local tunes for your auditory pleasure

There's so much good music to be had in sunny San Diego....I recently came across these tunes and was pleasantly surprised to find that nearly all of the artists are from San Diego. Hit that play button, download to your heart's content, and enjoy.

 

rad life things

I honestly couldn't think of a better/more clever title than that, so....sorry. This isn't one of my usual specific-subject posts, just more like, fun things that I partook in during the past week. In Instagram form.

Beer. Wonderful, delicious beer. Especially when it's a collaboration beer between Sierra Nevada and Russian River enjoyed al fresco at KnB. I'm not gonna pretend to be even remotely knowledgeable about its flavor or oaky notes or what it pairs beautifully with. Just trust me when I say it's good. So good that I picked up an extra bottle to take home with me. To save for either a rainy day or for the Mister when he gets back from his sea travels. Probably the latter.

I'm still in the process of adding/arranging things on our lovely bookshelf, but I was so happy to finally find an awesome print to display in this particular space. Not too shabby for an IKEA print, if I do say so myself. I also have plans to spray-paint my thrift store skull a nice gold color. So a trip to Michael's is in my near future.

AND! I went to L.A. last weekend for the Renegade Craft Fair with a new friend that I met at last month's Creative Connection (her name is Corey and you can read about her adventures here). So much fun! Before we hit up the fair though, we made a stop at the Santa Monica Pier to photobomb the heck out of it (cause we're photogra-tourists and that's what photogra-tourists do), and also to satisfy our mutual burger cravings at this awesome place called Pier Burger. Easily one of the better burgers I've had in awhile.

Also worthy of note from that day: while we were walking towards the pier, we couldn't help but notice all these groups of fit guys (and some girls) working out on various workout equipment, and at first we were like, "the heck?" But then we realized, "it's Muscle Beach, of COURSE." So it's basically an outdoor beach gym where abnormally fit and shirtless men make you feel like crap cause they're doing push-ups on raised parallel bars as easily as you and I drink water. Kidding. Kinda. But it was cool to see.

flashback // Thoughts on Germany

So I was looking through my "notes" section on my facebook page (does anyone even use that feature anymore?), and when I came across my "Thoughts on Germany" note, I happily re-read it with nostalgia. And renewed wanderlust. I am so itching to travel somewhere. Anywhere.

Anyway, I thought I would post it here. I wrote this right after a trip to southern Germany in 2010 with my better half, while it was all still fresh in my head (at the time, I was still living in Spain).

1. Turns out we were exactly one credit card short of being able to have a Porsche 911 as a rental car. In Germany. Where they have no-speed-limit autobahns. Damn all the luck!

2. However, our Opel Astra rental was surprisingly nimble on curvy country roads.

3. Whenever I heard a German person speak perfect English without so much as a stutter, I immediately felt hopelessly American and silently cursed my non-existent flair for languages. I can barely spit out Spanish, while this woman sitting next to me at Oktoberfest is laughingly saying "I haven't used my English in years!" while of course speaking perfect English.

4. The Mister does a funny thing when he's with someone who's speaking with an accent; he will start to unknowingly mimic that person's accent after about a minute or so of conversation. I pointed this out to him several times, but he insisted that was crazy talk.

5. I may have picked up an addiction to Weißwurst. Not entirely sure yet. Will have to eat more Weißwurst and experiment with different mustards. Stay tuned.

6. Despite hearing my husband's stories from last year's Oktoberfest, and despite my affection for beer, I was still not prepared for the level of drinking that goes on in those giant tents. I used to think Spaniards were the kings of social drinking. I was wrong. Oh so wrong.

7. Everywhere I went, I saw people riding bicycles. And I'm not talking about people wearing spandex, biking furiously with their heads lowered. These were normal people wearing paddy caps and slacks, taking a leisurely bicycle ride with their wives or girlfriends. Several of these bicycles had baskets. It was refreshing to see. And thus, my faith in the human race has been restored.

8. German men are generally nicer to look at than Spanish men. Sorry Spain. Just sayin.

9. King Ludwig II of Bavaria is my new favorite famous dead guy. He was an eccentric, had a palace built that was modeled after the Palace of Versailles, he hated attending public social functions, and he had pretty awesome hair.

10. They had me at Kartoffel soup. 

11. If you can say Prost! and count to three in German, you've at least nailed one of their many Oktoberfest drinking songs.

12. Every time I saw a cornfield (which was about 845 times), I wanted to run through it with the wind in my hair and a Paulaner in my hand. Maybe I should've been a farmer.

13. Ladies, beware of drunk Italians. Octopus Hands.

And photos! This wouldn't be a decent travel post without some photos right?

 Neuschwanstein Castle in the distance. This is the place where asian tourist groups (or ATG's) ran rampant. They really like their castles.

 Just a quaint summer home for Ludwig II. Nothing fancy.

 Helpful Germans were abundant.

A ferry boat ride to a palace on an island? Don't mind if I do.

 Germany, you're just way too pretty.

An Irish bar in Germany. Naturally.

Oktoberfest: like going to a party with a few thousand of your closest drinking buddies.

Prosting our little hearts out.

Germany, I miss you :(

fashion shoot // birds and lions and spiders, oh my!

So last month I organized a shoot with fellow photografriend Kristina and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out. Considering it was my first time trying to put together something like this, I don't think I did too shabby. I really just wanted to collaborate with a great team and shoot some unusual-looking clothes.

the bird of juno

All the clothing designs were made by Tea Ninkovic, a recent fashion design graduate that I got in touch with via facebook. I really wish she had a website so I could link to her work, but I think she's still working on that. I love that she doesn't make just simple skirts and sweaters; they're more like costumes. They're colorful, loud and definitely not boring.

the young lioness

As far as a concept or artistic vision, I really didn't have one, at least not while I was shooting. I kind of just let the clothes and the surroundings inspire the shoot, and it wasn't until I started editing my images that I began to make this connection of an animal or creature in the woods. Hence the photo titles such as the bird of juno, which refers to a peacock, or Kapara's web, which refers to a species of spider.

Kapara's web

My model was Taryn, and she was awesome to work with. Super sweet and professional. That shot above is probably my favorite from the day. There were all these twisted dead branches on the ground, and when I asked her to hold one of them and I started shooting, something just clicked. It totally fit the mood of her outfit. And then later while editing, I took a chance and added some spiderweb texture, and bam. this happened.

Badri killed it again with the hair and makeup. I love working with that woman.

This shot was one of many that I fired off while Kristina was shooting, and I kept coming back to it while reviewing my photos. I think that I love it so much because it's also one of those "in between" shots....those times when Taryn stopped posing in between actual posing. There's just something so human and fragile about this one.

I think I'll save the behind-the-scenes photos for tomorrow! Stay tuned :)

a Dear Self post

The past few days, I've been feeling re-invigorated, re-inspired, re-everything. And I feel like it's high time to make some new promises to myself. Set some new goals for the rest of this year, and to just treat myself better.

So I'm gonna type this out, in hopes that I can make it stick.

1. Surround myself with positive people. I think I do this pretty much all the time anyway, so that's a plus. Whiners, complainers, and people that play the victim all the time bum me out. And I don't like being bummed out. Not when there's so much to be grateful for, every single day.

2. Shoot more with digital. And film. Ever since I got an iPhone last year, it's been waaay too easy to whip that thing out and use it to document whatever I happen to be doing. So my poor DSLR and film cameras have practically been reduced to props in my house, only to be used for my personal photography work, or the occasional outing. Unacceptable.

I did take the photo above (at the Del Mar Fair) with my Diana Mini, which makes me happy. Overlapped exposures and light leaks are a few of my favorite things about film.

3. Cook at home more. And I'm only writing this because since the Mister is currently overseas for the next several months, my desire to cook meals for one has dropped drastically in the past month. Ugh. It's the worst. Maybe hosting some casual dinner nights with friends would help.

4. Say yes to more things. Especially when it comes to social outings. I'm not a homebody all the time, but when I get in those periods of staying in, it can go on for days at a time. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I hate the idea that I could be missing out on new opportunities. New friends. Perfect example: the Creative Connection meetup I posted about yesterday. If I hadn't signed up for that, I would've missed out on meeting some pretty rad ladies while hanging out poolside with a delicious drink in my hands.

5. Blog more. And not just the happy/pretty/good stuff in my life, but more of the stuff in between too. Just keep things real.

Creative Connection Meetup!

So last night I finally went to my first Creative Connection meetup at the Pearl Hotel, and I'm wondering why the hell did I wait so long to attend one of these? It was so much fun!

I wasn't really sure what to expect, and usually an event like this would make me super anxious and shy, but any anxiety I had pretty much dissolved as soon as I started talking with some of the women there. It was so inspiring to meet a bunch of creatives all in one place. I met a soap-maker, a food stylist, photographers, bloggers, painters....everyone was friendly and excited to talk about their creative pursuits. Which in turn made ME excited and freshly inspired to just keep on making good art and doing what I do.

I can't wait for the next one :)

local gem // La Mesa's Classic Car Show

One more reason I love my 'hood: every Thursday evening during the summer, La Mesa Boulevard is transformed into a nostalgic antique car show. I noticed it going on a few times last month, but last week I decided to stroll through and check it out.

So many sexy cars. Let's take a peek, shall we?

So not only are there beautiful cars to ogle (for me, it was that incredible red Shelby Mustang), but it's also a chance to socialize with your neighbors (I went with two friends who live down the street from me), and then maybe pop into one of the bars or restaurants right there on the boulevard.

La Mesa, you keep on impressing me.