***abbytryagain***

happy day

Thanks to all of you who donated and bought Second Storie Sets after my post yesterday!

I reached my halfway point with what I needed to earn and I feel truly blessed and grateful.

(If you are wondering what I am talking about read here.)

There are still some available if you are interested.

I feel a burst of joy at the prospect that I may just be able to keep on doing all of this after all. Some days blogging seems crazy to me; the amount of time and effort it takes can be a lot. But days like yesterday remind me of why I do this in the first place-I am so lucky and thankful to be able to share my thoughts and images with an audience who enjoys them. THANK YOU!

Okay-done gushing for now.

I hope those of you in the States have a fun and happy holiday! Good weekend to the rest of you around the globe...

Second Storie

Well, I said I have an announcement and I hope this one does not disappoint...I will (hopefully) be attending the Second Storie Indie Market this November in Rochester, New York! My dear blog friend, Shanna, has invited me to participate in this group of vendors that provide an amazing holiday shopping experience.

    They say it best on their website:

"Second Storie is Rochester's answer to a growing movement towards a new approach to art + craft.  We are bringing an edgier concentration of more current art + craft to our thriving creative community.

We are a small group of women working to create something much larger than us alone.  Our hope is to foster a sense of family among indie artists + crafters.  We're also super excited to provide a shopping experience unlike any other in Rochester, for those seeking something made with care and a conscience."

  I feel so honored to be able to be a part of a market with such talented people!

    Along with the holiday market, there is a very *special* event happening there but I am remaining tight lipped about it at the moment-more to come about that! I am so excited that I have the chance to travel across the country and meet with many of you over on the East Coast!

    As many of you know and some do not, I am a young married person and run this blog on top of maintaining a small online shop and working during the day at a retail job. My husband goes to school, so we live on a budget-but we don't drive a car and try our best to limit our purchases to thrift store buys or hand made things...but the price of maintaining blog fees and film processing is quite expensive every month.  So long story short, I need a little help with the travel expenses.

    As always, I plan on documenting the trip and the market to share with all of you, and will put the remainders in my online shop. Today I am asking for a little help. I have posted a "Send Me to Second Storie Set" of my two most popular photos. The set is $12 for the two ("lovely ladies" and "thistle" print) and have also added a "$2 donation"  button in my shop. If you read this blog on a regular basis, I'm asking you to please consider donating a couple of dollars so that I can participate in this event. Thank you so much!!

   I understand that we're all feeling these hard economic times-so sorry to push this! Anyway, thank you all for reading and enjoying this blog. I really take joy in posting every day and reading your kind words and comments. I hope to be able to participate in more events like Second Storie so that I can meet more of you face to face!

    Anyway, I guess I'm done now. Thanks for reading and being here!

cori's studio part one

I couldn't tell you the first time I noticed Cori's presence. She's one of those people who can shoot a photo and instantly you know it is one of her's. She can write a simple blog post that'll be in your head for days or find something at a thrift store that is equal to treasure.

For the past year or so, I've been lucky enough to call Cori a friend. She and I have similar things in our past and it feels nice to be around a person who can understand those "quirks". Cori's studio is far out on the opposite side of town and for some silly reason I had never visited until last week.

When we walked in I was in awe of all of her gorgeous goodies. Cori runs an online vintage shop as well as her handmade shop so her studio is filled with ephemera, books, tins, teacups, neat boxes, beautiful fabrics pretty much all things beautiful...you can follow her blog here.

I had fun poking around-hope you enjoy these photos! More to follow....

Tomorrow I have a BIG announcement! It's a surprise and I'm gonna need a lot of help!!
Eek!

Until tomorrow....

bowl of cherries

Not much to post about today, I am feeling my summertime allergies in full force.

But I am loving this blog with a funny name : jollygoo.

I especially love this post with the video at the end. Please watch it-it made my day!

And don't forget to check out the summer social blog. If you are going to be in Portland at the end of July-we hope you can make it.

print+press, 06

The June edition of print+press is now available!

This month features a photo I took while on a small trip. These bikes were available for rent and screamed summer to me. I wish I could hop on one right now and ride along the beach...This month, there is no process page, we're taking a break!

To read more about this project read this page.

To see all of the month's pairs, check out this page.

I will be selling all of the print+press pairs next month at the summer social sale. This week at the summer social sale blog I will be posting about all of the vendors-so keep an eye out!

******
thank you for all of the kind words about the lavender photos..you guys rule.

(p.s. summer sale in my photo shop ends wednesday. type "summer" at checkout for 20% off everything)

lavender fields forever

The other day James and I made a trek out to Hood River Lavender Farms.

We were just a bit early, the lavender should be in full bloom in the next few weeks-but it was still a gorgeous sight!

Camera in tow and scissors in hands we roamed the organic fields and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. The farm allows you to cut your own flowers and you can also buy a variety of lavender goods at the tiny adorable gift shop.

The fields are surrounded by orchards and picnic tables and benches dot the area. I imagine waking up and drinking some coffee in one of those blue chairs and taking it all in-that's the life!

The owner was such a sweet woman and told me she offers wreath making classes on site. You can check out their blog here. Also, on July 11 & 12 the are having a big festival with bands vendors, and of course-lots of lavender.

I wish I could send you the smell!

***********************************************
I'm taking tomorrow "off" (as far as the blog is concerned) and will be back Monday with the newest installment of print+press!

(also...not be totally obnoxious but-don't forget about the previous post...the sale in my shop is going on and I'm still looking for advertisers!)

five sense friday

tasting:

ahi tostadas with cabbage, black beans, and avocado

home made strawberry ice cream

seeing:

bright nasturtiums popping up around the neighborhood

fields of gorgeous lavender with a stunning view of Mt. Hood behind them (more soon!)

hearing:

(you know I had to post this) this video

"for today" by the avett brothers

touching:

the fern like texture of astilbes as i cut them from the plant

the slight burn of chemicals in a small wound as i try and make a polaroid transfer

smelling:

the soothing smell of the lavender bouquet i cut and brought home

the dampness of the ground around a waterfall

****************************************
If you post a five senses post please feel free to link to it in the comments! Have a lovely weekend everyone.

little things

Here are some bits we've recently collected. Did you know that I usually go into more detail about my photos themselves over at flickr? If you're interested about what camera I'm using for what or things about the photo that always a good place to check for info. I love comments here-sometimes Im' just slow at answering them.

Jena is hosting a giveaway of my photos over here on her blog Modish. Go enter if you'd like! I must admit, I'd gotten a bit behind on the giveaway mailings-but I am caught up now and excited for this one. It's a big one.

Today I'm shooting photos at a lavender field in the mountains-oh I am so happy just thinking about it! I'll share soon, I am sure. Happy Thursday to you!

little fears

I have a lot of thoughts swirling around in my head right now.

Thoughts about new projects and new ventures.

Along with those come some fears.

Jena's post here is an enormous help right about now. Seriously...

*******************
The poster is finished!

Thank you, Chelsea!

summer color

One of my favorite things about summer in Portland are all of the colors that come along with it. Sunset is late, which means that photos can be taken all day long. For an obsessive like me, that is awesome. Believe it or not, all of these photos above were taken in the evening after I got off of work! In the wintertime I have to shoot before work hours but now it seems as though the days are endless...

****

I'm glad you enjoyed the link love yesterday. A couple more for you. The lovely Alisha led me to Dust clothing. I'm enamored with Oklahoma and the dust bowl era and these clothes.

****

Today is my friend's birthday. Go tell her to have a happy day! She deserves it :)

****

(also...not be totally obnoxious but-don't forget about the previous post...the sale in my shop is going on and I'm still looking for advertisers!)