Pocket of light

I've talked about how much I enjoy having some bright light in my dining room (here) and now I wanted to share a little pocket of light that comes into my living room. Around 3pm, the room brightens up from one window we have open. I've exposed for the light here which makes everything else dark. Such a great way to hide the mess behind me. Tee hee!

Reading magazines and lounging before getting back to work.

And at 3:20pm, the light moves towards the blinds we have closed and we're left with one stark line. Great way to show of my Mac lipstick. ;)

What kind of light do you like to work with?

Flowers and Light: Peonies in B&W II

I know what you are thinking. Peonies, again?! The internet is full of them! But here we are. :) These flowers were a vibrant pink color as seen here. They were lovely and different from the usual peonies I take home and I appreciated the many differences between them.

If you were wondering why this is labeled "II", it's because I did a post  similar to this last year. This time around I wanted to see how the mood changed if I used a white backdrop. Which do you prefer? Do you like black and white edits? They seem almost timeless to me. Anyway, one of my friends asked if I could turn the photo below into a shirt. I wasn't sure if he was serious or not so I uploaded it on Society 6. Turns out, he was! Anyway, if you would also like this in a shirt, or anything else, you can get it here. Please note that any purchase made come with hundreds of virtual hugs from me. 

In other news, my husband and I are moving to LA this weekend! We've been living on the border of LA and Orange County for far too long now and it was always hard to explain how close we are to the city but how far we were at the same time. I'm a little nervous about this change but then I'm reminded that life begins at the edge of our comfort zone. That's the quote by Robert Frost right? :)

Lastly, I shared a little personal post on being vegetarian on Natalie's lovely blog, La Designerie. Check it out for more peony love but more for her beautiful blog!

Okay wow! That was a lot of information to take in for one post! Anyway, I hope you have a lovely week and weekend ahead! Do you have any upcoming travel plans? We're heading out on a road trip next month and couldn't be more excited (and stressed!) for it. 

Five Senses, Lately

Some post take 20 minutes and some post like this one have taken a few weeks! A few things that are used through one of our five senses and things that have elevated my day to day.

SIGHT | Having flowers around the home are always a constant now. I've allotted myself a weekly supply of flowers. Sometimes tulips, sometimes peonies (whenever they are in season) and sometimes I get lucky and get to take home floral arrangements from weddings! (above are scraps from this floral arrangement)

SOUND | Do you ever have songs you've listened to oh so many times and get sick of them? Me too, all the time! Except for a few exceptions like the Vacationers - Good As New. Have a listen. 

TOUCH | My husband gifted me this sweet felt laptop case for xmas accompanied with a laptop. It's so different from anything I've seen as far as cases go. I appreciate the design and the fact that I don't have to deal with zippers at all.

SMELL | Definitely having a moment for candles recently. I picked this one up a looong time from UO and liked it so much that I sent it to my friend overseas since she writes a lot of letters in candle light! She mentioned she didn't have a scented one yet and though she might enjoy this one. Especially with the gardenia notes and it's resemblance to jasmine, count me in!

TASTE | Sometimes even a simple cup of coffee will do it for me. Caffeine is the elixir of life...as my friend once said.

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I hope you enjoyed updates in the form of five senses. I'm off to Los Cabos, Mexico for the rest of the week. Have you been there before? Hope you have a great week! x

Arrangements, Coveted

Hey friends! Oh boy oh boy what a whirlwind the past few weeks have been. Definitely struggling to find a balance in everything. Hope it's all well worth it in the long run. :)

Anyway, enough about that! Let's get to some peaceful and calming things like...these floral arrangements!

These florals were coveted from Brandon and Katrina's wedding. If you haven't already, check out their work, they are AMAZING! The floral arrangements are the creations of Amanda from Fantasy Floral Designs. Aren't they gorgeous??

These lovelies made an hour long trek to our home, maintained their shape AND they lasted quite awhile. Sure, there were a few scraps that fell along the way but I didn't even waste these for they were just way to gorgeous to pass.

So while I catch up with all the things, I'm curious to know how you find balance in everything?

Natural Remedies

It's strange what having a cold does to you. All you want to do is be healthy again and swear off all the junk food and staying up late activities. I admire how people just do their normal routine packed with natural remedies or meds. I visited my parent's house this past weekend and it is possibly the best place to recover from catching a cold. They're home is packed with natural remedies like fresh ginger, a whole lemongrass plant, lemons, and plenty of tea. 

So how do you cope with having a cold? What are your natural remedies?

Tea

Caffeine is a definite must for me in the mornings. It's mostly chai but sometimes I opt for tea and sometimes coffee-it's just fun to change it up. Yesterday, I chose green tea as an excuse to use this heart shaped tea infuser gifted by a friend. Isn't it adorable? So, how do you have your caffeine? Are you more of a tea drinker, coffee person, or neither?

I'm looking forward to staying in this weekend and catching up on a lot of projects--but mostly blogging and photos. What about you? Any awesome plans for the weekend? Hope you have a lovely one!

White Kale: Flowers and Light

I got to take home some more blooms this past weekend! But to my surprise this wasn't a floraly bloom, it was a vegetable bloom! I couldn't believe it when they told me...it was white kale!

On Instagram, as the guesses came, one of my friends mentioned that it might not be what we were told it was. But then what could it be? So then I googled it and I'm happy to confirm (at least 90%) that it is indeed white kale. The ones pictured in the search are slightly greener and/or more pink but there are articles that suggest that during the early seasons, mixing kale with violas helps them come with colors like this. Maybe I should..taste it to make sure? They're just too pretty!

They've lasted 5 day so far and with only the outer petals giving away. I never thought a vegetable could be this gorgeous.

What are you upto this weekend? Lovely plans, I hope! Are we relaxing, traveling, a little bit of both? I think I might be relaxing mostly. Last weekend was a little intense with a trip to Vegas and then wedding photography the same day I got back! But like I said before...it's such a perk to take these lovelies home. :)

A Breath of Fresh Air

Thanksgiving is always such a special time spent with family and friends. The fall and all it's loveliness make it so sweet to huddle around with each other, hot chocolate in one hand, cookies in the next. This year is no different, but maybe extra sweet. Every occassion is our "first" as a married couple and so tomorrow will be no exception. :)

This is also the perfect Wednesday to keep it light and short. Things I'm looking forward to this long* weekend:

• Spending quality time with family---we're making Mexican food on Thanksgiving!
• Celebrating a dear friend's birthday. She's the one who gifted us these super witty and sweet pillow cases and this lovely tea cup. Isn't she the sweetest?
• I'm soooo excited to share some things I've been working on the past couple of months but they're all in the works and it will happen in due time. <3<3<3

*Long because it will be nice and relaxing, even though I don't have Friday off!* 

How are you spending your long weekend? Taking it easy? Traveling anywhere?

Dessert For Breakfast

When my husband asked me if I wanted to go to a Lakers game in Downtown LA this past week, I immediately said "Yes!" with excitement. What he didn't know was that I was probably more excited to go to the dessert place after than to actually watch the game.

You see... there's an amaaaazing bakery five minutes away from the stadium and if we're going to watch the game there...we might as well stop by. I've mentioned this place before when I had a hazelnut beignet and I was eager to return but this time to try their macarons.

Aren't those colors amazing? They're strawberry, violet infused with something I can't remember, rose, espresso, and pistachio.

I didn't eat them that same night. I ate them bright an early the next day while taking these photos, because dessert for breakfast is probably one of the best thing in the mornings. Oh, and with some caffeine too. :)

What about you, what is your choice of dessert for breakfast?

Q+A time

Jessica of COCO/MINGO nominated my blog for a Liebster Award and all I can say is, thank you! :) This little blog stemmed out of a need to have a creative outlet and I didn't realize I'd also find a supportive and encouraging community out of it!

Jessica asked us a few questions for her Q+A so here we go:

Favorite television show? Depending on my mood but regulars include Park and Rec, Newsroom, West Wing and sometimes New Girl

Describe your dream home: It would include plenty of natural light, a minimal aesthetic with a little artwork and lots of blank walls that are photo-ready :) (I just mentioned this to my husband and he said "you would describe that as your dream home so I guess I'm right on!)

Where do you live? Orange County, CA! Always 72 and sunny.

What’s your idea of a great adventure? It would involve lots of hiking, exploring, laughing, talking, and spontaneity!

Dream vacation/place to travel to: I would looove to do a "Round The World" trip. To name a few...I'm dying to go to Salar de Uyuni, hike up Machu Pichu and if I'm feeling ambitious Mt. Kiliminjaro! But as long as I'm traveling, I'm content.

Favorite recipe: This vegan white chocolate macademia nut cupcake recipe!

Spring/summer or fall/winter? Fall! :)

What’s your favorite sport? Cross Country and track (always!)

What are you inspired by? I'm inspired by minimalism, a sense of play, food arranged nicely and coffee

Top of your shopping wish-list? so so so many cameras! I actually have a camera wishlist that I'll be posting very soon and then some shoes.

What makes you happy? At the end of the day, the happiest is sharing good memories with family and friends.

My Q&A for the blogs I nominated:

1. What is the strangest movie you've ever seen and why?
2. If you could live in any fictional world, which would you live in?
3. Who/what are your current inspirations?
4. When you need a pick-me-up, what do you turn to? 
5. Your choice of caffeine:
6. Your go-to floral bouquet would include:
7. What does your ideal Saturday afternoon look like?
8. What is your blogging routine?
9. Your currently playlist:
10. You're happiest when...

I nominate these lovely blogs:

Life Etc.

Paper Pastries

Helena La Petite

Life Lately

Giulia Duch

Looking forward to getting to know you more! :) 

Morning Rituals

Like I mentioned in this post, morning rituals are still a little new to me. So far, I've been able to read, blog, cook, draw and of course take photos to document the process of me turning into an early bird! Side effects include extra cheerfulness, more optimism and more pastries!!!

Sometimes I wait for the sun to come out so I can take some still photos with sufficient lighting and sometimes I sip my coffee and catch up with a lot of branding/marketing/photography books before I'm off to work. There's still not enough time to do as much as I'd like but now I don't find myself saying "I just don't have time to do it."

What about you? Do you have any morning rituals you like doing to start your day?

Thoughts on VSCO Grid

So I've had VSCO Grid for a few months now but I've only recently started using it a lot. I love how the photos are displayed and I love the fact that you can't save the photos! I could definitely see this being an alternate way of displaying your portfolio. It's so great to peruse through and it looks so clean and professional!  

How about you? Do you use VSCO Grid? If so, leave a link! I'd love to check yours out. :)

A Spot of Gold

I've always been a fan of delicate jewelry, whether in gold or silver. But recently, I've been drawn towards more gold pieces.I picked up a set of these rings at the outlet right before heading to Las Vegas. I thought I'd stack them together for a "cocktail ring" look while I play a hand of roulette or two.

And then I was gifted this beautiful and delicate camera necklace which I'll basically be outfitting everyday. Isn't it just dainty enough for daily wear?



What about you? Do you prefer gold over silver? Brass, nickel, or rosegold?

Henna Cupcakes

I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned this but my mom and I are henna artists! Well my mom is more so than me but she taught me the ins and outs and all the techniques. Henna is essentially designs on the body that are temporary. It's a tradition to apply henna for celebratory events like a wedding! :) One day, my mom and I designed cupcakes with henna designs using buttercream frosting. Here's a little stop motion video I made while guest posting on Margaret's blog last year:

Henna Cupcakes Stop Motion Video from Tana Gandhi on Vimeo.

I was just thinking of how long it's been since I last applied henna and started missing it! Have you ever had henna done? 

Twenty Six

So I'm down to the last few days of being 25! It's terrifying yet exciting. I have a habit of turning everything into a photo series so it's no surprise that I have 2 that have turned into a small tradition: (1) I write my current age and am baffled that these are the last days I'll be 23, 24 and now 25! (2) Double exposure portraits! Here's one from last year taken from the Diana:

How do you celebrate your birthday? Do you have any special traditions and/or photo series?

BRB!

I lent my (hubby's) sister my camera lenses for her Eurotrip and realized how much I needed to be away from photography for a little bit. A much needed time away so that when they're back, I'll be able to look at things with a fresh pair of eyes. Have you ever felt this way? Besides that I really can't wait to start working on more content and think about ideas and developing them into something fresh and new and yay! The blog also has a new format which will always be a work-in-progress. 

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This weekend, Leena and I are heading to SF to see the Postal Service! We can't hold our excitement at the thought of listening to one of our favorite high school bands live on their reunion tour. Leena is also the bestest concert buddy since our college years when we saw Damien Rice, Colbie Callait, Death Cab For Cutie, Snow Patrol, and Coldplay.

Catching Up

I'm planning on using my Canon G15 this week to finally populate the tag a little bit more. When I'm searching for cameras, I usually like to see what kind of pictures people take along with its technical features. It's essentially a mid-range camera that's better than a typical point and shoot yet it doesn't have the heaviness of a dSLR.

The image above was taken with this camera in Iceland. I used the HDR setting--which captures the exposure of the waterfall and the sky together.

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This past weekend, I finally purchased a bike! I'll be training on it so I can finally cross another thing off my bucket list: biking to the beach and back! It's about a 40 mile journey (roughly 64 km)and it doesn't seem that much in biker terms but seems almost overwhelming to me.

Mid-Summer Break

I'm quite impressed with how often people move and how it's like a NBD thing to them. Have you moved a lot? How do you settle in and make a place feel like home? This week, I plan on spending some time offline, relaxing, and enjoying what it means to call a new place home. Hope you have a great week!