Photo a Day Snags - And Beautiful Inspiring Things

ell, my photo a day project has hit a bit of a snag. I have some ideas for things I would like to take photos of but BOTH of our good cameras are on the fritz right now and have to be taken into the Nikon shop for repair estimates. Which is kind of a bummer because I keep thinking of these things - or seeing these things I would like to take photos of. Hopefully soon, I'll be back on track.

In the meantime I thought I would talk about a couple of inspiring things that are slightly unrelated - but sort of not. It's a kind of a rambling thought process, but stick with me! Some of my favorite (and most popular) photos on flickr are of modeling photos that we took as reference for some of my husband's paintings. These are some of my favorites






Although I like to take photos of a lot of different things - people are generally my favorites. I admire a lot of fashion photography. I don't buy a lot of high end clothes (frankly I really don't buy any high end clothes unless finding the occasional Michael Kors at Last Chance counts, Ralph Lauren is about as high end as I ever get - and those are usually purchased at Marshalls anyway...but I digress) - but I do appreciate fashion as an art form. And I really appreciate an interesting fashion photo shoot.

I sometimes buy Vogue just to admire the cool photography. One of the fashion directors there is Grace Coddington and she just does the coolest fashion spreads:


I mean really, what a cool job is that? To conceive of these fantastical images using cool fashion designs as your inspiration and then having the budget to sort of pull it all together? That's a pretty awesome gig.

And while we're on the subject of fashion. I really love Michelle Obama's fashion sense. I love that she wears a lot of J Crew. Being able to purchase J crew has kind of been one of my weight loss goals. I really love a lot of their looks. Like these are super cool, but there still relatively affordable clothes, and I think it's very cool that Michelle Obama has kind of paved the way for women to see that you can look great without spending an arm and a leg:
Which brings me to another thought. Did you happen to catch Michelle Obama's outfit when they had their State Dinner a few months ago. Since they were hosting the President of India and his wife, she chose a dress by an Indian designer. It was stunning! Here are some photos of that event:

So the designer is Naeem Khan and he makes some stunningly delicious Indian inspired designs:




That's all - those are my rambling fashion thoughts/photography this evening. Just thought I would share. Sometimes I just like looking at pretty things.

Poetic Purple

h yeah...

I was going to include some purples during our "valentines" month.

I don't know why but something about this looks like an updated version of Mike & Carol Brady's bedroom doesn't it?



I'm so darn in love with the tufted headboards. I want one so badly.



Look what a great idea just by painting the inside of that cabinet!

Just those few little purple cabinets in this room make me LOVE this kitchen.




Ok who doesn't want a tub like that? Seriously guys.


How to do purple carpet without it looking ridiculous.




See that couch is technically more pink - but the wall color is kind of lavender I think - but I do love this room. (plus look at that awesome Chuck Close in the background)

It borders on being dreary in this room - I mean look at how bright and sunny it is outside? But still there might be days when this would be the perfect place to escape from harsh reality.



J'adore.

So cool and chic.




That window trim color comes across differently on different monitors because it's like almost pinkish but it has a lot of purplish in it too. But anyways. Cool room and a fun idea to just do the trim.



Like as if your grandma's bedroom suddenly became slightly sophisticated right?


I dearly wish for an office of my own like this some day.

What super cool person lives here? The mod orange accent pieces make it so great.


Am I in a wonderful apartment in Paris where I am about to lay down and have an awesome nap filled with fanciful dreams? Je l'aime.


Look how all these different colors work together in this room. Take a lesson kids. Really great.


Okay tired of lamps like this - and chairs like that - but really really dig the color of the curtain.



Yummy, yummy, yummy


This sort of inspired my own back yard and walls. Love.



What a great study. Doesn't it seem like you'd gain IQ points just by having a study like this in your house?

Therapeutic

ometimes therapy get's a bad rap. I sort of wish there wasn't so much stigma still attached to the idea.

Therapy can be so darn....therapeutic, if you let it!

I went to a counselor once in my early 20s. It was not a good time in my life - well, I take that back, it was a lot like a Dickens book "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times". There were so many things that were great. But just enough things that weren't so great. I'd never gone to any kind of counseling before. But I found in 6 or 8 (I can never remember exactly how many times I went now) times I discovered amazing things about myself. Things that seem so obvious now, but I was oblivious to at the time - and so these things were affecting the way I saw myself, the way I interacted with other people, all kinds of things, that once I knew were happening, I suddenly had a lot of power to change. And the biggest changes just happen within, the small spaces where no one else can really see them. Other people might not even notice that much difference in you. But you notice and it's very empowering.

Around - I'm not even sure how long it's been now, maybe 10 years? Or close to that? I realized I was slowly cracking up a little - starting to show some cracks in the paint, and I needed to go back and give it a try again. New realizations and new shifts within myself that made me look at my life very differently. I think I maybe went 12 times. I went from being a borderline depressed mess to feeling like a really, really strong person again.

Well, I'm here to say that I'm back in therapy again. There are lot of not fun things about being in therapy. (usually the things that make you feel like you NEED to go to therapy in the 1st place) But I am blogging about it because I am really putting in a plug for all the GOOD things that can come from it. Every week after I talk to my counselor I feel like "wow - that was really great, I really learned something about myself" and that helps me face the new week with new perspective and purpose.

I'm sure all my blog readers are perfectly well adjusted and wouldn't ever be in the position of needing to see a therapist, but I'm just saying...there's something really great about it, if you're in a state of mental confusion and things don't make a lot of sense, or if you're feeling down, or if you're feeling a little anxious - or out of control, or un-centered, or whatever your brand of not feeling whole might be. I'm just saying, I'm a big fan.

Update on Photo A Day - The 365 Project

hoto a day:

(two of these are from when I intended to start while in London - but the others all from this week)

























I'm obviously not going to love them all - that's not the point. So you shouldn't feel bad if you don't really love them either! The point is just to force myself to think about photography more and take more photos in general. My best camera and lens isn't working right now either so I'm working with a camera that I have much tougher time with. Anyway, it's a start right!