JoCole

This week, I met up with my super-talented-former-biology-lab-partner, Jodi -- who happens to be the genius behind JoCole Designs -- to shoot her summer line.

The clothes were great, the sun was shining, and hopefully everyone involved had as much fun as I did. :)








For more of Jodi's designs, check out the JoCole website. You can also follow her on facebook.

Sunsets and Vegas!

I'm still catching up a bit from that long gap of non-blogging that happened.

This bit of family fun happened in January on a rare day when all three generations of Vegas were gathered together in one sandy spot. Thanks to a lot of traffic madness between the Inland Empire and Orange County, we were running a bit behind schedule -- a fortunate accident, however, that allowed us to be around for a truly amazing sunset.





















... And I couldn't resist snapping a couple pictures of the light.








What a beautiful day, and what a beautiful family!!!

Stephen & Melissa - Engaged!!!

Last weekend, I got to spend an afternoon at the Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Gardens in Claremont with Stephen & Melissa. We had a great session (that totally wasn't awkward), and I'm really looking forward to their wedding next January!

Congrats, friends, on your happy engagement! I know you'll have a wonderful future together!

<3

Consider Yourself Teased...

A little peek at Stephen & Melissa's engagement photos!

4th & Main

A little secret: I have a favorite street. Actually, it's a bit more like a block. Located in the Old Bank district between Spring and Main, is a little stretch of 4th Street that looks like someone lifted a street out of New York and plopped it down right smack dab in the middle of Downtown L.A.

It's all full of galleries and Art Deco buildings, little bistros, and hundred-year-old offices and hotels that have been converted into apartments. During Christmas, the city hangs swaths of icy blue lights down the whole street. Every once in a while, traffic will be blocked off because they're shooting an episode of CSI New York or something similar there - which is amusing as it involves things like Gary "Lt. Dan" Sinise and "authentic" NYC police cruisers.

A couple of weeks ago, I met two lovely old friends for dinner at one of my favorite spots anywhere: Pete's Cafe & Bar on 6th & Main (Home of the best grilled cheese I've ever eaten). I showed up a few minutes early and took the time to snap a few shots (and, alas, to discover the demise of Lost Souls - the secret coffee shop that is no more).












Sherry, Me, & Becky :)

In For The Long Hall

One of the kind of cool things about staying in the same area for as long as I have is that you get to watch people grow up.

My dad is pretty well known for commenting on this, reminding people often that he remembers them when they were just sooooo tiny. It's a little bit weird that I'm starting to have those sorts of comments too. (I recently said the exact same thing to my young friend Natalie - now a Senior in high school, who I've known since she was just an infant. Even as the words were coming out of my mouth, I was thinking:"I can't believe I'm saying this!")

My dad is rather notorious amongst the Hall kids for mentioning this fact to them; especially now that the Hall kids are in fact, all growed up, and there's an entirely new batch of (really fun) littles running around with that label.

Last November I go to spend a bit of time with some Hall kids - both the grown up kind, and the kind still measuring their ages by their fingertips.

Here they are, the Halls #s 1 & 2! :)