Scavenger Hunt Sunday

For about the past year I have wanted to photograph my peacock feather that was given to me from a very special person at work and decided that this week's scavenger hunt was the perfect time to do so. Those colors just won't screaming at me until I do. This week was a bit more challenging for me plus 2 days of headaches bordering on a migraine didn't help. I did however have a photography lesson on Friday so let's see if it resulted in some better photography.

1 - Diptych - Huh??? I had no idea what that was but a I looked up the definition and here's what it said. A diptych is a photograph that uses two different or identical images side by side to form one single artistic statement. The two images can literally be in contact with each other, or separated by a border or frame. After reading the definition I was still lost but thanks to Faith at Simplicity and her wonderful blog post this past week I was able to figure out what it was. Still confused, check out Pioneer Woman's blog post on the subject as well.

And here enters my beloved peacock feather......just love the vibrant colors and the texture.

2 - Books. I have a ton of books since I love to read and tried a number of different ideas with this but I kept coming back to how beautiful the pages were, especially since they were different shades of cream. I now tend to read books with my Kindle but I have a ton of books on my book shelves from used book sales that I still need to get to. So many wonderful books and so little time......

3-  Fill in the blanks prompt. Oh wow, all of my original ideas were all over the board and I ended up with a good shot for this since my house is full of these evil girl scout cookies, they are just the best!!!

When I think about how girl scout cookies are in my tummy, I just have to have one or two for breakfast!

4- A taste of Italy.
I suspect there will be a ton of pictures of pasta and other delicious Italian foods, but I wanted to snap shots of wine instead but with a major headache, I had to pull this from my archives from the holidays. I just didn't want to open a delicious bottle of wine and not be able to drink it - that would be a mortal sin in my house! Good wine should never go to waste.

5 - Reminders. This one stumped me because my to-do lists aren't very pretty to shoot so I started looking around my house and once I laid my eyes on my beautiful palm plant, I knew I had to shoot it. I got this plant from my Grandmother's funeral in August 2009 and every time I look at it I think of her. I usually am not successful with plants but this one is thriving in my dining room. I honestly feel like she's here with me every time I look at it or water it and that brings a smile to my face. I miss and love you Grandma!

Linking Up to Scavenger Hunt Sunday at Ashley's blog.

A Few Good Books

I know I haven’t posted lately but it’s not because I don’t have anything say (stop laughing), it’s because I’ve been busy reading and adjusting to working 5 days a week once again. Reading is only one of my many hobbies but I’ve really kicked it into high gear lately and read 3 books in one week while I was on holiday break. I’m in reading mode and getting some of those books on the “future reading” list checked off. In 2009 I read 23 books and my goal for 2010 is to read 26 books; 1 every 2 weeks. Doable don’t you think?

I thought I would share a few of my recent favorites.

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. I know a lot of people have already read this book but it’s been on my book shelf for quite a while. I loved the book despite how depressing it was at times. It’s a memoir which makes it even better. (3.5/4 stars)

The Help by Kathryn Stockett. A longer read but I love historical fiction!!!! (4/4 stars)

The Virgin of Small Plains by Nancy Pickard. This was the January selection for my Novel Thoughts book club and I was hooked after the first page of the book – seriously! I don’t normally read mysteries but this was an exception for me. (4/4 stars)

 

Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name by Vendela Vida. This was a super quick read but very enjoyable. It takes place in a very cold place so cozy up in your snuggie with a mug of hot chocolate and you’ll be set. (3/4 stars)

I hope you get to enjoy some time reading this winter and that maybe you’ll pick one of these books to enjoy.

P.S. Sorry for the weird pictures from Amazon.com – I was desperate for pictures of the book covers.

Loving Frank and Oak Park

A week ago Sunday, David and I headed to Oak Park to tour the Frank Lloyd Wright studio and home as well as go on the walking neighborhood tour. I have been begging to go since I read the book "Loving Frank" by Nancy Horan last summer for book club. I absolutely fell in love with the whole story and his work has become a bit of an obsession with me. David and I both share a love of architecture so it was a perfect way to spend a summer day together.

In addition to drooling over all of the beautiful homes in Oak Park, I enjoyed taking over 100 photographs of the homes. I forced myself to only use the manual modes on my Canon SLR camera which was quite the challenge for me. Hopefully you'll agree that the hard work was worth it after viewing the pictures.

This house above sold for $3.9 million last year even though they were asking for more than $7million.

This is the front of his studio which was an addition to the house.

Another view of the front of the studio.

Finally here's a picture of his home.

Can you see me by the door? I just didn't want to leave, it was the most beautiful neighborhood and I felt right at home.

This home while it wasn't designed by Wright, I felt the curb appeal and design was just my style. I think for a couple of million it could be ours. A girl can dream right?

Our next trip is off to Falling Waters, we better get planning!