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Posts filed under 'The City'

Susan and Bryan’s Sneak Peek

Here is a little sneak peek of Susan and Bryan’s wedding.

Are you friends or family of Susan and Bryan? Anxious to see more photographs, check out their gallery and request to be notified when the gallery is live.

Watch for a future posting to see more from Susan and Bryan’s wedding…

Add comment July 3, 2009

Earth Hour Pics – Downtown San Francisco

Justin and I headed downtown to watch the lights go down in the city. It was chilly, but worth the wait. We stood on a pier to see both the city view and the Golden Gate Bridge. Check out the results.

For safety reasons, all of the lights on the bridge could not be turned off, but it is still a rare view to see without the towers lit up.

Not exactly total darkness in the city, but you can see these structures dark: Coit Tower (to the left) and Palace of Fine Arts (bottom right). If you look closely you can also notice other lights that were shut off in various buildings and the glow in the haze around the city was diminished slightly.

Afterward we headed downtown to Market Bar – a restaurant participating in Earth Hour – for a candlelit dinner and some live music powered by people riding stationary bicycles.

Add comment March 31, 2009

Earth Hour – March 28th 8:30pm (in your time zone)

If you haven’t been hiding under a rock you have heard about Earth Hour happening tomorrow at 8:30pm. Here is a blurb from the Earth Hour Website explaining how Earth Hour started:

“Earth Hour began in Sydney in 2007, when 2.2 million homes and businesses switched off their lights for one hour. In 2008 the message had grown into a global sustainability movement, with 50 million people switching off their lights. Global landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Rome’s Colosseum, the Sydney Opera House and the Coca Cola billboard in Times Square all stood in darkness.

In 2009, Earth Hour is being taken to the next level, with the goal of 1 billion people switching off their lights as part of a global vote. Unlike any election in history, it is not about what country you’re from, but instead, what planet you’re from. VOTE EARTH is a global call to action for every individual, every business, and every community. A call to stand up and take control over the future of our planet. Over 74 countries and territories have pledged their support to VOTE EARTH during Earth Hour 2009, and this number is growing everyday.”

Have you signed up yet? Pledge to participate in Earth Hour here.

Add comment March 27, 2009

Coconut Palace – Manila Reception

Here are some photographs from the reception at the Coconut Palace finishing up with some portraiture. Enjoy.

A Friendly Game of Musical Chairs to Win the Bouquet

Down to 2 ladies…who will it be??

Fireworks to End the Evening

Add comment March 3, 2009

Birthday in Jail??? Ohhhhhh Alcatraz…

So my Mom came to visit me as a surprise for my Birthday. What a great surprise it was especially since Justin was in Manila so it was nice to have family to hang out with. So what did we do the evening of my Birthday – spent it in Jail – at Alcatraz.

We took the night tour of Alcatraz which was great as you got to see Alcatraz in the light of day and night. It was pretty cool to see. When I was younger, I remember watching a story about an Alcatraz escape on Unsolved Mysteries. Did you ever see that episode? A clever bunch carving holes in their cells to escape and making dummies to fool the guards as they worked. Here is a good summary ” The dummies were made from soap, concrete powder, and stolen paint. One of the guys worked in the barbershop and swiped some hair to paste on the dummies’ heads for an extra touch of realism. For eight months, Morris and the Anglin brothers left their cells at night to drill out the ventilation shaft and collect the items they needed for their escape.”

If you are ever free, taking the night tour also has some perks – extra discussions, special sessions and off the beaten path tours that are not available during the day sessions. We were lucky enough to get included in a tour of the Dungeon and the Chapel – two areas normally not open for the general public to explore on their own. For both locations, we were locked into the chambers so no one else could follow us in. With hardhats and a single flashlight held by the tour guide, we headed into these secluded locations.

The cells were much smaller than you would think

View of Recreation Yard through a small peep window in a door

Darkness falls – view from Alcatraz

Psych Ward – super eerie section of the jail

Down at the end of this hall are the isolation chambers

Down in the Dungeon

Stairs coming up from the Dungeon

1 comment February 27, 2009

When the lights go down in the city, and the sun shines on the bay…

Well I have some exciting news to share with you! I wanted to let you know that we are in the process of moving. Our house sold really fast and I have been having trouble deciding what I wanted to do as far as where to live next. This year I have a number of weddings across the US so I will be pretty mobile. Justin, my husband will be traveling to Manila a lot for work so I was torn between staying in Raleigh or moving closer to him so traveling to see him would not be a 25 hour trip one way from Raleigh.

I just finally decided that I am going to move to San Francisco to be closer to Justin and more centrally located. My phone number/email/website/blog will all stay the same. The only contact info that will change will be my mailing address & I will keep you up to date on that. I’ll be traveling all around the US for weddings and back to Raleigh numerous times so it will be an exciting year! More to come…

Road Trip!!!
Justin and I will start our road-trip in early February, date yet TBD. Once we head out, I’ll try to write posts each night so you can track our progress.

Have something you need to mail to me? My current address is good through the first week in February. Make sure that if you do have anything to pop in the mail to me to send it out soon. Otherwise, you can send it to my new address. I will have my new address available shortly.

1 comment January 26, 2009

Manila & Japan

If you have not already noticed, I have all my photographs online from the Philippines and some arial shots from Japan. Here is the link to view them. Below are a few more of my favorites. I can’t wait to go back again!

Shots around Manila

Photographs from Sabang, Palawan

On our hike to the Underground River – See Justin in the far left corner of the image to understand the magnitude of the mountains.

He was posing for his portrait.

On our way on the Subterranean Underground River – currently it is in 1st place for one of new 7 Natural Wonders of Nature

Shots around Sabang

Awesome Restaurant – Green Verde

Nagoya Airport, Japan

Mt. Fuji

Add comment December 30, 2008

New Friends…New Adventures

Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting Janah and Tilde. We spent the day together at Janah’s family home and exploring Intramuros – the walled city. I had a great time. I am so glad I had the chance to meet Janah and Tilde and hear about their journeys and what they have planned next.

Janah is an interior designer who lives in Manila. I love her work! So pretty, fresh, and clean. I got to see some of her concepts as well as some photographs from finished work. If you live in the Philippines and are looking for a great interior designer, please talk to Janah!

Her studio space where she works is such an inspiring location. As you enter, the red doors energize you. The floor is made of larger tiles of different elements – wood, stone, etc. which ground you. I absolutely loved the screens on her windows. They are Capiz Shell Screens. Traditional 1940s window screens in the Philippines. Right outside her window from her desk is a large cement pond filled with coy fish. How relaxing and inspiring of a location to work. As we sit and get to know each other, a white and gold cat jumps up on the rim of the pond to take in the wonders below the water. Surprisingly, he does not indulge in the buffet of fish within paws reach.

Janah mother calls to let us know lunch is ready. Lunch was wonderful. There was squash soup, fish and tofo, rice, prawns and noodles, fruit (mangos of course!), and to finish off with banana bread and coconut ice cream. I discovered a new fruit – the Philippine Lemon. It is like a mini lime from the States. It is used often to add zest to dishes. This time it was used for the noodle/prawn dish. Very tasty. All of the food was prepared by Janah’s mom and the coconut ice cream was made by Janah’s father. Everything tasted great and I ran out of room too quickly. It was so nice of Janah’s mom to invite me to lunch. It was a great experience to get to meet her family and share in a meal together.

After lunch we headed back to Janah’s studio and talk more about life experiences – where we have been and where we are headed. Tilde is an artist currently living in Japan attending Kyoto Seika University. She is originally from Denmark and met Janah in Barcelona while studying. Tilde is visiting Janah for a long weekend and their excitement to see each other and old memories from Barcelona flood their thoughts. As most can relate, it is hard to go from seeing friends each day to living so far away. They were very excited to be in the same location again.

Tilde’s is crafty in multiple media. From painting, sculpting, drawing, etc. she expresses her ideas in unique ways. The titles of her work also give you a great glimpse into her motivation and thoughts on a piece. Here is her website. She has had her work on display in Denmark, Japan, and Spain to name a few locations. If you are interested in having a piece commissioned, please let me know and I can get you in contact with Tilde. She would love to create something for your wedding or to symbolize a special moment in your life. Here are some examples of her work:

I also got the chance to meet Angelito, the President & CEO of Admix Incorporated and the Marketing Communications Director at First Academy of Computer Arts. It was very interesting to hear about his experiences and future projects.

Janah, Tilde, and I then headed out for Intramuros. It was built in the 16th century and is the oldest district of Manila. Meaning ”within the walls” describes the tall walls surrounding the area which was considered Manila during the Spanish colonial time. We wondered the old streets, stopped in some of the historic churches, and even a small cafe with a very european fortress feel. I tried San Migeul – a local brewed Filipino beer. It was great to spend time with Janah and Tilde. I hope Tilde enjoys the rest of her visit!

Rizal Park

Intramuros

These children playing on the street were so camera happy. They loved Tilde taking their photographs. Tilde got their mother’s address and will be sending them their photographs.