My Life Through Photographs

Crystal Castles

2012-01-21T23:35:00.000-08:00

Crystal Castles // Galaxy Theatre
Oct. 26, 2011

Bought tickets to this show the moment I was informed they were on sale.
This show happened back in October, and I'm still on a Crystal Castles high.
Amazing. Amazing. Amazing.

Day 8 - Walking The Streets Of Brooklyn

2011-12-19T18:23:00.000-08:00

For our final day in New York, we did not do much really!

My one and only goal for this day was to head out to Brooklyn to check out the Brooklyn Flea Market, and we did just that.

After our Brooklyn adventure, we headed back to Manhattan for one more Pizza run and then retreated to our apartment really really early to begin packing for our trip home

Day 7 - Up and Down the City

2011-12-17T21:54:00.000-08:00

This was our second sunny day in the city! We took this opportunity to explore more of the touristy locations of NY, our first stop being the Statue Of Liberty!

We hopped on to the ferry that would take us to Liberty Island, and got an amazing view of Manhattan.

The day really couldn't have been more beautiful. Nothing but blue clear skies! It actually got a liiiittle hot at one point for us.

We explored around the island for about an hour or so. Ate lunch (because really...all of walking you do in NY makes you hungry every hour), and headed back to Manhattan.

9/11 memorial in Battery Park

That sun I was talking about earlier? Totally drained us, and we were only half way through our day at this point.

One thing I was really excited about was that fact that we were in New York during Fashion Week!

The Rockefeller Plaza

On our way up to the "Top Of The Rock"

Our view of NYC from the top of the Rockefeller Center

Sushi dinner at Ko Sushi

and a late night walk through our neighborhood

"Stoop kid's afraid to leave his stoop!"

Day 6 - The Sun Will Come Out, Tomorrow!

2011-11-12T00:03:00.000-08:00

This morning was beautiful. Gorgeous. Why? because the sun FINALLY CAME OUT!
The city takes on a whole new life when the sun is out. This is when it finally felt like we were in NYC!

Thalia started off our morning with some very delicious Oreo pancakes

View from our apartment window.

Quickly following our small breakfast, we found out we would be meeting someone important to dad's work for lunch.

No rain, bright sun, and a fancy lunch to attend? Perfect excuse to walk in cute heels and a pretty dress!

Took a few photos of our outfits while we waited for lunch time to roll around

...we were a bit busy eating (and mesmerized by the delicious meal) to get any photos of this portion of our day, but believe me when I say it was an amazing dining experience.

A walk around the city for an hour..

and then a quick trip home to get into more comfortable clothes to explore the city easier.

The new building at the World Trade Center

In Memory displays ready for the memorial services to be had a few days after.

The Wall Street Bull - Dad smiled! He was excited to see it

Lomography store "Fashion Night Out" event (we happened to be in NY during Fashion Week!)

and Shake Shack to end our amazing day in the city!

_____________________________

Day 1 • Day 2 • Day 3 • Day 4
Day 5

Day 5 - Baseball & Times Square

2011-10-09T22:33:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that by this day we are half way through our vacation!

Our first full day in New York city.

On this morning, we woke up very VERY sore from the travel adventure we had experienced the day prior. No time to complain about that though as we had plans to attend the second, and final, baseball game of our trip.

After breakfast, we quickly got ready and headed out of the apartment and to the subway. We'd be heading out to the Bronx to watch the
NY Yankee's vs MD Orioles.

This was my attempt at teaching Dad how to SMILE. I promise he knows how. He just likes to think he's too cool for the camera.

Our first full day in NY was met with A LOT of rain. We'd traveled this far though, so we were not about to let this water dampen our plans.

Yankee's Stadium
Bronx, NY.

Didn't take much to make Dad smile with THIS one!

...and for those who wouldn't know why this number would make Dad excited (MOM); this is who it belonged to.

It started raining pretty hard by the time the game actually started. Since we were in the bleachers, there was no way we'd be able to stay without these rain coats.

See those two little yellow people huddled together on the left hand side of the bleachers? That's Dad and Thalia

After the game, we made a quick stop at the apartment to get a change of clothes (it was raining that much!), and a quick bite to eat. A great benefit of having rented the apartment is that we got to cook a few meals at home.

(sorry, no photos of food. We were too hungry to even grab a camera!)

After dinner we headed out one last time for the day to experience
Times Square!

It continued to rain as we walked through, and I have to admit...I was getting pretty tired of the water at this point. Not only could we not stay dry, but it made it quite difficult to take my camera equipment out.
Too much rain!

We took shelter in this huge Toys R Us, and were instantly mesmerized by the indoor Ferris Wheel! I don't think it bothered Dad one bit that he was about to ride this thing with his three grown up daughters.

after Toys R Us, we walked through a few nearby stores.

The Forever 21 was huge! ...but dad said "NO" haha.

He couldn't say no to the Disney Store however.
(well really...at this point he had no choice. It was one or the other!)

a few blocks more through Times Square...

and a Mudslide at TGIF to conclude our night!

We were trapped in this restaurant for a while though, as the rain picked up again and actually came POURING down at this point.

Did I mention I was quite tired of the rain?

_____________________________

Day 1 • Day 2 • Day 3 • Day 4

Day 4 - Route To New York City!

2011-09-30T01:06:00.000-07:00

Day 4 was by far the hardest day we had throughout our whole vacation. It wasn't BAD, it was just...a big, long adventure haha.

On this morning, I got up extra extra early (like...4:00 in the morning early!) because I was going to accompany Dad in returning the rental car we had used during our stay in DC. The rental location was about 30 minutes from our hotel, and we had a train to catch about 10:30 that morning. This seems like a lot of time, but in reality, it was barely enough.

It was easy to drive over to the car rental location. We didn't get AS lost this time as we had been the days prior. Getting back to our hotel however, was going to be quite the journey.

We took a bus for about an hour from the airport to the Metro location, and rode the Metro back to Old Town Alexandria.

When we arrived, we found out that the shuttle service at our hotel unfortunately did not pick up guests from our particular Metro station, so Dad and I had to walk back from our current point to the hotel. Luckily it was only about a 30 minute walk, so we claimed it to be our exercise for the day!

Back tracking a little... when I woke up on this morning, I decided I should just wear a T shirt and shorts, despite the fact that it was 4 in the morning. If you remember from my previous posts, our two days in DC had been VERY humid, and VERY hot!

...I can't begin to explain how bad of a decision this was.
As we headed out that morning, I realized that it had rained in the evening and the temperature was now quite cold. Not only that, it was still sprinkling in the morning! I had even neglected to bring a jacket (this is how hot it had been before! I hadn't even needed to pull one out, not even at night time!)

All that aside, the morning walk was really nice. There was so much to see, and the streets were so quiet.

The fanciest 7 Eleven I've ever seen!

As we passed over this bridge, Dad and I looked down to the freeway and this was the moment we realized we were on vacation. This was the first weekday we were out and about, and we were watching people on their way to work.

We made it to our hotel safe and sound, and I quickly changed into some pants and a jacket! I learned my lesson. Don't get ahead of mother nature!

Boarded our first train ever, and enjoyed a comfortable 3 hour ride.

Passing through Philadelphia

and we've FINALLY made it! Penn Station in New York City! Oh what I different world we had just stepped into.

The apartment we had rented for the remainder of our trip was only about 10 or so blocks away from Penn Station. However, getting there proved to be more than we had bargained for.
It was 4 of us, 2 luggage bags each person, each bag weighing about 30lbs. On top of that, we all had to walk 4 blocks over to the Subway (and 5 to the apartment), through a crowd of people, in the rain.

You'd think that was the worst part, but no. Did I forget to mention that the subway station entrance/exit consists of many many stairs? Our arms were ready to fall apart after dragging so much weight during our route to the apartment.

This is how we looked after arriving "home."

We got settled in, took a breather, and then April and I headed out into the rain again in search of some Pizza!

It was nice to have so many little food shops, restaurants, and cafe's around. We had so many things to choose from, so we knew we'd never be bored of exploring.

After chowing down on the much needed dinner, I knocked out. But I mean, KNOCKED OUT. No one was about to get me out of this slumber. I was DONE for the day!

Which was OK, because we had a baseball game to be ready for the next morning =)

_____________________________

Day 1 • Day 2 • Day 3

Day 3 - Baseball, Georgetown & Monuments

2011-09-26T02:29:00.000-07:00

Our third day in DC greeted us with gloomy weather. We had been tracking the weather for weeks, and had been a little nervous that the reported possibility of rain would come true for this afternoon. We all hoped it wouldn't happen as our first stop of the day would be in DC to watch the Washington Nationals play our Los Angeles Dodgers! ♥

Luckily, the weather cooperated and the most we got were a few sprinkles here and there. Despite the fact that it was overcast and gloomy, let me say the humidity was still around. It was HOT. and sticky.

After the baseball game, which we lost =(, we drove out to Georgetown. Georgetown is best described as DC's Pasadena. Gorgeous buildings, expensive boutiques, and many cafe's & dining options.

After a little bit of shopping and dessert treats in Georgetown, we drove back to DC to visit a few remaining monuments we had not had a chance to visit the day prior.
These included the Lincoln Memorial, Reflecting Pool (which was unfortunately under construction), World War II Memorial, and the newly built Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial.

The evening spent exploring these memorials was quite memorable. The path that took us from the Lincoln Memorial to the WWII Memorial was peaceful and relaxing. AND we all saw our very first Fire Flies! It was GORGEOUS!

The memorials were all beautiful on their own, and amazing to experience. We caught rain during our exploration, but didn't allow that to stop us one bit.

This was our final day in DC, so we ended our evening pretty early. We headed back to our hotel for a small dinner, and got our luggage ready as we would be checking out the next morning, and taking a train to
New York City!

Day 2 - Washington DC

2011-09-21T02:09:00.000-07:00

We woke up kind of early for day 2 of our trip, as we would be spending the day in Washington DC.

The trip to DC was only about 20 minutes from our hotel in Virginia. Although, let me tell you...the roads out on the east coast are no joke. People think our LA freeways are confusing to maneuver through? I wish I could tell you the amount of times we made a wrong turn on these highways. I lost count after about...oh I don't know...20?

Despite our involuntary scenic route, we made it to DC in good time, and early enough for dad's surprise.

Dad's plan for the day was to take a 2 hour tour around DC in segways. Yes, a segway. It was the funniest experience I've ever had. I can assure you we all looked like a bunch of DORKS, but oh man can those things go fast! After we got the hang of them like..3 minutes into our lesson, we all kind of went on our own and had a ball.

We obviously had to follow a tour guide, with our (not so little) group, but considering the fact that we all seemed to have pretty good control of our own unit, the guides didn't really mind the fact that my family and I were racing all over DC, haha!

The tour was definitely beautiful. In two hours we covered a good amount of monuments and important, historical buildings. The best part is, since we were not walking at all, our legs weren't tired one bit!

After our tour, we decided to go relax at the POV bar on top of the W Hotel. This bar had the most wonderful view of the White House, as well as quite a few other monuments in the area.

Once we had finished up at POV, we decided to walk back towards the White House area and actually take a few photos, since we hadn't had a chance to be there too long during our earlier tour.

We passed many museums during our tour, and since they were free we knew we'd have to stop into at least one.

We actually ended up in the Natural Museum of Natural History, as I had something really exciting waiting for me there.

I had researched before we left on our vacation, and found that this museum had a Butterfly Pavillion. A room in which live butterflies would be flying around, and you could walk among them. I was NOT about to miss out on this!

Thalia however, not a big fan of butterflies.

But more exciting than the butterfly exhibit? My amazing friend Ms. Lauren had driven over from Baltimore to hang out with us for a little while. This was beyond exciting for me as we had not seen each other in over a year ♥

(Oh yea...those shiny faces? Did I mention that the east coast is really Really REALLY humid?)

For the remainder of the day, we explored the museum a little more. Thalia had never seen a Dinosaur exhibit, so this was her first time.

We walked for a little while longer once we were finished at the museum. Mostly to find food. By this time we were all pretty exhausted. It had been quite a long day, and more walking than we had ever been used to.

Headed back to our hotel, and went to sleep so we'd be ready for our adventure on Day 3!

Day 1 - Los Angeles to Virginia

2011-09-16T22:34:00.000-07:00

Our vacation came and went much too fast, but oh what a great one it was!
It's been close to a week since we've returned, and I definitely miss it already.
We are all back to our daily rituals now, and day dreaming of our next adventure.

We were out for about a total of 8 days. I tried to document as much as I could
(you know...with three cameras and all) but I have to say I'm pretty guilty of missing a LOT of shots.
You will have to forgive me, getting to experience it all NOT from behind a lens was much more fulfilling =)

Our flight was scheduled for Saturday afternoon at about 2:45pm or so. It gave us a good amount of time to pack any last minute stuff (ok...I packed most of my stuff then), and allowed for a relaxing ride to the airport.

-

Dad suggested we find some food inside to purchase, as the in flight meals really aren't that great. Lucky for us, there was a mini Chili's inside LAX (we love Chili's!), and thank goodness for that.
Mini burgers for lunch? Yes please!

We finally took off after a somewhat short delay, and got to see the most amazing views of LA ♥

The photo above taken as we were flying over the Pasadena Rose Bowl

The greatest movie to keep me company, and some Kahlua to go along with it.
With an iPad filled with movies, the 4 hour flight barely seemed that long at all.

We arrived in Dulles Airport about 10:30 eastern time, had to go claim our luggage, and take a shuttle to our car rental location.

After a little bit of scrambling, and many many wrong turns on the VA highways, we arrived to our hotel about 12:30 - 1:00am ish. You can imagine how extremely hungry we all were by this time.

Searching for food in Virginia was a little tough as everything was already closed, but we got really lucky and found a Deli in Old Town Alexandria.

The food was amazing. So delicious! and not just because we were starving.
This definitely started our vacation out on a great note =)

With day one complete, we all headed back to the hotel and knocked OUT

In One Week

2011-08-27T00:58:00.001-07:00

Exactly one week from today I will be off on an official vacation, SO overdue it's not even funny!

The last time I took an actual week long vacation must have been at least 6 years ago when I traveled with a big group of family on a Royal Caribbean cruise.

This year, it's big =)

Saturday afternoon my family and I will be flying out from our lovely city of Los Angeles, and onto the East Coast. We'll be spending 3 days in Washington DC, and then taking a train ride up to New York! To say I am excited would be an understatement.

I have 7 days before the big day, and I can already see myself running around at the last minute.
Oh this is going to be FUN!
♥

(Here's also hoping Hurricane Irene decides to be nice)

_____________________________________________

Photo taken during a weekend Washington state trip (2009)

Reflection

2011-08-10T23:50:00.000-07:00

I'm currently doing some major stalling on the internet.
I should really be writing a reflective essay, as well as a research paper, for tomorrow's final English class.

I am not good with homework. I always manage to complete it hours before class starts, even essays!
I have a huge feeling though, that writing a research paper in 1½ hours tomorrow wont exactly fly; so here I am.

On the flip side, tomorrow is the final day of Summer Session. Hooray for two weeks off before this starts all over again!

Thrift Finds

2011-08-06T22:58:00.000-07:00

This week's thrift find was this oh so cute Cinderella storybook Vinyl!

I come across these often at the Antique Malls, but they are always extremely expensive ($40+) and usually in pretty bad condition.

I was surprised to find this in really good shape, hardly any scratches on the Vinyl itself, and for only $7!

Needless to say, I threw this on the moment I got home, and danced around my room.

♪ No matter how your heart is grieving
If you keep on believing
the dream that you wish will come true ♫

♥

________________________________________

A Day In The OC

2011-08-05T09:18:00.000-07:00

The weather has finally been warming up here in Los Angeles,
so a couple of weeks ago I dragged a friend of mine to take a trip down to Newport Beach with me for the afternoon.

The idea was to tan in the sun for the first time this summer, but we got to feeling pretty hungry after being stuck in a bit of weekend traffic, and decided to find a place to eat first (after our 40 minute parking search that is)

This was my first outing with the Diana Mini!

No tan unfortunately for that afternoon.
We did, however, go home with some happy (full) tummies!

Newport Beach, CA

Film Love

2011-08-04T13:45:00.000-07:00

Despite the constant additions to my ever growing collection of cameras..
I always seem to come back to this one ♥

Hello August

2011-08-01T23:42:00.000-07:00

I am a little sad that July has come to an end ...ok I'm A LOT sad!
My favorite month has come and gone in the blink of an eye.
It was jam packed with activities left and right. I'm barely catching up.

August is definitely promising though, and the Summer has not left us yet!
The weekends are finally about to slow down a bit,
which calls for more picture taking, thrifting, and exploring.

Please don't leave me yet Summer.
I love love love the fall, but I am not ready for you JUST yet!

Mini Vacation On It's Way

2011-07-27T23:56:00.000-07:00

Half way through the week!

Going camping this weekend for the first time in a very long while. I cannot wait!
Just received a new shipment of film, so I'm ready for the trip.

One class, and two work days to go before I'm off to Pismo Beach ♥

The Diana Mini

2011-07-24T11:53:00.000-07:00

This little beauty has been keeping me entertained for the past week. First roll of film down, and ready to ship out!

LA Dodgers Opening Day

2011-06-04T00:18:00.000-07:00

My Dad's (and my) first Opening Day Game
March 31, 2011

Dodgers Stadium
Chavez Ravine
Los Angeles, CA

Paradise Pier

2011-05-27T03:05:00.000-07:00

Waiting on World of Color

Paradise Pier / California Adventure
Anaheim, CA.

Along The Sea

2011-05-19T02:06:00.000-07:00

Redondo Beach, CA

Easter Dinner

2011-05-10T22:15:00.000-07:00

Family Dinner @ Benihana

Musink Festival

2011-04-03T22:14:00.000-07:00

Back in January I received some very exciting news from my friends over at Rumor Has It. They were set to play Orange County's MUSINK festival, one slot before Circa Survive, and two before headliners (and one of my all time favorite band)
Thrice.
To explain the amount of excitement I had at the thought of this...well let me just say my jaw dropped to the floor.

It took me about a second to begin my countdown to March 5th, and let me tell you... it felt like forever! But it was well worth the wait.

The show, among being one of Rumor Has It's biggest shows to date, was also one of their greatest! I was so extremely happy for these boys, and the performance they put on that night.

...and the perk of getting to enjoy backstage all night long and watch Thrice, beyond priceless.

Rumor Has It

Thrice

Musink Festival (3.5.11)
OC Fairgrounds

Downtown LA

2011-04-03T20:33:00.000-07:00

First time in Downtown LA in over 3 years.

Downtown LA
Los Angeles, CA

Balboa Park (Film)

2011-04-03T13:55:00.000-07:00

Balboa Park Botanical Gardens
San Diego, CA.

Dinner Date With Dad

2011-02-17T18:26:00.000-08:00

Photo By: April Ramirez

Valentine's Day 2011

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T12:00:00.000-08:00

(April's Camera Collection)

In the spirit of Valentine's Day (and while they were still in stock), I went just a liiiitle flower crazy at Vons this past weekend.
It had been so cold these past few weeks...but on this day the sun was out, it was nice and warm, and it reminded me that Spring is on it's way!

Our bedrooms and hallway needed a little bit of cheering up, so these Valentine flowers were the perfect excuse.

...it also didn't hurt that Tulips are my favorite flower!

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!

♥

Tan Jackets & Self Portraits

2011-02-13T10:51:00.000-08:00

Want to know what is completely awesome?
The fact that the Little Sister and I are the same size when it comes to tops. Which means, that when I feel like I've gone through my closet a million times, I always have hers as a very nice back up!
(It's also nice to know she doesn't completely hate me when I do decide to sneak an item away)

I hadn't done a Self Portrait in a while, and felt pretty cute on this day.
We were getting ready to go out to dinner and celebrate my Uncle's birthday at BJ's.
Well...my camera decided to prove me otherwise, so in comes the Photoshop Crop Tool! Thank goodness for that.
(I should be ashamed really. That is probably just as bad as the 'Myspace Angles')

On a slight side note. I am completely in love with the ring I am wearing in this photo. It is an (inexpensive) replica of Princess Diana's/Kate Middleton's engagement ring, and I have NO SHAME in admitting that =)

I find the story of this ring so fascinating!
Who would have thought that Princess Di's choice of a "commoners ring" over a custom made one would later become such an important item in fashion history.

Christy's Donuts

2011-02-10T00:02:00.000-08:00

It is no big secret that the Little Sister's favorite thing in the whole wide world are donuts

We have a small "hole in the wall" donut shop in our little city that we pass by pretty much every single day. So since today was such a cold night, and the sister was having an off day, we decided to make a quick stop on our way back home

Since it was later in the evening, the window display wasn't stocked full as it usually is earlier in the day, but we still had a good variety of goodies to choose from

On a side note...

I am still totally bummed that I've yet to see my two rolls of film that I sent to Snapfish.com
So sad that I wasn't really in the mood for taking any new photos lately (silly I know!)

So today, since we were going on a mini adventure, I decided to take my trusted old Point And Shoot to finally get out of my funk!
It made me happy =)

Hair Bows & Other Things

2011-01-31T00:43:00.000-08:00

Facts This Week

• I'm kind of in love with these bows

• I've been eating waaay too much junk food lately

• I got bangs! Yay!

• It rained today,
and while everyone is tired of it,
I was LOVING it.

• I've finally started working on a project I've had planned for years, and now
my room is a mess

• The Chocolate Molten Cake from Chili's is STILL awesome

• I think Snapfish has lost two of my rolls of film, and that makes me really sad, but I'm hoping for the best

• therefore I must find a new, reliable, and affordable film lab

• I've been watching WAY too much Grey's Anatomy

California Weather

2011-01-16T22:37:00.000-08:00

Trying to figure out what to wear can sometimes be a little tricky if you live in California
The weather is always so unpredictable!
(well...unless you actually look it up on weather.com).

Last week I had the most gorgeous view of the mountains covered in snow while driving to work.
I wish the picture could do it justice. They look so much bigger and beautiful in person!

Did I mention that yesterdays weather was in the 80's?
Oh how I love you California ♥

Our Weekend Consisted Of...

2011-01-12T02:24:00.000-08:00

a DELICIOUS sushi dinner

Fun portraits against pretty Disney Hotel wallpaper

Wanting everything in the World Of Disney store!

and Dealing with a handful of goofballs ♥

How was your weekend?

Things I've Purchased This Week

2011-01-06T01:55:00.001-08:00

So I've never been one to make New Years resolutions.
Why? Because I never keep them!
However, I have tried to convince myself that saving a bit more money this year will probably be a smart idea.
...but then again...it's kind of hard when there are so many pretty things to buy!

My purchases this week have included...

1.) These had to have Cranberry Colored Skinny Jeans
(Completely fell in love with them when I saw them posted on Sensibly Styled)
2.) Pretty pretty Navy/Blue Striped dress
3.) Oh so cute Mini Striped Hair Bows
4.) Vintage style Turquoise Flower Earrings (Forever 21)
5.) Three gorgeous colors of nail polish bottles (1 , 2, 3)

So...my wallet may not be starting the year off right, but my closet sure is!

♥

Goodbye 2010

2011-01-04T00:00:00.000-08:00

In 2010 I...

• Spent the night on the streets of Pasadena to watch the 121st Rose Parade
(I fell asleep during the actual parade.Doh!)
• Went to the beach with my best friend...in JANUARY
• Attended Radio Toxiko's Launch Party with my Mommy
•Visited more Summer Fair's than you could imagine

• Got to play catch on the field of Dodger's Stadium with my Daddy-O for Fathers Day
• Shot a handful of Photoshoots (Playing dress up, or Photographing others)
• Attended the Best Concert Ever! and had the bruises to prove it!

• Partied with friends
• Was blessed with a Goddaughter
• Visited the Happiest Place on Earth!

and SO much more I know I haven't included

-------

2010,
you were really really good to me.
Dare I say you were one of the best years I've ever had!
I'll definitely never forget you.

2011.
Lets make this year just as fun!
Bring it on.

-------

♥ Crystal

Rumor Has It

2011-01-02T14:00:00.000-08:00

Photographed the boys for their December comeback show at the Pomona Glass House.
A few stills of the performance and guest appearance by Longineu of Yellowcard

Rumor Has It @ The Glass House
Pomona, CA.

Princess Dresses

2010-10-18T16:29:00.000-07:00

Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique
Inside Fantasyland

Disneyland
Anaheim, CA

Haunted Mansion

2010-10-18T16:28:00.000-07:00

Haunted Mansion Holiday

Disneyland
Anaheim, CA

Mary Poppins

2010-10-18T16:24:00.000-07:00

Mary Poppins walking around Fantasyland

Disneyland
Anaheim, CA

The Big Cheesy

2010-10-18T15:57:00.000-07:00

Mickey's book of choice

Disneyland's Toontown
Anaheim, CA

Ursula

2010-10-09T15:50:00.000-07:00

Ursula the Sea Witch

World of Disney - Downtown Disney

Anaheim, CA

Starbucks Gold Star Member

2010-09-20T20:46:00.000-07:00

I've made it!

Today I received a pretty paper card, with a pretty plastic card inside. Countless frapuccinos and 25 stars later, I have become a "Starbucks Gold Star Member" for the year.

Yay!

Special? No not really, but they sure do make you feel it!

Not familiar with the rewards program?
Read more about it here!

Handmade Bows

2010-09-12T19:43:00.000-07:00

Rattle N Roll
Whittier, CA.

French Clock

2010-08-22T17:51:00.000-07:00

The Getty Museum
Los Angeles, CA

------

The Getty...
Had a quick trip yesterday afternoon. Definitely a place I need to visit early in the day so I have enough time too look at everything!

A Song For Milly Michaelson

2010-07-21T23:55:00.000-07:00

♪ So, here we go.
Hold on tight and don't let go.
I won't ever let you fall.
I love the night.
Flying o'er these city lights.
But I love you most of all. ♫
-

Thrice @ The Fox Theater
Pomona, CA.

View the set here

Fathers Day Catch

2010-06-27T15:39:00.000-07:00

Dodgers Stadium
Los Angeles, CA

Fathers Day 2010

Fair

2010-06-05T01:56:00.000-07:00

"Early California Days" Fair @ St John Vianney Church
Hacienda Heights, CA

Ferris Wheel

2010-06-05T01:55:00.000-07:00

Ferris Wheel @ St John Vianney Church "Early California Days"
Hacienda Heights, CA

Gravitron

2010-06-05T01:54:00.000-07:00

Gravitron @ St John Vianney "Early California Days"
Hacienda Heights, CA

Grandfather Clock

2010-05-16T12:17:00.000-07:00

Paramount, CA

Church Flowers

2010-05-16T12:11:00.000-07:00

St Vincent De Paul Church
Phoenix, AZ

Jewelry

2010-04-18T13:34:00.000-07:00

-

Canon AE1

Expired Kodak Film

Easter Flowers

2010-04-06T00:52:00.000-07:00

Anyone that knows me well will not find it surprising to walk into my room and find a display of flowers...or two..or three =)

I try to get my hands on a new arrangement as often as possible. There is just something amazing about waking up in the morning to the sight of beautiful, rich colors by your bedside.

A Place To Rest

2010-03-28T02:09:00.000-07:00

Canon Rebel Xti

Spring Time

2010-03-20T15:59:00.000-07:00

Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.
- Joseph Addison

Happy first day of Spring everyone!

Fire Truck

2010-03-07T12:32:00.000-08:00

Hacienda Heights, CA
iPhone

Little Treasure

2010-02-17T23:09:00.000-08:00

“Look and think before opening the shutter. The heart and mind are the true lens of the camera.” - Yousuf Karsh

My current love is this 35mm Canon AE1 Program. The design of this camera is just so beautiful! It's much quieter than my Canon T50, and alot more fun as you actually have to advance the film yourself after each exposure.

This beauty also has a nice little place in my heart as it used to belong to my Dad before I was born! I had almost lost all hope in tracking down any older style cameras my parents used to own as they've since disappeared, but this lovely one recently found it's way back home.

So the story goes... .

My Abuelito Fidel had lent Mom and Dad his Canon AE1 (manual camera) for their Honeymoon. Dad loved it so much, he made what he called..."one of those impulse decisions you know your spouse will be mad at you about...but you do it anyway" and he purchased the upgraded model of Grandpa's camera. New lenses and all.

I'm not quite sure just how long it lasted in our possession, but the camera was eventually (after a few years) sold to my Dads brother. Which was (again) years later given to a nephew of my uncle. So it's passed through quite a few hands! And probably took part in many many adventures =)

Well, with this lovely camera collecting obsession of mine, I often bug dad about what ever happened to cameras we used to own. I am on a mission to not only collect, but be able to own cameras with our history.

So...one day Dad mentions that there was a 35mm he used to own...tells me the complete story...and this eventually leads me to my uncle. I briefly bring it up at one of our family gatherings, learn it was given away, and almost lose all hope. My uncle explains to me that this nephew of his was also getting into photography, thus the reason for needing a camera, but the hobby never quite stuck. He wasn't quite sure if his nephew still had the camera or not, but would look into it.

Christmas Eve rolls around...and what completely makes my night? My uncle had inquired about the camera, was able to get it back, and it was now in my hands.

This poor camera, it had made quite a trip. You could tell it had been through SO MUCH throughout the years. The case holding it was the original my dad purchased to store it in, and was now so old that the insides of the bag had completely deteriorated, leaving loose foam and debris all over! (which freaked me out a bit, because dust in itself is bad for a camera!) as well as rust from lack of use. But I didn't care! This was still quite the treasure for me.

One day I spent the entire afternoon cleaning it out, getting rid of any debris that might have tried to find its way into the camera. I used everything I could. I vacuumed all the dust, used a tiny brush for the crevices I couldn't get into & became best friends with Mr. Clean Magic Eraser which was AMAZING in getting rid of all the rust and mold that had accumulated throughout the years.

Camera right after I was done cleaning it up

I kick myself now for not taking a before and after shot at how the camera originally looked. I was just so excited to get it up and running again, that once I started cleaning there was no stopping me!

Once it was all cleaned up, I played around with it for a bit...and then everything halted again. The lever to advance the film was not working properly, and would move very slowly. I was beginning to, once again, lose hope. With all that dust I had previously cleaned out, I was already imagining the worst! Had the dust beat me and made it's way into the camera, ruining the lever?

Who would have guessed all it needed was a new battery...lol.

This camera is now in great condition and works perfect! It travels with me wherever I go & I believe has recently seen more daylight than my Canon Digital! Although it took me a bit to get used to. I completely failed at loading my first roll of film...and did not notice until I reached the end of my camera counter...lol. I'm getting the hang of this manual stuff again!

I cannot begin to explain how much it means to me to have a growing collection of cameras that not only hold a story for me, but now hold a bit of our family history =) This one specifically...which has probably known me since birth, and has seen much more than I could ever imagine.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-14T01:02:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!

I'll admit that I thought this day was going to be a bit of a drag for me. It's been a crazy week, and I wasn't really feeling my best Sunday morning.

I'm happy to report however that it turned out to be the complete opposite. I have the greatest friends and family in the world & this turned out to be one of the best Valentine's I've ever had! Ever! I couldn't have asked for better people to spend it with ♥

I hope everyone's day was completely AMAZING, full of love, yummy candies, and great company!

Beach Getaway

2010-02-01T23:19:00.000-08:00

Polaroid Photographed By: Nichole Duckworth

Had the wonderful surprise of having family from out of town this past weekend, so we decided to travel down to Seal Beach in hopes of having a bit of a camera adventure. I must have packed about...5 different cameras. I'm insane, I know! It's an obsession.

Headed off about 1:30 in the afternoon, jumped on the 605 freeway and enjoyed the traffic-less trip!

iPhone

The beach was wonderful. Almost completely empty as it's winter time, but still saw the dedicated swimmer here and there. Crazy!

We didn't stay long as it the air quickly became freezing cold, but the adventure was a blast regardless!

Photo By: Thalia Ramirez

Beyond The Sea

2010-02-01T23:16:00.000-08:00

Seal Beach, CA

Polaroid One600 Classic

Band

2010-02-01T23:15:00.000-08:00

Seal Beach, CA

Polaroid One600 Classic

Artwork

2010-02-01T23:14:00.000-08:00

Seal Beach, CA

Polaroid One600 Classic

Seal Beach

2010-02-01T23:13:00.000-08:00

Seal Beach, CA

Polaroid One600 Classic

Front Yard

2010-02-01T23:10:00.000-08:00

La Puente, CA,

Polaroid SX 70

Pathway

2010-01-19T01:19:00.001-08:00

Walnut, CA

Polaroid One600 Classic

Autumn Leaves

2010-01-19T00:39:00.000-08:00

Walnut, CA

Polaroid One600 Classic

Hot Chocolate

2010-01-10T18:27:00.000-08:00

Mimi's Cafe

I recently found this photo on a roll of film I sent out to be developed about a week ago. I had actually taken this sometime in the middle of 2009 and never finished the roll. It was a nice find =)

Canon T50

Hello 2010! ♥

2010-01-07T21:43:00.001-08:00

I have big plans for this year, Photography wise.

There are so many things I want to do, and quite a few projects I want to take up. I just haven't quite figured out how or where to start!

Organizing my idea's is my downfall haha.

But anyway...
Here goes the first Self Portrait of the year! May it pave the way and motivate me to stay on track!

♥ Crystal

Daisy

2009-12-19T15:49:00.000-08:00

.A baby is something you carry inside you for nine months, in your arms for three years and in your heart till the day you die.

-

My beauutiful friend, just months away from meeting her 2nd Son =)

-

Canon Rebel Xti

Wine Bottle

2009-12-12T15:53:00.002-08:00

Took a trip to Costco this afternoon. Not exactly my favorite place to be really as it's always crowded! However, it did provide some nice things for me to photograph.

The wine bottles caught my eye more than anything, even though I don't drink much! Haha

Canon Rebel Xti

Bottles

2009-12-12T15:53:00.001-08:00

Costco

Canon Rebel Xti,

Wine Display

2009-12-12T15:52:00.001-08:00

Costco

Canon Rebel Xti

Mask

2009-12-11T00:02:00.000-08:00

There is some fun to be had next week! =)
Can't wait until next Saturday when I actually get to wear this.

Canon Rebel Xti

April

2009-12-07T21:44:00.000-08:00

Paramount CA

Canon Rebel Xti

Carlos

2009-11-28T18:39:00.000-08:00

Starbucks (Whittier, CA)

Polaroid One600 Classic

Starbucks

2009-11-28T18:24:00.001-08:00

Whittier, CA

Canon Rebel Xti

Thrice @ The House of Blues

2009-11-28T16:49:00.000-08:00

Anaheim, CA

Canon Rebel Xti

Hello Beautiful!

2009-11-22T19:49:00.000-08:00

I've missed you ♥

-

Canon Rebel Xti

Ferris Wheel

2009-11-19T09:20:00.000-08:00

Old Kmart Parking Lot

iPhone

Palm Springs

2009-10-24T12:53:00.002-07:00

Palm Springs, CA

Polaroid One600 Classic

Windmills

2009-10-24T12:53:00.001-07:00

Palm Springs, CA

Polaroid One600 Classic

Windmills

2009-10-24T12:52:00.001-07:00

Palm Springs, CA

Polaroid One600 Classic

Windmills

2009-10-24T12:50:00.000-07:00

Palm Springs, CA

Polaroid One600 Classic

Starbucks

2009-10-24T12:49:00.000-07:00

Palm Springs, CA

Polaroid One600 Classic

Table Arrangement

2009-08-12T21:41:00.001-07:00