practical and meaningful

middle aged...how did that happen?

I was basically a kid (25 years old) when I met my husband. I was living in  a loft in downtown los angeles - pushing my steel bathtub down the hall to the community bathroom, traveling the world taking photos, and making plans for how I wanted my life to play out. I spent days in the dark room, hours gardening on the roof, and money on things such as sunday night dinner parties on the roof.

Almost twenty years has passed and I am in awe of how life has played out and how fast the time has flown. We were laughing the other day because I suddenly realized I am no longer a kid and that we are middle aged....how did that happen?  We have built houses and responsibility and college funds and retirement funds, we own businesses, our daughter is a tween and i still feel exactly the same in my heart as I did when I was 25.  I feel the years on my body and I mark the years in my body of work, my heart carries the weight of life, but my spirit still feels 25.

 

award speeches

The BEST speeches are the ones that SAY SOMETHING meaningful. When you win a big award, we know you have to thank the people (agent, manager, producter ,husband, kids) who helped you achieve the award - but on a televised awards show, the acceptance speeches should be based in something great to say.

I propose that each nominee submits a list of thank yous -and once the winner is announced - their list is projected on the screen behind them and posted on a website.  Let the winners have the time to say something important, speak from the heart and enjoy the moment - rather than wonder about who they are forgetting to thank, and outrunning the closing music.

Let the speeches be about something meaningful which also happens to be practical.

how do I know maya brenner?

My good friend Maya Brenner is incredible. I met her thru my friend Marika -many years ago when we all went to the korean spa together.

I have been her personal photographer of sorts for years and also her friend. I have had the honor of photographing her wedding ,her pregnancies, her first born, her family portraits - as well as catering parties for her. She is one of my favorite people in the world - and she has taught me so much.

She helps me see beyond my own ways to work smarter, be more current, and have fun.  She is a girls girl who is beautiful, brave, and so much fun to know.

She is the reason, I started to hire more people to help me with my catering jobs - which led to growing my company. She came to my house one day and I was prepping for a party - where I was doing everything myself. She helped me see outside of the day to day and look at the bigger picture.

She is the reason, I finally took a digital photo. I was dedicated to film photography and unwilling to go digital, until she needed a portrait for her book that she wrote and they needed the photo in London in one day. So I rented a camera and the we shot, downloaded, and emailed the photo with ease. I have never looked back.

This is one of my favorite photos from her wedding.

She is a jewelry designer whose work is amazing. This past year was a really great month for her business - after being featured on the today show, she received over 20 thousand orders.

She is one of my favorite people and I could not be happier for her success!

me and maya in Mexico this week!

fourteen years

happy anniversary to my husband!                                       downtown los angeles 1997

How do you know....

I have noticed  that when I am at a gathering, and meet new people they all want to know "How do you know....so and so (usually the person throwing the party)?". It's a curious question, but very meaningful and practical. People want to understand the connection. They want to connect the dots.

I have decided to profile many of the people I know and show you the dots that connect us. We get a little taste of who knows who on Facebook - with mutual friends, but this will delve deeper.

I am excited to honor these people that I love, and show you how our lives intersect. Stay tuned.