Marianne turns event planner...

Boy it is tough to plan an event. SO many details to take care of: the food, the linens, the flowers, the guest list, the menus, the cake & the list goes on... and to top it all, keep it a secret?

Last Saturday, I threw an intimate, surprise dinner get together for my special plus one. It was a private chef's tasting at the Epicurean Umbrella kitchen. Amidst the stainless racks, we dressed up an 18-foot long table and made our own little restaurant. Sizzles & aroma of food filled the air as well as cheers & laughter amongst friends. Good times.

It's great to have so many talented friends in the industry (who I'm pretty sure are glad I'm a photographer & not a planner!!!) to bounce ideas with. The gorgeous flowers by Mille Fiori, linens by Wildflower Linens, delectable dinner & desserts by Epicurean Umbrella, cake by Sweet Lady Jane.

I've always had the utmost respect for planners & that just tripled after planning my own little thing. I am keeping my job & will leave this to the experts! Here are a few details...


with the man of the hour who was impossible to surprise... but we pulled it off! :)

Daddy's Little Girl

We IM, we text, we Skype, we talk on the phone... I can never run out of things to talk about with this man. When friends think I'm miss-smarty-pants, I hold this man responsible for it.

My dad is the best! He taught me the little patience I have in playing golf & the sunny 16 rule in photography - stressing that it's not your golf clubs or camera that make you great at what you do. He always said education is the best gift he & my mom could give us (so I kept going back to school for as loooong as I could). I truly am & forever will be thankful for it.

I first learned to shoot with his thirty year old manual Canon (see my brand loyalty!) that he had used to take photographs of us growing up. Five kids & we all have multi-volume photo albums (props to mom too of course!). I think growing up with all our school programs, birthday parties, recitals, graduations, vacations, volleyball tourneys, etc. documented make me value what I do even more. Cliche as it may be, memories really are priceless!

Best of all, he is my most loyal blog reader & number one fan. It's not father's day nor his birthday but just "appreciate the people we love day." Love you Pop.

Here's my dad on a recent visit with not-so-little, little brother & moi.

Deck the walls...

I love taking pictures, I love looking at pictures that I take (at least someone does), I love looking at pictures other photographers take... With this whole digital revolution though, more often than not, personal stuff we shoot get trapped in this so called hard drive for no one to see & appreciate - not even me!

Photography has turned my world around & made me see everything in a fresh perspective. I think to be able to share this is one of the best things about it - so why shouldn't we?! I see beauty in the simplest, most random things. I LOVE details! Whether shooting a job or a personal project, I always pay attention to the littlest of things...

Here are a few images taken from a trip to Maine last summer that are (I'm proud to say) making it out of the hard drive & in to my wall...

i HEART tulips

Flowers do brighten up one's day... My already cheerful Monday got even better when I received this gorgeous arrangement from Eddie & Marco of Tic Tock Couture Florals. Thanks guys! Looove it!

Wedding album debut

Love my clients! They actually want to include this image with moi on their wedding album. Already had the best time documenting their big day, now I'm honored to be part of the memories :) Arlene & Rommel, you guys rock!

Must've been sometime during the 11th hour. Thanks to Roberto for this shot.

I HEART Boston

Boston was SUPER fun! The city is full of history, old architecture (which I love), amazing restaurants (love to eat!) and very enthusiastic sports fans (love the spirit). Spent one of the days just walking around, camera in tow, to shoot random things that caught my attention...















It was great to spend time with one of my funniest & dearest friends, Maureen a.k.a hostess with the mostest/tour-guide extraordinaire ;) Also hung out with miss permanent fixture to Boston's Best, Brittany Blando. SO much fun guys, can't wait to visit again!

Beat LA?

Outa the office from the 4th to the 12th. I'm in Boston and everywhere I go, I feel very welcome.... ;)

Happy Mother's Day!

Once (a very long time ago), my little brother & I thought it would be a really nice gift to make mom a tape where I played the piano & he sang, put it in a huge box, throw in some heart cut-outs, & fill the rest of the space with encyclopedia so she wouldn't have any idea what it was. This was prior to us realizing that we had NO musical talent whatsoever. A classic example of how you know mom will love you no matter what ;) No wonder she got us into sports.

My mom is the BEST. To those who know her, she is a woman of God, a great confidant, a generous heart, an "almost" public servant, the life of the party, the hostess with the mostest, and the list can go on. To us, she is all that & MORE. Constantly instilling the values of giving, great fashion ;) and just yesterday, reinforced the value of a white lie! Love you mama!

With the way I do things, my dad would often make remarks such as, "you are your mother's daughter." The below evidence will show that I will most likely look like her in X-number of years and I'll be very proud to be even half the woman she is with the many, many lives she's touched.

Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's out there!

With the mother-ship on her last visit a few months ago.

Moonshine

As I was unpacking my bag from today's shoot, I got a glimpse of the full moon through my window... Pretty. Little things like this make me happy :D

A Little Sunshine Goes A Long Way

I am solar-powered. I feel like I function best when it's bright & sunny out. Late afternoon sun is SO beautiful and truly excites me like a kid in a chocolate factory. As I was soaking up what was left of today's sunshine, I could not resist taking this for my iPhone-tography collection. I send such images to friends in the east coast. They hate me ;)

As it was, an untouched image.

Fall 2008

Fashion is one of the things that I've always loved. Since my sister and I graduated from matching outfits at age 3, this is one subject that has dominated a lot of our conversations.

Last night, I was at the LA Fashion Week to check out some 2008 fall collections. I'm feeling like a sponge these days, seems like everywhere I go, I take home a little bit of "inspiration in a bag." Although my style isn't exactly avant-garde - as most runway, hair, make up & designs are - I do admire how designers define their distinct styles and make such bold statements. Got me excited for an upcoming project...

My iPhone froze just as the show started and my point & shoot was all out of juice.
Here's an image i grabbed from MSNBC.

You, Inc.

I love Sundays.  It's a great day to catch up with friends over brunch,  spend quali-tee time with the family, go for a hike, read a book,  plan your week, re-assess your goals, etc.

Part of my goals for this year was to read a book a week.  Quite ambitious considering these aren't ones with big pictures my eyes are accustomed to :)   Today I just finished on You, Inc.  It's a fantastic read and I'd highly recommend it.  Each page has a valuable and inspiring lesson on one of the best things you can invest in - yourself!   Pushing for success by going out of your comfort zone... growing your box instead of thinking outside of it... giving... I can go on.  Seriously, pick up a copy!

All systems go!

So I've been moving.. packed, unpacked & finally getting settled in. First order of business - work station, this is where all the (Photoshop) magic happens ;)

Here's my new control tower... ready to rock & roll!

Playing with fire

This is a pretty cool shot taken with my point & shoot at a party last night...

Friday Night Lightbox

I was looking for one particular image tonight and found myself going through boxes of negatives & chromes. Hate to admit - my lightbox has accumulated a layer of what I believe in photographic lingo is referred to as "dust."

In the age of keyboard shortcuts and mouse clicks, I've forgotten how much fun this was...
Kodak EPP shot with the Mamiya RZ67. Aaah, good times!

Caffeine + long Sunday morning drive = a burst of INSPIRATION

Those who know me well are aware that I stay away from caffeine. Not for health reasons but more for the benefit of those around me and people I get in contact with on a daily basis. My body produces more energy needed to last me through a day & sometimes more.... :D The barista at my local coffee house was a little surprised it wasn't a decaf on that cappuccino today.

Inspiration comes in all forms, shapes & sizes. People I meet, books I read, movies I see, music I listen to, magazines I go through (a ton of 'em), and believe it or not, even the catalog for The Container Store! Today, I got a good dose of it on a long drive to a client's home. I've been on a little hiatus from blogging, but I am back. Expect to read more on the chronicles of Mariana - my new alter ego ;)

On my drive back home, I went around downtown and took iPhone snaps of random things that caught my attention.... then it started pouring again and the party was over, boo!

This is my favorite building in LA. I want to buy it! ;)





Kids, don't try this at home....

Marianne turns Martha

I love to bake... & love to eat them too!

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

I'm on top of the world!

Not really... but totally worth the 5 giant steps I took to get here. Check out the fantastic view...