tyson's scarf

one of my goals since i moved to chicago was to learn how to knit. i am really loving it. its creative, warm, practical and somehow romantic in a vintage- connecting with my ancestors - kinda way. i just figure i love homemade gifts, and i love giving homemade gifts, so im excited to finally be learning this artform (if only i hadnt found it to be so boring and suppressive when i was in young women's i may have already learned how to do it).

so here it is, my second scarf - finished. thank goodness tyson is patient and willing to wait until it is almost spring to receive his gift.

for any who are interested it is the ribbed scarf pattern found in this book.

tax deductable soup

so i have a new goal - photographing something for myself at least once per week. now that i said it, and said it on my blog, i stand accountable.
i find that between photo assisting and running my own small wedding photography business i am around photography almost constantly, but a very small percentage of that time is spent actually behind the camera. i want to change that. i want to make sure i am photographing more of that time - no excuses. without the plethera of equiptment that was once at my disposal at school (and the fact that it is freakin' freezing outside) i have found many excuses. but i recently worked for a photographer that does all of the catalog work for mark shale. to my suprise it was done in all natural light. so i am going to be creative.
so today i was looking at the beautiful photography of tina rupp and i decided to photograph my dinner - butternut squash soup. the photographs are definatly nothing to brag about or put in my portfolio, but it was a learning experience and it caused me to create a more beautiful meal for myself.
so here they are. the last one is a pic of the photoshoot in my bedroom. i thought it was a little funny.

crafty

work has been a little slow this week so i decided to do some sewing. i found this pattern on sale at joannes for a dollar and i thought it looked like it had some anthropologie type of potential so i gave it a try. im really happy with the way it turned out. it only took me half a day, cost me five bucks, and i think its pretty cute. it does make me look a little pregnant, but thats in style these days right? so anyways, just wanted to share. if anyone wants to know its simplicity 3887 with a couple of alterations. (does it look like i have a lazy eye in this pic?)

paul adams

one of my former photography professors just launched his website so i wanted to let all of you know so that you can take a look at his work. paul was a really important mentor to me while i was in school. he pushed me to work hard and succeed and i really appreciate that. as a result all of my best work came while in his class.
those of you who have been in our home may recognize the following photo of paul's which hangs in our living room. its one of my favorite things in my home.

here is his website:
www.pauladamsphotography.com

papa rane

last night tyson and i drove to the o'hare airport to catch dinner with my dad who had a 3 hour layover here in chicago. he is on his way to india to photograph tigers while riding around on the backs of elephants for 2 weeks.
on the way home i just kept thinking about how cool it is that my dad does this. if you just met my dad randomly you would find him to be a non-assuming, down to earth, audiologist from alabama (of all places). you would never suspect that he has an amazing talent for photographing wildlife and loves to travel. also he is the president of a nonprofit called america helps which does a medical mission to africa once a year. he has traveled to africa probably a dozen times over the past 8 years.
i really think that my dad's decisions to not take the normal road and travel, and the fact that he has taken us kids along with him, have really changed who i am. i don't think that i would have ever had the courage to do some of the traveling i have done if my father hadn't first introduced me to it. i am so thankful for that and inspired by his desire to serve and to create. the life experiences i have had while following him to remote areas of the world have been powerful in my life.

here is one of my favorite images that my dad has taken. his website should be going live within a week or so and i will post about it then so that you can see more of his work.