your opinion please

I entered a photo contest, the grand prize -- Film is Not Dead Workshop Scholarship. There are a few rules. You had to shoot film, and you were to capture Utah in one photo. I decided to be bold and try out my brand new Holga camera for the contest. After 2 rolls and some expensive processing these are the only 2 shots that even remotely turned out. (And yes I did have a minor heart attack when shuffled through a bunch of black pictures.) I had decided to not enter the contest, after all it should be your best work right? Mr. Reece convinced to just go for it, so I chose the first image that you see below.

Here's where you come in, do you think I should have submitted this at all? Can you tell what either of these images are and if so do they "capture Utah?" Should I have submitted the second image instead? Let's have it, your honest opinions.

san clemente

We went down to San Clemente, CA with the Tieks for some much needed sunshine and beach time. We didn't get much sunshine but the company and the beach were still fantastic.



Jackson's version of "see no evil." He had some great facial expressions.




Could these kids have been any cuter? My goodness that family has adorable children. Who by the way, don't ever really cry or fuss, they just spend their days being sweet. May I be so lucky.




We got to go to Huntington Beach on probably the coldest day of our weekend. We still had lots of fun and this kid had the time of his life burying himself.





Kenny and Jill took us to the Beach Pit (which I may have misheard the first time and thought we were headed to the Peach Pit and I got really excited. If you get the 90210 reference you will understand my excitement.) The food was delicious, best cornbread I have ever had. I am still thinking about it. One of these days we will have to go back and go on an eating tour of SoCal with Kenny and Jill as our guides. Those two know where to find good food.





Luke and I took off to Glendale to have some authentic Armenian food. Luke did some research and found Palmer International Cuisine, which is a hole of a restaurant with the most amazingly tacky decor maybe ever. But the food is just delicious. Luke was in heaven, he really hasn't had good Armenian food since his mission. It was one of the top 10 meals I have ever eaten, and that is saying something. Armenian food is just tremendous.



Our last night was spent having a great meal (thanks Brady's) on the beach. The men played a rousing game of Bacce and I ate my body weight in s'mores. Needless to say a perfect end to our trip!





The drive home was long, everybody was pretty worn out. And may I just say, Cohen may be the best traveler ever--he was absolutely delightful the entire drive down and back--he complained less than I did and he is only 14 months old. I salute your parenting Tieks!




If you are ever driving just outside of Baker, CA you should really stop at this Market. It is surprisingly clean and air conditioned inside. Plus the staff alone is worth stopping for.
A huge thank you to the Ward's for letting us stay in their beautiful home and introducing us to Swirlz! And thanks to the Tiek's & Brady's for a great time in California!

salt lake polas

slc

Just off Pierpont, Salt Lake City.

a girl can dream

OK, I would LOVE to go to this! If you haven't seen Johnathan Canlas's work you need to go here immediately (and when you look at it keep in mind he ONLY shoots film, it's amazing.) Oh I want to go SO bad! Any ideas on how to earn a crap load of money in a short time?

pola

an open letter

Dear TBS,
You used to be so reliable. I would turn you on and I would be greeted with a little Seinfeld, Friends or Family Guy. I didn't even mind when you started airing Yes Dear. I could always count on you for some good old T.V. watching.

But now, I can barely count on you. Why all these new shows? House of Payne, Meet the Browns and The Bill Engvall Show. Really TBS??? They are just terrible.

And that goes for you too Food Network. I mean Cooking for Real, Guy's Big Bite, Big Daddy's house (the always awful 30 minute meals *shudder*) I would rather watch a marathon of Semi-Homemade with Sandra Lee.

I guess I will just have to start reading.

Sincerely,
A disgruntled basic cable watcher.

vintage

Yes, we are still cleaning out my Grandma's house (I mean they lived there for 63+ years, it's going to take awhile.) Today I got around to photographing my Grandma's amazing collection of dresses. Many she made herself, many that have a story of how she miraculously found them on sale in her size and just in time for whatever fabulous party she was going to attend. I am about a third of the way through and then it is on to her jewelry! De-junking has never been so fun.

I thought I would add this picture of Chloe nestled in my mothers wedding dress. She always finds the most comfortable spot to rest!

summer bbq

It's amazing summer nights like these that make me wonder if I can handle yet another long Utah winter. We had a great BBQ the other night made even better by Dan, Nicole & Presley! So glad we could get together on their visit to Utah. Such good food and great friends make me wish summer would never end.