Friday, January 31, 2014

NAIL FILES!


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I'm happy to be joining back in with the Friday Nail Files link up! I was looking back at my posts and I haven't shared my nails since September!

The inspiration for this mani came from my nail lady. Last night I went in to get my nails Shellac-ed and I noticed her nails. She had a burgundy color with gold sparkles on top. Not too much sparkle, but not too little either. I was very pleased at the way mine came out.

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Happy Friday, and GO SEAHAWKS!!!


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Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Thursday Thoughts


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Let's face it, I'm not consistent with this blogging stuff. I don't always post every week, and I'm not very creative with coming up with blog post ideas unless it has to do with what is going on in my life. I tend to like it this way and I normally like organization, however the idea of just writing my thoughts out is appealing. One day a week to just dump them out. 

Thursday Thoughts:
  •  Let's get serious, the Seahawks are going to the SUPERBOWL. Obviously this needs to be the first thing addressed in this post. I've never been much into football, but at the beginning of this season I was really pulled in and it panned out to be a perfect season to become hooked! Not only do the Hawks have mad skills on the field, they also have some really intelligent, and caring players on the roster. When involving men on big time sports teams, this is harder and harder to find these days. Usually they're too busy complaining about not being paid enough. I'm excited that they're all being rewarded for all their good and going to the SB! Seattle is absolutely NUTS right now with the anticipation of Sunday's game. You can't walk one block without being infiltrated with something Hawks related. Hell, Groupon goods is full of Hawks merch too!
  • Speaking of this weekend, it will be a busy one. Not only will Sunday be spent prepping and watching the Superbowl, but one of my newest friends is having a going away party. She recently accepted a position at a non profit in SoCal.  I'm really sad she's leaving because we have had such a fun time since becoming friends and it is unfortunate that her new job happened so quickly. I am, however, very excited for her and I hope to visit her when she gets settled in. Add a photography class and food prep for Sunday's game and Saturday's festivities and I've got not a lot of down time. If I was smart, I would take Monday off.
  •  I booked my ticket for my vacation coming up in a couple months. I'm going to MEXICO!! I am beyond excited and ready for a real vacation. A full week of laying by the pool, relaxing and sipping on Coronas. I haven't had more than a long weekend in years so this will be amazing.
  •  I've been feeling extremely un-motivated about food this week. I haven't gone grocery shopping or packed a lunch all week. As for dinner, I've been scraping up whatever I still have in my pantry or fridge. Last night I had Apples, peanut butter, and yogurt for dinner. What is that?! The good news is: I've been pretty on top of my workout game this week. Although it never fails: I try to work out M-F so I don't have to work out on the weekends and I always end up missing one day during the week whether it has to do with work or sleeping through my alarm. Annoying.
  • Finally, is anyone else really annoyed with Juan Pablo and the tv show Girls? UGH. I could probably write a whole other post about these two things.
Happy Thursday, Y'all. Hang tough, we're almost there!


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Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Bellevue Botanical Gardens


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This last Sunday was my second and last field trip for the photography class I have been attending. We ventured out to Bellevue Botanical Gardens. These gardens can be found on what we call the "Eastside" of the city. The property covers thirty six acres in the city of Bellevue. A city that is known for being upscale and expensive (and full of snooty people if you ask me! :-), these gardens offer free admission to anyone who wants to see all that it has to offer: A rock, Dahlia, and Yao Japanese garden-to name a few. I had never been to this place before but I've heard good things. One being that during the holiday season they do a hell of a job with lights. It's called Garden d'Lights and it's made entirely possible by volunteers who come out to create a magical scene. It's on my To-do list for next year's Christmas events.

Here's a few shots from the afternoon:

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We were so fortunate to have amazing weather this weekend in the PNW. Blue skies and sun both Saturday and Sunday. It was still a bit chilly, but I really loved wandering around with only my thoughts and my camera for a couple hours. Photography has become such a relaxing activity for me, and I hope that I continue to take the time to go out and explore with my camera even after my class concludes. I would also love to see this garden during the spring time when everything is in bloom, and for that reason I will be returning.

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Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Photography Class Week One: University of Washington

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In my previous post I mentioned that I enrolled in a photography class to learn more about my DSLR that I purchased a couple months ago. We had our first class this weekend and also our first field trip. The first field trip was a visit to The University of Washington campus. Believe it or not, I haven't spent a whole lot of time on this campus so I was looking forward to having completely new scenery to shoot. We we arrived it was overcast and cold. Thankfully it didn't rain, but I found myself becoming more and more cold as the session continued. It was so distracting that it was affecting my desire to want to take photos. Near the end of the session we made our way to a building that features a reading room. I felt myself immediately light up when I set foot in the lobby. It could have been the warmth that did it, but it was probably the look of the inside (Ok, it was most likely the heat) that really sparked the excitement. This was an amazing place. Our instructor told us earlier in the day that we would visit a place that has a "Harry Potter-Esq to it" and he was right. Sweeping stone stairways, tall ceilings, bookshelves that stretched the length of the room and were as high as the bottom of the stain glassed windows. Not to mention it was completely silent, which added to the awe of it all. As I took in the sight of the room all I could hear were my foot steps and the sound of my camera snapping a shot as I pushed the shutter release button. It was gorgeous.

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Monday, January 13, 2014

Photog

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When I was in middle school I took up a big interest in photography. My father let me play around with (at the time, a fancy camera) his camera. I enrolled in multiple black and white photography classes. In these classes we were given assignments on what photos we should shoot. Every week we would discuss our experiences with our classmates and teacher and then we would go into the dark room, and develop what we had created in the last week. It was wonderful. In this small dark room I took my film from my camera and turned it into real prints. Start to finish. It was such an amazing feeling to have at the age of 13. To see that I could produce such things. One of my prints was even selected to be featured in a local gallery. I was completely honored.

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Fast forward about ten-ish years and I was really starting to miss my photography hobby. I know, ten years-seems a little long for me to finally miss it, but I'm done with the distractions of school and have more free time in my evenings. Needless to say, I ran out and bought a DSLR almost the minute I realized I missed photography. My main thought was "I can not only get back into photography, but share my photos on my blog!". I think my favorite part of people's blogs are their pictures. Some blogs I read are solely for the amazing photographs they include. I really appreciate a good photo.

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I recently enrolled in a photography class to update my knowledge on the hobby but to also bring me up to speed in the digital world since in the past my fancy camera use was limited to film. I hope to use my blog as an outlet for my photos and be able to watch my skills and techniques improve as the months go by.


*Photos featured above were taken at Discovery Park in the Magnolia neighborhood of Seattle.

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