variations on a theme

I always fall in love with brights again in the summer.  I do enjoy the more muted tones, especially because I have a soft spot for more bohemian, natural looks, but for some reason summer just begs for bright, graphic patterns.  Consequently, I've been obliging.  I've also been exploring some of Tacoma's more bright, graphic spots for photo adventures.  One of my friends let me know about this wall and though I've driven past it plenty of times before, I never thought about it when trying to figure out a fun photo spot.  We've got a great organization, Spaceworks Tacoma, which connects vacant walls and storefronts with local artists in order to create public art and this is one of those spaces.   This particular mural is scheduled from April to August, so it'll probably be replaced with something new soon, though I'm pretty fond of this one!  I love seeing people in a community taking spaces that are vacant and/or run-down and empowering creative, entrepreneurial people to come in and let those spaces flourish.  I've seen so many Spaceworks businesses become thriving parts of the community and the color and art they bring with their public art spaces is always inspiring.  

 
dress (worn as skirt) :: courtesy of evermicrush :: top/courtesy of modcloth sandals/thrifted :: bag/courtesy of rouge & whimsy :: shades/courtesy of bonlook necklace/francesca's
Right now I'm covered in scrapes, flecks of varnish, bandaids, and dirt.  Despite enjoying cute outfits and getting "fancified" on the occasion, I think I'll always feel most at home with dirty feet, paint caked on my hands, and messy hair.  I like to clean up, but I feel most powerful when I'm in the throes of making things with my hands.  Growing up I spent so much time in the garage with my dad, learning from him and working on projects together.  Both of our love languages are quality time so we filled our love tanks beneath the hoods of cars and with sawdust at our feet.  It's not surprising I married someone who also loves working on projects.  The past two years working on our house has been so much fun, even if it is hard work at times.  I'll be sad to sell this house whenever that day comes.  It's been so fulfilling to take a run-down house that no one would look twice at and turn it into a beautiful home.

life lately

Wanting to: Get back on the fitness/health train.  I haven't worked out regularly in about 6 months, and the last month or two I've gone climbing maybe twice and haven't even done any yoga.  Honestly, the heat has completely zapped any desire to get my sweat on, and I haven't felt like my body has changed too much, other than feeling like I'm probably a lot weaker than I was in January.  I have a feeling that birth control was causing my body to hold on to weight more easily because I've been pretty lazy since I went off the pill and my body has maintained itself pretty well despite not watching what I eat and not working out.  Once the temperature cools off a bit I want to figure out a workout and healthy eating routine again, but for now I'm enjoying feeling lazy.
Watching: Guardians of the Galaxy.  Seriously so good.  Dan's been waiting months for this movie to come out.  Like, once a week I'd catch him watching the trailer.  I was hoping it would be awesome and it was SO good.  Hilarious, action packed, and really fun.  Dan and I have been reading the Guardians of the Galaxy comics, so it was cool to see the characters come to life on the big screen.  Can't wait for the sequel!
Excited about: redoing our downstairs office.  It's technically Dan's office, but my desktop computer is in there because we have our printer hooked up to it, so I use it when I'm photo editing and doing other work that needs to be done on the desktop.  It's been a hard space to figure out because it's pretty small and until now it's just been haphazardly put together.  The past few days I've been building a standing height desk and brainstorming how the rest of the space can come together to make more sense, and it already looks better!  
Opening: my blog shop again!  I guess it wasn't ever officially closed but the link hasn't been on the blog in a while (it's now in the top nav bar).  I've listed screen prints, weavings, flower crowns, e-courses, and there are some shop-my-closet items available too!
Missing: Lazy mornings with my love.  Dan's new job starts at 7am, which means I usually don't even see him in the mornings anymore.  By the time this night owl crawls out of bed he's already been gone for a couple hours.  Now we're cherishing our weekend mornings together even more because it's the only morning times we have to relax and slowly get ready for the day.  
Dreaming of:  Traveling.  I'd like to take one bigger trip before the end of the year, whether it's a road trip, a flight to Hawai'i, or some other adventure that takes us out of the PNW.  I'd like to get a breath of fresh air in some other part of the globe before the year is over.  Just a change of perspective, something to get out of the doldrums of daily life and see the world with new eyes.
What are you guys up to lately?




 

ENGAGED // jackson + jessica's rattlesnake ridge engagement shoot

 couple weekends ago I had the pleasure of getting to photograph these lovely folks for their engagement photos!  Jackson and Jessica are actually getting married in just four short weeks and I'll be shooting their wedding down in Oregon as well, which I'm super stoked about.   I was really excited for this shoot because I had mentioned wanting to do a more outdoorsy shoot and they totally jumped at the idea.  We picked a hike that had an amazing view at the summit, Rattlesnake Ridge, and met up out at the trailhead in the evening to make the hike.  None of us had ever hiked Rattlesnake Ridge before, so it was fun getting to not only make some amazing photos for them, but also get to go on an amazing hike in the process!  I would love to do more hike shoots.  It's combining two of my favorite activities, so what could be better?   The hike turned out to be the perfect time to chat about wedding details and catch up, too!
The hike itself was pretty easy, two miles in, two miles out.  It's a very popular hike and the lake below also draws a crowd, especially during the summer, so it was pretty busy.  When we got to the lookout at the ridge we actually had to wait a good ten minutes to be able to shoot at the spot we wanted to because there was a group of high school kids there with a bong and a veritable cornucopia of munchies taking in the scenery.  Luckily they didn't linger too long and we were able to do our shoot. 

 

The next few months are going to be a whirlwind of photo shoots and weddings. I have three weddings within about a month, plus a bunch of portrait and family sessions, so I'll be shooting up a storm.  It'll be good.  Keep me busy.  Tomorrow I'll be shooting Tacoma's craft beer and blues festival, Brew Five Three, here in town, which should be a blast.  Great music and great local brews?  Sounds like a recipe for awesome.  

In other news, I'm not thrilled with how everyone is talking about fall's immanent arrival.  Also, the back to school stuff can go away please.  Don't remind me that the fall is coming!  I'm sure once all the fun holiday stuff starts getting into full swing I'll be ready for it, but I'm just so in love with how many hours of sunlight there are and how much I can get done before it starts getting dark.  We did this shoot around 7 pm and in just a couple months it will have been dark for hours by that time.  I sure do love these summer days that drag on till well into the evenings.  I wish I could do like five more shoots like this before the summer evenings are gone till next year.

diy hand painted travel mug

his DIY has been on my mind for over a year and recently, when I was cleaning out my studio, I found my porcelain paint pen and days later found a blank travel mug at the thrift store.  It seemed like it was meant to be.  I don't know about you guys but I see these little faux-paper cup travel mugs at thrift stores all the time.  Well, I see lots of travel mugs at thrift stores (maybe it's just us up here in coffeetown central, USA, aka the Pacific Northwest with our coffee addiction resulting in a surplus of travel mugs), but these seem relatively easy to come by at the thrift store.  So if you're a cheap-o like me, I'd check a local thrift shop first before dropping some bones for a new one.  I've noticed that people like to leave their empty paper coffee cups on random shelves at thrift stores too, though, so make sure you're not picking up the dregs of someone's old caramel macchiato.  Has anyone else noticed this?  I swear every time I thrift I find at least one old, empty Starbucks paper cup left on a shelf of knick knacks.  Us thrifters are well-caffeinated folks, I guess.  Also, forgetful?  Or lazy?  I'm not sure which.

What you'll need:

Porcelain Travel Mug

Pencil (optional)

Pebeo Porcelaine paint pen

If you're making a more complex pattern, like the herringbone pattern I did, you can sketch it on there with a pencil first, to have some light lines to follow.  Something more simple, like polka dots, probably wouldn't require this, but I wanted to make sure everything fit right.  If you want to just jump right into painting, though, go ahead!  I used a straw to help guide my vertical pencil lines so they were parallel and straight.  Then I drew in the angled lines.  

Next, just follow your pencil template with the paint pen.  You'll have to push down on the pen tip to get the ink flowing.  I had to push down on mine pretty frequently to make sure the paint flowed freely.  Have a scrap piece of paper on hand to prime the pen when you need to.  Be careful not to smudge the wet paint.  

Set the mug aside and let it air dry for 72 hours.  If you want to make your design dishwasher safe, put the mug in the oven at 300ºF for 30 minutes to bake the paint on permanently.  Voila!  Fancy, custom, reusable travel mug!  Drink your hot beverages in style!

I used a white mug, but I know that they sell them in many different colors, so if you wanted a more colorful version, just buy a plain, colored mug instead of a white one and draw on your pattern.  At the bottom of the post I included some more fun pattern ideas if you're not into the herringbone.  The sky's the limit!

bold minimalist

ately I've been all about brights.  I'm sure it has something to do with the bright and sunny skies.  I used to heavily tend towards maximalist, more vintage 70's colors and patterns, and over the years I've come to appreciate and love a more modern, clean look.  In my home decor I've found that I really am liking that look simply because it feels cleaner.  Just the other day we took a bunch of older vintage furniture with that maximalist color/pattern to donate to the thrift store and the clean slate has me so excited to redo one of the rooms in our house that's been relatively untouched since we bought it.  Just having the space nearly empty has my brain working overtime with new ideas.  
When we bought the house we brought over all our existing furniture, but we were coming from a tiny house with just one living space that functioned as our living/dining/office space, so we only had enough furniture to fill a 12x12 room, plus our bed.  I frantically sought out the cheapest thrift store furniture so we could have stuff to sit on and eat at, but in the months/year since, I've had time (and money) to invest in the furniture that I really would like.  I think this thrift store donation purged the last of the desperation furniture and I'm excited at the prospect of creating a couple spaces that really fulfill our needs and aesthetic wants.

 

dress/courtesy of isla :: bra/free people :: necklace/courtesy of adorn by sarah lewis bag/courtesy of fossil :: shoes/courtesy of lulu's :: shades/courtesy of bonlook
Yesterday morning when I woke up it was chilly.  I threw on some jeans and a sweater and headed out to run errands and brought Dusty in the car with me.  She loves car rides, but I haven't brought her with me lately because she'd probably overheat just driving around in the car since I don't have A/C at the moment.  By 1pm the weather had started clearing up and with the sun coming out came the heat, but luckily my morning errands included picking up a package which had this dress inside.  It's so light and airy and I immediately threw it on and it was the perfect outfit for the summer weather.
This black bra was a gift to myself (along with another similar bra and a necklace) and I'd been searching for the perfect outfit to highlight it's awesome straps.  As soon as I pulled the dress out of the envelope I knew that bra would go perfectly with it.  I think that this dress' silhouette would definitely be something I'd shy away from a few years ago.  I knew that the fit-and-flare style worked well with my body shape and I was pretty into that vintage 50's style, so something like this would've been well outside of my personal style (and comfort zone).  I love feeling more free to try out new shapes and silhouettes these days.  Back then, just wearing dresses was still a bit outside of the comfort zone I'd established over many years of wearing jeans and little boys' tees, so I wasn't really ready to start messing around with silhouettes yet.  I'm not sure if this shape is called "flattering" by others, but it makes me feel awesome, so that means it's flattering in my book!