Laura Beth is another photographer friend of mine, and I was thrilled when she asked me to design her logo because I LOVE her style: vintage, organic, and sophisticated. Her landscape work, in particular, is to die for. (In fact, you can purchase prints of some of her photos in her Etsy shop, The Happy Lab.) Check out her brand new logo and watermarks:
It's Oscar weekend!!! I've mentioned before that the Oscars are one of my favorite nights of the year. I love it all... the dresses, the glamour, the cheesy jokes and heartfelt speeches. My husband has the Super Bowl, I have the Oscars. And I'm so excited that this year we were able to see all but one of the Best Picture nominees. It's so much more fun watching when you know what the heck everyone's talking about! I'll post a recap next week about all the Oscar themed food we make, but I thought I'd share my thoughts on each of the BP nominees...
Argo: This is my favorite kind of movie... smart, thought provoking, dramatic with just the right amount of humor. It was easily one of my favorite movies of the year, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if it wins. I do think that Ben Affleck got robbed on the Director nod. I can't imagine how difficult it must be to both act in and direct a movie. The boy's come a long way since Voyage of the Mimi! (Anyone else have to watch that in elementary school??)
Beasts of the Southern Wild: Holy water works, batman. This movie was so beautiful, so heartbreaking. I really can't believe that an 8 year old was capable of that kind of performance, just incredible. I'm a mess just thinking about this movie.
Django Unchained: This was a flat out fantastic movie. Yes it was hard to watch at times, yes I had to cover both my eyes and ears during certain parts, no it wasn't supposed to be 100% factual... but it made me think about race and slavery in a way only Tarantino could. This is a must-see, in my opinion.
Les Miserables: I'll start by saying that I've never seen the stage performance of Les Mis, but I've been obsessed with the soundtrack since I was a little girl so the music is very close to my heart. I thought this film was so gorgeous, complete visual eye candy, and the performances by Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway were flawless. The only thing I didn't like about this version was Russell Crowe - he was a strange casting choice, and his singing left a lot to be desired. Otherwise, I really loved this film.
Life of Pi: I had no idea what to expect of this movie as I hadn't read the book and wasn't familiar with the story, so I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was. Ang Lee can do no wrong, and this movie was no exception. His visual execution really captured the emotion and intensity and magic of the story. Another favorite of movie of the year for me.
Lincoln: If Daniel Day Lewis doesn't win the Oscar for his performance in the movie it will be an outrage. It was a master class in acting, and I truly can't imagine anyone else having even come close to the caliber of his performance. As far as historical biopics, this was about what you'd expect from Spielberg, and I don't mean that in a bad way - just that it's great but predictable. I don't know if it should win Best Picture, but it's definitely worth seeing.
Silver Linings Playbook: I'll be honest, I don't know why this movie was nominated. It's a good movie, don't get me wrong, but I watched it after the nominations were announced and my expectations were pretty high. I actually think I would have liked this movie a lot more if it hadn't been nominated, if that makes sense. I applaud the academy for trying to acknowledge a less traditional film, but I'm just not sure what all the hype is about with this one. Sorry.
Zero Dark Thirty: I loved this movie right up until they brought in the Navy Seals. I have no idea what the actual Seal team was like that carried out this mission, but I have a hard time buying that they were all a bunch of stereotypical meatheads ready to shoot 'em up fer America. Other than that, I thought this was a very well told and important movie, and I think Jessica Chastain's performance was fantastic. She's quickly becoming one of my favorite actresses.
Amore: Didn't see this one. Sorry!
So that's that! I'm pulling for Argo to take home the big one. Who do you think will be the big winners?
PS... I'm a big fan of these Oscar bingo cards. They help you stay interested during the more boring award categories. Seriously, though, why do those guys always have the longest speeches?
Oh my little love. You and I sure have been through the ringer the past few days... it's probably the toughest we've had it since you were a newborn, and I think it's safe to say that we both seriously hate potty training. But you, my girl, are doing it and I'm so very proud of you. You got it right away, and now you're struggling a bit with actually wanting to do it. This is totally new and scary and it must feel like all we've talked about for the past 4 days is going on the potty. You want your diaper back. I get it.
I'm sorry that I'm not as patient with all this as I hoped I'd be. I'm sorry that I can't just hold you and make this all better. I'm sorry that Elmo has been exactly zero help. You're working so hard and all I want is to make this easier for you. But in typical Emma fashion, you will insist on doing this your own way and in your own time. It's something that I both admire about you and that really drives me bananas. But I know we'll get through this, you and me. Maybe not tomorrow (though I'd totally be okay with that), maybe not this week (yep, still totally okay with that too), but eventually. I promise.
I am joined in this “Letters to our Children” blog circle by an amazing group of photographers and moms. Together, we’ll be writing these letters every month in honor of our love for our sons and daughters. I encourage you to head over to Allyson's blog to read her letter, and then continue on around the circle!
This week's theme was texture, and I found myself very struck by the topography of this plaque when we were in Memorial Hall at the Naval Acadamy last weekend. I desperately wanted to run my fingers across it, but I thought that might be just a smidge disrespectful (something about being at the USNA made me feel like I needed to be on my best behavior) so I'll settle for having this photo.
How's that for a post title? This past weekend was Jared's birthday weekend and we were supposed to go to the cabin for a long weekend. That is until Emma came down with a nasty stomach bug at school on Thursday and was a total heartbreakingly sick mess the rest of the day. Our friends that were meeting us at the cabin also have little ones, and everyone agreed that it was too risky to have us all cooped up in a cabin together (without running water), so the cabin trip was scrapped. To say Jared was bummed would be an understatement. He'd been looking forward to this trip for months! I promised I would try to salvage his birthday, so we planned a day trip to Annapolis for Saturday afternoon. Now, Emma gets pretty restless if she's stuck in the car for more than half an hour, and it takes a little over an hour to get to Annapolis - so the car ride was less than stellar. But I was still optimistic the rest of the day would be okay. The sun was shining, there wasn't a cloud in the sky, the weather was perfect... except it was freezing cold and our dear daughter happened to be at the tail end of an "I don't want to wear my mittens!" phase. She also happens to be in an "I want to walk on my own but I don't want to hold your hand" phase. Ahhh, life with a toddler. 98% of the time, Emma is a truly awesome and great kid... but that 2% she's not is pretty dang miserable for all involved. We were quite the spectacle walking around the Naval Academy with our half frozen baby being carried against her will. Yep - we were those parents. Did I mention it was Jared's birthday? Yeah.
I will say that Bancroft Hall was really impressive (just a little fancier than my dorm at MSU) and Memorial Hall was somber and powerful. (Thanks for the recommendation, Jill!)
After touring the Academy, we made our way over to the shops and restaurants of historic Annapolis. Emma was still pretty miserable at this point, so we made a stop for something sweet and to warm our bones a bit. Things started to pick up after that, and before we headed to dinner at Joss Sushi (heads up if you go there that they don't have high chairs or booster seats, but are otherwise family friendly) we stopped into an oil and vinegar shop called Seasons. Jared and I are pretty big fans of anything balsamic, and had a field day tasting all the different flavors. We walked out with an 18 year aged Balsamic, an amazing Black Cherry Balsamic, and a Tuscan herb infused olive oil. It was kind of the highlight of our whole day, and we spent a good part of Sunday planning out how we would use our new purchases at dinner that night.
We decided on homemade Focaccia bread to accompany a simple roast chicken dinner, and for dessert - ohhhhh, this dessert... vanilla ice cream topped with fresh cherries cooked in a black cherry balsamic reduction. It was heavenly. HEAVENLY. My mouth is still watering looking at the picture.
So, all in all, Jared's birthday was still kind of a bust... but Emma has worn her mittens every day since Saturday, and we had some seriously kickass food on Sunday night thanks to our Seasons haul. And there's always next year.
You may remember me mentioning that one of my goals for 2013 was to rebrand Made by Bird. Well, as you can see, I can cross that goal off my list! And I'm so thrilled with the result. It feels like me, but grown up. (Which, considering I'm 31, a wife, and a mom, I guess I kind of am.) The feather is a nod to my lifelong nickname, Bird, and the font is just the right combination of pretty and whimsical. (Check out more of the design elements below.) I really struggled with whether or not to keep the name "Made by Bird"... it's been my blog name for nearly 4 years! But with all my photography and design stuff being associated with my actual name, and my keen opposition to having two separate websites, I felt it was time to switch everything over to simply "Allie Shellaway." But don't worry, I'll still be posting about all the same stuff. The mood and tone of the blog won't change. (Note that I will be changing to URL over to madebybird.com next week... it's a whole other ball of wax and I just haven't had time to tackle it yet.)
So, I really hope you guys like the redesign. I have a few more tweaks I need to make to the blog - like a proper footer with a search bar. I upgraded to Thesis 2.0 (from 1.8) for the redesign and I'm still figuring out my way around. Fun fact, everything I know about web design I've learned on the fly. It's a little chaotic but it gets the job done.
Thanks for your continued support over the years (I think this is my 3rd or so redesign of the site, but certainly the biggest change so far.) There'd be no point to any of this without you. Seriously.
February's Desert Island Discs are brought to you by another Texan and one of the most genuinely nice guys I know, Mr. Al Giesler. (Check out his equally super nice wife's amazing sewing blog, Moon Thirty.) I first met Al in the Galaxy Barn at Pickathon 2010 while waiting for Langhorne Slim to play what was to become one of the best shows I've ever seen. Al is an avid concert goer, and has seen most everyone worth seeing (and usually right before they got huge), so it doesn't surprise me at all that so many of the tunes on Al's list are live recordings. There's just something different about the energy from a live show, and few people appreciate that more than Al...
Click here to listen to all the tracks!
1) The Weight (live at The Last Waltz) by The Band (featuring The Staple Singers)... Volumes have been written about this song and its impact on the landscape of history, musically and otherwise. One of the best things I have ever done is see Levon Helm perform. Frail and ill of health, he presided over his drum kit with the energy of a twenty year old. It breaks my heart knowing how much Levon didn’t want to see The Band come to an end.
Fact: Mavis Staples' clapping in this song is the best clapping in any song of all time. Period. - Allie
2) Let Me Roll It (live on Wings Over America) by Paul McCartney & Wings... I saw my first concert of my choosing when I was 12 years old. I have watched people perform on stage as often as I can ever since. I haven’t seen Sir Paul live, but this song represents to me what a concert should feel like… the energy of the crowd, that guitar lick, lighter in the air, singing along at the top of your voice … absolute bliss! (For the record, that first show was current Geico pitchman Eddie Money opening for April Wine.)
3) The Next Best Western by Richard Shindell... Good songwriting will put you right in the heart of the story. Richard isn’t writing hits, but he is writing songs that inspire other songwriters.
“At four a.m. on 80 East, It’s in the nature of the beast To wonder if there’s something missing… I am wretched, I am tired. but the preacher is on fire And I wish I could believe”
4) All Things Must Pass by George Harrison... I have a lot of love for The Beatles, and have also spent a fair amount of time with the solo works of both John and Paul. Outside of a greatest hits compilation, I had not given George’s offerings much attention. But recently I purchased a turntable, and I have hit a few jackpots at the casinos (read: really good vinyl at Goodwill stores). My love for George grows with every spin of this tune.
5) Dreams Can Chase You Down (Daytrotter version) by The Low Anthem... A band that I had to see live to fully appreciate. They make music with the most unique and unconventional instruments ever to grace a stage. This song was written by Dan Leftkowitz, a founding member of the group. He had left by the time they recorded this as a bonus track on a numbered, letterpress printed version of their third studio album Smart Flesh. The version they recorded for their second Daytrotter is absolutely gut wrenching with the emotion they deliver.
6) Houses on the Hill by Whiskeytown... Oh to be a fly on the wall when Ryan Adams, Caitlin Cary and crew were penning these songs. Musically and lyrically this gets about as close to perfection for me as it gets.
7) Box of Rain by Grateful Dead... Damn, that A chord comes crashing in and is your entry to one of the most important recordings of the last 50 years. American Beauty and the Grateful Dead shaped my musical horizons permanently. Their live energy was the benchmark that all others are held against. It’s not about musicianship, but they can hold their own. It’s not about lyrics, but they are strong. It’s about that sense of “we are all in this thing together,” about enjoying the show with every sense of your being with all your brothers and sisters in synch. Not many measure well against this benchmark but every once and awhile a band comes along with another course correction…
8) Salvation Song (live at Merlefest 2006) by The Avett Brothers... I live a blessed life. I see a lot of live music and I love sharing the experience with my friends. Several years ago my wife, best friend and I went on a roadie to see Dylan in Vegas. On the trip we were spinning the current (Feb/Mar 2006) Paste Magazine sampler disc. One of the tunes kept coming into our consciousness and inevitably one of us would ask, “Who the hell is this again?” The tune was Talk on Indolence by The Avett Brothers. To be honest I wasn’t sure if loved or hated it, but the song got my attention. We all saw them live later that year and a new benchmark was set. Maybe it’s their live show…with its unfiltered, give-all-you-got-every-time performance. Maybe it’s that they (band and crew) are some of the most genuine people you could ever meet. Maybe it’s the absolute respect they give to their fans, their peers and themselves. Maybe it’s the tunes. Whatever it is, it is pure, honest and true and you are missing out if you haven’t heard about “our” little secret.
Note that I couldn't find the Merlefest version, but the one in the link is from the same year and similarly awesome...
Thanks so much, Al!!! :)
This week's theme was Low Light... for this shot I used the Softbox Pro app for my iPad as my only light source. I held the iPad in one hand and the camera in the other and played around with the angles until I got something I liked. Oh, and sorry about the lack of makeup. ;)
I mentioned that one of my goals for this year is to participate in a Project 52 photography project, and I'm pleased to report that I'm officially one month in. I'm participating in this with over 400 other Clickin Moms members, and we have suggested themes to follow for each week. Let me tell you, the work these girls have submitted so far has been incredible and so inspiring. It's amazing to see everyone's vastly different takes on the same theme. Here are my photos, so far: Week 1 | New Year
Week 2 | Silhouette
Yyyyyeah, so I'm really proud of this one, but it's also super personal and I don't feel comfortable sharing it with the masses. I promise I will try my best to make sure this is the only one I can't share with you. Sorry!
Week 3 | Shallow Depth of Field
Week 4 | Weather
I'm planning to post these on a weekly basis from now on (probably on Mondays) so stay tuned, and thanks for looking! :)
Ashleigh is an up and coming photographer and photography teacher in the Conway, SC area and I was honored to help her launch her brand. See her beautiful photos here.
Proof that even hobbyists need nice branding, Kristy came to me wanting to redo her watermark and blog. Her photos were already amazing, and now they look that much better with her new branding. Check out her gorgeous work here.
Lucy is a successful children and newborn photographer in the Philadelphia, PA area and I was so excited to be part of her rebranding. Check out her amazing work here.
Michelle is a budding hobbyist who was ready to take her photography to the next level with a custom watermark, and I loved helping bring her vision to life.
As I mentioned on Friday, I set out this weekend to do another 12x12 challenge (12 photos in 12 hours to capture our day.) These were all taken on what was a pretty typical Sunday for us... eating, playing, swimming, football, bed. (I'm very much looking forward to replacing the 4th thing in a couple of weeks!) ;)
Hello, sweet girl. I haven't written to you since you were a few weeks old, when I was still so overwhelmed with the joy of your arrival (and with figuring out this whole parenting thing!) I held you in my arms and couldn't imagine life getting any better. But it has... in the past year and a half I've watched you grow into this amazingly smart, silly, and ever-curious little girl, and I find myself in a state of perpetual awe.
You bring so much joy and laughter to my life every single day... and since we don't get to spend that much time together during the week, I pretty much live for the weekends. I love our morning cuddles, having breakfast together in our PJs, going to the park, throwing the ball for Rocco... your excitement to play and learn and find new adventures is so infectious. I love watching you "read" your books aloud, in words I can't quite make out, wondering what story you're making up in your head to go along with the pictures. And I love how determined and focused you get during your independent play... it amazes me how creative you are with your toys, and how quickly you learn to use and manipulate them.
Mostly I love how completely and utterly silly you are. You're constantly singing and making up sounds, or dancing to whatever music we have on with the most ridiculous dance moves I've ever seen. Even after you've gone to bed, your dad and I find ourselves still laughing about something you did during the day, or because when we check the monitor we find you in your signature sleeping position - on your back with your arms folded behind your head like you're lounging poolside. We find you endlessly entertaining, and your love of life endlessly inspiring. I feel so immensely blessed - not just that I get to be a mama - but that I get to be your mama. So thank you... thank you for being you and for bringing me so much more happiness than I ever thought possible.
I am joined in this “Letters to our Children” blog circle by an amazing group of photographers and moms. Together, we'll be writing these letters every month in honor of our love for our sons and daughters. I encourage you to head over to Davina's blog to read her letter, and then continue on around the circle!
Happy Friday, everyone! I thought I'd share a little photo project I worked on last month... it's called a 12x12 - 12 photos in 12 hours. It was a little challenging since you're not always in good lighting situations every hour of every day (how nice would that be??), but it ended up being a great way to capture our day as it really was. I liked it so much I'm planning to start doing a monthly 12x12. Even if you're not a photographer, I encourage you to try it. So many of our family photos are taken during events or special occasions... sometimes it's nice to see life as it really is - dirty faces and all. :) For December's 12x12, we were in North Carolina visiting my in-laws...
Okay, so things got a little klugy during naptime so it wasn't exactly a photo each hour, but no photo project is worth disrupting naptime. Aaaand, there's no #12 here because it's a photo of Emma in the bath that, while completely adorable, isn't something I'm comfortable posting for random strangers that might come across my blog. So let's just assume it's the greatest photo ever taken of a baby in the tub, k? :)
Have you done a 12x12? Send me a link in the comments! I'm planning to try the 12x12 again tomorrow to get some practice with my new Sigma 30mm lens and I'd love the extra inspiration.
Have a great weekend!!
Like most married couples with kids, Jared and I spend most evenings relaxing in front of the TV. This is great for catching up on our shows, but it can make for a pretty lame marriage. Since we can't afford to get a babysitter every weekend, I tried to come up with ideas for creating the feel of a date night at home. And then it hit me - we love to cook, we love Iron Chef, and we love a little friendly competition... a weekly Iron Chef battle was just the thing we needed to, uh, spice up our Saturday nights. Here's what we do... earlier in the week we'll pick an ingredient, then toss around some course ideas. We prepare 3 courses, 1 each and then 1 joint course. Everything is made from scratch and we aren't allowed to use recipes (unless it's to make an ingredient that we've never made before, like pie crust.) Jared goes out during Saturday naptime to get all the ingredients, we start prepping during the day as needed, and we start the real cooking once Emma goes to bed. We don't limit ourselves to an hour because, well, that would be insane.
The first week we did Battle Blue Cheese, and it was AH-MAZING! I took a ton of photos, and then promptly accidentally deleted them when I formatted my CF card. So let's move on to Battle Bacon, shall we?
Our first course was our joint course... a romaine salad with shallot bacon balsamic dressing topped with blue cheese crumbles and bacon. It was really tasty, but the blue cheese overpowered the bacon flavor. I'd absolutely make this again, though.
The second course was all Jared, and the man out-did himself... bacon-wrapped shrimp and bacon wrapped scallops crusted with lemon pepper & sea salt, topped with Old Bay bacon crumbles. The shrimp were good, but the scallops were to-die-for. So juicy and tender, and perfectly complemented by the bacon.
The third course was mine, and if I do say so myself (and I do, because it's my blog), I crushed it. Maple bacon ice cream garnished with bacon brittle. Best. Ice. Cream. Ever. Okay, maybe not the best ever, but easily the best I've ever made. If you've ever been to Voodoo Donuts in Portland, you've probably had their maple bacon bar... well, this is the ice cream equivalent of that deliciousness.
Jared and I agreed that we tied on this battle... his scallops were just as delicious as my ice cream. We high fived each other and agreed that this was the best date night idea ever. Well, second to actually leaving the house. Cooking together is a blast and we get an amazing meal out of it. If you're looking for a way to jazz up your weekends with your significant other, I highly recommend trying your own Iron Chef battle.
Up next for us... Battle Lemon. Kinda unconventional, but lemons are in season so we're just going to roll with it.
January's Desert Island picks are brought to you by my friend, Stephen... a proud Austinite by way of the Olympia burbs. We met when we were both living in Seattle and bonded over our love of music and our dislike of most everything else. He has impeccable taste in music, and I love the list he came up with.
1) Cold, Cold Water by Mirah... This was the song that pushed me down the rabbit hole. Until I heard this, I hadn't bothered to investigate anything that wasn't in heavy rotation on the local alt-rock radio station. I went to my first "indie" show to see Mirah. It was at some sort of dance studio in Olympia, and The Microphones and Calvin Johnson were both on the bill. I was blown away, and life hasn't quite been the same since.
[embed size="compact"]http://open.spotify.com/track/4gn0UCNUU4u6ncmCAEk90W[/embed]
2) Sultans of Swing by Dire Straits... This is perhaps the one song my dad and I will always agree on.
[embed size="compact"]http://open.spotify.com/track/6cr6UDpkjEaMQ80OjWqEBQ[/embed]
3) Gardenhead/Leave Me Alone by Neutral Milk Hotel... It wouldn't be a stretch to include any and all NMH songs on a list like this. Listening to any of them is about as close as I'm going to get to calling something a spiritual experience. I particularly like the horns in this one. And the imagery. And... everything, really.
[embed size="compact"]http://open.spotify.com/track/3Mr3ZUFtC1DKFmFeD5mF8P[/embed]
4) Snookered by Dan Deacon... This song got me through a particularly tough part of my life. The lyrics are such a lovely expression of the existential misery that can come along with really crappy happenings, while the music batters all your sad-sack neurons into complete submission; it's the perfect "things are gonna be okay" song. When I saw him perform this live during SXSW 2011, it was the most connecting, giddy concert experience I'd ever had, and it completely reshaped my notion of what the live music experience can be like.
[embed size="compact"]http://open.spotify.com/track/5UKKQVjIyCg6F57gulETXr[/embed]
5) Bad Religion by Frank Ocean.. This just came out this year, and holy crap, it's amazing. The whole album is brilliant, but this track sticks out. It's beautiful. It's important. I love it.
[embed size="compact"]http://open.spotify.com/track/2pMPWE7PJH1PizfgGRMnR9[/embed]
6) Graceland by Paul Simon.. I grew up listening to this song, and I've never gotten tired of it. As a bass player, I'm constantly in awe of the bass work on most of the Graceland album.
[embed size="compact"]http://open.spotify.com/track/51KKQAgYFoJHgVIuJWHdHb[/embed]
7) The Scientists by Hum.. It's a rock song about two scientists leaving the dying Earth behind on a spaceship. What's not to love?
[embed size="compact"]http://open.spotify.com/track/1i3k7iSflrhAZE3bfWjUug[/embed]
8) Meet Me in the City by Junior Kimbrough.. To me, this is what the blues are supposed to sound like. Simple, soulful, and haunting. You can't fake this.
[embed size="compact"]http://open.spotify.com/track/5VddUiKGvHdNVQQwImOrsB[/embed]
Thanks, Stephen!
Have Spotify and want to listen to the whole playlist? Click here.
(PS… remember that if you’re viewing this in a feed reader you’ll need to click over to the blog to see the Spotify tracks.)
This was our NYE this year, right after the clock struck midnight at The Avett Brothers' show in NC. Ah-mazing. More on that soon!
Happy New Year! I don't know about you, but I'm very happy to see 2012 go. It was a roller coaster of a year and I'm hopeful that 2013 will be a bit more balanced for me and my little family.
As in prior years, I made a list of goals for the coming year... I definitely took on too much last year, and while I have a lot I want to accomplish this year, I really tried to narrow this list down so that I could focus only on the things that are most important to me: