Hello West LA!

Poster I found on the corner of La Brea and Melrose.

We went home to Redlands to spend the weekend with family. Just when we thought we could sit back and relax, my brother called and asked us to pick him up. We made an impromptu trip to LA and made him wait...just a little, as we perused through shops and enjoyed the sunshine that broke immediately after the rain. The rest of the weekend was spent in our pajamas, cheering for the Lakers, a little bit of the Super Bowl, baking, and plenty of time to relax.

5 minutes (or more so, 5 miles) before I took this photo, it was pouring pretty hard.

Looks like it never rained! The Wiltern Theater is so rustic looking.

This HV is located at the Wiltern,

Would you mind telling me, what makes a drug ethical?

Where we spent most of our time. There is nothing like hitting the jackpot. (aka: used bookstore)

They weren't kidding when they said 1000's!

$9 later, we came out with 5 books! I love buying used books; it makes me feel less guilty when I give them away. Being the anti-hoarder that I am, I only keep my favorites on the shelf.

I finally found some authentic Moroccan Mint tea at T Salon in Melrose. It tastes exactly like what I had at Marrakesh a few weeks ago! I have been drinking this stuff like water lately.

Family Portraits

Every year around Christmas time, my parents insist on posing for family portraits around the house. With all the hustle and bustle of the season, we seemed to have forgotten this annual tradition. This weekend, before Mom put away the Christmas decor, we gathered for some shots. Here are some of my favorites.

My parents had another child added to the family this year-Marc!

Brady bunch?
The siblings

Productive Veteran's Day

Scattered photographs

It was nice to have Wednesday off. After my morning work-out and doing some grocery shopping, I worked on a project that has long been ignored. I have been dreading the sorting of my wedding pictures because there are so many of them. We promised our parents that we would have our wedding book together by Thanksgiving to show family and friends. Clearly, that is not happening. I find it really hard to sort photos electronically so I resorted to prints. Thanks to RitzPix, I was able to print most of our 'top choices' at an affordable price. Not only did I have to sort through the professional photos but one's that friends and family took as well. What will I do with these prints afterwards? I have no idea!

Marc did his share of sorting too then I started creating layouts in Photoshop. I realized that if I continue using Photoshop, it will take me forever and a day because there are so many embellishments/styles that can be done. Since I've used Blurb in the past for my travel books, I've resorted to using them again. Besides, simplicity seems to be the key to putting together wedding books. After all, it should the bride and groom that stand out and not your fancy background or cute embellishment, right? Wish me luck as I attempt to have this project done by Christmas. In case your'e wondering, yes our photographer did put one together for us but only has 30 pictures which is why I'm creating my own.

The final selections by category

Creating layouts. This is for the "getting ready" page. :)

On another note, Missy at Lovely Little Life passed on a 'cute blog award' to me. Isn't she sweet? I must now pass this on to 10 other bloggers so here I go....

1. Danni at Oh Hello Friend

2. Tawny at Let's Eat

3. Jenn at I art u

4. Ella at Twenty-Five

5. Yellow Goat at YellowGoat Design

6. Joanna at A Cup of Jo

7. Ruthi at Ruthi Auda

8. Luzel at iDiy

9. Holly at HollyMaus

10. Jill at Today I Saw

I adore each and everyone of these blogs and have become my daily reads. Check them out when you get a chance! Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Iris and Light

Jana + Billy Engagement
from IRIS AND LIGHT on Vimeo.

My dear cousin Claudine was heartbroken when she found out that her photographer/videographer of choice was not available on her wedding date. A few moments ago, I got an e-mail from her saying that she changed her wedding date just so she could have Iris and Light on her wedding day. I am so happy for her! The girls and I have been crushing on the work of this dynamic creative team for weeks now. You have no idea how many times we've watched this video. Check it out for yourself, it is just darling and I just have to share it with you!

Broken Film

This is what my film from my first round of Chaika shots looked like. Actually, it was much worse as Marc wasn't paying attention as he wound the film. I dropped it off and when I went back to pick up the photos, I was told that they could not be developed. That's fine because when I looked at the half-eaten strip, only about 10 pictures came out. So, now I'm onto roll #2 and will need to snap 72 more shots of randomness to see if "The Russian" (as my friends have labeled it) really works. At least, now I know, it half-works. = )

Half-frame anyone?

Someone else in the world has to be an owner of one of these Chaika III half-frame cameras. I got mine in the mail yesterday after waiting patiently for 3 weeks. Shipped straight from Ukraine, I immediately ripped the package open only to find nothing but the packing slip and the camera itself. I should've confirmed with the seller as to whether or not a manual would come with it. So I sent him a message and was told that the manual only comes in Russian and so he thought it wouldn't be any help to me. Well, he's right. After hours of scouring the Internet and YouTube for any tutorial/instruction I could find, I decided to just play around with it. I stuck a roll of expired film and I've been clicking away since last night. The film is winding as I see the counter change from time-to-time. However, what are all the other buttons used for?! Am I using it correctly?

I'm hoping someone out there reads this post and helps a camera-obsessed girl in figuring out how to work the latest addition to her collection.