Music Alert! The Year of Discipline

Hey guys, I haven't blogged in months, I'm the worst! I don't have much time, I'm scurrying off to the studio to work my fingers to the bone but I thought I'd leave you with a little music.

This is a song called "When We Say", originally by AJ Rafael, covered by my best friend, Colin Miner :) He's working on a year-long music project/challenge that he's calling "The Year of Discipline", in which, he does either a video of a cover song, or original song, every single week. 52 weeks, 52 songs. We're on week two here, and I'm having a lot of fun shooting with my Canon 5D Mark II and editing the videos :)

Anyway, enough blabbing, watch the video :)

Great Grandmother's Spatula! It's already 2011!

Whoa! Happy New Year All! I haven't blogged in ages, yikes! I'm a hot mess ya'll :) STill recovering from the most insane November/December of my life thus far! I know, I know, I've never been quite so M.I.A. as I have been as of late, but this Horse Feathers video is absolute magic and I needed to share with you all :)



Thanks to everyone for giving me the most successful holiday season I've seen with my little business yet! It's so exciting (and sometimes scary and overwhelming) to see this little Etsy thang grow like it has.

In a short time I will have some big news to share, well actually, a couple pieces of big news to share :) So please check back, as inconsistent as my blogging has become, it is my goal to get back on the vblog wagon...and I know...I've said that before...hang in there :)

Photo: A quick snapshot I took on the icy dock of my parents lovely summer home in Lake George, NY. They just moved to a new spot on the lake which is just a stones throw from the house I was brought home to as a newborn :) Anyway, took this picture with my Canon 5D Mark II and I'm really loving it!

Along Came Polly

Don't you just wanna squeeze her? Her name is Polly and she is the cutest! I love puppies! She's not mine unfortunately, but I'm tempted to snatch her up sooner rather than later. Polly is a Fox Red Lab and has the sweetest temperament! Who doesn't love a puppy? I mean seriously, look that that mug! LOVE HER!

Happy 5th of July!

No, that's not a typo. I've never been one who is overly enthusiastic about the 4th of July, nor am I really all that patriotic. That said, playing with sparklers is fun regardless. Pyromaniacs rejoice!


Here are a couple sparkly sparkler photos for your viewing pleasure...

And with that I say to you, my fine friends, Happy 5th if July to you all.

Penny For Your "Deep Thoughts": Thought #1

I don't know about you, but I can read through "Deep Thoughts" by Jack Handy for hours and sit and laugh by myself in a corner until I cry, eventhough I've read them all before and have most of them memorized. I think it's the fact that I often have my own non-sensical "deep thoughts" running through my head on a daily basis, so I'm happy to know someone else in the world thinks these weird things too. Jack Handy is my mythical unicorn soul mate

"Deep Thoughts" never get old to me. So I was thinking, I'm gonna start posting a random deep thought from the series from time to time, along with a photo. Now, this photo may or may not have anything to do with the quote. It's just a fun little way to share some of my photos I've taken, along with the comedic genius that is Jack Handy. So, here it goes, Deep Thought #1 of many more to come...

"Sometimes when I feel like killing someone, I do a little trick to calm myself down. I'll go over to the person's house and ring the doorbell. When the person comes to the door, I'm gone, but you know what I've left on the porch? A jack-o'-lantern with a knife in the side of its head with a note that says 'You.' After that, I usually feel a lot better, and no harm done." ~ Jack Handy

*This pretty little sunset photo is one I took just a few days ago in Lake George. Lovely, if I do say so myself :)

Summer Snapshot: "My Best Friend Tommy"

This is Tommy and Lucie. They are cousins. In fact, they are my cousins as well. However, Lucie refers to Tommy as "My Best Friend Tommy" on a regular basis. She frequently asks me if I know her "Best Friend Tommy" and when I explain to her that yes, I do in fact know him, and he is my cousin, silly goose, it seems totally lost on her.

Anyway, I took this picture of the two of them having a love-fest a couple weekends ago in Lake George and felt I just had to share it with you all because they are the cutest little dude and dudette ever.

Snapshot of the Day

If your like me, and you live in the Great White North country, your probably dying for Spring, greenery, flowers, bunnies and baby birds. I know I am...

Today, as I try hard to ignore the snow coming down outside my window, I am taking a trip inside this picture, Magic School Bus Style. I hope there's a snack shack somewhere around this flower though, I could really go for some Lemonade and Cape Cod Chips :)

I took this picture in Lake George, NY this past summer whilst rolling around in the grass and taking Macro pictures of bugs. This lone little flower caught my eye and I decided I had to give it it's 15 mins of fame :)

Jessie Baylin - "Leave Your Mark"

Many moons ago, I discovered my buddy Jessie Baylin, her unique voice and her sweet disposition. I even was fortunate enough to make a few pieces of jewelry for her based on lyrics from her songs somewhere towards the beginning of this jewelry journey I've been on. Really gorgeous words, so beautifully written. She has a little bit of a jazzed up Stevie Nicks feel that I find SO refreshing. Anyway, I've been listening to her a lot lately when I'm looking for chill inspiration music to have going whilst working on new designs etc, so I thought I'd share her with you :) It really bothers me that more people don't know who she is, because she really deserves a lot more respect and attention than she gets. I realize that music is just as much of a rat race as the fashion design world, but alas, I will help her fight against the droves of singer/songwriters running alongside her, one dinky blog post at a time :) It's the least I can do, right? :)

You Can buy Jessie's album on iTunes, HERE!

Here Jessie is singing on of my favorite songs of hers, "Leave Your Mark", LIVE :) She is a breath of fresh air :) Enjoy guys!

Fun with Washable Markers

I was just flipping through some pictures on my parents computer that I took a couple years ago and came across one of my very favorite pictures from Summer 2006, and wanted to share!.

This shot is of my cousin Clarkie after his first ink session...

A summer at Lake George is heaven, but after a while going to the beach daily is lack luster for little kids with short attention spans. During my summer of nannying for my cousins, we had to think of fun new ways to distract 6 little kids for 8 hours of the day... and this is what we came up with, haha.

The kids loved it, and I laughed the whole time at how concentrated they were while giving each other (and us) tattoo's. No worries Moms, they were non-toxic washable markers. Although, I think Clarkie might have considered making it permanent if he had the option.

I miss those days :)

Must Love Dogs : Meet Scout!

"There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face." ~Ben Williams

As promised, here are some (or a lot) of pictures that I took last Monday of McKenzie, and her baby boy, Scout. I can't even begin to tell you just how much I love these pictures! I always love shooting McKenzie, but Scout is equally as fun, and has SO much personality.

Scout is a 2 yr old pure bread German Shepherd, he is gorgeous, huge, powerful, sweet and hysterical. Until meeting Scout, I had never encountered "Doggie Bubbles", but, alas, Doggie Bubbles are in fact one of the most wonderful inventions in the history of life. Seeing such a huge masculine dog, chase after dainty little bubbles, is nothing short of absolute perfection. Scout is SUCH a sweetie, and he is a huge ham for the camera, which is fabulous for me (and Kenz!). I think this shoot really made me realize just how much I love photography and the ability to take a moment of someone's life and freeze it in time. I especially love the candid shots for this reason :)

Anyway, this shoot took place in Lake George, NY, my very favorite spot in the wo

rld. What a gorgeous backdrop for an adorable family photo. I love these photo's so much, I'm even tempted to blow up one or two for my own home :) OK, OK, I'm done writing, check out the photos, I've included lots because I just couldnt limit myself, there are way too many I felt I NEEDED to share with you all! Hope you love these!

I love McKenzie and Scout!

Summer Snapshots: Playing Catch-up Part 2

Not much to say today, but heres a few more shots from my summer. Sad to see it winding down as I will desperately miss my days in Lake George, but I must say, Fall is my favorite season so I can't wait until it's in full gear!

Hope you like these shots :)

Summer Snapshots: Playing Catch-up

Yikes! I just realized how few photographs from my summer I've actually shared with you guys! It's time to play catch-up! So here we go...

Here's a few new shots of my best friend, Lucie aka Suessie John Jones. I could photograph her all day long! Stay tuned for another couple post's of my summer pictures soon :)

Summer Snapshots of the Day: Sunset Series Over Lake George

"Lights will guide you home. And ignite your bones." - Coldplay

I know I havent been great about updating my "Summer Snapshot" series, so I'm going to try my best to stay on top of it for the remainder of the summer. Promise :)

Anyway, these shots are from an evening I spent patiently waiting on the docks for the sun to go down, and once it did, I was treated to a spectacular show of color! It really is incredible to watch a good sunset from start to finish, because it changes shape and color so rapidly if you blink you might miss it! I chose 4 shots from the 4 main color stages the sunset went through. I literally took about 700 pictures this one night, all of the sunset! These are my favorite shots, and the ones that I though really captured the brilliant colors of this particular sunset! Unfortunately, not EVERY sunset here is quite this intense, although it seemed that the stars aligned for me this particular night, they must have know I was waiting around with camera in tow.

Hurry Up and Wait!

Wow. This is where I live...can you believe it!? Sometimes I can't even wrap my head around the amazing beauty I'm lucky enough to live amongst! I count myself a very lucky girl.

But ya know... your own business, like I do, can often super saturate your life to the point of insanity and sometimes suck the fun right out of, well, everything. What's my remedy for the " I can't think productively for one more second, or I will scream" Blues? Clicking off my Blackberry, shutting down my MacBook, packin' up some snacks and beverages and stepping outside to enjoy beautiful Lake George. We are so lucky to own a little piece of this lake, rightfully considered by many as "The Queen of American Lakes". 

So off I go, to enjoy this sunny Sunday, and ignore everything to do with my business. Not to worry though kiddies, I will be back later tonight with a new Etsy Lust feature! In the meantime, read up on my first Etsy Lust feature or my ode to a great Etsy talent and friend, RockLove. 

Summer Snapshot of the Day

Here's a quick shot I snapped of Lucie, after a long day at the beach at our summer home in Lake George. She's a tired little chicken nugget but she's too cute to resist photographing! I love the candid feel and complete innocence of this image! Maybe in 20 years, she'll be able to appreciate all the photos I take of her and forgive me for always invading her personal space. I'm sure there will be more shots of my little buddy throughout the summer because were pretty much together 24/7, despite the fact that I'm not her mother...Enjoy!

Happy Birthday, To Me!!!

"Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional." ~Chili Davis

Yesterday, July 7th, was my 25th Birthday. I woke up at my parents summer lake house on Lake George and was greeted by my Dad's patented post-it note birthday message on the fridge. He has a thing for writing notes on post it's and leaving them around for us to find. Although most of the time they read something like "Don't forget to put out the trash!" or "Went to go play Golf", but today, it was a note just for me :) I did my best to ignore the MJ headlines on TV, and the memorial service coverage, as not to put a damper on my day. Instead, I danced around to "Black or White", "P.Y.T." and "Man In The Mirror".

It was a low key kinda day, as I was a little unsure of how I felt about turning 25 so I didn't feel much like making a big deal out of my birthday. Never thought I'd care about getting older, until one day I realized, I'm getting older, then it started to freak me out a tad bit, haha. The weather was stormy and it wasn't a particularly good hair day for me but that didn't bother me any. I spent the whole day with my family, lunching at the Olive Garden, where I enjoyed some yummy Portobello Mushroom Ravioli, then a stop to a local camera store where I picked out my birthday gift! 2 brand spankin' new lenses for my dSLR! After spending about 3 hours in the store I settled on a Tamron 90mm Macro lens and a cheap Canon 50mm lens to play around with for the summer. Love them both for different reasons, but haven't had much time to play with them. No worries though, I will be sure to post my new lenses and sample shots soon:)

My wonderful Mom prepared a delish birthday meal for me with some of my favorite's, including my absolute favorite, Blue Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms! Mmmmmm! It's my grandma's recipe and it's to die for! If anyone wants the recipe by the way just leave a comment and if a few people want it, I will post it up on the blog :) My birthday cake was a homemade Strawberry Shortcake with locally grown Fresh Strawberries! So good that it made me wanna slap my mamma! But, I hugged her instead :)

I always look forward to my birthday because I know it's one day of the year that my brother's are willingly nice to me :) I had a great day, and am getting used to the whole being 25 thing. I have a sneaky feeling that my 25th year just might be one of my best yet!

Anchors Away!

It's summer time, and what's more fitting than a cute nautical accessory like this brand new Nautical Anchor Silhouette Necklace($44.00) , done in sterling silver, from my Simple Silhouettes collection! Perfect for daily wear, and great for anyone who loves sailing, beaches, pirates, the ocean, or water in general! I will surely be wearing one while sunning myself on my dock, on beautiful Lake George, while I sketch away in my idea log and plan for seasonal Fall and Winter designs! It's the beginning of July and I'm already thinking about Halloween and Christmas...is there something wrong with this picture?

Summer Snapshot of the Day: Meet Macy

I would like to introduce you to Macy, my little black and white Rat Terrier/Lab mix.  She was adopted early last September along with another puppy (who you will meet another day) from my local Pet Smart ASPCA Adoption Day. She was a street dog, born on the mean streets of Tennessee, and shipped up to NY by way of a funky, smelly ASPCA truck. How do I know it was stinky? On the day I met her, her stench stung my nostrils and made my eyes water, but I was able to overlook the funk because of her "Please love me" face. She was originally given the name "Callie" by the shelter, and was also with her brother "Caleb" (who was adopted before I got there) but we quickly changed her name, and of course, gave her a much needed bath. The little peanut was only 7 weeks old when we took her to her new home with us, and was very shy, she preferred to always be standing right under foot anytime we ventured outside, but it didn't take long for her to perk right up! She loves treats, walks with her siblings, belly rubs, kisses, laying like a frog, shredding her dog bed, leaping over the back of the couch in one smooth bound, sitting at the kitchen table like a human, and sleeping sitting up. Anyway, this Summer Snapshot of the Day is of my sweet little Macy, at almost 1 year old (her birthday is July 15th), and lucky for me, she loves the camera! The picture was taken at our lake house in Lake George, NY, after a morning walk. Enjoy!

Summer Snapshot of the Day

Be intent upon the perfection of the present day.
-- William Law

Aside from jewelry and maybe chocolate covered gummie bears, I think photography is my one true love. I have always secretly dreamt of turning my passion for photography into a full time career. There's nothing I love more than falling into the background of a party and snapping away candid shots, crawling around on the ground with kids and dogs to get the perfect perspective, or spending a day with one of my lovely friends capturing their unique beauty and personalities on film. Though out the summer I plan to post some of my favorite photos I've taken both professionally and in my own personal life and give you a small window into my life and have an outlet to show the images I am so proud of! This particular picture is of my best friend, Lucie, affectionately dubbed, Suessie John Jones.  Enjoy:)