NYC: PART 2

Whoa. Didn't mean to miss out for almost an entire week!

Well...better late than never, I guess? Here's Part 2 of our trip to NYC, which was definitely one of my favorite days. Starting out the day, we met with a friend who used to live smack in the heart of Manhattan, and who now bought a home in Astoria. She took us to IchiUmi, which has an amazing seafood buffet. If you're a sushi lover, this is your place!

After lunch, we walked down 5th Ave, which I loooved wandering on, even though our Texan selves clearly weren't used to upper state speed walking.

Pretty spots were all over the place:

It had been cloudy the day earlier and in the morning, but the sun peeked out for a little bit. Finally.

Last time we went to NYC, it was right around Christmas time. Everything was freezing and sloshy (but it still was beautiful), and we only took the subway. This time, we just took the cabs. It's amazing how much more of the city we saw! Well...and how much emptier our wallets felt after one cab ride.

We just walked for what felt like eternity on 5th Avenue. Of course I noticed every single flower and wanted to take a thousand photos, much to my husband's dismay. He was sweet and let me do it anyway.

I'm that person that takes multiple shots of the same things and then pick through everything when I get back. Takes me absolutely forever to wade through photos sometimes.

It's worth the effort, in my book!

Nest up for tomorrow: the public library. :)

NYC: PART 1

Hi!

Okay, technically we got back from New York on later on Sunday, and I was completely meaning to post. I got so excited with all the flowers blooming that I was tempted to blog the first day I was in the city, but ended up not doing it.

My husband jokes that all my shots pretty much look the same...flowers in front of buildings. He's 93% right.

In honor of the blooms, here is a little digital abstract illustration from me to you:

And of course a few of my similar-looking photos from day 1:

It was sort of funny because I promised myself that I would wander around the city alone, eat at great spots alone, and take photos all over the place. This is what happened the morning that I walked with my husband to his conference and then "set out" on my own.

1. I started darting around streets, partially afraid that I'd end up on a halfway-sketchy, unpopulated street.
2. I sort of did end up on streets dotted with people here and there.
3. Got a little turned around in the big city.
4. Attempted to find a great spot to eat once I was no longer lost, got overwhelmed with choices, and ended up at...McDonald's. Yes. Lame, I know.
5. Squirreled my way back to the safety of the hotel and waited to meet up again with my guy.

ADVENTUROUS, right?

I think I shot under 10 photos that day. Ha!

At least I have more to show you from the rest of the trip...and yes, I finally did explore the city like a normal person once my courageous partner was by my worried side.

I decided to spare you the documentation of the oatmeal with mixed fruit at McDonald's, delicious as it was. I did, at least, take note of the pretty flower market outside my spot looking out of McDonald's windows.

I'd take this pretty palm home any day of the week!

How has your week been? Has spring reached you yet?

HEADING EAST

Hi guys! Sorry it's been a little quiet around here. I've been desperately trying to get over a little cold so that I'll be a-okay for a city other than San Antonio starting tomorrow! We're going East and...

YAY! It's only for a few days, but I can't wait. My guy has a conference there, and so for my day alone, I can't wait to spend most of my time drawing and reading in coffee shops and walking around the MOMA. The rest of the time, I have the boy all to myself, so we can wait to explore.

We went with his side of the family a few years ago in the winter and escaped before that giant snowstorm hit, and it was beautiful. I think it'll be an entirely different world this time of year. Any suggestions on places to go or eat?? I'm all ears.

This weekend I was elated because like I had promised myself to do new things, I actually learned to write my first lines of code! This book is a winner, folks.

Anyway, I need to see if the weather's going to be somewhat warm, but I have a feeling the mornings are going to be waaay colder than I'm used to this time of year. We're already hitting the 90's in Texas...I can FEEL THE HEAT, for sure.

We dropped off puppy to our in-laws while we all met in Fredericksburg, our halfway point between San Antonio and Abilene. Fredericksburg never disappoints, and we got to enjoy lunch together under the shade, look at handcrafted furniture, and literally smell the roses (and snap pictures, in my case).

Well...I'm going to go fill myself up with antioxidants and vitamins now. Not to mention, start packing!

You better have a great week! Ya hear me? :)

xoxo

I SHOT THEM.

Through the lens, of course.

Introducing two of my favorite Asians:

Of course we wasted time at the chicken coop (which we loved), and we lost track of time before roaming outside for a mini photo shoot. I squawked when I realized the sun was going down, squealed at the girls to change out of chicken clothes, and grabbed my Nikon and mud shoes to chase down the last rays of the sun.

We ended up with pretty good shots, if I must say so myself! But you know, it's probably because my subjects were very cooperative and born with beauty.

I have a slew of fantastic photos of these two and had the most ridiculous, difficult time narrowing down and editing. Hence my tardiness today. Yesterday was just a sloth day, so no excuse for that...

At first I was a "Danie Downer" because I was mourning the loss of the sun, but I actually love how we improvised and ended up with a great contrast with the puffy pine tree against my dear girls. Guess that shows that I should take things as they come instead of trying to control everything.

I think we were out shooting for only a total of less than 20 minutes, but these girls were great sports and ran like the wind when I told them to, ha! Of course we tried to be serious, but sometimes it's just so hard not to break a smile...especially when two sweet tiny Asians are running like the wind in their dresses and flip flops with a semi-Asian-white-girl following their heels in mud shoes with a camera swinging around her neck like a giant, bangled necklace.

I never thought I'd enjoy shooting people as much as I do, but it turns out that it really IS so much fun. Big thank you to these couple of sweeties for letting me put their pretty faces in my portfolio. You two are dear to my heart.

PAMINAR...OR JAMINAR

Hey there! How did your weekend treat you?

Ours was SUPER lazy. I think we took at least three naps...and long ones, at that. Total bliss.

I have two more days to show you of our Austin trip! Today, I'm showing you what a "Paminar" looks like. Pam, known to us as "Mama Pam," (our Chinese adoptive mother and my friend's mother-in-law}, is very crafty and holds what they playfully named Paminars every so often with friends and teaches them things ranging from how to knit baby booties to how to make homemade jam.

We kept messing up the name Paminar and calling it "Jaminar," but I suppose the name could be used interchangeably.

I feel like I haven't done art in FOREVER, so here is a little gif for ya! We made raspberry mango jam, which Dave (Pam's cowboy-teacher husband, aka "Cowboy Daddy") generously spread onto his own homemade breakfast biscuits for us, with fresh eggs from the chickens included.

We were spoiled, indeed!

Good thing I was holding a bulky camera, otherwise I would have tried to steal a raspberry or two.

Isn't their kitchen adorable? I told you it was country! That awesome river stone wall only cost $10 for the materials!! The previous owners wanted a rock wall and talked to an owner of a quarry, and they were told they could take as many rocks home as they needed in a truck bed--$5 per load.

I would have guessed that wall would have been in the thousands.

I think they may have used frozen mangos to cut down on time...I can't seem to remember.

Here's Mama Pam scooping out the blended fruits from her food processor. I have to say, after staying with them, I'm kind of coveting a food processor now. Oh, and a big KitchenAid mixer.

My Chinese team! These ladies are super cooks.

Mama Pam has a book dedicated solely to jam. I need to take a peek at it next time I visit...

In order to make sure the jam will preserve, you have to twist the cap on and wait for it to make a popping sound. Then you have to let it cool.

El fin!

Of course, I'm terrible at doing multiple things at once, so I didn't quite hear all of the instructions while I was snapping photos. Guess I'll have to invite myself back to the country to re-learn, huh?

MY OCEAN SKY

Happy Friday! I was walking the pup this morning and saw this beautiful skyline outside the house. I felt like I was sitting right by the ocean.

I was planning on making a painting of this to share for the art + story this week, but I think the photo is so pure. I still think I'll do a huge scale of this photo in a painting one day...

This one's called "My Ocean Sky."

When I can’t be near it, I can still see its blue tides up in the sky.  I can feel its rolling waters rush toward my face in the breeze. The sounds of the moving tides swell and ease, always up and down. It never fails to calm my nerves when I watch it blend into the serene horizon.

If I ever forget how small I am in this big world, all I need to do is find the ocean, and I’m whole again. 

***

Have a great weekend, guys! See you all back on Monday with more photos from the country trip. :)

COUNTRY ASIAN INVASION: PART 2

I think the last time I rode a horse was back in...high school. You can't imagine my excitement when I got to snap photos of these pretties getting ready for the ride.

The day started out overcast and airy. Absolutely perfect!

It was adorable how the sweet horses huddled together in hopes of going for a ride. Only three ended up going, but they all squashed together anyway.

I also got to see a horse wash for the first time. A little different than a car wash or dog bath, ha!

Some beauties just came up to get sprayed, like Rhiadda shown above. She made me giggle.

And so did the weird angles of their noses when I took photos pointing from the ground up. The one is Rio.

I could hang around these pretties all day and be content snapping away.

The horses matched their saddles, which I thought was such a pretty touch.

  

I looove the detail...of the beautifully faded saddles, woven blankets, and of course the horses themselves.                            

They even have their own special name tags. 

You can get incredibly close to them, and they're so calm and sweet. They usually just stand still and breathe on you.

Ahhh, I just love them all!

Unfortunately, I don't have photos of us riding them. It's probably not the best idea for my clumsy self to try to balance on top of a horse while riding downhill on rocky ground, so I opted not to take my camera in the probable case that I would somehow fall of my horse and crash to the ground (camera included).

I'm so happy to have these shots to remind me of the time before the riding, though! 

What about you? Have you ever been up close and personal with a horse?

COUNTRY ASIAN INVASION: PART 1

Okay, I said I would come back today with the beginning of our trip, and then I miscalculated a dinner with friends, so of course here I am at the very end of the day. Ever do that?

BUT, here I am anyway! :)

Thought I'd start out with a look around the country home and its lovely mammals.

This is the first turn before the windy street leading to the home. Look at all those gorgeous, poofy trees! We were all just in time for the spring bloom.

This is such a country house. Very Texan-inspired, indeed. Wrap-around porch, rocking chairs, metal stars, and slate floors included.

At this home, horses roam free and walk right up the the windows daily. See the little miniature horse in the right photo? This particular little guy took the time to come up to me while I was crouching to get a shot to nibble the top of my head. Try not to laugh when THAT happens!

I'm not kidding when I say the horses walk everywhere. It's amazing how sociable they are.

Adorable, frail dogs also make their way outside with human assistance. This is Chili. She's like over 100 in dog years. Poor, sweet thing!

I'm so in love with it all...

The feel of the warming sunbursts...

The details of the prickly cactus...

...the sound of the horses' hooves as they make their way toward you, and the sight of the trees slightly swaying in the sunlight.

I seem to slip in and out of a relaxed coma when I see sights like this. Be still my heart.