inspirations (blog it forward)

if you all have met the lovely victoria over at sfgirlbybay, then you had a window into beautiful inspiring photography from a wide group of talented people, including victoria.  a month or so ago, she came up with an idea to 'blog it forward' where groups of  bloggers told what inspires them and let them by turn introduce their readers to at least two other bloggers, the one before and after them in the 'chain'.  what a fun idea!

so...my inspirations:

dreamy photography ... i could be cliche and list the historical greats: lange, arbus, adams, and so on but i wanted to make this about people living the dream right now.  these three ladies inspire me in ways that i still yearn about.  all have different and unique styles that pull me in.  they use different cameras, different techniques, and have different philosophies but the unifying factor is that they are women who live their art.  if you don't know them.  check them out.

Michelle Black
Nichole Van
Susannah Conway

other inspirations....the shell pink morning - just before the sun comes up over the horizon.  the scent of a child's head when they come to snuggle just under your chin.  the delicate green of a fern frond just as it's about to unfurl.  the blue of a bluebird feather.  lacy bare branches against a cobalt blue, cloudless sky.  the dove gray clouds of a misty morning.  the brilliant, bold and tropical colors of an evening sky and the purple just after the sun sinks below the horizon.  a shooting star.  a dandelion before the wish.  hunting for four-leaf clovers in a verdant field that is cool beneath my barefeet.  the hum of bumblebees drifting lazily from honeysuckle flower to honeysuckle flower.  a child's laughter and a mother's hug.  the dappling light as it drifts through a shady tree.

colors - light - feelings.  i want to splash them across the canvas as i run, skip and languish in the paint - soaking deep into the pores of my skin.  people that live the dream and dreamers that still yearn.  keep on inspiring me and thank you.

people that surround me on the blog it forward list.  new friends like rose at r's adventure and friends i've had for a while like erin at reading my tea leaves.

there is a world of inspirations out there - i can't wait to see more.

mundane is beautiful too

the pugs are snoring, not softly as would be poetic and beautiful, but loud, wet snores as pugs are wont to do with their tiny turned up noses.  the oscars are on, low so not to keep my brother awake.  he had an exciting weekend and he got a new harley and went on his first ride today. 

i didn't get my new bed and comforter set up today, but that is okay.  there are other days.  today i focused on my thoughts and puttering around the house.  grocery shopping and cooking seem to be sunday activities these days.  today was a pot roast.  i did it a new way (to me) with searing the veg and meat before putting them in the slow cooker.  such a simple thing but my oh my did it turn out delish.  even me, the anti-onion girl loved the sweet onions that were fried in the olive oil and added in as a rich, deep base to the mix.  it was a take-off on the pioneer woman's pot roast and tweaked to suit me.  onion quartered, seared and softened.  remove and add carrots - oh my how the browned carrots tasted so so so good.  the the roast, generously salted and peppered and browned in a very hot skillet.  tipped together in the crock (next time i will hold back the carrots a bit before adding as they got a bit mushy).  add in a can of beef consume and a can of cream of mushroom.  in the mean time, i cooked the mushrooms and added too.  after a bit, i added in quartered baby yukon gold potatoes. 

i played with flowers, washed clothes and watched some movies.  17 again was a good surprise - better than i expected.  i feel almost dirty thinking how beautiful zack efron is.  but man, he is a gorgeous boy. 

it was a beautiful weekend.  i noticed yesterday so many buds and sprouts on the trees.  maybe we will be rewarded after this hard winter with a full and glorious spring.  last year, the blooms were fully out on this day.  (yes, i looked back to see) but of course it also snowed on march 1st in 2009.  so....maybe that means nothing, right?

hope you had the most beautiful weekend.  while my wasn't the most exciting (in fact it was pretty mundane)...it was still just perfect.  just perfect because i realize how very blessed that i am.  and that is the most comforting thing ever. 

now, i'm closing for real i've run on longer than i like.  please tell me what you've discovered this weekend.

ay, ay, ay, it's a beautiful day

i couldn't resist the daffodils i found yesterday, even though this guy turned it's back on me.  there is something just so very cheerful about them.  the yellow harbingers of spring.

i was honored enough to interviewed by laura over at try handmade, if you want to hop over there to read.  it's a great blog to find the wares of several artists and i've enjoyed browsing through the blog to find several new items for my wishlist.

speaking of wishlist, have you seen the dwell studio?  i've been craving this beautiful duvet for a while but couldn't bring myself to spend the money.  well, little did i know (until yesterday) dwell studio also makes a line for target.  eep!  i've been shopping high and low for a new comforter for over a year (since i moved to montgomery.)  yesterday i found this and decided on the foliage comforter set.  the spring green just called my name.  i know, totally different, right? 

today is beautiful day - let me get moving on the chores so i can get out and about in this beautiful weather.  i think today will be the day that buds will begin opening in earnest and i don't want to miss thing.  hope you get out and about too.

xo

where i've been

it's been a tough week so far.  exhausting and frustrating.  because i've worked here before people forget it's been quite a number of years.  they presume that i know a lot of routines that i'm not familiar with - part of it's my fault, i need to ask more questions but i a so tired of appearing like a dumbass that i don't.  then i have the supervisor that is almost never in the office....wah, wah, wah right?  sorry.  

but, hopefully the rest of the week will be better.  we got a ginormous mailout (2,500+) out and the daily meetings have settled down into a groove where they are running smoothly.  hopefully tomorrow i can actually do some reading that i've had to put off for a while.

cute story - sunday night we were visiting with my brother, sister in law and two nieces.  my nieces are crazy for littlest pet shop animals and the two year old almost always has one in her little hand.  she brought one over to me and said, 'quiral (squirrel in kid talk)' and i looked - it was a cat.  so i said, kitty kat and made the appropriate 'meow, meow'.  *mulish look* 'quiral!  no, kitty kat.  this went on for a minute and finally, she reached her patience's end.  'quiral, quiral, quiral!!!'  so she took it over to my sister.  'quiral.  my sister said, 'quiral?  (looking at me while i mouthed 'squirrel')  my niece took that as an affirmation and looked at me triumphantly, 'tell lanie' (my family calls me lanie).  we clutched our sides laughing.  it is always amazing how much personality they have so very young.  their own sense of style, their likes and dislikes - everything.  

for those that asked about the fuji instax.  the first two rolls were a real learning experience - where to put my finger so it's not in the shot, adjusting for the light, how to frame.  but i think i really like it.  i better because i just ordered 10 packs of film for it.  i'm going to scan what i think are my four best shots.  i just have to get to a scanner.  this is what i learned so far:

1.  think wide angle when you frame your shot.  if you are used to a digital cropping factor, it will pretty much go out the window.

2.  there is no autofocus - what you see is pretty much what you get - there is no aperture adjustment - it's one aperture and that's it.  

3.  it's very sensitive to light adjustments.  it has four modes:  sunny, partially sunny, cloudy and night.  from what i can tell the flash is always on - the mode you pick will make a big impact on the shot and it defaults to night.  i blew four shots before i realized that because with the cooler weather it took a while for them to come up - overexposed looks almost the same as still developing.

4.  the shots are really tiny - like credit card size.  they feel like polaroids for barbies at times. 

5.  the camera is pretty cheap - i found mine on amazon for around $80.  the film is not that cheap - it's around $1 a shot (if you buy in bulk it lowers the cost).  so, it slows you down and makes you think about the shot more.  

all that being said - i love polaroids and i've never been able to put my hands on a good one or get film for them.  there are some shots that i just cradle in my hands lovingly gaze into that special dreamy world that instafilm has.  i hope i can share them soon.

overnight everything is awakening

suddenly, everything is budding, awakening....opening, beguiling, color is coming back into the world.

the spring lion is trying to roar here with threatened snow (pishhhh, not going to happen)...but i know that our spring is right around the corner.

it's early but these japanese magnolias are making me happy today - even through the cloudy weather.