Camera Decor

I've been longing for a camera for so long I can't even think about it anymore. I've been blessed and fortunate to have the use of the best cameras around thanks to Garrett and Matt but, they're not my own. I haven't really been longing, I guess, if I was to be totally honest. Thinking about is more accurate. Thinking about how nice it would be.

It really is fine for the time being though, to not own my own camera, but I saw something today that made me want one right now! I guess their doing their job as a company if out of my seeing their product I actually considered buying one even though I don't own a camera to put it on.

Take a look and tell me you don't want one too!

(click on the photo to see more)

Cathy's Sassy Sauce

I met Cathy a while back through my Ladies Who Launch group here in Marin, CA. She can often be seen in bright bold colors, hot pink is an absolute. She looks you right in the eye when she's talking to you and listens right back. But best of all she IS sassy. No doubt about it.

Her goal from joining Ladies Who Launch was to start a business she had been thinking about for some time. The making and distributing of "Cathy's Sassy Sauce". It's a grilling sauce that you use on ribs and she's been serving it up at the tail gate parties of the 49'r football games for years. This is one of those stories where people have been telling her forever that she should market the sauce. She took their prodding to heart and is on her way.

When I met her, she was in need of a logo/brand and after talking for a bit she hired me to be the designer for the job. One of the first things I told her I had to do, was taste the sauce. I didn't want to start designing for a food product I hadn't sampled. I mean, what did "sassy" really taste like? I had to know.

She dropped off a jar of the sauce which is chunky and a deep rich orange in color filled with spices and butter and yummy things. Matt and I promptly grilled some ribs that night and tasted for ourselves. I wasn't sure how the boys were going to react. They can be picky about "sauce", especially Mason. Miles has a deeper taste range and can eat things on the spicy side but not Mason. So, we grilled and served and this is what I wrote to Cathy that very night:

"We just got done licking every last drop of sauce from our fingers after swirling them around on our plates to make sure that we didn't leave any to be carelessly washed down the drain!
It's delicious. Even the boys, who are about as picky as you can get loved it."

There you have it, the sauce is AMAZING! She's in the throws of production right now. Trying to have a kitchen batch process a sauce is a delicate and difficult process. I was hoping to wait to blog when the jars were labeled and available but I couldn't wait any longer to share the logo design. I just love how it turned out and she's absolutely thrilled.

When developing the logo we started with an apron and grilling tools and over time and conversations to get a feel for who Cathy truly is, we landed in a completely different place. I found out that there was the possibility of other food products to be offered which changed my thoughts on the logo. I wanted to allow the logo to be versatile so that we could change the word "sauce" to something else that she might offer. I think it turned out successful. Here's the logo for "Cathy's Sassy Sauce".

37 Years Young

37 years ago a baby was born. New and fresh and a wonder to the hands that held him so tightly. He grew and changed, became a person in the world with desires and tastes and opinions. That boy grew into a young man who happened to cross my path. As we walked along that path it meandered side by side, sometimes close together and sometimes farther apart but always parallel. Now that path has become a helix strand of it's own unique DNA. It intertwines and follows itself around and around and around.

Matt, I am fascinated by you. By watching you just be, who you are. You are kind and loving, respectful and humorous. YOU, are the whole package. I know it, my family knows it, my friends know it. It's almost as if you twinkle. That there is a light inside of you so special and unique that you sparkle. To be the lucky woman who is allowed to experience you each day, to have had two amazing boys with you, to experience this life with you, leaves me awe struck.

When I think about the time we've been together it seems like so much and so little all at the same time. Maybe that's part of the whole Einstein theory about relativity and how time is folded on top of itself. It feels folded when I think about things like my children, my childhood, being with you.

Recently I was inspired by the documentary on Sally Mann. The way she captured the spirit of her children on film. How artistic the images were. Not just photographs but stories that bring you so deep into each one. I wanted to capture our children in that way for you for your birthday. I envisioned taking their pictures individually, without you there, but I should have known. I should have known that of course you would be there. You and I create such beautiful things together that of course you would need to be a part of those photographs. I absolutely love what spontaneously happened last weekend and am grateful to have captured it on film. The love between you and our boys. The love they feel for you and me behind the lens taking the picture. We are all there, together.

Happy birthday my love.

Love Heart One and Love Heart Two

Recently, our close friends Erik and Ericka, asked us if we would have their daughter Amelia over for a couple of days while Ericka had some minor surgery. We absolutely LOVE Amelia so it was an immediate yes to the question. Mason and Miles just about touched the ceiling from jumping up and down for joy. This was to be officially our very first sleep over.

The afternoon and evening were perfect. Everyone got along, played well together and marched up the stairs for bedtime without a hitch. Thank goodness!

In the morning, Mason requested that they have a special treat and asked if they could have breakfast in the boys room. They have a great table set up in there so I thought, why not?! Let's keep them happy! was my main focus, and if eating in a new spot was going to do that, fine by me.

As the day was progressing I had a thought that it would be cool if they made something to remember this time. Something that they could each have and play with that would bring back great memories of a fun time together. I thought about what type of supplies I had to use and then it hit me. I have a whole tub of felt! Tons of it in all sorts of colors and bags of pillow stuffing. The felt was from making letters for names and the stuffing was from the days of clouds hanging in Mason's room when he was a baby. It was perfect.

My mom and I sat down with the three of them and started designing their monsters. They picked out their colors and shape of the body. I pulled out the sewing machine and got to work. Now, mind you, these aren't anything spectacular, and I have friends that make WAY cooler stuffed animals than these, but for a morning with not much to do and the need for a project, it worked out great.

Miles unfortunately wouldn't let me photograph him or his monster. But it looks like a cloud monster with dangling legs. It's name is "Bad Guy" said in a gruff lowered tone of voice really fast. It's hysterical to see him say it. He lowers his chin and gets a scowled look on his face and kind of purses his lips together. Priceless really.

Mason, when asked what the name of his monster was, without hesitation answered Love Heart. There we are with Mason's big heart and huge chunk of goodness just oozing out from his very being. Even his monster has a name filled with love. Amelia followed suit and said her monsters name was "Love Heart Two". That right there pretty much sums up the relationship between Mason and Amelia.

Here are some photo's of the little monsters.......alive and stuffed.

And for those of you who would rather buy a cool stuffed animal/monster instead of make one, here's a link to a friends site filled with creatures just waiting for a new home. Urchin Circus

A Walk On The Beach

Walking on the beach calms me. It always makes me think and reflect on life and the world around me. The ocean, so big, deep mysterious, calling me to walk right to the edge and feel the water brush against my toes. Sometimes it gets me to just run right in and dive through the waves.

I could stay at the beach for hours, and sometimes I do. Just feeling the sand, hopefully warm, beneath my feet, between my toes, pouring through my fingers as I scoop a bunch and watch it fall. There is something so peaceful about being near the ocean and hearing the waves crash against the sand. It's like deep, loud soothing breaths. inhaling as the water is pulled back into the ocean and exhaling as the waves come crashing on the shore.

Peaceful, is the perfect way to describe the images of a new client, Ellen LeRoy Photography. Ellen contacted me a while back about my design services and when I checked out her sight I couldn't wait for her to contact me to design an album. When she did just that a couple of weeks ago, I was eager to get started. I opened her folder of images and the photographs were beautiful. They were of a family of 6 plus 1, the families cocker spanial and all of them were adorable.

She asked me to design the album with most but not all of the photographs she provided and to scatter some quotes that the family had selected throughout the book. I love incorporating text with images! I felt so trusted to be given a document with about a dozen quotes and to have the freedom to select the ones I liked or thought went the best with the photographs.

As it happens most of the time, the book just began designing itself. Highlighting each of the four beautiful daughters on pages of their own, honoring the parents with a spread and a beautiful quote, ending with the family walking away down the coastline. I even gave their sweet dog it's own spread and added a quote that I found that just seemed to fit perfectly.

There was only one round of edits and minor ones at that. Simple, beautiful and yes, peaceful. A day at the beach, beautifully captured by a wonderful photographer. Here are a few of the spreads:

Click the following link if you would like to see the complete layout. Ellen LeRoy Album

He Loves Me

It was an ordinary day. An ordinary Thursday. We woke up and ate breakfast. Got dressed and did morning chores. It was a soccer day for Mason so we headed out to the field in Novato where he learned about defense. Everything seemed just as it always does. Miles and I rooted Mason on from the sidelines and then when it was over, headed home to figure out the rest of the day.

The beach, a walk, stay home..what to do. It was far too beautiful to be indoors so we had a pow-wow to figure it out. Miles voted for the beach and Mason voted to stay home, even though that wasn't an option. So, I did the only thing I could think of and suggested the pool. Two thumbs up and a packed picnic later and we were out the door.

We arrived and sat down on some lawn chairs. Being Thursday in the middle of the day it was pretty empty. We ate and talked and then submerged into the 1 1/2' deep kiddy pool. After spending a good chunk of time in the water, enough for their lips to start turning blue from the wind chill that came every now and again, I decided it was time to take a break and sit in the warm sun for a bit.

We bundled in our towels and sat on our lounges and relaxed. And then, it happened. At first I didn't realize what he said. Miles looked at me and said something with his mouth full of goldfish. I asked him to please wait until he was finished chewing and when he did, he said it. All by himself. Not in response to me for the first time, ever.

He said, "I love you".

Three simple words that melted me into a puddle of water that could have run right into that little 1 1/2' deep kiddy pool. Sigh. My heart was happy.

I wish I had a photo from our day that showed him in his swimsuit with his hair blown from the wind so blonde that I wonder if anyone even thinks he belongs to me. But, I have this one. A little snapshot of the two of us. Happy and in love.

Planning Your Wedding

It seems like just yesterday that I was planning my wedding. Invitations, the location, the all consuming guest list and of course, the dress! So many details to think about and finally decide upon, only to change because I found something better during my late night hours of flipping through magazines and websites.

Organizing all of that information was a task in itself and Yes, I had the BINDER. The big fat binder of tear sheets and print outs and samples. If you had asked me if I was the type of person to have a binder I would have vehemently and adamantly told you N.O.! No way, not me! And yet, there I was with a nice thick binder that I made pretty with ribbons down the spine. Of course.

But, now, the internet is so much bigger than it used to be and people are so much more "green". The internet houses so much more. More websites, more photographs, more information! And the great thing about it is that it isn't wasting a single piece of paper. How nice is that?! You can do everything online from ordering your shoes to your menu to selecting your location and of course choosing your photographer. Not a single scrap of wasted paper. And, in this environmentally conscious world we're living in, not wasting paper can help you sleep just a little bit better at night and when you're wedding planning, every extra wink counts. ;-)

If I were getting married now, today, as opposed to the almost 7 years ago I will have been married this coming August, I'm sure I would be doing things differently. Greener to be exact. But how, how do you find all of those vendors that want to help you plan your wedding in the most earth conscious way? By finding websites like this one:

http://www.thegreenbrideguide.com/






Matt stumbled upon a video of an interview with the founder, Kate Harrison, and thought I should investigate. This could be a way to market the new eco-friendly album I'm producing. An email led to a phone call and now I'm listed on their site!

Check it out. I'm listed in both the "Books" and "Invitations and Stationary" sections of the site along with a ton of other amazing vendors ready with tips and products to help you create the wedding of your dreams while gently impacting the planet.

And just as a little "tid bit" of information, this is from their FAQ's section of their site that I found interesting:

Are conventional weddings really that bad for the environment?

There are 2.5 million weddings a year in the United States, with an average of more than 150 guests each. When you add up all of the stuff that goes into weddings (single-use bleached white dresses, chemically treated imported flowers, toxic makeup and skin care products, mined gem-based jewelry, individual packets of rice, etc.) you see that the environmental impact from these events is enormous.

For example, if every wedding this year used a disposable aisle runner and they were laid end to end, they would circle the globe twice! Similarly, the amount of paper used to make invitations could cover the island of Manhattan. The bottom line is that every green choice makes a difference - no matter how small.