My Week

There are a few thoughts running through my head right now: sleep, I think I'm hungry again, it's past midnight again, Hell's Kitchen is so dramatic, and ... photography :)

Thought I'd give you a quick recap of my week in photos.

(Jose is doing this RIGHT now as I type this! Ha.)

Apparently there's a leak in the unit upstairs which caused our bathroom wall to start leaking = needing repair. Fortunately we're renting so the management company sends their workers to fix it. Unfortunately they were a PAIN to communicate with and didn't reinstall the things that they took down to break the wall open.

Do you see THAT photo of us?! So, Jose leaves for work in the morning right before I wake up. He'll come say bye and give me a kiss before he leaves and today was no different. However, I vaguely remember him asking me "does this look ok?" this morning. Apparently I asked "what color is that shirt?" (I am BLIND when I first wake up!), and he said "purple." Half-asleep, I told him it looked great.

Fast forward to me getting dressed this morning and I don't remember a THING about that interaction. As I'm picking out what to wear, I think to myself "it might be a little cooler... I'll go with a warmer shirt." I pick out my PURPLE shirt (even though I have a red one JUST like it) and GRAY jeans.

Jose came home today and when I sat on the couch with him to talk, I looked at his outfit and my eyes grew SO big. Purple shirt, gray slacks. "NO WAY!!! Are you kidding me?!" Apparently he hadn't noticed either and just starts laughing. The first thing he says is "you better change!"

I'm not going to lie -- this has happened before. The funny thing is that he got me a girl-version of his favorite graphic t-shirt from threadless, and one day we both wore the shirt on the same day. It was the SAME shirt! Today's similarities was just ridiculous. Either way, one of us always ends up changing.

And this last photo? A sneak peek of one of the babies from this week's photo session. Look at that arm!! Don't you just love baby rolls?! I can't wait to share these with you, along with a toddler who was SOO sweet with me!

Okay, okay. One more.



It's a little fuzzy but I love his EXPRESSION! You actually can't see one of his beautiful features: his eyes. Just wait. He's got some beauuutiful blues!

So that's been my week so far! Isn't the outfit thing crazy?! Maybe it's more common than I'm thinking, but it was definitely a good laugh when we both came to that realization today. Has that happened to you?! Aaaalright. Time for bed!

FAQ: Adding a Logo or Watermark to Your Photos

A couple of weeks ago I was asked by someone how to add a logo to your photos. There are actually two ways of doing this in Photoshop and I'll teach you both! Some of you may not need this but might be interested in learning something new! Unfortunately I am only teaching it on Photoshop. It's a very simple trick, so I'm going to literally walk you through it. Cane and all.

Let's start with MAKING a logo! A very simple one of course.

Step 1: Open Photoshop > Select File > New

When the box pops up, make sure to select Custom on the Preset tab (where I circled below). Then set your measurement to inches and use the following sizes:



Keep in mind that for the resolution I put 300 dpi. We won't go into details, just realize that when creating a logo from scratch you NEED a high DPI in order for you to keep a high quality logo when it is being re-sized. It basically allows you to keep a high resolution when you are transferring it to high resolution photos.

Step 2: Select the text tool (button with letter T) > select a special font > add it to your canvas. Increase the size until it fits nicely width wise:



I selected the font Vivaldi for this example. It's a very pretty font but a little cheesy too :)

Anyway, after you have chosen your size to fit your canvas, select your crop tool and crop tightly around your text so you don't have a lot of white space. Basically, it goes from looking like this:



to this:



And now we can take this two ways.

VERSION 1 of turning this into a logo: Turn it into a BRUSH! Super simple.
Go to Select > ALL. Then select Edit > Define Brush Preset



Then name the brush:


And that's it! You can now open a photo on Photoshop, select your brush tool, find your watermark/logo, and use it on your photo as any color or size! It's literally a click and you can change the color.





Viola!

This was obviously a very small and easy way to create a logo. Hopefully you learned a trick or two! BUT, what if you hired a designer to create a logo for you?! That's awesome! However, now we need to show you how to place that already-made-logo on your photos. Stick around for part 2.

If you have any problems while trying this out or questions -- send me an email! I'll be writing a few tutorials every other week, so if there's anything you'd like to learn that I might be able to teach you -- ask away!! I was thinking of writing a tutorial on "I have an SLR -- now what?!"

Working the Leopard

I'm guessing some (or many?) people's initial reaction to leopard is something like this:

(credit)

It must be my husband's because he finds NO appeal what-so-ever in animal prints. When he came home today and asked what I was working on, I said "look over there." I pointed to the pair of shoes I had just bought and taken off when I got home from shopping with my Atlanta visitor. He rolled his eyes (we do this quite often!) and said "Oh no... what did you kill to get these?!" Okay, maybe he didn't ask that -- but he certainly wanted to know what was up.

I knew this summer that one of the biggest Fall trends was going to be leopard. It wasn't until I started seeing some images online (and a few people in person) that I realized how good this could actually look. I've never been much of an animal-print person, and even when my interest peaked, Jose quickly shot those feelings down! But guess what? A man can be convinced of his ways. Until you give them a better image of this "idea" -- they'll always picture Peggy Bundy. Or they'll just roll their eyes again and trust your taste.

Point is: Leopard is in this Fall and I want to show you ways you can incorporate it in SMALL ways :)

(Credit here & here)

Cheap Chicas: "The key to wearing Leopard print right, is not over doing it! Use it as a detail, not as the main focus. Pick one item with the print: skirt, dress, top, belt, shoes, or scarf. Match the printed item with complimenting neutral colors, choose from the hottest colors of Fall 2010: olive green, camel, espresso, cloudy gray, wine and black."

Try some flats!

(credit)

I walked into Forever 21 and I saw them: leopard mini-heels. I glanced at my friend Kim and just grinned. "I have to try these on." Lo and behold! My shoe size was actually available! I was wearing my jeggings, so I popped my sandals off and put them on. Somebody cue "Love & Marriage" because I am loving these heels!

And best part? Only 20 bucks! Here they are:





I decided to pair them up with the jeggings and a neutral, simple and classy button-up top. I might get risky and try it out with a gray sometime -- but let's take baby steps for now. Or for Jose that is ;) You can see that these aren't stilettos so they're actually the perfect accessory to spice up your casual outfit. ACCESSORIZE people!!! You don't need a new wardrobe! I've had that button up for years.

My review:
Pros -> 1) perfect heel size and wedge for all day comfort and walking 2) very affordable 3) honestly, they make your outfit completely feel just a little more dressy & feminine
Cons -> my left foot must be slightly smaller because ONLY on my left ankle, the shoe was rubbing a thin line on my skin raw. Solution? Place clear tape on that spot next time or try out an outfit with tights. Not bad enough to make me return the shoes.

I know not everyone will agree and YES, there are plenty of ugly leopard versions out there. However, to me (personally) I love throwing in small doses of something "risky." Something about the leopard print just makes it feel sexier, without being trashy or over the top. Hopefully this has opened your perspective to trying out some of the trends this fall. Plus, the lady at Forever 21 told me they JUST got these shoes in and guaranteed they would be out this weekend. If you're interested -- check it out SOON!! And if you want to start with baby steps -- pick up a leopard print scarf. See how you feel :)

What's your experience with leopard? All over it, considering it, or not your thing?

More Important Than Sleep: Barcelona

Every ounce of energy that was left in me cheered on the plane that was about to land in the beautiful country of Spain. My head was still trying to wrap around the idea that I had just gotten married only HOURS ago, much less that I was about to explore España. I literally debated whether the first thing I wanted to do was sleep or eat. Both of which are as important as breathing to me. And sleep -- well, I was sleep deprived.

I bought a bottle of tylenol PM (which just means I needed a sleeping pill) so I could take HALF of one the night before the wedding. Knowing how easily my thoughts keep me awake, I figured I wouldn't be getting much sleep the night before and I had to wake up looking FRESH. How on earth would that happen at 5 a.m.?! I took it at 7 p.m. to prevent looking drunkishly drowsy at 5 a.m., however I wasn't expecting it to kick in after 30 minutes! I was in the shower and as I was washing my hair, I would feel a sudden sensation to close my eyes shortly after my hands felt heavy on my head. Great! The last thing I needed was to pass out in the shower! I managed to finish, blowdry my hair, and get in bed. I knocked out, but to my unpleasant surprise found myself waking up at 2 a.m. Then at 3 a.m.

"Wedding!! Spain!!! Auggggh-- SLEEP!" kept running through my head. Too late -- 5 a.m. showed up, but I was excited, I was ready, and I jumped up from the covers. Fast forward to the end of the wedding reception. I was beyond exhausted. The emotions, the DANCING, the excitement, the lack of sleep... I could COLLAPSE! Add to that waking up early AGAIN for our Spain flight the next morning, and I was struggling to keep my eyes open.

As we walked out of the Barcelona airport, I did what every tourist does. I pulled out Jose's digital camera and filmed the walkway out of the plane into the terminal. Okay, maybe not every tourist -- just those kind. I was certainly one of those. I would stop midway to absorb all of it while Jose rolled our carry on, 30 feet in front of me, clearly finding nothing that interesting in the airport. But in fact, I wasn't really looking at the building -- I was listening to the people and watching them. I was taking in their clothes, their mannerisms, and their accent.

"Grathias!" Jose said to the taxi driver. I rolled my eyes and laughed. Then he proceeded to call me a "hater" because he was "blending in." Sure, cause I know Spaniards call out "haters" ALL the time :) Who was I kidding? I wanted to blend in too. To eat their food, to wear their clothes, to listen to them talk, to ride bikes, to completely absorb them like my skin would absorb the sun at the beach.

Jose spent a number of hours looking up hotels to plan our crazy, long stay in Spain. The long stay meant we had to find affordable hotels. Before the trip I thought most of these hotels wouldn't really have a "Spanish" appeal and be just like any hotel in the states: a bed, toilet, tv, and window type of room. Sometimes Jose, in confusion, would ask "what do you think a Spanish hotel is supposed to look like??" And when we walked out on the balcony of the first hotel we arrived, I thought "just like this."



Our view...



The pseudo beach built for the olympics...


Our first bite of tapas...


Jose mentioned that he had visited this Roman Catholic church a couple of years ago during his study abroad and explained how it was under construction back then as it was at that moment. My first thought was "really? and they're still not done??" Oh, ye of little knowledge.



I soon realized that this "church" is actually a historical piece of work by the famous Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi. There was no question this church was (is) breath taking and pretty glorious in all its beauty -- but I didn't know it had been under construction since 1882!!! That's more than a freaking century people!

(photo of photo :)


The official name of this church/project is called The Sagrada Familia. You can read more details about it on your own, but just imagine this incredible architect with brilliant, yet extremely ambitious ideas, working on this church until his death in 1926. Then imagine his work being taken up by another architect who follows the models Gaudi constructed, but then some of the models and workshops are destroyed in the Spanish Civil War! The rest of the construction is made by adaptations and salvaged portions of Gaudi's original plans by various architects.

So we continued visiting more Gaudi's master pieces



How Gaudi designed so geometrically..

A model

Actual implementation of his model.

Came home to find some champagne and chocolate covered strawberries in our hotel room courtesy of the hotel itself!



The next morning Jose shook me awake and darted out on to the balcony before I could even open my eyes. When I went outside he pointed to the sky and said "let's watch the sun rise!" I was partially tempted to crawl back into the warm covers, but felt so lucky to have someone who appreciated these moments.







And the rest of the days in Barcelona treated us so well.









These are just a few. I didn't have much self control with my camera in the first city, but we also stayed here the longest. You can imagine how long it took me to just narrow it down! Our next stop: San Sebastian!