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Ann Marie — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 02:43:23 +0000

She Sells Sea Shells

Ann Marie — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 13:00:07 +0000

Chris and I took a day trip to Houston to visit the Museum of Natural History. By far, the malacology gallery was my favorite exhibit. I was completely enthralled by case after case of shells in glorious colors and intricate detail, the rows pleasing in their repetition.

Sweet Joy

Ann Marie — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 19:51:34 +0000

This has been the sweetest week of vacation with Chris. I feel so lucky that we have been able to have this time.

This vacation is a sweet and slow kind of thing. The luxury of so many days of quiet, unplanned peace felt at first strange. Quickly, though, I settled into it and have since been floating in sweet joy. I am relishing in long talks with Chris, walks and picnics, video game playing, museum visits, appreciating of and dancing to new tunes, taking photos, remembering the comfort of hot tea, moments of reflection, hours of reading, and caring for our little toads. To spend this uninterrupted time with Chris is to feel truly at peace.

Sweet Summer

Ann Marie — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 06:28:43 +0000

The sweetest bits of summer: cool grass, blue skies, vibrant colors, and breezy skirts floating above bare legs.

Reviewing the Shot

Ann Marie — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 14:00:31 +0000

While out with my camera not too long ago, I noticed that I wasn’t the only one taking advantage of the glowing evening light. The UT cheerleaders were having a photo shoot at Town Lake. A small crowd gathered to watch the photo shoot, and during breaks, small children would shyly go up to the cheerleaders, asking for autographs and photos. Rewarded with sweet smiles, hugs, and a quick photo op, the children would bound back to their parents, elated. They walked away still sneaking awe-filled peeks over their shoulders to catch a last glimpse of the cheerleaders.

Golden Afternoon

Ann Marie — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 03:59:11 +0000

I took this photo while sitting on the banks of Town Lake. I think this time of day, when the sun is beginning to set and everything is golden and the light makes everything soft and glow, is the most beautiful. When I was little, this was the time of evening when my brother and I would play outside until it got so dark that we couldn’t see, and Mom had to call us inside multiple times for dinner. This is the time of evening when fireflies begin to appear and breezes feel cool and everything is still. Peace and stillness and a feeling of good work done and a well-earned rest drawing near.

Coffee Table Makeover

Ann Marie — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 04:46:14 +0000

Chris and I have been working on a couple of decorating projects and I thought it would be fun to share them here. Chris found this coffee table at a thrift store a couple of years ago. It’s actually a really nice table, but was somewhat boring in color. So we painted it this sunny, pale green/yellow/chartreuse and I screenprinted the dandelion print in the corner. It was such a fun project and really brightens up our little apartment.

Chris also just finished painting his desk, which I will definitely share here, but he’s still adding some finishing touches so I will share that later.

Big Bend Redux

Ann Marie — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 05:36:49 +0000

Chris surprised me with a couple of super awesome inspirational photography books (this one and this one). The books are filled with photos along with minimal description or notes for each photo to point out what makes each one unique or interesting. Rather than a step-by-step how-to guide, each book is intended to inspire. I already have tons of ideas for photo projects that I plan to begin carrying out this weekend. In the meantime, I also stumbled across the tone curve tool in Lightroom. It is so.very.cool. And I don’t even care that I sound nerdy about this.

The tone curve basically increases or decreases contrast between the lighter and darker color tones. I dug out some of the photos I took in Big Bend last year and gave it a try. It makes such a huge difference! Seriously, when I look at the before and after of the photo above, it looks as though the original has some sort of…shortening-covered waxed paper covering it…or something. Granted, I’m also better at fixing some of those issues in-camera now, but I’m so excited that I can either recover older photos, or make newer photos even better.

Pedernales Falls

Ann Marie — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 03:24:19 +0000

Chris and I spent the weekend away recently in Wimberley, Texas. Hiking at Pedernales Falls was truly the highlight of our weekend. The water really is that blue.

A Little Afternoon Baking: Lemon Basil Shortbread

Ann Marie — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 19:47:04 +0000

Yay! I just remembered that I LOVE to bake, and that one of my goals is to get much better at making delightful, buttery treats. Saturday afternoon, I gave this recipe a try. And I’m so glad that I did! Yum and….just, yum! Because I love lemon, I doubled the amount of lemon juice. The cookies still came out delightfully sweet (I’m looking at you, whole cup of sugar.) Note to self: shortbread is incredibly easy to make and absolutely amazing with a coffee or hot tea. I’m already exploring new flavors to try.