tuesday music mix // no. 03

1. Tame Impala // Feels Like We Only Go Backwards

2. Beck // I Won't Be Long

3. Electric Guest // Back On Me

4. Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros // Better Days

5. Timber Timbre // Black Water

6. Washed Out // It All Feels Right

7. The Neighbourhood // Sweater Weather

8. Of Monsters and Men // Six Weeks

9. Grizzly Bear // Will Calls

10. David Lynch & Lykke Li // I'm Waiting Here

thoughts // the here and now

I can't stop thinking about what I read recently in the November issue of Real Simple magazine, because it resonated with me so much, and it's something I've been conscious of for a long time now, but could never fully put into words as succinctly as Roxana Robinson did in this excerpt:

It's easy to drift though the day, to move without thinking from one activity to the next. Our lives are so crowded, and we do so many things, often at the same time. We're caught in a web of tiny threads, all tugging at our attention. We're on the street or in the car, on the phone, with the radio on, already late, distracted, our minds leaping ahead, worrying away at the knot of obligation and expectation and urgency that blinds us. Maybe drift isn't the right word. Maybe spill is better, as though we're carried by a river in a spate that rushes and spins us along. Often it seems there's no way to slow down.

But actually there is a way. We can stop that hurtling rush at any moment. It's easy -- like opening a trapdoor into a secret world.

What I do is focus.

I think: Right now, this minute, I'm in the midst of my life. Waiting at this red light, watching that man in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt cross the street. Standing by the window at midnight, listening to the owl send his liquid cry through the darkness. This is my life, each second. Pay attention.

I do this partly because I'm a writer and I want to record the moment in my mind. But this isn't for my work, thought it might end up there. This is for myself. I want to remember what it's like, being human, right now. Of course, I want to remember when things are great, but I also want to remember when things are dull, when I'm still sitting at the gate hours after my flight should have left, or when things are painful, when I'm in the middle of a fight with someone I love -- even then. Those are the moments that make up my life. I need to know them. I want to pay attention. And doing this gives me a certain power. If I stop to pay attention during a fight, I may hear myself and think, Is this the person I want to be? Is this the way I want this conversation to end?

This attention gives my life meaning. If a moment is meaningless, it has no value. Then I've spent it for nothing. I've wasted it. But if I'm aware of it, the moment becomes valuable. Then I feel exhilarated. I feel a kind of richness: I am lucky to be alive and watching that man crossing the street, or listening to the piercing call of the owl, or caught up in a passionate conversation. Paying attention means that I'm valuing the moment. Joan Didion once wrote, "Every day is all there is." She's right. And every day is made up of moments. They're ours to cherish.

So you can stop that rushing flood tide. Pay attention, just for a moment. Think to yourself, This is my life, right now. I need to remember.

bits of life // november

1 // My birthday was a few weeks ago, and to treat myself before a night out with friends, I asked my dear makeup artist friend Danielle to pretty up my hair and makeup, and oh my god, she did not disappoint! It was my first time ever having my makeup professionally done, and I felt so so fancy. Also, she's the only woman I trust with a pair of scissors, since she cuts and colors my hair regularly, so if you're in San Diego and in need of a  new 'do (or a rad makeup job), go to Say Lula Salon in Mission Hills and ask for Danielle!

2 // More birthday treats at Starlite! And the best damn Moscow Mule I've ever had.

3 // Walking around Little Italy in downtown and stopping at charming little shops like this one. I will never tire of vertical hanging plants, nope, not ever.

4 // An impromptu day trip to nearby Julian was so much fun! (photos to come soon). We were too late for apple picking, but it was still so dang pretty there.

portrait // let's get cloudy

A friend of mine recently commissioned a portrait of himself for his professional website, and I was so stoked to help him with it. Dan wanted something playful and fun, and he was particularly inspired by my pet cloud photo that I made in 2011 as part of my 52 weeks project.

We decided to emulate the look and feel for his own portrait, right down to the stick-on/faux wallpaper and cloud element.

When I shot my original photo, the wallpaper was actually on the wall behind me (a diy project that my husband helped me with, and it was NOT fun times), but for Dan's shoot, we wanted to keep things much simpler and just temporarily rig it. So we taped a bunch of vertical sheets of the paper together, and then attached the whole piece to the top of my seamless backdrop set.

A quickie behind-the-scenes shot!

I made our cloud pretty much the same way I made it the first time: with pillow stuffing. The material was slightly different this time (the former being more cotton candy-esque), but I think I actually prefer the newer one.....it had more texture and looked more like....cumulus clouds? If you're a meteorologist and happen to be reading this, please correct me if I'm using the wrong cloud terminology :)

It was pretty simple after that! A few quick shots using the same lighting setup from the original, then the post-processing stage where I also kept it as close to the original as I could, and BAM. It was done. Not too shabby if I say so myself :)

You can also check out an additional image from the shoot on Dan's website!