if you give a boy your camera.

at an art museum...

chances are, he'll take funny pictures.

of you.

and your legs.

and you won't even notice until you get home and upload them to your computer.

the ripley family.

this is actually the first extended family session i've ever done.

i loved their dogs :)

i know it's bad to pick favorites.

but it's hard not to when you paint a girl this cute.

i feel like this is the first painting i have ever done that could be described as exquisite.

and i love it.

a lot.

a lot a lot.

xoxo.

jana

the morley family.

this was easier than e-mailing a few of my favorites :)

tell me what you think, ann!

i know pretty people.

have a lovely weekend.

xoxo.

jana

the perry family.

featuring the perfect family photo.

it was actually pretty exciting to have a photo session where every family member looked at the camera without me having to ask. i'm used to photographing little ones that need some help :)

ps. i discovered during this session that my mother is the best photo assistant in the world. and no, you can't have her.

rollins.

funny story.

a few weeks ago, i drove down to san diego to take some photos for my friend erin and her gorgeous little family.

we actually met via e-mail when erin ordered some paintings from me. but regardless, we're now friends :)

she had said a few times that she wished i lived closer so i could take family pictures for them. so i had an idea. i told her if she could get a few different families to set up photo sessions in her area, i would be more than happy to travel down there and even do her family's session for free in return for her setting everything up!

so we did it. and i was thrilled at how well everything turned out!

thanks for everything erin, it was fabulous to finally meet you! hope you love the photos - the rest will be on their way shortly. cross my heart :)

i swear i'm still alive.

life has been a little crazy around here lately.

might as well do a little re-cap/brain dump.


i decided that i was a lot pretty when i was 18. i can't quite put my finger on what's different. but it's sad, regardless.

moving on.

my last few weeks of summer were spent doing the following:

fly home home to northern california.

drive 8 hours the next day to southern california. 3 photo shoots that day. 2 photo shoots the next day. then drive the 8 hours back home.

play for a few more days at home with the family.

fly to the boy's home in oregon to meet his family.

play there for 4 days.

drive 14-ish hours back to utah home with him and a friend.

school started last week. i'm actually loving my classes so far and i am quite determined to be a good student this semester. the fact that my schedule isn't completely finalized may not quite be the best start, but whatever. 4.0 here i come. we'll see how long that motivation lasts :). feel free to wish me luck.

i don't have a parking spot at my apartment complex this year [retarded], so i have to park on the street. i got 3 parking tickets last week. awesome. [no, not awesome].

remember my creative drought i posted about? well, the ideas haven't started raining down yet. that + my crazy busy life would probably explain my hiatus in blogging. i feel a creative spell coming next week though. i've been rain dancing. and in the meantime, i have loads of overdue pictures and even a few paintings to share.

does anyone watch project runway? i saw it for the first time ever last week and i am slightly obsessed. that + my intermediate sewing class have me giddy and excited. seriously :)

so i guess i lied. there actually has been a few scattered showers of ideas. i just have yet to move forward with any of them. the boy and a friend actually inspired me to do a really awesome photo series after an interesting little conversation over clam chowder about following your dreams. it sounds cliche, but i am really excited to start working on it.

speaking of oregon and creative ideas, i met the coolest couple that has been creating and selling pottery for over 30 years. my friends interviewed them for their website and asked me to come along to take some pictures. i can't even tell you how fascinating it was for me. i'll share more details + photos later - maybe when my friend finishes the article he's writing. but now i want to take a pottery class. i seriously have too many hobbies.

i used to hate raw tomatoes. i'm starting to like them now. i don't know why. i think my sister's homemade salsa helped.

i feel like i have a bazillion e-mails to write. i don't really though. let's face it - i'm not that cool. i bet it's more like 10.

my little sister was here last weekend. i love her. 

i made banana cake and cookie dough brownies for my cousin's birthday bash on sunday. there are leftovers on my kitchen counter. someone please come eat them. i have a feeling that cake for breakfast isn't the best thing for reaching my 'lose 5 pounds in 3 weeks' goal.

my internet decided to 'shut down unexpectedly' during the middle of this post. i'm sure it is now missing something incredibly important that was previously here.

yesterday, i went grocery shopping with some friends, and they jokingly told me to put the watermelon we purchased up my dress so it would look like i was pregnant. of course i did it. i feel like i am abnormally baby hungry for a 21-year-old. just saying.

the new season of so you think you can dance starts tomorrow. dear people at fox, you are geniuses for realizing we shouldn't have to wait until next summer for the glory and wonder that is sytycd.

i have to go read for my class tomorrow.

and go running.

and shower.

and eat dinner.

and clean my room.

and do laundry

and edit photos.

and try my hardest to not eat cookies or cake.

[really though, i even wrote it on my to-do list for today].

dear blog,

it is good to be back.

xoxo.

jana