Movies & Music now

Happy Friday! I've watched some fun and entertaining movies lately. Some of them are on the older side so I'm watching them from an adults perspective. I had seen some of them when they came out but my reaction is so different. I'm talking about Kindergarten Cop. Instead of focusing on the little kid whose father is a ob/gyn doctor, I decided that Arnold Schwarzenegger wasn't all that cute when he was younger. I really enjoyed the story line and had completely forgotten most of it.
I watched Excess Baggage through Dan's On Demand and loved Alicia Silverstone. It seems that she was completely type cast. My parents rented Ghosts of Girlfriends Past and I'm guessing the movie was made so Matthew McConaughey could get paid to take off his shirt and be himself. It was mildly amusing and I'm so glad I didn't waste my money to see it in theaters. I must admit I loved he was a photographer shooting with a Nikon but I don't think it was an accurate portrayal of realistic income.Lisa loaned me the movie Observe and Report. I was warned ahead of time that it was a dark comedy but I don't think that prepared me enough. It was depressing and didn't really get "better" at any point. I suppose that was the purpose but considering Seth Rogen's track record with movies, this wasn't anywhere near his best.

I think dark comedies can be good, and Sunshine Cleaning pulled that off. I laughed a lot and it really makes you appreciate the life that you have. It did leave me wishing that they had explored more of a relationship with Amy Adams character & Clifton Collin's Jr. I really think there was more chemistry on screen then the writers saw.Vampire Diaries aired 7 weeks ago and I have been DVRing each episode. I found some time to catch up with the series this past weekend and I am completely hooked! I think the casting director did a much better job with the cast of Vampire Diaries, than the casting director for Twilight. Paul Wesley and Nina Dobrev are a beautiful onscreen couple and they make you feel their pain and anguish. I was disappointed that it was a rerun last night since I spent last weekend trying to catch up so I could watch this week. Any one else loving this new series?
I love the song Fireflies by Owl City and I'm considering purchasing the whole album. It sounds like from the 30 second snippets that it might be the same song over 14 times. It is very reminiscent of the Postal Service.My top 10 things right now:

1. Halloween decorations
2. planning hand made Xmas gifts
3. Vampire Diaries
4. Mashed potatoes
5. The song Fireflies by Owl City
6. car shopping
7. wearing my glasses
8. brown boots
9. shopping on etsy
10. celebrating birthdays

Pier 39 & Musee Mechanique

I'm finally catching up on editing photos now that it gets dark so quickly. I wanted to share how I spent my birthday (back in September) since it was such a beautiful day in San Francisco! Dan & I took BART downtown to the Embarcadero. A beautiful farmers market was set up at the Ferry Building. We took the Muni F line (known for its historic street cars) to Pier 39.
We ate at our favorite restaurant Pier Market and had a very interesting character for a waitress. I love their place mats and how they give the history of the restaurant and Pier 39. We grabbed some salt water taffy and watched an amusing performer at the Crystal Geyser stage before walking to Pier 45 to Musee Mechanique. I heard about it from several people and after seeing a post from Allison, made it a priority to visit. How cool are their windows?My #1 reason for this outing was to take oodles of photo booth pictures. I was even more excited to find out that they are the original black & white photo booths from back in the day! There were plenty of other games (from back in the day) in the arcade that Dan & I played with.
We went to the container store so I could grab a green one of these:I loved Elise's idea and have plans to make my own mini using a set of photos that Dan created on Flickr while I was in Europe last Fall. I probably won't work on this until next year since I have so many other things that I need to start making as the holiday season is quickly approaching!

We stopped in at H&M too. I didn't find all that much but I think having Jenna there would have meant more $$ spent as well. I like the one in downtown SF so much better than the store near SFSU.

Back at my house, Jenna made me a beautiful cake topped with fruit loops. She learned that if you put them on in the morning that they are stale in the evening. ;) They still made the cake pretty. I was very tired after our long day but still had loads of fun catching up with my friends that could stop by for some dessert.

Arata's Pumpkin Farm

Thanks for participating in the blog hop. We had so much fun and had a great turn out. Congrats to our winner Carmen!

Last weekend I threw a somewhat impromptu gathering together in Half Moon Bay at the Arata Pumpkin Farm. I've been really curious about stopping whenever I drive by and 'tis the season for awesome pumpkins! This one is especially cool because they have a hay maze on 2 acres of land with an artistic Ape figure that begs you to stop from the highway.

My photos are hardly the best. I got stuck with a Nikon 18-200 f/3.5-5.6 lens and I will admit I was disappointed since I've been spoiled by always shooting f/2.8 lenses, sometimes even faster than that! Here is a group shot I took, while waiting for a few more friends to arrive.I originally thought they had pumpkin launching but it turns out that a farm nearby used to have that before they shut down. Ah well, we made our own fun. Kristi & I bartered with one of the people working there and they gave us $1 off the hay maze since we had a large group. It wouldn't be a party without Jenna & Marissa!
We were told that it would take 30-45 minutes to find our way through the maze. I thought we were coming back out through the entrance but it turns out that when you have 2 acres, the only place to fit an exit is right next the entrance. :D Our group of 16 got separated along the way and then partially re-mashed back together again.
I convinced several friends to climb on this tractor for some very posed photos. We are a very silly group.
I like this photo that Kristi Lewis snapped of me:We wandered through the pumpkin farm and snapped lots of goofy photos. I think this is the only serious photo taken at all that day. Another favorite shot by Kristi using Marlon's brand new Canon 7D! Doesn't it look like we should be starting a band? Or maybe a reality tv show? It looks very promotional.The big group met back up to go through the haunted barn before heading off for some warm food. Some people are still missing from this photo because they were off grabbing hot dogs and various other things right outside of the photographic frame. Shame on them. I think one of them told me they were allergic to photography. It will not work with me!
Here is a very posed photo that I think Abe took, maybe Marlon? Sandy offered up her camera. We suffered from severe red eye that I conveniently removed. I think I might just print up the original for some vampire scrap pages coming to a theater soon. I went through the haunted barn twice since its better when you don't run through it. I was a little jumpy the first time. And the second time I guess. The fewer people that go in the better it is. Too bad I love big groups. I'm so glad that Sandy and her gang drove all the way from Sacramento for our outing. I hope to make this an annual thing. I'm still waiting on a few friends photos before I start scrapping up a storm.

October Everything Scrapp'n Blog Hop

Welcome to the Everything Scrapp'n Design Team Blog Hop. If you would like to start from the beginning to see all the great inspiration, please visit the store blog. There will be a prize offered on one of the blogs but we're not telling which one (we're sneaky that way) so leave comments on each of the blogs to make sure you get in on the giveaway. Here is a peek at the prize!
I started working with Cosmo Cricket's Earth Love at the end of September, but I had so much paper left over I wanted to use it up! I decided to scrap another photo from the time my friend Abe & I took photos in Golden Gate Park. Abe modeled for me and I taught him more about photography. He was a fast learner and knew plenty about compositions already.
Products used: White cardstock, Love Elsie Forrest woodgrain pp, Cosmo Cricket Earth Love Reuse pp, Earth Love Relive pp, Earth Love Remember pp, Earth Love Elements, Sassafrass Lass Happy Place Pal Around chipboard, American Crafts Delight Thickers-white, Hambly Photography rub ons-white, Hambly DIY rub ons-black, Making Memories magnetic date stamp, Autumn Leaves stamp postage, Staz On Ink-jet black & timber, & pop dots.

I really like the fabric texture of the American Crafts Delight thickers. Even better, plenty of alphas come in each package. I couldn't help getting them in several colors.
I've been wanting to make birthday cards and the Elements from this line are just perfect for making cards! I bought two of these sheets since its double sided. Here is a new favorite I made for an upcoming birthday. I cut a 6x12 piece of paper, then folded it into 3rds. I cut out a circle and added pop dots to the mushroom circle and added some glimmer mist.I think that rub ons always make a nice little touch, plus they are fun to use. I love explaining to people how they are temporary tattoos for paper. Thanks for visiting my blog & the next stop is Denise.

Columbus Day Sale

In honor of the explorer Christopher Columbus, Everything Scrapp'n is having a sale this weekend. From now until Midnight on Monday EST, all shoppers will receive 25% off their purchase when using the code 1492 at checkout.

I'm excited that the new Christmas line from Pink Paislee arrived to the store the other day. I am very much thinking of my December Daily lately.
We're looking for a Guest Designer for the month of November. For more details, check this out!

Fort Bragg

I finally got a chance to look through our photos from our trip to Fort Bragg over Labor Day weekend. Yes, we took just a few-maybe 800 in 4 days? We were very excited to be there.

My parents, Dan & I drove nearly 4 hours north to Fort Bragg in Mendocino county for a quick get away to celebrate my 25th birthday. We left around 8am which was far too late for my mom. She preferred that we leave at 4am!

The road there was very much a zig zag for the last hour of the drive. We were so excited that we drove straight to glass beach around 12pm. Lunch, bathroom break? Not us! Here is my mom sharing her finds after our arrival.
After we explored for a short while, Dad, Dan, and I left Mom on the beach to find food. We grabbed some grub at the North Coast Brewing Company. We order some sustenance for Mom (to go) and headed back to the beach.

Glass beach used to be used as a dump and that is why all the glass comes up on the shore. Its not very clean and has hazard signs all over the place. We found lots of shoe soles, random wire of all sorts, and spark plugs.
We had the most fun when the tide was at its lowest, after most people left for the day. We made some great friends while searching for treasures.


We had so much fun that our one night excursion turned into a very spontaneous weekend retreat. We stayed until 6:30pm before finally heading to our hotel for a shower and sleep.

Sunday we went to Sea Glass Jewelry & Museum. We had a great time seeing all of Captain Cass's finds and chatting with him. He is such a character. My parents got me a beautiful aqua pendant from the store before stopping by a few antique shops. We found a few little pieces of vintage glass that stood out to us.
We went back to the beach and ran into our friends from the previous day. I learned lots of new techniques for finding rare colors of glass and spent more time chatting with our new found friends.
The weather was still pretty overcast but we did not mind it one bit. I got a little sunburned from spending so much time out in the fog. We went to dinner at Silvers at the Wharf at Noyo River. I found someone left a camera on my chair, so I gave it to the waitress. I can't imagine if I left my camera behind and someone else kept it. I took a few night shots before heading in.
The next morning we went to the Fort Bragg Botanical Gardens along the coast. We spent quite a bit of time goofing off with our cameras and taking many photos. Lisa was so wonderful, she lent me her incredible Nikkor 105 macro lens for the trip.
My favorite part was the Dahlia Garden. They couldn't drag me out of there! Photo by Bev Jacquemet.I got really lucky with the lighting and early morning dew on the flowers. I am really excited about how some of my macro shots turned out.

The beautiful view of the ocean while still in the Botanical gardens.
As we were walking to the beach, I saw a float from the Labor Day parade that had a bear skin on it. I was caught completely off guard since I'm used to seeing Bears in Yosemite, but wouldn't have thought I'd see bear skins in Fort Bragg!

We returned to the beach one last time to see if we could find a few last minute treasures. We ran into our friends Craig & Theresa again. We were so excited to see them three days in a row. We spent the remaining time completely in the water, running from waves as we grabbed treasures that each wave brought. The last day was by far my favorite because of the adrenaline rush. We left around 3pm to drive back home. When we stopped for a bathroom break, I got extremely lucky. There was a bead store, Legendary Beads, right across the street from Burger King! I shopped quickly and found some unique things for my crafting. We got stuck in a lot of traffic near the Golden Gate Bridge since the Bay Bridge was closed for construction. We had a wonderful and spontaneous trip to Fort Bragg.

My parents had such a great time, they are leaving for Fort Bragg tomorrow morning.

A Screening at Pixar

Thursday night I had a rare opportunity to go to a screening of the Australian animated feature film Mary & Max at Pixar Studios. It is complete Mecca to any animator or animation fan!
Pixar invited 50 ASIFA members to attend the screening and I managed to nab a spot. ASIFA is the San Francisco chapter of the Animation Association. The guard at the gate printed out a visitor's pass for me, I parked, and then walked to the main building.

As I walked to the front entrance, I saw yoga mats on the ground, people doing tai chi over the the left, a group beginning their jog, and a bunch of people Barbecuing in the front. A very nice security person held the door open for me and I became really excited. The inside had beautiful hard wood floors with Pixar paraphernalia all over. On the left side was a cute little eatery/cafeteria:
There were figures from Cars & Monsters Inc greeting you at the entrance.

On the right side was the company store. Sadly it closed two hours before I arrived. Maybe next time I'll be able to buy a fun sweatshirt. As I continued, I came across the game room where people were playing air hockey. They had a foosball table and some video games as well. This definitely looked like a fun place to work. People borrowed Razor scooters at the security desk to get around faster.

I couldn't help taking a photo of a cool UP marketing sign that I hadn't seen.
The theater was across the building, opposite the entrance. It was big, plush, and very red. I didn't see anyone I recognized so I picked a seat towards the center. The guy next to me was on his iPhone the entire time while we waited for the film to start. Some ASIFA members sat behind me so I chatted with them until the Director, Adam Elliott was introduced. One special design of the theater was when the lights went out. The red light that was being projected on the screen went out and a cricket soundtrack came on as it darkened. White lights twinkled in the ceiling and then a shooting star went across it. What a surprise!

Mary & Max is an incredible feature film animation. I really enjoyed its dark humor. Mary is a lonely little girl growing up in Australia and she decides to write to a person she finds in the New York phone book. She writes to a man named Max and asks him a lot of random questions. The art direction and story line are incredible. It is definitely one of those movies that I hope to see at least 2-3 more times to catch all of the nuances thrown in by the incredibly talented film crew.
There was a Q&A session directly after the screening and then I had a chance to meet Adam and tell him how incredibly powerful his color choices were. What a night!
I befriended a security guard and found out that there was a concept artwork section that I could view. I spent quite a while admiring how talented the conceptual artists are. I wish I could make such beautiful work with gouache. It really makes me want to take some painting classes.

My favorite sketch done by two artists was Russel's wilderness explorer patches. Some of the more memorable ones were panhandling, 2d animation, lawn mowing, and talk to the hand badges.

As I was leaving, I realized I was in such a rush to go to the screening that I walked right past the desk lamp and ball without even noticing their significance. I'm sure if you've seen any of Pixar's older material, you've seen this short. Another member of ASIFA was sweet enough to offer to get a photo of me with Luxo Jr.
I was on such a high as I drove home. Pixar Studios was everything magical I had imagined and then some. I hope that someday I can go back and go on the full tour. If anyone knows someone, you know I would be forever indebted to you. ;)