5.28.2011

take care of yer skinsssss!!

oh yeah, its summa time. and its in full force here in cali. and soon,  my dear friends, soon, it'll hit your part of the world too. ;)

i follow a really amazing blog called No More Dirty Looks [NMDL] which is a green beauty site, and these girls kick a$$. i have learned so much about clean beauty products from their site - they basically talk about how there is no regulation for safe products in cosmetics; and we need to be aware of what we're putting on our body/skin/hair just as much as what we eat. and i bought their book. and even met the author, Alexandra. she's a real peach.

so oh yeah, back to my point - take care of your skin, ladies AND gents. we're only gonna get older and more wrinkly, so let's take care of it the proper way now! its amazing how different my skin feels when i use clean beauty products.

and yes, there's been some debate recently about sunscreen and if its worse to wear it than not. [you can read more about that on their blog]

but i'm not sure how i feel about not wearing sunscreen. so here is a comprehensive list of the safest sunscreens from our dear EWG skin deep site. please have a looksee!

NMDL also has a very thorough list of five sunscreens that they love and they tested them out themselves. peruse that list here.

i hope some of you find this useful & take care of yer skin ya'll!

5.27.2011

HERE'S TO LONGING #7

[#7]

photography by yours truly - quotes by yours truly & my loved ones.
as always, on fridays [and sometimes a bonus random day in a week], i'll be sharing a new creative initiative piece from my HERE'S TO LONGING project. you can read my personal manifesto here. pass along! share with buddies!

*note: you can go to "labels" below & click on "here's to longing" tag to see the others from this creative initiative.

5.26.2011

spot the difference

our sweet uncle jim and our sweet brother namo dressed very similar/almost identical one fine sunday. and obviously - it had to be documented. 

aren't they cute???

5.25.2011

downtown LA



the left coast is the best coast [west side!!]
isn't downtown LA lovely??
[film shot that i just got developed from last week]

5.24.2011

my sister is amazing.

This was taken from my sister's friend cole's blog. Shirin wrote down this story and experience to share with those that were interested. i was soooo moved by this story that i asked her if she wouldn't mind me putting it up here, on ma' bloggity blig. for those of you that are not Baha'is there are a lot of references to the Baha'i Faith, its leaders [The Bab, etc.] and this is written from her experience working at the Baha'i World Center in Haifa, Israel. if you have any questions for clarification, etc., feel free to field them below, in the comment box & i'll be happy to respond.  so yeah, i asked her and she was cool with it, so here it is [story by shirin | photography by cole]:

PHOTOGRAPHY BY COLE ALEXANDER SHELDON.
My grandfather’s name was Kamran Samimi. I hear he liked to dance. He listened to American jazz singers. He wore extravagant ascots and was tall for a Persian. He knew how to make others feel at home. These are the things I hear of him through others. Stories passed down secondhand. I never knew him firsthand because he was killed by the Iranian government on December 27th, 1981 for being a Baha’i. But I feel him. All the time. I will be out for a walk, with friends, distracted, and suddenly – there he is. With me. I can’t explain it, and at first I would brush it off as something else because we are taught that these things aren’t possible. But gradually I learned to recognize him. He comes to me in dreams every once in a while. Offering solace during tests, quiet hugs during hard times, and once he brought my baby niece to the door of the house that my whole family was in. I didn’t know who she was at the time, but nine months later, I did. 

In my dreams he wears orange. 

I feel him a lot in my sacred place of service – the restoration of the Shrine of the Báb. This particular day was an especially auspicious day for the world. The tiling on the Shrine of the Báb was completed. It was towards the end of the Fast. In my personal life, I was going through an especially painful test. That morning, I said some special prayers, asking for some assistance from my grandfather. I’m not a morning person to begin with and I arrived at work a little grumpy and in my own head, downtrodden by my test – forgetting where I was and how blessed every minute is. These are things we have to do at work – consciously make the effort to remove ourselves from the sacred area we are in so that we aren’t paralyzed by its power and then unable to serve. Sometimes I remove myself a little too much, probably, considering how salty I was being that morning. I was cleaning the recently laid tiles and I made a decision to give my pain away to the Báb so I could serve Him better. Let go of my hurt. Just like that. I trusted fully in His love and gave that pain away. And just like that, it was gone. The test remained but the pain had evaporated. I suddenly felt light. Clearheaded and able to focus on my service. I felt my grandfather close to my heart the rest of the day. 

At the end of the workday, a few hours after the final tiles had been laid, Cole and I made our way away from the Shrine. We were deep in conversation when I looked past Cole’s face and saw the first butterfly of spring land on a pile of fresh soil. I halted our conversation, pointed out the butterfly, and we made our way towards it, thinking it would fly away as we approached. Instead, it began to flutter around us. Right away, I felt my grandfather. I knew he was with me. The butterfly was orange – the same color my grandfather wears in my dreams of him. Every time we thought it had flown away, it would come back and circle around us, playing with us, coming close, and eventually landing on my arm. This continued on for about twenty minutes until it flew away for good, on past the cypress trees and that Blessed Shrine. Circling around with the Concourse. 

I began to see butterflies all around. Appearing the same way feelings of my grandfather does – while minding my own business, entirely distracted by the things of this world, and a Monarch crosses my path. And suddenly I am reminded of that day, my grandfather, the sacrifice he made, and the love that he continues to shower upon me and my loved ones. 
this is my grandfather [and g.mother] in the middle, in the dashing white jacket.
this is my lovely sister - photo by cole
thank you, shirin for your amazing way with words, your big open heart and your eyes in your spirit. 
i love you!

5.21.2011

el eh OR el ayyyyyy!!

two of my dear buddies came to town er, city this past week, as soon as i got back from uber baby fest 2011 in minneapolis. josie is a coffee expert, #1 barista in seattle, so obviously we went on a super tour of all the best coffee in LA. no seriously. like, i still have heartburn from our coffee tour. i think we went to like 11 in two days. and drank at each one. may be i need help. my body sure is mad at me. hold on, as i take a sip of my iced americano....okay, so where were we? oh yep. here are we are, the cuties taking over LA. hopefully soon, for good. RIGHT JOSIE???!?!? i just got these film shots developed - enjoi.




5.20.2011

HERE'S TO LONGING #6

[#6] 
photography by yours truly - quotes by yours truly & my loved ones.
as always, on fridays [and sometimes a bonus random day in a week], i'll be sharing a new creative initiative piece from my HERE'S TO LONGING project. you can read my personal manifesto here. pass along! share with buddies!

note: you can go to "labels" below & click on "here's to longing" tag to see the others from this creative initiative.

5.18.2011

one of my ultimate heroes.

i am in love with this man's heart, intellect and work he has put forth in the world. i've been closely following his work for about two years now... the strong message of the critical need for unity and fostering the peacebuilder within all of us through tapping in to our spiritual self, is a message that rings so true to me, as if he is a dear mentor i have known my entire life.

5.15.2011

i kind of can't handle this level of cuteness.

i just got back from an amazing week with my brothers, their wives and my TWO nieces and ONE nephew. i seriously think i died of this cuteness. they are the best little ones i could ever dream of having in my life. the twins - are absolute bliss and peace. and "big girl" elsa is more fun and funny and interesting than most adults i know. i'm not lying.




my brother and sister in law are my absolute heroes. to raise a 2.5 year old, and 4 month old twins with such grace, love, patience and ease, is beyond my comprehension. melinda is the most beautiful, gracious and nurturing mother, jorma, the constant loving, communicative, ever present father. 

before i was married, they were my example of what an amazing marriage built on honesty, laughter and commitment looks like. now they are my examples of what i can only hope to dream of being - such excellent, loving parents with the cutest kids on the planet. nuff said.
i am so lucky to have such an awesome family.

5.13.2011

HERE'S TO LONGING #5

[#5]

as always, on fridays, i'll be sharing a new creative initiative piece from my HERE'S TO LONGING project. you can read my personal manifesto here. pass along! share with buddies!
note: you can go to "labels" below & click on "here's to longing" tag to see the others from this creative initiative.

5.11.2011

i've told you before, i love alexander. and his new album is amazing. this is the first music video! i hope you like it!

Alexander "A Million Years" from benjamin kutsko on Vimeo.

still in minnesota with my amazing little nieces and nephew [photos to come soon!]. and i got $700 worth of vouchers from US airways from my flight here and back [i got bumped twice voluntarily!!!]. being bumped and getting free money to hang with my babies is the best thing ever.

5.07.2011

viola mara



here's my brand new baby niece, viola mara. 
isn't she the cutest little rosebud???

5.06.2011

HERE'S TO LONGING #4

[#4]
posting a new one every friday! read more about it here.
note: you can go to "labels" below & click on "here's to longing" tag to see the others from this creative initiative.

5.03.2011

extremie the auntie

so i may be blogging a little less this week. but don't worry, i'll be checking in from time to time. but i have a damn good excuse. i get to FINALLY meet my new baby niece and nephew, viola & elija and see my bundle-of-joy-and-spunk niece, elsa!!!!!!!



aren't they the cutest?!?!?!?

etsy wants

i don't always loveee etsy. there's a lot of junk on there. but there is also a lot of really beautiful things that i come across from time to time. i even have my own etsy shop. but i found these beautiful things and thought i should share!
this beautiful purse found here
cup with wing of butterfly drooled over here

just a fun little FYI- my buddy golriz is doing a giveaway of one of these beautiful necklaces on her blog, the cozyhunter. you should totally get over there and see what its all about.
and this beautiful necklace found here