neah bay on film

The digital shots from my trip to Neah Bay are in this post, but I took my film cameras along for the ride and these are a few of my favorite shots.

sitka on film

Eating at the Bayview Pub every day.  Coffee at the Backdoor.  Reading books.  Kayaking.  Looking at sea creatures. Wandering docks.  Watching local burlesque.  Breathing the best air.  Being with the best human.  More of this please.

the bartlett

This past week I learned about an awesome new music venue in Spokane that will open next spring.  It's being started by an old acquaintance, Karli Ingersoll, and her husband Caleb.  Karli is an incredible musician and graphic designer and we hung out a couple times during my time in Spokane.  I'm super excited to see this endeavor come together and would absolutely love to take a little road trip over to Spokane to see a show at The Bartlett.


I still have a thing for Spokane.  When I was going to school there, I often would get annoyed with students who were from other, "cooler" cities, like Seattle.  They would constantly complain about how there wasn't anything to do in Spokane, though they would never take the effort to actually get off campus and see what was actually going on in Spokane's art and music scene.  By the time I got to my senior and fourth year of living in Spokane, I decided I wanted to do something to expose those people on campus to what was going on in the city.  If they weren't willing to go see what awesome things were going on, what amazing art shows were happening, what incredible local musicians were playing at cool venues... well then I would bring it to them in the form of a magazine.  I put out my first issue of Corsair, a full color magazine fully funded, designed, and put together by me.  I recruited a few friends to help write articles and shoot some additional photos, but for the most part it was my pet project.  I met so many amazing artists and musicians, and visited some incredible bars, restaurants, and venues and my love for the city grew 10 times!

Karli was one of the artists featured in my first issue.  At the time she was working as a graphic artist for a local firm and playing music in venues around Spokane and the Northwest.  She is one of the most talented and passionate women I know, and I'm a big fan of supporting the endeavors of other creative, passionate, and entrepreneurial ladies out there.

If you're a graphic design nerd like me, you'll love seeing this little timelapse of the process Karli went through to get to the final design for The Bartlett's logo!



I know there are probably not a ton of you who live in Spokane or even the Northwest, but if you want to help Karli and Caleb start this awesome new contribution to the music and culture scene in Spokane, you can contribute to making The Bartlett become a reality by clicking and donating here.

all photos via The Bartlett facebook page

The Smallest Family Member

My little brother made this short video of Little Bit the other day.  I thought it was so cute, and it made me miss home and the little bitsy doodle.  She's turning 15 (fifteen!!) this summer, but she's still a spry old gal.  I think her vision is probably getting worse, but she can still keep up with Simon who's only two years old!  I feel like a dog is such a great part of a family.  I can't wait until Dan and I are in the position to get a pup of our own.  If it was up to me we'd get one tomorrow, but Dan is the voice of reason, and probably for the best.  I can't lie, I'm more excited for the day we get a dog than the day I welcome a child into our family, haha!  I'm sure that will change once that day comes, but for now I've got puppy fever much more than baby fever.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's day everyone! I know a lot of people feel strongly about loving or hating this holiday, but regardless of all that, I think it's great that there's a day set aside for us to remember and commemorate love. And I think what's really important is for us to remember to love ourselves and not let anyone tell us we aren't worthy of love or that we aren't beautiful. On this day, you should remember that you ARE lovely and you ARE worthy of being loved. Today, not only should you express love to the people in your life who are special, but you should take at least a few minutes to love yourself and celebrate how amazing you are in your special and unique way.

I love the story Eve Ensler tells in this video about beauty. Eve herself is a beautiful woman doing such great things for women around the world. If you've never heard about her V-Day movement, you should check it out (since it is V-day after all!).

V-Day is a global activist movement to end violence against women and girls. V-Day is a catalyst that promotes creative events to increase awareness, raise money, and revitalize the spirit of existing anti-violence organizations. V-Day generates broader attention for the fight to stop violence against women and girls, including rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation (FGM), and sex slavery.

I'm constantly inspired by women like Eve and the passion with which they go into the world to make a real physical difference that matters. Valentine's day has never really been much about flowers and candy and fancy dates for me, I'm not that kind of girl anyway. But empowerment and real love that expresses itself in life-changing action, that's something I'm all about celebrating!