Week 4: Dress Shopping

Saturday was a big day, I went out in search of the perfect wedding dress.

As I was going dress shopping in Seattle I had to start the day at a local landmark.

Another Seattle landmark - destination the wedding quite.

I was offered a pair of spanx to use when trying on the dresses. I love that they come with a hole in the crotch. Is this to help you pee or for easy access?

Originally I thought I wanted something like this. While I liked the dress this wasn't the one.




$755 Manolo Blahnik pumps. I would break my neck in these heels, not to mention there is no way I am spending that kind of money on a pair of shoes.

I tried on a couple of Carmen Marc Valvo dresses for my mother. I was pretty sure going in that these weren't my style and putting them on solidified that.

This is it the perfect dress and head piece. Isn't it so me?

Just kidding I'm not posting a picture of the actual dress. That will have to wait until August.

Dress shopping sure works up a thirst and makes me hungry. A nice salad and glass of wine at the cafe to top off the afternoon.

Disclaimer: All pictures of me were taken by my friend Jill. All other photos were taken by me.

Week 3: Signs, Signs Everywhere Signs

You may know that I love taking pictures of signs. While in New York there were a number of signs some amused me, some puzzled me, and some were informative. Here are a few of them.

What are you supposed to do when it says walk and don't walk at the same time?



We had breakfast at the Stardust Diner with my aunt, uncle and cousin. A very fun place but not good if you want to actually have a conversation.

Dave & I had a lot of fun playing on the piano if only we had a spare $250K to take it home.

Subway sign. Always good to know where you are.

Loved the mixture of old style and new style license plates.

I think this is a sign that we're supposed to be together.

Week 2: Celebration

There were lots of things to celebrate this week. Sunday is the 1 year anniversary of the adoption of Tag & Koda. I tried to commemorate the day by taking their pictures. Tag is cooperative:







Koda not so much. It was cute to see her playing she doesn't do this often but doesn't make for a good picture.



Later she was sitting on the bed and I though oh this is perfect. As soon as she saw the camera she ran.

I gave up but when looking at my pictures I noticed her sitting under a chair in a picture I took of Tag so I cropped the photo. Sorry Tag.

The weekend brought around more celebrations - a trip to New York City to celebrate my sisters 40th birthday.

The view from our hotel room

Wandering through time square a few weeks ago there were a lot of celebrations here for new years. Can you see the ball?

What birthday trip would be complete without a trip to a toy store. These Lego buildings were impressive. Some took over 500 hours to build and contain over 100,000 Lego pieces.

2012 Week 1: Happy New Year

This year I'm switching the 52 week project up a bit. Instead of 1 photo I will post multiple photos from the week. Some weeks all photos will be taken at the same shoot others will be over multiple shoots. This week all photos are from my New Years Day stroll along Alki beach in West Seattle.

The light hitting the mountains was spectacular.

The clouds always make for an interesting skyline.



Further down the beach.

Turn around and this is the view.

Lady liberty. Next week I will visit her sister in NYC.

A spectacular sunset we had to stop the car to take more pictures.

The first moonrise of 2012.

2011 In Review

It's hard to believe 2011 is coming to an end tonight. What a difference 12 months make. It is hard to believe how much my life has changed since last year. Last year at this time I was living alone now I share my home with 2 monsters, a big yellow beast, and my new fiance. Luckily I have a nice new bigger kitchen to accommodate the new additions.

I did a little bit of travel in 52 weeks I took photos in 20 different locations. Can you tell I love to travel? I have 2 travel goals 1 is to visit all 7 continents and the other is to visit all 50 states. I made progress towards both goals this year. A trip to Argentina in December (it was also supposed to include Antarctica but circumstances beyond my control prevented that from happening). I also knocked 2 states off my list Kansas and Missouri. Part of my travels this year allowed me to spend time with friends which is always a treat - I caught up with my cousin in NYC, a trip to Disney in August with a friend I have known forever and during September I managed to celebrate my birthday in 2 countries and on both coasts not an easy feat.

Some of you may be wondering if I have a favorite photo out of all the pictures I've taken this year. I can say that I actually do. This is it.

2011 has been an amazing year full of surprises and fun. I look forward to 2012.

Week 52: Portland

Wow what a sense of accomplishment writing that blog title. Week 52 yup that's right I did it. I managed to take at least 1 photo every week. I'm not sure whether my photography got any better along the way but I did challenge myself. I am going to try and keep this going next year. There's already a lot planned for the year trips to NYC in January, Russian River Valley in February, Boston in March, there's something going on in August I'll remember what that is eventually, and a trip to Yellowstone and the Tetons in September. All great locations for photography.

Week 52 brought a trip to Portland to visit with a friend from high school that I hadn't seen in 20 years. It was great catching up and I definitely want to go back to Portland and explore more. This trip was a quick visit to VooDoo Dougnnuts and then off to do some hiking at Multnomah Falls. While only a little over a mile it isn't the easiest of hikes but we did it and the view along the way was worth it.



See that tiny spot to the left of the falls - that's where we are headed.





The view from the top - it was worth it.

Week 51:Merry Christmas

I apologize for not sending Christmas cards out this year. I had every intention to take this photo before I went on vacation but I didn't get around to it. Once I got back I had other things on my mind. While I wasn't able to go home this year for Christmas I am very lucky to be spending the holidays with people that I love. Merry Christmas from me, Dave, Paddy, Koda & Tag (the cats were smart and hid from the costumes).

Paddy is a good sport although she really doesn't like the costumes all that much.

We do reward her with attention and bones.




She devoured this one.

Location: Seattle, WA
Camera: Canon 7D