practical and meaningful

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!

cowgirls

her encore

 

for her encore, she sang BEAUTIFUL.

my daughter sings

We were celebrating at our friend David Grieco's 40th birthday party in Ojai and my daughter really wanted to sing with the band. She was nervous and excited and could not decide if she should or not. She sang privately to David and Mitch and then mustered the courage to go on stage. David said, come on Sully, it is moments like these that can change your entire life. Let's go.

 

fourteen years

happy anniversary to my husband!                                       downtown los angeles 1997

money matters

I am pretty practical about most money matters - but here are the things I am always willing to spend money on. Making memories. Having parties. Photography. Making photos for people. Getting art framed. Travel. Gifts for our parents. Making photo books. Boots. Massage. Good food. Friends.

What special things do you splurge on?

use your stuff

In the kitchen, we all have amazing gadgets and appliances that we have collected over the years.

USE THEM. Throw a party. Invite people over.

Pull out your fondue pot and host a cheese and chocolate fondue party. Your your fancy china and throw a tea party for kids, have a dinner party and make lots of little desserts in ramekins! Use your stuff.

 

forty by forty

Today my good friend Marika turns 40. She set out to accomplish a bucket list of sorts - with forty  things she wanted to accomplish  by her fortieth birthday. Number 40 was to celebrate with all the people who participated with her in the journey. She made this cute invite with the list of all the things, and on each invitation, she circled which activity you did with her - and wrote thank you. Perfectly practical and meaningful. Happy happy birthday Marika and congratulations on your amazing project!

vegetable soup

When I have a plethora of vegetables, or when I need to make room in the fridge, I like to make vegetable soup.

I use whatever I have, add whatever I want, cook it as long as I have, and share it with as many people as possible. 

Everyone needs more vegetables in their life and no one turns down homemade soup.

Balloon hats - art and fun!

Addi is a balloon artist who creates one of a kind hats that are not to be believed. He is an extraordinary artist and great entertainer.

www.newballoonart.com  is where you can find Addi - and he even had a book out now!