Portra 400, Yashica Mat 124g, theFINDlab

Bonny Doon Beach. AKA, the spot where I stripped down and went naked in public for the first time. My thoughts about the experience can be found on Instagram, @thatwife.

I forget how dusty Royal City is until I go back during the dry months and watch the dust devils swirl across the fields and into the yard. When my aunt and uncle built a house they designed a special mud room specifically for stripping down the kids and getting them clean without bringing the mess into the rest of the house. Buckets for dirty shoes, a shower, laundry chute to send dust-covered undies straight to the washing machine. My mom could have used a room like that the night I took the kids out at sunset and let them throw dirt at each other. They loved it, and neither of them cried (to my surprise), even when their eyes and nose and mouth were thoroughly coated toward the end. I’m so glad my city kids get to have experiences like this.

Portra 800, Pentax 645, theFINDlab

Life Is For Strange Adventures And Take Pics

(wise words from some European clothing designers)

I’m starting this from the Caltrain, the same place I’m going to be from 5:00pm-5:30pm, Monday-Friday, for the rest of July (and again from 10:30pm-11:30pm). But I’m getting ahead of myself already as I write this life update after what has been two pretty incredible summer months with a whole lot of zigs and zags that I didn’t see coming. Read more →

I’ve spent the last few months obsessing over this coming weekend with an enthusiasm that can only be matched by the way I felt while planning my wedding. I forgot how much I love drifting off to sleep while daydreaming about an upcoming big event, and the satisfaction found in making spreadsheets and lists, watching my vision come to life. That Husband isn’t into dates the way I am, and lobbied hard to wait a few years to celebrate my entrance into my thirties. I wore him down, and this weekend I’ll be putting on the ritz with some of my favorite women and their dates in celebration of my 30th birthday. The women will step into long gowns, the men will patiently shrug into dressy-ish button-downs, and we’ll all meet at a beach in Carmel for dinner and a bonfire. I wanted to create an event unlike anything I’d ever seen or experienced, and that is certainly what this has become! In addition to some of our friends here, we have guests flying in from Washington, Illinois, and Texas!

Image credits: food, hot chocolate, jewelry

Ami of Elizabeth Ann Designs is on the guest list, and also saved me by agreeing to act as a co-planner. Once she came into the picture my DIY Picnic on the Beach with Fancy Dresses turned into something much grander, a styled event with vendors and catering and a theme! Now it’s Dinner and Bonfire on the Beach with a Middle Eastern/Mediterranean flair.

Majesta Patterson is documenting the event, so there will be plenty of pictures to share. We’re hoping to have the event published somewhere. I’ll have my camera too, because what better gift to give myself on that day than the freedom to shoot as much film as my little heart desires?

This June my sister is helping me ferry the kids over to Poland to see their grandparents, and while the littles play with Babcia and Dziadek the Asenkin sisters are going to road trip and ferry across Greece! I still can’t believe this is really happening.

The theme of this trip is “Quality time with bff sister while taking as many pictures as possible” and as much as my sister likes to act as my model, I think there would be time for me to direct someone else in front of my lens as well. It’s a long shot, but if you know someone in Greece between June 17-27 2015 would you mind connecting us? Family, couple, individual, or adorable ya-ya. When it comes to film I want to work with anything or anyone. We’re planning to rent a car and road trip from Athens to Thessaloniki (along with some island hopping) so we’re flexible on the location.

And of course, if you’ve been to Greece and have any suggestions/tips, I would love to hear them! We’re slowly piecing together an itinerary that looks something like Crete -> Santorini -> Athens -> Meteora -> Thessaloniki but haven’t booked anything yet so we’re still gathering ideas.