April

I took many, many photos this month, starting with the blurry self portrait above.

The #100DayProject is well underway, and I underestimated how easy it would be to remember to snap at least one photo each day. Not every day has photo-worthy moments, and even though I've been good about always having a camera with me, I don't always feel like taking a picture. Still I've committed, and I'm not a quitter, so I've been pushing myself to just do it anyway.

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Books for Africa, Round Two

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Curvy-Friendly Jeans

I have struggled to find good jeans my whole, entire jean-wearing life.

When I came into adolescence (and subsequently developed my child-bearing hips), I was fortunate to find one or two pair that would get me through my school days. Good jeans were - and are - expensive. My mom was not the one to splurge on a pair of Seven or True Religion denim for her teenage daughter, and I knew that, so I dared not ask. I took whatever I could get, and usually, that was whatever would fit from whatever store she could afford.

If I managed to get the jeans over my bum (my friends called me applebottom - let the record state that I neither had nor wanted the boots with the fur), I still had an extra three inches hanging past my feet. This is when I got in the habit of chopping the excess and throwing them in the dryer for an intentionally-frayed hem look. The habit remains.

Every time I get a new pair of jeans, even ones with a shorter inseam, I wear them for a bit to decide if I should "cut or cuff." If the cuff makes my legs look too stubby, then I cut them. Sometimes I luck up and find a pair that are the perfect length, but more often than not, they need some sort of alterations. So, when I stopped in the middle of cutting my newest pairs to take a picture for my #100DaysProject, I thought to myself: there's a blog post in here somewhere... and here we are.

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Filter the Fluff, Vol. 5 - On Creativity

Every now and then, I come across really well-written pieces on the interwebs and get the urge to share. There are so many vapid pieces floating around these days, making it more and more difficult to filter the fluff. Whether it aligns with my viewpoint or not, I only have one rule: it should be thought-provoking. The following (listed below) were just that. 

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Creatives share their routines when dealing with burnout, shock and overwhelm

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"...many prolific artists or authors (those who’d written hundreds of novels or created countless artworks in their lives) only spent a few hours each day creating. It is a lesson I’ve learned over and over in my 10 years as a working creative. You don’t need every hour of every day to accomplish great things. Which is lucky, because our work should supplement our life, not be our life. 

People won’t connect to how little sleep you lost over a project or how often you post, they will connect to how deeply they can relate to your work. Those flames burning inside you need to be fed. That well that you draw your ideas from needs to be filled. For the sake of good art, spend more time daydreaming and exploring."

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Taco Cantina

If there is one food I'm picky about, it's tacos. My street tacos must be authentic, on a classic corn tortilla and loaded with onion and cilantro. All those extra ingredients are unnecessary, and the more expensive they get, the less I usually enjoy them. 

My favorite taco spots are hole-in-the-wall establishments. They don't have an online presence, and the whole meal usually costs around $5 - better than any value meal at any fast food restaurant. So when Taco Cantina popped up in Smyrna a few years ago, complete with a sleek and shiny doorfront and a snazzy website, I was in no rush to visit. 

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Fear of Flying

This post has been sitting in the drafts of my brain ever since I started planning our trip to Cuba last fall.

About a week or so before the trip, more and more people started telling me how dangerous it was, and that we should think it over, reconsider/read some literature on the subject ;). The country was/is in a state of turmoil, political relations were shaky, there had been a bombing at the American Embassy, and it had recently been hit by Hurricane Irma.

It was, admittedly, a bit much. J was already a little uneasy because of how terrible the media portrayed the streets of Cuba, and at first, he thought I was unhinged for even suggesting Havana as a vacation destination. But I knew in my heart we had to go. The window of opportunity to visit my dream city had finally opened, and I saw that it may be closing soon, so I had to take the leap before it closed.

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Good memories have no price tag

Trying to document a girls' trip, with a manual focus lens, under overcast skies, while wine tasting at multiple vineyards, on an empty stomach, will humble you. 

I took so many photos while we were in Helen, but only a few of them came out somewhat in focus. Still, this getaway was definitely one for the books, the kind that makes me realize why I'd much rather invest my time and resources in experiences over things. Good memories have no price tag.

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Amelia Island in Technicolor

I have been playing around with RNI presets lately, and I absolutely love how the Technicolor simulation renders the greens and blues of coastal scenery.

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Welcome, morning people

I had the chance to attend a Creative Mornings Atlanta session last week and loved every single minute. The guest speaker, Joey Reiman, gave a great talk, making it the perfect way to kickstart my Good Friday.

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35mm winter

Olympus OM-10

M.Zuiko 50mm 1.8

Kodak Portra 400

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The 100 Day Project

I recently showed an Elle Luna piece in this post from my visit to MoDA. She created the "Should and Must" sketch (her explanatory essay can be found here), and I loved it so much that I had to follow her on Instagram, naturally. It seems I joined her following at the right time, because every year she co-hosts The 100 Day Project, and it begins tomorrow, April 3.

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Easter Views

Today I woke up early, went downstairs, cooked breakfast and set off the smoke alarm because I like my bacon crispy.

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