I met Anita via the internet; she informed me that she was taking a get-away trip to Los Angeles from D.C. and wanted to have some portraits done. Over a couple of weeks we emailed back and forth, discussing not only the upcoming portrait session, but also her love for food and travel. So when I finally met her on a Saturday afternoon, we took shots at Pasadena City Hall and the Pasadena Westin. In between shots we talked about her trip to the Caribbean, restaurants on the East Coast, her experience with the food trucks in L.A. – she waited patiently in the Kogi truck line – and other great staples of Southern California, and even our pets! It was a mixture of capturing Anita’s inner and outer beauty and at the end of the session, we had to do what we both love to do – eat. To finish off her L.A. trip, we headed over to one of my favorite Chinese places in Alhambra, Gourmet Island.
It was wonderful to finally meet you, Anita! Hopefully when Taro and I head out to D.C. we can meet up and then we’ll see your side of the neighborhood!
I met Stacey Craven last year when I hired her to do my make-up for my wedding. From the start she created the look I wanted…and then I decided I wanted something completely different! Despite my indecisive nature, Stacey led me in the right direction and on the day of the wedding, I was confident that she was going to do absolutely beautiful make-up. I loved my final look and my bridesmaids looked stunning. Even my mom and my mother-in-law enjoyed the pampering – they especially loved the eyelashes! So when I found out Stacey was offering make-up tips at Girls Night Out, I wanted to capture her hard work and love of make-up.
After providing tips and mini-makeovers, Stacey, along with the other instructors at Unveiled Fitness, showed improvisation moves on the pole. The women exuded beauty and sexiness – not to mention strength! I was utterly amazed at how they were able to do back bends, hold their bodies up with their forearms, and do handstands! It was more than just pole dancing; there was cardio and yoga. I applaud the instructors and students who not only showcased their moves, but showed the difficulty level of pole dancing and what a workout it really is!
It was a great seeing Stacey again (Almost a year later!) and capturing the beauty of the instructors and students who participated in the Girls Night Out event. Thanks again for letting me be a part of it, Stacey, and hopefully I will see you again…sooner rather than later!
For the online gallery, please click here.
Beauty in motion:
After the LMU Engagement Session, Taro and I were super hungry! During photo sessions, my body goes into a crazy mode. I don’t need food or water (unless it is extremely hot) and the weather doesn’t seem to affect me. Actually, if anything, I am just warm. I think it must be the adrenaline, the anxiety, and the anticipation of viewing the photos on a bigger screen. However, once the session is over, I return to a normal state – dying of thirst, famished, and my body temperature has regulated back. We searched for a restaurant and since the session was so close to Santa Monica, we had plenty of options. We chose Jiraffe, which I heard about from my friend, Kris, and Taro and I were both excited to try some place new.
Jiraffe had a nice ambiance to it and I loved that there were giraffes subtlety embedded into the decor. The menu even made me smile because it was the Eiffel Tower turning into a giraffe! We were pretty lucky because when I called the restaurant, they told us that they would have a table ready for us in 25 minutes and by the time we arrived, we didn’t have to wait long. As always, Taro and I share food, which really allows us to try more when we only get one entree. We decided on the ceviche (which was the special of the day), the Purple Peruvian Gnocchi – with rock shrimp, pearl onions, Mandarin tomato concasse, and herb-infused tomato nage, and the osso bucco (another special of the day). To start off the meal, there was an amuse-bouche which was gazpacho. It was actually great because we were considering soup and instead, the gazpacho satisfied us. It was really refreshing and I really enjoyed the bits of croutons and the light tomato base.
Before our ceviche came out, Taro and I had a funny debate over the bread. I said that it was olive bread while he claimed it was raisin bread. In the end, we were both right. It turned out that because the bread looked nearly identical, he had given me an olive one while he had raisin bread. It was really funny just because both of us were so adamant AND confused at how the other could possibly mistaken olive for raisin and vice versa! So after this the ceviche came out and it was very good. I enjoyed the chunks of fish and it just soaked in the lemon/lime. Shortly after the gnocchi and osso bucco came out. The gnocchi was amazing! The texture was soft, but still had some chewiness to it. It was not overdone and the shrimp was also cooked nicely. The osso bucco just came apart with the fork and what I enjoyed most about it was the abundance of vegetables (I love veggies!) with the meat.
To finish off dinner we had a toffee dessert which was sweet, but very good. Overall, we had a great night at Jiraffe after a wonderful session at LMU. I feel like I am living a dream – meeting really nice people from engagement sessions, doing photography which I love, discovering and eating at great restaurants, and best of all, doing it all with Taro.
Leave A Comment