Misc

Back to Reality

After a week away from reality in Cancun, it's time to get my head back in the game.

I'm really excited about some of the cool pictures I got on vacation, including the one above.  Finally, I'm feeling as though my photo skills are looking up.  Why the sudden change in outlook?  Well, having the right tools really helps.

I am please to say, I can already cross 2 items off my 30 before 30 list

 

4. Buy a 'big girl' camera 5. Take a photography class (to learn how to use said 'big girl' camera)

 

A few days before vacation, I got my new toy: a Sony NEX 5n.  I shot using the auto mode all vacation, but I have yet to really unleash it's full power with the manual settings.  Right around the time I ordered my camera, Living Social was offering a local 3 hour digital photography workshop.  Deal!  The workshop yesterday was exactly what I was hoping for.  I am now enlightened about HOW to use all the manual settings.  Now all I have to do is play around with the camera and figure out the best settings to get the aesthetic I'm looking for.  Later this week, I'll share some of my experimental photoshoots.

I can't wait to work it all out and start sharing with you a much higher caliber of photos!

Greetings from Mexico

Still on vacation (woo hoo) and trying to make the most of it.  I don't sit still very well, so we've been keeping pretty busy. Yesterday was quite an adventure.  We left the hotel at 7:45 am thinking that we were headed to Tulum to see some Mayan ruins and go snorkeling.  Well, the universe and a pleasant but rather befuddled trip coordinator had other plans.  We found ourselves on the tour bus to Chichin Itza instead- which wasn't a bad thing at all, considering that's the other excursion we were contemplating, but it was a much longer ride.  If you haven't heard of Chichen Itza (like I hadn't a few days ago), it's an even larger site of Mayan ruins and something that the Hubs apparently had on his unwritten bucket list.

In this happy accident,  Hubby and I got to wander the ancient ruins,

make friends with a lizard,

see a tequila plantation,

swim in an underground natural freshwater lagoon (with fish tickling our feet!),

and visit a historical Mexican town... of which the name escapes me.

We didn't get home until late, but it was a great day!  We'll see what the last few days of vacation bring.

*All of the above photos are ones that I actually took.  I'm as shocked as you are.

**I apologize if these photos are huge- I'm on Hubby's laptop which has zero photo editing software.  I miss my laptop... and my kittens

30 before 30

Just over a month ago, I celebrated the big 2-8.  2 more years until the big 3-0. I don't find the idea of turning 30 intimidating.  A lot of my friends are currently hitting that milestone (Hubby's turn is in November), so it's made me think.  Of course I want my life all figured out YESTERDAY, but realistically I seem to have a good thing going.  That being said, there are certain things I would love to accomplish in the next few years (prior to offspring) and what better way to keep myself accountable than putting it in writing.  on the interwebs.  for all to see.  I'd better not disappoint. I will, of course, keep you posted

  1. Host a formal dinner party
  2. Take a cross country road trip
  3. Get back in shape/live healthier
  4. Buy a 'big girl' camera (completed June 2012)
  5. Take a photography class (to learn how to use said 'big girl' camera) (completed June 2012)
  6. Start an etsy shop
  7. Have my home featured on a notable blog
  8. Have a room I designed featured on a notable blog
  9. Design a residential space that doesn't belong to a friend or family member
  10. Build a piece of furniture
  11. Attend a blog conference
  12. Meet a blogger and/or designer that I admire
  13. Guest post on another blog
  14. Run another 5k (without knee issues)
  15. Visit Europe
  16. Go camping
  17. Visit the Brooklyn Flea Market
  18. Picnic in Central Park
  19. Get a 2nd tattoo (that is meaningful)
  20. Redesign my blog myself
  21. Visit New Orleans
  22. Explore my hometown
  23. Reupholster a chair (not just a cushion)
  24. Create an organized, creative, project/work area
  25. "Finish" designing our house
  26. Take a dance class
  27. Procrastinate less
  28. Take a weekend ski trip with Hubby
  29. Go cross country skiing
  30. Give blood