Year in Review

I was reading the LA Times Calendar Year in Review and felt compelled to make my own. 2010 was an interesting year, so here are some highlights through my favorite photos:

A few trips here and there...

(John Wayne Airport, Santa Ana, CA)

(Pakistan)

(Monterey, CA)

(San Francisco, CA)

Lots of birthdays...

(My nephew at his 2nd birthday, March 2010)

(Albertsons marble cake is a staple at any birthday in our house)

My first trip to the races....

Experiencing Tom Petty live (albeit short...better than nothing, right?)

(Hollywood, CA)

A visit to my childhood home....

(Orchutt/Santa Maria, CA)

The opportunity to shoot some cool places....

(The Getty Villa, Malibu, CA)

(Fiesta de las Flores, Los Angeles, CA)

My first gig...

(Carlsbad, CA)

A few drives up the coast....

(101 Freeway)

And a new start...

(My engagement ring...and chipped nails in OPI "You Don't Know Jacques!")

2010 was pretty great. Wishing everyone a happy holiday season!

The Motherland

I will be leaving for my 8th trip to Pakistan next Wednesday. One of my cousins is getting married, so my mom and I are flying out to attend the festivities. It seems each trip back, the conditions worsen but I enjoy myself more. On my last trip, the electricity was gone the majority of each day and because of the political turmoil, we were advised against going out to the main plazas too often. I'm hearing that this year, the electricity situation is even worse. I don't mind sitting around in the dark with candles, catching up with my family, but there are a few major setbacks from a lack of power: no email, stress from trying to preserve all battery operated devices (cameras, hair straighteners, etc.), going stir crazy from a lack of entertainment, no email...

I'm getting ready for my trip and thought I'd share some photos from my past two trips in 2006 and 2008. Consider it a preview because I'm sure I'll be uploading heaps of photos once I get back.

Shopping, inside a fabric store

Sight-seeing...I believe this is the Shalimar Gardens in Lahore

One variation of a taxi

Power outage

Minarets during sunset

The Lahore Fort

A shoemaker on the side of the road

Goats outside the day after rain (in the small town where my grandmother lives)

A house of cards I built during one of the many power outages

At the bazaar (in Lahore)

A view of the Badshahi Mosque from the Lahore Fort

An old room at my Grandma's house that is now basically storage. My grandparents used to sit in those chairs.

I'm pretty excited to experience my first wedding in Pakistan, as well as take photos with my new camera. Anyhow, be sure to check back in with the blog because it should be updated, even while I'm gone! xoxo

Past, Present, Future

image via amazon

Strega Nona was my favorite book as a child. I think I checked this one out every time I went to the library. It had an unusual plot compared to most other books about bunnies or puppies, and I loved the illustrations (especially of the overflowing pasta). I remember reading it and actually being able to smell the spaghetti. I wish I had a hard cover copy of it today.

I've been wanting a cat for awhile now. I want to adopt one when it's this small and let her grow into a slinky housecat. 

image via flickr

There's definitely a cat in my future family. We'll name her Rio and maybe make her wear a little bell on her collar.

As for the present:

 

4 and 3/4 years

Sometimes, when I can't sleep, I stay up late doing fractions in my head...

A fortune cookie:

So maybe those words were borrowed from Marcel Proust, but I don't mind.

Another lovely Saturday.

Nostalgia

I've had a fascination with hotels since the first time I stayed in one at age 2. Something about staying somewhere so luxurious and carefree still resonates with me to this day. When I was younger, my dad travelled a lot locally for work and as a result, stayed in a lot of different hotels. This picture is of a note my dad brought back for me when I was 3. I was so happy when I realized that I had saved this sentimental heirloom all this time, almost 20 years.

I was a spastic kid so my dad had a lot of funny nicknames for me.

I was cleaning out my room today and took some time to go through some boxes (which is when I found the old note from my dad). I have about 3 or 4 different "memory boxes" that have filled up with old cards, pictures, notes and little keepsakes from throughout my life. I've always been pretty sentimental and so I have trouble throwing things out. What's neat about it now is that I'm old enough that some of this stuff is truly nostalgic. Here are a few other things I found:

That's me, about 8 years old. Obviously I didn't take this picture but I always liked it.

A sweet (albeit cheesy) friendship bookmark my best friend gave me in 5th or 6th grade. The note on the back is so cute.

A card I bought awhile back just because it reminds me of me and my 3 sisters.

We used to have a larger version of these elephant figurines from Pakistan when I was much younger. On my last trip back, I had to buy these because they reminded me so much of my childhood.