What am I doing in Destin?!!

I've been asking myself this question a little too much throughout today, but I think I will just let it rest. I've had my share of crazy and spontaneous moments, but this sure tops it. Monday, a friend told me he was extending his stay in Destin after the holiday weekend and invited me and other friends to come down and join. Of course, out of everyone else (who worked normal jobs), I was the only one who had the flexibility to actually pack up my things and go the next night. I ended up leaving at 2 something in the morning and showing up in Destin at 9:30.

Sometimes, I surprise myself. I proved to myself I could survive a six hour drive by myself despite the fact that I absolutely hate driving. I think I like surprising myself. I know that artists are supposed to be overflowing with creativity, originality, spontaneity, and whatever other -ity you can think of. I've been hearing a lot, that it's all part of being an artist. But sometimes I do wonder when it can become excessive. There is always a delicate balance for everything. A time and place to relax, have fun, laugh and share great moments with people you love and take it all day by day as it comes, and there is also a time to be *serious* about life and map out what you want to do. Maybe for me, I'm just built differently and the planning may have to be more for the bigger picture and not so much the daily activities. haha PAs can come in handy too! Anyone want an internship?! hehe It's under control for now, but as my photography is getting much busier, I may just need one!

Here are some fun photos taken yesterday! ;)

This place is so beautiful!! I love the smell of the ocean, and the breeze, and this goes without saying, the beautiful view! The condo, the beach. I love it all. What more can you ask for? Other than a quick swim in the ocean, we pretty much ate brunch and dinner, worked, chatted, hung out, etc on this balcony overlooking the water. It was relaxing.



Besides client meetings and photo coverage the day of a wedding or a session, most of my work is editing and behind the scenes. Sometimes, these are the not so fun details. A pro, however, is that they can be taken with you wherever you go... even to the beach! ;) Here's a photo Bruce took of me working on the balcony. It's nice to have a change in scenery when you're editing.





Here's Bruce!



Can't wait for the rest of the gang to come join us tonight! ;)

LA Flayva

Finally back from my trip! I have some serious running to do. haha I forgot what it felt like to be hungry after all the binge-eating I did in LA. I'm such a foodie. The food was just too good... and with all these fads and trendy food places, I had to try them all! hahaha I was eating like there was no tomorrow. Now, time to maybe even fast and detox!!!

Here's just a few places I would like to highlight. There's more on flickr and facebook. :) If you would like to just see the food, it's all on the bottom. YUM.

This was the last morning in LA right before my flight back to Atlanta. After I checked in my bags, there was a two hour gap, so a friend picked me up for lunch, and we ended up heading to the beach. I was worried I would miss my flight, but he kept reassuring me I would make it and to just chill out. haha I thought people in the South were super laid back... but Victor took 'laid back' to a new level. Great first experiences I will not forget. Not many people can say, "hey, I'm at the beach.. and my flight boards in half an hour!" :)



True artists will use any medium. lol Sand Art.





I love how on third street promenade, people are just dancing in the middle of the street. My kind of life.



This guy even had his own dancer with a sombrero. lol



Cuuuute! I want one!



Didn't know that there are multiple fox theaters that existed!



Look! Park benches for one person........ = chair! ;)



Porto's cheese rolls + potato balls + mariquitas + pan con lechon = way too much food for one person. lol





Ice cream cookie sandwiches at Diddy Riese. My favorite was strawberry cheesecake ice cream sandwiched between cinnamon sugar cookies.



Chosun Galbee has the best Korean bbq in LA... or so they say! Let me know if I'm wrong. It was really good, but I haven't tried any other places to compare. :)



The escolar at Hot Stuff Cafe.



Places people recommended that I didn't get a chance to try (Oh, well.. it gives me a reason to come back to LA):

*Pink's hotdogs
*The Stand
*Kogi taco trucks
*Sprinkles/Crumbs cupcakes
*Olympic Kalgooksoo
*Papa Christo
*Guppy Teahouse
*Sushi in J-town

Happy Birthday, Mom!

This was my very first time making a cake. The results? Partial success. lol I'm sure it tastes better than it looks.

So basically, it was a 9x13inch cake that broke apart while I was trying to move it from the pan to a tray. Somehow, I managed to salvage a square portion of it, and with enough frosting, you can cover up most of the mistakes! ;)



Thankfully, Mom is not that picky, and she much appreciated the efforts.



The artist and her cake. This chic is probably not going to be pursuing a career as a baker.





I think I'm realizing more and more that I actually enjoy expressing my love for people in ways like this. Putting time and TLC into it, when before I would just buy nice/expensive things and call it a day. lol It was just way easier that way and required much less thinking and creativity. Hoping to let the creative juices flow!

I'm still learning how to love people in their love language, but I think I'm off to decent start. lol Happy birthday and may you have a blessed year! Love you, Mom!

What's your love language?

Mine would be... Words of affirmation (especially written in letter/note-form) > Acts of service (like cooking! hehe) > Receiving gifts > Quality time > Physical touch (I have to mention that I've made a lot of progress in this area. lol My friends really broke me and taught me how to hug.)