The Bridge

The Golden Gate Bridge - beautiful, iconic, San Francisco, death, despair and sadness. I took these pictures over a year ago and didn't really realize when I was shooting that I was not only capturing the beauty of the structure but the sadness of the structure. I have seen too many people on the other side of the railing being "talked down"....most of them didn't listen.

Magic in the Make Up

Once you find products you like you will be loyal to them for life. As a kid you play dress up with your mom's make up. Pink pink rouge, electric blue eyeshadow and red lips. You look in the mirror and you think you look great. Your mom takes one look at you and she says you look like a hooker. With a little coaching and a trip down to the drug store she steers you into more age appropriate, natural looking choices. You get through high school and the trends unscathed and enter into your twenties. Drug store choices are tossed to the way side and make up counters at Nordstrom and Macy's are the place to be. The make up girls and boys carefully apply the newest shades to your eyes and lips and make you feel like a supermodel. You think you are a "supermodel" and plop down $100 bucks on a lip gloss and eye shadow. You get home and try to apply it yourself and discover you are not the "supermodel" you thought you were.

Make up is hit or miss, trial and error. Once you find a product that works for you it will be your life long friend. Take my mom, she has worn Revlon's salmon ice lipstick for 30+ years. When Revlon discontinued the color a few years back she was devastated. She must have tried every possible brand with the name salmon and or ice in it. Finally when she thought she was never going to find a close match, Revlon came out with the exact same color but new name.

I am a black eyeliner girl. I've been wearing black eyeliner since my early 20's. I've tried every brand and every shade of black. It wasn't until recently that I discovered my new Favorite. Almay intense i-color 003 black pearl . It goes on smooth, smudges nicely for the smokey eye that I love and last all night and into the morning (if I don't remove it before I go to bed).

I also can't live with out Body Time's China Rain Cologne (or any other product that they make in that scent). I've been wearing China Rain since I was eighteen years old and have tried many perfumes over the years. China Rain is my signature scent and I don't feel like me without it.

I think you can tell a lot about a girl by taking a look inside her make up bag. Take a look in mine and let me know what your favorites are!

Summers gone by

Last weekend I went to Stinson Beach to photograph the paddle board competition. I had not been to Stinson in years. So many years that I can't even remember the last time I was there. To be 21 again, a cocktail waitress by night and a beach bum by day. Golden tan, blond and not a care in the world. Ah the good old days. I would pack my Mexican beach bag with a towel, Hawaiian Tropic suntan oil and the latest Danielle Steele romance novel. Bob Marley in my dash and off I went. A day of solitude, the sound of the waves, seagulls and random tourist. I was lost in romance and drunk with sunshine. To this day when I am the most stressed out or can't sleep, I imagine myself on the beach in the oh so warm sun and the sound of the waves crashing on the shore.
"Don't worry about a thing,'Cause every little thing gonna be all right", Bob singing in the background. Yes, I felt a little sentimental and nostalgic last weekend. It made me remember that life goes by way to quickly and my memories of summers gone by are sweet, but it is time to make some new memories. My beach necessities haven't changed much, I am sure I can scrounge up my Mexican beach bag, towel, sunscreen instead of suntan oil and a good vampire novel instead a sappy unrealistic romance novel. It's time to put the 9-5 grind behind and drink up the sun. See ya at the beach.

Shoes from my soul

Like most girls I am all about shoes. I have a ridiculous amount, a huge closet full that I don't wear. Look in my closet and you probably wouldn't be able to figure me out. Look at the pile on my bedroom floor and you might get a little insight. My love affair with shoes started when I was four years old and received my first pair of red cowboy boots. I 've never been the same. Cowboy boots are ingrained in my soul. From then on it was saddle shoes, clogs, rain boots. As I got older I would raid my mom's closet for her espadrille wedges, classic pumps and slinky sandals. An amazing shoe can dress up the blackest of black outfits and as most everyone knows I pretty much only wear black. From boots to pumps from chucks to flip flops this is who I am.

American Pie

On this day it was all about the apple pie. He was talking about pie from the moment he woke up. Warm,delicious apples oozing from a flaky crust. Not only do they bring back childhood memories for me, but they are oh so affordable. 2 pies for $1. Everyone should stop by and get some pie.

A year in pictures - 2009

There is nothing like going back through the year's photo's to help remember the good times and put everything back into prespective. It was a challenging year for me and others but we will prevail! Here is a look back at all of the fun, sweet, scary, silly moments of 2009.