Mammoth Lakes 2012

       Adventures that lead you to happiness, accompanied by the best of family and friends, these moments are what make life so worth living.  Mammoth is one of my favorite places in the entire world, and yes I have many favorite things as you all know.  Nestled in the lovely Sierra Nevada's, where adorably furry Woolly Mammoths once roamed and now home to people who want to get away from the busy of everyday chores.

      If you ever get a chance to drive an easy 6 hours to be surrounded by tons of lakes and towering trees be sure to check out Saddlebag Lakes to rent a boat and find yourself at the beginning of even more lakes!  Quite possibly one of my favorite hikes in Mammoth, as you climb in relatively easy elevation, you see snow topped mountains in the middle of summer and epic meadows for picnicking.

      In the 9 years I've been annually visiting, I'd never once seen a Tufa.  Lake Mono was one geological butte, that I was instantly fascinated by (photos near the bottom).  Even more fascinating?  The signs not photographed, reading "No climbing the Tufas".

      Besides the perfect dinner spreads and endless amounts of fancy craft beer and wine, this girl caught her first fish ever!  I might have screamed with excitement and I can't believe how delicious it tasted.  We now will be holding annual boat races at Deadmans Creek, which resulted in an afternoon of serious fun.  I swooned to to moon on how relaxing camping and the great outdoors can be for an entire week!

      There's something so special about exploring this world and it's natural beauty.  With photography, it really gets you to stop and capture a picture so you can remember this moment forever.

      Have a terrific week my darlings! 
 

The Flower Fields

    Sometimes life is dreamy.  Flowers all a blossom, sunsets into the sea, it's all fine by me.  My lovely sister Jennifer took me and my mom to The Flower Fields in Carlsbad on my birthday, kinda magical.  I'm getting all swoonsy just by looking at these photos, I'd love to do an engagement shoot here one day with new clients.  

 

   It's Friday, boy has it been a long week!  Happy weekend my darlings!   

Beach Trail Monday

The San Clemente beach trail is kinda my favorite thing right now.  Emma and I frequent it once a day for a leisurely walk or an easy 4 mile run along the coast, easy cause it's so pretty you can't even tell you're exercising!  I love running next to the gorgeous trains as they hug the coastline with me and the air isn't too bad either.  Mornings are crisp and cool and sunsets are like watching a giant peach fall into the sea, illuminating all that is around.  Sorta beats Griffith Park hikes majorly, I do miss my Observatory and climbing that backbone trail though.  

I still can't believe it's December already... Can't wait to head up North for a huge Family Christmas party and winter vacation this weekend! 

Giving

A special giving thanks for alllll the things I'm grateful for:

My family, so many siblings/nieces&nephews so many good times.

The ocean, it's kinda my sanctuary these days.

Music and the joy it brings.

The art of creating and inspiring others.

Having the best dog in the entire world who just loves to cuddle.

Friends who make adventuring that much more fun.

Many opportunities that I've had to explore and see the world.

The ability to swoon at the smallest things.

Most importantly, being alive in today.

DIY Felt on Canvas

Hot glue is very hot, always keep that in mind.  I'm a lover of felt and recycling my favorite old clothes to create cute home decor.  This is so easy my dears, you could totally put one of your favorite sayings on a canvas on the cheap.  I like to unwind with crafts on days off or when it's overcast, especially when I have a nice glass of wine or brewsky.  Most of this was cut with my handy scissors, I also used my exacto blade thingy, it works like magic. 

Life by the sea is pretty and amazing, I'm majorly happy.  I hope this inspires you to create something with those lovely hands of yours.  Happy weekend!

Bubbles Bubbles, They're all Mine!

Always the Norweigens to be so creative and extremely cute with the little things.  Odin Hole Standal, is someone I'd like to adventure with and see his point of view on life and beauty.  The middle photo is a bubble reflecting the sunrise, can you believe that?! 

I remember when my dad would help me make the biggest bubbles with two wands and a rope attached to each side.  We'd go to Oceanside and in between frolicing in the sea, building sand castles, and hitting back capri suns, the bubbles we made were HUGE!  Gotta talk to mom about getting the photos so I can share them with you.

Sidewalk Art Round One

Just do it...