. here are some photos...

the parachute drop, no longer in operation. it must have been a terrifying ride, frankly.

the wonder wheel. unfortunately we didn't ride it this time. it's so much fun.

we made it our goal to ride the cyclone before it closed for the season, so we did.

sad things. a remnant of playland, no longer in operation obviously, and a shot leaving coney through the subway window.

and then zack met woody allen

2008-09-03T13:45:00.005-06:00

vicky cristina barcelona

2008-08-23T09:31:00.006-06:00

zack and i are, of course, really into woody allen movies and this one did not disappoint. it was really lovely actually. it made me want to move to europe so badly.

p.s. smoking has to be the most disgusting thing, but doesn't penelope cruz make it look hot somehow?

why no more?

2008-08-19T12:20:00.005-06:00

why was there only one season of freaks and geeks? oh why? we just finished watching the entire series and i'm crying myself to sleep cause it's all over. so sad. bill is my personal fave.

ty's b-day

2008-08-19T11:54:00.003-06:00

good times, good people, good food, good disco ball, good dancing (i hear)

bimbo snacks

2008-08-19T11:48:00.004-06:00

rock band and birthday fun

2008-08-19T11:10:00.006-06:00

some people get a little into it, but then again why not?

the cake may not look that great but it was flourless chocolate and it was to die for, if i do sayso myself. here's the recipe.

kidney stones, again...

2008-08-19T10:00:00.001-06:00

at least it wasn't me this time. i felt so bad for poor gaby as i stayed with her in the hospital all day. i almost fainted when the iv was given so i decided to face my fears and photograph it. gaby also made a rule that i couldn't really photograph her. fair enough.

feist was awesome

2008-07-19T12:36:00.002-06:00

i loved her presentation. the overhead projector performance art was amazing! go on youtube and look it up if you haven't seen her on this tour. my little point and shoot just couldn't do it justice. thanks so much nicole! it was the best going away present ever!

my last day at rubberball...

2008-07-19T11:15:00.009-06:00

first thing, we went to see the new batman movie, as a company. it was creepy and amazing. so much like the cartoon series i faithfully watched as a child. they even gave out free popcorn and drinks. what a great breakfast.

then nicole, cause she's such a great friend, helped me pack my strange belongings in a cardboard spoon box so i would be all ready. aren't the flowers she gave me beautiful? actually most of my belongings were gifted to me by nicole. the french tapes, the little plant that may or may not be dying...

oh how i'll miss that little office and hanging out with the girls (nicole, capree, and molly)

then as i left molly wanted to make sure i wasn't going to be lonely, so she offered to be my chauffeur. unfortunately nicole wasn't ready to part with molly, so i had to decline the offer. boo. i'm going to miss that dog.

p.s. i made a mix cd to give away as a goodbye. be sure to visit nicole's blog and comment on her post before sunday evening to be considered.

one time i ordered this at a restaurant

2008-07-16T22:23:00.005-06:00

it was supposed to be a chicken pot pie, the least meaty item on the menu. i maybe ate 1/4 of it before it sunk my ship. apparently it made zack want to die too.

cause there ain't no doubt i love this land...

2008-07-13T00:22:00.008-06:00

our splendid fourth of july...

come on, where else could you camp out on the street and wake up to a parade with floats like this?

some good times at sundance

and some awesome stadium of fire fireworks. we could even hear hannah montana a little. what a day.

night music

2008-07-12T23:21:00.000-06:00

some of my images (some different ones actually made it in the show):

thanks ever so much to jenica.

some of my monsters:

the location:

one of the walls with everyone's work and a very disgruntled zack:

the show is still up until the end of july with all of zack's and my work up for silent auction. go see it.

when my brother eloped and i was invited...

2008-07-12T23:04:00.007-06:00

they decided a few days in advance, went to the s.l. county clerk's office, and took the plunge.

and all for $44

2008-07-12T22:45:00.000-06:00

these were our main customers at the yard sale, ashley and davie...although the real money makers were the die-hards that came into the garage and made themselves at home rummaging through stuff that wasn't for sale before we even set up (in the yard where "yard sales" take place) at 7:30. good times.

back in the day...

2008-07-12T22:38:00.003-06:00

these are from zack's graduation. sorry these weren't posted earlier.

he graduated with a bfa in photography from byu as well and actually spoke at graduation. i'm oh so proud of my little husband.

yard sale!!!

2008-07-10T21:06:00.005-06:00

in preparation for moving to nyc in a couple weeks...

night music flyer

2008-06-27T08:08:00.004-06:00

this is a drawing by the lovely cass.

night music

2008-06-19T10:45:00.004-06:00

zack and i are going to collaborate with the wonderful dan and cass barney on an art show at mode boutique in provo. i'm so excited to actually do something, for once. i'm so lazy these days. thanks ever so much to the barney's for inviting us. after much deliberation and many scrapped ideas, the title is now "night music". a flyer will be posted soon.

possibly old news

2008-06-19T00:01:00.004-06:00

but i love this album more than ever now that zack and i have it on vinyl. i must say, the digital version almost doesn't do it justice. but still, i will take the old time-y sounding twang and lovely voices in any form.

the other time

2008-06-12T23:34:00.006-06:00

this was a self portrait for an assignment in school, ages ago. the assignment was to recreate a movie poster. i chose an old silent film, kriemhilde's revenge. turns out that movie is really long and boring, but i still like this photo. creepy, right? these images were my inspiration:

that one time i used to photograph things

2008-06-12T23:31:00.005-06:00

thank you chaunte for modeling

when we got engaged

2008-06-12T22:22:00.009-06:00

zack and i got engaged on valentine's day, 2007. he flew out to new york to surprise me. i thought i had nowhere to be that night, so i had gathered up my laundry and was about to head out the door. my sister trish suspiciously, and somewhat frantically, called my sister mip (whom zack was secretly staying with) to tell her what i was doing, but being the slow one i am, i didn't catch on. someone knocked on the door just as i was about to leave, bags in hand, and low and behold, it was zack, all dressed up with a bouquet of flowers in his hands. i kind of freaked out (plus the sad thing was i really didn't have any clothes clean). i rummaged up something, and we went out to our restaurant (arte cafe).

he didn't seem as hungry as normal, oddly enough, but i didn't seem to notice. i was still a little shocked. regardless, we had a lovely meal. the thought only vaguely crossed my mind that he might propose, but i really didn't think he could afford a ring after the plane ticket. and no ring was given...yet. after dinner we walked to the metropolitan opera.

did i mention it was one of the coldest, snowiest days of winter? anyway, during the opera i got a huge stomach ache. we left during intermission to get some sort of medication.

we came back and the stomach only got worse. so we left for good during the second intermission. i wanted to take the underground way to the subway because it was so chilly, but he convinced me to walk outside, cause it really was beautiful, not to mention we had it to ourselves. once we got by the fountain (after a very lovely confession of love) he got down on one knee (even in the snow) and popped the old question. i cried a little. a security guard who witnessed the event jaunted over calling out "congratulations! that's a beautiful thing, a beautiful thing. where's your camera? let me take a picture." thus resulted in this beautiful thing:

remember when...

2008-06-12T21:57:00.003-06:00

oh, remember that one time we got engaged and married? i have to say i'm pretty darn proud of our engagement picture. after several hours of mixing wet collodion chemicals, coating plates, running between the darkroom and studio to shoot and develop the plate whilst still wet, and slight frustration, we ended up with this beaut. thanks to zack for his sweet skills in the science of wet collodion photos and reed to his skills in shooting 8 x 10 glass plates.

and straight...

2008-06-04T18:14:00.003-06:00

new hairstyle

2008-06-03T19:29:00.006-06:00

well, i decided to chop it. i was going to wait until there were 12 inches to cut off to donate it, but then i found the pantene great lengths donation that only requires 8 inches and the deed was done.
then i was going to dye it brown (as my life long goal has been to have louise brooks' hair, as such:)

but i chickened out and went back to highlights. it's better for the summer anyway right? i'm going brown in the fall. no questions. i'll post pics of it straight soon... maybe