8 years old

Will: "Mom, what's belly dancing?"

me: "hmm... well, it's when you dance like this..."

Sean: "so, it's like hula-hooping using an invisible hoop."

lilyblue

sur les quais

while location scouting with the boys on Ile Saint-Louis yesterday.

Paris (a Flickr set by Irene Suchocki)

summer manifesto

it's about giving the dryer a nice, long break, eggplant nail polish, perfecting my potato salad recipe and wearing sun cream every day.

about jazz festivals, Toy Story 3, shopping for school supplies, more books from the local library and opening ourselves up to joyful idleness.

it's about old friends and new adventures, where laughter and simple beauty are revered.

it's about being kind to my body, to my self.

(please check the issue 6 of UPPERCASE magazine featuring photos and an article about my favorite cafés in Seoul, South Korea. many thanks to publisher, editor and designer Janine Vangool.)

strawberry picking

trying to figure out marketing, image processing and packaging ideas for a new business project of mine, and learning that inspiration, like summer bliss, comes in spurts.

sometimes I just need to be a little patient.

Peta Mazey Photography

my best friend from kindergarten

she's the one I call to whine about the extra fat around my waist, update my portfolio, or when I am faced with the decision of whether or not to let my boys meet my long estranged father. the one I've been through puberty, hair disasters, and the breastmilk vs. formula debate with. after nearly 30 years she's still the one I like to embarrass in public places, disagree with on many things yet very few important matters, and whose couch I love to fall asleep in.

she's my running partner, the wind beneath my wings, my best friend from kindergarten.

Sharon Montrose

it's here

it's been an incredible journey, a labor of love, a valuable lesson in living the writer's life, and sisterhood. 

many many thanks to Tracey, Karen, Paige, Maile, Sarah-Ji, Jen, Andrea, Stephanie and Kate for helping me love, accept and approve of exactly who I am, and everyone who has supported Shutter Sisters in one form or another for the past two years.

I am inspired, giddy, humbled and grateful beyond words.

yesterday

and every day.

Deb Schwedhelm Photography

Polaroid shoes

this past weekend I entered a room full of strangers, jumped on a hotel bed (for a photography assignment, but it was fun nonetheless), asked stupid questions, fell in love, photographed an unborn child, learned about white balance and made 21 new friends.

so once in a while, go ahead and do that crazy little thing. and watch as the magic unfolds.

Jesh de Rox

sunrise in Tokyo

for 'Roid Week 2010

light

slowly recovering from six weeks of sick kids, doctor appointments and banana-flavored antibiotics, and learning to acknowledge and unashamedly own my feelings for what they are, even when they're revealing parts of my humanness that I'm not proud of.

like.

I am not fond of the paint color that my husband chose for our entry hall, even if I repeatedly asked him to.

sometimes I sing to my sons just because it makes me feel like a rock star.

on my birthday, I am four again.

the only thing you can change