Interactive Cocktail Menu

Between pregnancy and having a newborn, last summer was kind of a wash for me in the cocktail department. This summer I'd love to mix up some fancy drinks to enjoy the warm Seattle summer. I love these glasses from Anthropologie but they are a bit pricey, any tips out there on where to find great cocktail glasses at a reasonable price?

Have you seen this awesome interactive cocktail menu that Rosie Schaap put out through the NY Times? I got margarita, surprise, surprise.

(Image from the NY Times)

Nashville & a Photo Trick

Jason and I spent the weekend in Nashville shooting a friend's wedding.  

It was a quick trip, but we did get a couple of hours to hang around one night and be tourists. We headed downtown, got some ice cream, meandered past the bright lights and bars blasting country music and walked across the Shelby Street Pedestrian Bridge to snap some night shots of the skyline. I decided I wanted a photo of us, and we took the shot above. Immediately after Jason posted it on Instagram, he got a couple texts from friends asking how he did it. 

I tried to get him to tell people we were actually ghosts...no one bought that. 

The real answer is super simple. You too can be a ghost! It's just a long exposure done with an app called Slow Shutter Cam. Because the camera shutter stays open much longer than a normal shot, it lets in more light, which is how you capture night shots, but it also blurs any movement- hence ghost Jason and Jenny. To get the shot right, take a couple shots, changing settings to get to the correct exposure for the background. This exposure was 15 seconds. Then just as if you're using a self timer setting,  set it on something get the angle right, hit the button and awkwardly run into the photo and FREEZE! It's important to hold as still as you can while the shutter is open, then run back out and see if it worked. 

Now go make some ghost photos yourself! 

Would You Hire a Birth Photographer?

The idea of someone photographing the birth of my baby always seemed a bit odd to me before Mylo was born. I wanted the experience of giving birth to be intimate and really only include Patrick, myself, our doula, and minimal assistance from medical professionals along the way. If you've read his birth story you know I didn't really get my wish. Now that I can reflect on the experience it might be nice to have some classy, professional, birth photos to look back on now. Especially because the natural part of my labor was so overshadowed by the needed interventions that took place in the end. I'm so grateful for the photos that Jason was able to snap just after I met Myles for the first time. I was so drugged I barely even remember him taking them but they are very special to us now. I recently read an article on Babble about how in a C-section delivery, birth photography can be even more important since the photos will serve as the eyes of the mother since she can't see what is happening.

I tried to take photos when my sister gave birth to Rory but I did NOT do the moment justice. It was one of the most beautiful and magical moments I have ever experienced and I just wasn't able to capture that with my camera. Although it may be weird to have a stranger or acquaintance in the room during this intimate moment it would also be nice to have those private photos for years to come.

These are lovely photos of a birth and here is an interesting interview with a birth photographer. Did you hire a birth photographer? Would you?

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Friday Roundup

I hope you have a wonderful long weekend. Teresa and I are kicking it off with a Mariners game tonight with friends. Even though Seattle weather usually doesn't kick into summer-mode until after the Fourth of July, I always think of Memorial Day as the beginning summertime. I can't believe it's here! I'm dreaming up plans to enjoy as much of it as possible and I hope you get to as well.

Ryan & Julie on Anderson Cooper talking about the 30/30 Project.

Stop washing your jeans!

I've been listening to this track on repeat, it's so lovely and calming.

My beloved Karama, gets a GREAT shoutout on the Huffington Post.

What do people in your state google?  I have to say, didn't google "unicorn tattoo" until after I saw this map. I had to see what all the fuss was about!

Love this summery knit...

The New York Times discusses The Bachelorette. Do you watch the show? I have in the past, but overall am not a fan. I appreciated reading varying perspectives.

Digitally redecorate your desktop or home screen with springy watercolors.

Amazon Prime Video just added HBO Shows, now I know what I'll be watching all summer.




Photo: Bikers in Siem Reap, Cambodia-shot by Jason in 2009.

Project Pinterest LIVES!

After creatively stacking books in my fireplace last week, it's like the floodgates opened. I'm itching to be crafty again. Remember the summer of 2012- when we made mud pies into stepping stones and magically turned wine bottles into pretty vases? I've decided to bring Project Pinterest back for the summer.

My rather lofty DIY goals for this summer include:

-Sewing throw pillows with the fabric I've purchased while traveling (not to get ahead of myself too much, the first step is learning how to use a sewing machine...)

-Making kombucha & homemade cheese

-Making shelves, painting some walls, getting creative with photos...anything to make my home more homey

-Creating gifts for friends: candles, jewelry, the like

What do you think? Anyone have a good craft project for me to try?

Wedding Wednesday: Starting the Race…Creative Exits

Peter & Margaret met while running the Boston Marathon a few years back, so starting a race was the perfect wedding exit for them, and pretty adorable way to symbolically start off their marriage. 

In preparation for their exit, they changed into their running shoes, put on race numbers. To complete the wedding exit look, they added "Just Married" signs and ran off into the night dragging cans behind them! 

Would You Assign Seats at a Dinner Party?

Lately I've been thinking about an Irish etiquette point that I miss from our days in Dublin. In Ireland, it is considered poor manners to sit next to your spouse/partner at a dinner party or event. The general thought is that you already spend so much time with your partner, the point of being out is to meet new people and converse with others. This comes naturally to Patrick and I...not to say that we don't enjoy being around each other, but when we are out we naturally tend to chat with different crowds and Patrick in particular loves to meet new people.

I've never assigned seating at a dinner party (we didn't even do it at our wedding!) but I think there is actually something really nice about putting thought into where people sit and who would be most interested in chatting with whom. Jenny and the girls did a great job of assigning seating at my baby shower, everyone seemed to be getting along well and they seated me next to the out of town guests.

Would you feel comfortable going to an event or party and sitting separately from your partner? Do you assign seating at parties you throw?

PS. Tips on seating arrangements at a party (Patrick is definitely the Charmer!) and dinner party etiquette from 60 years ago (ATTN: JENNY).


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