Adventure with The Brows Family!

 

 

As I've mentioned both here and here, it's been waaaaaay too long since I've hung out with this family. They are so awesome I cry a little every time I'm around them. Tears of joy and laughter that is. Seriously though, I find myself tearing up from laughing so hard several times in an hour when we all get together. It's a nutty bunch for sure.

Sunday we had an adventure day in which we took Baby Brows to The New Children's Museum. I didn't know what to expect but I figured Lil Brows (I guess we can't really call him Baby Brows any longer, look how big he is!) would have fun and I would have fun seeing what all he got in to.

First we stopped at El Pollo Loco because I was very hungry and I ordered what seemed to be a really complicated burrito (BRC no rice) which we laughed about and then went on. Lil Brows was a little sleepy but he gratefully accepted my french fries that I passed his way on the car ride.

When we arrived the first thing we did was walk through a maze. It was cute nicely decorated, and all of us fit through the holes somehow. Impressive. After some crawling around we took a look at the clay area as well as a painted car. Lil Brows didn't care for the clay or the car, but the wood dowel for rolling out the clay definitely caught his eye. He carried it around for a bit there after.

Next Unicorn Sparkle(bottom)s decided it was time for Lil Brows to play some drums. And that he did. He LOVED it. He used the drum sticks given and he also switched it up to the popsicle sticks he had borrowed and that wooden dowel. Unfortunately TNCM put the drums in the same area as a giant bean bag and a reading corner... so the other families in there weren't as stoked... we may have had some sideways glances. Here's the deal patchouli Dad*... don't blame Lil Brows or us... the museum put them in there, obviously they don't actually want you napping in their museum, they want you to explore everything and eat in their cafe and get out! So we helped with that. Move it along people, move it along.

Next we spent some serious time making bridges and other structures out of blocks that Lil Brows would leave alone until they got really good and then would give them a little push. Bless his heart.

After the blocks we moved on through the other rooms pretty quick, the rain house was Lil Brows other favorite place, he ran around in there with the other kids and we a tad upset when we took him out until we showed him something else, like the rock climbing wall. Unicorn Sparkle(bottom)s climbed it but he had no interest so away we went again to run cars without wheels around and get some bubbles going.

By the time we hit the bubbles we were all feeling a little hungry so Unicorn Sparkle(bottom)s suggested a walk to Heavenly Cupcakes... nobody said no.

The cupcakes were delicious. I only managed half of mine, there was an oreo inside as well as the chocolate cake part and the intense amount of frosting. 

We rode back to Casa de Brows and chatted while Lil Brows ran around like a little crazy person (oh cupcakes) and then it was time for me to head back north for Sunday dinner at my dad's house.

I can't believe how much Lil Brows has grown, I mean, I can but it's just crazy that I use to hang out with him before he could even walk. I saw his first crawl and his first steps! And now he's talking, running around and drumming like a little man! Goodness they grow up so fast. I can't wait for the next adventure!

xoxo

*he looked a little hippie like... I apologize to those who like patchouli

Onward and Upward: Six Questions

Since this is the first post I'll explain a little. Onward and Upward is a new series where I explore my thoughts, wishes, dreams and other things. It's a little bit of introspection and a lot a bit goal sharing. Sometimes I will find questions from another blog post, sometimes from books... feel free to join me in answering the questions or even leave some that have helped you in your day to day life.  

I filled out these questions months ago and I kept putting off publishing them in a post. But I kept coming back to read the, and I liked my answers and they didn't change much over the months. So here they are, feel free to answer your own.

I don't remember where I got these from, if you know shoot me a comment and I'll link back!

1. What do I absolutely love in life?

reading, photography, toy photography, some old things like trinkets and memorabilia, looking good and put together, freshly washed, cut and dyed hair, new piercings, new tattoos, a good conversation with a friend, plans, a new love interest, feeling wanted, feeling appreciated, feeling attractive, dancing, feeling strong, feeling smart, feeling necessary, feeling creative, sharing something great with others, making the perfect recommendation...

2. What are my greatest accomplishments in life so far?

- Daphne Loves Derby at The Epicentre selling 300+ tickets which then led to my boss getting them booked and the show selling out.

- Graduating college cum laude

- being a part of a kick ass essay writing team for the Media Literacy class, the essay was entered into a competition

- getting through the hard winter in Portland

3. What would I stand for if I knew no one would judge me?

Write, make art, paint, run my own business, teach classes, train dolphins, life coach, plan events, blog for money, be a nude model for an art class

4. If my life had absolutely no limits and I could have it all and do whatever I wanted what would I choose to have and what would I choose to do?

Friends, family, time with both, enough money to live comfortably and send my child to college.

If this started tomorrow I would move into a one bedroom in San Francisco and start writing for online and in print publications. I would travel around, take pictures, go to seminars, blog, learn, teach, share, make blankets, read, drink tea, cook new things sometimes in a clean and bright kitchen. I would learn piano and Spanish and see the sun and I would have a perfect wardrobe of classic pieces. I would be able to fit my life (sans bed, desk, nightstand and a couch) into my car to move. I would have a clean house with a beautifully made bed, whites, grays, dark blues and a tad of yellow. I would have a kitten and a boyfriend. I would have a pole to train on and a studio to go to and I would perform at least a couple of times a year. I would be strong but constantly working to be stronger and more flexible, to improve in several types of dance outside of pole (contemporary, tango, shakira type... hip hop).

My sleeve would be under way not at a complete halt. I don't need anything to be there immediately I just want progress and right now I still feel that I am at a stand still. I would have time to take pictures weekly, adventures to go on, prints to sell...

5. What would I do if I had one billion dollars?

Move to SF

Book my 6 month trip to Argentina to study spanish and photography

Come back and study more photography on the east coast

Live in a beach house on the east coast and write

exercise

Visit, if not live in, Nashville Tennessee

Take classes on graphic design, photoshop, painting, writing, finance

All the places I would want to live in wouldn't be 70's style, they will have a decent view, big windows, good window coverings, access to pole classes and exercise studios, a nice bathtub, natural light in every room. A room for a pole.

6. Who do I admire most in the world?

Lauren Conrad

- down to earth (seems like), true to self,

Dad

- hard worker

- dedicated

- determined

- stable minded

Tara

- lives her life with little apology for who she is

Emma Stone

- funny, smart, pretty, talented, multi faceted, down to earth

Hayley Williams

- great voice, great attitude, powerhouse voice

Zooey Deschanel

-funny, quirky, cute, smart, talented, charismatic

xoxo

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52 photos in 52 weeks: Week 34

 

These were taken at The New Children's Museum when I had an adventure with The Brows family. I know it's been a bit, but if you'll remember my Wednesday With Baby Brows series... it was so good to be reunited. But I've said that already... in the last post. And I'll probably say it again in the next, when I share more pictures from the day.

As for the photos, this day/venue was challenging for me because I am still learning, by guesswork and trial and error, how to shoot in manual. Challenges are not to be frowned upon though, I'm learning and I don't think any one picture was perfect lighting wise but I was switching between and giving it my best shot and heck, none of them came out horrible. So there's a feather in my cap for working in Manual in an environment with constantly changing light.  

Until next week (or next post really)...

xoxo

Currently

So much going on per usual. I thought about that phrase before I typed it and realized that many (any) could say that so much is going on, I mean, in our body alone so much is going on, let alone what happens with our day to day interactions and routines... but that's not what I meant.
What I meant was, there is a lot going on in my mental sphere that I have to organize, relabel and rework to create a happier me. 
I've been having really great hang out sessions with some of my friends, one (food pictured above) was brunch with my lovely friend Jesse. Her and I went to, well, yeah, obviously, The Encinitas Cafe and ate, and ate and ate. The waitress was impressed and told us to come back because we know how to eat. Good thing I was wearing a dress, my stomach would have hated the confines of pants after that delicious meal.
I finally got a chance to hang out with The Brows again. It's been about seven months and let's just make a promise to ourselves (you have really no control over this blog world, but I'm including you anyway) to never let that much time pass again before another hang out. Seriously not cool. But going to The Children's Museum was awesome and getting cupcakes and laughing until I cried at the jokes we made about anything and everything. Much, much needed laughter for an otherwise serious day. 
Rach and I went for Thai food and chatting at this delicious place called The King and I in San Marcos recently. So good. Thai Society in Encinitas is also good for Thai food, I found out a few days later for the second to last family dinner we had before T went back to college.
There's been some drinking, jacuzzi-ing, eating, laughing, watching shows, falling asleep on people's couches and all sorts of other things that happened to normal people when they were younger but I just started experiencing now. 
This summer has been one to remember, full of jobs (3.5), beer, tequila, sun, photoshoots and just all around shenanigans. It's coming to an end though, and with it's end comes a need to buckle down just a little harder. But until then, here's some currently for ya:

Reading: 
Just finished reading: The Hobbit, The Summer We Read Gatsby and Ender's Game. I'm still reading The Girl's Guide to Depravity (funny read, definitely not all serious) and still working through The Fire Starter Sessions.
My next fiction book will probably be The Night Circus and I have checked out Freakonomics and What French Women Know... I don't know if I'm going to end up reading both but we'll see. I have about two more weeks with them before they go back.

Watching: 
Only Pretty Little Liars really, unless I'm at a friends house, then whatever they put on. I bought and watched The Hunger Games with a friend the other day. It was still good the second time, though I didn't cry. Most likely because said friend is a dude and I do my best to never cry around dues, including my dad... though I always end up at least tearing up around my dad. We have tough conversations sometimes. Good, but tough.

Thinking about: 
Moving out, about making money stretch, about setting up new habits, about teaching myself how not to freak out and turn what currently looks like this hard, unpleasant road into a challenge that I can meet, beat and go forth from. 
Making me sad: 
The lack of rain or lower temperatures. I like wearing sweaters, scarves are awesome too. You know what's really awesome? Rain. Yeah, not like constant rain but way more than San Diego rain (which could mean just 5 days of rain really...not even in a row). 
Also, a good friend of mine, Miss Rachael, is leaving for college here soon. Those who work with her have decided it's just not going to be the same without her. There may be tears the day we say goodbye... from our friend Josh. I'll probably not cry until later in bed while eating semi stale rice cakes or something. 
Making me happy: 
I got to see The Brows on Sunday and it's been way, way, way too long. They are fantastic, hilarious people and Baby Brows is growin up. He's more like Talkin' Brows now. Sheesh. I was crying from laughing so hard (a kind of cry I will do around a guy) within 10 minutes of seeing them. It was quite fantastic. 

specific prompts from Sometimes Sweet

xoxo

Happily Wasted

First things first, my love for Taylor Swift... even better, her new song and lyrics in an incredibly creative display. Watch above!

The rest:
Let's just get to the point then shall we #1. (40 ways to feel more alive)
Blog brainstorming (I must say I first typed it as brain blogstorming...) with Elsie and Emma. Love those ladies.
I'm so in hearts with Kinsey's gorgeous hair and natural make up
Oh it's time for another adventure with Ms Lisa again... until then I can enjoy her self portraits. They are just so dang good!
Carnivals and fairs melt my heart a little, especially when they are the scene to a photo shoot.
Brandi writes a bit about curating her life... I'm intrigued and want to know more about her processes!

Do you have any links you absolutely need to share with someone? Leave them in the comments!

xoxo

52 photos in 52 weeks: Week 33

 

week 33 was self portrait week... well, more like it was self portrait day. I was getting ready, I was house sitting for my dad and they have this bathroom with so many mirrors and such great light I couldn't stop myself from taking a few pictures and playing with reflections. Nerd? Maybe. Definitely. Guilty as charged. 

I feel like I need to take more pictures. I feel like I'm lagging a bit, like I'm not taking my camera out nearly enough. I get shy around my friends. I don't take pictures of them. Maybe if I did long enough they would just get use to it and expect it. I love having pictures of my friends. 

When I bought new memory cards for my camera I received a coupon for 100 free prints from costco so I decided to print out a lot of pictures of friends no matter if they weren't the most flattering to us. If the moment held good memories it was picked and printed. I'm going to make a collage here soon. 

I also made myself a blurb book of instagram pictures. It was a bit expensive for the fact that I didn't have a theme going, but it was a thing I wanted to do this year and so there it was. No time like the present and what not. 

Other than that... not much. Well, that's not true, lots of hanging out with friends, lots of working, some reading, and obviously not that much blogging. Here's to getting back to a little more even schedule. 

xoxo

Burn Bright

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After reading a post by Brandi over at Not Your Average Ordinary I thought I might share some thoughts of my own.

The subject: intimidating women 

I am not a heartbreaker (that I know of), I don't find myself to be drop dead gorgeous, and up until recently I didn't think myself to be much smarter than the masses. Many have told me otherwise since I was born (first parents and then those who didn't have the first baby stars in their eyes...) but my own brain, often the perfectionist enemy, wouldn't listen.

I, like many other women before me, have found myself change slightly (or exponentially) when interested in certain guys or even certain friendships with other women. I've grown quieter with some, louder with others... I've tried to censor what I talked about, I've tried to keep out certain parts of my life and it's always left me feeling exhausted and frustrated.

I found early on, well, maybe in high school, that when I changed who I was, what I liked or what I thought for other people, my motivation to do things and enjoy life would diminish. Soon I stopped apologizing for who I was, what I liked, and what I wanted to do.

Soon I found myself wondering: Why would I tone down who I am? Why would I soften my shine? 

If someone finds me to be intimidating and can't get past the intimidation to get to know me then it's not meant to be anyway.

Yes it's frustrating to constantly feels like I am scaring guys away. To not know if they disappear because they want someone dumber, less enthusiastic or less expressive. But it's even more frustrating to dumb it down and then eventually let it out and still have the person walk away. 

When I try to dumb it down, when I leave things out or hide parts of who I am I feel like crap. I feel like I'm only showing part of who I am and that I'm telling a lie. I have learned time and time again that starting out a relationship hiding things isn't going to work for me.

So here it is:
I will not dumb down my enthusiasm, my mouth, my occasional vulgarity, my willingness to be silly or my wants in life just to keep a person around. It’s surprising to me how many people stick around (some of which even fight to stay in my life) and so I figure I’m doing something right at least part of the time. I will apologize when I have offended someone or have done something wrong, but change who I am or dull it down? Where’s the fun in that. 

I feel like dulling my shine is like giving someone almost in season berries when I could be serving them, in season, bursting with flavor fruits. No one would order the dulled version of their perfect food... The person (or persons... who knows in this life) that I am suppose to be with are attracted to my qualities already, they aren't looking for some half baked me, just like I'm not looking for a dulled down, less passionate, contained them. 
While my passion, my excitement, my facial expressions, my intelligence, perceived  beauty, hair color or tattoos might intimidate or scare people off, they also draw other people closer. Someone out there will love my enthusiasm and may even have a boat load of his own, and we’ll mutually intimidate each other and giggle about it for years to come.

Ladies (and gents) have you found yourself dulling down what you are, what you do, what you like etc so as not to intimidate someone you want to be friends (or more) with?

xoxo

52 Photos in 52 Weeks: Weeks 31 & 32

week 31:

Sad to say I neglected the Lady Rebel the 31st week of the year. I don't think I took one single picture with her. She was sad and almost held it against me but week 32 I made up for it. At least a little bit.

This week was busy, busy, busy with hours upon hours of work. I'm not really surprised I didn't get a chance to take pictures with anything other than the iphone. These were both from spending the weekend with my sister at my dad's house. That was a good end to a ferociously busy week.

 

week 32: 

Still busy but less with work than the week before, more with friends and catching up. It was definitely nice. And then Sunday dinner with the fam was good too.

xoxo

Happily Wasted

There it is, the famous In- N-Out burger and fries. There was a milkshake that day too, but it didn't fit in the frame very well. I was also in my car while taking this picture. Kids, don't try this at home.
I'm still not over the moon about In-N-Out's burger. I wish I was, because they have far better business practices than most other drive through burger places, but I just feel less than full after I eat it.
But that's a story without much of a point and this is Happily Wasted which means... click on the links and enjoy what some might call "wasted time!"

look at this poster! in love.

i love fake eyelashes! here is some helpful info for the new to lashes bunch!

"I’ve found that when I am involved in a pattern, my emotions run a bit stronger..." A post about our patterns and how we can recognize and change them

"Sometimes you just have to put on lipgloss and pretend to be psyched"

A little tough love for your excuses

I love seeing what ladies do to get ready... makes me want more make up though...

I love this project, Pantone skin colors

What posts caught your eye this week/last week/whenever?

xoxo

A Day in LA - Part Two: Renegade Craft Fair

Ah yes, here we are, part two! We made it to the craft fair with more than enough time to walk around and get a feel for what we might want to purchase. I must admit, Lisa (Let's Move to the West Coast) had a little more wiggle room on what she could buy, but it wasn't so bad just looking around and enjoying what I saw. It's been quite a learning process (mentally rewarding, surprisingly enough) to go places and not buy everything I want immediately. It gives me a chance to process, to pick and choose and to really love what I do purchase. 

Tangent, I'm good at those.

Back to the story...

We walk around for a little bit, we talk to some shops and I get incredibly sidetracked by one shop in particular called The Red Swing. I was first distracted from my walk by a print hanging up like the one in the last picture above. Screw cautiously, I thought, well yes, I try to tell my friends that often. Love shamelessly, well I think that's something my friends try to tell me often. Simple, perfect. 

So I looked around more. I loved the set up of the little tent shop so I browsed. Susie finished her conversation with another browser so I asked if I could take a picture of her set up. She graciously accepted and then asked what I do. If I was a photographer (I still don't consider myself that) or what. I told her about the blog and she was excited to check this little place out. Basically she was rad. So we chatted for a second, I took a couple of pictures (the ones of the school desk and then the scale) and then continued on.

After walking for a bit my shoulders became a bit hot and I wasn't exactly full from lunch, happy, but not full (oh that delicious Pier Burger). We had seen food carts when we walked in so we went back in search of something cold and sweet. I went to the coffee cart and Lisa waited in line for a popsicle. 

The coffee... sooooooooooo good. I didn't ask for decaf (I had very few hours of sleep before this adventure day) and I was a little worried what the outcome of me with coffee caffeine might be, but I said yolo* to myself and ran straight into the unknown. 

Good news: no panic attack and best of all, no horrible coffee aftertaste in my mouth. WHAT?! I have since kept myself from getting iced coffee drinks from Starbucks since because I know that gross taste will just bum me out.

From what I could tell, Lisa really enjoyed her pop though she was battle ants during the eating of it so the change of a food grade was lost.

After our time in the shade with a party of ants we continued on to see what we hadn't seen before. So much awesome artwork and some delicious tea. I almost bought some tea, but my pocketbook was limited and I was really thinking about some prints still. So after the tea we hit up the photobooth (uh duhhhh). While waiting in line I saw two girls with awesome style and while I should have asked them if I could get a picture, I just snapped one while standing there. Creeper status. One day I'll get the lady balls to just ask people. One day.

(Oh yes, just in case you are wondering, our little chalk sign said "Click.")

I've taken pictures in a Magnolia Photo Booth before at Renegade before and I remembered how well they turned out so I was quite excited for these. And let me tell you, they lived up to previous success.

Photoboothing led us back to the beginning of our tent walk to purchase the final pieces. I went and purchased from a lovely illustrator named Nan Lawson (link below) and then of COURSE I went back to The Red Swing and purchased the lovely print that stopped me in my tracks before. 

All in all, our L.A. Adventure Day was great. Fantastic. Wonderful... other descriptive words that mean radical basically. Lisa and I chatted a lot and I'm so stoked to have a new friend. I mean, she'll go on photo adventures with me! Brilliant!  

Did anyone else go to Renegade this year? Did you happen to be at the L.A. one and know what the coffee cart was called because I want it back. 

xoxo

Shops that made me swoon: The Red Swing (letterpress), T-We (tea), Strawberryluna (prints and posters), Fomato Cards (incredibly off the wall greeting cards), Let's Be Friends (paper and stitched things), Bird of Virtue (jewelry), Unicorn Crafts (cute little things), Maiden Voyage (clothing and prints), Two Tone Press (letterpress printing), Nan Lawson (illustrations), Front Porch Pops (popsicles)

A Day in L.A. - Part One: Santa Monica Pier

Last Sunday Mrs Lisa and I got in the car and took a nice little drive up to Los Angeles. Our main goal was to hit Renegade Craft Fair but I've been meaning to get myself to Santa Monica Pier for ages now so we stopped there first for pictures, burgers and a little self loathing at Muscle Beach. Just kidding, we didn't really go to see Muscle Beach, that just happened to be there... and guys were definitely doing push up on parallel bars. It's cool bro, my maybe once a week exercise routine doesn't feel inadequate at all...

But I digress..

So I drive, we chat, I miss exits due to chatting and eventually we make our way there. I already know that it's a place I will visit again. We stroll down the two lane sidewalk knowing there's an ocean to our left somewhere... but there's so much sand that it's hard to see. This is nothing like Encinitas beaches that take maybe two minutes to cross from parking lot to water. 

We arrive at the pier and decide it's time for food. Burgers are the craving of the day.

We see one burger place but keep walking to find a bathroom first, I mean, nature calls, and happen upon an even better looking burger place. 

I'll just say now, for the record, I'm so glad natured called. It gave us excellent burgers after.

The place: Pier Burger. I thought it might be a tourist trap but while in line I looked at yelp and was surprised to see excellent ratings. We grabbed a table somehow and then got our food. 

It was soooo good. I'm going to say it, please don't stop following me here, it was WAY better than In n Out. Like, I can't even describe how much better. In fact I went to In n Out a couple of days ago just to make sure and the facts help up, Pier Burger is the best. 

Clearly the downfall of the whole thing is that it's in Santa Monica and I obviously live no where near there. 

Definitely an adventure spot for the future.

Food in tummy we walked a little more, saw a cute little malt shop by an indoor carousel and some fabulously painted buildings. We walked back down the two lane walkway passing interesting creatures left and right (and by creatures I mean humans) and took another long look at Muscle Beach. Seriously people? Is it a rule that guys have to have their shirts off here? We swore with our burger and fry filled bellies that we would work out more as we left the sweaty beings behind.

All in all our stay at Santa Monica Pier was not long. But I definitely took some amazing pictures and well, it's been said like 3 times already, had some awesome food and so it was time to move on. Next stop: Renegade Craft Fair... 

xoxo

Welcome August

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This morning at breakfast I read a note from mom. The note made my brain start whirring almost uncontrollably trying to crunch numbers and figure out how I am going to move the eff out and let her live her life. You know, with out the 26 year old kid she still has at home ;)

The numbers are very tight right now despite the 3+ jobs I have going. I have to keep reminding myself that new things have been happening fast for me, since January I have started four (and a half) jobs and only left one. In six months I have gone from not working at all to working 40+ hours a week, back to not working much and now I am currently working very frequently.

My enjoyment of the jobs has changed too. The ones I don't like as much don't get as much time and the ones I love are very prominent and take up more of the hours. 

I just have to take deep breaths and remember that progress IS being made toward an awesome future, that I am making payments toward my credit card, that I am not using my credit card to buy anything, that I am meeting new people, seeing new things, writing better posts, reading good books, taking a lot more pictures and allowing myself to dream bigger.

Is that a good amount of progress? I sure hope so. 

With all that being said, it's time to move on, or live in the now. August is here, all that has happened this year up until this point is already said and done. Everything that has happened has laid the groundwork so August can be about making things happen. 

Here are my high hopes for this month, and, let's be honest, the next couple after that...

-August is about evaluating my life and money goals to see what I am going to be taking care of before my absolute can not be later move out date of January 3rd, 2013. (Because I hope to be in Mexico again for New Years.) 

-August is for saving up, paying off more of my debts, and planning a future budget.

-August is for scratching previous wants that only slightly aligned with overall goals (read: probably not going to Alt) and making moves towards acquiring or planning for wants that are. 

-August is for learning to balance what I affectionately call my 3.5 jobs. Some weeks will be more hectic than others, all weeks will be busy.

I think what I am trying to say is, August is for learning and getting organized. Two of my favorite things.

Welcome August, let's be friends.

xoxo

Little Reminders

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