upheavel.

My office is a mess. Well, my office really isn't much of an office anymore. We are in the process of putting the bed back together and swapping the office for the guestroom. As soon as that's done... I PROMISE that I'm going to redo my website. Its been over a year since I did any work on it and this is just unacceptable. I just saw Ferris Caldwell's new website (thanks to Abby) and found it truly inspiring. In case you didn't know, the amazing Ferris went to AIB and graduated from the same program I did. Not that I got the same thing out of it, ha! I have so many negatives to scan and many new design projects to upload. Changing the name of my site my help people remember it too. But, since my computer was stolen and the entire website was on that computer, it is time time to start from scratch anyway... so no time like the present.

duh!

I just had the biggest "duh" moment. After the mess below (my film was ruined - fuck you Hunts!) and the only reason I used it to begin with was because Campus "mediocre" Camera closed months ago and that was my place to get all film developed. Sure, there was dust on my film now and then but besides that it was good old reliable. Well that and I could literally run out the door from my school to their store during break and pick up my film just in time for the printing part of our class as if I had it all along. YOU KNOW YOU'VE ALL DONE IT AIB-ERS! So I googled them and yeah, there is a location right near South Station. So go to Colortek and support a great lab (even if the parking is a total hassle)

simple things.

I've had two pretty shitty days in a row. Yesterday I learned that Hunt's ruined my film. Let's talk about this for a second. In all the years that i have been getting my film developed by other people NOT ONCE has this ever happened to me. The manager on the phone called me to tell me it was a new employees fault. Am I suppose to believe that? Am I a total moron? She said the young lady did not mark it as b&w and therefore it got processed as color. Now Hunt's is a serious place. About as serious as it gets (besides B&H and that other place in the south that I can never remember the name of). They have a professional photo lab there. When lets just say the idiot trainee mismarked the envelope you WOULD THINK the smart, photo savvy girl working the machine would realize it was black and white film BC it says BLACK AND WHITE on the side. But no... and now my film is blank. I am investigating tomorrow and throwing a fuss. I re shot today and it was actually a lot of fun. Things came up tho... and what turned out to be a simple agreement has turned into a walking on eggshells nightmare. fuck me. So as I prepared my bag last night for my shoot today, I came across the very few Polaroids I took while in Oaxaca the last time. This one was my favorite. The lady was so sweet. All she wanted was a photo of her daughter in exchange for a bracelet. She then let me take a picture for myself and she gave everyone in my family a handmade bracelet. To this day, I have two purple ones on. I love her. I miss her country. This photo made my night or what is salvagable of it.

target: i love you.

Since I graduated from college, I haven't had insurance. I've always been a freelancer and of course, insurance does not come with the job. I also never had the money to provide my own. Because of this, I have paid thousands of dollars over the past two years for my prescription medication. Until now. I dropped off a prescription at target one day since I did not feel like driving o multiple locations in order to do all my errands. When I picked my my Rx and the pharmacist rang me up, my prescription was $25 less than I regularly paid. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! This week, my prescription went from $54 to $23 just because Target wanted to lower their prices. They have also instituted this unreal $4 Generic Prescription Drug program. This was started out by Walmart in Florida but my general disdain and boycotting of that company wouldn't drive me to buy prescription there even if they were giving them away. The woman at the pharmacy actually said to me she was happy that I discovered their pharmacy and was happy that they could make a difference in my life. Oh hell yes! All my photographer/artist friends with no insurance, hit up target. They want to make a difference no just make money. What a refreshing change.

PS: Their overhaul of the basic prescription bottle is so well designed. Each family member gets their own different colored ring around the bottle of their prescription so you can tell without reading the label who's Rx is who's! Also, the name of the drug and dose is written in huge letters on the top of the bottle so there is no confusing or eye straining to see which medication you need. Good design for all indeed!

crafting, baking and cameras.

So I wrote this long post about various things but for some reason it was not saved (even tho I double checked) as a draft. Thanksgiving this year was actually pretty relaxed. For once, it was just me and my family. Usually, my family has many friends over and they often drink to much and dance around. It isn't too homey and definitely doesn't feel like the holidays. I asked if I could make something for dinner this year and my mom told me to bake something. I have a love hate relationship with baking. Mainly, I always forget to put things into the mixture or my measures are off by just a bit and the entire thing gets ruined. I cook much better than I bake. But I do make a mean cupcake from the very amazing Buttercup Bakeshop Cookbook. My mom has this amazing cookbook called The Nantucket Holiday Table which I have cooked from before and adore for its amazing New England flavors and local ingredients. The pumpkin lasagna is amazing which I often make with squash instead. This year I decided on a Cranberry Beach Plum Cheesecake. Beach Plum is a local beach fruit and the jelly they suggest using is difficult to find accept in some cute little speciality shops. We don't have those around here really so I went with the other suggestion, red currant. It was my first cheesecake ever (besides the pumpkin cheesecake I attempted to make for JW in fall 2003 without a spring form pan but failed miserably so let's just say that doesn't count) The end product was unreal. It was incredibly simple to make and just what I wanted it to be. JW told me that it was the best cheesecake he had every had before which is a huge honor being as it was my real first try and he is a huge critic (in only the best way of course) You can see a little picture of it on the top left corner of the book picture above but before I finish the last slice tonight, I will take a picture and post my creation online!

In other news (yes, actually crafting news) Denyse Schmidt has inspired me to attempt a quilt this winter. Her designs are so amazing and the idea that quilts can be modern like she makes them really impressed and inspired me. I have no idea how to quilt or even how it to actually go about doing it but I love the all American idea of quilting and making something so warm and cozy from scratch. If you don't want to make one by hand you can always buy one from her less expensive line from Pillows & Throws.

As an update to my post below, I am having a horrible time trying to get my 120 and 220 black and white film developed. I've always done my black and white by hand and when I couldn't I lived in New York City, so finding some place to process the film for me was never a problem. Campus camera, for all their downfalls was my old standby. Its been closed for months now since BU priced them out ot the area (along with burrito max and other long lost establishments). Even Hunt's Photo in Melrose which is a superstore of film, cameras and everything photography no longer develops their own black and white film. It is sent out and developed far away. What is the world coming too? So my final attempt in not having to wait a week plus for the film to come back was going to AIB to do it myself (with the Abby's help of course!) but realized holiday traffic would be horrific and that there were unfortunately, no development tanks for 220 film. So I am back to going to Hunt's to send my film god knows where to develop my film. Analog is really dying, isn't is? I never thought I would see the day. I really never did. But along with my research I found this. I guess development for people has become such a problem that these cute little prepaid evelopes get you shipping back and forth to the lab, processing, and contact sheets, all for about $17.

Another thing I have been thinking about a lot lately is lens quality. I know its a rather boring supject for most of you out there but after getting back to using my Mamiya 645 I missed a high quality lens like the one that is on my treasured Medium format camera. Zeiss has come out with a line of digital lenses called the ZF Lenses which are for Nikon's and not Canons. While the idea that high quality European lenses are starting to be made for digital SLR cameras, even if I had the money their are for Nikon mounts only. Unfortunate. Zeiss, help a girl out! Maybe that's why I am such a huge fan of the Sony Cybershot line of cameras. They are all equipped with Zeiss lenses and the new models have huge crystal clear screens in the back. I'm a big fan of the Cybershot DSC-T10 which is pictured above. It's 7.2 megapixels very slim and compact and oh yeah, COMES IN PINK! I'm not a huge pink fan but I like the idea that this great little camera isn't just a stock grey like all the others on the market. It also comes in black, white and of course silver. Abby has a similar model which has as of seen on her flickr account, takes some pretty amazing photos. I have an older and extremely bulky version of the cybershot which was a christmas gift in 2004 I believe. It is time for an upgrade however. Putting a Canon 10d in your bag to go out with friends makes little sense. It would be nice to have something super slick to play around with. Whynot right?

Photos of cheesecake and the portraits taken are coming soon. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Three little O'Connell's.

I took this picture today during a portrait session with Tina & Tim O'Connell's amazing three girls today. These young ladies are simply adorable and so creative. I had so much fun doing some actually creative photography instead of what I do day to day. I used my Holga, the Mamiya 645AFD as well as my Canon 10d. I'm hoping that the holga images come out the best. It was really odd using an ultra expensive camera like the Mamiya again. I put on my macro lens to do close up portraits of the girls and the difference in the lens quality to that of my Quantary on my Canon is so unreal. Using my Mamiya and looking through that viewfinder make every single frame seem like a masterpiece. I cannot wait to develope the three rolls of black and white film I shot today. The wait will kill me! In the meantime, go to my flickr account and look at the shots I got of the girls with my Canon.

I don't know how to put this. Words aren't my thing, photographs are. I attempt to explain my disdain here sometimes for the things I read or hear. It is rarely well written and I am sure does my argument a disservice but I suppose I will just gave to live with that. I read on a blog today that mentioned Oaxaca and my face nearly turned bright red from the ignorance it displayed. There are a few things some of you out there should know about Oaxaca (since you care ever so much). First of all, it has long been considered the culinary soul of Mexico. It is also one of the centers of not only folk art, but contemporary art in Mexico as well. The population is largely native and this beautiful state and its capital city has worked hard to preserve its roots and beauty. Recently however, there has been political turmoil and violence having to do with a teachers strike and the a call for the resignation of the Governor of the state, Ruiz. Everyone knows the Mexican government to be corrupt and there has been a long tradition of political activism in Oaxaca. The heart that the city and its people have is truly inspiring. Poverty is all over Mexico, most rural places of course have it the worst as is true in most of the world. But don't be fooled. Oaxaca doesn't need your money so that the poor little Indians can buy some beans and clean water. This just isn't the case. What needs to happen is an end to the violence and for the voice of the people of Oaxaca to be heard. What is going on there has drove me to tears and sadden a large number of my close friends as Oaxaca is like a second home to us all. I am glad people are taking an interest in Oaxaca and in the injustice that is being done. But this has been going on for months now. It just wasn't interesting to you until Noam Chomsky and Michael Moore got on board, right?

wanted: maid of all trades

I am exhausted both mentally and physically. Mostly mentally. The house in shambles as the kitchen is half gutted, half the cabinets are put together and the other half of JW's home gym is set to arrive on Tuesday while the other half is in our living room. Once the kitchen is finish and installed (most of which will take place on Sunday) and the garage is cleaned out and the gym set up, I will feel maybe slightly more sane. I'm picking up my parents SUV tomorrow as my car is falling to bits and needs to go into the shop. It will be nice to roll around in something fancy for a little bit to maybe lift my spirits. Its a lame attempt, I know. Which brings me to my next and final point. If you would like to live in a rather large finished basement for free in exchange for cleaning and cooking... well, let me know (being rad, is a must). I don't think I can do it on my own anymore. You will have your own wood burning stove and adorable animals that most likely will be yr BFF forever. Wow, even that offer sounds lame. Can you tell I'm exhausted?

A goodbye party for Mike

On Saturday night my friend Mike had a going away celebration at the Hotel Commonwealth's Eastern Standard Apparently, its a bit of an after work hang out for people working in the restaurants business. My friend Mike is leaving behind a lovely job at No. 9 Park, one of my favorite restaurants in Boston (Barbara, your a genius!). So I started of the night with a lovely glass of Cava which has become one of my favorite drinks as of late. I got a little curious when my glass just continued to be refilled without my knowing. I joked and said, I really hope he didn't think I ordered the entire bottle! As the night continued I learned that the sous chef was the boyfriend of the bartender at No. 9 Park and that we were most likely in for a night of treats. The kitchen sent us out what I'd like to think were little tapas (as they were little bites) of maple flavored bratwurst and chrizo in cider (btw, this is my favorite meat dish of all times so yes, I literally jumped up and down as the little pieces were passed out.) Then then came to our table with three huge plates of oysters on a half shell for our party. I was in shock! I have become obsessed with raw oysters lately and theirs happen to be amazing and super fresh. Along with our lovely little bites we got a number of lovely shots that were divine!! The night was one of the best nights out I have had in the longest time and I would like to thank the lovely staff of Eastern Standard for making Mike's going away party to the west coast an amazing one. I am going to miss Mike so much (my friend of 10 years!) but it will be one hell of a time when I go visit him in SF and drag him to Napa for tour of the vineyards and so much good food our bellies will burst.

kitchen remodel: before

In a weeks time, we will have a brand new kitchen in our house. I could'nt be more thrilled. Here is what we have now and the very exciting, new plans! I will post the finished kitchen next Monday or Tuesday. Yayaya for new kitchens! I ordered them so you can see the exsisting space and then an image of what it will look like. Oh and that big white missing space is our lazy susan! haha I never thought I would be so excited to have a lazy fucking susan. Woooo!

i love fall!

i went to cider hill and bought donuts, apples and cider today. im buying my kitchen cabinets on monday. i took a ton of pictures today that i need to add. did i mention i have lost a total of 15 lbs? i have not weighed less than 145lbs since 1999. my parents want to go somewhere warm right before christmas as a family gift. i have a goal. bikini by dec. its not that far off. about 10 lbs off. i havent worn a bikini since 8th grade. you should be excited. i am.

holla!

halloween for azim

I brought Azim to the groomer today for his first haircut (with me, that is). He was starting to look like a long haired chiauaua and nothing like a pom which was hammered home when a small child on the street asked if he was in fact a chi. NO, HES A GODDAMNIT FANTASTIC PERSIAN DREAM. Okay, I didn't get that mad. I knew he looked crappy. So here is a little halloween type of picture i took of my little prince. I have a whole set that I will add to flickr once I get on my mac. I just had to share this like, now.

blogging, fall and my days as a candy striper.

JW said something to me the other day about blogging. Something which I always thought was very true but always gave little thought to. I was never a fan of livejournal as I am not a journal keeper nor do I care to share my personal business with the entire world. I started this blog last November in order to share my photographs (mainly with friends) and if someone else saw them as well, that was fine with me. I was incredibly productive last winter. I printed half of a new portfolio, updated my website and kept myself pretty busy knitting and sewing and the like. The spring was a sad and frustrating time. I abandoned all my fun activities and moved to the suburbs. I no longer had cute photos to share or little pictures of scarves I had knit. I was (gasp!) depressed. So I started to blog about other things, mainly fashion since its vapid and takes little time or effort. And hey, lets face it, I cannot spell and writting is not my strong suit, so why try? This brings me to my point...

Blogs have become this soap box for those not intelligent enough to become actual journalists. I am not saying that blogs have not made a huge impact on society (i love you Arianna Huffington!!) but I do think it is a space for those who want their egos stroked and their thoughts to sound prolific go. This is the thought JW shared with me. It couldn't be more spot on. There are some particular blogs out there (i will not name names, ha!) that just make my head want to explode. You are not talented, interesting or for that matter RIGHT about anything. I like my blogs simple. I take photos, I have some cute dogs, and I like to share those things with my friends, especially those I rarely get to see and miss sorely. So with that being said.. I will continue to fill my blog with cute little pictures and hopefully bags and projects I have created. At least, thats the plan. Because let's face it, you don't need me to tell you why the president sucks, thats what the New York Times is for.

On another note, blogging in general has become a little bit too time consuming for me as of late. I have been busier than ever working this fall and with JW's pain back, my duties have doubled around the house. Seeing someone you care about suffer that much is draining and frustrating. So bare with me while I attempt to enjoy my fall, support my boy, and take some damn photos.

Oh yes, and these photos were taken on my camera phone while at the mall. the little one to the left is a mini american eskimo dog puppy that was in a store at the mall. I was obsessed with holding her. One day I hope one day she has a lovely little life instead of the hell that is the pet store where she now resides.

the first chilly night.

It's finally cold enough outside to truly feel like fall. It's also October and every night til halloween, there is an amazing movie on at 8pm on the Disney Channel. We just had our chimney's serviced and cleaned and have the OK to use the one upstairs as it has not been used in at least 6 years. I was told it was my job to make the fire (a test if you will) It started out okay and then I ruined it and J.W. had to step in and salvage the embers. The results were so pretty. I haven't had a working fireplace in my primary residence since my apartment in Swampscott which was almost 4 years ago now. My parents house has a fireplace in literally every room (except on here and there) and when its cold enough out, my dad takes it apon himself to have a raging fire going in the front "parlor" at all times. Last Thanksgiving myself, mateo and my family sat quietly in the parlor with chest warming red wine sitting on the floor just watching it glow. Mateo layed half asleep on the rug with his plaid coat on having his tummy gently rubbed my my dad. It was one night with my parents that wasn't so bad. So this year has come and with that a working fireplace, a house on the edge of the woods and plenty of kids to come to the house and trick or treat. I was so struck by the brillance of the fire and the smell that picked up my camera for once and took some pictures. I hope you like them as much as I do. The leaves are really starting to turn and as cheesy as it is to take autumnal photos, I want to do very little else lately.

mihos. woah.

so in case you had'nt noticed, there is a race for govenor going on right now in MA. i am voting for mr deval patrick, but I would like to say, this guy has got SOME BALLS.

really.

its fall!

I would like to report that it is now offically fall. I am trying hard not to go to target and spend tons of money on their halloween decorations now that I have a house to decorate. They always run out super early but I always do things last minute so I should probably go in a week or two and try not to spend too much. My mom being an art school drop out, always made sure to decorate the house to the 9's. We always had scary music, spider webs, an outline of a witch in the top window etc etc... So my natural feeling is to go all out. I have to remember however, I do not have $300 for decorations, but $300 total. Hahaha. Another fall obsession is my favorite apple farm, Cider Hill Farms in Amesbury, MA. They have the worlds best cider and apple cider donuts. In case you aren't from New England (or you live in a cave) an apple cider donut is a donut made with a spicy cider tasting dough and they are either plain or rolled hot in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar. At Cider Hill, their donuts are so popluar that during the fall months people stand in line and wait for them to come hot off the line and the soft and still warm donuts melt in your mouth. They are truly a fall tradition for me. The farm itself is also pretty amazing. You can take a hay cart up the hill to go pick apple or simply pick up a bunch in the shop. They also have pies and other baked goods and fruits and vegtables. I just hope you all can enjoy it as much as I do. My list of cute halloween decorations is to the side of this blog. Kaboodble is such a great way to keep track of all the cute things you want to buy.

PS: I just lost 12lbs. What?!

Spotted: paper denim and cloth

Okay okay, all i have been doing lately is posting about fall fashion. I get it, I'll shut it soon. For the last few weeks I've been scowering the internet for the fall collection of Paper Denim & Cloth and found that not one single website that previously carried the brand is carrying them now. Shopbop, Neiman Marcus, Saks, Barney's etc all stopped carrying the line after the summer collection. These jeans are my absolute favorite and when I can afford them, I spend the ridiculous amount of money for what I think is, the best pair of jeans money can buy. After weeks of looking I started thinking that this was the end of PD&C, until Saturday. I was at the Burlington Mall and walked through Macy's I looked through some of the cute stuff they had like the fall Free People collection and found myself in front of a rack of my favorite jeans. The best part was, the revamped PD&C styles are more than $100 less than any of their previous styles. The have slashed their prices and all their jeans now will be two prices $88.00 and $98.00. I was blown away that now I could afford (well, sort of) my favorite jeans. These new lower priced styles did not seem nearly as high quality as the older, more expensive styles but the cuts are still excellent. When I get the $88, I hope the quality is what I have come to love and adore about these simple jeans. Time will tell, no?

blogger beta

in the process of upgrading to blogger beta, i seem to have lost my heading! i am working at changing this and making this blog pretty again. sit tight. it wont be long now!!!

Here is a photo I thought I would share. Two weeks ago Azim shed his coat and after finding clumps all over the house I decided it was time I brushed it all out. I have a similar photo somewhere of the larger than life pile that came from Mateo's twice a year shedding. Unfortunately, now Azim's hair is rather long and he is starting to look like a long haired chiuaua instead of a pomeranian. He will be off to the groomers soon and will look like the little ball of puff that he really is. I am currently in the process of rescanning all of my negatives and polaroids to redo my website. It will be a while before I relaunch but it is in the works. I am also going to be sewing up a storm soon as long as my back cooperates. That means, the site Vanessa and I share will also be updated with lovely new bags and and other goodies (dog beds and ipod cases to name a few). Hopefully though, I will be spending the weekend enjoying the last two days of summer heat. There are actual photographs in this blogs future. Oh yeah... and some crafts too. Duh!

Oaxaca, sad but true.

I was in Oaxaca in March. The city was its happy and spirted self. But since May, the city has been in a state of civil unrest because of a teachers protest. I have been thinking a lot about Oaxaca lately. As fall arrives and I am financial forced to stay in the states for Day of the Dead, I realize no money could get me their right now. Its an odd feeling. This is a place I have come to love and it most certainly feels like a second home. Mexico is one of those places that just captures your heart and I feel a sense of heartbreak and sadness when I think of what is going on there. The Washington Post artical about the situation is pretty complete. The polaroid to the left is from Fall 2004 when Remi and I went to Oaxaca for our second Day of the Dead trip in a row. We met up with Jane Tuckerman, our teacher and her class. Pictured is a photography student (Chad) from the Art Institute of Boston and a local villager in Teotitlan del Valle during their day of the dead celebration. We drank way too much home made Mezcal and coronitas and sat in the dirt next to buried bodies. I am sadden that this year Nov 1st, I will be here in the states instead of drinking with the people and photographing everything in sight. I miss you Oaxaca. Good Luck.



PS: for a complete list of articals and some youtube videos of Oaxaca, check out my del.icio.us account