Galway Girl

Now I finally get to share the reason I've been MIA the last month. I've been hanging out in Ireland with some friends :)... OK, well actually, it was a lot of work and not a lot of sleep leading up to the shoot, but the finished product is pretty fun. Enjoy!

SPRING!

I woke up this morning and jumped on Twitter a little too soon. There are so many things continually going on (mostly politically) which are infiltrating my day to day life and thoughts way more than I want. Tomorrow I'm going to try and put some of my thoughts and feelings into a post, but for today, the first day of spring, I'm going to revel in it for a minute.

One thing I've been reminded of lately, it's important to celebrate the little things that so often get overlooked. Spring is a season of rebirth and today, I'm taking a minute to sit in the joy and hope that I find each year on the first day of spring.

Here are some things I'm looking forward to about spring:

The lilac bush (which is really more of a tree) in my backyard.

Eating outside, whether it's in my yard or at a cute little restaurant.

Walking places instead of driving.

Not being constantly cold.

Color! I love that there's more of it from all directions, flowers blooming, brighter clothes, even that added saturation from more sunlight.

The cherry blossoms at UW, which are less than a week away! 

I'm going to try my hand at gardening, yet again. Just something little, a couple of small herb plants that I hopefully won't instantaneously kill.

Fresh fruits and vegetables at the farmers market.

An overall better feeling of health, because I'm outside and breathing fresh air, and just in a better mood from it all.

Really, the image that comes to mind, when I think of spring, is sipping prosecco on a patio with friends. The season of hibernation is over and people want to come out and play again!

Goodbye Amsterdam!

After a month away, I'm back in Seattle.

Along with a cute pink raincoat, some new shoes and gifts I stuffed in my suitcase coming home, I'm bringing with me a changed perspective.

The project Jason directed (I'll post it when it's out!) was produced by an awesome production company based in Amsterdam. Thanks to the amazing people we worked with, I learned first hand that attitudes towards work/life balance seem totally different in Amsterdam than in the U.S. Personal wellbeing is a priority there, whether for yourself or for your co-workers. The idea that being caught up on sleep, taking time out for vacations and being with your family, even going for a walk, getting fresh air or doing yoga- all of these things make you more productive in the hours you're working. And overall, the idea that there are more important things in life than work- this is what I take home with me.

The silly thing is, all of these pressures to work more and work longer hours and never vacation, these are ideas I've forced on myself since I run the company I work for! It's time to make a change.

So today, I will do yoga at noon, and I won't feel guilty that I should be somewhere else working. I will be present there. And tonight, I'll make Jason sit down and eat dinner with me. Something we haven't done at home in ages.


Fun posts about my time in Amsterdam and Lisbon coming soon! 

Macklemore for Columbia

This video, directed by Jason and produced by yours truly came out last week and I forgot to share it with you all! We had so much fun working with Columbia this past fall and shooting up at Mt. Rainier. I love it when shoot days are a walk through the woods :) 

Thank You Mary Tyler Moore

I grew up watching Nick at Nite, staying up as late as my parents would let me to watch Lucy and Ethel, Jeanie, and of course there was Mary Tyler Moore. I loved watching her on The Dick VanDyke Show as the intelligent and witty homemaker Laura Petrie AND on The Mary Tyler Moore Show as Mary Richards, strong, single working woman in her 30s.

The contrast between these two characters was such a great thing for my young mind. As a child, I didn't see them as two distinct characters, I saw them as two versions of the same woman and I grew up aspiring to be BOTH.

Just like Mary Tyler Moore, I could be a loving wife with awesome dance moves who enjoys hosting friends for dinner and occasionally gets into shenanigans involving a blow up boat in the living room or a closet full of walnuts and then after a commercial break and a hat throwing theme song, I could be comedically navigating awkward situations at work then hang out with my best friend in my own apartment.

For Mary Tyler Moore, Laura Petrie and Mary Richards were two different rolls, but for me, they were rolled up in one. She did both and so could I. My version of it looks a little different, currently balancing marriage and work, and not yet getting around to having kids (Shout out to The Mary Tyler Moore Show for portraying a woman in her thirties w/o kids!) but I will always be thankful to Mary for showing me it was possible to have my own version of it all.

From my vantage point now, I see that those shows aren't perfect. They portray somewhat idyllic versions life for women in the 60's and 70's-  a housewife, married to the man she loves, a man who has a good job insuring her the privilege of being able to stay home and raise their son and conversely a single woman who is educated and able to support herself in a white collar job where the snarky comments about her being unmarried and without children were part of the comedy the show was built on rather than something that is intrinsically wrong with her. I'm thankful that my life fits pretty well into this idyllic version of things too. This is a privilege, and not a reality for many women in the U.S. and around the world. When is why I continue to support any cause that helps women live their best lives like me, and both versions of Mary.

As I child, I just saw the characters, now as a woman with a foot in the entertainment industry, I have so much respect for Mary Tyler Moore and her roll within the industry. Along with her husband, she formed MTM Productions, which produced the groundbreaking Mary Tyler Moore Show among other hits. AND she put her cat in her logo.

PS. Both shows are available to watch on Hulu! Toss your hat in the air with joy!

Marching in Seattle

I was blown away to know that MILLIONS of people around the world were marching on Saturday- as far away as Africa and Antartica! Teresa and I joined the march in Seattle, along with Teresa's mom, aunt, a couple of dear friends and FIONA!

After I got home from the march, I spent a couple of hours scrolling through social media, and was amazed to see the range of people from all different parts of my life who had been marching with me. One of my first babysitters was there, so was a young woman I babysat when I was in college! There were people I'd grown up with, women who have mentored me, friends who brought their mothers and grandmothers, pastors, church groups, doctors and nurses, stay at home moms, cancer survivors, sexual assault survivors, and so many kids! Just within the sampling of people I personally know who marched, I can tell you they represent a variety of voices and opinions, politics and religious views but regardless, they were all there together.

I marched as a way to recognize my privilege, and to stand strong with people who don't have the same privileges that I do. I marched to point out these inequalities. I marched because I can, because I'm thankful to live in a country where peaceful protesting is a protected right. And I marched wearing my "Healthcare is a human right" shirt, because that is something I wholeheartedly believe.

To the people who are reading this with curiosity or opposition, who voted for Trump, or just don't think American women have anything to complain about, I encourage you to read this. I also encourage you to reach out to me, or someone you know who participated and have a conversation. Really, you are part of the reason I marched, so people would see me and ask why I was there. To be completely honest, not too long ago, I would have been right there with you, wondering what people were complaining about and maybe even a little fearful of this thing that I didn't understand. As I've traveled across the country, and even to other parts of the city I live in, my understanding continues to change and my compassion continues to grow as I hear and see how America is a very different place for people who weren't born with the same privileges as me.

Like I said above, so many different views were represented in the massive sea of people marching. One of my friends who marched shared this on her social media today and many people I know who were at the march in D.C. have voiced that they didn't agree with everything that was being said by speakers there.

Here's a smattering of some of my favorite signs I saw along the way.

Of all the signs, this was my favorite and the most important. We can't just march and say we made a difference. We have to keep going.

"Many White Women Marched. Now What?" This is exactly what we should be asking ourselves, and answering.

Here's what march organizers suggest.


PS.  Shoutout to our amazing friend Brittany who knitted hats for us!

2017 Goals for Jenny

I've had this list done for awhile and haven't posted it b/c I hadn't managed to take a photo to go with it! This is the type of thing I do all the time! I put off things for one reason or another, and then even something that's supposed to be fun and not stressful like blogging becomes another thing on the endless to do list in my head that keeps me up at night. Arg. So you get this makeup free selfie of me and the GIANT pile of stuff waiting to be donated. Another thing I'd been putting off for SO long and have no idea why because it feels SO GOOD to have an organized house! So, in honor of all of this we are adding....

Do things ASAP instead of stressing about them. 

Whether it's posting a post with a less than perfect photo or not putting off a boring work task, just getting things done makes life so much easier. As you'll see below, this will tie in nicely with the last goal on the list. :) 

And without further adieu, the rest of the list that I made weeks ago...

Go on an actual vacation. 

Not just a "I was here in this cool place for work and happened to get an afternoon off to do something fun but instead fell asleep on the beach and got this terrible sunburn" but actually go somewhere with the sole purpose of hanging out with Jason and maybe some friends and relaxing and not working!

Be good at yoga! 

This means I'll actually have to go regularly, or practice on my own when I can't get to a class and keep it up longer than just a month here or there. I. WILL. DO. YOGA. REGULARLY. ALL. YEAR.

Cook more and continue eating healthy. 

Sunbasket has been super helpful with inspiring me to try cooking new things, now to branch out a little from that...

FINISH a writing project. 

I've started scripts and other projects by myself and with friends. But I want to actually finish something and do something with it.

Better educate myself on the world around me. 

Specifically, I want know more about systemic racism in the U.S. and the situation in Syria.

Learn to better handle stress.  

This has been my biggest issue of 2016. I'd say I've made big strides in the right direction in 2016. But most of that has been in choosing to avoid stress. The reality is, life is stressful, and I won't always be able to choose to walk away from stressful projects, people, situations, etc. So now the goal is to better equip myself to handle those things.

New Year Inspiration

I spent the first two days of 2017 drinking tea on the couch trying to kick the end of a cold. I'm finally attempting life beyond that today.

Surrounded by used tissue and the remains of Christmas decorations I couldn't manage to carry down to the basement isn't the way I saw myself ushering in the new year, that's for sure. But I've been trying to change my perspective to enjoy a couple of days of much needed rest rather than feeling guilty that I didn't hit the ground running in 2017. Because, really, what's the rush?

Teresa sent me this, great perspective on NOT having resolutions.

It's pretty silly that somehow, between ads to join gyms, articles across the internet on all the things I SHOULD be doing and other people's resolutions on social media, I feel lazy for not jumping out of bed at 6am on the first, hitting three yoga classes and then madly cleaning my entire home. That's never been me, but somehow every January I feel like I should be. I think in part, that's why I like to have looser goals for the year- which I'll post later this week.

For now, her are a few things I've seen around the web that have intrigued me as little ways to make positive changes, regardless of your resolutions or lack there of :)

2017 Reading List, a creative checklist that ranges from "a book you read in school" to "a book with a character with your name"!

Apartment Therapy's "January Cure" gives you one thing to do each day for a cleaner more organized life. I like that they are very up front about saying sign up and give it a try (they email you a task a day) but feel free to quit at any time!

Instead of a juice cleanse, try soup! I'm actually in the process of making the carrot one as I type :)

I've been trying Wunderlist on my phone and computer to better keep things organized. Theres something about checking things off a list that makes me more likely to actually do them, sometimes the items on my to do list are as simple as "Take a shower".

Also, I just posted this book on my Instagram story...Teresa got it for me as a birthday present. I LOVE IT. Super inspirational to see other creative and entrepreneurial women doing their thing.

2016 for Jenny

Well, it's been a few weeks! We ended the year with a last minute project that I'm super excited to share once it's done. And then Christmas was here and I looked back and realized I hadn't managed to blog for a minute. Oops. And now I'll make up for my lack of blogging with one super long post as I'm reflecting on the year and thinking forward to 2017.

January: Snowed in in Richmond on the M&RL tour. 

I just read my post of 2016 goals, I couldn't have been more right on when I wrote about how I thought the theme for 2016 was going to be making plans for one thing and then doing something else entirely. That pretty much sums up the year. I never would have guessed all that we managed to pack into this year and how many things happened spur of the moment. And as I go into another year where I'm not entirely sure what it holds for us, I need to continue to trust that when one thing doesn't work out, it wasn't meant to be and that's ok.

February: Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. I heart sunshine. This was a work trip, to shoot a beautiful beach wedding, but thankfully there was a day or two of relaxing in there as well. 

One way to put it, thanks to my continual watching of The Sound of Music as a child, "When the Lord closes a door, somewhere he opens a window."  Thanks Julie Andrews. 

One big project fell through for the spring and I was super bummed about it for approximately 10 minutes, then  I realized it meant I was free for my sister's birthday and a week later I was on a plane to surprise her in Korea. It couldn't have been more perfect.

March: Jeju Island, Korea for Stephanie's Birthday! 

At the beginning of 2016, we didn't have a ton of things planned, but somehow we've done more than I ever could have imagined being packed into 1 year. I went to Korea, India, Nepal and Ireland, New York, Hawaii, North Carolina, spent a month on a tour bus roaming around the U.S. Worked on a variety of commercial projects and music videos and so many other random things. I'm tired just thinking back on it all. Because, the reality of it is, it sounds super exciting when I write it now, but most of it was exhausting and super stressful. I can't even count the number of hours and sleepless nights I put in on projects that never came to fruition.

April: India, and then we went to Nepal in a whirlwind two weeks. 

May: Shower for T & Baby Fiona! 

As we move more and more into the world of commercials, music video and film, I'm continually reminded NOTHING is a sure thing until it's happening and even then things still might not go the way you want. I'm getting used do disappointment, and realizing, most of the time things don't work out, something better comes along anyway and then I'm thankful that first thing didn't happen, because if it had, we wouldn't have been available for the second thing! I refer you back to the afore mentioned quote from The Sound of Music. Really, I'm writing all of this down so I can reread this post half way through 2017 when I'm panicked that things aren't going the way I expected and remember this very valuable lesson.

June: The type of picture I usually don't share...here I am posing for Jason for photos for a pitch deck for a commercial job we didn't end up getting. So many hours went into this!!! Arg. 

July: I could post a cute photo from our 10 year anniversary shoot, but this one is more real. Here we are in a small town in Ireland after being awake for 24 hours getting there. We'd just rented a car and had spent the last couple of hours being passed by giant trucks on tiny country roads, arguing over which of us sucked less at driving on the other side of the road. Because this is my blog, I get to say that I was the best. HA! 

August: Music Video shoot in Hawaii. Super fun, super stressful, no sleep. 

I did pretty well with my actual list of goals, minus the flossing. Looking back on what I wrote, it was almost prophetic in the parts about self-care. I guess even back then, I knew I needed to make changes, I had no idea it would actually take being diagnosed w/food allergies and having a doctor tell me my stress level was through the roof and I needed to make changes for my own health.  But I'm thankful all of that happened and forced me to actually get serious and start to see the benefits of regularly getting enough sleep, going to yoga and eating healthy.  It's insane how much better I feel when I'm doing those things. But it's crazy how hard it is to keep up good habits in the chaos that is my normal life.

September: Malibu, Canada with friends! FINALLY taking a weekend away from work and craziness. The best and totally needed. Days earlier I was half way up Mt. Rainier producing this. 

My other goals included writing more, which I have been doing more of on projects we've been working on, even on the ones that nothing comes of them, if nothing else, I'm getting better and faster at writing up ideas and treatments for music videos and commercials and I JUST started working on a new project which I'm really excited about!!!

October: Like so much of the rest of the year, we were in LA. But this is the point in the year in which I actually started carving out time for fun things instead of just constantly working. This was Disneyland with Gracie, who was too busy admiring the carousel to pose in my selfie. 

November: The first month of 2016 in which I did not get on an airplane! But then we all voted and realized the country wasn't the place we thought it was. Overall, it was a good month to stay home and be cozy. 

I'm thankful that for me,  despite the usual ups and downs, 2016 was a good year. I know it hasn't been for a lot of people. I feel like I'm leaving this year very aware of my privilege. I come out of 2016 inspired to do more, to love others better, to help more people, to learn more about the world and what's really going on. And you can read all about that later this week in my goals for 2017 post.

December: Christmas on Hood Canal. I feel like an entirely different person than January 2016 Jenny, and I kind of like that thanks to changing up my hair, I look like an entirely different version of me too :) 

Our Favorite Christmas Album

My all time favorite Christmas album is TEN years old. Wow. Over the past 10 years, Jason and I have spent Christmas in airports, at our house, my parents, his parents, driving between places, with friends, etc. Some years we've had trees, some years we haven't, yet this album has been the soundtrack of all of our Christmases. In fact, Sufjan might be the only contestant Christmas tradition we've had since we got married.

It's one of the last CDs I purchased, and even though I no longer own a CD player I keep the little box of five CDs that came with with posters and stickers with my Christmas decorations and every year take it out none the less. If nothing else, it serves as a reminder that it's time to turn on the Christmas music :)

It's also Teresa's favorite Christmas album, her favorite song, hands down is "Sister Winter", that's definitely one of my favorites, but I love so many others as well! I feel like it changes depending on my mood.

It's already proving to be a Christmas classic, Rolling Stone includes it on it's all time best Christmas Album list. 

Here's a ranking of all 100 songs from both of Sufjan's Christmas albums (which I don't entirely agree with, but nonetheless appreciate)

Pitchfork's original review says it best, explaining that the orchestration "may be sufficient for the box to sneak into the parents' Christmas music rotation, allowing Stevens to give the greatest gift of all: momentary relief from Mannheim Steamroller."

You can listen to the entire album here. 

Vote!

I filled out my ballot and dropped it in the mail today and I made Jason take iPhone photos of me while I did...the middle photo above is the direct result of him telling me I looked too serious while licking the envelope :).

Thanks to inspiration from Susan B. Anthony, I feel like a well informed voter this year.

You see, this past April, the Washington Post wrote an article about Susan B. Anthony's grave, I encourage you to click the link and read the article (it's not long!).

The gist of the story is this- as way to honor Susan B. Anthony, who fought for women's right to vote for 60 years, women are trekking to her grave in upstate New York for a unique tribute. As Colby Itkowitz writes in the aforementioned Washington Post article:

"They came to say thank you to the woman who paved the way for them to be able to fufill their civic right. They took their "I Voted" sticker and pressed it on the tombstone." 

The Thank You Susan B. Anthony Facebook page explains: 

"Susan B. Anthony never got to see women legally vote. Come show her you did, and say thank you on Election Day at the Mt. Hope Cemetery in Rochester, NY." 

When I first read the story earlier this year, it had me almost tearing up. It made me ashamed at how I've treated voting in the past. In Washington State they make it so easy too, everyone votes by mail, which means I don't even have to put pants on to cast my ballot. In general, I do vote, but there have been midterm elections that I've forgotten about and there's usually at least one or two ballot measures that I'm not well versed on at all. A stark contrast to the women of the past who fought long and hard for this right.

The 19th amendment, giving women the right to vote was ratified in 1920, the sweet end of a tireless battle waged by Susan B. Anthony and countless other women. And now, less than 100 years later, I'm embarrassed to admit that one time, I found a ballot in a pile of old mail, months after I should have turned it in. Susan B. Anthony, who dedicated her life to the cause and even ended up in jail for it, never got to vote herself. She died before the 19th amendment was passed. Had she gotten the chance to vote, I'm sure the woman who "appeared before every congress from 1869 to 1906 to ask for passage of a suffrage amendment" would never lose her mail-in ballot in a pile of J.Crew catalogs.

In the quote above, Colby Itkowitz calls voting a "civic right" not a "civic duty", and I think that's an important distinction. I'm humbled that women before me fought long and hard for you and me to have that right and I won't take it for granted again.


PS. I purposely chose to leave my opinion out of my post, because the point of it is to encourage everyone to vote and be informed, and I don't think anyone should be swayed by my personal opinion. But for the sake if posterity, I have to add in "I'm with her!" and am thrilled to be voting in this historic election.

The Things I Can't Eat

For the last couple of years now I've been continually changing up my skincare routine. It seemed that no matter what I did, my skin was becoming more and more sensitive, red and blotchy and no matter the products I was using, it never seemed to get all the way better.

After putting it off for awhile, I finally set up an appointment with a doctor who immediately suggested I do allergy testing to see if that might be the culprit.

I was really hoping there'd be one simple thing I could remove from my life and make all of my problems go away, alas, no. The results came back and I'm allergic to SOY, WHEAT, EGGS, DAIRY, and SUGAR!

Arg.

At first, I took it well. I'd actually already cut most things as well as a few others from my diet for the last few weeks just to see if it helped and not only is my skin looking much better, I have more energy and just all around feel healthier, in part because avoiding those things means pretty much avoiding fast and processed foods all together. So I left the doctor, thinking, this is great, I can do this! I'm going to be so much healthier!

But then I came home, and looked for a snack to eat, and got very overwhelmed. I'd previously cut soy, wheat, dairy and sugar from my diet, but not eggs. And in trying to avoid all of those other things, I'd definitely been relying more on eggs.

So the plan is to cut all of these things out and then slowly introduce them back in to see if I can actually handle any of them, maybe in moderation.

I've started a running list of all the things that I love that I still CAN eat. Guacamole. Sushi. Steak. Coffee. and well...this is when I start to feel sad again.

I keep telling myself there are actually a lot of things I should be thankful about and I am. I'm thankful I live somewhere that this diet isn't impossible, I'm thankful that my reactions to these things are only minimal, if I accidentally (or even purposely choose) to eat one of them, I'll survive. I am thankful that there's a chance that this is only temporary, that by balancing out my lifestyle (more sleep, less stress, etc.) I can possibly get back to a place where these things can be introduced back in.

I'm thankful that this will force me to live a healthier life.

Shout out to everyone out there who has to deal with dietary restrictions. It's hard! 

Slowing Down

Last Saturday, Jason and I walked to the farmers market a couple blocks from our house. It was amazing to spend a couple of hours wandering around, buying yummy food and running into friends and neighbors. If felt so wonderful to just BE and not have anywhere to rush off to.

This summer was INSANE. We went too many places and did too many things. I spent time in New York, Ireland and Hawaii, we hiked Mt. Rainier for a shoot and shot a wedding at Lake Tahoe. All the time in between was spent working at our studio in Seattle all hours of the day and night. On most of the projects, when the long day was over and everyone else was sleeping,  Jason and I would be up answering emails and doing work on the next project in the pipeline. There were many nights with little sleep and some nights with none.

I've been going at a somewhat normal pace for the last couple of weeks now, but I still feel like I haven't caught up on sleep. Just thinking about this summer makes me tired. Typically I morn the end of summer and the change of the seasons, but this year, I'm dreaming of a calmer autumn and the idea of curling up with a book and cup of tea sounds AMAZING and actually like something that's within my reach as our schedule slows a bit.

So I'm trying to take any opportunity I can get now to relax and I'm hoping for a somewhat slower autumn. For time to go to yoga, go on walks with friends, to blog more, read a book, cook dinner at home and I'm even trying meditation! Wish me luck.

Instagram vs. Snapchat

This is what my life looks like on Instagram....

And this is what it looks like on Snapchat...

As you can see, Snapchat is a little more...unfiltered :) Come find me! 

Ireland!

If you follow me on Instagram, you might have noticed that I quickly popped out of the country to Ireland for a few days. It was a last minute trip, but so much fun! I loved getting to be there with Jason this time, as last time it was a girls trip to visit Teresa when she was living in Dublin.

As with most of our travels, it was technically a work trip, but it also sort of doubled as a mini anniversary getaway :) 

For the most part, we were driving through the Irish countryside and it was lovely to be out of a city and in a place that felt so different from my normal. 

10

It's been a busy summer! But Jason and I paused the non-stop working on projects for a day to celebrate our TENTH wedding anniversary on the 15th. That's right, TEN. 10. How did we get here?

We talked about doing something big, going somewhere, etc. etc. and in the end, I told Jason I wanted to eat cheeseburgers and ice cream in bed, but also have some fun photos so we look like people who do more with their spare time than eat cheeseburgers and watch The Office while laying in bed with cats. 

Our wonderful friends Johnny and Julia of Mazagran Photography hung out with us for a few hours and snapped a few pictures of us around our neighborhood. 

And of course, because it's us, we did cool things like this...

The Things I Do When I'm Not Blogging

So, I didn't blog this week. A couple of work projects took over my life. And the hard part is, apart from being slammed and not having any free time, sometimes what we're working on takes everything out of me creatively too and I get to a point where I can't think of ONE. SINGLE. THING. that would be interesting to blog about.

Here's a list of some of the things I did do this week:

I wore the same thing for three days and hardly slept.

I stood infront of store windows (pictured above) for test shots for one of the projects.

I went to bed after the sun came up three times, but not for cool, I was out at a party type of reasons.

I got a few strange looks pushing a shopping cart around Seattle.

I listened to Enya, because she calms me.

I didn't leave my house for 4 days.

When I finally did venture outside, I wore my pajamas to Trader Joes.

This is the trade off with my work. Some weeks are incredibly free. So far this year, on a whim I surprised my sister in Korea for her birthday and flew across the country to be with a friend in need. And then other times all of the things are due at once and you don't sleep and you just keep working.