paddle to shore

That Place

2013-03-01T15:22:00.000-08:00

photo taken at salvation mountain

i have so much on my mind these days. the worst is feeling like i have no place to express my thoughts, maybe because i haven't blogged here in months? will you forgive me for that? i want to start up again. it always feels so good to write exactly what's on my mind, not worrying what any one will say. so thank you in advance for never judging, and thank you for being that safety spot for me where I can freely express myself. paddle to shore is a personal space, the diary of my life, really. it's time to remember what it feels like to live and take photos without someone "expecting" anything from me. i want to go out all day and see what's in front of me. sometimes i really forget how this whole "photography" thing really started.

portrait

2012-10-16T06:18:00.000-07:00

a cat portrait for your tuesday morning. her name is patch, and she enjoys hanging out where the sun shines the brightest.

self

2012-10-06T15:54:00.000-07:00

talk about old school. picture of myself on hollywood & highland when we first arrived in los angeles back in 2009.

right now

2012-09-25T03:07:00.001-07:00

photo by elizabeth weinberg

i always get this wave of inspiration really late at night. at 2:30am, i find myself floating into a cloud of dream-like thoughts. i'm not sure what happened, but suddenly everything around me makes perfect sense. all the questions i've had zero answers for - for months are finally right in front of me, the answers are in bold letters. it's the middle of the night, and i've gotten myself sucked into a new (to me) photographer's portfolio, and i simply lose myself for hours. this happens far too often. i'm listening to babel, i wonder what it feels like to be married to carey mulligan? finally, i'm writing my thoughts down, paper scattered all over our bed. finally, my ideas are on paper, and i'm not just talking about them. it's as though i haven't held a pen in years? a cup of coffee at 11pm- i'm awake while everyone is sleeping.

take me to the island

2012-09-18T16:56:00.001-07:00

i blogged our travels over here today. did you get a chance to see the entire post? there are lots of bright colors. i'm realizing more and more how much i love colorful images. they just make me really happy.

his birthday!

2012-09-13T06:00:00.000-07:00

my parents own this big-beautiful home in central florida. it's the perfect escape from our fast-paced lifestyle here in los angeles. we normally visit in the winter months, but this year, we were lucky enough to spend a few days there in august before boarding a giant ship from cape canaveral.

well, today is andre's (29th!) birthday, so i thought i'd share these fun photos of him swimming in my parent's dreamy pool. i'm pretty sure andre spent three full days relaxing in that pool, can you blame him?

i'm going to be spending this entire day celebrating my man. thankfully we both have today off, so it's going to be the perfect celebration. enjoy your day, friends-

and happy birthday, andre!

satisfaction

2012-09-11T14:00:00.000-07:00

i am never truly satisfied with my work, not sure i've ever expressed that before. though i enjoy what i do and what i put out there for you all to see, i often feel unsatisfied with my body of work. satisfaction is what i work towards almost daily. i continue creating, perfecting, and growing into the photographer i someday hope to be. i want to feel a sense of fulfillment by the work i share. personal goals are extremely important to me. i teach myself new tricks all the time. i also read and study what i love. i breath photography, and i continue to evolve because of it, but i'm not quite sure i'll ever feel satisfied, maybe i'm too much of a perfectionist?

here's one from the bahamas

point dume afternoon

2012-09-10T06:00:00.001-07:00

this weekend flew by way too quickly. i guess that's what happens when you're having such a great time, right? some of the highlights from my weekend include: saying "hello" to quentin tarantino on my way to runyon canyon, watching best coast play live at the santa monica pier, attending chad muska's deconstructionism art show, pre-birthday drinks for andre at the fat dog (his birthday is on thursday), and seeing bijou phillips at fedex wearing the craziest stilettos. how was your weekend?

i'm finally starting to feel caught up with everything in my life. from homework (yeah, i'm still a student) and photographs taken throughout the summer. it feels good to have a clean desktop, so i'll be posting over here more frequently, or so i hope. i have a lot of photographs to share, including these taken at point dume in malibu. this is one of the most beautiful places to hangout out on a hot summer day. i highly recommend visiting point dume if you've never been, and be sure to bring a full picnic and your camera! i always surprise our out-of-town guests/friends with this spectacular beach spot.

janis wanted to spend a full day by the water, so i knew right away that this would be the perfect spot. point dume is very quiet, and i always like to think that we're the only ones who know how great it is here.

this little lady also spent the day with us.

on a very lucky day, you may spot dolphins jumping through the waves. we've spotted them many times, and my eyes always tear up in that moment. it's beautiful to see, we also spotted a whale once, it made me cry.

after this perfect beach day, we devoured some pretty awesome fish tacos from malibu seafood. i've blogged about this place before, remember this post?

happy monday, here's a little angus

bright lights

2012-09-04T13:46:00.000-07:00

I met these two beautiful people through this crazy internet world. Mike is a wedding photographer and Janis is (the perfect) school teacher. They stopped by for a little visit on their way to South Korea where they will be residing for the next year or so. you can follow their adventure over here. It’s incredible how the internet can allow for immediate connections with complete strangers. I’ve made so many connections with fellow photographers /artists through twitter and blogs. I can’t help but always feel inspired by these new meet-ups. it was an absolute pleasure having these two in our neighborhood for a few days. We spent our final evening together exploring the Urban Lights at LACMA. It was the perfect LA night.

silence

2012-09-03T15:13:00.000-07:00

i'll keep the personal stuff for another day.

Monday! Monday!

2012-08-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

eat a flower or something.

scarlet photographed by mario testino

dog days

2012-08-24T12:55:00.000-07:00

i love keeping busy, but sometimes the post work quickly piles on. with the two-week vacation i took earlier this month, i just feel like my desktop is overflowing with images that need to be edited. how do you stay on top of your work, and how do you keep from stressing out? i'm embarrassed to admit that sometimes i just snack for hours until i'm finally all caught up ...and two pounds heavier, yikes! well, thankfully i have a few days off to get everything together. enjoy your weekend, lovelies!

san diego getaway

2012-08-20T06:00:00.000-07:00

i'm pretty sure i meant to blog about our san diego getaway weeks ago! sometimes life gets so busy, and it's hard to keep up with blogging on a daily basis, especially when odd jobs keep popping up, but i'm thrilled to be keeping so busy with everything. as a photographer, there is nothing more exciting than being booked constantly, so i'm definitely not complaining. well, i thought it would be more fun to create one giant san diego post, and share all the fun stuff we did in 48 hours, amazing what one can do in such a short period of time.

i should probably start this post by admitting how long it took us to get there. yes, san diego is only 2 hours from los angeles, but somehow it took us over 5 hours!! what can i say, we love taking the scenic route and stopping everywhere. how eclectic is that rooftop?

when we finally made it to san diego, 5 hours later ;) we ordered pizza from bronx, opened a few bottles of wine, and hung out on the rooftop with our incredible hosts, alison and steve. they have a gorgeous home in hillcrest. it kind of reminds me of west hollywood a little because it's so easy to walk everywhere!

saturday was incredible! we spent our entire morning exploring balboa park; the carousel, the floral gardens, and the picnic we enjoyed (with this beautiful view) was just so perfect!

i love these two photographs andre took of me and alison. sneaky-sneaky guy.

our adorable hosts&friends. such sweet people, and we're so lucky to have them in our lives.

this colorful picture was taken in the spanish village. i was immidiately drawn to the bright colors

Our afternoon was spent biking through mission beach. we biked along the water, laughing and goofing off. i have to admit, it had been years since i had been on a bicycle, so i was terrified! turns out i had nothing to worry about, and this was probably my favorite activity of the whole weekend! i never realized how much fun biking was. i've been thinking of getting my own bike now. it would be great for biking along the ocean from santa monica to venice beach! meet me there?

after such a jam-packed day in the heat, we rushed to happy hour at ortega's mexican bistro!! this place was so delicious. i mean, i really love all the mexican food in california, but i seriously could not stop eating here. such fresh and tasty mexican food. their guacamole and their traditional margaritas were insane. i highly recommend it for those of you planning a little stop in SD.

look at that guac!

the best way to end this perfect trip was with sunday brunch on the rooftop. steve made us chia seed and chocolate chip pancakes, what a great combination! i think it's so fantastic to have friends in all sorts of different cities. i always get that much more excited for a trip if it also includes meeting up with friends we haven't seen in a little while, so this was truly special.

thanks so much to steve and alison for having us over, we'll be back soon.

i've been away

2012-08-17T14:47:00.000-07:00

wow! i really didn't plan on taking such a long break from my blog, but things got so crazy over here that it was best to just step away from all of it for a while. and then andre and i flew to florida for a few days then hopped on a cruise ship to the bahamas for 5 nights, and then flew back to LA last night then woke up super early for more work! there is so much going on right now, and i can't wait to update everything!

what have you been up to?

cut it or leave it?

2012-08-03T09:56:00.002-07:00

my hair is seriously getting out of control, and i just don't know what to do with it. i love the length, i just never know what to do with it. i've been going back and forth trying to figure out if i should cut it or just leave it. i am seriously thinking of getting straight bangs (to go with my chubby cheeks), and maybe just layering it out, but i really don't know? i'll probably be spending the morning on pinterest trying to find the perfect hairdo. help!

let's eat: 6

2012-08-02T06:00:00.000-07:00

it's been a very exciting week for rachel; she just announced the launch of her wonderful figgy bakery, and i couldn't be more excited for her! take a moment to explore her new website. she's such a talented girl, so i'm positive figgy bakery is going to shine! shine! shine!

here's rachel
normally, i'm not a huge fan of pasta, but when i was planning the menu for a recent event, pasta was the first thing that popped into my head! i'm not sure why, but i'm so glad it did! with a tasty balance of herbs and spices, this lightweight pasta is perfect anytime! it's a quick lunch, it's the perfect dinner, and even perfect for a picnic, and it'll only take 10 short minutes of your day, and it will surely make your stomach very very happy!

what you'll need for this pasta dish:

1 bag gluten free corn pasta from trader joe's

2 tbsp olive oil

1 handful sliced grape tomatoes

2-3 tablespoons parsley

salt & pepper to taste

boil about 6 cups of water until it comes to a complete boil. place noodles in a sauce pan, cooking until soft. test to see if they are done... toss one up against your cupboard. does it stick? it's done! Once it's done, just drain and then place back in sauce pan, pouring olive oil over noodles and stirring. sprinkle with parsley, salt and pepper then toss. Toss the pasta with the handful (or two) tomatoes and serve! you can also serve this pasta cold!

words&photo by rachel

i like these two, a lot!

2012-08-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

well, i just posted one of my favorite love sessions yet. erica and michael are such a beautiful/romantic couple. we met up in griffith park as the sun was setting. it was incredibly beautiful to capture. i am so happy with the way these pictures turned out, and i hope you folks like them too! see the full post here

Working with design love fest

2012-07-31T18:24:00.000-07:00

first off, this girl is the cutest, really! i've been having such a great time working with bri of designlovefest. we've been running around town together photographing bri's favorite spots, and to be perfectly honest, we've just gotten started, so i'm curious to see all the fun places we get to check out together in the next few weeks. this picture was taken at the Poketo shop in downtown los angeles, have you been? check out the full shoot here and the post bri put together over here. lots of fun stuff still to come!!

thinking out loud!

2012-07-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

the ocean, the sand, the sunshine, it never gets old. i still can't believe i live so close to the pacific ocean. i have to pinch myself because it still feels like a dream. i've been in california for 3 years, 3 years already! sometimes it feels like i was just in ottawa a month ago, dreaming of the day i'd be living in california! well, here i am and what a dream these past 3 years have been.

i'm pretty sure the coast was created for big ideas, big thoughts, and constant daydreams. we often drive to the water simply to think. it's the perfect setting for all creative ideas, and did i mention how good the seafood is along the pacific coast highway? i'm in a dreamland, and i like it!

happy monday, lovelies!

here we go!

2012-07-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

my weekend is already here, and i'm just about ready to leave for san diego with andre! we're spending the weekend with our friends alison & steve eating lots of pizza and mexican food, drinking wine, hiking, beaching, shopping, and just hanging out! i think it's going to be a blast! cheers to a great weekend, friends!

oh, and if you have any san diego recommendations, please leave them below.
we're always up for an adventure!

let's eat: 5

2012-07-26T06:00:00.000-07:00

from rachel
i'm obsessing over all the different summer recipes right now. i can't get over how many varieties of fruits and veggies one can put together to create something so delicious, and the colors of these dishes are so bright & so beautiful! although, i could probably do without the crazy heat waves we usually get, i find myself longing for summer more and more every year. i blame it on the delicious food! this week, let's feast on a fruity quinoa salad!

what you'll need for this quinoa fruit salad

quinoa

1/2 cup quinoa

1 cup water

1/2 cup blueberries

1/2 cup apple

(feel free to use mango, raspberries, etc)

dressing:

juice from a lemon

1 teaspoon orange preserves

9 basil leaves, minced

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper

directions:
boil water then add quinoa and cook for 11-13 minutes over medium heat. prepare the dressing and fruit while quinoa cooks. in a medium bowl, mix dressing ingredients and whisk! feel free to add some orange or lemon zest!

chop the fruit then set aside.

once the quinoa has cooled, add the dressing and mix. then, combine the fruit and salad then toss until it is completely coated! now time to enjoy!

words & photos: rachel

i love my job!

2012-07-25T18:48:00.000-07:00

i've been working on a beautiful portrait today. i can't wait to share these pictures in the next few days; this couple was absolutely stunning, and we had the best time photographing them in griffith park!

also, i just wanted to add that we're going to be in san diego all weekend, so if any of you are looking for a portrait session, engagement photos, or anything at all, send me a message so we can plan something fun!

tasty food

2012-07-24T06:00:00.000-07:00

i've been meaning to try gingergrass for months now. so many people have recommended this restaurant to me, so i asked andre if he would take me for lunch this past week, and of course he said yes. i don't think that guy ever says no to food and neither do i!

gingergrass is a super fresh & healthy vietnamese restaurant in silverlake. i can't believe how long it took us to eat here. we both went crazy for the noodle bowls topped with an imperial roll. the veggie roll was so tasty, i'd definitely go back for more sometime soon!

how cute is my andre?

well, i wish i could remember what was so funny in this moment

a few more restaurant posts:
malibu seafood
food+lab
malibu beachcomber

there's always something going on in LA

2012-07-23T06:00:00.000-07:00

this was the place to be last weekend, and i'm so glad i took the time to check it out with andre! there were free drinks! free snacks! and so much free chocolate!! (i can never say no to chocolate) and cacao luxe had the best!

unique LA is an independent design show full of products uniquely made in the usa! attending, shopping, and supporting unique LA every year is a great way to support small businesses and the local economy. if i could shop here every week, i definitely would! did any of you attend?

and how cute is this car? andre made me pose for an instagram!!

here are some of my favorite vendors from unique LA:
help ink
the poster list (i have these hanging in our kitchen)
hellomellow

let's eat: 4

2012-07-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

isn't thursday the best day on paddle to shore? rachel's recipes make my mouth water every-single-week. she's such a talent in the kitchen. i think this weeks recipe should definitely be paired with this limeade juice i posted on tuesday. this is the perfect summer combination, don't you think? kim

here's rachel
oh hummus, i love you-i love you, but remember when i didn't love you so much? for the longest time i found it difficult to believe that this mushy dip could taste so good! well, things have seriously changed, seriously! and hummus has quickly become a summer favorite.

the only downfall to hummus (if that's even possible) is that a lot of people miss out on the greatness of it because of its appearance, so sad. well, for those of you who love hummus as much as i do, you'll be happy to know it pairs beautifully with crackers, chips, sandwiches, and pretty much anything & everything! it's the perfect snack for those warm summer days, just grab some fresh veggies and dip dip dip!

this recipe will only take 5 minutes to create, and i promise it will keep you refreshed and happy!

what you'll need for this black bean hummus recipe

2 tbsp tahini

2 tbsp squeezed lime juice

2 tbsp water

1 tbsp olive oil

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cumin, ground

1 garlic clove

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

in a food processor, blend all ingredients until smooth. get creative with herbs, spices or garlic. serve cold with sliced bell peppers, pita chips, grain crackers, and/or gluten-free tortilla chips.

words/photos by rachel