Lovely Lake Michigan

If you have never been to Lake Michigan, pictures cannot do justice to how mighty this looks in person. I look at it and can't believe it's not ocean because that's the only thing I can compare it with. Vast is an understatement. This day was the windiest I have ever seen it there. The sand hurled at my exposed skin, pins and needles all over. I had so much sand in my hair days it was three days until I could scratch my head without feeling and hearing the tiny rocks. We had a glorious swim in the windy waves and picnicked on sandwiches, pumpkin and carrot bread and cheese with crackers. Then we stopped off at grocer's daughter for some delectable chocolate bars and truffles on our way home.

Got left behind hanging out with a monarch for a few minutes.

Searching for treasures.

I asked my grandma to pull over on the way home so I could get these two.

Blueberrie Picking

My grandma casually mentioned that she had gone blueberry picking in an email and I instantly knew that was something I wanted to do on my trip. It was a very close call as the season was drawing to a close and many of the bushes at had been picked over, but we each picked a substantial amount of berries. As soon as we got to our designated rows, she took off. I seriously had to marco, polo her to figure out where the hell she was. I thought she was avoiding the inevitable photo opt, but she said she has some kind of food harvesting in her blood and just goes crazy-- I think it was both. Good thing I'm nimble enough myself.

Lazy Days on the Lake

My time spent in Michigan this summer felt like no other trip before it; I felt a sense of connection with the place for the first time. It felt like somewhere I could relax and appreciate the simplest of things-- the wind in my hair, farm stand hopping, sitting on the deck listening to bugs talk.

I have a hard time relaxing, especially at home in the same environment that fills me with constant worry about what will come next. In TC, I am not the expert on the fastest way of getting somewhere, and it didn't concern me. This is what my first day of a much-needed vacation looked like. More to come.

Let's Get Down to Business

Why, hello. Today is the first day I have been able to sit down at my desk and roll up my sleeves in what feels like too long. I took a trip to Michigan and promised myself I would relax and not worry about blogging, planning, problem-solving or any number of logistical photography issues. Of course, taking photos was not included in the ban, so I have a ton of photos to get through that I will be sharing soon.

Yesterday, I felt the beginning of fall in the too cool evening breeze as it hit me. After spending a week full of swimming, farm stand heirloom tomatoes and warm nights on the lake I can honestly say, I'm just not that into it.

Time Spent Waiting

It seems like there's always one thing or another holding us back from what we say we will do: time. We don't have the time to work out, eat healthy, cook our own meals, or actually call someone on the phone. But we will never have that time we think we will have after [insert excuse] is over. When I was in school I thought that after graduation I would have so much more time because I wouldn't have classes and journalism assignments at random times of the day. Then I started working full time; not only did I not have the time I thought I would have, I was exhausted when I wasn't at work. Mind you, I sit at a desk all damn day.

I started this blog after much procrastination saying I was waiting until I "had more time." A year ago I sat staring at my first post, palms sweating at the anticipation of the first time I would click "publish." I didn't want to publish anything until I had what all the blogs I liked had. I wanted to be interesting, funny and relevant. I wanted to have a style and a voice. And, yeah, a few followers. But then I realized that the other blog writers had a major advantage over me: time. The time they spent thinking, writing and actually blogging trumped my worried obsession and lack of action. So I hit publish knowing that, much like photography, I would inevitably improve just by doing.

This photo may seem unrelated; Vegas is kind of the opposite of serious realizations about life. I took this photo last weekend from the balcony of our suite at The Cosmopolitan where we were having a bachelorette party for one of my best friends. This trip (and my subsequent recovery) is why, if you asked me, I have not had a chance to post. And yes, I am totally aware of the hypocrisy.

Thank you to all those who have read, are reading and will read this little blog of mine!

Yosemite

Here are some photos I took during a weekend in Yosemite with Stephen's family. We stayed in the valley and could see and hear Yosemite falls from the patio behind our room. It was the perfect amount of being outdoors but not roughing it for my liking. There were still bits of snow up on the mountains and lots and lots of orange poppies on the drive in, my favorite flower. The second day in the valley we rented bikes and rode all over the valley, which was so much fun!

 

Scottsdale

These are from my recent trip to Scottsdale, hence that cacti. I have been high on the stress and low on the creativity lately, so yesterday I decided to turn that around by photographing three recipes, editing photos and reading. I must say, it felt really good.