Monterey Bay Aquarium

Fishies, penguins, turtles and lots of jellyfish!

Such a cool place to visit! Jellyfish really freak me out, mostly because of their alien resemblance (i'm deathly afraid of outer space, space travel and aliens), but I was taken aback by how vibrant and photogenic they are in a tank! I wish I had jotted down information about these sea animals, but I was too busy being snap-happy with the camera.

Plastic Man

Pacific Seahorse

"These Latin lovers tango by moonlight. In the afterglow of the California sunset, these seahorses twirl and tango beneath the waves. Couples rendezvous each night during the breeding season to dance and renew their bond."

- Monterey Bay Aquarium

I wish I had better pictures of this! More fishy pics from the Aquarium coming soon.

Solvang!

a.k.a. Little Denmark, just miles from where I was born (Santa Maria, California). We stopped for a quick lunch at the Big Bopper Drive-In on our way up to Monterey last week. Such a sweet little town!

**Not shown are pictures of the Hamlet Hotel (so nerdily awesome) that I did take but can't seem to find.

New York, Revisited

Just a recycled picture, one of my favorite photos I've taken. My sister's cat, Isobel.

Inspiration

It seems like everyone is traveling to Europe right now. True, it's summer, the season of travel. But I feel like every blog I browse or facebook page I come across (forgive me for citing a social networking site as source) is scrapbooked with European getaway pictures. It pushed me to look at pictures from my trip to Paris in early 2009. Looking back, that is when I caught camera fever and couldn't resist clicking at every building or monument I passed. I think Paris, in all it's photogenic glory, is responsible for inspiring my interest in photography. Here are my favorite photos from the trip:

The Hall of Mirrors at beautiful Versailles

Underneath the Eiffel Tower (obviously)

View from the 2nd level of the Eiffel Tower

A view from the bottom of Sacre Coeur

Galleries Lafayette

The Louvre

This is before I bought my DSLR. My little Nikon delivered pretty well on this trip (one of the few times).

2-4

Every August (right around my birthday!) Free People seems to release their best catalog. It's for the upcoming fall, so lots of cute layers, chic jackets, and rugged boots. Instead of a mental wishlist this year, I'm treating myself to a shopping spree. Here's what's on the list:




I like all of these, but I've settled on the Sergeant Street Jacket and the OTK Boot. When OTK boots started popping up everywhere last year, I never bought into the trend. I saw it done well on many people, but could never find the right pair (also within my budget) that suited my style. I love the laces and low heel on these. They remind me a of an edgier version of the old lady that lived in a shoe. Regarding the jackets, I don't really need a flared short waisted blazer (even though I love the collar and shoulders on the red tweed one) so I've decided on the Sergeant Street Jacket. The white looks great, but I know it'll pick up any dust, dirt, stains, etc. in the air so I'm going to buy it in navy.

I'm also still looking for a cute pair of penny loafers, but that will have to wait 'til another time.

Home Sweet Home

While I hate Long Beach Airport, my favorite part of flying in is deplaning--sans gate-- down those old portable stairs/ramps and breathing in the unbeatable California weather.

*We landed in Long Beach last night but these pictures were actually taken at John Wayne Airport when we flew out on Tuesday