sunday afternoons.

my sweet little camera has been packed up for much, much too long. I miss getting to snap pictures all the time, looking like a total tourist in my own town {except sometimes real tourists think i'm a professional and ask me to take their photos...and i giggle a little bit ;) } after being cooped up sick all weekend and falling in LOVE with the mid-afternoon light, i decided to snap a couple of nerdy shots.

because sometimes it's fun to get all, 'pretend' artsy.
here's my little love affair with light, courtesy of your favorite amateur photographer.
one day, i hope to REALLY know how to take good pictures in it ;)

 {my mama made this chair all pretty...so talented!}

 {light + light}

{i just love light on the floor.}

 {this playset is just dying for it to be summer}

{lonely little winter hammock}

rookie photographers.

you know from this post, that i'm no photographer. i'm just not. but that doesn't mean that i don't want to take pretty pictures, and my crazy best friend has been an absolutely amazing model. she's posed on pier 39, random places in san francisco, all over hollywood, in random coffee shops and pretty much with every bit of food she's put in her mouth for the last year.

with all the pictures i take of her, sometimes, i forget that she is taking pictures, too. i always love taking a peek at my photos after the fact, just to see the crafty/quirky photos that she has taken. here are a few that make me smile.

she's so cool.

four on friday.

it has been a crazy, hectic week. one complete with a bout of the flu, lots of orange juice, biology lab and eighties rock music. i was supposed to head up to san francisco this weekend to see my favorite lady {great-grandma cusamano}, but i don't want to bring all my germs up north. i'll be up there next week, thanks to my sweet/flexible aunt. you can be sure there will be lots of san francisco lovin' on the blog soon!

this saturday? is a special day in los angeles. not hollywood, not santa monica, but los angeles. downtown los angeles. {i might have watched this movie recently..} i hope your weekend is just as amazing, full of skyscrapers and crazy people and good food. i can't wait to catch up on all your blogs on monday and see how each and every one turned out :)

 {fried egg gummy candies!}

 {too many pictures}

 {black tea lemonade, courtesy of the best friend}

{baking cookies on sunday afternoon}

making it yours {2}

last week, i got to share with you a bit about decorating that usually messy, white bathroom counter we all have {see this post}. it wasn't until late on friday night that i figured out what i was going to be doing this week:

decorating a camera bag.

since i bought my sweet little canon rebel a couple of weeks ago, i've been cradling it like a small child and trying to keep it out of harms way while still camera bag-less. i checked etsy and amazon, chain stores and friendly recommendations for my "bag-mate." there simply wasn't anything that fit my flair for girly-vintage fun. since i was going to be carrying it around everywhere, i needed to make sure i wasn't cringing at the sight.

then came a fateful trip at the cusp of the weekend. we were hunting through mountains of old purses and totes when my best friend found an old camera bag. it was black and painfully beat up, with a wiry strap that bit deep into my shoulder. but with a little tender loving care? it became a home to my little camera. i might be a little {a lot} ecstatic. with a bit of paint+patience+broadway tunes, i've finally made this precious little bag my own.

{all crafting materials found at jo ann}

{before: wiry plastic strap and all}

{after}

i can't take photos.

you probably think i'm kidding with my post title. well, rest assured. i'm not. i am not a trained photographer, or even slightly gifted in that area, so you're going to see quite a few amateur photos/posts. my best friend on the other hand? is pretty much a natural. ah, so frustrating! ;) as you know from this post, i was recently looking into a camera investment.

well. it has been done. 

i feel like a proud mom with my big, seemingly professional camera. it's name is canon rebel t3i and i'm oh so very in love. i bought it on a saturday {on sale!} and snapped dorky pictures of food/jewelry/painted nails for the rest of the night. the best friend and i headed out to a bridge by our apartment on a sunday afternoon {forgive the lighting} and snapped a couple of crystal clear photographs in the fading sunlight. we're a little goofy, but until i take my photography crash course in october? 

this sweet family addition is going to be busy being silly. 

the big payoff.

{the extent of my iphone photography skills...and editing skills, for that matter ;) }

well, my lovely dear followers {and all my amazing visitors!!}, i'm going to buy a camera.

um, yay!

i've only been blogging religiously for about...three weeks. even though i've had this little spot on the web since early january, my last semester in college/senior thesis kind of threw me for a loop. since then, i've peppered this little blog with bits and pieces of the summer. september brought a joy, and excitement for this story place. i realized there are oh so many gorgeous women/men blogging out there, and i wanted to be a part of the fun.

thus, the need for a camera.

i'm quite far from being a, 'photographer,' per say, but i do love taking pictures. they're nice and grainy/blurry thanks to my iphone camera, but hey! give me props for trying! ;)

that's why i've been shopping around for my own camera. i'll be traveling around africa for a month at the end of the year, and i'm sure it will come in amazingly handy. as of right now, i'm thinking of this one or this one. or maybe even this one.

any advice, my fellow bloggers? this itty-bitty amateur needs all the help she can get!