Happy Halloween!

from my little ghoul to you...have a fun, safe, FUN Halloween!


bettye

snips and snails and puppy dog tails...

so, I got a request through Model Mayhem to do an editorial-style shoot with....a GUY!!! ha. other than relatives and the occasional in-studio head shot, I've really never shot guys! i feel like I don't even know how to do that! when I visualize doing a photo shoot, I always visualize girly things. so I went to my flickr favorites to see if I could find some inspiration there and...not much luck.





by marieclaire roman



by parker fitzgerald





by bite_photography





by david urbanke





by crystin moritz





by corinne golabek





by dusdin condren





by nirrimi





by benji ashley


I'm more drawn to the softer, more sensitive (I guess?) male photos...but the model who wants to do the shoot is very athletic and like, cut. I'm thinking to add something a little different to his portfolio, but...maybe one of you has some great "guy" photos you can refer me to for some inspiration?? 

indian summer

by joel chavez





By levi mcdonald





by mary robinson


Today was the perfect Indian Summer day...low 70s, grey-blue sky w golden sun set against blazing foliage...that sort of balminess in the air you only feel this time of year. I tried to get home from work early enough to get the dog to the park before it got dark, but....sigh. Maybe tomorrow. It's supposed to be nice again.


In the meantime, how amazing does this recipe look??  White Chocolate Mousse & Nutella Tarts. Okay, Nutella, right? What is up with that? It's been around for ages, all of a sudden it's All The Rage. I've had two nutella things out in the past month - a Nutella & Pear croissant (YUM), and a Nutella, Banana, and...ooh, I can't remember what the third thing was...Croque Monsieur (sorta like a breakfast panini or grilled cheese). Have you ever had nutella out??

my mini vacation

Yesterday the ex and his 8-y-o son and I took a little trip to visit our daughter at college for Parent's Weekend, though we drove up and back in one day, and didn't stay for the weekend. While I live in Brooklyn, I had to drive 50 miles east out to Smithtown, Long Island to leave the dog at my ex's house so he wouldn't be alone in the apartment all day.

And how long does it take to drive from Smithtown to Oneonta and back to Smithtown?? It takes Karate Kid 1, 2, 3, The Next Karate Kid, and Karate Kid: The Remake (give or take a few moments of silence) long. Not a bad length of time for riding in the car, reading, and staring out the window.


It was a perfect day...for awhile the sky was very bumpy with clouds (taken w my cell phone out the moving car window), but mostly it was sunny and lovely.


 



My daughter doesn't let me take many pictures of her anymore, so I was happy to get this one nice shot of her with her half-brother (my ex's youngest), Short Russell.
 
the ex noted that this was a little Abbey Road-ish.


 


there were lots of events going on around campus. Short Russell liked the fire-eating jugglers.


 


sigh. she looks sort of lost and lonely here.

 
father and daughter.
 
there was a skate park nearby where Short Russell got to blow off some steam. He's such a boy, but really sweet and bright. On the ride home as it was just dark and there were lights in far-off house windows he goes, "look at all those lights, it must mean the British are coming." ha.
 
sigh. me and The Child.
 
and the saddest sight to me...The Child leaving me. again.
 

So...a day away from normal life...and today was back to to-do lists and laundry and vacuuming and ironing and getting next week's items ready to be photographed for the ebay shop. the weekend went very fast...and next week - Halloween!

flickr faves friday, part, uhm, 3. i think.

Ozlem haluk





Kalea-molloy





Laura marie scott





Yyellowbird





Tant C


If you want to play along with Flickr Faves Friday, post a link at Amanda Thomas' blog Here Comes the Sun and then post your five flickr faves of the week on your own blog. It's fun to see everyone's favorites...and a lot of the time *you'll* find a new fave on someone else's page.


I'm glad the week is over...all in all, not a terrible week:

• One of Dragonfly's Etsy floral dresses was featured on this cute blog, Days Days Days, in a Color Chaos Days post - I feel quite honored to be in good company - Thanks!
• I didn't blow up when the gas stove went on the fritz
• The landlady got the naughty gas stove fixed Right Away
• It finally got truly cooler and crisp. I love cool and crisp. 

Maybe that's it. The week always seems better in review. 

Tomorrow the ex and I are driving upstate to visit The Child at college for Parents Weekend. We only stay the one day. It's lovely to ride in the car all day and not be the one who has to drive. I just get to look out the window, read, and nap. It's like a little mini vacation. Oh yeah, and I get to see my daughter. Bonus  :-) 

Have a lovely weekend, everyone!

what's new in the shop this week...

This is my least favorite time of year at the thrift stores. They move out almost all the dresses to make way for coats. I mean, yeah, I get it, it's winter. But someone might buy ONE coat each year...but they'll buy MULTIPLE dresses, so it doesn't REALLY make sense for them to allocate SO much room to coats, at the expense of dresses. Sigh. Yep, I'm a little frustrated. 


Went to two stores yesterday. Got two sweaters. NICE sweaters - a mint bulky real irish fisherman knit turtleneck sweater...and a 70s mustard gold loose knit serious batwing, cowl neck sweater. But still - two stores, TWO THINGS?? That's like crazy.


Okay, but on the bright side? I have a big bag of M&Ms. So. You know. It's all good.


Here's what's up at auction in the shop this week...click on any photo for more information and to bid.

 

now i lay me down to sleep...

I've been having trouble sleeping this week...the change of the seasons always sorta wipes me out. I've been going to bed earlier...but then I wake up in the middle of the night and am up from like 1-4am! Then I oversleep in the morning and am late for work. And that ain't good. 





Tonight I'm going to force myself to stay up later...even though it's only 8:20 and I feel like I could fall asleep right now!





anyone have a good cure for insomnia if this continues??





all photos link to their source...

inspired by....ellen von unwerth

I'm very inspired by the work of photographer Ellen Von Unwerth...her photos are very provocative, sometimes with blatantly sexual overtones...sometimes more subtle. The photographs, many in black and white with a grainy look, have a timeless vintage appeal. They're very theatrical, like stills from a quirky silent movie.


Her career has spanned from circus worker to model to photographer - a life path that clearly allowed many opportunities for inspiration. 


"(Women) are not just there to be admired, they are there to be enjoyed" ~ Ellen von Unwerth