We ate here last night for dinner. It's one of my new favorite hot spots. My Dad introduced us to it. The scenery and the environment itself is total eye candy. Especially for my camera and I. (Big Pappa) It's called Parrot Key. Parrot Key is an open air restaurant right on the water in Ft. Myers Beach. They are located at the Salty Sam's Marina. I wish I would have had more time for photographs but it began to rain shortly after we arrived. I snapped what I could before any bit of downpour hit. What a cool place to be as the thunder rolls in. It's raining all around you but you don't get wet. The walls are all wide open but you are covered. There are bright colors, palm trees, and tons of shades or turquoise all around you. I find myself in 7th heaven when there.
My Dad and Cathy usually dine here with their friends who have a boat. They pull right up to the marina dock with the boat and come here for lunches and dinners. It's such a neat place. Although Ft. Myers Beach isn't one of my favorite places in Southwest Florida these days, the Parrot Key restaurant is. So are these cool yard stakes that they had at the top of their stairs. (shown below) I loved them. Needed them. Was totally coveting them and all of their aqua blue coolness!
I was also totally coveting this sign below too. I really needed it. Wanted it. Couldn't have it though. It was in their landscape beds. I think it would look better in my landscape beds. HA!
Paradise...I came, I saw, I stayed and stayed and stay...
We like to say we are beachin' it...Gulf Coast style.
This time 2 weeks from now, we'll be packing up to head back "home" to Indiana. In three weeks, our kids will be back in school. Where has the past 10 weeks gone already? We arrived here at the beach for the summer back on May 29th. However, it seems like it was just yesterday. Another summer in Bonita is coming to a close. Another chapter in the book of memories has been written. The minute we land back home in Indiana 2 weeks from now...craziness begins. School shopping, then school starts. Next, I have a photography mentorship program that I am participating in the week after we return. Tons of fun with a professional photographer as she teaches me the ropes - one on one. Then, we travel to Chi-town (Chicago) at the end of August for a photography workshop that I'm participating in there on the streets of downtown - Michigan avenue and abroad. On Labor day weekend, we fly back down here to the beach house for an extended weekend as a family and a breath of fresh air seaside. Then, the very next week in September, I travel South again and head to Atlanta for the Learnfest Photography workshop. So...the beach is my sanity right now. The beach is my current calm for just two more weeks. Our Summer of 2009 is slowly but surely coming to an end. In 15 days, we'll be back in Hoosier land. Back to reality in Indiana. Back to the hustle and bustle of life. Therefore, we are doing all of the "sugaring" of our toes that we can over the next two weeks. Stick around, we'll share the count down in photos.
xoxo, The Seaman Clan
PS...The top image was of Brennen's feet taken over Christmas break this past Christmas while here in Bonita. The bottom image is of Kenidi's foot/leg on the beach - taken this past Sunday. We like to call her our Coppertone baby.
Do you know what I love most about spending our Summers in Florida?
It's that everyone else (the "snow birds" who live here all Fall and all Winter long) go back "home" to their real homes for the Summer. They go back to visit grand kids and their families in general. And when they go back to their real homes, it leaves the neighborhood here in Bonita..."empty." And when the neighborhood is empty, the pools within the neighborhood are empty. (And yes...that is our very own Starbuck's - poolside. It doesn't get any better then that.)
And when the pools are empty in the neighborhood, that means we get them all to our self. Just the four of us. It also means that Mamasita (a.k.a - ME) gets to pick out any ol' sun chair on the pool deck that she prefers. Anywhere. Why? Because it is just us and we have the whole place and all of the chairs to ourselves.
Uh huh...this is "part" of the reason why we love spending our Summers here. No matter how hot and humid it gets, our family loves making new memories each time we are here together. And even though my make up and hair always looks like a drowned rat in the summer heat here in Bonita, I wouldn't trade our Summers, our memories, our extended weekends, our holidays, etc. here for nothing. And even though the neighbors go home to their real homes for the Summer, they are missed. The neighbors are great here. We talk to the neighbors and gather with them more then we do with our neighbors back home in Indy. These neighbors look out for Brennen and Kenidi. A lot! It's nothing for the doorbell to ring at 8:30am in the morning and it be a neighbor left here in the neighborhood (there are only a few this time of the year) bringing trinkets and toys to Brennen and Kenidi "just because." It's nothing for them to say, "Let's all go to dinner at the Naples pub - we'll call ahead - tell them we are coming - and ask for a back booth - one that makes it as easy as possible for you guys over dinner with Kenidi." One set of neighbors even offers up and hands over their golf, tennis, and social pass to the country club for us. Now that is an awesome set of neighbors, eh? These neighbors are all older then us but we never notice the difference in age. They all ROCK! Needless to say...we love the neighbors, the neighborhood, and the neighborhood pools. :)
And aside from the fact that I feel like the neighborhood is really the "Amazon" lately due to the 4 snakes (yes 4 - there was another one on the deck of the pool the other day.) and the "Florida rats" that we've learned are as common as mosquitoes are back home in Indy for us, we still love the resort feel of the neighborhood the minute you pull in. It sits off the road and is tucked back in there all by itself. A huge community that you can't see because it is hidden from the rest of the world. As soon as you come thru, you are instantly propelled into a vacation - a tropical resort - and we love that part. Yes, I could do without the fact that the big black rat snake and Brennen came face to face at the pool the other day. Thank goodness Brennen can run fast. And thank goodness he did. In the end though, this is home away from home for us. Snakes, rats, no-see-ums, spiders, and all. It is Florida at it's finest - it's just the Florida that you never see advertised on the picture-esque post cards in the souvenir shops. Well, maybe this guy is sometimes...
We found this guy at the entrance to the cul-de-sac on the way back home from the beach yesterday afternoon. The pictures do not do his size justice. He was HUGE! Brent spotted him out his window so we stopped, dug out Big Papa (my camera), and snapped a couple of shots real quick.
I don't know what kind of turtle this was but he didn't seem to mind us much. And...he was quite fast for a turtle. He took off on that hot pavement like nobodies business. He probably got scared that Mamasita here was going to take over the steering wheel and run over him - 4 times - like I did the snake. I'm sure the word is out - and on the street - about Mamasita and my crazy ways when it comes to the wildlife around here. "Rumor has it...you need to beware of the Mom at the end of cul-de-sac #2, she is pyscho!" Ha ha! It's not a far off exaggeration. Trust me!
But as all of my faithful AGD blog readers know, I lluurrrvvveee my beach B/F/F's. Each time we come to the beach, the birds, all kinds of them, flock to my camera lens. I swear they treat my lenses like they are food or something. They gravitate toward it. They let me snap pictures of them up close all day long. It's grand! I love my beach B/F/F's. Just LURVE them! Notice how they pose and work it for my camera...
They even get the "model strut" going with their legs and feet. Hysterical!
Their eyes are my favorite...very cool color!
The beaches are really dead this time of the year too. Not to many people come here right now because it is so crazy hot. And humid. However, that doesn't stop the Seaman's. Especially at the neighborhoods private access beach park. You have to be a neighborhood resident in order to use this area of the beach. It's totally private and trust me - they guard it like Ft. Knox. You can't park there nor are you able to walk up there off the beach either. They catch you. They know you - and whether you are a true resident. And when they are unsure, they ask you to recite your neighborhood info. If you don't have it, you better cough it up or be gone cuz' you outta' there. Ha ha! They don't mess around at all! You can't beat their free and private cabanas, the grilled cheeseburgers and hot dogs with coleslaw, cold drinks with ice, and of course the air conditioned rest rooms. Nothing says "the beach" like an air conditioned bathroom when you need it, eh? Ha ha! My favorite part to the private access though...it would be reading the water board as you walk up. Love it! And you know if the gulf waters - the ocean - is 89 degrees in itself, then the air is really HOT here in Bonita Beach, Florida right now. Just the way Mamasita likes it! :)
And no matter how hot it is temperature wise...you can always count on the sea to bring in a gulf water breeze. Thus, resulting in the palm trees swaying in the heat. There is nothing like laying under the leaves of a palm. Nothing says tropics like a palm tree. Nothing!
There you have it. That pretty much sums up what our Sunday looked like yesterday. Welcome to Monday. I hope it is off to a great start for all of you. Now...get ready...Mamasita has a give-a-way coming up this week in honor of my 777th post here on the ol' AGD blog. Tell your friends, tell you family, tell everyone! Remember those "AGD was here" type pictures I told you to prepare for a couple of months ago? Well, the time has come. Snap a simple picture in front of something that depicts your city, state, country, you, your family, etc. In that picture, add a sign to it that reads something about AGD. (i.e., AGD was here in Texas, We love AGD in Canada, and so forth.) There will be a Mr. Linky that will be posted with the blog give away. By entering and posting your the image to your blog, you will be entered into the drawing for the give-a-way. If you coerce a friend to participate too, let me know about it. Should that friend join in on the fun and post AGD signs within an image on her blog, it will gain you 5 extra names in the drawing. The more your name is entered into the drawing, the better the chance you have of winning. This is a give-a-way that you do not want to miss either. It will be straight from the heart of Bonita Beach and Naples. It will include multiple fun gifts within it. A gift from the famous swoozies store as well as gifts from other little stores that I love here in Bonita and Naples. Also, we'll have some shells picked by Brennen and Kenidi straight from the beaches in our area that will be included just as an added extra treat. We've worked hard to come up with a great give-a-way basket of goodies and we know you will love it. So...get those signs ready and then snap a picture with the sign in front of a landmark or something that reflects your state, hometown, city, country, etc. Include your kids...get them in on the fun too. We can't wait to see what each of you come up with. I'll be posting a photo of the give-a-way basket at the end of the week. Lastly, if you are a resident of Indiana, we are hoping to see some great shots from our home state. :) Have fun with it all.
PS...If you aren't a blogger but would still like to participate in the drawing, feel free to email me your photo at Angie@AngelicaGraceDesigns.com. I'll be sure to include it with the others here on the blog when the contest/drawing begins. Your name will then be entered in the drawing just like everyone else. You can start turning those images into me at any time this week beginning now. The earlier the better. It will assure your spot in the drawing.
Guess where we've been this afternoon? Yeap, to the local Naples cupcakery. I saw an ad for it in one of my area magazines so we piled in the car this afternoon and made a pit stop. Do not fear...the beach photos are coming back soon. I am catching heat for posting so many "food" pictures. Apparently it is making a lot of you hungry. Sorry! We'll resume our normal programming tomorrow. Ha ha!
Until then, feast your eyes on some little red velvet cupcakes, a funky monkey cupcake (banana cake, creamy peanut butter filling with chocolate ganache and peanut butter cream. Topped with a banana chip garnish), Carmel pecan cupcakes, chocolate peanut butter cupcakes and so forth. The pictures don't do them justice. Never do!
The fun thing about them, other than just "eating" them, was also being able to take pictures of them. :) I'll use any excuse to break out my camera. And I do mean "any" excuse.
All in all, it was a pretty low key day here in sunny Southwest Florida. After cupcakes we had to make a trip to the store to get Brennen a new cell phone. We let Kenidi play with his phone one night while here (when we first arrived) and somehow she lost it. We've turned this house upside down and backwards but it is still MIA. Not only that but she lost my good watch too. Needless to say, we aren't allowing her to "play" with things anymore. She obviously has her own black hole that she keeps stuffing everything into. Maybe one day we'll discover her little hiding spot. Until then, everything is just gone. We knew better!
We are headed out to dinner now. Enjoy your evening and eat a cupcake if you can. xoxo, Angie
PS...For beach, family, children, engagement, maternity, or newborn photography in Southwest Florida as well as beginner photography classes, please CLICK HERE.
Lou (Brent's friend) has already gone home to Michigan but out of appreciation for his good Mexican cookin', I had to post a couple more photos of the dinner he made for us on the 2nd night he was here. He made taco's as well as cheese/onion enchilada's. I was in heaven. Again.
I didn't really get my cameras settings where they were supposed to be before I took these because we were all in a hurry to eat. So...you get what you get - don't throw a fit. Ha ha!
Lou also made more guacamole dip for us beings that I "wanted to marry it" by that point. :) Lou not only is a great cook but he is also an artist. For those of you who know us well, you've seen the drawings that Lou has made for us. He takes original pictures of our kids and then hand draws them for us. We have a couple of them in our home framed already. Well, see the little yellow lobster on the side of the bowl below? Lou made that. He sculpted it with Brennen's clay. Too funny, huh? He actually had Brent and I print out some new and recent photos of Brennen and Kenidi so that he could take them back to Michigan and draw them out for us. I can't wait to get them. I know they will be gorgeous. They always are.
Needless to say, I'm probably 20 lbs. heavier since Lou left. His cooking was just too good to pass up. :)
For now, I'm off to go check in on the photography workshop I'm leading. Can I just tell you what a wonderful group of 24 women we have in that class? They all have such awesome talents and are doing great in the course. I'm thoroughly enjoying getting to know each of them all that much better. Of course while teaching the basics of beginner photography to each of them, I myself, am also still taking classes of my own. I've enrolled in more photoshop classes as well as some composition/style photography classes. Then, at the end of August, I have a 3 day workshop in downtown Chicago that is sure to be a blast. It's taught by a very talented instructor and I can't wait to learn from her when there. And finally, I am so very stoked for the middle of September to roll around as well. Reason being, I registered and got into "The Learnfest" workshop that is held in Atlanta. The last time this workshop was offered, it sold out in 4 hours. I am very thankful to be "in" the workshop for September's class. I thought for sure it was going to sell out before I could register this time. The Learnfest is a 4 day/3 night workshop at a Chateau in Atlanta that is put on by some very "prestigious" photographer's within the industry. Basically they spend that 4 days with you teaching you everything that they can in that time frame. As the site says, you experience in-depth instruction on shooting, post-production, marketing, business strategy, revenue generation, and studio and daily work flow. It's also a great way to get to know and network with other photographer's from around the world. The photographer's teaching you are ones that have shot for or had images place within People magazine, Vogue, Pottery Barn kids, Kids R Us, the Disney Store, O Magazine, Elle, Town & Country, Martha Stewart Living, Parenting Magazine, The Knot Weddings, Food & Wine, Brides Magazine, The Knot, Modern Bride and Inside Weddings. Needless to say, I'm sooooo very excited to learn from these photographers. Nervous? Yes, that too! Very much so. These are shots that are done in person in different lighting situations and such. I am nervous but so very excited to learn too. September can't come soon enough. Not that I'm wishing summer away by any means. Ha ha! :) The August workshop in downtown Chicago is an urban shoot. We'll be going as a group around the streets of downtown Chi-town and shooting professional models that will be there for our use during the learning process. How cool will the streets of Chicago be for three days??? I'm going to be on cloud nine! I can't wait to meet the other photographers in both of the workshops too. It will be great to make the connections with each of them. I'm ready for all that the next couple of months has to hold. Exciting times for sure! And for the many of you who have asked me...yes...I will be teaching another beginner photography workshop class online. If you are interested in it, stay tuned. I'll be announcing the new dates for it next month. In the meantime, have a great night and sleep well.
For whatever reason, whenever we have guests into town while down here in Florida, they always "want" to cook for us. When my Mom was here, she cooked. When my step-mom and my Dad were here, they cooked and grilled out for us - together. When my inlaws, Debbie and Ron were here, they cooked and grilled out together for us. And last night while Lou (Brent's friend), was here...he cooked for us. I'm always amused at how people come on vacation and then want to cook for us. Brent and I always try to detour them from it but they always insist on doing it. Gosh knows I don't cook on a normal day let alone while on vacation. Ha ha! So as you can imagine, Brent, myself, and the kids are always grateful for their cooking considering how we normally wouldn't do it if it were just the four of us.
Last night though, I ate so much of Lou's cooking that I almost needed to check myself into a hospital or better yet into a Rehab center for over eaters. I haven't stuffed myself like that in a looonnngggg time. Ya see...Lou has "Mexican" running through his veins. So when he arrived last Thursday, he was adamant that he would be cooking a meal for us while in town. Again, we tried to assure him that we could hit a great dinner out instead but he was bound and determined to cook. So...we let him. We took him to the local grocery store and found some things. However, they were lacking a few "authentic" Mexican ingredients. Therefore, Brent ultimately took him to a little Mexican grocery store that we knew of here in Bonita. Thankfully, they found the real thing and the main ingredients that he was after. By the time he was done, we had THE BEST guacamole dip I have ever tasted in my entire life. And I am not just saying that because he is Brent's friend and this is my blog. I assure you that it was the best recipe you will ever taste when it comes to guacamole dip. Unfortunately, I didn't watch him make the whole thing. Therefore, I'm unsure of his recipe. And when my facebook friends got a prelude to the pictures and the news last night, he had a fan fair of people wanting the recipe. The emails were rolling in - my FB friends wanted a taste of his "Mexican" cuisine. However, he told me that the recipe was straight from the interior mountains of Mexico. He told Brent and I the story of how a lady he had met gave it to him many, many years ago when he was out in the middle of no where - in the heart of Meh'-hi-co! And in the end, he kept the recipe a secret and wouldn't cough it up. I should have paid more attention because I NEED THAT RECIPE. We had FB friends emailing in telling us to "tell Brent that he needs new friends. Better friends! We want that recipe!!!" It was hysterical. But...yet still...he never gave up the goods. I can assure you all though that I watched him put in a full brick of cream cheese when making it. Apparently this isn't typical. I believe that is part of what made his guacamole dip so creamy and delicious. Brent and I sat there and ate through this HUGE entire bowl of guac dip until the bag of chips were gone. This is a big like serving bowl too by the way. It's not just a "side bowl" of dip. It was massive - I assure you. We were pitiful! Just pitiful!
And as if the guac dip wasn't enough, we still had "dinner" to go. Yeah, the dip was just a prelude to the dinner he was making. And for the dinner, he made chicken flauta's. Oh my GAWSH...heavenly I tell you. Heavenly! I'm not a big meat eater so it is saying something for me to sit down and actually consume any kind of meat - including chicken. Ask my Dad...he cracked up a few weeks ago (when here) after witnessing me sit down to a filet off the grill and immediately alert everyone that the meat smelled like "wet dog." I just couldn't eat it. It truly smelled like a wet dog from outside. Come on you guys...you've been there. I know there has to be someone out there who can relate to the moment when red meat has smelled like cooked wet dog to you, right? Surely I am not the only freak-a-zoid on this planet. I mean I know I'm a nut job but you know you guys are lying if you say you've never thought your red meat smells like wet dog. HA!
With that said, I carefully watched the chicken flauta's being cooked and assembled. I wanted to make sure there weren't any macaroni style veins ending up in my flauta's. Come on peeps, you've seen the macaroni vein I'm speaking of before. They are on chicken legs or drumsticks all the time and boy are they disgusting. But anyway, back to the assembly and cooking...
Check out all of the oil in that pan. And yes, my pans are turquoise. You didn't possibly think I'd pick any other color than turquoise, did you? Hee hee!
These photos are while Lou was deep frying these babies up. Chicken Flauta's - authentic chicken flauta's at that. None of this - Chi Chi's or South of the Border type Chicken flauta's. They were layered on the inside with well seasoned meat, spices, and ingredients that made them so scrumptious and out of this world. Check out their coloring...
When all was said and done, Lou served up these flauta's with heap loads of the guacamole dip and a heaping spoon full of sour cream. Also along with them came a special Mexican red sauce that graced the top of them. (I failed to capture a picture of that though - sorry!)
Once Brent and I finally quit eating, we had to be rolled away from the table. It was bad. Real bad! I've never eaten anything quite so wonderful in all my life. I love Mexican food too so this was beauty at its finest to my tummy and especially to my taste buds. It was great to step away from the Florida surf and turf for just one night and then experience the interior mountains of Mexico - authentic style! And I'm embarrassed to even admit this but I'm going to anyway. Because you know...we keep it real over here on the ol' AGD blog. Truth is...after we rolled ourselves away from the table...we rolled ourselves right on into the car and then rolled right on down the street to the Coconut Point mall for what else? ICE CREAM! Oh my L-A-W-D! Can you believe it? Yes, ice cream on top of all that. Lou said had he known we would have wanted ice cream - he would've made fried ice cream for us. No matter what, we ate ice cream after that huge meal. I told you we were pitiful! Fun thing was though, when we got to Coconut Point, Pagelli's and Hemingway's restaurants were having a huge hoppin' party on the water. There were singers, dancers, Elvis impersonators, etc. It was a great time and a beautiful night. For those of you who are facebook friends of mine, you already got the privilege of seeing pictures from the party last night via my phone. I don't ever post my phone pictures on the blog - just on Facebook. We had a great time. And yes, my cookie dough ice cream from the Marble slab made the night even that much more grand. YUM!
Before I sign off though, you didn't think I'd post all of those pictures of Lou's yummy foodwithout posting a photo of him too, did ya? Here is one of him and Brent. They are great friends. They share a bond like most will never know. To say they have been through a lot together is the understatement of the century.
Our "authentic" Mexican Chef. Ha ha! Love it! (although is was raised in Michigan). Hee hee!
Thanks Lou! We enjoyed every bite of your fabulous creations. As you know, Brennen would like to hire you as his full time chef. HA HA!
Hope everyone is having a superb Saturday! Blessings, Angie
Hi ladies. I thought I'd jump on and share one more new favorite find real quick. This is the last one for now. However, I wanted to make sure I mentioned it. I got a ton of emails from those of you whom either bought the message in a bottle kit, the handbag I featured yesterday, or both...that I figured I "must" share this one too. Ya'll know how much I love me some lotion, right? Well being down here this summer caused me to find a new "favorite" body lotion. Brent loves to stop in the Tommy Bahama store when down here so we made a trip by there a couple of weeks ago. When inside, I stumbled upon this pink pearl filled beauty. It's Tommy Bahama's "South Seas" pearlized body lotion. Ummm yummy! LOVE IT! Not only that but it smells heavenly. It reminds you of a smell straight from the islands. The coolest part though is the pearlized sheen it gives your skin once you apply it. A perfect look for summer tank tops - glistening shoulders. They make two types of this lotion - one is the South Seas and one is called St. Barts. I didn't like the smell of the St. Bart's lotion as much as I liked this one. So...my recommendation is to go with the South Seas flavor. St. Barts is in a white bottle and the South Seas one is in this pretty light pink bottle (shown above). Heavenly goodness...I promise! The downfall to the lotion is the price (it's almost as much for a bottle of this as it was for the handbag I featured yesterday) but your skin will thank you for it. I've been in the sun almost everyday since arriving here back on May 29th. Thanks to this lotion, I've kept from peeling even one time like I normally would have by now. That in itself is saying something. Getcha' some!
OK...Brent and I found the coolest thing for Brennen and Kenidi the other night. When we were at Barnes & Noble (at the Coconut Point mall here in Bonita Springs), we stumbled upon what is called a "Message in a bottle" kit. Brent and I were looking for books over in the kids section for Brennen and Kenidi. We ultimately found this when perusing that area. Basically, the message in a bottle kit comes with a nice size glass bottle that houses a thick cork top, wax to seal the bottle & keep it water tight once you are done placing everything inside, a voyager map of the world's waterways, a record log which goes inside it, and a waterproof pen/marker to record everything which also goes inside it. There is also a nice ocean adventure book that comes with the kit which teaches you about water currents and other things pertaining to your bottle's voyage.
The gist to the kit is that you initially start out by naming your bottle. Then, you go to http://www.wheresmybottle.com/ and register your bottle. You have your child(ren) record all of the launching information in the log book. You write a message to whomever might find the bottle and record your location on the map on the back of the log book. You can also include a photo but make sure not to include anything personal about your child or family. You replace the logbook, message, waterproof pen, etc. all back in the bottle. It suggests decorating your bottle so that it can easily be seen in the water. And finally, you properly seal the bottle and then let it go in the ocean.
Once someone discovers your bottle, they then have instructions that tell them to go back to http://www.wheresmybottle.com/ and record where they found it at. They can then remove all of your items and do the same thing with their own family. The fun to the project is seeing where all your bottle has been in the world. You track its progress by frequenting that website to see where it has been. How fun, eh? This would make a great gift for kids - especially if you knew that they were taking a vacation sometime soon near an ocean. For $19.99, you just can't beat it. It's something totally different and out of the box. Brent and I plan to make this a family project one evening while we are here. I'll definitely get photos of the event and especially when we go to release it into the sea. What great fun!
I just had to share this new favorite find with you all. Hope you like it and can locate one for your own family should you desire. Hugs, Angie
I played around with some photoshop actions (tints over your photos basically) for a few hours this weekend. Of course I still have NO IDEA what I'm doing when it comes to 3/4 of that program but I'm bound and determined to not let it kick my butt. It's on like donkey kong now. I like a clear, crisp, image most times so I don't really enjoy using much of what photoshop has to offer. It's still fun to switch things up here and there somewhat though I guess. What did we do without photoshop before anyhow? Well, we took shots straight out of the camera and made sure we were getting good enough shots that we didn't have to worry about altering them in a program somewhere. I remember being back in my college photography courses way back when and praying in the dark room that a shot would turn out. Just P-R-A-Y-I-N-G! Back in the day, we snapped the shot and you'd better hope it was a decent/good one because film cost time and money back then. Today - in the world of digital and photoshop - no such thing. I will say that it is still fun to be able to change an image up just a tad when you want to though. I just never want to get into the habit of using photoshop on every single image I ever take let alone even the majority. I want the bare bones, the clean, crisp, original image that focuses on the subject at hand and not the textures, actions, etc. of photoshops details. I know some photographers love to doll up their images with everything photoshop. And that is great. Their work makes me swoon and I love it all. They are stunning and beautiful images - forces to be reckoned with. However, I'm after the original image - the clean and crisp shot. Give me color, give me sharp and give me crystal clear and then I'm just peachy when it comes to an image.
While playing this weekend, I took some shots of Brent and the kids in the pool. Of course Brent wouldn't let me post the REAL behind the scenes shots I got of him goofing around and acting silly in front of my camera. Trust me though - I have them stored for safe keeping should I need them for blackmail one day. HA! Kenidi's eyes really stood out to me in a lot of these pictures because she was up against this brilliant blue water in the pool. Therefore, I had fun playing up her eyes. Maybe a little too much. Ha ha! Again, still learning...
Love this girl. Love her look. Love her smile. And I definitely love those eyes...
And above...we have Zsa Zsa Gabore...hee hee!
These eyelashes are to die for. Where the girl inherited her hair and her lashes from, I have no idea. She has no idea just how blessed she is yet.
I love this picture of Kenidi and Brent above. They were blowing bubbles in the water - nose to nose - with one another. Great daddy/daughter moment.
And here is Daddy - playing down his silliness - just so I could get a snapshot of him for the blog. Here he is Joe Cool - in the others previous to this shot - he was my best friend playing in front of a camera and being all out goofy. Loved it! No worries babe...your secrets are safe with me. I've got plenty of pictures to prove it. Ha ha! I love how Brent turns red in the sun. Poor guy - the rest of us just frolic in the sunshine basking in the heat and the rays but he has to lather up, hide under an umbrella, and still pray that the sun doesn't reach his skin. Somehow it always does though - no matter what he does to prevent it.
And last, as Brennen is yelling at me to not put this on the blog, I'm putting it on the blog anyway. HA! He is turning into a mini me and really detests being in front of a camera. Especially because he has little girls from his class that read this blog. Hi girls! :) Anywho, loved this impromptu picture of him and Kenidi giving one another a "muah." A muah in our house is a kiss of course. Kenidi established that code word for us a couple of years ago and it has stuck ever since. (It's the sound you make when you give someone a kiss) She couldn't say "kiss" back then so she says what sounds more like "Muh" today. It's so stinking cute.
We are headed out the door to run some errands for now. I'll check back in tomorrow as usual. PS...I hear Indy has sunshine there today. YYAAAAYYYY! Muah, Angie
Ever have one of those days in life where it feels like it just goes on and on FOREVAH? Kind of like the rows on a white picket fence? Well, I had one of those days yesterday and the day before. Many of you probably read about it on facebook. Therefore, I'm not going there again here. The good news is...all is well now. Therefore, I am finally catching up on some blogging. I got some emails yesterday and today reminding me that I had forgotten to blog. Ha ha! I didn't forget you guys...never would I forget about you. :)
The above home is one of my favorite houses here in Naples. Their backyard is the sea. Yes, it sits right on the ocean. Can you imagine their views every day and night? Simply gorgeous! Now, if it just didn't have a $15-$20 million dollar price tag...ha ha! Brent and I love mediterranean style homes and this one really caught our eye. It's still under construction at the moment. I wish I could get a tour...
And how about these big boy yachts? One of these would be nice to park out back of that house, right? Hee hee!
We hit the Naples city dock and checked out some of the boats they had lined up there. Here is Brent (shown below) carrying some of my photography gear. He makes for a really awesome "assistant" and "driver." :) Love you babe!
I took this shot below for Brennen. He loves anything to do with police and firemen. This boat appears to be the property of the Naples police.
These are some luxury homes/condos over near a marina in the Naples area. They have little shops/boutiques that line underneath them on the bottom floor. They also have a great little cabana bar too that overlooks the bay. Very cool spot! I love their coloring and thought they would make for some great shots.
The above and below shots were taken back in a Naples neighborhood called Pelican Bay. I love the entrance with all their palm trees so Brent stopped and let me grab some quick shots.
There is your little picture tour of some fun areas here in Naples. I'm actually signing off so that I can go and close the garage door now. Brennen found a snake in the drive way moments ago and I'm scared it will end up in the garage. Not fun! Ewwwww....!!! Thanks for being patient with my delays in posting over the past day or two. See you later tator!
