Back in October, two of my dear friends, Mike and Tiffany, got hitched at The Neon Museum in Las Vegas. They are quite the creative couple and they managed to pull off an equally creative wedding that was intimate, gorgeous, non-fussy and ridiculously cool. They asked me to photograph the event, to which I was very honored, but also STRESSS BARFFF. Shooting a wedding is very intimidating, at least to those of us who don’t spend our lives doing it professionally, because you literally only get one chance to get it right. Not that they put any pressure on me, they were in fact super chill about it. I was all ‘I’M NOT A WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER I DON’T KNOW HOW TO INTERACT WITH HUMANS WHAT IF MY CAMERA SPONTANEOUSLY EXPLODES AND STABS YOU IN THE FACE I’M SCARED’ and they were all ‘whatev, just do yo thang, girl’.

I visited The Neon Museum once before, so I was super excited when they told me they had chosen it for their venue.  This place is a party for the eyes!

We had an hour before the ceremony to wander the museum and take photos of just the two of them. Are these two not the ugliest human beings you’ve ever seen? #opposite

Their good friend Meghan officiated the wedding (so smart – why didn’t we do that?!) and her 1960s Priscilla Presley look was ON POINT. Y’all made my job so easy.

An intimate group of Mike and Tiff’s very best people flew to Vegas to relax, hang out, and party for days. And party we did.

We all gathered around as they read their vows which were sweet, sentimental, funny, and smart.  STOP BEING SO PERFECT, YOU GUYS.

The table settings for the reception were effortlessly casual and pretty, although we all know these things never happen ‘effortlessly’. White wooden tables with burlap runners, bud vases with single cut flowers, loose greenery, and succulents made for a casual desert vibe. The sun had set by the end of the ceremony, but I had a few minutes to snap some photos of the tables beforehand.

Then there were speeches. Everyone cried (again). Dinner, drinking, dancing, ensued.

Love love love.  Mike and Tiff, thank you for the best time ever and thank you for trusting me to shoot these photos (except for the one directly above which I believe Drew took after I drunkenly handed him my camera so I could get crunk). I love you guys so very much. CONGRATULATIONS!

Two of my good friends, Eve and Shiloh of Grateful Paws, recently fostered a mama cat and her four kittens through Ferndale Cat Shelter. I stopped by a few weeks ago to cuddle their faces and shoot some photos to help generate interest in them. I’m happy to report that the kittens were recently adopted as pairs into two loving forever homes!

Unfortunately, people have certain negative perceptions about shelter animals. These animals need a little extra help to get people excited about them. Great images bring people into shelters. That’s a fact. I wish I could show you Eleanor’s low quality Petfinder photo, but I forgot to save it. The photo was taken from high above her crate with a flash. She looked like a scary little blob with glared eyes. A few days after I adopted her I took this photo:

Who wouldn’t want to meet that dog, right? So when Eve and Shiloh asked me to set up a photo shoot with the kittens to help them get adopted, I immediately jumped on board. In fact, I plan to donate my photography services to more shelters in the area moving forward. It’s so important to get these fur babes out of shelters and into loving homes.

At the beginning of the photo shoot they refused to sit still and gave me a run for my money. If only I had that youth and vigor! By the end though, they were falling asleep on each other in a cuddle pit. IT WAS SO CUTE I THREW UP.

Check out these kitten pics, yo:

Let me tell you, nothing cures what ails you quite like a kitten cuddle session. Thanks for looking! Meow.

I just spent the last two hours listening to Ann Delisi’s thoughtful tribute to Prince on WDET. She ended the show with Purple Rain and I ugly cried, big heavy tears, for the first time since he passed away.

Ever since the news broke I’ve vacillated between disbelief and numbness. The grief has only just started to creep in. Truth be told, I’m still reeling from the death of David Bowie.

These two mystical, magical, alien-rockstars seduced me before I was old enough to know any better. They emoted this irreverence of gender and style that just DID something to me. Their rebellion against the norm awakened my inner weirdo. They taught me to walk in through the out door.

“I’m not a woman. I’m not a man. I am something that you’ll never understand”.

I was about five years old when my parents brought home Prince’s album, 1999.  I took to it like a moth to a flame. It was hard for me to stay in my body when his music was playing. During an impassioned moment I jumped from my bed while belting the words to Delirious and sprained my ankle. Later, while performing a dance routine to Baby I’m a Star, I over compensated a flip and broke my toe. I guess if I’m going to have arthritis, let it be from Prince!

Last year I saw Prince perform for the second time in my life. I never guessed it would be the last. As I stood 18 rows from the stage at the Fox Theatre I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude. He could have easily sold out a stadium, but he chose to play a three-hour marathon set inside an intimate theatre. To Prince, the music has always mattered more than money. And the music slayed us that night. I’ll never forget it.

I read that Prince passed away in the elevator of his home. An erie example of how life imitates art. Toward the end of Ann Delisi’s radio show she played Let’s Go Crazy. I listened to Prince’s eulogy of “this thing called life” for the billionth time, and I could still hear his message loud and clear. In that moment I realized he’s not really gone. He just punched a higher floor.

Truth be told, I’m not the biggest Las Vegas fan. I think gambling is boring and depressing. My club-kid days are long over, and I have complicated feminist feelings about hookers. But an opportunity came along for Mike D and I to spend a few days in the city of sin to celebrate our friend Ellie’s birthday with ten of our friends, so we were like “VIVA LAS VEGAS!”. And now I’m here, an unreasonable amount of time later, to tell you about the trip. How long has it been, you ask? A month? Nope. Many multiple months? Yep. And that’s what’s up.

After our flight landed in Vegas, we dropped our bags at the hotel, rented a car, and drove to Red Rock Canyon. It’s only a thirty minute drive from the Las Vegas strip and it’s breathtaking. I highly recommend going in the evening and watching the sunset. It was a real treat despite the 8,000 degrees of blasting solar heat that day.

The following morning we visited the Neon Museum for a guided tour. Colorful vintage signs of old casinos, shops, and restaurants are artfully arranged along gravel paths. This is a dreamland of vintage typography and the colors were very pleasing to my eyeballs. Definitely check it out! Tip: Bring plenty of water and sunscreen because there’s nearly no shade.

And then we melted into a sweaty puddle of despair. Have I mentioned that it was hot in Vegas? Effing HOT HOT. Walking on the sun hot.

That evening we celebrated my friend Ellie’s birthday with dinner and drinks at Park on Fremont. The prices were good (especially for Vegas because DAMGURL that city is expensive) and the ambiance was on point. Quirky art, good food, craft cocktails, and a sweet patio with an old Cinderella-like carriage and a teeter totter. Highly recommend!

After dinner we walked along Fremont street and things got REAL silly. Ridiculously overpriced cocktails may have been involved.

The next morning we rented a private cabana by the pool at MGM. Each cabana has it’s own mini-fridge, lounge chairs, chilled towels, inner tubes, a music dock, a safe for wallets/phones, and a waitress. It was quite luxurious for us hobos! We spent all day lounging around, drinking, swimming, stuffing our faces, and having long theoretical pool-side discussions. It was delightful.

After a quick nap and a shower, a limo picked us up and took us to The Tunnel of Love Drive-Thru Wedding Chapel. Mike D and I, along with two of our best friends, Charlie & Halina, thought it would be fun to renew our wedding vows in a double drive-thru ceremony. *Spoiler Alert* BEST ONE HUNDRED BUCKS I’VE EVER SPENT. We almost didn’t do this and I’m so glad we decided to just go for it. The chapel was… um, interesting?  The pink Cadillac they let us “rent” didn’t run and had four flat tires. Ha! I’m sure there’s a metaphor for marriage in there somewhere. Empty love tank something or other? Doesn’t matter. WE DOOOOO!

My friend Kate captured the faux nuptials so perfectly. Truth be told, we were a little tipsy from spending all day at the pool and it was hard to keep a straight face. SUPER SERIOUS WEDDING TIMEZ COMING AT YOU.

Thank you, Kate! Because of you, I’ll never forget my second wedding to my first husband.

*dabs at a tear*

On our final day in Vegas, Mike and I wandered along the strip and came across The Polaroid Museum. This was a totally random and lucky find. I NERDED OUT over rare cameras, Polaroids by Lucas Michael and Maurizio Galimberti, and an installation of Andy Warhol’s silver clouds.

That evening we met up with our friends for dinner at The Peppermill Restaurant and Fireside Lounge. It’s iconic, weird, gorgeous, and offers the quintessential throwback Vegas experience. You HAVE to check this place out. Make sure to head into the fireside lounge after dinner for a nightcap. The ambiance in there is insane. Honestly, the food and drinks are nothing over the top, but the decor is what really makes this place special.

We ended our trip with The Beatles LOVE at The Mirage. I basically ugly-cried for a straight two hours. The costumes were BONKERS. The dancers’ bodies were BONKERS. The trapezoid acts were BONKERS. OMG SO MUCH BONKERS.

And then we flew home. Happy, heat exhausted, and hung over.

Ok, Vegas. You win.

I like you now.

PS: I shoved my iPhone in my friends’ faces the whole trip to create this video just for you.

Recently, the incredibly nice humans at West Elm invited me to share some photos of my home on their blog, Front & Main, and I was ever so happy to oblige. You can see the full interview here.

As we head into the new year, I want to thank you all for being here. I truly appreciate every single one of you who support this creative endeavor of mine. I LOVE YOU GUYZ! I hope you all have a very merry New Year spent with the ones you love! xoxo

When things get to be too much, and my head is a mess, I put on Abbey Road. I’ve been doing this since I can remember. At age 15, I’d lock myself in my bedroom with headphones, but now, at 37, I get in my car, cue up the album on my iPod, and drive. As I speed past tree-lined streets, familiar houses, and neatly manicured lawns, my car fills with the music of John, Paul, George, and Ringo. I belt out the words to Come Together at the top of my lungs. HOLD YOU IN HIS ARMCHAIR YOU CAN FEEL HIS DISEASE. I secretly lament that nobody witnessed me get all the words right. My head space starts to change. I cry during Something because that is what you do when you are alone in your car and you’re sad and you’re listening to Something. YOU’RE ASKING ME WILL MY LOVE GROW? I DON’T KNOW, I DON’T KNOW. Tears. Every. Time. I want to wallow in this. It feels so good to wallow. Plus, I am really good at wallowing. The guy in the car next to me is staring, so I roll up the window and duck my face inside the collar of my shirt. I Want You comes on and I’m all F**K YOUUUUU to everything and everyone and goodness, why am I always surprised when the tears so quickly lead to middle fingers? The song ends and I flip the record (metaphorically). I know precisely when this needs to happen. There is a path worn in the rug dedicated solely to the flipping of Abbey Road. I picture the needle hitting the record, I hear the crackle and the “KKKKHHHHH”. The sound of anticipation. I think about how albums don’t have two sides anymore. Remember how we always chose a favorite side?

Anyway, it bummed me out.

I allow the melancholy, silliness, and hope that is side 2 of Abbey Road carry me off. I pass a familiar corner store and a little girl walking a dog with a red leash. By the time I get to Carry That Weight, I’m a thousand pounds lighter. I turn onto my street and notice the overflowing trash cans on the side of the road. It’s garbage night. I pull into the driveway and shut off the engine. The words, AND IN THE END THE LOVE YOU TAKE IS EQUAL TO THE LOVE YOU MAKE, linger. Somehow, my head feels clearer. The weight of the world feels less heavy.

Last night, Paul McCartney ended his bonkers-ass set with the Abbey Road medley and it was just what I needed without knowing I needed it. After the stage went dark and the last bits of confetti fell over the thinning crowd, my friend Mish and I exchanged a look. The sort of look you give someone when something really big just happened and you know it and they know it and you just want some sort of confirmation of said tremendous occasion. So many thoughts and feelings on that stage, intoxicating, beautifully orchestrated, ridiculously fleeting. Imagine yourself with Paul McCartney (and thirty trillion people) singing NAH NAH NAH NAH NAH NAH, NAH NAH NAH NAH NAH, HEYYYYY JUUUUUDE and tell me you wouldn’t be glad to be alive, too?

I’m one of those people who is pretty clean and organized for the most part, but I also have a lot of stuff.  Or at least I used to have a lot of stuff, I kind of still have a lot of stuff? I don’t know, I’m working on it. Over the last few years, I’ve made a big effort to purge the things in my home that are not beautiful or useful. I’ve whittled down my closet tremendously, and I’ve tackled nearly every drawer and cabinet in my house. I’ve swapped out a lot of functional but ugly/loud items with better quality and more attractive replacements. Anything that is distracting from the level of calmness I’m trying to achieve is on the chopping block. Like the 30 cheap plastic mismatched spatulas & serving utensils crammed into a drawer that I have to dig through every time I need the bottle opener? Gone. I donated them all and replaced them with 2-3 simple wooden utensils that are pretty enough to display in a glass vessel on my counter. The 25 random cords & remote controls from electronics we don’t own anymore? Gone. Do we need 4 mop buckets? NO! 37 mismatched coffee mugs? BYE, FELICIA. That kind of purging is easy because I’m not emotionally attached to utilitarian items like spatulas or mop buckets. Throwing out an ugly bright green plastic broom that’s taped together and replacing it with a pretty wooden one that actually gets me excited about sweeping is fun. That kind of purging just takes a little bit of time and money.

But then there is the other kind of purging. The purging of the things that hold memories and feelings. Books, records, clothes, mementos. It’s tough to part with that stuff. And CAMERAS. You guys, I have a lot of cameras. Probably 20 Polaroids alone. I’ve avoided going through the cameras for months. I know I need to let some of them go.  It’s time. I’d like to see them go to someone who will have fun with them, because even with the best intentions, I simply don’t have the time to use them all. Below are four cameras I plan to post on Craigslist soon. I thought I’d post them here first since y’all are my frands and I want to give you first crack at them. They are great cameras, so once I put them up on Craigslist, they’ll probably go quick. *cries*

1. Panasonic Lumix DMC LX-5  UPDATE: SOLD!
$160 (includes U.S. Shipping)

This is an amazing little digital camera. I’ve taken this camera on every trip with me. It’s tiny and easily slides into a pocket. I recently replaced it with the Leica version because I needed the wifi, but for your money, you can’t get a better digital point & shoot than this. You can read about it on Amazon, but here are some quick points:

• 10 megapixels allows you to print poster size prints at great clarity.
• Shoots HD video
• Leica lens: 24mm (extremely wide viewing space) to 90mm (zoom)
• Maximum aperture of 2.0 (shallow depth of field) to give you those pretty soft focused backgrounds known as bokeh effect.
• Manual, aperture priority, shutter priority, or fully automatic settings.
• It’s white! It’s tiny! It’s cute!

The camera is in great condition, and everything functions perfectly. No dents or scratches. It comes with the original box, battery charger, battery pack, USB cable, shoulder strap, CD-ROM, lens cap, lens cap string, owners manual. Requires an SD card. Paid $400, asking $160.

2. The Impossible Project Pinhole 100 Camera. UPDATE: SOLD!
$110 (includes U.S. shipping)

I’m kind of regretting posting this camera for sale. EEK. This camera was produced in a very limited stock by The Impossible Project and is very unique. You can read about it here. This camera takes instant peel-apart film which is my favorite kind of instant/Polaroid film. It is a pinhole camera so it produces very soft images with an infinite depth of field. Objects are in focus from right in front of the camera to infinity. Requires long exposures and a tripod. It’s in like-new condition. Functions perfectly, no scratches or flaws. You can easily find the film for this camera in local camera stores and on amazon. It works with all Type 100 pack films in B&W and color. Asking $110 though they’re going for much more on Ebay.

3. Holga 120 Wide Pinhole Camera.
$40 (includes U.S. shipping)

You can read about this camera here. I love Holgas! This Holga camera combines several methods of photography in one. It’s a wide-angle panorama camera, pinhole camera, and medium format camera all rolled into one. Uses 120 size B&W or color film that can easily be found at local camera stores or on amazon here. This camera is in like-new condition. No scratches or dents. Functions perfectly. Asking $40.

4. 1954 Bolex C-8 8mm camera.
$60 (includes U.S. shipping)

This is a video camera, and it’s the only camera on this list I haven’t personally used. You can read about it here. This Bolex camera uses double standard 8mm film which you can find here. How fun would it be to shoot an old-timey video with this thing? Comes with a nice leather case and strap. I haven’t film-tested the camera, but it looks to be in good shape.

If you’re interested in any of these cameras, leave a comment with your email address and I’ll send you a Paypal invoice. Once it’s paid, I’ll ship the camera out within 24 hours. Let me know if you have any questions. Happy Friday!

xoxo

Several years ago, I inherited a stack of family photo albums dated from the 1990s all the way back to the late 1800s. A hundred years of family photographs! I’ve been s-l-o-w-l-y scanning, retouching, and archiving the digital files. There are so many I’d like to enlarge, print, and frame, but it’s one of those chores on the to-do list that just never gets done. Not to mention the thousands of digital photos I’ve taken with my own camera, filed away and forgotten on my hard drive.

I am often asked what’s the best way to print, mat, and frame photos, and the truth is, it can be tricky, overwhelming and expensive. Most people don’t have a high quality photo printer at home, so they have to send their photos to a local or online printer and then find another company for the framing. Anyone who has walked into a custom frame store and had to choose between 100 different mat options and a million different frame options can attest the process is intimidating. And the quote is usually enough to make you cry.

So when a new company from Portland called Livestock kindly offered me a complimentary frame, I was excited to try their services out. Livestock is a really simple site that allows you to have your photos matted, framed, and shipped to your door without the headache. It’s just three simple steps: upload your photo (you can even upload directly from your smart phone), choose a frame from 6 classic styles in 4 colors, select your size, and they ship it to your door! They’ll also adjust the color, sharpness, and contrast of your image for free.  The custom framed photos start around $75, which is not nothing, but cheaper than most custom frame stores for sure. And shipping is free!

I used a photograph of my grandmother from 1952 . The original photo was pretty beaten up, so I retouched it in Photoshop before uploading it to the site.

I knew I wanted to use a photograph of my grandmother, but I  had a hard time choosing which picture to use! During the Korean war, my grandmother sent my grandfather a bunch of flirty photos of herself with sweet handwritten messages on the back of each one. This one reads “Here’s thinking of you (wow). Want to come home now, honey???”. Was she not the cutest?

The process of ordering on Livestock was so easy, I was done in under 5 minutes. Less than two weeks later, the frame showed up at my door and it felt like Christmas morning! I was so impressed with the sturdiness of the shipping and the quality of the materials. It even came ready to hang with the proper hardware. The materials are true gallery quality and I couldn’t be happier with it.

I’m reminded of my grandma Jean’s smile every time I walk into the room now. And isn’t that the point of taking pictures in the first place – to remember and cherish the people and places that mean so much to us?  I am sure I’m not the only one who has photographs in need of framing, so I encourage you all to take a look and get in on this cool service. It’s super fun to walk through the process and see your photo go from something buried in your phone or hard drive to a piece of art you love to display.

Miss you, grandma!

xoxo

This post is in collaboration with Livestock. All words, opinions, and cute grandmas are entirely my own.

This past winter, my longtime and dear friends, Eve and Shiloh, drove 800 miles from Michigan to Vermont to be legally married. On July 11th, two weeks after love conquered all with the United States Supreme Court’s decision to support marriage equality, Shiloh’s parents hosted a casual open-house to celebrate their union. The day was filled with love, laughter, and delicious vegan food. I felt very honored to have been asked by Eve and Shiloh to take some photos. Here are a few of my favorites.

Here’s to love!

xoxo

A few weeks ago, the kind folks from Design Sponge asked if I would do a home tour for their Sneak Peak column. At first I was like WHUUUUUT and then I was like YAAASSSSSS but then I was like STRESSSS BARFFFFF. I ran around like a maniac straightening photos, replacing dead plants, sucking up dust bunnies and rearranging my knick-knacks 900 times. All in all, I’m super excited with how it turned out. Everything in here makes me happy and I want to stare at it all day.

See the rest of the photos and interview here!

Beautiful photos by the talented Kate Sassak.