WELCOME

Hello friends! Please, come in take a seat. Let me get you a warm beverage and we'll talk. Green chair studio is my heart and passion. Photographing your personal bit of heaven --- your wedding.. your child or your pet --- is a gift to me daily. Would you like to meet in person for lattes to discuss your session needs/wants/desires? Pop on over to the website give me a shout and we'll calendar merge. By the way, I love hearing from you, so whether you are just stopping by, or are a loyal reader...leave a little comment. Hearing from you makes my day crispy and fresh!

Sunday, June 5, 2011

butter + honey | simple pleasures






one of my greatest treats is a heap of butter on an english muffin. my love of butter is border line obsessive. but i am particular. my latest love has been kerrygold imported irish butter - unsalted. the texture is out of this world.. it's sweet and i can add just as much salt to it as i like.

my salt? oh yes.. that's special too. murray river australian pink flake salt. The flavor is mild + it's flaked so it melts and covers each morsel of food with salty magnificence.

honey.. it's not an eveyday.. but when i do indulge it's been trader joe's organic raw honey.

this with a cup of tea? bliss.

i believe we must 'put on' the things that bring us pleasure. we must wear them, eat them, listen to them...daily. they give us a chance to breathe.. bring a pause to our day...and shift us to the present moment.

when i bite into that savory butter + honey drenched english muffin i can be no other place. worrying about the future? taxes? laundry? edits? nope. impossible.

i take my simple pleasure and i enjoy every sensation. i allow it to bring me to now and even if it's just a moment i can rest in that.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

life + healing | alma desnuda
















operation 'rest + recover' i called it. a trip i took last year.

i had been very sick and the process of recovery was slow. it was hard for friends and family to understand. or maybe it was just hard for me to tell them yet again i couldn't go out.

i was exhausted most of the time. i never knew how much energy i would have on a given day. even simple conversations were unthinkably too taxing. my diet was extremely limited. and i had a schedule of supplements to take that made being away from the house difficult.

all this made life in the 'real' world a bit tricky. i was tired of fighting, i wanted time to just be...to allow my body and mind to rest. to not have to explain to anyone why i needed to go sleep for 3-4hrs in the middle of the day, or why i couldn't eat.

and so i retreated. nine days in carmel valley.

during my time there i slept a lot. listened to deepak chopra recordings on healing + meditation. lay in the sun for 2hrs a day. cut off my internet and cell phone communication. and spoke as little as possible.

even with all that, i was feeling worse each day until 'hell day' in which i wished for death. thankfully it didn't come, and praise choirs of angels...i began to feel better.

next morning i slept in till 10, sunned and ate, took my meds, showered and headed into town.

as i drove thru the streets, windows down, enjoying the salty air, i was surprised to hear a cluster of sweet sounds coming from the library. i parked immediately and tromped over to investigate. when i got there i was greeted by this amazing joy-filled troupe of musicians {alma desnuda}. their music was jazzy, smile inducing, and delicious. in fact, it seemed to be infecting all who stopped to listen with waves of happiness.

when the song was over, i introduced myself and asked if i could post a few photos on my blog. best intentions aside, a year later i am finally posting.

if you haven't heard their music, please give a listen. it is sweet. www.almadmusic.com {latest happenings here -- almadesnudalive.tumblr.com}

because they have said it best, this is from their website:

'Four talented and tightly-bonded musicians strive to connect with their listeners to expand the reaches of their own songwriting while inspiring everyone they encounter to radiate positive energy. Their individual and combined works in spiritual exploration, natural healing, world travel, and volunteerism contribute to a sound that extends well beyond the music itself. And their showmanship leaves no crowd untouched.'

and i heartily agree.

everyone who passed that day was touched and uplifted by the music they shared. shopkeepers came out to listen, children tapped their tiny feet and life was a little bit better than it had been before.

thank you chris, tony, joe and paul for sharing your gifts.

peace and radiant blessings to you.

----

and then .. i went to the beach :)

Thursday, May 26, 2011

family | cathedral park





















i'm playing catch up this week...

this is a shoot that we did back in oh...i'm gonna say oct? :)

as you can see we had sun, warm weather and a rolicking good time. i LOVE a family that plays together and brings on the silly.

nate was a charmer and totally FULL of amazing kid energy. he pretty much ran non stop the entire shoot.

i think i collapsed in a heap when i got back to the car.

Happy days to all!!

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

heidi ho organics | vegan cheeze deliciousness



Smoked Gouda



Chipotle Cheddar



Monterey Jack



Feta



I met the founders of Heidi Ho Organics right as they were about to dive head first into vegan cheeze glory.

To say that their product has launched is an understatement....it has rocketed!

The cheezes are local/sustainable/plant based and DEEElish. If you are Vegan, they fill a void that other vegan cheezes have not quite filled. If you love the planet, awesome flavor and good healthy food, they will fill your tummy.

Require more knowledge about the cheezes?? Click on over to Heidi Ho Orgnaics and get fully learned.

Need to taste? Come to the PSU Farmers Market on Saturday or...

They are currently available at the following locations:
with many more on the way!


* Whole Foods Portland, OR (SOON!!)
* Food Fight
* Peoples Coop
* PSU Saturday Farmers Market
* Pioneer Square Farmers Market MONDAY
* Montavilla Farmers Market (Soon!!)
* Jazzkats Coffee

Saturday, April 2, 2011

tweed ride 2011 | portland

.tweed.

fun to say. fun to wear. fun to bike in? i had no idea this was a thing, to bike in tweed...but apparently it is. there are tweed ride events that take place annually not only here in portland but all over the U.S. and abroad.

details for this years global schedule can be found on the 'tweed report'

the portland tweed ride met up at nw 18th and front streets. it was kind of thrilling to see them all pedaling in....tweeded up peeps with pipes, hats, gloves, dapper duds of all variety.

there were two portland tweed rides this year, and while the ride last month had been virtuous. the ride today was all about vice. flasks, fishnets, pipes and garters were abundant...and appreciated.

while i attended tonight's tweed ride sans bike, i was inspired. next year i'm going to rock it out in my tweedy best...i can't wait!

p.s. if you participated in this tremendous event...leave a comment and let us know how the ride was from your perspective and where you all ended up!









oh yes..her bag is made of ... well.. remember this was all about 'vice' :)


then a band of rebel skate boarders arrived .... fabulous!


the pipes..although they maybe a vice...smelled delicious! almost like a toasty warm pastry.



oh yeah.. and me. thanks 'p' for taking a photo. i definitely need to step it up a notch if i want to do this next year. i'm kinda mock tweedy.


there were a group of tweeds collected the up side of front street and another by the water. they converged to one large group via this lovely trail.







'raaawwwr.. celebrate the tweed!'


and of course there were bubbles.. why wouldn't there be?!



gentleman taking a photo..


ok, two gentlepeople taking photos.. what am i missing here...


oh i see!






poor dear ... just a little late...everyone had already been mingling for an hour.. but he made it JUST in time!


and here they come! yey!!


because i don't have the heart to not post everyone's image.. or at least as many as i can...the rest of these are mostly for the tweeders. but please..if you want to peek and get inspired for next year.. view on young chaps and chappettes.. view on.

















'toodle pip...have a truly scrump·tious ride!'