Back to Cali / Mighty Summit

I just got back from the Mighty Summit. I think people usually get to go once. But a few days prior to the event this year Maggie asked if I'd like to come again as the photographer. I think it took me about five seconds to book my flight, in large part because of the incredible time I had last year. So many friends I met there, are now an integral, cherished part of my life. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to meet new women who would no doubt be (and were) equally inspiring. 

I was also excited because it's hosted in Guerneville, which is about 30 minutes from where I grew up. So I got to visit a few best friends from high school too. 

Coming from the Texas summer inferno where everything is dead or dying or on fire, I might have been disproportionately overwhelmed by the abundance of 70 degree beauty. I might have been so overcome that I was willing to risk a car accident to grab a few snapshots from behind the steering wheel. 

Hard to believe this is someone's every day. 

This photo doesn't do an ounce of justice for how beautiful this light was setting over the hills. 

It almost took away from the fact that my phone was dead and I didn't know where I was going. Realizing it too late to buy a charger in the airport, I tried to remember my friend Lisa's address from her text a few hours before. Note: it's not helpful when you only know the street name. I thought I would drive to her road and magic butterflies might emerge from her windows guiding me to her door with trails of glitter. Instead I knocked on three unresponsive doors until I realized I was going to have to wander town hoping for a Radio Shack to jump in my lap.

I even got out of my car at a gas station like it was 1999 to ask if anyone knew where I could find a car charger. That's when the cashier flatly pointed to the rack next to me that was FILLED WITH iPHONE ACCESSORIES. Seriously? That's when you know you're in silicone valley people. That's also when I got back into my car, and while waiting for my phone to charge, looked up and saw this:

Lucky! Car chargers in gas stations and A DIAMOND IN THE PARKING LOT. For real. Fifteen(ish) years ago I was walking out of this grocery store with my mom when she saw something sparkling in the asphalt. Turned out to be a loose half carat antique diamond. I should've purchased a lottery ticket while I was there. 

After charging my phone I made my way back to Lisa's street (again), only to be greeted by possibly the most charming human in the universe. 

I know I have three children and they are adorable, and I know all kids are sweet and amazing, I'm not comparing. I'm just saying that every so often Dakota Fanning or Jonathan Lipnicki comes along to knock you on the floor. Assuming your standing. If you're sitting, maybe they knock you back in your seat, or knock your socks off or the wind out of you. My point is that their precociousness knocks the crap out of you. Which now sounds like a rogue gang that might terrorize Disneyland. This is Stella. She's actually not terrorizing Disneyland. But one day she will be on television, or curing cancer or ruling the northern hemisphere. I spent the night being mesmerized by how much she could relate to adults. It was as if, in her mind, the only thing keeping her from letting us in on all the secrets of the universe were a few vocabulary words. 

The next morning I was on a mission to SEE EVERYONE AND EVERY PLACE THAT HAD EVER MATTERED TO ME IN THE SPACE OF HALF A DAY. I had a delightful breakfast with Lisa, pictured below with Stella Bella.

Then mid-morning coffee with Melissa and her girls, who let us talk for a few hours without even getting fussy. I've written about how much I love her before. It's always great to catch up in person. And I had my first pumpkin spice latte of the season.

Crappy photo of the lovely proof that is fall upon us:

Had lunch with Vicki and Rochelle (two more HS friends). And it made me think about this weirdly awesome (albeit sometimes scary) facebook and twitter world, where even if you don't see someone for years, you pick up by talking about current events. No one needs to ask how many kids you have, where you're working, or what you've been up to all these years. We start with what we did yesterday. It makes me wonder what it will be like to be old in this world of easy connecting.  

To celebrate we took the obligatory, overly-processed, mounted-on-ceiling iphone pics of ourselves. ...You know, so we could post them on facebook.

Me and Melissa.

Rochelle, Me, Vicki.

You can check out the the photos from Mighty Summit on our flickr stream.   

Alli The Great

Once upon a time I went to Nashville to photograph one of the new fall styles. Alli had graciously agreed to be the next Epiphanie model. And in true form, I made things more complicated than they needed to be by organizing a girls trip around it because:

1. I am addicted to girls' trips. 

2. I think work and play should converge whenever possible.

3. No photo shoot is complete without a little bruising. 

It was such a great time. I'm now an advocate for planning random girls' trips around any sort of business travel. Dental conference in Des Moines? Realtor meeting in Bakersfield? Party.

...The only thing is that I might have extended my complication extravaganza a little too much, by deciding to entirely change the design of the new style ... oohhhh you know weeks AFTER our shoot.

Because:

1. I am clearly allergic to simplicity. And there is not even a 2 or 3. 

Sooo, I won't be posting the photos from the first bag because I've since broken up with it. But I do have a few of Alli that we just took for fun. And she is too cute not to plaster all over the internet. 

Alli is The Quintessential Southern Belle in the loveliest sense. 

My favorite:

If you don't know Alli, she is (among other things) founder of all things Blissdom. I think she is also Czar of the Internet. 

And this look, including the belt that was cut from a pair of orange TIGHTS was crafted by amazing Macgyver Stylist: Erin Loechner. 

River

I am not made for Texas. Or for the sun or heat, or basically anything that involves nature. But it's been 5000 degrees, so we thought it would be fun to go sit in the river and do nothing with our friends. While they enjoyed the sun, I sported a full body gown, hat, and sat under the umbrella in Melanoma corner. I'm a hottie like that. I also forgot to sunscreen my knees so they burned and peeled for a week. It was sexy.

Today is filled with lots of appointments, including a visit to the dermatologist (speaking of skin cancer!). I always get a little nervous about it now. And there's not much time to write. So have a fun weekend friends! (wear sunscreen)

Port Aransas: Part 2

Emily was going bananas over the ocean, and embodying everything I was feeling. The waves, the salt, the sand can be intoxicating, especially if it's been a while since you've experienced it. Still her fearlessness made me feel like I couldn't relax or take my eyes off her for a second. And I think she had the same effect on her older sister. Annie kept pulling her in, telling her not to get in so deep. It's interesting to watch birth order characteristics develop right before you. 

Salt water in the eyes.

"LOOK MOM! A BALLOON!" as she reached down. 

"NO HONEY DON'T TOUCH THAT IT'S NOT A BALLOON I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS BUT IT'S DEFINITELY NOT A BALLOON."

Later, I googled "Long blue jellyfish in Port Aransas" and found out that it was a Portuguese Man of War. 

About six times the size of the ones I remember in Hawaii. Because Texas is competitive even when it comes to poisonous Marine life.  

Speaking of hazardous creatures. Who could leave the beach without a hermit crab for the kids? I mean, they're made for kids. All colorful and painted with glitter and butterflies and superman logos. All they need is a little low maintenance sponge and an adorable self-contained habitat to keep them happy.

Jason's prying it off his hand for the second time. I'm saying, "That's it, as soon as you get that bastard off, I'm flushing it down the toilet." Which prompts Annie to start crying / screaming, "NO MOMMY! YOU CAN'T FLUSH MY CRAB! THAT'S MYYYY CRAAAAB!!!" I reluctantly promise that I won't. We finally get everyone calmed down. Only to realize that something might not be quite right with Emily's crab.

She'd picked the one that had Dora painted on her back. She named Dora "Megan", after our awesome (we-would-die-without-her) Nanny "because I love Megan so much". In the store, she kept asking why Dora Megan wouldn't come out of her shell. We kept saying it's because Dora Megan is a hermit and likes to sleep a lot during the day. Until we got her home and realized that Dora Megan likes to sleep a lot during the day and the night.

And also permanently.

It seems that Dora Megan was never with us.

After a good fifteen minutes of inconsolable crying, I suggested maybe we should hold a memorial service for Dora Megan. Maybe the process of getting outside would get Emily's mind off of it. So we all gathered around to say a few words that we might celebrate the life of Dora Megan, as well as obtain closure for her untimely passing.

Good bye Dora Megan. We promise non-hermit-crab Real Megan is not mocking you by posting pictures of your burial on her facebook page.  

Pictured here, I think non-hermit-crab Real Megan is wishing you didn't share the same name. But also she is deeply, deeply mourning your loss.

Pictured here is the top of Grammy's head. She may have been laughing hysterically, or she may have been overcome with grief. Either way, I know she was trying very hard to contain herself. 

We all deal with grief a little differently. 

By then, it was time for dinner. So we packed everyone onto the golf cart and drove into town.

You can drive golf carts on the roads there, which might have been my favorite part of the whole weekend.

My other favorite part of the weekend was when my good friend Rachel and her awesome family came down to play. I'm lame and didn't get pictures of them. But if I did, it would include images of a family who has the beach Down To A Science. They were like a well-oiled family machine complete with tent, coolers, life jackets, and special sunscreen that sticks to you even when your skin is wet. It was impressive. But more importantly, they are just some of our favorite people.

Rachel also writes a crazily successful food blog. So on top of being fun, she is usually bearing treats. Like this Mexican Pasta Bake that she rolled up with (so good!). She has the Cook Knack. You know, there's some people who can cook, like me. I don't, but I can as long as I have a recipe or instructions, and there is no independent thinking required. Then there are people like my mom or Rachel who can magically create a four course meal, with nothing but ketchup, and Arm & Hammer deodorizer. This is the Cook Knack. And this is what she did with this vodka fruit mystery drink thing that she whipped up when we were there. It was so good. But you'll have to take my word for it because I don't have a picture of that either. 

What I DO have a picture of however, are Long Dogs.

What? You've never heard of them? Probably because they are my very own special, special creation. Because sometimes you buy too many groceries. And on the last day of vacation you need to use everything up so you don't have to lug it all home. Sometimes you have left over hot dog buns, + no hot dogs, and only hamburger meat. That's when you have to improvise people. That's right. Go ahead, and impress your friends this weekend. Happy Fourth of July, and you're welcome.  

Port Aransas: Part 1

Maui and California turned me into a beach snob. So much that I'd lived here eight years and had never graced Port Aransas with my Royal Hawaiian presence. Because Texas? Beaches? Please. 

I'm also typically skeptical of websites that photoshop clouds or sunsets behind their rentals. But my good friend Lauren said Cinnamon Shore was awesome. And I've been fiending for the water ...(why is spellcheck telling me that word doesn't exist? Has Webster never heard of crack? Or Horse? Or a girl who might die if she can't smell the ocean?) So we packed up the family and headed three hours to the Texas coast this weekend. 

On the way, we let the kids overdose on technology. The silence was a little eerie + fantastic.  

We weren't sure if it was going to rain or shine, which is the best weather for contrasty (overly-photoshopped) cloud pictures:

 "Pool Party" by TRA does pretty things to clouds.
We weren't there ten minutes before Emily was doing this. 

Made me re-think my opinions about the Texas ocean completely.

Untitled from maile wilson on Vimeo.