Clueless, BFC & Girl Power

These photos have been out for a while, but I couldn't help but think about my good girl friends Lady C & Crassy Wallace.

Not only have we already imitated photos like this, but last summer we rewatched Clueless missing the sass of the 90s.

Dionne, Cher and Tai, I think we are a little bit of each.

If I could remember a time in my life when I felt so empowered, it was when I surrounded myself with an army of women.

A serious reunion needs to happen soon, but we have to conquer sleep deprivation first. Visits home are always a mad dash of stress. Maybe we can convince Christie to come up here and join us! This photo is definitely Christie!
All photos are from Wildfox's Spring 2013 Collection

Anybody else watching Girls, Carrie Diaries or Hart of Dixie? I love my girly TV.

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3 Month Catch Up

Well, hello there! I'm sad to say that I've slacked in this part of my life, but I'll quickly catch up for those of you who stumble upon this. One of my New Year's resolutions is to blog and write more.

Since my last post in September, I started school again, made new friends with my schoolmates, had two amazing Professors teach me all about the vaguely familiar world of PR, had papers and homework due each week, completed two group project presentations,

dressed up like an air hostess from the 60s for Halloween,


watched the election, celebrated my birthday singing karaoke




hung out at Linda's in Capitol Hill,


ate tofurky on Thanksgiving, caught up with an old Kiwi friend,
went to an Advanced Style party,



discovered Keys on Main thanks to my pals at work, celebrated at a X-mas party w/ my museum family,

had our hearts broken after the CT massacre, we wrote passionate blog entries about gun control, reunited with an old friend, met some new ones,

went to the EMP...went back to Vegas for Christmas, celebrated NYE in Capitol Hill singing and dancing to karaoke party times,

most of this all occurring while working and going to school full-time.

I've said goodbye to my pals at the exhibit I worked at. Some days were insanely busy, crazy and tough. I'll miss the people. Here's hoping we all move on to better things. I couldn't have started a better job in a new city with the chance of meeting so many awesome people. The folks I worked with were extremely funny, a class act and consummate professionals.

xo
jv



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Summer Stories: 4th of July

Reverse culture shock is a strange thing. I spent the summer adjusting to the (reverse) weather that I was once accustomed to living here four years ago. I wore red, white and blue and ran into my work colleague on the bus all decked out. HAHA! me <===== nerd

We spent a happy fourth of July celebrating in Capitol Hill with C & P and Sarah. We ate vege burgers at Blue Moon and watched the fireworks at Lake Union.

Vintage dress from Etsy | RWB belt, thrifted | cardigan, F21 | flats - Gap

I love the models behind me!









Waiting for the magic to happen!






babe! Sarah, fed me some frittata's that night too. :)



I loved the fireworks with the smiley faces!



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New Zealand: Final Days

I am obsessive compulsive; I post photos in chronological order. In a way, it keeps me in check. If I were skipping around all over the place, none of my old blog entries for the last ten years would have ever been posted. :) Life got so crazy hectic before I left New Zealand. I never had a chance to write about it or post any photos of what I was up to.

January - April 2012
During my last four months in New Zealand:
We showed Jonah around Auckland! Jonah, Chris, Jeff and Nancy. I miss these faces!



We visited Wellington and had the most amazing day with Phil and Jonah.



This photo describes it all...



I wished we were young forever.



We went to Laneway music festival, and I met prominent NZ news journalist John Campbell. We both love the Pains of Being Pure at Heart! ;)




I met this New Zealand top model. Does she look familiar? :)



Mt. Eden in Auckland at dusk



We hung out at Bastion Point. Photo by Jonah.




Chris and I ate the most delicious white sauce pizza in Auckland on Valentine's Day. Toto's!





We visited the Waitomo Caves in King County. The descendant of the cave's owner gave us the tour and demonstrated his love for astrology. The caves are two million years old! We saw stalagmites and stalactites. No photos because it wasn't allowed!




Partied and farewell'd NZ with my friends at work...




I hosted a swap party/ladies night and had such a gooood time!



And then... there was our farewell party.

with my lovely lady Hayley.


to be continued...

xo
jv




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Pen Pals & Snail Mail

Earlier this year, I received some sweet treats in the mail from my lovely pen pal and friends.

Brooklyn's decadent delights. Another extremely thoughtful care package from the great American novelist aka. My pen pal L.





Auckland's dreamy music sweetheart Chelsea Jade sent me a postcard from NYC.






My longtime Vegas turned Seattle adventurer LSL sent me Vogue's Amanda Brooks "I <3 Your Style." There are hundreds of style books out there, but this one's actually a really fun read.

Deary deer Crassy Wallace sent me this houndstooth bag (and a mod belt!)




My mother-in-law gave me this beautiful Kiwiana photo album. I plan to fill it with lomography photos.

 

I'm going exploring with LSL today, so we'll put my restless lomo cam to good use!

Thanks everybody for the sweet gifts!

xo
jv
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New Zealand Wedding

In March, I took photos as a second shooter at my friend Maggie's Samoan/Niuean themed wedding. It was the first Pacific Island-themed wedding I've ever been to. I say that- as that's exactly what the groom asked me! (I went to a Maori wedding in 2010 where they sang in Maori, served a hangi and did several hakas! It was also held inside the Destiny Church. Needless to say, it was an amazing experience. Although, I'm unsure if Maori people consider themselves as Pacific Islanders but Polynesians.)

As the second photographer, I captured so, so, so many tender and memorable moments. My favourite part was when the wedding party stepped outside the church. Everybody was hooting, howling and grinning ear-to-ear. I met Maggie's bro who was the videographer, who's also an amazing photographer. Turns out he's a prominent Australian contemporary dance choreographer who travels around the world for dance companies. It was inspiring just being in his presence. This day was so inspiring.

The wedding continued on with several cultural traditions like singing, chants, dances, Nieuan cloths rolled out where money was collected. Apologies as I don't know what it was called, but it was a Nieuan tradition! There were Hawaiian, Tahitian, Samoan, Cook Island and Niuean dances! And then eventually the bride's family ended the reception with an amazing hip hop dance. The people at this wedding were so enthusiastic about dancing. I honestly want a CD mix of the fun Samoan dance music I heard that day. I can see why our friend Jeff had such a great time in Samoa dancing there!

Here are a few of my favourites that I was fortunate to catch:

What Happens in Vegas... Funny Faces

It's imperative that funny face photos are taken whenever I touch down in Vegas. I don't know what it is about that place. The (lack of) water, the desolate desert in general, people in Vegas tend of have an extremely laid back sense of humor. Extremely uninhibited west coast vibes! This is why I love these people so much.

I cried into laughter and started having convulsions because of this.

Don't ever let anybody talk crap about where you're from. I am determined to break down every stereotype wrongly sent my way. I had a good life and opportunities there. My friends were amazing too.

xo
jv

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