WBW

This was taken on my third press trip through Executive Traveler magazine, along Highway 1 on the Big Sur Peninsula. I was lucky enough to be given the royal treatment on this trip, along with my best pal, Collins, who celebrated her 30th birthday Monday (woot woot!) We traveled by stretch limo along the coast, sipping champagne, having our driver stop any 'ol time we wanted, taking photos, pinching ourselves in disbelief as to the awesomeness of our surroundings.

We actually hiked to this spot overlooking the falls (tipsy on all that champagne, mind you.) I fell in love with this view. Not only because I'd never seen a waterfall drop directly into an ocean, but also because the wild flowers were in FULL force! This is Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. She was apparently an amazing woman. Living alone with no electricity, traveling by horseback, days each way to gather goods to supply her homestead for months, at least, that's what our limo driver told us, but who knows how hard he'd been hitting the bottle on our journey :)

(click on this picture to really take it all in)

This photo also reminds me that, regardless of fancy lenses or cameras, a photo is all about capturing memories, random moments in time. It's amazing the feelings and sounds and smells that come flooding over me when I see this, and it's great confirmation that I took amazing photos back before the super cool camera and the expensive lenses. It's all about how I, personally, view the world and my surroundings. And how I can share that with you.

Here's one last photo from that journey along Big Sur. Happy Birthday, Cole!

Way Back Wednesday

Today, we travel way far back in time to 1996, when Mama Sharon's Aerostar traveled to Iowa City. Yes, Billi, Laura, Meghann, & I decided to try out college for a weekend. I hope you get as big of a kick out of these photos as I did while scanning them.

Oh yeah. Remember making banners and crap in computers class?! (they should have called it Typewriting Class.) It was on that paper where you had the rip the edges off? Ha! I remember Meghann (or someone) making up a song to the Red Hot Chili Peppers song "It's my Airplane" and instead we sang "It's my Aerostar!"
I remember Melody being around that weekend, but I never really married that Mel to the Mel here on the blogosphere until recently. These photos reminded me of how awesome it has been to reconnect with all of you G-H Pirates via blogger. It is also proof that we all have a shared history, memories that only we understand. I love you girls.
Oh, Billi's big yellow coat. How awesome was that thing!? And Meghann is wearing a down coat that we found in my dad's closet from the late 70's. Sweet.
Yes, we are drinking wine coolers, I am wearing camouflage, and we are sharing a recliner. And Brooke is wearing lipstick. Crazy! Brooke & I always laugh that in a lot of our photos together I look like I am her "bitch." She always has an arm around me or is showing some sort of possession. I like to think of myself as a trophy sister.
This was also the weekend that we went to a football game and Brooke had an allergic reaction to something (what's new, right?) and her lips blew up as big as Camille Grammer's! She had to walk back to the dorms and everyone she encountered along the way told her so she should dump that prick.
I remember that we thought that it was awesome that everyone had dry erase boards on their dorm room doors. Billi decided to decorated the Tamster's (that was Brooke's secret nickname for her freshman year roommate.) Be sure to look closely to see what she has drawn on the board. Surprisingly accurate, Billi.
We thought we were so cool taking public transportation places. Ha!
Ahhhh, Pokey Sticks from Gumby's! The best part of visiting Brooke in Iowa City. Pizza Delivery! What a fascination for us small-town gals. You mean, they'll deliver pizza right to your dorm room?!

Galva Holstein, Galva Holstein
Is our battle cry!
Come on, Black Pirates
Fight for G-H High!

raindrops on roses & whiskers on kittens

This past week's theme was all about the comforts of home. So here are a few of my favorite things that are found in my home:

This is a felt rain cloud with prism rain drops from my dear friend Aimee. She purchased it from etsy from an artist in Italy and I love it. I hum the Winnie the Pooh song every time I see the prism rainbows dancing around my dining room.


a gift from my sweet sister, this is a copper dancer that hangs from my front porch. It spins and twirls in the wind. I just love it.


All I wanted for Christmas was a set of good wind chimes from Woodstock Chimes. www.chimes.com/ These were from Santa and they are tuned to the perfect pitch. The first week with them I noticed the sounds constantly, but now it's become a soothing backdrop to our lives.


my first ever purchase from the kentuck festival in northport, alabama, the coolest outsider art festival in existence. www.kentuck.org/festival.html


These stacks are the lucky winners to be read in 2011.


a Christmas gift from my mama, purchased from Uncommon Goods. www.uncommongoods.com/
Witch balls draw the negative energy from a living space, and this one has done a great job of doing just that.


view more of my treasures at flickr.com/photos/libbadibbado

Can I See Some ID?

I think it's time for an Intervention.

frozen

On Monday, I experienced my first "snow day" since 1999. It was awesome. Here are some photos I managed to capture while sliding around on the "wintry mix" of snow/ice.

way back wednesday

This is another attempt at a weekly walk down memory lane. This one motivated by the picture frame application on my iPad. It randomly scrolls through your pictures throughout the day, creating a digital picture frame of your memories. I've always been fascinated by digital frames, but not eager enough to purchase or ask for one. Simply because I take SO many photos, and to whittle it down to whatever could fit on the frame's tiny hard drive would be a nightmare for me. But I've become more conscious lately about only keeping the photos I'm in love with, so it's been easier and easier to narrow down my yearly albums on iPhoto to consist of 365 photos or less (sometimes a little more.)

This photo was taken on one of Piper's first hikes as a puppy. She had managed to scramble up a creek bed, and rather than try to scramble back down to the rest of her family, she decided to just sit there and cry. Piper is an expert at crying. Although now that she's lost her big 'ol fluffy puppy belly, she's not as nervous around gravity.

The Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) by Arcade Fire

This week's Theme from the Bottom was Lyrical Photography...interpreting the lyrics of a song through photographs.

So first, listen to the song I chose:


And then, see how I interpreted the lyrics, with the help of my homegirl Mary Claire:

They heard me singing and they told me to stop.
Quit these pretentious things and just punch the clock.
These days my life I feel it has no purpose
But late at night the feelings swim to the surface.
'Cause on the surface, the city lights shine
They're calling at me, come and find your kind
Sometimes I wonder if the world's so small
That we can never get away from the sprawl.
Living in the sprawl
Dead shopping malls rise like mountains beyond mountains
And there's no end in sight.
I need the darkness, someone please cut the lights.

I Need Something Around My Neck

When we were in North Carolina over Thanksgiving, Taylor kept saying she needed something around her neck (since I spend most of MY time with a camera around my neck.) So just to see what happened, I gave her my point and shoot camera to play around with. It was hilarious to watch her run around and try to figure out how to snap photos, and even funnier to see the stress play out on Brooke's face.

I was recently going through photos, and realized I hadn't downloaded or done anything with all the pictures Taylor took, so I am pleased to announce the birth of Taylor Amys Photography. What an interesting angle and perspective she has on the world.

blue ridge

Just some pictures taken this past weekend. To prove to myself that I can just take pictures to take pictures, even if they're not specifically for the blog or Themes from the Bottom. For me. For fun.