{PHOTOS} New York City: The Timeless Grand Central Station

When we were visiting New York City, my husband was incredibly understanding and insisted we make every effort to visit anything and everything we could to get some great pictures of NYC icons & this, most definitely, included Grand Central Station. It was an incredible architectural icon but the amount of PEOPLE was just amazing. We were there, bumbling around, as tourists, while everyone around us had a purpose and a place to be - quickly. It was amazing to see and beautiful in every way.

And my favorite - "The One Who Didn't Wear Black"

{WISH LIST WEDNESDAY} #5 Cuz I Have To Share This Awesome Stuff. . .

Man oh man, how did I not realize how busy things were about to get?  We faced fiscal year-end at work and now I have been prepping for my first craft shows where I will be presenting my photography. Boy, am I nervous but I am too busy to think about it ;-) Anyhow, it's time to get back to my posting on this blog and what better way to start than with Wish List Wednesday?!? Despite our having record heat today, I still went with the fall themed items for the October and November months. Enjoy & thanks to everyone here who gave me the permission to feature their wonderful items.

 Scarlet Autumn by I Brake for Bokeh Photography

 

How lovely is this? Just enchanting.

 Large Mahogany Red Faux Tooled Leather Zippered Pouch by Haut Totes

This is just too gorgeous to be faux leather! I am so glad it is and the wonderful deep red and swirls are just enchanting. 

 Cleansing Oil for Face or Body by Get Emu

Were you aware that oil cleans the oil on our face? Yeah, oil has gotten a bad rap - natural oil that is - and this item is super awesome. I am dying to try it! Apply it to your dry face, rinse with lukewarm water, and voila! This article in Real Simple is what made me want to try it.  

Vinyl Wall Decal Sticker Art - Happy Autumn by Wordy Bird Studios

I'm always looking for new holiday decorations and this would be perfect. I have done vinyl decals before and they are super easy to apply.

Four Seasons of Trees glass magnet set by Stuck Together

Why have only one season when you can have these beautiful magnets with all four seasons displayed. The colors are just so vivid and the magnified effect makes me feel like I am looking into another world. 

Love Tile Coasters Set by Wear Me

When I think fall, I think cold and then fire and then cuddling up -and all of that requires someone special. These tile coasters encompass all of the above in my mind. 

Cowl Multi Color Orange and Brown by Knitty Little Things

What caught my eye about this cowl was the fact that it can be worn multiple ways. Versatility? Yes, please! This looks just so soft and warm. I would love to have this to guard me against cold winds.

 Edible Sugar Fall Leaves by Andie's Specialty Sweets

Yes, you read that right. These are EDIBLE. How cool is that?!? I wish I had discovered a store like this when I was picking out my wedding cake. Edible decorations like these would have been just amazing.

 

Cupcake Wrapper from the Monster Fest DIY Collection by Spaceships and Laser Beams

There are three of these awesome monster cupcake wrappers in this collection. This guy was my favorite with the awesome orange hair and horns. Any kid, especially boys, would love this. Heck - even a BIG KID (aka adult) would!

Pumpkin Pie Butter Caramels by Fusion Sweets

Yum, yum, yum, yum, and again YUM. I know, not very verbose but, come on? I am too busy drooling right now to be able to type. Thank goodness I just ate dinner!

And as always, my plus one - cuz 10 never is enough!

Harvest Moon by Moonlight Photography

At first glance, I thought this was a painting and was delighted to discover it was a photograph!

That's it for this week. Hope all is well and I will be back to post later about my first craft fair this weekend. Fingers crossed!

{SNEAK PREVIEW} Photo Greeting Cards

I thought I'd give a little taste (aka sneak preview) of the greeting cards I have been working on. Some of these are actually from an offline order (thanks MOM!) after I sent a text picture of one of the cards I was working on.

Some notes on these: The greeting card photos are hand mounted, not directly printed onto the card, with a background and envelope liner to match. They are available in white or cream. All of my photos can be made into greeting cards.

Hope you all enjoy!

And some fun with the leftover scraps!

Guess what's next?!? POSTCARDS! Stay tuned. . . . .

{ABOUT ME} What's My Style??

Let's Go Swim

Every time I visit a photo site/blog, the question that always seems to pop into my brain is "What is my photography style"? I look at these amazing photos and I quickly see a consistency in them, a look, that I immediately attribute to the photographer's "style". I then ask myself "what is MY style" but every inch of me wants to avoid the question, so it just kind of bounces around my head for awhile and then I wrestle it back into some tiny drawer, tuck it away, and just let myself enjoy whatever I am looking at.

Boardwalk Hotel

Recently, I was asked this question by a well-intentioned person and I struggled to come up with an immediate answer. The only thing I could stammer out was "colorful?" (while shrugging my shoulders and kicking the non-existent dirt with my shoe). I responded like I was confused, ashamed, guessing, and also like I felt I was giving the wrong answer. Well, duh - my style is MY STYLE. So why am I confused? I think it's because what I see is instinctual. It comes straight from inside and is so natural that I don't know the categories to process it into. I should probably learn, so when it comes time to give a textbook written response I won't yammer away like a parrot. I also get nervous because I see all these amazing artists out there who are just so sure of their "style" and seem to quickly and neatly throw it all into these lovely categories, with some possible sub-categories to boot.

A Storm Is Approaching

So, let's go back to this "colorful" answer I gave. I think this answer truly deserves some merit because it was the very first thing that came to my mind. I will admit, my entire life I have always been drawn to really bright, fun, primary colors. Ask my college roommate, Emily, who endured my party-store Tropical themed decoration, with the main colors being bright pink, bright green, and bright yellow. Wow - that was fun on the eyes at 7 A.M. My wedding is another good example, with the colors being red, orange, and yellow. Most people I told this to, prior to the wedding, would look at me with fear in their eyes and say "Oh, that's nice". My greatest satisfaction came when those same people kept telling me after the wedding how beautiful the colors were. I really really like COLOR. It only makes sense that this craving for color would make its way into my photography

Taxi Interior

I admit, when I look at other people's photos online, if there's a bunch of thumbnails the one with the most captivating colors is the first one I will open. I am naturally drawn to those photos and my heart just soars when the colors in a photo envelope my eye and brain. Don't get me wrong, I also really appreciate a well done black and white photograph. I, personally, have not been able to trust my black/white photography eye and I can honestly say I haven't really given it the ol' college try, so that is definitely a someday goal. So, I apparently know more about my "style" than I originally thought. I still need to sit down more and really give this some further thought outside the scope of "colorful", but I definitely am off on a great start. I just need to stop getting myself mentally twisted based off the awe other photographers photos inspire in me.

Swirls of Fire

Classic Rachel, I need to remind myself to take this one baby step at a time and stop getting lost in the overall goal. What's that saying again? Oh yeah, one day at a time.

{IN THE BEGINNING} So This Is It. . . .

Westminster Abbey, England

I don't know when it happened, but recently my days became about a big checklist. It's a mental checklist I have been keeping for many many moons and, until recently, kept thinking it would stay right there in my brain. Who knows how or why - but this list has become reality.

Let's see, what have I done:

• Set up my Etsy shop? DONE  
• Create a Facebook Fan page? DONE  
• Begin a Blog (the scariest part for me)? DONE  
• Edited photos like a crazy lady? YEAH, PRETTY MUCH - BE VERY EXCITED (MANY NYC PHOTOS TO COME)  
• Got all my artsy craftsy items? AMAZINGLY, YES  
• Recruited a side-kick to assist with these artsy craftsy items? GO, CASEY, GO!! 
• Printed the photos for my cards? INK IS LOW (NO BUENO).
• Written any remaining "To-Do's" down so I won't forget them? NOPE

It's definitely getting there. At the very least, I am really really enjoying what I have been doing. It's a great way to keep my "artsy fartsy" side (as I so lovingly call it) fresh and awake. We'll see where this ride takes me. Don't they always say it's about the journey and not the destination?
 

Well, that's a very promising situation.

Neighborhood Sunset, Merritt Island FL