Saturday, May 30, 2009

After the rain

This hibiscus plant is going to keep me occupied all summer.



Friday, May 29, 2009

Inspirational photo of the week, Week One

I read a LOT of photographer's blogs, so I see many amazing photos on a regular basis. But sometimes there is a shot that just takes my breath away.

Like this one.



The old-fashioned style gown, the coloring, the rocks, the water in the background - I don't know what it is, but I absolutely love this shot. Anna Kuperberg, wedding photographer extraordinaire, took photos of this couple at their wedding, and the following day, which is when this one was taken.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

My weekend of solitude


Wedding season is in full swing, which means lots of showers, bachelor/bachelorette parties, rehearsal dinners and of course, the weddings themselves.

Geoff is headed to Montreal for the weekend for his best friend Scott's bachelor party, which means that I'm on my own for the weekend (except for Chasey of course).

On a side note, when the hell did bachelor parties turn into bachelor-destination-three-day-weekends? Because it's gotten quite excessive. I won't even tell you how much Geoff is spending on this weekend, but suffice to say that it's enough to buy me a very nice designer handbag.

In the meantime, I plan on shopping (if he's spending money, so am I!) and trying to take some good pictures. I'm thinking about taking a trip to Valley Forge Park or maybe somewhere interesting in Center City to play around. If you're in the Philly area, any suggestions?

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

I heart Flickr



I have to tell you, the discovery of Flickr sometime last year has changed my life. I'm now pretty much obsessed with updating my photostream, checking my stats, stalking my friends' pictures, and finding new photographers to follow.

So if you're on there, check me out and if you add me as a contact, I'll do the same.

Good news/bad news

The bad news is, the holiday weekend is over and I used up a vast majority of my vacation time for the honeymoon, so I probably won't have another day off until July 4th. I need to move to Europe or some place where they get like two months of vacation time. That would suit my lifestyle much better.

The good news is, it feels like Monday, but it's actually Tuesday. Here's hoping that this week flies by. Hey, I can be optimistic, right?

Monday, May 25, 2009

April showers bring May flowers

I've been a little bit obsessed lately with taking macro pictures of flowers, hence my post last week. Geoff and I visited both of our parents' houses over the weekend, so I checked out all the interesting flowers I could find!

Here are some of my favorites.





Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Memorial Day! As usual, the long weekend went way too fast, and I'm dreading going back to work tomorrow. But at least the weather was beautiful, and we took full advantage of it.

No Memorial Day weekend would be complete without some grilling, and ours was no exception.

Friday, May 22, 2009

My idea of perfect

It's the Friday before Memorial Day weekend and I'm bored, so I figured I'd share some more about me. Did I mention I'm bored?

Everyone has their own idea of perfection. Here's mine:
  • The perfect outfit: In my fantasies, a Diane von Furstenburg dress. In reality, jeans, heels and a cute top probably from Banana Republic.
  • The perfect meal: Steak and my mom's German noodles.
  • The perfect hangover cure: Sleeping through it. And if you must get up, Wendy's.
  • The perfect road trip: Having a destination, but no schedule. Driving local roads with interest scenery.
  • The perfect facial feature: I love eyes. They're the window to the soul and all.
  • The perfect drink: Depends on the day of the week. Either Diet Coke or wine.
  • The perfect song: Bruce Springsteen, Thunder Road.
  • The perfect sign of affection: When my husband kisses me on the forehead.
  • The perfect afternoon: Not working.
  • The perfect vacation: Something that involves lying on the beach under an umbrella, with a fruity drink in my hand.
  • The perfect invention: Cell phones.
  • The perfect type of wedding: One big dance party.
  • The perfect album: Oh dear, don't know.
  • The perfect accent: Irish or Australian.
  • The perfect date: Trying a new restaurant or activity.
  • The perfect weather: Early fall. Still warm, but not unbearable. Cool enough in the evenings for a light jacket.
  • The perfect party: Good friends, good food, good music (preferably from the 80s and 90s).
  • The perfect sport: Baseball.
  • The perfect thing to say: I love you.
  • The perfect day of the week: Saturday.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Out in the garden

Neither of us are expert gardeners by any means, but we've got a little flower bed that's doing pretty well. I took these after work yesterday.



Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Photography crushes

You may have noticed that I have a growing linkroll of photographers that I love. These people impress me constantly, and inspire me to learn.

I'm always looking for new blogs to follow and photographers to crush on, so who do YOU follow? All suggestions are welcome :)

I'll leave you with this gorgeous picture taken by the fabulous Jasmine Star.

A tortured soul



If she could talk, I'm sure she'd be saying "Mom, why are you bothering me while I'm trying to relax?"

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

My reading list



I have so many books that I've collected over the years, that I'm running out of room on my shelves. These are some of the books that are waiting to be read. I recently discovered a site that lets you trade books and other media for free, which is helping me clear out some old books and make room for new ones!

Monday, May 18, 2009

Through the years

Geoff and I have known each other our whole lives, which means that there are quite a few amusing pictures of us over the years, ranging from high school prom to college parties to graduations and so on. Here are a few of my favorites.


Geoff's high school graduation party in 1999. He hates this picture, but I think it's adorable. And he's not the one sporting the braces with colored rubber bands.


My junior prom in 2000.


At Geoff's 25th birthday toga party in 2005.


In the middle of Central Park in New York City, circa 2005.


Sledding in the middle of a snow storm in 2006.


Last but not least, an engagement picture taken by a friend's mother last year.

I think that's enough nostalgia for one post. New pictures that I took last week and over the weekend to be posted soon!

Friday, May 15, 2009

Our new toy

As I mentioned, I just got married recently. And instead of getting jewelry or another typical wedding present for each other, Geoff and I bought this:



It's the Canon Rebel XSi and I couldn't have asked for a better wedding gift! We both love taking pictures and have gotten some great shots over the years with our point-and-shoot cameras, but we've been dying for an SLR. Geoff got a fantastic deal at Costco that included a second lens, so we've got lots to play with.

The camera takes beautiful pictures, but we've still got a lot to learn. I'm hoping to find a photography class so I can really learn how to use it the right way.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Furry family members



Meet Chasey. She's a black lab/American bulldog mix that Geoff adopted when he was in college. She's about 7 years old now and she's a sweetheart. She's definitely an intimidating looking dog, but she just wants to make friends with everyone. Except other dogs, but that's another story. As you can tell from this picture (one of the first that I took with our new camera), she loves her stuffed animals, which have taken over the first floor of our house. I can only imagine what it will be like when we have kids with their toys everywhere!



Meet Molly, my parents' dog. Molly is a 4 year old goldendoodle that my parents got during my senior year of college. Molly has a heart of gold, and not a mean bone in her body. She's very photogenic, so you can definitely expect to see more pictures of her popping up. I took this one a couple years ago and it ended up on Stuff On My Mutt, which is a fun site if you've never seen it.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Our honeymoon

To start off, here are a few pictures from our honeymoon in Riviera Maya, Mexico. I can't take credit for all of the pictures, but most were taken either by Geoff or myself.


The view of our resort on a walk down the beach. The beaches were badly eroded a couple of years ago by some hurricanes and they still haven't really recovered.


That kind of shade can lead to some interesting zebra-esque tan lines.


The obligatory ring shot.


Geoff testing out the hammocks on the beach.


This guy was hanging out on the streets of Playa del Carmen scaring people as they walked by.


This one was taken by the professional photographer on staff. I love how it looks like we're jumping 10 feet in the air!

Monday, May 11, 2009

Hi, nice to meet you!

My name is Jessica, I'm a 20-something newlywed living in the suburbs of Philadelphia. I'm working in 9 to 5 job, but I secretly would love to become a photographer. Since that's not a reality right now, I'm just taking as many pictures as I can of my life and the things around me. I decided to start this blog as a way to catalogue some of my favorite pictures. I also figure once we have kids (in a few years probably), this could be a great way to share photos with our family and friends.

Now all I have to do is keep this up for that long :) In the meantime, I'll be posting periodically and sharing some pictures that I take along the way.