[v] imagery + design [the BLOG]

We haven’t had anything to post in a while - but WOW have we been busy

Thanks to everybody that have been sooo patient with us! We’ve gotten slammed with orders and design work…at this point I’m still in the process of designing over 11 books while fulfilling orders! Wow!

Since I didn’t want our blog to go completely neglected, I thought I’d share a picture of Kate and Brennan that Shawn captured this afternoon before we got our Christmas Tree! We are using these for our Christmas Cards this year…I wanted to design something really unique…I love anything vintage, I’m obsessed with the old ice cream truck in Strum, I love to bake, and totally dig bright colorful clothes! So in the end I designed a card that I think completely fits our family and is extra sweet - hint hint!

Enjoy!

I’ve been really wanting to add more personal posts to the blog so here we go!

We enjoyed watching Kate at her concert tonight! She plays the Tenor Sax. She thinks it’s so cool that her instrument is in jazz bands. She looks so cute playing that big instrument…but boy does she put up a fuss when she has to lug it to school…she somehow conned her little brother and our Goddaughter to carry her book bag and stuff for her on the days she has band…little stinker!

They did a great job, but it sure seemed like a ton of kids were missing tonight! Probably due to all the germs getting passed around! Hand sanitizer anyone? Ugh.

I just got back from my vacation in Seattle last night/this morning…we had a 3 hour flight delay…which means I didn’t walk through my front door until almost 6am. I’m exhausted! I couldn’t resist sharing just one photo though! I went with my best friend, mom, and her mom…we had a blast! I seriously LOVE Seattle!

When we arrived we headed to our Hotel. We stayed at The Westin - wow! The views were nothing short of spectacular! We were on the 39th floor and could see the harbor and Seattle skyline!  We decided to head to the Space Needle first. It was very cold! That night we ate at a great italian restaurant called Il Fornaio’s. It was sooo yummy! On our first day we went to Pike Place Market. It was so amazing! You can grow virtually anything in Washington’s rainy, mild weather! There were rows and rows of the beautiful flowers…fresh-cut flowers of every kind and color can be found at Seattle’s public market…sunflowers, dahlias, this list goes on an on! There were also so many street performers and fabulous restaurants! We ate breakfast at Lowell’s …which of course was a Dungeness Crab Omelet while we enjoyed the views of the Olympic Mountains, the ferries crossing Puget Sound and a seagull’s view of the Port of Seattle! We stopped at the Pike Place Fish Market and watched them perform! It was just like in their video! So cool! We also went to the original Starbucks, which opened it’s doors in 1971! Later that evening we ate at Cutter’s and tried raw oysters for the first time! They were great! I had the halibut! Mmmmm….

On day two we drove up to Anacortes to take a whale watching tour with Island Adventures! It was fantastic! We never saw a whale…but we did see the spray or blow from a huge humpback whale! The cruise alone was amazing though! We even went into Canadian waters and saw Victoria, British Columbia! We got a free pass to come back again! Hooray!

On our last day we headed over to Bill Speidel’s Underground Tour. It was hilarious and sooo informative! I’m a history buff and I love ghost stories…it turns out the T.A.P.S  team from Ghost Hunters did an investigation there…I’m obsessed with that show!

Seattle was so amazing! We will definitely be going back! The only thing we missed was a visit to Forks! I am completely obsessed with the Twilight series…I know, I know! It’s my guilty pleasure! But on the flight home I heard some girl behind us mention that she was from Port Angeles…I got an excited feeling! Missy just looked at me and laughed! Lol…

Kate came in this afternoon so excited! She was taking pictures of Brennan and Ally. I can’t believe they actually were posing for her! It was so cute! You can tell that they all put a lot of thought into the poses…they were using different backgrounds and dramatic expressions…so cute! She came up with all the backgrounds, props, etc…seriously pretty impressive if you ask me! Of course, I’m her mom…but I’m thinking, this girl has her daddy’s eye! She even NAILED the Rule of Thirds! We’ve never given her a single lesson!

It reminded me of when I used to play “photographer”…I think we all did at one point…remember the cheap point-and-shoot cameras? I would make these elaborate backdrops with blankets, towels, household plants, etc…then make my friends pose for their “senior pictures”…or how about those awesome still-life shots I have…that ones with strategically placed inanimate objects such as sunglasses, banana-clips, and coke.

Needless to say…my daughter shows FAR more talent in photography than I ever did! So just for fun I decided to “showcase” her work! Enjoy

Brennan was so excited after school! He got a B.U.G Award! I don’t recall exactly what they stand for…but I’ll tell you this…he rarely is a recipient! He’s our little Dennis the Menace, our Curious George…so getting a B.U.G Award is a big deal for this guy! He earned it for “being exceptionally respectful”…let’s hope we’re on a new path for 1st grade! It’s been a great three weeks so far! I couldn’t resisting snapping off a few shots of him playing with the airplane he got as a prize to go along with the B.U.G

On a side note…I must say I’m impressed with these shots! I took them with our o-l-d 20D and the old-school lens…and I am NOT a photographer! Not too shabby if I don’t say so myself

PS - It is such a gorgeous night out! If you’re reading this…it better be after sunset! Not too many days left like this one!

I snapped this shot of Brennan on his way to school this morning…he was in a pretty cooperative mood! I’ve learned that when your six year old boy is in a cooperative mood…you definitely take advantage of it! FAST! He’s usually pretty stubborn in front of the camera…but I think this is such a cute photo that I had to post it!