Love, Joleen Photography Blog

MJ Tribute

happy friday, friends! i hope you're all having a fabulous day. i just have a minute to stop by before i'm off to work again. today is one of those crazy long days with a break in the middle so i gotta get to it. i'm going to vegas next week and i just got back from buying two new, super cute dresses! i majorly heart dresses!! :) anyway, wednesday night we went to see our friend, dren, perfom as michael jackson at the house of blues in anaheim. he and the other dancers were sooooo good! we had a ton of fun! :) as you can see, most of the girls had badass mj tshirts that sarah altered for them. i couldn't find one under $30 (and i wouldn't wear it again) so i opted to make a pin. ;) good times! i hope you have a lovely weekend. xo

it's awkward to try to walk in other people's footprints

i've been a bit of an absentee around here the last few months - i apologize. i've recently been using facebook to update my status for family/friends because it's quick and about as much as i've had the motivation for lately. however, i am at the cusp of a life overhaul and i want to be around here again, sharing my life and art.

this week, for the first time in months, i picked up my camera and a paint brush to work on a new art journal. i've been going to the beach a lot lately to spend peaceful time in my head. i feel so clear and inspired when visiting the ocean. last weekend, i went in the morning and took photos for my new journal.. i thought i would share just a few of them here.

Twinkle, Twinkle

My visit with Heather was short but oh so sweet!! It was so chill and just what I needed. Saturday we got a little crazy when Heather asked me to go with her to get her nose pierced! It got the wheels turning in my head and although I didn't want another piercing I have been wanting a tattoo. For the last couple years I've had plans for this tattoo but I definitely wasn't planning to do it this weekend! Hah! Soooo, I drew it out based on the stars from Little Twin Stars (Hello Kitty) and I loooooooove it!! Yes, it hurt like a bitch. Surprisingly enough I did not shed a single tear but I did bite the shit outta my hand. Haha! Seriously.

Saturday morning we met up with Heather's mom for a 3 generation photo shoot at the mission. I've just started working on the photos and have so many favorites!! Here are just a few. I hope you like them, H! :)

This last one was a very happy accident. I shot this at the hip and totally lucked out. It's one of my favorites from the day!! Happy Monday, friends. xo

She's Alive!! And at Kenner Road thank you very much! :)

Hello and Happy Friday!! If you're out there and still lookin' at this thing then thanks.. you certainly have dedication! ;) This post will just be a little about life and a lot a bit about the fabulous scrapbook kit club, Kenner Road.

When I was asked to be a guest designer for the month of May I was over the moon with excitement!! The kits are fantastic, the design team AMAZING, and the owner (creator; originator; genius?) just about as freakin' fabulous as they come. Other than the samples I made with May's super fun kit, I created a sketch for a challenge over at the blog. Be sure to check it out and participate to win a free kit! Yay! Here are my samples including the sketch challenge sample (a few of them look more yellow here, hmm):

Detail photos can be seen here if you scroll down, down, down.

Ok, now really quick, life. Life is fantastic. I'm having fun. I'm making friends and being busy and loving it. I need to post some photos but not right now because I'm about to leave to spend the weekend with Heather!!! Yay! :)

Here I am

Hi friends,

I hope everyone had a lovely Easter holiday last weekend. I just wanted to stop by and say hello. I'm still alive. :) I was sick and now I'm just really busy. This is an incredibly busy month for me. Today the 7th issue of Portals goes to the printer - yay!! If you haven't purchased your copy yet, go here. I also have that secret project I've been working on which I am just about ready to announce. I have a ton of commercial shoots this month. I am putting together a commercial portfolio to pitch to agents this Summer so I am really trying to focus on that. Also, I've made some new friends that I've been getting together with often. I got back into the swing of working out and am now down 36 lbs. (and counting). ;) I am having a great time right now. I'll  be back soon with photos. ;)

xo,
J

In the Words of Lola, These Are My Favorite and My Best

Gotta love Lola. ;) I'm pretty keen on Ranunculus; one of the things I missed the most while living in the desert. Here are some other lovely things:
♥ Pacing the Panic Room - fabulous!
♥ A lovely little write - up about Portals (so sad about Domino, though - made me cry, honestly)
♥ This gorgeous photo series
♥ 100 Most Often Misspelled Words in English - thank you!!

You Are So Wonderful, I Could Kiss You!

I have received an overwhelming response to my call for writers! Thank you so much for your interest. I can't tell you how humbled I am that you'd be interested in hearing my ideas and I am truly inspired by the amount of talent you posses. Seriously, girls, wonderful! If you have sent me an email in the last few days regarding my project and are waiting for a response, please know that I will be responding shortly.  Promise. xo

I've had such a busy/ fun/ productive couple of days that I keep thinking the weekend is over. It's a great feeling to know that I have one "nothing to do" weekend day left! Most Fridays I am done working at 12:30. Yesterday (wow, was it only yesterday?) my sister, Aimee, and fam came and took me to lunch. We had a nice visit - I wish we did it more often but work and schedules and longish commutes can make it tough sometimes.

The weather yesterday (and today) was gorgeous and I didn't want to spend the afternoon at home so I went to the Spectrum for fresh air and a little bit of trouble. ;) Actually, I went to a few other shops first but that's where I ended up of course. So for the last few weeks I've been "cryin'" about getting this purse, because I really, really, really want it. I went and visited it once and it looked and smelled so yummy. So, don't ask me why and call me fickle or I don't know what, but I did buy stuff yesterday and it wasn't that. Go figure. I did buy that super cute hoodie you see me celebrating in, as well as a denim dress, and a couple unmentionables. ;) I fell in lust with this dress but couldn't justify the cost. Sure is cute though, huh?

Alex met me for dinner at Javier's which was mmm, mmm, mmm delicious. I don't just mean the margarita - the food was good too! ;) Then we went to the IMAX theatre and saw Monsters vs. Aliens 3D - so, so funny! Have you ever seen Chicken Little? Funniest cartoon movie. Ever. And Monsters vs. Aliens totally rivaled it.

Are you still with me? :) Went to a scrap crop today which was super fun and productive. I made three new layouts which I'll share in the next day or two (I have to take photos). I came home for a bit before I went to babysit tonight and I'm glad I did because I got to see our new carpet. For those of you who don't know, we have been living with quite a mess downstairs for over a month now. So today we got the carpet (yay!) and this week we should be (*crossing fingers*) getting the new baseboards. I couldn't be more thrilled. I have a lot of ideas for downstairs and I am anxious to get started. It's always something with me. Ten somethings actually. Happy weekend! xo

Good Things

I basically took all of last week off from "healthy living", consuming way too much food and alcohol and not exercising nearly enough. Yesterday I attempted to "reset", if you will, but it's been hard. I ate right and even entertained the idea of going to workout but an upset stomach and an hour long nap won that battle. I don't think my impulse control issues of last week were the best for me but it sure was fun. I wish right now, though, I could find the reset button and give myself some energy.

In an attempt to motivate myself I tried on swimsuits this weekend. I'm actually excited to buy a suit this year and trying them on did not induce tears (now that's a feat worth celebrating!) The last suit I bought a couple of years ago was Betsey Johnson and I am always attracted to her suits (clothes, jewelry, you name it!). This year I fell in love with a swim "dress".. it's super cute on and perfect for the beach (it can get wet!). I am really loving her bikinis, which actually support Real Boobs, so maybe next year? ;) That is, if I can get my butt movin'... 

Some Other Good Things:
♥  Tutorial by Kerry Lynn at Elle's Studio
♥  Tips for Spring Cleaning Your Closet
♥  50 Easy Ways to Be a Fantastic Parent
♥  These gorgeous Paper Flowers

Five Years Together

Yesterday Alex and I celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary! I love that our anniversary is the first day of Spring.. I always feel that makes it even more special. Spring is romantic and represents new and exciting things ahead. Isn't that a great mindset to be in when reflecting on and celebrating the previous year and going into a new one? I think so anyway. :)

Last night we stayed at Oak Creek Manor, a bed and breakfast about an hour from our home. The website, honestly, isn't much to look upon, but the accommodations and service we received were just lovely. (Don't you think them painting it brown from yellow makes all the difference? :) ) They had no other guests so we had the place to ourselves - how cool is that?

♥ 4th anniversary
♥ 3rd anniversary (apparently I was too busy to blog) ;)
♥ 2nd anniversary
♥ 1st anniversary

PS - What do you think of the new Spring/Summer blog look? :) xo

Super Busy in a Good Way

Yesterday was gorgeous. It hit about 80 here and was sunny and nice. As I drove the 15ish miles to my Jazzercise class the temperature dropped 20 degrees and was super foggy. I still thought it was incredibly beautiful and wanted to share. This morning the fog moved north and now I'm looking at through the window.  It's lovely.

Yesterday I also (finally) made the official announcement of our new website and started the celebration I mentioned last week. Of course I'm going to share it here. This is the letter that went out with the above certificate:

Hello friends,

We are so excited to premiere our new website: www.lovejoleen.com! Please take a look and let us know what you think. To celebrate we're offering $100 of ANY session through June 2009 - all you need to do is include the attached "coupon" with your deposit. Please forward to any friends or family who may interested as the credit is open to everyone. Sessions to take place in Orange County and parts of Los Angeles and San Diego Counties by June 30, 2009. We look forward to hearing from you!

Best,

Joleen Thiessen

Some other happenings keeping me busy, busy:
♥ Issue #7 of Portals Zine. Pre-sales will begin soon- woohoo!
♥ A special, secret project I've started on. I think it's going to be a super fun collaboration and will share more as we get closer. It will be available this June. How's that for a tease? ;)
♥ I am stepping out of my comfort zone by planning and organizing events in my Young Women's meetup group for April. So far I've planned dinner & drinks and possibly a private yoga class. What are some other ideas?