DON'T WONDER, JUST DO.

life is too fucking short to wonder & never take a chance.

So, lately my heart has been heavy with my passions as a photographer. I'm feeling so good, and just happy with where my work is going. I know I don't have a lot to show right now, but getting back into the groove of blogging has really motivated me to want more with my work in this creative field. It's seriously so R-A-D to be asking people over Facebook or whatever to see if they would like to do a shoot with me, and a few have said yes! Which is 100% the best. 

I've been studying other photographers work to get inspired, and motivated on where I would personally like for my work to go, and I feel like I've gotten to the point to really show people what I can pull off. 

Recently I read this blog from Andria Linquist, Conductor of your own Train, she talks about owning her own business, not letting "the man" be your boss, and not to be afraid to grab your life by the horns and say "life is too short to wonder and never take a chance. HOLY SHIT, you know, she's right? I remember when I was a senior in high school, not really knowing what I wanted to do with my life quite yet.. BUT I remember that I was saying no to becoming a nurse, and taking the "essential" classes to get me there. I mean, I knew, and still know I have it in me to become someone as wonderful as a nurse, but there was something else that was gnawing at the back of my head telling me to say no the all of that. 

you dont even know what you’re missing yet. once you have it, there’s no going back. never handing back the reigns. 

- andria lindquist

I like to think that I could be a creative person.. I mean I was/still am a musician (i've put down my clarinet, but that don't mean I still can't play), I made homemade cards for my best friends birthdays, and I really got into photography, and that thought of wanting to become someone who has a "stable" job making a lot of money just didn't appeal to me anymore. So, I put an end to that. I let go of that passion, let go of the relationship that I had at the time (thank you), and I just needed to be me, and make fucking mistakes, and FEEL EMOTIONS. I had such a stable thing going on, and I needed it all to change. Being someone that can be creative, was my goal, and ultimately still is my goal. I figured it out... I really wanted to be a photo journalist. I can't say that the  journalist part is still a burning passion (as i write my heart out on this blog... lol), but photography is. The desire is on fire right now. I really want to put myself out there, and I'm taking everything that I learned from my mentor in high school (Kim Robbins), and my favorite photographer (Andria Lindquist), and apply it all to what I want to do. 

Anyway.. I just wanted to share that. I have been thinking about it all weekend, and I needed to share it somewhere, and I was trying t figure out the right time to share it on here, and then I started to get technical about it, like if I should have a photo to go with the text, should I incorporate this emotions into a shoot. I don't know, but here it is. OUT IN THE OPEN! 

Tell me though..

What are your passions? Would you, or are you pursuing them?

hava love,

b.

my mom delivered!

So, backstory: I reposted something on Facebook a while ago, and it was about Mexican food. I'm half hispanic, so I immediately had to repost it, and tell the world about how I miss it, and how I haven't had Mexican food from Washington, because for whatever reason I think that it isn't as "authentic". Anyway, my mom asked me what kind of pan dulce I wanted, and I didn't reply in time, so she sent me two whole bags of bread! Oh goodness I'm so happy, and the smell just reminds me of my childhood. Anyway! this was such a short post, but I wanted to share it. 

I'm feeling the love a little extra right now.

Have love.

I'M FEELING WHOLE, OR FULL, YOU KNOW THAT WARM FUZZY FEELING?

Now, I'm not one to talk about my personal life to the general public, but this is my blog, so I might as well just put myself out there anyway. I want to talk about my friendships, new and old. Let me start by sharing that I truly love all of my friends, no really, I legitimately love them, and it's not the "oh you've been my friend for x amount of years, and you deserve an I love you." I genuinely care for my friends in my life, and I'm not sure if it's because I have so little 'close' friends or if that's just how I am. I could go further, but I immensely care for these people.

Over the years in my young life I feel as if I've learned a lot about being a friend, or a best friend to someone, and I always ask myself if they really feel the same towards me. I over analyze it from time to time, and if I am honest I tend to look a tad deeper into the meaning everything in my life, I stress out about it a lot, and that is called... anxiety, what a party pooper. Anyways. As a friend I really feel like I can potentially be a pretty good one, it could be because I'm pretty selfless, I've learned heartbreak (romantically, and non-romantically), I have certainly learned the value of life (whether it was my own or someone else's), I feel like I can understand where someone else is coming from most of the time, I'm uncommonly patient. I don't know, but the reason why I'm making this post is because I had such an amazing time yesterday with FRIENDS, I literally cannot get the fuck over it.

So, my friend Aubrey and I made plans to go out and take photos, and can I just say that I have never felt so welcome as a person into someone's life. I mean at least it felt that way. We met up in U Village, and said hi to Sarina (who Aubrey has known for quite some time, and I've know her since the end of 14', but I love her!). Aubrey was, essentially, my personal tour guide, and she showed me around the University of Washington Campus, we took photos, and walked around the neighborhoods surrounding the school. we also went out to dinner in Ballard, which was a lot of fun, and I had one of the best burgers I've had in a long time. I really, really enjoyed her company, and honestly it was the best time I've had since my god damn wedding. I felt like I could be myself, take some pictures, talk about my personal life, which ahem doesn't happen very often with just anyone, and it was just super awesome.

I've also been waiting to see my friend Fischer. He's such an awesome guy, and one of the best people I can talk to about pretty much anything. Since I was in the surrounding downtown area I wanted to stop by and see him. It was super funny, cause I knew he was working, and I don't think that either of us anticipated me getting into downtown so quickly, so here I was just aimlessly driving around downtown Seattle waiting for him to get out of work. So many explicitives, and giggles were happening as I was driving around by myself. So, i pick him up, and first we try to find parking near his apartment, which in hindsight could have been a lot easier, but no. We catch up on our lives, laugh about stupid reality shows, and reminisce on the past. It was so nice just seeing a familiar face, and it felt like a little bit of home. So, thank you Fischer. 

Yesterday was so perfect, because for me being so far from all of my friends in California is difficult. I miss all of them, and I wish I was in California to see their accomplishments. However, being with these amazing people yesterday really made me feel more grounded and whole. It was an amazing feeling not having to stress, and not having to worry about what the other person thinks of you. I really am so thankful for those moments that I could share with them, because saying that I have friends is not a very common thing to say for me, and I really struggle with calling people my friends, because like I said, I over analyze everything, so my mind always tells me that some friendships are only temporary. I'll keep fighting for some to be permanent though. 

I look forward to more fun times, and just being better friends with Aubrey, Fischer, or whoever else. I hope making friends gets easier for me, and honestly I just have to find my kind of people, and just have fun being 'me' with them. 

Have Love, AND FRIENDS!

Alright, so I haven't been on here for over a year! I always do this, I get excited to start posting things, and then i do it, but it doesn't stay consistent.

I'm going to force myself! No, I want to do this. I'm in a whole new chapter of my life, and it needs to be documented.. So, with that...

I'M BACK!

eats and arts

Eating Homemade:

I'm literally dying to want to cook so many homemade things, and then I end up NOT. Mostly because I work a lot now, and I'm hardly ever having time to cook at night, and at the end of the day I really just want to have something ready in 10 minutes, eat, hang with my babe, and then go to sleep. So, with that being said, I think that I want to start to look for quick recipes, that are easily prepped. Some of my closest friends are chefs, and seriously I don't know why i never just pursued the career, because I love cooking still, and if I can make someone happy by feeding them, then my day will have been made.

So, I want to try these foods, fast or not:

• Pesto Grilled Shrimp
• Mashed Cauliflower, using a friend's adaptation
• Spinach Lasagna Rolls 
• Stuffed Peppers
• Smoked Salmon Bagels (helllllooooo breakfast)
• Cheddar Broccoli Soup
• Steak? Yeah, just steak, but really cooked well.
• Homemade Pizza
• Lasagna
• Homemade Hummus (adorable illustration) 
• Homemade potato chips
• Artichoke Spinach Dip
• Cheddar Dijon Chicken Tenders
• Salads!
• Homemade Fried Rice
• Tacos, tacos, and tacos.

Art:

There's barely any art on our walls here in our apartment, so, I'll post some images of what I would like hanging up on our walls!

 Scoutmob

 Scoutmob

Scoutmob

Scoutmob

So, I really like Scoutmob, and the idea of it all. If I'm honest I would really like to start to actually buy things from their site, because a lot of stuff is really neat, and I really think that not only will I appreciate it, I know John will.

Anyway, this is the end of my post! I hope you were inspired to try a recipe or two, and checked out Scoutmob!

Have love..


this is an un-sponsored post. 

Life Lately, the Month of March.

Hey ladies, and gents. I'm sorry it's been such a long time since my last post, but I promise I'll be posting a lot more often. So much has been going on lately it's insane, so insane that I'm not even in the same state! Ha! Well, on with the post. So, if you're not friends with me anywhere socially I've been engaged since December 24th! Exciting right?! And in the midst of all of that John, and I were really wanting to move out of the state. California's much too expensive, and we wanted out. So, now we're in Washington! After taking a trip out here we fell head over heels in love, and with much appreciated help from family we were able to move!

John and I drove separately and I'm so happy that I was able to survive two 12 hour days of driving, I knew I could. Mostly because my dad's a freaking badass at lang drives, so, figures that I would be too. I haven't taken very much pictures of the apartment, for various reasons, but eventually I'll show you all. It's a pretty cute place, and it's slowly coming together. SLOWLY. Mind you, this is the very first time that I've ever moved out of my parents house. Why so far? I don't know, cause it's freaking beautiful out here! Our parent's fully supported us moving out, they want to see us grow into young adults, and of course see us succeed. It's been a little tough, just because we need to get into the swing of things, but I know that we'll do good. I already have a job, and there's a good chance of advancement. So it's all good.

So, yoga.

I've taken up the practice of yoga, because I need to have some sort of medium up here. Something to do while John is "hanging" out with his friends over PS3, work, and more work. I've fallen in love with this thing called Yoga. It's a completely different exercise that I've done. I mean, I've done pilates, but it's just not the same. Anyway, I'll be documenting my practice, and hopefully I'll get pretty darn good at it.

Soooo exciting.

Anyway, I hope all that have stumbled onto my blog have had a good day, and time with whatever you've been doing. Come back for more! I promise there will be more! I can feel it!

Have Love.

Road Trip: Nevada, Idaho, Utah.

So, back in June my family, John, and I went on a road trip to Idaho for a little family reunion. Needless to say it was pretty amazing, and it made my wanderlust grow even more. While we were there we went fishing, visited old mining towns, saw where my dad grew up, and just immersed ourselves in the outdoors of Idaho. The campground we stayed at was right off the River of No Return, also known as, The Salmon River. There couldn't have been a better place for us to stay. The weather was beautiful, the daylight lasted till 10:30pm, and it was pure fun. I wish I could go back. 

I've always loved camping, ever since I was a baby. I know this, because my parents too pictures of me in their pack that they had me in. I've only really slept in that trailer a few times, and I've always slept in a tent other than those times. To me tent camping is definitely the way to do it, only because it feels more like you're right in nature, sleeping outside, hearing noises (that freak you out!), but really it's the best no arguments. This is the very first time I have ever taken a boyfriend camping, and it was pretty awesome. I loved how much John got into the outdoors, it just motivated me to want to be in it too. This is also the first time that I've brought a boyfriend to meet my fathers side of the family, and I'm so pleased, and thankful that they really liked him. The only opinions that really mattered were my Aunt Kris, and Uncle George's. I look up to them so much, and I have really appreciated every lesson they've ever given me, even though I don't see them much, I am always grateful for what they have to say, or just having them around. Overall, the reunion went well, and I'm so satisfied.

Oh I love them so.

Mumford & Sons, Gentlemen of the Road.

On Sunday June 2nd, around golden hour was when we headed off to the San Manuel Amphitheater. Naturally we forgot a few items such as, the tickets, and of course, my camera. It was very frustrating to say the least, but somehow we made it, with the tickets, and no camera. We were able to find my friends, somehow, in the mass of 30,000 plus people. It was crazy business. They were right behind a speaker, which wasn't the best place, so we moved to the back. Of course we couldn't see much of the stage, but we got a beautiful view of the sunset, and the mountains. When Mumford & Sons came on it was absolutely wonderful, they started off with Lovers Eyes, which sounded so perfect, and definitely was a great opening song. I really don't have any words to describe how perfect the concert was, except for the fact that they sounded so beautiful, and it was all that I expected. I got to see one of my favorite bands, be with John, and hang with friends who I've missed. Therefore it was a great evening. Have love.

I GOT A NEW CAMERA!

If I didn't share already, all the photos prior to this post, and the last post were all taken by my little Nikon D40, and it's been with me for a solid 5 years or so. So, this amazing thing happened.. after my self portrait  project that I presented a few weeks ago, I came home to my boyfriend's house feeling pretty confident that I did a pretty damn good job on my project. Little did I know at my boyfriends house his parents were cooking up an idea, an idea that will change my life. So, I got home, and all of a sudden John's father comes into John's room, and tells me that we were going out to get me a new camera that I have been non-stop talking about for the last few months. Needless today I started crying my eyes out, because I was so happy, and I knew that I was going to have a huge change in my career, and of course hobby. So, I didn't put a lot a photos up, but here's a few that I liked. Which are of my cat Joey, and my shoes. 

A CREEK.

So, John took me to this place in San Dimas, and it's pretty awesome. We went to explore this creek! I wish that we could have explored a little bit more, but there was what it looked like, some film students shooting a film in the area I wanted to take photos in. But here's some of my faves!

A Self Portrait

So, for school I had to do this "Self Portrait" project. It said that you had to express who you were, what you you were doing, what your goals are, and how you were going to get there. I decided that I wanted to take the project quite literally. I had John, my boyfriend, take the portraits of me that are above. I am pretty pleased with how all the photos came out, and I'm happy with how I did in the presentation, even if I was a little bit nervous. If you couldn't tell already, John has a natural talent when it comes to photography, and I really admire that quality in him. It's so nice to have found someone so amazing, similar, and loving to me. I don't think I could have ever found anyone else who is like him, and I am forever thankful for him.

Photo Credit to John for the self portraits.