I'm leeeeavin', on a road trip, don't know...

Well, actually Ido know when I'll be back: Tuesday. In the meantime, Anne and I will be sweatin' it up at the Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce & Arches national parks, and any other beautiful place we drive by in Arizon/Utah. Blogging will happen when free wifi comes along so do check back to see if we've gotten lucky!

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(Image via Destination360)

It's always more fun to cook for others.

I rarely feel inspired to cook when it's only for myself. Having guests, whether overnight or for a dinner party, provides me with the perfect excuse to play in the kitchen. On tonight's table: chicken breasts stuffed with a variety of cheeses and garlic, wild basmati rice & caesar salad, and a crisp sauvignon blanc. A couple bites of Anton Berg chocolate that Anne brought for me (with marzipan & nougat--yum!) was the perfect sweet to end the night.

There's this thing about Danes...

They LOVE to be outside. Like many places around the world that are cold and gray for a large part of each year, when the sun finally shows it's face, out flock the people and off come the sweaters and shoes. Within an hour or so the green spaces around the cities become filled with folks turning their faces to the sun, soaking up all those photons and vitamin-whatever. It may be only 40 degrees outside but by golly, if there is sun, they are there!

I was only able to take off work beginning tomorrow through next Tuesday, so Anne has occupied herself by going for walks/runs and sitting on my back patio or front porch like a sun-worshiper (after only 2 days, she's got a good base tan going). After lunch today I dropped her off to hike to the waterfall in Monrovia Canyon Park, and off she went, happy as a clam to be outside, in nature, soaking up that 100+ degree sun. Crazy girl.

Makes me sweat just looking at her. Her concession for the heat (which she admits is on the warm side) was to wear sandals instead of hiking boots.

Anne is here!

It's been four years since our last visit (I was in Denmark for a wedding), but it feels like no time has passed. Always the mark of a good friendship, I say.

In what was surely the first of many "Stand there and be fun/funny/cute/pensive" photo shoots to come during her 2-week visit, Anne and I took Hugo for a little walk. She passed the "Stand there and be fun/funny/cute/pensive" order with flying colors and got herself a few new photos for the all-important Facebook profile.

VOTE: What's in a Name?

To supplement my income in the coming (lean, grad-school) years, I'm considering a few ways to use my photography hobby, from selling still-life prints on Etsy to submitting items for use as stock photography (and maybe one day, in the far-off-distant future, actually charging people to take their picture, maybe). So, with these goals in mind, I need a name for my "business."

I've been thinking of this for a few weeks now and have found the decision to be quite difficult. There's the traditional route of incorporating some variation of my name with the word 'photography', or there's the creative/meaningful route where a word or two, combined with 'photography' perfectly expresses my vision for my work. Unfortunately I've not been hit by a wordsmith tornado, and am unable to come up with something cool, that's also meaningful. So, until that day, I've decided to settle for the traditional route.

So that's where you come in! Please vote by commenting for which name variation you like best:

1. Kelly Shaw Photography
2. Kelly Ryan Photography
3. Kelly Ry Photography
4. One-of-the-above-but-substitute-the-word: 'Photo' or 'Image' or 'Clicks' or 'Pictorial' or other synonym for photography
   
5. Fill-In-Your-Own-Creative-Name

(For those of you that didn't know, Ryan is my middle name and something I use as a nickname or last name on occasion. 'Kelly Ry' is a nickname I've been given by various people throughout my life.)

J'adore!

J'absolutely adore!

Do I have to wait to have a child to own this mobile? Can't I have it now?! (I'm totally serious.)

Happy Father's Day, Pops!

(More here.)

FINALLY! (& an impromptu art festival)

Success!

Upon the advice of a security guard I spoke with on the phone Friday, I headed back to Downtown LA yesterday afternoon to finally get in to see the Bradbury Building. Though smaller in scale than I expected, the windowed ceiling, wrought iron staircases and open elevators were just as cool in person as they are in photos.

Unfortunately for you, dear reader, this (amateur) photographer was not able to truly do the building justice, so I kept only a couple token photos to prove that I had in fact been there. Thanks to the guard on duty (who took pity on me as I snapped away from the bottom floor), we were able to go up in the elevator to see from the top floor, normally an area off-limits to visitors.

Charlie Chaplin sits guard at one of the building's entrances.

While there, my friend Brandi was willing to pose for me, and was very patient as I tried to get my camera to work properly under the unique lighting conditions.

Following our brief trip downtown, Brandi, Sara P & I headed to Paseo Colorado for dinner, only to find the annual Chalk Art Festival in full swing. This was something all of us had meant to see for years, but never made it by for a visit. Mixed among the cartoon-like drawings were some very skilled artists whose chalk paintings-in-progress were amazing to see.

So, in summary, I recommend a visit to see the Bradbury Building in person (just call first to be sure they aren't closed for filming!), as well as a walk-around at the annual Chalk Art Festival. You won't be disappointed with either activity.

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(More from our afternoon here and and of Brandi here)

Friday Movie Night

As I looked at my calendar yesterday, I realized that in less than 7 weeks I will be driving north-eastward, on my way to Chicago. Almost seven weeks sounds like a decent amount of time, or at least it did until I realized that after this weekend, I'll basically be out of town for the 4 weekends following (entertaining a friend from Denmark who is visiting for 2 weeks, road-tripping to the Arizona & Utah deserts, sunning in Catalina, and visiting with family & friends in Oregon.) After I'll that I'll have just two weekends to go, both of which will surely be filled with packing, visiting, goodbye-partying and more packing & visiting.

This whole moving/goodbye thing is bittersweet: excitement at the new adventure that lies ahead, mixed with sadness at the reality of leaving everyone here. Which is why last night's casual dinner and movie night at Denise & Matt's was all the more special.

Simple salads, frozen pizza (which we all agreed sometimes just hits the spot) and candy to munch on during the movie, made for a perfect Friday evening.

Recipe Test: Strawberry Lemonade Bars

Last night Rama & I tested the recipe for Strawberry Lemonade bars that I had recently posted about.

A few thoughts...The shortbread dough required more flour than it called for to reach the "crumbly" state (I stopped adding extra flour after an extra 1/2 cup, for fear the crust would be too dry, so I reached only the pasty state). Once baked the crust was flaky and crumbly, a consistency I like. The strawberry/lemon mixture came together easily in a blender (as opposed to the food processor the recipe called for; Rama's was packed away) and poured smoothly. We found the 2nd baking time required an extra 10 minutes than the 23 it called for a fairly firm custard layer.

We were too impatient to chill them properly, waiting only till they weren't warm anymore. Although the recipe didn't call for a dusting of powdered sugar, I think the sweet was a nice compliment to the tang.

Our final verdict: the bars were definitely tasty, though Rama--a self professed lover of lemon bars--declared they weren't necessarily something she would crave. All in all, a fun summer treat but not something I'll insist you try.

PS. Strawberries are $.99/pack at Dogwoods Market in Monrovia right now and they taste great. Cherries are also a bargain at $.99/lb.

The Big Picture

For those who love National Geographic style photography, whether capturing or just viewing, here is a treat for you:

The Big Picture

Photo Books

For those of you that have made photo books using online companies (Blurb, Shutterfly, My Publisher, Creative Memories, etc), I have a few questions...

• Who did you use?
• Did you like the resulting book? Would you use them again?
  
• Any tips you learned along the way?
• Any companies you would not recommend?
• Any other thoughts about photo books?
  

Uh, roomie...?

I'll replace it. Promise. It just called to me (well, half of it did). And I answered.

Photographic Evidence of Several Things:

(Slide the bar left and right to see the evidence)

1. Girls in junior high are often taller than the boys (See A, L, M)
2. My niece Bailey has great legs (See A, E, H, L)
3. Boys and Girls start to get along again in junior high (See B)
4. They also know how to ignore each other (See F)
   
5. Bailey has younger brothers and knows how to tell boys what to do (See C)
6. Boys make funny faces when standing on a stage accepting an awards (See C, D)
7. Most Junior high'ers dislike standing on stage accepting awards (See E, H)
8. But they secretly sort of like the attention and at times, can't help but smile (See L)
9. A firm, confident handshake is something one should learn early. (See G)
10. Bailey is cute. Shy and cute. (See ALL, but especially I, K, M, N, O, Q)
11. Bailey's hair is made of spun gold. (See J)
12. Bailey makes her little brother do her dirty work (i.e. telling me she doesn't want any more photos taken) (See R)
13. Rat tails exist outside of the desert (See R again)
14. Bailey is an Outstanding Citizen, Outstanding Achiever in 'Career' elective, has perfect attendance and (not shown) is an Outstanding Reader (See S)
15. Taking pictures indoors in poor light, without good flash equipment, no matter how good one's camera is, is one of the most frustrating and unsuccessful photography endeavors. EVER. (See A-R)
16. I need to relearn my A-B-C's (See lack of 'P')

(To see the photos Flickr-style, go HERE.)

How adorable are these?!

Pacman and Robot cupcakes! I can't decide which I like more; rhe Robots are so sweet, Pacman nostalgic.

(Found via Cupcakes Take the Cake)

Tour of Downtown LA: An unexpected character building exercise

A walking tour of Downtown LA has long been on my list of 'Places to Go. Things to Do' before I move. Yesterday Denise & I headed downtown, starting at place #1 on the Los Angeles Conservancy's self-guided tour, the famed Biltmore Hotel. Once the largest hotel west of Chicago, the building maintained it's ornate Beaux Arts style as seen in the ceilings and walls.

From there we walked to the Los Angeles Central Libary, which had an amazing children's wing, complete with minature tables and chairs, an amazing globe lamp and detailed ceiling and old-style card catalog (which I didn't capture, but Denise did!). With an entire room the size of Monrovia Public Library devoted just to picture books and a puppet theater, this would be fun field trip for those of you with young kiddos.

From the library we headed to One Bunker Hill, formerly the Southern California Edison building where we saw the lobby. (Security clearance was required for any further touring.) This wasn't the highlight of the tour, but there was a cool mural across the street.

We then hiked it uphill to Angel's Flight, a currently non-operational tram-like system. Other than discovering a cozy park and a plaza with outdoor concerts on the weekends, this wasn't the highlight of the tour either. We soon moved on to Grand Central Market, an indoor bazaar style market with stalls of varied ethnics products from Mexico to China, from fruit to pharmacy (and the fattest pigeons ever!). Although we did not shop, I'm sure there were bargains to be had.

Walking through the market to the other side was like walking into a different country. Gone were the towering downtown structures, and suddenly there were street vendors selling icecreams, quincenera dresses, knock-off handbags, jeans and shoes, and electronics. And right in the middle of all of this lay the pearl, the jewel, the primary reason Denise and I embarked on this tour in the first place: The Bradbury Building. Several years ago I came across a photograph of this building, filled with skylights and iron staircases. It instantly captured my attention and I've always wanted to explore it.

In response to the asterisk on the tour website notating that some buildings were occasionally closed from tours for use in filming, I contacted the Conservancy a month or two ago to determine whether it was possible to know in advance, when certain buildings were closed. The woman assured me that filming was rare, usually done on weekdays. In her 6+ year in working there, the Bradbury Building has "never been closed on a Saturday."

Do you see where this is going?

Sure enough, as we approached the doors, eager to go in and see the magnificent, light and iron filled building with our very own eyes, we were greeted by computer printed signs on 8.5"x11" paper stating simply, "Closed due to filming."

Oh, the horror! The travesty! The immense disappointment! Outside the Bradbury Building we met a set of parents and their adult son, to whom I petitioned for their mutual disappointment and complaints. It turns out it is their other son who was inside directing the filming of "500 Days of Summer." Their apologies (after mentioning they'd been inside to see the building yesterday...), while sincere, rang hollow in the face of the annoyance we felt as I recalled the Conservancy lady's famous last words: "Never been closed on a Saturday."

It was at this time that the soreness in our feet and backs after walking for several hours began to penetrate and we petulantly decided to skip a tour of buildings 7-13 on the self-guided tour ("Who wants to see the stupid 'Farmers & Merchants Bank' anyway!", one of us vented maturely.), so we headed home, declaring the day a loss.

It wasn't really a loss, obviously. I got to experience a piece of Downtown LA, see parts of it I didn't even know existed, and build character in the face of disappointment. (You can bet your bottom dollar I. WILL. SEE. THAT. BUILDING. before I leave!) And best of all, I was able to spend time with one of my dearest friends as we tried to capture what we saw with our cameras. While not my favorite or best pictures ever, they will forever remind me of the day I learned not to trust the word of the lady at the LA Conservancy. And if one of us claims that the highlight of the day was lunch at the libary's Panda Express, just ignore us.

Flags

In Denmark, the national flag is used as a symbol of celebration for everything from birthdays, to anniversaries and graduations. As the Chicago flag is so great, I may just start to do the same.

Angry Little Girls

Yesterday afternoon Bailey and I headed to the mall to spend birthday money I'd given her last month. I saw these 'Angry Little Girls' brand totes at one of the stores we stopped in. They cracked me up.

Shoe Envy

Molly is the queen of finding adorable yet still comfortable/flat shoes. Case in point, this sassy yellow pair (photo by M):

I could never pull these off but on Molls they'll look adorable.

(New post, M! :-)

Found it!

If you've seen the latest Acura commercial and sat transfixed by the cool music, wondering who the artist is, have no fear, I've sleuthed it out:

Let the Drummer Kick by Citizen Cope

(Also used on SYTYCD. I love the inter-web.)

And the re-decorating begins...

I finally picked up some new bed pillows last night. (The color isn't completely accurate here; they are a little cooler in tone than the photo suggests.)

For down-pillow inserts and quality covers, they were a bargain at $16 from Home Goods. (I'm going to miss Home Goods! While I can't stand riffling through clothes and such at Marshalls or Ross, I'm content to sort out the good from the bad at H.G.)

Now...what paint color goes well with these pillows, white shirred bed cover & pillows, and in a small room directly off the kitchen?

I HEART Lemonade

These sound divine, as if God himself placed his hands upon the head of this baker, filling said baker's mind with wonderment and delight, a love for summer, and all that's inspired about combining tangy lemon with luscious strawberry (already a favorite beverage combination of mine), all into one shortbread-crusted, gooey dessert bar. (And no artificial colors!)

Behold! Strawberry Lemonade Bars

(Image via Baking Bites)

Happy Birthday, Raja-Roo!

Raja Rydman turned 1 this past Saturday and was well-celebrated with friends & family, cars and food a-plenty.

What a great honor to have been a part of your first year of life, Raja-Roo!