C O L O R S

Y'all. The Impossible Project has struck instant film gold with their newest stuff- PX 680. Get your freaking hands on some if you can because it is the goods. You can see a few more that I've taken here. I have two more packs and will be working on more images this week so long as the sunshine continues to shine in Chicago. Please and thank you.

I found out yesterday that a few Polaroids I took will be exhibiting in Paris, FRANCE! Oh how I wish I could go see them there. I am so elated. If you live in France or will be there on a trip - stop by and send me some pictures of my stuff hanging out!

Although this weekend has been very productive it's also been laid back and relaxing. Don't you love those kind of weekends? I hope you are all having wonderful days. Enjoying some sunshine and maybe a bunny or two.

XO

MARCH

Blog. I've been a stranger. Life happened all of a sudden and the minutes to sit and contemplate all that is happening have been few. I am making some right now because I am overwhelmed with goodness. Today I received in the mail an issue of Elle Girl Korea that three of my polaroids were published in. It was a feast for my eyes. I was very flattered to be among other photographers that I admire -Whitney Johnson and Amanda Gilligan! If you haven't seen their work, get on it, your eyes will thank you later.

I just wrapped up some framed Polaroids to ship off to an exhibit in DC called Exposed: The Polaroid Retrospective. (One thing to mark off of my 30 before 30 list!) If you're in the area in April you should stop by and check it out! I am so thrilled to be exhibiting with other wonderful Polaroid photographers. I just wish I could be there on the opening night. Instead I will be preparing to celebrate the nuptials of one of my best friends in sunny Florida. A little vacation that I am entirely looking forward to. I need the sun, the spanish moss but most importantly - my girlfriends. We are coming from all corners of the US for this occasion and I am thrilled to see my gals.

Chicago isn't quite experiencing the burst of Spring that is happening everywhere else but I am still thankful for jacket instead of coat weather and that I can give my Hunter boots a little break. They are cute but you get tired of wearing rubber boots everyday. I can't wait for flats season to really be here!

Oh! I haven't posted since we got back from tour. Tour was pretty fun. A whirlwind of a few days but really great times. I enjoyed making friends with the gentlemen in Marksmen. Seeing blossoms and friends in Georgia. Meeting a wonderful pair of moms in Ohio. Seeing some friends and some wonderous housewares in New York as well as a wonderful visit to The Impossible Project space. Driving on the highway (there's something romantic about the road isn't there?) Meeting new friends and enjoying their juicer. I love traveling this way. Meeting new people. Seeing new and old places and friends. Enjoying the hospitality of strangers. Already I can't wait for the next round of dates. Hopefully this time music will take us to the West Coast!

As usual there is too much on my mind so I'm going to go into list format in three, two...

- Have you seen this photographer/musicians blog? He has an affinity for instant films and quirky iphone videos that win me over. He seems to have a compulsion for peel apart photo making that is to be reckoned with.
- Look at this picture and tell me it's not magic.
- Did you see what everyone came up with last week at Words To Shoot By?
- If you're tired of eating cereal for 2 meals a day, like I am, you might fall in love with this blog too.

More soon. What have you wonderful folks been up to these days?

FEBRUARY // GONE

A scatter brained post from the road. I am glad that I came out on tour with Christopher. I am the merch person and part time driver. I love driving. I don't do it enough in Chicago so I get my fill when we go out on tour. See also: Chik Fil A, Cracker Barrel, ALL KINDS OF SWEET TEA, friends near and far, SUNSHINE, picture taking and a lot of listening to Sunny Day and Ryan Adams. Don't judge me. Please.

Being "on the road" (I hate the way that sounds but it is what it is) is inspiring. Seeing new things. Meeting new people. Seeing how strange and different each town is. It makes me keep my camera in hand and I like that. It is also amazing to partake in the hospitality of strangers. It is hope inspiring.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we can make it out West this year. I've been up and down the East coast several times but have barely touched on the West side of the States.

February, gone already. February was a strange month. The things that ring out in my mind is the loss of Peter and a sigh of relief when my mom was able to move ever closer to us. Both things happened on the same day actually.

I have high hopes for March. A visit with some friends on this tour, a quick trip to The Impossible Project, an exciting new purchase/investment (I'll tell ya once I have it!), meeting some internet friends and warmth. Please weather gods, send down your spring time angels!

Does anyone know of a way to read my blogger blogroll on an iphone? I can't seem to access all of the blogs I follow via my blogger dashboard on my phone and would like to keep up and post while I'm out. While you're at it, do you know if a portable polaroid scanner exists? I need this to get out of my dreams and into my car. Please and thank you.

SPRING I'M CALLING YOU NEAR!

The sunless grey skies are affecting me. This time of the year seems endless. I start to think that I live in a place that is Winter year round. I didn't think living in Chicago would be such a drastic change from Florida and I have never considered myself more a Florida girl than I do during this stretch of Winter. I'm just ready for it to be done! My friends in Florida are posting pictures from the beach. Wearing tank tops and sandals. I don't even remember what sunshine feels like.

Listening to Ryan Adams. Wishing for warmer days so I feel more motivated to go out and shoot (can you tell?!). Thankful for internet pals who have been so wonderfully warming about the loss of ole Pete. Anxious for April to come so I can see 3 of my besties in Florida. Happy about the time I've been spending with my mom lately. Ever so happy about a little bit of Polaroid film I've recently come into. Anxious to develop those four rolls of HP5 that are starring me in the face. Hopeful about the prospect of covering up the glass tile that is shattered in our bathroom from previous tenants in the next month or see (fingers crossed). Unsure about going on a east coast road trip with Christopher and Trevor.

Much on the mind. Here's hoping for a restful weekend to you and me both!

XO

A LOVE // A GHOST

What a weekend. I just wrote an entire post where I told the details of it and how it was one heck of a roller coaster but really all of that doesn't matter. The bottom line of this weekend is that we had to put down my darling pet bunny of 7 1/2 years, Mister Peter Jennings. I didn't realize how much of an impact the loss of a pet could make on our lives! Christopher and I have been weepy all weekend, really missing him already. He was just such a joy in our lives. We're eternally grateful that we have our other two bunnies Franny & Zooey that have also been keeping us on our toes but Peter was just such a character and he is so dearly missed.

I guess I am mostly surprised just how grief stricken losing him has made us. On a brighter note, it is incredible how a tiny little animal can bring you so much joy. Here's to Peter and all the love he brought into our lives and to all the little creatures we hold so dear to our hearts! 

XO

WORDS TO SHOOT BY // SWEET

Wow, I've waited much too long to make a blog post. I'm sorry! This past week was incredibly busy although I don't have much to show for it. You know how those weeks go. The days just get away from you somehow. 

I have been playing around with peel apart film and falling in love with each photo. Even if it is out of focus, I haven't quite mastered the camera I'm using yet, it's so fun to see those instant results! I only wish I could find a macro attachment that would allow me to get closer than 3 ft away from something and it still be in focus. I never realized how closely I usually photograph things until now! The 3 photos in this post are my entry for "Sweet" on Words To Shoot By. There are some pretty cute entries, so go give them a peek! 

My heart has been swelling the past few days. With the excitement of this new to me film, the prospect of a fun new camera for my husband and I to play with (more on that in a later post), all the upcoming weddings there are to attend and photograph, the fact that spring is only a month or two away (!!), the sun keeps peeping out of the Chicago skies, our rabbits do increasingly cute things, I've been exercising and although I don't see any results on my scale or body- it feels wonderful to be doing something that is good for my health, seeing beautiful things online, being inspired by living spaces. So much good stuff! 

I also recently purged some of my cameras, a pretty decent amount of "I shouldn't get rid of that, I might wear it one day" clothes and random do dads that don't get any love. It feels like literal weight is being lifted off my shoulders to do away with things that don't get used. I'm not a minimalist by any means but I do NEED order and tidiness in my life to be happy. 

I like all the things associated with Valentines Day, glitter, hearts, treats, arrows, cards, flowers, treats, cupcakes, treats, love- but I don't put too much stock into the actual holiday itself. I'm kind of sad that it's going to be over and all the pretty red girly things at the store will go on sale and will be replaced by green four leaf clovers. Blech. Did you do anything special for Valentines Day?

I hope everyone is well, that the sun is shining where you are and that you had at least one cupcake today! 

XO

WHAT'S UP

Hello! It's super bowl Sunday and although that has pretty much no significance to me, I am very excited  to hang out with friends and eat the most horrible foods with them.

Did everyone hear about the blizzard that hit Chicago? Well my husband, some of our friends and I went out in the middle of it last weekend! It was crazy. I felt like I was on Hoth. I kept waiting for Han Solo to rescue me on a Ton Ton. Wait what...you didn't know I am a total Star Wars nerd? Shhh. Don't judge me, okay? Thanks. I've never seen that much snow in real life before. It was pretty fun and a little bit scary too. I'm hoping to develop the film I shot in the storm this week and will surely keep you posted on that. I'm waiting to finish off a roll I have in my newly acquired Diana Mini. I've been wanting one for a while now and couldn't resist buying it when I saw it on sale. Does anyone have any tips on how to use that bad boy for me?

This week I also shot peel apart film for the first time in my life. My heart leapt a little bit when I saw the results. So pretty! It only made me sad I'd never thought to try it out before. You can see some of what I shot here. The camera I'm using is pretty basic and easy to use, I just have to get better at judging distance since you aren't looking directly through the lens when you look into the viewfinder and this always throws me off when it comes to focusing. I'm not used to having to know how many feet or meters you are from someone or something.

My husband and I went to see My Brightest Diamond play a few nights ago and she was incredible as always. I'm not a big fan of female vocalists, actually the only ones I really like are Carol King, Blonde Redhead and My Brightest Diamond. At any rate, during the show Shara told the backstory to one of her songs which referenced At the Back of the North Wind, a George McDonald book. It sounded right up my alley so I'll have to give it a read. Has anyone else read anything by him before? If you have the chance to go see My Brightest Diamond I would highly recommend it. The music is beautiful, Shara is funny and cute and there isn't a single air of pretentiousness during the show, which I rather appreciate.

This is turning into quite the novel, and to think when I first started writing I wasn't sure if I had anything to say. Can I tell you just a few more things? Thank you.

- I'm inspired this week by Michael Morgans goal to blog every day for 30 days (quite ambitious if you ask me!)
- I'm working on some mix cd artwork for a mix exchange with Isabelle that I am VERY excited about!
- I am so happy to be sending Valentines to lonely seniors! A great big thank you to everyone who bought cards from my shop for this!  I'll be sending the package along to Etsy tomorrow (Monday) afternoon so you still have a chance to put a smile on a lonely elderly persons face on Valentines day!
- If you need a low commitment photo project consider joining the Flickr group, Saturdays of 2011 where you simply take a photo of your Saturday and post it to the group! I have REALLY been loving photo projects this year. It's a great way to keep shooting and to stay inspired, especially during the Winter.

I hope everyone has a wonderful, cozy Sunday!
XO