Mmm candy...

Every time this commercial comes on, I smile. I love the colors and I would love to own all the outfits worn by these cute girls. The only problem is I find myself humming the tune all day much to the dismay of everyone around me.

Just what you need, another Batman post...

I really enjoyed the Dark Knight. I saw it twice and would probably pay and see it again if I had the chance. Ironically enough, 3 of the 4 people I went to the see the movie with (first and second time) didn't like it, complaining it was too long, too far-fetched or too geared to the masses with the explosions and such. I completely disagree! I know Allison and I have the same idea.

There was something inherently different about this movie that seemed to speak to me; yes, Heath Ledger's performance was incredible, yes the plot was never dull but that is just the surface. Then, I found this article and immediately understood why I've been so drawn to the movie. The article talks about how Christopher Nolan uses two philosophy examples in both Batman Begins and the Dark Knight. If you are even mildly interested in philosophy and or Batman, this article is highly recommended.

P.S. The article contains spoilers.

(Photo via here)

Inspiration: Porter Hovey

I have fallen in love with every Polaroid picture featured in Porter Hovey. Every picture is so unique and has a quality that makes you want to stare at it all day!

I think my favorite thing about this collection of pictures is that most images showcase very mundane things and makes them seem glamorous.

One of my teachers once told me that in his later years, Walker Evans would stroll through his neighborhood each day and was so inspired by the little, familiar things that people, including himself took for granted like fire hydrants or small bushes; he decided to take pictures of these things and when printed, all of a sudden these things didn't seem so ordinary. When you know a place inside and out, you notice the little things that would seem trivial to an outsider.

I'm inspired to take a stroll through my neighborhood right now with a Polaroid camera in hand!

(Photos via Porter Hovey)

Beauty, indeed...

Look at this poster for the new Woody Allen movie, Vicky Christina Barcelona. Isn't it just exquisite! It probably doesn't hurt that it features 3 very good-looking people.

(via Blasphemateur!)

1-2-3-4...

4 things I did this weekend:

1. Had an old-fashioned sleepover with my two best friends at my cozy (read:small!) studio apartment.

2. Got my hands on a Nintendo Wii.

3. Went to see the Dark Knight for a second time. (I'm a dork!)

4. Went sailing.

Happy Monday!

(photo via FrizzText from flickr)

Why oh why...

After doing a few things at school to help with orientation and promoting the organization I'm involved in, I decided to take a stroll down State Street. Uh oh. State Street=trouble...for my wallet. I had exactly $60.00 cash on me. I had taken out this amount from the ATM to pay for my electric bill. Enter H&M. No big deal, I'll just walk in and look around and admire all the pretty clothes. Oh look! Cute summer dresses and basic tees, I need some of these. Wait, no harm done yet; I'm just going to try these on so when I come back I'll know what sizes I need. Wow, I really like this black eyelet dress, it is pretty flattering. Oh, these white and gray tees fit like a glove. Take out phone to use calculator. Well, what do you know? If I buy these three pieces, my total will be....$60.00. I have absolutely no will power.

So, if anyone reads this and wonders, hmm I wonder why she hasn't posted in a while. It is because in the middle of the night, I will get up to take a leak, reach for the lamp in vain, trip over a basket of clean laundry, roll into the closet door causing one of my frames to hit me on the head. I will reach for my cell phone but everything will look fuzzy and instead of calling an ambulance, I'll call my local dry cleaning place and foolishly leave a message thinking, hmm I hope the doctors check this message soon. Then I'll pass out and perhaps the bf will find me. However, be comforted by the thought that I may be sans electricity but I sure do rock that black eyelet dress. All in the name of fashion.

(Photo via jot.de from flickr)

Isn't she lovely...

There's nothing better than watching TV and catching a commercial with a delightful and familiar tune. This afternoon as I was catching up on my e-mail and such, a Target commercial came on and the background song was More where that came from by the magnificent Dolly Parton.

I tried to find the video on YouTube to embed it on here but nobody's uploaded it yet.
*Sigh* I love you Dolly.

(photo via davegolden from Flickr)

Hours of fun...

As much as I've complained about summer school and all the work involved, I can't help but be kinda sad that I don't have class tomorrow, I won't see my fellow photo peeps and I won't get to discuss great photographers with my teacher, Jocelyn as I'd been doing these past eight weeks.

Of everything we discussed in my foundations of photography class, my favorite subject was pinhole photography. If you're not familiar with the concept it is basically photographing without a lens. The effect or result of the pinhole camera is similar to what the human eye sees, basically everything upside down. You can leave the shutter open as long as you please which results in some beautiful and ethereal images. The best part about pinhole cameras is that you can make them yourself. You can use anything to make a camera as long as you can punch a tiny hole through it and it doesn't leak light easily.

One of my favorite photographers who experimented with pinhole photography extensively is Diane Dobson Barton. She wrote a book for beginners which I'm dying to get my hands on. If you'd like to learn more about pinhole photography and how to make a camera, visit this wonderful site.

P.S. Apparently there is a worldwide pinhole photography day. Um, I'm psyched!

(Photos via here and via Heather Garland and via So gesehen from flickr)

Out of the mouths of babes...

This past Saturday I had the chance to baby-sit two beautiful little girls as a favor for a friend. They introduced me to shows and movies that-well let me just say, I would only watch again if a gun was pointed to my head (High School Musical, anyone?). At one point during the day, the youngest child, Ava who is 3 years old looked up at me and said "Dennise, you have fat legs". I was taken aback at first because she is so little but then I laughed it off and went on with whatever was going on.

When I got home that night, I recalled the statement and how I truly felt about it. I have always had a problem with my thighs; my legs are short and thick and my thighs especially seem to look thicker due to my height deficiency. In high school I don't think I ever donned a pair of shorts or a swimsuit because I was so self conscious about what people would think about my showing off my legs. Now that I'm 24 and on my own, I've realized that I've come a long way and become much more confident about my body. I will never be thin, I have come to terms with that and I'm ok with it. I realize that if I had been told by a child that I had "fat legs" 5 years ago I would have probably cried for a week and not brushed it off like I did Saturday.

Beautiful little Ava unfortunately still has to go through body self-awareness issues and I feel for her because by the time she gets to high school, I fear the world will be much more brutal than when I was that age.

I may not make much money or live in a beautiful house but I can look at myself in the mirror and be content with what I have and wear shorts and be comfortable. That to me, is priceless. I'm so glad, little Ava helped me see that.

(photo via ReyGuy on flickr)

Ooh la la...

If anyone is interested, d. Sharp is giving away three of these Eiffel Tower candy containers. All you have to do is comment on this post and cross your fingers that your name will be chosen. I so want to win one of these babies!

(Image via d. Sharp)

Gotta get up...

I'm exhausted. This photography project I'm working on has had me pulling 10 hour days at the photo lab at school. Yesterday I got home and couldn't even get up to turn off the tv once my head hit the pillow. I like how my project is turning out, although some of the pictures could have been printed better. I absolutely detest mounting and matting, my hat goes off to all you who work or study art and design and have to do this on a daily basis.

After tomorrow, I will have time again to clean my very messy apartment and catch up on all my blog reading.

(photo via dalla* on flickr- amazing photographer!)

Really and truly...

I am completely ga-ga over my school and all the wonderful resources at my disposal. Thanks to my friend Joy and her encouragement, I am an aspiring photographer and am obsessed with my current and future photography classes. Part of me wanted to start this blog to showcase what I've learned and share my photos (not necessarily with other people-seeing as I don't really have a huge audience; but, for my own sake to see if there needs to be improvement and what not).

The problem with me wanting to put up my photos on this blog (or anywhere on the internet for that matter) is that I'm currently shooting with a film camera and find it hard to scan my pictures correctly onto my computer. I adore film cameras, digital is great and cost-effective but in my opinion, there is no greater feeling than to pick a subject, set up the aperture and shutter speed of your choosing without knowing the result, develop the film and then printing out a picture that is all your own.

I set up a flickr account but have failed to post many pictures on there due to my aforementioned dilemma. Regardless, here is the link if anyone is interested in the few pictures I've uploaded. I'm working on a killer project now that I'm excited about and will be presenting on Thursday. Wish me luck!

Inspirational Artist: Lilly Piri

I recently discovered Australian artist Lilly Piri's blog and her website and have fallen in love with her work. The colors she uses make for some whimsical and magical art while at the same time exuding a calm and serene feeling. If I ever consider having children, I'd saturate their rooms with Lilly's beautiful work.

Buy her stuff here.

(Images: Lilly Piri)

Oh the water...

Have a great rest of the weekend!
xoxo
P.S. My scanner sucks!

You get what you pay for...

I have a love/hate relationship with Ikea. I squeal with delight each time I receive their catalog and love perusing the website pretty much on a daily basis. Yet, whenever I purchase something from them, I find myself dishing out four letter words during assembly time because: a. the item doesn't look as good as it did in the store or online b. some part of it breaks off or cracks or c. some piece doesn't quite fit together.

I recently purchased this wardrobe and was psyched about how little I paid for it but am questioning if it was even worth it due to the amount of distraught it has bestowed upon my humble little studio apartment. First of all, assembling it by myself has proven impossible so I've recruited the boyfriend to help out. He's done a great job putting it together, but yesterday as we decided to move the wardrobe from the floor to its designated spot we noticed it was a bit crooked. The bf wants to take it apart and start again but I am so fed up with it that I'm willing to tell anyone who comes by that I had a bad case of vertigo while putting it together. That or rearranging all my pictures on the wall to match the slight crookedness of the wardrobe.

Of course, as I write this post, I have ikea.com open in another window and am coveting a white bed frame. Damn you Ikea!

Paging Agent Cooper...

As much as I am on the Chloe Sevigny and Zooey Deschanel bandwagon like many fabulous bloggers, I also tend to look to beauties from some years past. One of my favorites is Sherilyn Fenn who played Audrey Horne on Twin Peaks. As Audrey she was a badass who refused to be the damsel in distress. More importantly, she rocked the plaid skirt and two-tone oxfords like no other.
Also, Sherilyn once called herself Johnny Depp's fiancee. Sigh.

P.S. Does anyone know if I can get Chloe Sevigny's line for Opening Ceremony online?

All done up...

My super talented friend Cindy is an aspiring make-up artist who recently asked me to be a model for her studio make-up class. We had such a blast! Cindy is an artist as well, so anything with color comes naturally to her. Here are two of my favorite pictures from the shoot:

I have a weird smile due to my reluctance to be in front of the camera.

On a lighter note...

I just purchased this cute little number from Anthropologie. I can't wait to frolic in the beaches of Portland with my sister in my new cutie!

Hello there....

After months of contemplating starting a blog, I have finally decided to bite the bullet. I am an avid blog reader (commenter, not lurker) and thoroughly enjoy all the daily fashion and design tips I obtain from some fabulous folks.

I haven't really had an experience prompt me to start blogging until now. My only sister (and sibling for that matter) has decided that at the end of August she will be leaving sweet home Chicago and moving to Portland. She and I are not quite two years apart; as kids we fought constantly like cats and dogs and as young adults, we've become best friends. She is the most beautiful, unselfish and caring human being I've ever known. She has never been afraid of living life to its fullest, she is not concerned with other people's opinions of her and her choices. As her slightly older sister, I cannot help but be in awe of her and imagine that in a perfect world she would be the older sibling.

Although I am excited for her in her new endeavor in a wonderful and exciting new city, I can't help but have tears in my eyes when thinking that she will now be a plane ride away rather than a short bus ride or el train ride away. She has been there for me through all the bad choices in men, clothes and hair, she and I have been through thick and thin together and I will miss seeing her lovely face on a regular basis.

I've started this blog to share my thoughts, dreams, ideas and inspirations to anyone who'll listen. I've also started it to chronicle what is sure to be a very difficult period in my life as I learn to cope with change and loss.

P.S. Those are pictures of my sister, isn't she just adorable?