Orange County's Family Photographer, Tara Whitney

i'm a new soul

yael naim-im a new soul

for all of us new souls who are struggling to find our way in this world.

motley crew

took these classic photos last week outside of ocean burrito in oceanside. i stop here almost every time i finish up a session and grub on my burrito on the drive home.

this time the visit was just about the grub and the friends.

and these shots are just about these incredible kids.

when i downloaded the card and saw all of these pop up, i couldnt delete any of them. in each shot, at least one of the kids was doing something so classic them, and i was literally laughing to myself as i looked at them over and over. i had to call lisa and tell her to get thee to the computer so she could see for herself. we sat talking and laughing at these pics for about fifteen minutes.

how you know you are living with someone who has OCD

"do you know what olivia did today that made me so happy?"

"what?"

"she turned my lamp the other direction."

"so?"

"so now it lines up perfectly with the corner of my night-stand. AND... now i have like three more inches of space on top." with a wave of his hand.

and if his expression wasn't so boyish and earnest, i would have teased him endlessly. instead, i decided to just blog it.

this is where i write my blog

since putting our loft in last summer, i have been slowly getting stuff together in my office space. this weekend, i finished it all up and took some pictures.

this is what you see as you walk up the stairs:

my expedit bookshelf, probably the coolest thing ikea has ever made:

the view if you are sitting at the computer, or standing with your back to the expedit:

"dont put off your happy life" is illustrated by linzie hunter. her website is here. she has done a whole series of illustrations based on spam emails she has received. another favorite of mine is this one.

some pretty little things ive collected:

polka dot suitcase from land of nod
cupcakes from i cant remember-they hold thumbtacks.
camera from ebay

my work station:

printer: HP Photosmart Pro B9180
silver bucket things: ikea
clipboards: melissa francis
wire thing: online purchase from too long ago to remember

a little friend in the window:

birdie from: once upon a design i love him-if he was a real bird that would be a different story. but fake, and vinyl-i can handle that.

my lifeline:

with album covers from my itunes playlist as a screen saver

a favorite shelf:

jars: ikea
people: gemmielou

and another:

jars: home goods and old pickle jar
stamps: decole

and my inspiration door. an old door picked up at an architectural salvage place in LA:

i put anything i want up there-cards from people that love me, thank you notes from clients, magazine ads that inspire me with cool poses or ideas, things to do, things to think.

and now that this room is clean and organized i officially have jeff off my back.
dust off my hands and call 'er done.

blurry

tonight. i had just put lotion on mckenna's legs (where her skin graft scars are) and tucked her into bed. i walked out of her room when i saw anna look at me, leap into the air and run to her bed...leaping onto it like some kind of drunk flying squirrel. so i ran after her and jumped on top of her and she said:

"mom did you see how fast i ran?"

"yes i did, i almost couldn't catch you!"

"was i blurry?"

love these feet

and this face.

yindi and i have a special bond. im not sure if its because i was there when she popped out into this world, or because she is just an amazing baby who opened her heart up to someone besides her mom and dad. whatever the reason, i scoop her love up with a big spoon and eat as much as i can until she has to leave again.

working overtime

on saturday in the shade of the bounce house:

me: "come over here and be my footstool."

him: "dont i even get the weekends off?"

insightful and sweet questions from my five year old

all from friday:

"mom, what is your favorite thing about daddy?"

"what color skin do bees have?"

"dad, how long have you known mom?"

"how does the color get inside of a crayon?"

"why does that freckle look like a chocolate chip?"

"how long have i loved Silkie?"

and our answers:

"that is such a hard one-but if i had to pick my VERY favorite thing about daddy its how he can always make me laugh, even if i am sad or mad."

"ummm....what color skin do YOU think they have?"

"ever since fourth grade."

"it runs as fast as it can and jumps inside!"

"because i ate too much ice cream when i was a little kid."

"since forever."

busy day today-session this morning, then lots of work this afternoon. my website is undergoing some back end updates, thats why its been down. also updating the galleries and splash page. announcing my travel destinations for 2008, and new packages/options. im also working on getting a custom blog created. so some exciting changes for me in the coming days/weeks.

ill keep you posted-gotta run a kid to school, and then off to oceanside i go! -t

she&him

did you guys see Elf?
did you love Zooey Deschanel when she sang in the shower in that movie?
did you google her name after and try to find anything she had recorded online?
did you get totally bummed when you couldnt find anything?

i did.

but now all my dreams have come true.

she has an album: She&Him

i havent had much of a listen to it yet, just discovered it today while buying some music. but my initial preview had me feeling like i was sitting in a cozy chair with a quilt on the porch of a beach house in nantucket, surrounded by reeds and white sand. and she was playing on speakers in the house. and ive never even been to nantucket, but that is what i imagine it would be like.

this will make my mom roll her eyes and say "tara nichol!" under her breath.

this morning as we were all piling into my car to get to school, drew and mckenna were racing to get to the front seat.

drew got there first, opened the front door, started to get in, and then tricked mckenna and climbed into the backseat, letting her get the front.

as she saw drew getting into the front, she said "awwww drew, you suck!"

she has never said that before. mom, arent you proud?! im carrying on the "suck" tradition! along with all the burping!