I don't have to wait for much in life, but when I do, I'm not very happy about it. I get impatient when my phone takes longer than 2sec to load a page. I get frustrated as I wait in line as people try to use their credit card for what appears to be the first time. And I find my heart rate rising sitting in any kind of traffic where the car is not moving. For many of us, December is a month of urgency and expectancy. Finals will soon be over, vacation is around the corner, presents will be...
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Most of my professional interactions these days consist in the form of emails and conference calls. So when I found out the A Better World by Design was going to practically be in my backyard, I jumped at the chance to meet and speak with like-minded people in the flesh. I also volunteered to take photos for the event as I've learned after many conferences under my belt, this behind the scenes access provides more interactions with the participants and speakers. (Plus, it's way more fun than sitting the whole time!) In summary, the A Better World conference aims to connect...
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Wait... thanksgiving is next week?! Are you sure? I didn't even think we'd entered the month of November yet... wow. The last 6 weeks have sent us all over the country and brought some of our favorite people to us. We've been living nomadic lives, out of the packs on our backs or the suitcase in our hands. There are stories of crazy Greyhound bus trips, historic battlefield sites, new people and projects as well as soul-good conversations with old friends. Since this blog ultimately began as a travel blog, here is abridged the timeline of our travel, with some of...
Read MoreThis has been quite a year for me... I got married, graduated with my masters, and will soon turn... drum roll, please... 30!! (yikes. that's the first time I've typed it out) And with each milestone is another reason to celebrate! Culturally, we commemorate these milestones for others with thoughtful gifts, written cards or our most favorite, money. If you know me at all, you know I'm horrible at them all. I'm just not a good giver or receiver of gifts. Ironically enough, I married one as well, in fact the only tangible gifts we've ever exchanged are our wedding...
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The natural thing to do the week after you get married is to honeymoon. Interesting enough, this concept is borrowed from the Indian elite who would take their upperclass brides on a tour to visit relatives who had not been able to attend the wedding... glad that's not still the tradition! Historically known as the the hony moone by the British, the honeymoon was a term used to describe the period just after the wedding when things are at their sweetest.. (this all is predicted to wane after a month... this might still be true :) ) Today, we know...
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I work from home so I guess some could argue that I spend my entire day alone. But for any of you home office writers, freelancers, or consultants, you know you are anything but alone. Your emails represent nagging voices, conference calls transport you into rooms full of other bodies, and voicemails remind you that someone is tapping you on the shoulder for something. But then there are some days where I sit at the same computer with the same Adele Pandora radio station playing and holding the same warm cup (with of course fresh coffee), and all the people...
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i'm a kansas girl and not immune to natural disasters. i can prepare and endure tornados with the best of them. i've survived softball sized hail, monster lighting storms in india, and a few snow-ins in colorado. but this week on the east coast has just been a bit out of the ordinary and worth writing home about. it was the first full week we've both been in town since we moved to bethlehem, pa and i'm going to forever remember it as our HURRI-QUAKE WEEK. a double whammy punch from mother nature in two forms i had yet to really...
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it's official. all things wedding are now behind us (oh, except those ever present thank you notes... it's like those never end!) and i cannot tell you how good it feels... (unless you're married and were the main one planning the wedding then you know how i feel). while it's one of the best days of your life, it's also the most stressful. i feel like it's a big unspoken hazing you must survive before you can truly be man and wife. it's as if society says, oh, so you really want to do this forever thing? how about you...
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JACKIE COOPER PHOTOGRAPHY As a photographer myself, I know that wedding photography is not just a business but an art. Understanding the events of the day is only the beginning. The emotion, the significance, and the power of weddings requires a photographer who understands the deeper layers of his or her assignment. A photographer can understand those layers better when one connects with the wedded couple. The more comfortable I am with the family, the more natural the photos become and the more emotion I communicate through my photos. For all of these reasons, there was no better photographer choice for...
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All of our print materials created by Megan Sornson… best graphic designer… EVER. (and we’re not biased at all :) and here are the details according to megan and photos courtesy of Jackie Cooper Photography: "This ain't a threat but I think I better warn ya, Gonna fall in love if you go to California." Greener Printer: Berkley, CA 150 invites | 150 programs | 325 dollars one week production 105lb reincarnation matte book - 100% recycled, 60% post-consumer waste processed chlorine free, FSC certified paper with soy inks When Jill and Preston asked me to design their wedding materials, I was thrilled. They're an amazing couple...
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I, (Preston/Jill), take you, (Jill/Preston), as my (wife/husband). I will love you in action and in words. I will honor you above myself. I will serve God by serving you. I will be joyful in the hope of our shared future. I will be patient with you, in good times and in bad. I will be faithful to pray for you and with you in the seasons to come. I will use the gifts that God has given me to build you up and better your world. I will be strong where you are weak. I will embrace your strengths which compliment my own. I will live a life of...
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We have chosen to symbolize our unity through a painting. Around the wedding site, we posted a series of paintings… The first to symbolize our meeting. The second to symbolize our common interests. The third to symbolize our journey. The fourth to symbolize our engagement. The fifth to symbolize our compliments. The sixth we competed on the day of the wedding. The painting symbolizes uniqueness and with different things: such as city and nature or the mountains and the ocean meet they create beauty and unity. By doing this, we are saying ‘we are two unique individuals blending together to create something new, beautiful, and lasting.’...
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I left for the Middle East for research for 6 weeks and while I was gone, Preston wrote me a note for everyday I was gone. Each note was titled with a specific TO/FROM that highlighted our contrasting yet complimentary differences. I loved waking up each morning to open my note see what he had come up with to describe us. I kept waiting for him to repeat one on accident but I found out later that would never have happened... he made a spreadsheet to keep track of them all... of course ;) We used these on our wedding...
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He says... Jill was amazing to me from the start - independent, creative, visionary, compassionate. My first memory of her was when she told a story about a homeless woman she encountered in SF. While the whole world walked by, Jill took the time to listen to a woman outcast by society, to speak words of encouragement into her life, to buy her lipstick to help her feel beautiful like every woman should feel. Afterwards, I caught her taking photos which she told me was her year-long project of taking a picture every day - searching for beauty wherever it could be...
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I’ll never forget the moment Preston walked into my world. A group of us had come together to share what we had been learning as we read through the Psalms individually. He came up to the stage with all the confidence in the world and a goofy grin on his face. Dark haired, tall and lanky with well-worn, favorite flip flops on his feet, he told us of his drive every morning into the Berkeley hills and the opportunity he has to witness the divine moment the sun rises to overtake the night. With a cell phone full of bright...
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(as described by Preston in the fall of 2010) Jill lives for inspiration and is a fountain of creativity. Her eye for photography is only matched by her passionate pursuit for beauty in the everyday. One step into my gallery…er…apartment and you can quickly tell that I’m her biggest patron/fan! Jill has an entrepreneurial spirit, a visionary personality, and an insatiable desire to explore new places and cultures. She’s constantly trying to expose me to the cultures she has experienced and grown to love in Africa, India, Europe, and around the world, as well as expand my worldview beyond that of Southern...
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(as described by me in the fall of 2010) Preston knows no strangers… just future friends. Truly generous and philanthropic, he chooses people over projects. If he had three shoes, he would probably give you two and then invite you over for dinner. He connects with people of all classes, races, and walks of life without a thought of judgment. Becoming the lowest common denominator in any group, he takes a one down approach so that everyone can contribute and feels included. He reaches out a hand to anyone who will take it in genuine compassion and care. One of the smartest...
Read Morefaith is not intended to free us from our struggles but rather to teach us how to struggle well.
It's happening... life is changing. I just walked Natalie to the door and said goodbye. She was the last of 36 roommates I've had (36... yes you read correctly... that's a whole other set of stories) and I turned around to the empty apartment and reality hit... Almost 4 years ago I arrived in San Francisco on my own. I had no idea what or who awaited me here, I just knew I had to come. When I cried out what I was to do next, God had whispered "San Francisco" on a beach in Thailand. So for no other...
Read MoreFor the last few year, I've tried to celebrate the beginning of a new year with a new adventure... 2008: ran across the golden gate bridge (san francisco) 2009: biked up tiburon hills (berkeley) 2010: hiked to the top of mt. diablo (walnut creek) This year, I wanted to spend the first day in 2011 on either the water or in the snow. Since Preston can throw a frisbee into the ocean from his apartment, we opted for the sea and spent the first day of the new year on a boat to Catalina Island. Kind of like a merge of Italy and Hawai'i...
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Processing on Cloud 9
I'm engaged... I--a-m--e-n-g-a-g-e-d. It must still be sinking in as I've found myself mentally living in another world since Saturday. I week ago while celebrating my birthday in Santa Fe, Preston asked me to live the rest of life with him as his wife and best friend. I said YES! without a moment of hesitation and haven't stopped staring at my finger since. (I've also missed my BART stop by 5 stops and spent 20 min wandering around the parking lot looking for my parked car.) The beautiful photos taken by Austin HERE, capture all my excitement and joy of the...
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Married on a Sunday in east bay's Fremont, Fred and Sonja tied the knot in Ardenwood Farms with a touch of comic book style. Fred, nicknamed the "Green Lantern" and Sonja, also known as "She Hulk" added their fun and personal touches to their day An easy-going-roll-with-the-punches kind of couple took the day in stride and immersed themselves in the moment and all of the people who came to share it with them. I loved seeing their joy as they returned down the aisle and they beautiful ways their families have melded together. The reception truly was a celebration and...
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Jody and Emily are two of my favorite bay area people. They value the process more than the product and the questions more than the answers. Over the past year, Preston and I have shared with them late night dinners, brunch discussions, and intense games of Risk and we're better because of it. I guarantee you, if you get the chance, time with them is time well spent. They recently finished their masters degrees and wanted to celebrate the milestone and their new chapter in life. We re-lived all the late nights studying, walks on campus, and coffee shop discussions in...
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in the past 2 months, i've slept in 20 different places... (trust me, i counted). i've crashed on airplanes and airport floors. i've slept on the roof of a house and on the sand of the arabia. i've shared rooms with 6 others, beds with friends, and even slept in the rooms of stranger artists. i've stayed with new zealanders, texans, and i even bedded down with the little mermaid in her island home (no, i'm not joking... if you know lisa, you know what i'm talking about). i've seen the arabian sky, snow skied in the desert, and baked...
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Chelsea and Loren met each other at one of my photography shows last fall and I count it an honor to photograph them in one of the most intimate and naturally beautiful weddings I have ever attended. Surrounded by a circle of family and sheltered by the towering redwoods, they they came together to share their simple but sincere vows. Loren's eyes remained fixed on his bride's face and Chelsea, a dancer, moved in her beautifully unique way towards him. As tourists walked about and snuck peaks between the trees, they made a decision to dance forward into a...
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any time over the next 6 weeks, i will only be found in Oman... or my blog. probably better you just look for me on the blog.
It's been ten years since we began our architecture education in Manhattan, Kansas but I still call these friends some of my favorites. When it came time to leave, we had our pick then of jobs and the possibilities of our dreams were limitless. We scattered to different corners of the world... each one of us taking our own unique approach to our trade. We've gone to far off lands and stayed to explore known places; we've ended jobs and begun new chapters in our education. In the course of these years, we've gathered others along with us in the journey....
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06.16.10 // Twenty-Five Toes // Lira Uganda I believe the phrase goes, ‘If these walls could talk, oh the stories they’d tell.” As I sit here with these children, I wonder what stories their feet would tell me. How many miles have they walked without shoes over rocky roads and uncultivated fields? How many times have they fetched the day’s water or run under a tree for shelter from the rain. These feet have built callouses to protect but also to survive. If their feet could talk, I think it would leave mine speechless.
His eyes are so intense, staring back at me like a little warrior. I wonder what he thinks when he looks at me so intently... Does he wonder why I am here as much as I want to know his story? Does he want to meet my family in the same way I want to know his sisters? Is he curious about my white skin and curly hair as much as I am intrigued by the dirt on his dark face? I wonder what he's thinking. But the only words he speaks are with his eyes. There comes a moment in each life experience where you must decide if...
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