Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Monday, April 18, 2011

What does Triiibe have to do with maternity photos?

(Photo by Triiibe from: http://www.bu.edu/prc/auction/catalogue09/7.htm)

Brooke_2I've learned that when many artists collaborate the results can amazing, but the process can be quite chaotic! Have you ever heard the expression about too many cooks in the kitchen? Well too many photographers working on one image can be similar. Luckily three ladies, myself, Brooke Holland, and Sarah Szwajkos were able to take some beautiful photos. (see left & below) However, with three strong willed photographers we had a lot of opinions about the photographs should look and we started to go in a lot of directions making it a bit hard to reign in.

So...what does Triiibe have to do with maternity photos? Nothing really, just that our situation with three artists working together reminded me a bit of Triiibe. I've know about them for a while, and love their photographs, but I always wondered what it would like to collaborate with other artists on a single photograph. The process of taking Brooke's maternity photos with her and Sarah gave me a small taste of what this might be like.

 About Triiibe, from their website: "In 2006 performance artists Alicia, Kelly and Sara Casilio (identical triplets) and photographer Cary Wolinsky formed the collective triiibe to create political and social commentary art."

Did I mention that Brooke &  Colin had twins girls? (Yes, the babies are now here, I'm behind in my posts!) Perhaps one day her girls will follow in the footsteps of their mother, Brooke, and wannabe aunties Sarah & Katie --- oh I hope they are little artists!



Brooke_1

Brooke_3

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Zach Wahls Speaks About Family

I believe that any two people in love deserve the right to marry. So does Zach Wahls. No matter what your thoughts are on marriage, and how it is defined, you should listen to him speak.



From IowaHouseDemocrats | February 01, 2011
"Zach Wahls, a 19-year-old University of Iowa student spoke about the strength of his family during a public forum on House Joint Resolution 6 in the Iowa House of Representatives. Wahls has two mothers, and came to oppose House Joint Resolution 6 which would end civil unions in Iowa. The fight to to keep marriage equality in Iowa continues, help us support Iowans like Zach. http://www.oneiowa.org/donate/donate-now"

Sigh, I'm a catholic who believes in marriage equality. Talk about being conflicted! The Catholic faith is such a big part of my family heritage, and therefore very important to me. So many of my childhood memories of my grandparents are wrapped up in religion. There are many Catholic values that I agree with and believe in. However, when my liberal views conflict with the Catholic faith I'm not sure how to define myself. Can one be a liberal Catholic? Appreciate the Catholic faith and yet wholeheartedly disagree with some Catholic views, rules & decisions? Well, I know that it 'can' happen; that's me. I supposed for now I'll continue to define myself as a conflicted Catholic. Someone who despite her church's views believes that straight or gay everyone deserves to publicly declare their love and commitment to one another...and to have that declaration legitimized by their government.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Online shopping 'clubs' & emails

Until I added in a long commute to my life I wasn't an online shopper. Now, the last thing I want to do is stop by the mall for clothes or gifts. Luckily, or dangerously, I have discovered some online shopping sites. Most of them are like online fancy versions of TJ Maxx -- heavily discounted designer brands.


 My newest discovery? ShoeDazzle. Everything on ShoeDazzle is $40 and you save an extra 20% off your first purchase. Shoes, bags & jewelry sets. The catch for this one is you have to log in once a month and shop or "skip" the month or you'll be charged $40/month and rack up a stack of credits. Luckily you get email reminders and clicking 'skip' is easy. If you skip the month you're not charged a thing. But, with deals like this how bad could having credits be? Even these awesome knee-high boots are just $40. Should I buy them? I just might...  This site, unlike many others, is knock offs not the designer brands.

What other shopping deals go I get delivered to my inbox?

Rue la la
This is my all time favorite deal site because it's a mix of designer and more affordable brands. I've purchased from them many times for myself & gifts.  Best deal I scored? A pair of Rock & Republic Jeans. New deals start every day at 11am with 'city' deals emailed around 8am. City deals are mostly restaurants & salons but worth checking out too.

Guilt Group
Here I have a best deal tie. $14 for a pair of movie tickets. OR jewelry for my sister's birthday gift. Guilt deals are mailed at noon, and like Rue la la Guilt also has a city deals page. If you're looking for the most high fashion brands, than this is the deal site for you.

Haute Look
I got the BEST green platter for my mom. She loved it. Score! This site tends to be less designer brands and more middle-of-the-road brands. The good news is that this means most clothing deals are super cheap.

Swirl by Daily Candy
From the same people who send you a daily email of what's trendy, now they too offer a shopping deal site. I got an american apparel dress, the kind you can tie a bunch of different ways, for $20. See the shirt dress on the left? That's a deal today for only $29. As Anthony says when I tell him about a good deal...you'd be losing money if you didn't buy it! This site has the quickest shipping of them all. Once you score a great deal there is nothing better than getting it FAST.

Afraid that it won't fit? Unless it says otherwise these sites offer returns/exchanges. They even provide the return shipping label. Also, most times if you take a website credit the return shipping is free. Or you pay return shipping and receive your money back. Seriously, this is way easier than braving a crowded mall.

I also LOVE the restaurant deal sites...but that's a post for another day! You might be wondering, why the fashion post again? I thought you were a wedding blogger & foodie. Well, I noticed that my post 'How to tie a scarf" was one of my reader favorites. Hmmm...who knew? So, if you like that, I hope you like this too! Happy shopping.

*Photos are not my own, they are from the online shopping pages. I did not receive compensation from any of the above sites for this post it is purely my opinion.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

I've won a Wedding Wire Bride's Choice Award!





I've been chosen to receive a 2011 bride's choice award from Wedding Wire. I won in 2010 as well, which means I've been in the top 5% of wedding pros 2 years running. Pretty cool! Thanks to my fantastic clients who voted for me!

Monday, January 10, 2011

Website Update


I had two websites. A separate one for weddings/portraits and another for food & art. I've tried merging them into one, what do you think?

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

In 2010...Resolutions

In 2010...

• I got to know, and love, yoga
• Read (or listened to on CD) at least 2 books a month
• Was a bridesmaid...twice
• Took a LOT of pictures and balanced work & art projects
• Supported by husband through his first year of graduate school (Emotionally - we both have to work)
• Ran a half marathon & gained weight doing it! Yes, I got HEAVIER not skinnier,  and through it learned to accept the parts of my body that I cannot change!
• Traveled to California with my husband
• Planned time with friends and cooked them dinners
• Wrote 45 blog posts here and even more for foodie blogs for work (see them here)
• Started buying more organic and local foods
• Used more cloth napkins & less paper napkins, plates & plastic forks. Recycled. Even at work.
• Flossed, almost every day
• Learned more about wine and how to buy and appreciate it
• Reduced my debt: paid down mortgage, student loans & credit cards
• Felt almost constantly busy & most often exhausted!

In 2011...

I am going to let myself off the hook. I am going to resolve to not create a laundry list of resolutions. Instead of always thinking that I 'should' be doing more I'm going to work on being content and happy as I am.

"I should be more outgoing. I should meditate more. I should cook more. I should clean more often. I should make more money. I should dress better. I should be a better wife, friend, mother, daughter….and the list goes on. Next time you find yourself thinking, “I really should…,” stop and give yourself a pat on the back for being exactly who you are. Ask yourself instead, "What do I really want?" You deserve it." -Kristen Mucci-Mosier