one sixty birthday

It was a whirlwind of parties last night ... first a baby shower and then a 40th birthday celebration! We gathered at one sixty blue for a private dinner to celebrate my lovely friend, Kendra's Birthday ... and closed the place down! I've had the pleasure of knowing Jay and Kendra for almost 20 years and consider them family at this point. We have shared many a meal in celebration of weddings, babies, birthdays, holidays and everything in between. I look forward to continuing the journey. Happy Birthday to my smart, beautiful, talented, stylish, and caring friend Kendra!

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hoot of a baby shower

Drove to Chesterton for Holly's baby shower yesterday ... She's got some incredibly talented friends that whipped up paintings, owl pins, prints, yummy sweet treats and etc. We began the evening with coffee and cocktails and a little chit chat. It was nice to meet all of her new friends - I'm kind of the odd man out, coming from out of town, but everyone was very nice and so welcoming. There's just something about a small town isn't there? Anyway, then we made cards - one for each of the baby's upcoming birthdays while dining on bread bowls filled with lintel or squash soup and salads. Followed that up with presents and sweet treats. They also had a really cute game - make a baby out of play dough and have the mom judge which is the best. The interpretation and execution from each woman was so different... so cute and so hard to choose! Baby Sloane will be here sometime in the next thee weeks and I cannot wait to meet her!

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30 days of gratitude : six

30 days of gratitude :: Day 6 :: books ...  Pantone books have been all I've been able to look thru lately.  All work.  All the time.  But as you can see, I make the best of it , picked up some beautifully colored French macarons for inspiration.  Aren't they a most lovely Fall combination?  

Enjoy your Saturday!  I'm off to a baby shower and birthday party - gonna be a long night!  

30 days of gratitude : five

30 days of gratitude :: Day 5 :: Morning Sky ... Got up a little early to be able to pop over to the beach for a little sunrise splendor and failed to get out of the house early enough for actual sunrise, oh well.  Only an hour later and this was the beautiful scene ... I'll take it!  I so underutilize the fact that live within blocks of this beautiful shoreline... I say that every time I go, but even when the wind is blowing like crazy and it's bitter cold, it's so peaceful and serene.  

Today is the day that I am eligible for an iPhone upgrade and I am so on the fence about it.  The 4 has served me well and I hear the 5 is just around the corner.  AND I've been told I will loose those sunbursts when shooting directly into the sun, and I love those soooooo much!  What to do?? 

30 days of gratitude : four

30 days of gratitude :: Day 4 :: Leaves ...  Sadly the leaves are almost all gone from the trees and the weather has turned downright bitter!  I nearly froze my fingers off on a 15 min walk to snap these photos.  A whopping 30 degrees... at least the sun was cheery and bright!  I snapped the above shot of the beautiful red leaves blowing in the brisk breeze and had to take the new cam out for a few snaps too.... Isn't Fall the most beautiful and picturesque season?  

30 days of gratitude : three

30 days of gratitude :: Day 3 :: Happiness is a peppermint hot chocolate on a cold day.   (I do wish they still had the signature hot chocolate at Starbucks tho *wink*)

30 days of gratitude : two

30 days of gratitude :: Day 2 :: Smile ... like you mean it.   Ha!  I cannot even think of the word without singing a little tune.  So what am I smiling about?  So many things!  Mostly that I am alive, healthy (for the most part), have a job that I like (most of the time) and have had incredible opportunities to meet outstanding people and visit the most beautiful places in the world.  What are you smiling about?

30 days of gratitude : one

Today I am starting a new photo challenge - 30 days of gratitude.  It's supposed to be via the iPhone Instagr.am app, I was thinking I would use the new camera ... but since everyone else is working the iPhone angle, I figure I should do the same, so here goes ...   

Day 1 :: Favorite Food ... this is hard because I really have four or five serious favorites, but today I chose to go with potatoes.  I love them.  I love them roasted.  I love them fried.  I love them whipped.  I love them pureed.  I love them scalloped.  I love them so many ways... 

full frame !!

Say hello to my new best friend. The Canon EOS 5D Mark II. Yep! Finally a full frame girl, yeah! One of the guys I know through the photo circles here in Chicago was selling and since I had been wanting this camera for a while now, I decided to make the leap. We met today and I shot a few quick test shots... holy smokes. I'm simply blown away. The shot above was shot at f1.8 with an ISO of 500 with only one tiny light bulb for the source. There is virtually no noise. I might be in love. Initially I thought I could downsize to the Leica D-Lux 5 full time, but who am I kidding? I cannot give up the DSLR for good. Nope. Just cannot do it. So, this body should last me for a good long time. Joy!  { Thanks Anthony!! }

30 day challenge :: gratitude

Yep... it's that time again.  Time for another photo challenge!  Who's with me?