je voudrais être en france

in the summer of 2005, i had the amazing opportunity to go to france with a group of 30 girls ( oh, and 2 boys! :) ). it was one of the most spectacular things i have experienced in my life and i hope i can do it all over again with friends and family and something other than a disposable camera. i went back and looked at the photos i took on the trip and am truly amazed at some of the shots i got ( even if they were taken with one of the crappiest cameras made. i know some of you are thinking umm you became a photographer but yet you went to france with a disposable camera? yes, yes it's true. and i'm completely okay with how it happened. i love me some film grainy images! ). it just goes to show, the camera doesn't make the photographer! i studied french for 7 years throughout high school and college ( 2 more classes and i would have had a minor in college! ). i love the language and i miss speaking it! it's amazing what i can still remember though, i think i would be much better now as communicating there than i was when we went.

i remember the night at sacre coeur. it was one of our first sight seeing adventures and i was completely in awe of it's vastness. sacre coeur means "sacred heart" in french and is a catholic church. it's located in a little town of montmartre and is the highest point in the city. it gives beautiful views of paris.

we spent all of our evenings at dinner in groups at long tables eating whatever they put in front of us an gleefully drinking wine ( we were only 16 at the time, such rebels! ) this is the group of girls i spent most of the trip with and they are some of the most amazing ladies you will ever meet! i think this night i remember we ate lamb stuffed in a stomach. needless to say, i think quite a few of us went to bed hungry that night!

the breathtaking sainte chapelle, a gothic chapel. it's quite a feat that the structure is still standing when so much of it is made up of stained glass windows. it is such a sight to behold.

when i think of paris, this is the typical image i think of, that typical french café on the corner. i love this image and i remember taking it secretly hoping it would totally capture what i imagine when i think of paris.

our chaperone ( madame strader ) insisted we wear money belts and carry our backpacks on the front when we traveled par mètro. looking back i know it was a smart thing to do but we felt so ridiculous and like such TOURISTS when we had to do this. hello americans!

i wish streets looked like this around ohio...

this is the whole gang in front of château de chambord. it was a hunting lodge for françois I and it had 84 staircases and 2 of those are separate intertwined staircases that you could go up three floors without ever meeting the person on the other staircase.

we also visited monet's home. how could you not be inspired by this amazing beauty he was surrounded with!

we ended our trip in nice and like they say, nice is nice! their rock beaches are fabulous! my first experience with a topless beach... interesting to say the least, haha. we were there during fête de la musique which was such a cool thing to experience. there are literally musicians set up all over france just singing, playing, jamming from all sorts of countries. we were particularly attached to an australian group who played american favorites :) 

i absolutely LOVE this photo. we were so excited to set foot in the mediterranean.

we also visited monaco briefly one day. it such a lush city!

* the title of this post means "i would rather be in france"

happy easter

i hope everyone had a wonderful easter! i know i enjoyed spending mine with family and yummy food :) here's a little easter basket i made with homemade reese eggs ( a family favorite ) and my fingerprint chick card.

grandparents say the darndest things: musharooms

we spent the day today visiting with my grandparents frying mushrooms ( or according to my grandpa, musharooms! ) he goes mushroom hunting every year when they come back from florida and hit the jackpot this year! these mushrooms are called spikes and snake heads and are super yummy when fried up. my grandma is the ultimate fryer when it comes to mushrooms ( and fish! ) so i wanted to record something that it such a special little thing that i will remember for the rest of my life. i love her recycling of her frito bag to flour them. :)

some classic jokes from grandpa today:

• "neeter hates paying taxes, she signs her name with a knife."
• "i asked him if he catches fish and he said 'i can catch them if i want' and i said well did you catch any today? and he said 'well i didn't want to."

water for elephants

i just finished reading water for elephants by sara gruen after hearing it was a new york times best seller and now made into a movie that will be opening this friday. it was a very good book and i can't wait to see the movie this weekend! i felt the book had quite a bit of wisdom written half in the eyes of a 90-something year old man so i wanted to share some of the lines from the book that stuck out to me. check out the book!

• "age is a terrible thief. just when you're getting the hang of life, it knocks your legs out form under you and stoops your back. it makes you ache and muddies your heard and silently spreads cancer throughout your spouse." 

• "when you are five, you know your age down to the month. even in your twenties, you know how old you are. i'm 23 you say, or maybe 27. but then in your 30's, something strange starts to happen. it is a mere hiccup at first, an instant of hesitation. how old are you? oh, i'm--you start confidently, but then you stop. you were going to say 33, but you are not. you're 35. and then you're bothered, because you wonder if this is the beginning of the end. it is, of course, but it's decades before you admit it." 

• "although there are times i'd give anything to have her back, i'm glad she went first. losing her was like being cleft down the middle. it was the moment it all ended for me, and i wouldn't have wanted her to go through that. being the survivor stinks." 

• "i used to think i preferred getting old to the alternative, but now i'm not sure. sometimes the monotony of bingo and sing-alongs and ancient dusty people parked in the hallway in wheelchairs makes me long for death. particularly when i remember that i'm one of the ancient dusty people, filed away like some worthless tchotchke." 

• "life is the most spectacular show on earth" 

• "it's just a crazy damned life, that's all..." 

• "it's no good. even when i look straight into the milky blue eyes, i can't find myself anymore. when did i stop being me?"

• "we lean against the wall in silence, still holding hands. after about an hour she falls asleep, sliding down until her head rests on my shoulder. i remain awake, every fiber of my body aware of her proximity." 

• "afterwards, she lies nestled against me, her hair tickling my face. i stroke her lightly, memorizing her body. i was her to melt into me, like butter on toast. i want to absorb her and walk around for the rest of my days with her encased in my skin. i want. i lie motionless, savoring the feeling of her body against mine. i'm afraid to breathe in case i break the spell." 

• "even so, i wonder whether our affair isn't obvious. it seems to me that the bond between us must be visible." ( i love this, i think that's how love should be. visible to those around you without making a show of it ) 

• "with a secret like that, at some point the secret itself becomes irrelevant. the fact that you kept it does not." 

• "and then i laugh, because it's so ridiculous and so gorgeous and it's all i can do to not melt into a fit of giggles. so what is i'm 93? so what if i'm ancient and cranky and my body's a wreck? if they're willing to accept me and my guilt conscience, why the hell shouldn't i run away with the circus? it's like charlie told the cop. for this old man, this IS home."

little things

i came across this website of all of the little things in life that we love so i decided to make a list of my own!

1. clean warm laundry fresh from the dryer
2. old photographs
3. laughing until your stomach hurts
4. holding hands
5. roadtrips with wonderful friends
6. dirt roads
7. good morning texts
8. goodnight texts
9. kisses on the forehead
10. people who remember me after only meeting once
11. singing in the car
12. watching cartoons from childhood
13. getting snail mail
14. being awake when no one else is
15. being a guest at a wedding (being a wedding photographer, i'm rarely a guest)
16. cuddling
17. gifts for no reason
18. sleeping in
19. new notebooks
20. when others treat their parents lovingly
21. ice cold water
22. nicknames
23. home movies
24. eating ice cream straight from the tub
25. sunshine
26. picnics
27. spontaneous trips
28. fresh shaved legs
29. dresses with pockets
30. chia tea
31. running 5 miles
32. bubble baths
33. a full tank of gas
34. handwritten letters
35. piggy back rides
36. when a person's laugh is funnier than the joke
37. waking up and not being tired
38. stepping on crunchy leaves
39. perfectly peeling off a sticker
40. freckles
41. sitting in a sun-warmed car on a chilly day
42. new friends
43. old friends
44. being lifted off the ground during a hug
45. catching that special person's eyes and both smile at the same time
46. late night talks
47. telling the truth
48. the country
49. growing a garden
50. little kids imaginations

cinnamon rolls... i'm in heaven!

making cinnamon rolls was the best decision i could have made today. they are so yummy and gooey and ohmygoodness i can't stop eating them! i will admit, they take some time to make but they are totally worth EVERY minute. this is the best recipe i've come across in a long time so i though i would share :)

ingredients - rolls

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup butter, softened

3 1/4 cups flour

1 (.25 oz) package instant yeast

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup water

1 egg

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1 tbs ground cinnamon

1/2 cup butter, softened

ingredients - icing

2 ounces cream cheese

7 tbs butter, softened

1/2 tbs vanilla extract

2 tbs milk

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1. heat milk in microwave for 2 minutes. mix in butter and stir until melted. let cool until lukewarm.

2. in large bowl, mix 2 1/4 cups flour, yeast, sugar and salt. add water, egg and milk to flour mixture; beat well. add remaining cup of flour gradually. when the dough has just pulled together, put it on lightly floured surface and knead 5 minutes.

3. cover the dough ball with a damp cloth and let rest for 10 minutes. meanwhile, mix together brown sugar, cinnamon and butter.

4. roll out dough into a large rectangle. spread dough with butter/sugar mixture. roll up dough and cut with unserraded knife in 1 inch rolls. place in lightly greased pie pan. cover and let rise for 30 minutes in warm place. preheat the over to 375 degrees F.

5. bake for 20 minutes. meanwhile make the icing.

6. beat together cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer until creamy. mix in vanilla and milk then gradually add the confectioners' sugar and salt until smooth and fluffy.

7. when cinnamon rolls come out of the oven pour icing over rolls immediately and serve warm and gooey. they will be messy!

ENJOY! :)

grandparents say the darndest things: welcome home basket

i've decided to start a section of "grandparents say the darndest things" because my grandparents have been known to have some of the funniest jokes and best tid bits of wisdom. they haven't even gotten back to ohio yet but their return has been known... for one reason in particular. my parents are going to visit my brother in san diego tomorrow which also happens to be the same day my grandparents will make their grand entrance into ohio and this brought one tough reality for my grandpa: he might not get his annual welcome home basket from my mom. every year my mom makes up a basket of goodies with everything from the staples of bread, milk and eggs to chocolates and beer (for grandpa), circus peanuts (for grandma), and any other item to help stock their kitchen when they return after being gone for 6 months. this year my grandpa was worried. so worried he managed to mention the fact that he might not get his welcome home basket from my mom this year to everyone he talked to. lucky for him, my mom would never let him down :)

my crafty grandma made up this little piggy stool topper. so cute! they raised pigs for many years and then went to raising only produce.

when i was a little girl my grandma gave me a start from her bleeding heart plant because i thought it was just the neatest plant. she showed me how to take a flower off and bend it down so it looks like the flower is a ballerina. ever since i have always seen bleeding hearts as upside down ballerinas waiting for their time for someone to pluck them off and let them dance their hearts out. 

i told my parents to act like they liked each other and this is what i get :)

spring is springing

it's beginning to feel like spring in ohio... well at least for today. okay, let's be honest, today felt like a hot summer day in ohio with high's in the 80's! and i am not complaining one bit. my grandparents will be back this coming weekend from their annual 6 month hiatus at their warm weathered home in the florida keys. so we went to their ohio farm and helped clean up so they don't have to worry about it when they get home. did i mention my grandpa's 90 and my grandma 86? you'd never know it if you met them! my grandma is a lover of flowers and i know she will be happy to see her daffodils in bloom when they return. it's so exciting seeing flowers and trees starting to burst to life in spring. i am ready for the warm weather and nights spent with bbq and friends on the screened in porch.

chomp chomp

meet zeebs, our absolutely insane 11 year old australian shepherd. he loves to chew on his bone and it makes us laugh. so of course i take pictures. he was in an extra excited mood today when i got home and the first thing he did was tear through my bed and start chomping away on his bone.

eatin' in athens

this weekend i got to see my girlies back in athens! i miss them so much so it was sooo great to see them. we just spent time hanging out together being girls :) and we ate lots of yummy food! ( another MAJOR reason i miss athens so terribly sometimes! ) when i'm in athens i MUST have the vegetarian chili from casa nueva and the french toast at village bakery. my list of great eats in athens could go on and on and on and... on and on and, you get the point! they are known for their local spots that use the local produce, meat, dairy and eggs which makes everything even more yummy!

here's a list of some more of my favorites and what i love to eat there!
salaam - the parmesan artichoke dip with pita
avalanche - barbeque chicken pizza
stephen's - warm brie with honey, almonds, and strawberries
bagel street deli - tom's turkey
farmers market - potato candy, fresh fruits and veggies

the photo of me and my friends was taken on this AMAZING piece of furniture called a love sac. soooo comfy! i love these girls and wish they lived closer!!!