armed

AUTUMN STORY - chalkboard animation

2010-10-18T18:47:00.000-07:00

here comes the herd

2010-04-05T19:04:00.001-07:00

So I promised more cows, and now I deliver. As I mentioned we stayed with a friend-of- the-bands parent's this weekend outside of Harrisonburg VA, who live on a DAIRY FARM!!! Soooooo, as soon as I woke up Sat morning I was making friends with the locals. Cows are some of my favorite animals, (their unethical treatment is one reason that I choose not to eat them) I must say they somehow remind me of Cotton, and they are so dang curious! The babies were timid of me when I first introduced myself, but as soon as one trusted me, they were all wondering what I was up to, and ready to greet me. It seemed to follow suit for the big ones as well.

More baby cows to come!

2010-04-05T11:59:00.001-07:00

This past weekend the band and I were in Harrisonburg VA to play at MACRocK!! and on Friday night after the festival we stayed at a dairy farm! Cows are some of my favorite animals, so I had a blast photographing the curious creatures on Sat morning... more to come, I promise!

people of zee world... relax!

2010-03-18T12:27:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned earlier in the week, I started my spring break with a weekend trip to Austin TX. I had an awesome time soaking in the Texas sun, and catching up on some reading during my flights that has been of late, pushed to the side for the more academic flavor. I also had a chance to try out my iphone app, the HIPSTAMATIC. I, being the sucker for any type of camera especially the HOLGA-esque, LOVE this application that brings back the look, feel, unpredictable beauty, and fun of plastic toy cameras. The hipstamatic lets you switch between lens, film, and even flashes to get that perfect instant image.

To see more images visit my flickr site.
Post title comes from, Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates, the Tom Robbins book that I am currently reading… it seemed appropriate.
ps. its a good one!

found

2010-03-16T12:50:00.000-07:00

I am enjoying my first spring break in many, many years. I spent the first weekend in Austin TX celebrating my sisters bachelorette weekend with 15 other beautiful women, and we had a blast! I will post some images from the extravaganza as soon as I get them downloaded, but I thought I would share this in the meantime. Yesterday, Kyle picked me up from the airport and took me to a wonderful seafood dinner in Virginia Beach ... Yes, once in a blue moon, or when at the ocean, I eat seafood, and love it. He gave me this old picture that he found while cleaning up an old cash register at the antique store where he works. He knew I would love it, and I do. What a great image.

click on the image to see it larger

SPRING! Stick around awhile, please!

2010-03-11T08:20:00.000-08:00

It instantly turned into spring here in Richmond this past weekend, and I hope it sticks around. The winter days were so dreary, and I begged them to pass rapidly, now I want time to virtually stand still, I'm trying desperately hard to soak in every single ounce of spring sunlight that I can. Isn't it strange how there are so many ways that you can literally feel spring. One of my favorite reminders is every morning when I leave our apartment, although still a little chilly, it just smells different... also reminds me that my b-day is right around the corner, kinda.

Before moving to Richmond, I started looking around and thinking about the possibility of making my primary mode of transportation a scooter. Upon moving here, I found that there is a HUGE scooter community fueled by the best scooter store in the country SCOOT RICHMOND, a great store, owned and operated by an amazing woman, and scooter fanatic, Chelsea. So I bought one in December, a Buddy 125 (in white), and I fell instantly in love. Needless to say the scooter days have been far and in between considering the rough winter we had this year, although I did get in some 30 degree rides. Since then Kyle has also become an addict to the feeling of riding a scooter, and 2 months ago purchased a used Vespa ET4, which he just picked up last weekend! Needless to say that is what we have been doing since spring arrived 4 days ago, with many scooter perfect days in front of us, there is no slowing us down now!

I took this photo of our scooter family with a new iphone app called HIPSTAMATIC! which I actually paid for. For any camera fanatic this is a must! You are able to switch between film, lenses, and flashes!
ps. I never paid for app but this one was TOTALLY worth it.

dizzy

2010-02-26T08:46:00.000-08:00

1315 floyd, second floor, front bathroom tile

missing my staples

2010-02-23T14:37:00.000-08:00

I have been on a quest to find my go-to restaurants here in the RVA, I must admit, I find myself usually disappointed. It seems that cheap food and good food are mutually exclusive here in Richmond. Maybe hindsight is actually 20/20, but I had so many places to get nourished in my last two town of residence that were not only cheap (or cheap-ish) but DELICIOUS! So here's to missing Lubbock TX (yes I am actually admitting to missing Lubbock) and Athens GA... by way of my tummy. If you live in or will be going to either of these places, take advantage your taste buds and wallets will think you.

DISCLAIMER:for those of you who don't know me, or don't know me well, I can be incredibly frugal and often associate cheap with good.

LUBBOCK TX
Orlando's | home-cookin for an Italian wanna be
Burrito Tower | my mouth is waterin' there pico will burn ya... in a good way
Thai Thai | yum
Freebirds | LOVE. just discussed my love for their burritos last night to my brother who thinks Chipotle is better, I disagree
Rosa's | ahhh, no one does fast mexican food like Rosa's
Montelongo's! | AH MONTELONGO'S this is mexican food (Whitney and Kelli came to visit us in Lubbock in Jan of last year, and this was the first place we took them. ps-they loved it, pics show it all... pre-eating fret vs. after consumption smiles!)

CHOO-CHI | so close, so tasty, and they can make it HOT
Picante's | best huevos rancheros in town. where I learned to love drinking coffee and eating chips & salsa
Wataburger | only in Tejas, better at 2AM if you have the patience to wait in line
Josie's | oh Josie... you and your burritos
Schlozsky's | they don't have them in VA
ps. I miss mexican food, Texas style (probably obvious by my list)

ATHENS GA
The Grit | Athens staple for all
Jot-em-Down | (remembering being a meat eater) THIS is my favorite BBQ of ALL TIME... ANYWHERE!
Thai Spoon | thinkin' about their basil roll currently
Lucky Wings | GI-NORMOUS tenders, great for 2AM visits too!
Taco Stand | remember I said cheap and tasty
Little Italy | their subs can NOT be beat.
Transmetropolitan | yummy, and are open and servin' beer on Sunday
Cali & Titos | (the former Caliente Cab, in a new location...I think) my adolescent introduction into now what is a mature addiction to cuban food and plantains in general
Schlozsky's | yup, had em in GA too, but not in VA

found in the snow

2010-02-15T13:30:00.000-08:00

So I found these postcards (in plastic protective sleeves) in the snow on Monument Ave, a couple of snows back, and I thought they were too cool not to share. The one on the right, as you can see, has a postmark of 1911!

I love finding little treasures like this.

back to drawing

2010-02-12T13:18:00.000-08:00

I have put up some recent drawings on my flickr site... check em out!

5 more inches of snow...

2010-02-11T08:32:00.000-08:00

is what we got yesterday morning. Along with the 9 inches last weekend and the 14 from the weekend before, I am OFFICIALLY OVER WINTER... and I think there is more on the way.

hello design blog

2010-02-09T14:07:00.000-08:00

I feel like I have been betraying this blog with the introduction of my design blog. (oh yeah, by the way, I now have a design blog) I feel like the design blog is somehow my flesh and blood since I have written the code and manipulated the PHP (a language that before 6 months ago, I knew little about). I still plan on keeping up with this one, if not only for, as it has also presented itself in the past, as a journal of my life, or something like it. My design blog will deal simply with what I am exploring and writing about during my time in grad school. So, Check it out HERE! Let me know what you think!

A portrait of us | 02

2010-02-03T06:37:00.000-08:00

Snowed in day 4

This is where we pretty much stayed for our long snowy weekend. Movie, movie, read, movie, nap, chili, read, nap... is pretty much how it went. I don't know if these "A portrait of us" are going to turn into a series, but I hope so. A documentation of life when we are on our tiny couch.

ps. we are both reading Tom Robbins books right now, this is not set up for the photo, AND Tom went to college in Richmond... VCU, actually. Interesting coincidence.

and they told us it didn't snow in Richmond.

2010-02-01T15:27:00.000-08:00

When Kyle and I moved to Richmond in the summer, we were told by the natives that even though Richmond does experience 4 seasons (which excited us), that it hardly ever/never snowed here. Now, it is only Feb 1 and we have scraped over a foot of snow off of our car not once, but TWICE! LIARS :)

a portrait of us

2010-01-31T20:16:00.000-08:00

better viewed in 3-D.

I call it Kung Pow Tempeh + the grammy's in Real-D, of course, i mean, it's 2010...right?

in business... almost

2010-01-25T14:27:00.000-08:00

I spent a couple of days over winter break, after Christmas traveling and before tour traveling, sewing coin purses to sell on tour.
I didn't sell them all, and I plan on getting them up on my etsy site soon! ...then I'll be in business... litterly... possibly.

cotton... and my bed

2010-01-20T10:39:00.000-08:00

Those are the two things I miss most about being away from home. Van Panther (our Cat) comes in at a close 3rd.

family photo

2010-01-19T14:58:00.000-08:00

This Christmas when Kyle and I (and Cotton) were in Texas my mom wanted us to make a family portrait, with all of us... and the dogs. It was an entertaining fiasco and after about 30 attempts I finally had to give up and combine 2 images together for the final cut that made it to the "We wish you a happy 2010" card my mom sent out. I think I prefer this one.

Happy 2010
love
us

back... finally

2010-01-18T13:28:00.000-08:00

Over the last 4 weeks, I have been home 5 days. All the travelin' seeing family and touring was great but I am happy to be home again... showering in my shower, sleeping in my bed... ahhhh the life.

Just saw this on RVA the other day, we are the dang soundtrack! too cool! This just happens to be from the show where Jana was in town too!

Last Friday - December from RVA TV on Vimeo.

final review

2009-12-23T09:22:00.000-08:00

I finished my first semester of graduate school here at VCU a couple of weeks ago. I can't believe I already have a semester under my belt. Here is a peak at a couple of my final projects.

Documentation of the ideas I have been exploring this semester, given to my instructors.
This was an installation piece created for a class with Mr. Rob Carter, where we were asked to have 50 adventures, one each day for the first 50 days of the semester. We had to have an adventure with an insect, with a cloud, with a camera, with sound, with a pencil... and so on. At the end of the semester we were asked to present an archive in multi-modal form. This mobile of sorts suspended in my studio in front of a window, it spun on the bicycle wheel and I had a video camera looking up from the inside and displaying on the opposite wall, while a sound piece was playing constructed from sounds collected from my adventures.
This is an art book describing a narrative that Kyle wrote. That Kyle, so multi-tallented!

Have a wonderful holiday... see you next year!

2 ft of snow...

2009-12-22T09:10:00.001-08:00

(or at least 10+ inches) is what Richmond got last weekend. I have never, ever, lived anywhere where anything close to this happens. It was so beautiful, and fell for about 12 hours solid!

I have many images to come... but here is a preview.

This is me and Meaghan, a friend from my graduate program. Check out her blog!

although beautiful... im ready for the snow to GO.

THE FOLKS & jana, came to see me!!!!

2009-12-16T12:35:00.000-08:00

The first weekend in December my parents and my sister came to visit us here in Richmond! It was really great to see them, and super fun to take them to all of our favorite places. On the Friday night they arrived we (the Diamond Center) actually had a show, Soooo.... our original, and most awesome drummer, my sister, Jana rejoined us for the show! Our second drummer, Tim, had just moved to the city, and our drummer, Willis, who joins us when not on tour with his band, Thao and the Get Down Stay Down, was in town as well... so you know what that means... 3 DRUMMERS!!! ...not only that but we have enlisted a local bass player, meet Will Godwin, graphic designer/illustrator/photographer/bass player extraordinaire. Fun stuff!

SO... back to the fam. We had lots of fun exploring the city, despite the snowy/rainy/cold, and kept warm with lots of good food in our bellies. On Sunday, the sun came out and we took a trip to Millie's for brunch. If ever in Richmond, eat a Millie's! Here are a couple of shots from our morning extravaganza.

I love this one of Kyle and my Dad.

Me and my most awesome sister, Jana. (Jana on the left)
Mom & Dad, a-waiting a table.
Jukebox at each table! (check it out: Thao and the Get Down Stay Down on the JUKE)... and yummy.

thanksgiving in GA

2009-12-06T16:01:00.001-08:00

I have been crazy busy trying to finish up the end of the semester. I can't believe I almost have one fourth of my MFA completed... wow, how time flies. My final review is this upcoming Thursday, which I know will be here in no time, this week is gonna be intense to say the least! My mom, dad, and sister came to the RVA to visit me this weekend, and it was awesome to see them! Now, it's back to work!
Kyle, Cotton and I traveled to Georgia for Thanksgiving to spend the holiday with K's family. We had Thanksgiving dinner at Kyles grandfathers house on the main street of the small town of Dallas Georgia where K grew up. I am totally in love with this turn-of-the-century home where Bub (Kyle's grandfather) and Mick (K's uncle) live. Here are a couple of shots from the inside, and a small view of Mick's collection. I guess you could say he's a bit of a movie buff, and an avid collector.

red

2009-11-25T08:47:00.000-08:00

This little tree is what has been coloring my neighborhood as of late, and it seems to be one of the last to change. I think it's a Japanese Maple, adorable.

Happy Thanksgiving all!

antiques in the VA

2009-11-23T13:08:00.000-08:00

this place was AWESOME... I guess it's just obvious that there is a greater number of really old things here, than in others.

pow-wow

2009-11-20T10:12:00.000-08:00

Last weekend K and I went to a pow-wow. What a cool thing, I can't believe that I have never searched this out before. I think we stood there for 4 hours with our mouths wide open. The costumes, and the dancing and the singing, and the drums OH the drums. I still have the beat in my head, and it's been a week. Here is a little video I made of some of the dancing and with a recording Kyle caught on my iphone.

I was a little camera shy... but I did manage to get a couple good ones.

Ok, see the little boy on the left side? This image was taken during the singing/drum competition, and this little guy was competing along side these men. He watched the caller like a hawk to be sure he was singing the right thing, I have never seen anyone put as much heart and soul into singing. When they finished the song he did a little fist bump with all the men.

wait. wait.

2009-11-17T05:05:00.000-08:00

picasso with light

2009-11-16T11:58:00.001-08:00

I ran across this today, and felt inspired... and inspired to share:

In 1949, LIFE photographer Gjon Mili visited Picasso in Vallauris, France. He showed Pablo some photographs of ice skaters with tiny lights affixed to their skates jumping in the dark. Picasso was immediately inspired, these photos were the result. You can see more of these in this LIFE gallery. Picasso’s light drawings—were made with a small flashlight in a dark room; the images vanished almost as soon as they were created.

what can I say...

2009-11-16T11:41:00.000-08:00

I am my mother's daughter.
hey, everyone has their vices. Today, this is mine!

rain, rain, rain

2009-11-12T11:27:00.000-08:00

for 3 days now. This Texas girl is not used to this.

my new favorite tumblr site!

light... and the way it falls upon things

2009-11-11T12:08:00.000-08:00

I can not begin to describe my fascination with light, and to repeat myself, the way it falls upon things ESPECIALLY in low light situations. This is what speaks to my soul. I would say that overall, that is the thing that I aspire to capture in my photos. it makes me happy.

This weekend one of our drummers, tim, came to visit us here in Richmond and play a couple of shows. We also picked up a local bass player so we are officially ready to rock...
We had 2 shows in the Baltimore area (and as a side note, I have really come to like Baltimore). The show on fri night was at a place called The Golden West Cafe, sweet cafe by day, rock club by night, gotta love it!

On Sat we returned to Richmond in time to catch the tail end of the Brunswick Stew Festival, and then to watch our friends Thao and the Get Down Stay Down, and David Shultz and the Skyline at the Canal Club.

The Portland Cello Project opened the night. beautiful.

These were taken here in Richmond, at Havana '59 down in Shockoe Bottom.

blue is analogy

2009-11-10T13:43:00.000-08:00

collaborative

2009-11-09T10:38:00.001-08:00

Me and one of my fellow 1st year grad students have started a fun collaborative project. She has been working with ink and me in pen in two very different types of drawings... BUT last week we decided to join forces with some quick experiments. Today I took on of the experiments and tried a collage of sorts with it. My idea is with a certain number of elements, numerous solutions can be formed, each with different emotive qualities. So my theory is that we can only think outside the box by using the box... so to speak. check em all out here.

yellow

2009-11-08T14:50:00.000-08:00

shenandoah

2009-11-08T14:01:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago K and I took a Sunday drive up to the Shenandoah National Park and a trip down Skyline Drive which runs the distance of the park. It was beautiful. Before entering the north gates we stopped at a roadside stand and picked up some local apples and honey... nothing better.

constant inspiration

2009-11-04T10:42:00.000-08:00

I can not get over the experience of fall here in Virginia. Here are a couple more shots of our neighborhood. This first series was taken within a week of one another so you can see the end of the leaves is imminent... so I continue to soak it in while I can.

this town (hearts) halloween

2009-11-03T10:39:00.000-08:00

check out this neighborhood that goes ALL out.... The creepiest one was the one with the little boy in the front door. It was a real boy and I don't know if he was instructed to stand there and look creepy OR if he was just waiting to go get some candy.
...surprise at the end of the post!

meditation

2009-10-29T07:53:00.000-07:00

It has been suggested by my most wonderful cousin that I put up a couple of the things that I have been working on here in my graduate program... and while I don't think I am ready to show it as a whole (which I promise I will do at the end of the semester) I have put up some things on my flickr site... AND I have been doing some drawing/water color paintings as more of a meditational thing, i put them up to. Check 'em out here!

ZOMBIES!!!!!

2009-10-28T15:06:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday the annual Zombie Walk took over Carytown here in Richmond. So basically people dress up like Zombies, and walk the streets, in a parade of such, stopping only for red lights, and the promise of brains.

At the end of the parade... they gather... and this one gave me a finger?

I love this place.
The Circuit City Zombies were my favorite... conceptually speaking.

With finger in tow, K and I headed to the galaxy dinner and feasted on fried pickles, fried green tomatoes, fried mozzarella sticks, french fries and beer. We ARE a pillar of health.
The Galaxy Dinner. btw, they have a meal called the "knock me up scotty" that includes fried pickles and ranch, a hard boiled egg and a scoop of ice cream... can anyone explain this?

I have never...

2009-10-23T12:26:00.000-07:00

experienced anything quite like this...

photos taken with this awesome app, outside my sudio and our apt., here in richmond va.

a warm spell

2009-10-22T09:41:00.000-07:00

We have had a little warm spell here in Richmond the last couple of days, a little high 70s break from the cold and rainy 50s, and it's beautiful, AND reminded me that I wanted to post some images from our trip to VA beach from a couple weeks ago. We happened on the TITAN festival, which I guess is the communities last effort to attract for the beach season. Even though it was warm, there was a definite difference in the air and the position of the sun than when we had visited the beach in mid summer. Season changing has to be the most magical times of the year.

Here are some images from our day which included a sand sculpture competition, and a huge sea food feast... because when at the beach, eat seafood.

reading days

2009-10-17T17:38:00.000-07:00

There were no classes Thurs. or Friday this week at VCU for a little mid-semester break called "reading days"... I love reading days. We went up to Baltimore on Thurs. evening to see some of our friends The Flying Eyes, open up for the Black Angels, and The Raveonettes, it was such a GREAT show, and fun to get out of Richmond for day. I must say that the Raveonettes show possibly was the loudest thing I have ever EVER heard. Even though we might have had some slight hearing damage, Im so glad I got to see them live.

We stayed in this great old Victorian Hotel downtown called the Biltmore. A perfect escape from your typical hotel experience. These was looking out our window at a Cathedral next door.

It was rainy, and freakin' cold so we didn't get to do much exploring BUT...
we did get to check out this awesome place. The very John Waters-esque Paper moon diner.

spaces around me

2009-10-14T09:00:00.000-07:00

One of the best things about being in a new (or semi-new) places, are the yet to be explored spaces... and there are some great ones in this old city.

The back yard/common space of our apartment building shares a wall with the home that is said to be where Mr. Edgar Allen Poe had his last public reading of "The Raven"... so we are basically neighbors with the ghost of Poe, or something like that. The house seems to be going thru some type of renovation, and we did not think there was anyone living there, but now there might be, ANYWAY the back yard is filled with overgrown and unattended plants, which actually reminds me out of something from the old woman's house in "Great Expectations", there is also a green house that is a little run down as well, and several times the light has been left on in the green house and it casts some beautiful shadows into our backyard. A couple of nights ago I finally captured it.

SECOND SPACE: Kyle got a job repairing antique light fixtures, and the space he works is filled with wonderful things. Outside there is everything from old metal gliding porch chairs to armies of old radiators, but inside is a collection of some of the most opulent items than I have ever seen in one place.

... and the last space for today:
I think that I have mentioned that as a grad student, I am given a studio space on campus... which is awesome!
Considering that the majority of the admin buildings for the school are old houses that are now "on campus"... our studio space is not much different. Actually the building where our studios are was at one time a Nunnery (you know, where Nuns live). So some of my fellow grads have thins like sinks and closets in their spaces, not me unfortunately, but I do have a closet AND huge 2nd floor windows that get the best light in the building (in my opinion). PLUS its just got that charm of being an old building, rickety stairs, wood floors... AND a CREEPY basement!

and this one is called...

2009-10-02T13:38:00.000-07:00

weather

my interpretation

2009-10-01T15:00:00.000-07:00

of a feather... maybe

new picture

2009-09-28T09:35:00.000-07:00

yesterday... we went to the beach

2009-09-28T07:04:00.000-07:00

connections

2009-09-23T13:59:00.001-07:00

inspiration for today

2009-09-22T14:27:00.000-07:00

just some places I have been exploring

2009-09-22T13:54:00.000-07:00

can you spot the plane

this one is a portrait of me a k... on a friday night

Jana + Fil

2009-09-19T17:31:00.000-07:00

I finally finished editing Jana and Fil's engagement photos... here are some of my fav's!

as my love for all things old, rusty, or crusty, deepens...

2009-09-15T20:50:00.001-07:00

here are a few shots i've been collecting from the streets of Richmond, and a peak at something I have been working on...

oh la la

2009-09-13T17:37:00.000-07:00

here are some images from the Hartsfield|White wedding that I flew back to Lubbock to shoot in mid August... with the most wonderful Sarah Holt by my side!

dramatic kitty/dog

2009-09-09T05:55:00.001-07:00

for no reason at all....

just some fun stuff from this past week

2009-09-07T14:37:00.000-07:00

We had our first friend visitors this week (yeeaa), the guys from Don Chambers + Goat! They played an awesome set on Tues. night at The Camel, as well as a little impromptu set outside of a Richmond gem, located right in our hood, record store, Deep Groove. So great to see these guys. I first fell in love with Don's music 5 years ago when I first moved to Athens, Ga. The first live show I saw there was one of a three night stand of the Drive By Truckers at the 40 Watt. Don + Goat opened up the show and I was an instant fan, its nice now to call him a friend.
My love, tecolote blanco, now my primary mode of transportation, with some new additions including a milk crate basket... keepin' it real.
... and a little van panther.

sunday adventure

2009-08-31T08:30:00.000-07:00

In one of my graduate classes, we have been asked to have an adventure a day, for 50 days, and it is outlined what adventures that we are supposed to have within these 50 days... the first adventure was with an insect. Sunday the adventure took me, along with my companion to the Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens, here in Richmond. What an amazingly beautiful place. I must admit the butterflies... LIVE was my favorite. (Im currently trying to put a little video together, i'll share soon!)

After our morning at the gardens we checked out THIS doc film at the beautiful Byrd Theater. This place is a treasure.

something i've been experimenting with this weeked

2009-08-30T15:17:00.000-07:00

ill let you know when I have it perfected!

i could not resist

2009-08-28T15:04:00.001-07:00

I have been editing images today, and I am no where finished my sisters engagement shoot... YES my sister is now engaged! (congrats Jana & Fil) We had so SO SO much fun on there engagement shoot. Here's a sneak peak!

hello my fellow....

2009-08-27T08:36:00.000-07:00

designers, creative people, and lovers of indie/documentary films...

have you heard of THIS?

Emily's bridal

2009-08-26T13:42:00.000-07:00

I returned to Lubbock for a very short amount of time almost 2 weeks ago, just long enough to shoot a wedding, my ex-bosses oldest daughter. I have known Emily for almost 7 years now... she made a absolutely beautiful bride. Here are some of my favorites from her bridal shoot, shot a month or so ago. Wedding images soon!

been away for so long....

2009-08-20T14:41:00.000-07:00

but i'm back!
So much has been going on over the last couple of weeks, so I am going to do a short recap... mostly so I can look back and remember. First I must give a nod to TEXODUS, which was what we decided to call our departing celebration, it happened Aug 1 and started with an awesome cookout at Jana's house hosted by our sweet parents that came in town for the festivities, and ended with a 10 band show at a local favorite, Bash's, showcasing some of Lubbock's local talent... and it was amazing. You can read more about the show from an onlookers perspective HERE, I can not even begin to explain.

What I will do is show you some images from the show, shot by Mr Ruben Castillo, photographer extraordinaire. You can also check out his blog HERE. This man captures some amazing things during live music.

photo by Ruben Castillo
photo by Ruben Castillo
I was asked up on stage with Thrift Store Cowboys to sing a song with them, and loved every second of it!

photo by Ruben Castillo
And this is the craziness that erupted on our last song... nice!

photo by Ruben Castillo

I would also like to mention that for our last show I had the honor of wearing a custom headband created especially for me by another AWESOME photographer I know, Cristy Cross.

In homage to our time in Lubbock (or something like that) the day after TEXODUS... Kyle decided it was time to cut his hair.

... then we moved to Virginia.

I promise much more in the days to come BUT here are a few images from our first days here in Richmond. (BTW... no worries, we now have water!)

The first Sunday we were here, after brunch, K and I decide to ride around on our bikes just to see what there was to see... and we ran into Richmond's WATERMELON FESTIVAL. yummy.

brunch
our alley and neighbor's weird greenroom thing... I MUST get in here.
and me.

here we go...

2009-08-08T13:16:00.000-07:00

pack. pack. pack. pack. drive. drive. drive. unpack. unpack. EXPLORE...

THAT is what we've been up to for the past several days, now I'm on the explore part.

We have successfully relocated to Richmond VA! (With only the small hitch that we don't have water in our new place till Monday.... ewwweeee, we will survive, but stinky-ly.

Ill get back with some fun stuff soon... including some awesome images from our goodbye show (TEXODUS) shot by the most amazing photographer extraordinaire, Ruben Castillo!

now, back to unpacking...

my fav...

2009-07-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

from Tim & Angela's engagement session.

bittersweet

2009-07-29T09:50:00.001-07:00

Exactly a week from today we will be pulling out of our driveway, all worldly-things packed carefully into a U-haul, starting the next part of our journey. For so long it seemed so far away, now.. it's right around the corner. Although I am usually the first to bitch about West Texas... I'll miss it.

I'll miss the sky, and the cool summer nights, and the way you can see a storm coming from miles away.

I'll miss the awesome mexican food and julio's salsa, and even driving out to the "strip".

I'll miss the closeness to the desert and canyons, and New Mexico in general.

I'll miss our friends...

...but probably most of all I will miss my brother and sister, and living within miles from both of them.

holga

2009-07-23T14:21:00.000-07:00

Over 6 years ago I bought a holga camera... I loved my holga camera, and took it everywhere and took pictures of EVERYTHING.

Then, when I moved to Athens, I lost my processing/scanning connection, and my obsession for my holga dwindled, and it was packed away with the rest of my camera equipment.

While cleaning out my old equipment recently.... I found the little plastic jewel, and I plan to start a new affair post haste.

We have had one outing since retrieved from the depths of my closet, I actually had it in tow while visiting my cousin Dale in Oklahoma back in Feb. Kyle had the honor shooting with it for it's return performance, BUT because I was out of practice, I did a half-ass job loading the film and thus it was not properly exposed. BUT there were 2 images that were GREAT... and some really interesting color things happening too... which is one of the best things about the holga... you never know what you're gonna get! Way to go K... promise I'll load it better next time.

p.s. when I bought my holga 6 years ago, I only paid $3..They are hard to find for under $30 now!

thank you baby Jesus... for fried banannas

2009-07-21T12:05:00.001-07:00

This post is purely dedicated to THIS plate of food.

The wonderfulness above is fried egg on a bed of black beans with chipotle sauce, mexican potatoes and rice... and if that was not enough... yes, those are fried bananas on the top. Heavens help me. Wrap that all up in a fresh tortilla, and I call it "divine" (and yes that is a margarita and a mimosa in front of my plate). I came to love fried bananas while living in Athens Ga. at one of the many Cuban inspired dining establishments. Two thing that I learned to love while living in the south: Collards and Fried Plantains. Now, I know that Fried Plantains are not exactly what you call "southern cusine" BUT there was a much stronger Cuban influence there than out here in West Texas, where I had never had such things.

The plate above is also what I also refered to this past weekend as "Saturday Brunch," and it was followed by an entire day of THIS:

Since stealing my boy K away from his native Georgia 2 years ago, one of the things he misses most is water. This sweet swimmin' hole in Wimberly TX, provided a temporary fix, and a nice break from the waterless environment we call home (but not for long!)

... and to top all that, we spent the weekend with THESE most wonderful people down in, what K and I refer to as, our favorite place in Texas... Austin. Tim, Angela, and I go "way back" so I was super excited when I found out (via ichat) that these two were engaged! We had to make a lighting trip down to our favorite place to visit some of our favorite people so I could shoot their engagement pics before we are very far away. cheers.

packing

2009-07-21T09:27:00.000-07:00

... and no help from this guy.

Searching for the Jesus in the box

2009-07-20T09:14:00.000-07:00

"Jesus in the box" it what we refer to it as, and he lives in a small town about 45 min north of Lubbock. We had seen him before, but never stopped. This time, on our way to Palo Duro Canyon, knowing that it might be our last opportunity for a long time, we had to stop. I truly wanted to explore it closer for it's freakish nature, but, I had an entirely different experience. There was something captivating about the size and his stare. It reminded me of this film I saw while still living in Athens Ga.

I also loved this that I found exploring while K was fueling the car.

VOX

2009-07-10T12:43:00.000-07:00

Mr K. (local recording master) and I were recently asked, by our good friend Andy Martinez, to add some vocals tracks to his new album. Of course we said yes. So, we spent Wed night laying down the last little bit of what we wanted recorded. How cool that Andy, who lives in Austin, can send us his digital files, we record tracks, and send em back. nice.

Although long and sometimes boring, I really enjoy recording, especially vocals. It is always such a challenge to get it perfect; phrasing, tone, texture, control... not to mention that I have a strong accent that I usually have to try to harness to a degree. I still like it, it makes me feel like an athlete, mentally preparing for the next round, and when K pushes the record button, I step into the ring.

OMG!!!!

2009-07-09T09:04:00.000-07:00

WHY have I never hear of this?

i must, i must, i must, etc.

last thrusday

2009-07-08T08:59:00.000-07:00

oh, last thursday..... last thursday, while getting ready to go to work, I simply bent over to pick up a skirt off the floor, pinched a nerve in my back, and fell to the ground screaming in pain. I promise Im not just being dramatic, I was in HORRIBLE pain, some of the worst physical pain I have ever experienced.

I somehow, within a few hours, and with the help of K, managed to get dressed and make it to work, where I sat, drugged and in pain, finishing what needed to be finished before the 4th of July holiday. Yea, Im that dedicated!

So, that is the reason that I have no fun 4th of July images, because I spent the good part of my "holiday" weekend lying flat on my back. SUCKED!

I don't really have the best history with the holiday...a couple of years ago my dog Zig died on the 4th of July, and for some reason that I can't even really figure out, I am not the biggest fan of fireworks. Who knows? BUT, I was going to turn it all around this year, and even though K and I decided to break the tradition of playing at my dads 4th of July Picnic (that he hosts every year) in order to do some much needed cleaning & packing (urg) I was still looking forward to hanging out with friends, havin' a few brews, and maybe even some homemade ice cream, and hell, maybe I could learn to enjoy fireworks... but no. I laid on my back for 3 days. SUCK.

So this is how I will visually entertain. These images were taken on my iphone on friday when I shuffled (which was my version of walking) up to meet K for lunch at one of our favorite lunch places FREEBIRDS. (I had friday off work, and K had monday off work? that sucked too). I, in pain, was being very cranky at K, and without me knowing what he was doing, he took a pic of me, being cranky.... and then I squished his head. That was the last time I left the house all weekend.

I guess it's only when you can't move very easily, because of shooting pain, that you realize how much you enjoy moving.

I realized that some of my most favorite things are:

1. taking walks

2. dancing or spinning around just about anywhere (including, but not limited to the grocery story, because they are always playing the jams!)

3. jumping on the bed

... all of which I have not been able to do for almost a week now, and that has bummed me out. I have a whole new respect for people with back problems, and mobility problems in general.

It is now Wed, almost a week, and I am feeling much better. I even attempted a little dance move last night while we made dinner (a move that had previously sent me shuffling to bed, crying in pain). So here's a big HIGH FIVE to the ever amazing ability for a body to heal it's self. I am grateful.

confession: I have a new addiction that I discovered while lying flat on my back. HULU.com!

THIS is the show that I have become addicted to, and coerced K into my addiction as well. We have almost finished the entire 2 seasons. I highly recommend.

WE CAMP!

2009-07-02T14:22:00.001-07:00

Last weekend we went camping at Palo Duro Canyon with our friends Nate D & April, and their friends Stephen & Sara. woohoo, we love camping

Kyle made dinner, and then we went to see TEXAS, I thought this was very important for K.

The last time I saw TEXAS has to be like 15 years ago BUT I remember seeing this map then, and I thought it was SO cool. You can see K and Nate in the background, thinking not so cool.
TEXAS
We told ghost stories....ahhh tiny hands
we walked with flashlights
we used creepy, but infested bathrooms. (Q: is it really camping if there are restrooms?)

2 tents... me and K in the little one
We saw lots of tarantulas & a one horny toad... 2 animals K has only seen in the zoo!

we hike.

good times.

Weekend camping

2009-06-29T08:37:00.000-07:00

woah... this weekend we went camping with some good friends. Here is a little hint to where we went and with whom! more pics to come

... also I uploaded a good chunk of the images from the Diamond Center tour to Flickr, check 'em out here!

i miss my kelli P

2009-06-26T12:21:00.000-07:00

This is us outside "Little Italy" in Athens, you can tell we are engaged in some thrilling conversation. It was so awesome to hang with her for a couple of days while we were out on tour, but now I just miss her.

Kelli P. showered us with sweet little things every time we saw her (including Jana Jr., which I will have to introduce at at later time) She gave us this little cute raccoon the second day in Decatur, and it came with instructions. It was to be placed in the van and would act as our little good luck charm, and keep us safe on the road. When the tour was over it would go to Kelly G. (you know my most awesome female partner-in-crime/merchandise slinger on tour) The last day of tour we started out in Ft. Worth on our way back up to Lubbock. Kelly G., on the other hand had to go in the exact opposite direction, all the way home to Houston. So we drove her to the bus station, and gave her a sweet goodbye, and the raccoon. Not half an hour later with no Kelly G., and no raccoon... the A/C stopped working in the van. Ouch. Maybe they were both our good luck charms, hmmmm.....

Birthday Boy

2009-06-25T11:08:00.000-07:00

Kyle's B-day was monday... I love birthdays.

Kyle made a GIANT leap of faith when he moved to Texas with me exactly 2 years ago, I am grateful every single day for that decision. In honor of my man turning 33 years old, here are 33 things that I think are awesome about him.

1-he is always fair and kind
2-he is confident and never afraid to be himself
3-he always tells the truth
4-he is a good driver & he never makes me drive
5-he NEVER looses his temper (except sometimes driving, specifically in Lubbock)
6-if you touch the end of his nose, he can't breathe
7-he knows a billion "country" sayings that I have never heard before
8-he ALWAYS is my biggest cheerleader
9-he helps me do things I never thought I could do
10-he always pays attention to me when I need attention ( and I need a LOT of it)
11-he makes my lunch every day, with love
12-we carpool
13-he makes us awesome veggie food every single night!
14-he never prepares meat for us to eat although he likes to eat it
15-he knows how to relax
16-he has beautiful hair
17-he has a HUGE head (I think large heads are rather attractive)
18-when I have a headache, he can push it out of my head!... magic!
19-he is extremely patient
20-he loves our dog (even though he was not a dog person before he met me)
21-he taught me how to like cats
22-he washes the dishes (which is AWESOME because I have a phobia of room temp. standing water)
23-he is amazingly creative
24-he is a brilliant musician
25-he notices all the small stuff
26-he always notices big birds... and points them out to me
27-he encourages me to do things I never thought possible
28-he calls me on every work break, and ALWAYS has something interesting to tell me
29-he tells me about his dreams, and listens to mine (no matter how crazy or long)
30-he likes to snuggle
31-he enjoys brunch, and going to interesting places to eat
32-he enjoys a good thrift-store find
33-he loves me and always treats me as his #1
...and there are a billion more.

I love you Kyle, hope you had a great one!

Kress & Emily

2009-06-24T08:38:00.000-07:00

Because the things that I usually like to shoot (bar bathrooms & rusty buildings) do not help in funding my need for photo equipment, I occasionally shoot real humans, which I have actually really come to enjoy, go figure.

Before I left for tour in late May, I had the opportunity to shoot Kress & Emily who will be getting married in August. I have known Emily for almost a decade now (her dad is my boss) and I am super excited for them. I will be shooting their wedding in mid August along side the most wonderful Sara Holt. Good times!

Here are a couple from their engagement shoot!

The Diamond Center's 5th and final Tour Blog....

2009-06-19T14:10:00.000-07:00

written by yours truly and Mr. K is up over at The Llano Idea... go check it out HERE Again, I am sorry that I am too lazy to post it here too.

Ok, so over the tour, between Kelly and I, we shot over 20 GB of images... which is pretty close to a billion images... I think. I documented many of the bathrooms at the places we visited, especially the bars we played. There is just something that I find incredibly interesting about them, it just tells a lot about the place... what do you think?

New Orleans, Hi-Ho Lounge (Private bathroom for performers.... nice)

searching for a home

2009-06-17T14:46:00.000-07:00

I have been spending every free moment I have searching apt listings, trying to find a place in Richmond. A ton of them say NO to PETS! really! how can you resist this face?

home again...

2009-06-16T08:48:00.000-07:00

After 17 days, 15 shows, 19 states crossed, 5400 miles driven and countless pizza slices consumed we are finally home! The tour was a success and we had a BLAST. K and I were so fortunate to be traveling and playing with such an awesome group of people who all play in numerous other projects but took 2 weeks to join us in the Diamond Center. Thank you so so so so so very much to Daniel Markham of One Wolf, Alan Brown of My Milliner and founder of 90% death sex, and Sound man/drummer extraordinaire, Tim Falen of Ghost Owl, and of course the lovely Kelly Garcia who was in charge of slingin' the merchandise, and helping me keep up the female presence... we couldn't have made it without each and every one of you. Our 3rd blog post is up over at The Lllano Idea, check it out! Sorry I am too lazy to do one here too!

This series of images was taken by my man K outside of "Little Italy" in Athens ( which is one of our FAVORITE places) with Tim, Daniel, and two of my very best friends Kelli P and Ryan. It was such a treasure to have some time with their sweet baby hearts.

Tour blog

2009-06-10T18:05:00.000-07:00

Alrighty, I have been horrible about posting my images and stories from the road, partially due to lack of internet time, but mostly because we are having too much of a good time at all times ok, that was a tad redundant). I just posted a blog over at the llano idea and Kyle started it out with two before that so, go here and check it out!

lubbock to new orleans

2009-06-02T16:58:00.000-07:00

I always attempt to be more diligent with posting when on the road... and I always fail. So here we are almost a week in and this is my first post.... please forgive.

I have something to make up for it, I have been taking a TON of images so there will be MUCH posting, it might just be a couple days delayed. Here goes Austin to New Orleans (basically day 1 and 2)

We played our first show at the Creekside Lounge in Austin TX. It was a great show and we had LOTS of support from our local friends. The headline band, Smoke and Feathers, had a "projectionist" which was AWESOME and something that I have seen footage of but never seen in person. Basically it was an analog video/image show straight out of the late 60s.... righteous. Here is Aaron, the projectionist on the left, the outside of the bar on right.

the projectionist

more projectionist and Creekside Live from the outside. We played with 2 other great bands, Alex Dupree and the Trap Door Band, and American Sharks.

I just have to mention here that I love, LOVE shooting in low light situations, especially with my most righteous camera. It captures images and color in such an amazing way.
This, on the left, is what it feels like in the end of the night when the van must be packed. More Creekside on the right.
On Saturday morning we woke up and left Austin by 9am... yea thats right we got out of town by 9am which is a feat to say the least, and headed to New Orleans to make a radio show by 4. Here Jana and Kyle are in the WTUL (Tulane) studio.
Then... after the radio show in New Orleans, we headed to Frankie & Johnny's, a sweet restaurant a local pointed us to. This is the civilized side of the table... (Alan, Kelly & Jana)
... and the other side. (me, Kyle, Tim & Daniel)
the food was greasy and delicious. On the left here is Kyle's alligator soup, which the waitress referred to as "cup-A-gatar" (like cup-of-gator)... and on the right, Tim, Daniel and Alan grubbin'. (this will be a constant theme, I enjoy taking images of people as they are eating)
On the way from the eatery to the club we were playing we were directed thru a New Orleas neighborhood, and it was incredibly sobering. It has been almost 3 years since Katrina and still the evidence of her wrath is ever-present.

Here are Tim and Daniel outside of the Hi-Ho Lounge as the sun was setting.

We played with 2 of the MOST amazing bands in New Orleans. One Man Machine opened the show, and I was emotionally moved by their performance... I STRONGLY suggest checking them out. After we played a local band called Silent Cinema played, and even though I have no images of them... they were AMAZING also. I MUST see both of these bands again.

Here is Bernard from One Man Machine, I, again, was moved to tears from his performance.
and the guys backstage before the the show from left to right... Alan, Tim, Daniel, Kyle.
...and Jana. I love, LOVE getting her making funny faces.
this is me. Jana took this one.
This is Kyle talking to our new friend Robin, who has to be one of the sweetest most genuine people that I have EVER met. He played with Bernard and One Man Machine, and he put us up for the night.
backstage at the Hi Ho Lounge.
Sunday was our last day with Jana. She had to return back home to work and away from us. We missed her INSTANTLY. Here she is on the right outside of Robin's house on Sunday morning, before we took her to the jet plane. Jana... next time you MUST be here with us for the whole time, it's not the same without you.

4 days and 1420 miles in....

2009-06-01T11:19:00.000-07:00

and already a billion stories to tell.

For those that are just joining, my band the Diamond Center started our tour on Friday which will take us 12 shows in 14 days starting in our home of Lubbock Tx and lead us all the way to NYC and back. I will be posting a tour blog, with tons of pics thru this whole deal starting this afternoon AND, we, as a band, will be featured word famous The Llano Idea, telling our stories from the road.

I thought I would kick this whole thing off with a couple of images from the preparatory night before we left town. We spent the majority of the evening making tags, rolling shirts, mounting labels, and constructing talismans (that was k's contribution).

and now for the big K surprise... INTRODUCING with no further delay...... (drumroll please)

My Only Companion SALSA! Kyle slaved over 2 batches of his delicious salsa to be able to bring it on the road to sell... and it's been a HIT. You MUST get some if you see us.

This is our buddy and expert t-shirt roller Taylor, who was a HUGE help in our preparation night... Thanks T-no-no, we wouldn't have made it without your mad skills. You can also see t-no-no HERE, although he's not with us for this tour, he's joined us on the road before.

been sewin for days!

2009-05-26T23:18:00.000-07:00

The bags are finally finished, and they look great... if I do say so myself! This round has a little something special, a diamond stitched into every single one. You can see them all HERE.

If you would like a bag and are planning to come to a show, tell me which one you like, and I will reserve it for you! (these babies are one of a kind) If you don't reside in a city that the Diamond Center will be touring thru email me, brandiprice{at}gmail.com, and let me know which one you would like, and I will ship it to you!

The bags are $20 each ($22 if mailed) Made with 100% reclaimed and recycled material, they are all lined and have a pocket inside. There are two sizes the MESSENGER which is 15" x 13.3" with a 45" strap (that can be tied up if needed shorter) and the TOTE which is 14" x 15.5"

check em out! your very own diamond

lined, and a pocket to boot!

This is another hint for what K has been cookin' up to sell on tour... ill do a full post on it tomorrow! yuuuummmmyyyyyy!

This is how the bobo's are helping... jerks.

grrrrriiiizzzlly

2009-05-26T08:46:00.000-07:00

I love this new song by Grizzly Bear, and the video? um, weird and mind blowing?
Two Weeks

help me win this bike.... then you can try to win one too!

2009-05-22T13:53:00.000-07:00

Isn't this bike doubble--AA AWESOME!

Don't get me wrong, I am totally in love with tecolote, BUT think of all that could be done with one of these beauties!
Just click on the banner to give me a vote, and you will be show how to enter to win one too!

reverie

2009-05-21T10:54:00.000-07:00

–noun
1. a state of dreamy meditation or fanciful musing.
2. a daydream.
3. a fantastic, visionary, or impractical idea: reveries that will never come to fruition.
4. Music. an instrumental composition of a vague and dreamy character.

That is my word for the day, and now I will use it in a sentence:

Yesterday I was lost in reverie while walking, with the thoughts of how different clouds must have appeared 100... 500... 1,000 years ago. They had to be different, with a changing environment and ozone and earth temperatures...

When I left the building after my workday, I was greeted by these guys. These have to be year 2009 clouds... they seem somehow, digitized.

Thank you iphone for helping me again document the sky.

confession/obsession
its that time of year when the fruit & veggies at the grocery store start looking and tasting awesome! My personal favorites so far, white peaches and red grapes.

I have a method for eating most things.

With the grapes I really like to peel the skin off with my teeth, just half of the skin though, then I obsess over the beautiful paring of the contrasting colors; the red of the skin and the pale green of the fruit. when it has been sufficiently admired, I pop it in my mouth, and enjoy the texture of the peeled grape on my tongue.

Stay tuned, and maybe tomorrow i'll describe how I eat a peach, or better yet... ice cream. btw, written sarcasm is not my forte, I am much better at the tone-of-voice sarcasm which is not as clearly detected thru this medium.

life is a whirlwind... and I am spinning

2009-05-20T08:55:00.000-07:00

I have been a bad blogger recently, partially due to the fact that I have SO MANY THINGS TO DO these days. Often when we lay our heads down at night K and I discuss how there just aren't enough hours in the day... I hate this feeling. We are getting ready for the Diamond Center tour which starts next Friday, and the amount of things that have to be in order before leaving for 2 weeks can be a little overwhelming!

These images are from a shoot I did a couple weeks ago of a family that I have known for years. Their mother was one of the first designers I worked with after finishing my undergrad! These 3 kiddos are adorable... A-dorable! Here are a few of my favorites from the shoot.

control is not a dirty word

2009-05-14T14:00:00.000-07:00

When I was studying photography as an undergrad, I hated shooting in the studio. It made me anxious knowing that the image about to be produced was going to be completely under my control, totally determined on how I placed things, how I placed the light, how I approached the subject... no room for chaos, controlled... if it worked, if it didn't work, all on my shoulders, I hated this thought.

I was totally in love with documentary style photography, coming up on a scene that has not been affected by the photographer (in theory), and showing my interpretation of the scene thru the lens. To me control was a dirty word. If you control nothing, it was not on your shoulders if it failed... I guess this is what I thought. Actually, I secretly wished that I could create in the studio, but I just could not imagine letting myself have that power.

In my life and in my work, I have learned to appreciate a little control. It's really not a dirty word, or a bad thing, actually sometimes it's within the control is where the freedom lies...

I mean, maybe.

Ok, so that was a bit of rambling to get to show this job that I did a couple weeks ago for the School of Art... shot in the studio, and you know, I really enjoyed it. My 21 year old self would be so proud.

It was also really fun just being the photographer... not the art director, not the designer, not all three of them together, just the photographer. The school is creating a promotion brochure and the students were asked to come in to be shoot with a tool they use in creating their art. It was cool to visit with the student representing the different depts., and to check out their tools!

bags galore!

2009-05-13T14:08:00.000-07:00

In 2 weeks from friday my band The Diamond Center is leaving on a 2 week tour of the East Coast and Midwest... wooo hoooo!

Trying to think of things that we can sell on the road to generate more cash-flow for the ever-rising gas prices, I came up with the idea to make Diamond Center tote bags! Its been a blast re-connecting with the sewing machine (the last time I used it was when I was in 4-H as a youngster) AND not to mention designing the bags. I decided to use found fabric, so the bags are 99% reclaimed and recycled! (the thread is new) I debuted the bags at our CD release show here in Lubbock last week and they were a hit! Hopefully the rest of the country will think the same.

K also has something in the works that he is creating to sell... more on that yummy surprise soon!

To see if The Diamond Center will be hitting your neck-of-the-woods, check out our tour schedule at our rockin' new site over HERE.

a cloud appreciator I am...

2009-05-12T10:57:00.000-07:00

if you are too... you'll LOVE this: cloud appreciation society

photos taken on my iphone around my work place, as I was wondering...

oh and also...my band, the Diamond Center, was interviewed by Break Thru Radio, and featured as the artist of the week this week! If you would like to know a little bit more about us you can read it HERE! There is one little inaccuracy at the very beginning... my name is not Brandi Harris... don't want to send anyone into a state of shock :)

... and while your at it, check this out, our website just got a facelift by our good buddies over at elemental blend!

in exactly 3 months...

2009-05-11T13:35:00.000-07:00

we will be spending our fist day as Virginians, (I can't believe it's that close) one of the things that I'm going to miss most is being able to go to my parents house for the weekend, especially times like mothers day. These are a couple of images from our road trip from Lubbock to Ft. Worth this past weekend. I've been making this drive all together now for over 10 years, and it never ceases to amaze me. Almost every trip we see some kind of amazing sunset, or crazy awesome clouds. I will start out taking pics of it with my iphone and K will say, "do you think we should stop for this one?" I always answer "no" but then quickly digress and we pull over so I can get my "big camera" and get a better shot.

This is what I have referred to, for most of my adult life as "my mesa." It also signifies that I am one hour from Lubbock. This formation is right outside of Post, TX and I have recently found out that it's called "flat top mountain"... whatever.

Found this guy while exploring around an Allsups in Baird TX.
This is Cotton staring, mystified by the white horse. Cotton has a thing for anything that's white. It could possibly be due to the fact that his fur is white? BUT he has a strong attraction to other things that are white... blankets, toys, horses, cats...?
Road Dog.

Kyle thought that this cloud formation was actually a flying saucer, a gigantic flying saucer entering our atmosphere... who knows, stranger things have happened.

on monday... I turned 30

2009-05-07T12:56:00.000-07:00

and it was grand.

On saturday night K made me a dinner that was composed of 2 of my very favorite things... sweet potatoes, and corn. The way this man makes corn, makes me have day dreams about the stuff... If we ever have any type of eating establishment (which is one of the many things we talk about doing in the future) THIS corn will be one of the staples! After dinner K slaved away the evening and part of sunday creating my birthday cake, which was nothing less than the MOST AWESOME birthday cake EVER! I would describe it... but you just gotta see the pics below.

me at dinner showing off my lioness ring, also given to me by K.
the good stuff... even served on the special plate, and a Corona to boot!
Yeah, that's right, my man crafted my b-day cake into a replication of my guitar, amp and big muff pedal!
... and the original.

Ok, so here is my 30th birthday story: On sunday, the day before my 30th, I spent the morning working/digging in the yard, then we went straight to the gym, and then to a photo shoot where I chased around 3 adorable kids for 2.5 hours, then stayed up talking to friends and eating b-day cake until 2am... so what I'm getting at, is a lot of activities that I don't usually do. When I woke up on monday, my b-day, my body hurt, BAD, I could hardly move, and I had a little cry to K... "is this what 30 feels like?"

Fortunately, K assured me that "30 is for cool people," and i was just sore from all the unfamiliar activities... turns out he was right, and now at 30 and 3 days I feel great! But dang that 30 was a doozy!

Kyle & Limon

2009-04-30T13:54:00.000-07:00

My boyfriend K, as I probably have mentioned before, is an awesome, amazing, kind, most wonderful person ( I thought I would take the opportunity to throw those in ) and he always seems to land himself with some cool jobs. Since we have been in Lubbock he has worked at a bronze foundry. He started off as a wax worker and has moved up to a mold maker, which is an incredibly skilled position. A job is a job, and in my definition of a job no matter how much you love what you do, there is always probably something else you would rather be doing, BUT that being said, I think his job is pretty cool. He has met some incredibly interesting people from the guys he works with to the artists that bring in their work to be created into bronze... they are all characters! One day last week one of his co-workers brought his rooster up to work, and Kyle just happened to have my camera in the car! Kyle took the opportunity to capture "Limon" a "bull-stag" (which means he is one year old) Kelso Rooster... Isn't he beautiful! I am amazed by the color in his feathers, and the fact that he seemed to be posing for the camera... he knows he got it!

These are some random pieces from the foundry in different stages of the process... isn't that ol'e Abe Lincoln there on the right?

This is K's BFF at work Gilbert, showing off his muscles. Kyle has learned so many priceless phrases from Gilbert. I might also mention that when he started at this job he knew little to no spanish.... now, he can tell you all sorts of interesting things!

btw... if anyone knows anyone in Richmond VA that needs a talented mold maker, hook us up!

if you are going to be anywhere close to Lubbbock next tues...

2009-04-30T06:48:00.000-07:00

COME CELEBRATE WITH US

weekend round-up

2009-04-27T14:03:00.000-07:00

Although we thought we had a pretty laid back weekend planned... it really was anything but. On Friday night we went and saw 2 one act plays at a new indie theater in town... The Limelight Theater. Both plays were amazing and I am already eagerly awaiting the next production there. On Sat. I was actually on stage 4...yes that's 4 times! My band The Diamond Center played at noon for the Blue Ribbon Rally, Kyle and I played a set of all REM songs with our friend Daniel Markham, of One Wolf fame, I sang with an old friend that I haven't seen in years, Heath Tolleson, at Bash's and then to top it off Thao, and the guys of The Get Down Stay Down invited Kyle and I up on stage for a song later that night at Bash's II! woooo....
here is Heath and Me (to the left)... I guess this is usually the reaction when you haven't seen anyone in a loooooong time?

At the Blue Ribbon Rally there were so many awesome old cars and motorcycles but my favorite had to be this ART CAR.... CAMERA VAN! Check it out more HERE

I have long had a slight obsession with Art Cars since my sister and I saw our first one at the San Diego Zoo when we were little. (BTW, small side note, Jana swears up and down that she saw that first Art Car we ever saw, the one from the Zoo, in Lubbock about a week ago?) There was a community of Art Cars in Athens and I befriended a awesome artist and art car owner Chris Hubbard ( CHUB ) when I was living there. Chris' car is called the "Heaven and Hell car" and is based on his art... or his art is based on his car... which came first the chicken or the art car? Actually the first piece of art that I purchased for myself was a CHUB piece.

ok... so that was all kind of random. How was your weekend? Spring is here people!

less protesting, more Van Panther...

2009-04-24T15:01:00.001-07:00

THAT is exactly what is in line for this weekend! ( and Cotton to, of course )

I have started a new project of sorts, something that I can take on the road when we tour to sell, and hopefully generate more cash flow for gas! I will reveal more about that later BUT I though I might just show these images. This project does involve me sewing, on a machine, which is something that I haven't done since I was in 4-H in jr. high... just like riding a bike, right? And just like when I do laundry, or recycling, or just about anything else, Van Panther has to be RIGH up in it! His favorite sewing thing to play with is the pin cushion.... REALLY VAN, the pin cushion! I come home daily and find it in a new place. He has also found a new favorite place to sleep, the fabric bag. That darn cat... if he wasn't so dang cute!

the protest was a success

2009-04-22T13:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday me and eleven others stood, and held signs to help bring awareness to our community about animal abuse in the circus, and it went great! We originally set up at the front doors of the Coliseum, and within 20 mins were asked to leave the property by Ringling Bros. who, as I just found out last night, actually OWN the property during the time that they are there? Who knows? We set up within legal distance, but still had a HUGE impact. The response was pretty much split down the middle, some, while driving by would honk and give us "thumbs up" in support... others drove by, honked and gave some other, not so supportive responses. We, in turn, stood and smiled. If you would like to find out more about the documented cases of abuse in Ringling Bros., and other ways to help, click HERE. After the circus began we put down the protest signs and walked over to visit those we were there to try and protect, 3 Asian Elephants. The mood became very solemn when we saw where the getntle giants were being kept, and that they had no water, and were having to defecate in the same area they were having to stand, and until they were dressed in their "show harnesses" were shackled to the trailer and could not move more than 3ft. We stood silently and watched them... and they watched us...until again, we were asked to leave. Here are some images from the evening.

Here is the whole group!

TONIGHT we take a stand against animal abuse... join me!

2009-04-21T08:58:00.000-07:00

PLEASE!!! if you live in Lubbock, or the area join me tonight and let Ringling Bros. Circus know that abuse and neglect of their animals is NOT ok. It will only take one hour of your time... and you can make a HUGE difference by bringing awareness of what actually goes on behind the scenes of the "cruelest show on earth". Come to the Coliseum (the bubble, near the football stadium) a little before 6:30... & I will provide everything you need. Please, join us and be a voice for those who can not speak. Click HERE for more info.

stand up

2009-04-17T15:08:00.000-07:00

the diamond center on NPR

2009-04-14T14:05:00.000-07:00

Yeah! You heard that right! Our band, The Diamond Center was featured today on NPR Music's, Second Stage! Check it our right HERE

OH... and while I am on the subject... Our most amazing LIZ, at Deus Ex Machina Publicity, has a couple of her bands becoming inactive, and some space opening up on her roster! If you have a band or have a friend that has a band in need of an AWESOME publicist... send 'em to LIZ, and tell her I sent ya!