Blueberries on Quaker Squares + Fresh U-Pick

My current favorite cereal is Quaker Oatmeal Squares (the brown sugar flavor) with fresh picked blueberries that are only $1.10 a pound at the local produce farm. The cereal is hearty with a good crunch and flavor, not overly sweet. And with the blueberries...oh...Perfect!

Below: fresh-picked blueberries from our favorite u-pick farm, Philbrook Farm, in Vancouver, WA. They don't have a website yet otherwise I'd link to it. This season, the u-pick blueberries were only $1.10/lb!! Such a steal for a bit of work picking the berries, which are so easy to pick compared to thorny blackberries.

Lilah Maureen

I just love the outtake above from Mark and Marella's newborn shoot. Great energy.

...and, of course, a family photo...

Silver Star Mountain, Round 3

It was an overcast day as we set out for our third trip up Silver Star Mountain. The third time is the charm. Not only did we finally make it to the top but the hike was the most stunning I'd ever seen it, just chock full of blossoms and color everywhere! In some parts I swear it was like hiking through someone's well-maintained garden. I can't believe how perfectly the wild blooms grew. Just smashingly beautiful! The pictures don't do it justice. Like so many things, you just have to be there.

That hill in the background above isn't our final destination, just a bump along the way.

Can you believe how perfect the plants look? Utterly amazing.

Couldn't resist posting another one of Max among the blooms. He looks so cute!

When we came to this huge flat field bursting with yellow flowers I honestly felt like I was in some whimsical land. It was fantastic and magical like The Wizard of Oz and the Yellow Brick Road. The sun would come out for a fleeting moment and the whole expanse would light up powerful and golden. It was the most exhilarating and breathtaking thing I've seen since living here. Amazing. Just absolutely amazing. It was an experience so wonderful that I wished all my good friends could be there to experience it also.

It's Blackberry Pickin' Time!

We've been picking the free blackberries that grow around here and I tell ya what...There is nothing like FREE produce to make something as delicious as a homemade pie. Well, the inside was homemade. The crust was organic, whole wheat, ready-made crust from Whole Foods. I took one look at the directions for making pie crust, deemed it far too time consuming and quickly opted for the (actually quite scrumptious) store variety.

Above: me quickly devouring a warm piece of pie a la mode. And yes, I was shooting and eating at the same time. I love to eat. I love to shoot. So why not do it at the same time?

Below: More blackberry and ice cream fun at home!

The Tiners

I had an incredibly effortless shoot while in Seattle shooting the oh-so-photogenic Tiner family.
They were marvelous models, I didn't have to direct them at all. All I had to do was show up and they did their thing!
It was hard to choose just a couple for the blog, but here are some of my favorites:

and then the entire beautiful family:

Seattle

View From the Top, Seattle, WA

We've been on the move once again. Two weeks ago it was Bend, OR. Last week it was Seattle and Vancouver, B.C. Next week it'll be Welches, OR.

The adventure starts at the sweet --I mean, really sweet-- Pan Pacific Hotel in Seattle. It's currently only 1 of 2 Pan Pacific Hotels in the United States. The other one is in Hawaii. Of course. I highly recommend a stay at the Pan Pacific Seattle. They are highly accommodating and pride themselves on two words: Of Course.

Whatever you want, that's their response. You say, "Can I get a..." or "Yeah, I'd like..." To which they answer, "Of course."

Within reason...of course.

That bed was soooo comfy. And the 32" flatscreen TV wasn't so bad either.

Oh, and why is the window blown out? Because if it wasn't then you'd see a bunch of construction on the building across the street. And nobody wants to look at construction when they're pampering themselves.

Loved the sliding doors separating the bath from the rest of the room. Nice touch.

A view from inside the glass-walled shower.

And me.
About to eat breakfast while soaking in the tub.
Why?

Because I can. That's why.

In fact, I even watched an episode of So You Think You Can Dance.
From the bathtub.
Why?
That's right.
Because I can.
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It was my first time in Seattle and my friend Rachelle (who is an AMAZING artist, check out Rachelle's website) showed me all the sights and sounds of the city. We had a full day experiencing the thoroughly intriguing Pike Place Market, Seattle Art Museum, and dinner at The Pink Door. After which we decided to stuff one more attraction into the day and that was certainly none other than the attraction of all Seattle attractions: The Space Needle.

...and the view from the top.

Marella

Update: Marella had a girl. Just as I suspected! It seems like everyone I know is having baby girls. Three out of four couples I know had baby girls this past year.
Just a shot from Marella's maternity shoot about 2 weeks ago. She was fabulous and looked great for being 9 months pregnant. In fact, I believe she's due today! Will it be a boy or girl? We don't know! Only time will tell!

Chocolate Covered Pretzels

If you've never tried this, you should. It's as good as Twix if you dip the pretzels in caramel first.

Cara Barer

I discovered this amazing artist photographer today through FotoFest, a Houston based photographic arts organization where I was an intern a couple summers back.

The following four images are courtesy of photographer Cara Barer. www.carabarer.com

Kaleidoscope, photo by Cara Barer

Torso, photo by Cara Barer

Carmen, photo by Cara Barer

Angel Food, photo by Cara Barer

I was immediately intrigued upon my first glance at her work and quickly went to her website to find out more about the mysterious objects in her photos. Off I went to www.carabarer.com and --Lo and Behold!!-- the mysterious objects in her photos are nothing more than books!

Now that is an artist.

I had a conversation a few weeks ago with my cousin (who is not an artist) about how artists see the world differently than non-artists. Artists notice and find beauty in simple, everyday objects whereas others may pass by the same everyday object without a second thought.

Cara Barer has turned tired old yellow pages, computer manuals, and many other books into incredible photographic sculptures. And I do believe this is one book collection that is definitely worth taking the time to browse.

Lights at Night

Though it's been done, re-done, and done again, photographing lights at night with a long exposure never ceases to amuse me. Plus, it's a good way to pass time at a barbeque social that's lasted far too long.

Travels

Hiking Silver Star Mountain in Washington with a view of Mt. Hood

Now that the weather's nicer, we've been out and about seeing what nature has to offer. The last time we hiked Silver Star it was foggy with a chilly wind. This time around it was still cold at the top but the sun has a way of making things look and feel a hundred times better.

Some silly goobers ice surfing at Silver Star Mountain.

Then I went off to Sacramento for 5 days to help my cousin with her wedding plans since it'll be "Bridesmaid Round 2" for me come March 2009. While there, I sat in this amazing big tree near the capital building and got back to my roots as one who loved to climb trees as a kid. I had a great time sitting in that tree, relaxing...just being. I had my cousin take a pic with my phone to capture the moment and then I accidently erased them the next day. **grimace** It's been a long time since I've accidently completely erased a set of digital photos...I dunno what I was thinking.

And then the day after departing Sacramento, Jon and I were off to Oswald West State Park in Oregon for camping where I again sat in a tree and this time I have a photo to prove it. We watched surfers, enjoyed the beach, and hiked, hiked, hiked. Crazy enough, we met a girl there who is from the Hurst-Euless-Bedford area of Texas. Which is where I grew up! Small world, right? We also met a lady from Shalimar, Florida which is close to another place where we have family. Great times. I love meeting people on my travels who are also well-traveled.

Tree hugging at Oswald West while also watching the surfers come in after a long day of surfing. I even got a few delighted smiles and laughs as some of the surfers noticed me up in the tree. Glad I could make people smile.

Orzo Salad

Oh yum. Jon and I were at Whole Foods a month or so ago and I was shoveling a ton of food from their supremely marvelous buffet into my $7.99/lb To Go box. Pricey but sooo good, fresh, and tasty. Among the variety of curried tofu I scooped into the box, there was this wonderfully light orzo with veggies and feta. I don't recall ever having orzo before but I'm happy I tried it 'cause it was LIP-SMACKIN' GOOD! UM!

Since then I've made it twice. The first batch was just as good as Whole Foods' and the second batch turned out kinda dry and tasteless. Definitely needed more salt and lemon juice. But hey, as long as it looks good in the picture, no one will ever know...

Oh. And for all you eco-lovin', green, organic types who tend to give me a hard time for being from Texas (full of shotgun toting, red-neck, planet-littering, red-meat-only types, of course...)

Off the top of your head:
Where do you think Whole Foods was started?
And where is it headquartered today?

Check your Whole Foods 365 Everyday Brand labels.

Uh huh. That's what I thought.