#92 — Keep fresh flowers in my home August 6, 2009

There’s just something about the smell of fresh flowers that lifts my spirits. There’s something about coming home and seeing a pretty vase filled with fragrant, colorful flowers on the dining room table that helps remind us that the little things in life are what truly matter.

For the past month, I’ve kept fresh flowers in my home, switching out with new bouquets or bundles of fresh flowers every week. It was the best thing — making a trip to my local florist (Needham Floral) for some fresh stems of daisies. A special trip that I would usually dismiss since I “have no time,” but I couldn’t this time, because it was on my list of 101 things to do in 1001 days.

The thing I love most about creating a list of things to do for yourself is that it makes you do things that you already want to do. Instead of excusing a trip to the florist as not worth your time, writing it down and making it a goal makes it a requirement. It’s such a refreshing change of pace — requiring yourself to do things that make you smile, brighten your day, and add just a little more joy to your life. :)

For my last set of flowers to complete this item on my list, I chose simple white daisies (some of my favorites!) and repurposed glass bottles I had in my home. One is a medium-sized milk bottle from my favorite milk company, Shatto (see earlier post about that!), and the other is a soda bottle I kept because it was cute. :) 

The milk bottle of flowers sat on my dining room table, and also contained these neat little beads that expand into larger balls when they’re exposed to water. How cool are those? :)

The second set of flowers in the soda bottle were placed in my upstairs bathroom, so I could look at them while I get ready in the mornings! :) It’s amazing what a little bit of extra beauty in unexpected places can do for your entire outlook on the day.

I have made quite a bit of progress lately on my 101 in 1001 list! :) If you haven’t heard of the project or haven’t made a list for yourself, click on the link in the upper right to take a look at the rules and see my whole list!

#93: Cupcakes at BabyCakes July 23, 2009

I love cupcakes.

I own at least five different cupcake stands/tree/tiers at home. I have baked a variety of cupcake assortments over the years, including cupcakes baked inside ice cream cones. I follow a few cupcake blogs. I didn’t serve a seven-tiered cake with fondant at our wedding… no, we had cupcakes instead. I delight over cupcakes with fun flavors, cute icing patterns, and pretty little sprinkles. But most of all, I just love to eat cupcakes.

So when I created my 101 in 1001 list, I had to include cupcakes. After all, if I was going to be doing 101 various things over the next 1,001 days — why shouldn’t one of them be about indulging in delicious cupcakes? I thought long and hard about it… ha ha… and decided that the task must be to try a new cupcake variety and a banana-flavored milk from my favorite local Kansas City cupcake shop — BabyCakes.

Jeff and I set out on a beautiful weekend afternoon, after a trip to City Market for some fresh veggies, to cross this item off the list. It was a busy day at BabyCakes, and much to my disappointment, the banana milk from Shatto was all sold out. Gasp! Could I complete this task without banana milk? Why did I specify banana as the flavor? What was I thinking??

My husband, being the sweet and loving man he is, gave me permission to instead try a different variety of milk. Because, you see, I don’t love milk. I don’t love milk the way I love cupcakes. Not even close. In fact, milk sometimes creeps me out. Don’t even ask me to touch a bottle of milk if the sell by date is tomorrow. No way. I won’t do it. So, you see, this task of trying a flavor of milk was more to conquer my creeped-outedness about drinking milk in the first place.

The only milk that I really have ever liked is the milk that comes from the lovely cows at the Shatto dairy farm in nearby Osborn, Missouri. Shatto is a dairy farm that uses no growth hormones, bottles their milk in super cute glass bottles, and makes unique and fun varieties (like root beer milk?!). It’s milk production at its finest. You can even tour the farm. In order to properly cross this task off the list, I had to only have the highest quality of flavored milk available, which of course Baby Cakes offers (and Price Chopper/HyVee, which is where we buy it for home use!). Since the banana milk was all gone, we opted for an orange creamsicle variety.

My cupcake flavor of choice was banana with buttercream frosting — you know, to make up for the lack of banana milk (sorry about the blog stamp mishap below… sometimes I run the wrong Photoshop action on the vertical ones!).

And Jeff opted for a classic — vanilla cake with vanilla cream frosting.

They were delicious. Beyond delicious.

And so was the milk. :)

I am proud to say that I have successfully crossed off another task on my list of 101 things to do in 1,001 days. If you don’t already have a list, consider making one — you get to decide what you do! :) If you start one, post it online so people can keep you accountable… and leave me a link in the comments section to where I can find it!

HOBY Update: Crossing off #79 June 26, 2009

I haven’t updated on here for quite some time about my 101 in 1001 list — a list I created of 101 things I want to accomplish in 1001 days. I’m approaching the one-year (or 365 days!) mark, and I realized that I need to get moving on this list again. :)

I also realized that I haven’t updated you all on my experience at this year’s Kansas HOBY leadership conference, where Jeff and I volunteer our time each summer. It’s a conference for high school sophomores from across the state, who are nominated to attend and spend four days learning about volunteerism, education, business, and other topics related to leadership development.

This year, I was the Director of the Program, which meant I had the opportunity to plan out the schedule of events, formulate the topics we covered, invite speakers and panelists who are community leaders in various fields, and make sure that the whole thing goes off without a hitch. :) It’s a really fun job… and I think I can now cross off #79 on my list of things to do — “Make improvements to the Kansas HOBY program.”

I took a few snapshots of the seminar on just two days of the event (I was a busy lady!), so I’ll share a few of the fun smiling faces with you here… because, after all, this is a photography blog. :)

Jeff and I (we met at HOBY, for those of you who are new to my blog!):

Jeff giving the opening ceremony welcome:

Jeff and I with our good friend Kara, who threw us one awesome (surprise) engagement party the day we got engaged! :) We love our HOBY friends.

Members of our “junior staff” — high school or early college students who go through a very tough application process to come back and volunteer. I am so blessed to know some of the best and brightest young leaders!

The coveted “Spirit Stick” — this year, the theme for our group names (the students are divided into 14 groups) was board games… so, the spirit stick reflected that. Seriously, see how creative these people are? :)

Jeff with the Zimmermans, HOBY friends and photography clients! We love it when the two overlap. :)

One of the favorite events is what we call “HOBY Olympics” — we plan fun games and have a barbeque with “Littles” from the Big Brothers Big Sisters program. It’s a lot of fun… here is my assistant for the weekend with one of the children who came out to play.

And because I know he reads this blog and never comments… Josh… who played the role of “Mr. PMA” all weekend. “PMA” stands for Positive Mental Attitude, which I know sounds so cheesy, but I promise that Mr. PMA is sooo cool. :) He mostly keeps everyone enthusiastic… and awake. :)

So I never got to take photos during the educational portions of the program, since that’s when I was busy coordinating everything. :) However, the lovely and talented Gina with Gingeroot Studios in Wichita came to participate in our panel discussion on entrepreneurship. Gina posted about her experience at HOBY, which you can read on her blog!

HOBY is very near to my heart. It’s a program that really changed my life and equipped me with the tools I needed to make a positive difference in the world, whether or not I realized it at the time. Plus, I met my husband there. :) It doesn’t get much better than that!!

#65: Have a night out with Kasie February 21, 2009

We met as first-graders in Mrs. Thompson’s class. I was new to the school. I think we first interacted on the playground. She says I stole her friend. I can’t verify or deny that accusation, but what I do know is that she got over it. And eventually, SHE became my best friend. First grade. 6 years old.

And here we are,  18 years later. Still friends. The best of friends, really. She’s the one person in the world who quite possibly knows more embarrassing stories about me than my husband. She’s the one person in the world who I can say one single word to and we instantly know what inside joke it relates to. She’s the one person who stood by me through all of my phases — stretch pants, scrunchies and all.

Having a friend like that who you can count on no matter what is a treasure. I am so blessed to call Kasie my BFF after all of these years, through elementary school, the tumultuous middle school era, high school drama, college in separate cities, and eventually, as roommates before we both got married. And after, we even lived in apartments right behind each other (seriously, we could see in the windows) for about six months. Someday, we’ll write a book. For now, you get a blog post.

I didn’t realize when I put #65 on my list of 101 things to do in 1001 days that it would actually be this difficult to schedule. Being a grown-up is like that. :) We haven’t hung out by ourselves (not that we don’t love our husbands… we hang out together with them all the time!) in a really long time. It’s nice to be silly and carefree and spend quality time with someone who just “gets” you no matter how silly you can get. And it’s nice to talk in inside-joke-code as much as we want without having to explain the stories… that usually aren’t very funny to anyone else. :)

So tonight, we spent a night at dinner, Wal-Mart (preparing for my new secret project for my office), Starbucks and my house… watching some ridiculous old videos of us that were recently uncovered by my parents. 

Kasie, you’re the best. Thanks for being my friend always.

(Photos from the iPhone!)

A Random Monday November 17, 2008

I didn’t have any shoots this weekend, so I apologize for not having a mountain of photos to share with you today. :) Instead, some things on my mind:

- BIG things will be crossed off my list of 101 things to do in 1001 days in the next month. If you haven’t made a list like this for yourself, do it. It’s an awesome motivator and so much fun to share. If you keep track with a blog, make sure to send me the link!

- Have you seen the movie Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium? It’s a creative treat in cinematic form. We watched it last week, and I loved it.

- I can’t believe Thanksgiving is almost here. I am now in the mood for all things pumpkin. :)

- Crate & Barrel.

- One of my favorite photographers has a really fun name and an even better blog.

- I love these vintage-style bridal veils.

- The best thing I do all year — volunteering to help encourage and empower youth leaders!

- It’s sweater season. And I have a thing for argyle.

- My next vacation destination. (Want to get married there? I’d probably be willing to come along…)

- Coming soon on the blog: a look at wedding traditions, where they came from, why we still do them… and a look back at some of the best details from our 2008 weddings!

#101: Order a Big Mac. October 2, 2008

3,780 calories.

203 grams of fat.

525 milligrams of cholesterol.

7,280 milligrams of sodium.

3315 grams of carbohydrates.

= 7 Big Macs.

 

That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, I ate SEVEN Big Macs.

…

Okay, just kidding! But I am crossing off #101 on my list of things to do: ordering one Big Mac. :) And 8 friends joined me in the celebration. Seven of us ordered Big Macs — some, like me, who have never had the privilege of eating this “all-American” burger. I must say, my stomach hurt all day just thinking about it.

The array of Big Macs and fries…

First bites of the insanely huge burgers — first up, Maria and Garrett:

And a little Kasie-and-Aleks wedding day remix, McDonald’s style:

Nate has the best first bite face:

Jeff cheated, and ate his first bite while I was distracted with everyone else’s…

And finally, my first taste of Big Mac goodness:

Yes, it was unreal.

Then, we discovered that Garrett’s burger was defective. Interestingly enough, Jeff actually dropped one of the boxes of Big Macs on the floor, gave it back, and asked for a new one. I hope, for Garrett’s sake, that they were just in a hurry to be extra speedy replacing the burger with a brand-new one, and so their craftsmanship was faulty. Hopefully it wasn’t just a reconstruction of the floor mishap burger. I hope, I hope…

All said and done, it was probably one of the most fun Friday nights I’ve had in a while, with or without the Big Mac. :) My stomach hurt from the laughing (yes, I think it was the laughing) and it was so great to catch up with friends. I think we set a record for the longest time hanging out in a McDonald’s (PlayPlace excluded). Thanks for humoring me, everyone! :)

(These photos were taken with my new Nikkor lens — 24-70 2.8 — yes, that’s right! I’m crossing off two items in one day. If you’re keeping track, the lens was numero 35!).

#95: Purchase an original piece of artwork August 8, 2008

I am a big fan of original art. As a photographic artist myself, I enjoy seeing other people’s perspectives on the world through their artwork. When we visited the First Friday artwalk event at the Crossroads district, we decided to see if we could scout out an original piece for our home at Archival Designs. We found about 15 that we liked, although only a few made sense for our budget and our one bedroom apartment right now. :) These photos were quick snapshots on our dining room table in (lovely…) yellow light. It’s amazing in person. We had to fend off another couple to purchase this lovely piece from Archival Designs, a really awesome ceramics studio in the Crossroads.

Everything this husband and wife team creates is hand made and individually glazed. They can make custom artwork for your specific needs, or you can purchase some of their beautiful pieces they have on display. I just love how their pieces are functional (sinks, tiles, bowls, dinner sets, etc.) AND amazing pieces of artwork. It’s a really great way to incorporate art into your daily routine!

If you’re building or remodeling a home, Archival Designs has gorgeous decorative ceramic tiles for kitchens and bathrooms — plus really incredible artistic ceramic sinks (which I am obsessed with)! They are seriously fantastic. When we have a house, I’m definitely headed back for more.

They’re located between 20th and 21st on Baltimore, just across the road from the Leedy Voulkus Art Center.

So, I’m checking #95 off my 101 in 1001 list! Hooray!

Calling all recipes! August 7, 2008

For those of you following my list of 101 things to do in 1001 days, you’ll know that #51 is “Try 10 new recipes.” Well, it’s time to get started.

And rather than find random recipes online or in my cookbooks, I thought I’d give you all a chance to showcase your favorite dish to make! Then, if I make your dish — I’ll feature it (and you!) right here on the blog! If there’s a story behind the recipe, like a family favorite, we’ll feature that all on the blog. These can be for breakfast, lunch, dinner, a side dish, a baked good — anything at all!

The less preparation time, the better…as you can imagine, our lives are so busy. :) Thrifty recipes for budget-conscious grocery shoppers are also encouraged!

So go ahead…leave me your best recipe in the comments section, or leave a link to where I can find it online! You know you want to! Come on…join in the tasty fun! :)

#86: Go to a concert – Cool Hand Luke July 9, 2008

Jeff and I went to a concert (yes, in the middle of the week! Rebels, we are…) to see a band we like: Cool Hand Luke (not the 1967 movie, but the band). The concert was in a neat venue in downtown Kansas City. The Main Street Cafe was a super laid back venue with couches, chairs and a hodge-podge of fabric and wall coverings everywhere. I’d love to do a senior photo session in there sometime. Check it out:

I definitely recommend listening to Cool Hand Luke’s new album or at least the few songs on their MySpace page. Now, I have to be honest here — I’m a fan of the less heavy stuff, but this band has a great mix of more rock style and awesome piano music that it’s a good fit for the Jeff-and-Erica-in-the-car music experience. :) It’s refreshing to know that not all musicians are just out there to be musicians — I love their creative and honest lyrics, and how they shared their faith in the middle of the set. I was impressed with how open they were to just hanging out and talking with people.

I didn’t waste any time getting started on my list of 101 things to do in 1001 days. In case you didn’t know…going to a concert was #86. The entire list can be viewed by the link in the upper right.

“I want to live in such a way
That when I’m gone my friends would say,
That if my life was turned to film
I’d be standing on a mountain shouting victory in the end.
But in my heart I know it’s only true
If I’m supporting actor and the Oscar goes to You.

If my life was cinematic
With a soundtrack so dramatic
You’d be the hero and You would save me
And it would have the sweetest ending.”

- Cool Hand Luke, Cinematic

Things to do. July 2, 2008

So often, our lists of things to to are miles long and contain nothing but tasks that we HAVE to complete by a certain deadline. Why not make it a little more fun?

I’ve decided to join the ranks of the “101 in 1001″ challengers and create a list of things to complete (101 items, to be exact) in the next 1001 days. The project is being participated in by people all over the world, whose goals are very different from mine. That’s what makes this fun — it’s a chance to draw out a road map for the next 1001 days (approximately 2.75 years) of things to accomplish, see, experience, and cross off the list.

I’m really excited about this. I will be updating my progress on the blog (most of the items are photography-related OR have the potential for some great photos for proof that I accomplished an item!). If you’d like to check out my entire list, click on the link in the upper right of this blog page — the one that says “101 in 1001: My List of Things to Do.”

Happy reading…and get started on YOUR list! See my list here.