Wednesday, March 10, 2010 Posted in Personal
Even with the gloomy and cold weather on Friday and Saturday, it was another great weekend. I had a blast on Saturday with Ubaldo and Socorro at the Cal Poly Farm in Pomona, yes, officially one of my favorite places ever to play, shoot photo sessions and get great produce. They were doing a tasting of many of their farm store goods and I thought it would be fun to take Ubaldo to play and taste, of course. Even at the early age of 18 months he has proven over and over that he is a big foodie.
This kept him entertained for a little while, but we had to convince him that it was not okay to go in with the horses.
My second favorite shot of the day. What was that mommy?
My favorite, I miss him already.
He is as much fun as these photos prove, he’s got so much expression and attitude and even said my name for the first time. It sounds like NANNY since he can’t pronounce the C. Kris is officially jealous and is currently working on getting Ubaldo to say his name too. 
Sunday we saw Alice in Wonderland in the afternoon to avoid crowds and I really enjoyed it, while Kris was not as impressed, but all in all a good time. Afterwards we met up with the family for dinner at Cajun Swamp in Fullerton, such a hidden gem. I highly recommend if you love cajun food, very low key, but the food is delicious! Mom was sick at home and with my brother Erik at UCLA it felt a bit weird at first to have dinner without them, just something to get used to I suppose. I managed to get a few shots, but these boys don’t like photos.
Getting ready for another mamalita session this Thursday and a wedding this Saturday, this month is off to a good start. Just got to keep the energy level up with some good workouts and healthy food. My mind is going 150 miles per hour, you should see my business and personal journals, you would be scared. Thank goodness for baths and red wine.
I spent last Thursday afternoon with my best friend, Annie in Laguna Beach to kick off her staycation. It was a really nice day and the sunniest day of the week, perfect beach weather. We walked and played on the beach and enjoyed lunch at the El Ranchito , dinner at Bandera’s , oh and there was that cocktail we had at sunset from the rooftop bar of this cute small hotel, La Casa del Camino. She finally allowed me to take a few shots of her and this one is my favorite, so natural and gorgeous.
This shot will fit right into my mamalita collection and all that it represents. I’m so blessed to be surrounded by such beautiful and strong women, it’s definitely very inspiring and so lovely to be able to capture it. My wish Annie, is that you see this photo and feel beautiful and loved because you are!
Looking at these beach photos makes me want to be back there again, can’t wait for the spring to come. I’ve enjoyed all the rain and gloomy mornings from this winter, but this CALI girl is ready for the sun so I can wear the flip flops and sun dresses once again. I’ve got lot’s more to share, this is just a teaser.
I’ve been featured here at lacylike. I virtually met Lacy through another blog and placed an email to her to learn more about getting certified to teach yoga. She was so awesome and shared all her knowledge and experience over a lovely phone conversation. All I can say is that these little things restore my faith in humanity. She is a curly wurly noodle head like me and I fell in love with her FAQ demo of fixing up your hair for peeps with naturally curly hair. Lacy is a creative designer, yogi, massage therapist and nutritional counselor in the Bay area. Most importantly though she is positive and is a great role model for leading a healthy life, it is contagious and that is a good thing! I dream of performing yoga poses just like her one day, amazing. Thank you Lacy for all your kindness, you are one truly kindred spirit.
One of her album creations for a customer, this one is called 21 Years of Friendship.
Have a fabulous weekend and make sure to treat your body & soul kindly!
I often get asked “what is a mamalita session?” and it always brings a smile to my face because of the special story behind this.When I first started my business I had the pleasure of photographing a group of about 13 ladies at a bridal shower and while I was in the midst of processing these photos I had a lovely conversation with my friend Toni in where she told me a story about her grandmother, the mamalita.
Her grandmother Eulalia was a very strong, dedicated and sweet woman, one that could hold her own and put up a fight if you pushed her buttons as her husband did at times. However, her husband also loved her very much and referred to her as his mamalita. A word in Spanish that translates into a term of endearment, like if you took mom and said mommy. It’s very hard to explain you see, Spanish never translates very well into other languages that are not romance languages. Whenever I try to translate things to people I feel like it’s an injustice because Spanish as well as the other romance languages are so beautiful and it feels as though it loses its meaning when translated. You’ve got to trust me on this one, it’s a very beautiful and loving word.
That is how my mamalita sessions were born because I think every woman needs to feel loved and beautiful inside and out (this is what the mamalita sessions are about) and I want to have fun and bring something unique to my business. Below are some of my favorite mamalita sessions so far, I hope to add many more to this collection.
Thank you Toni for sharing your lovely story with me, it deeply touched me and inspired me so much that I wanted to incorporate it somehow into my business. I know that I’ll be telling this story many more times and I will gladly tell it with a smile every single time!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010 Posted in Personal
I am grateful for the rains this weekend as it forced me to stay in and really have some down time and learn to relax. A lot of cooking, reading and movie watching took place and I was okay with that. It was a crazy and busy week for the both of us and next month will be even busier so I’m glad that we are learning the art of relaxing more, it will come in handy.
My favorite part of the weekend was that Sunday we went to the nearest park by our house and with snacks, books and blanket we laid in the sun and enjoyed pure quietness. We haven’t done this in years and we forgot how much we loved it. Kris even managed a cat nap and this is the only photo I captured, but it pretty much sums up the story.
I hope everyone is having a good week. I’m looking forward to the rest of my week as I have fun lunch dates, collaborations with fellow photographers and a girl’s night Thursday because I’m learning to relax and play as hard as I work.
Stay tuned for some linky love, the story behind my mamalita sessions and a recipe. While you’re at it, take a little time today to relax and enjoy yourself because you’re worth it!
Recently I have been very blessed to capture new life and I am really enjoying these bundles of joy. These sessions are so peaceful and tranquil and this session was no different, Alicia was so good and half the time she slept right through it. These photos made me smile the whole time while processing, I couldn’t keep my eyes off of her. Luckily her mama is my best friend’s sister and I’ll be around to watch her grow.
This photo session was taken three weeks after her birth as Alicia was in the intensive care unit for the first week, but she is doing just fine now. We let her sleep and I allowed them to just be themselves and it wasn’t long before she needed to be fed, but I still stood patient and let Alicia direct the show. During our photo session we placed her on her tummy and she completely lifted herself up, she puts up a fight this little one. So I think of her as very strong, you can see it in her eyes, she is very fierce and with this she will do just fine in life.
I’ll let the photos tell the story, look at her little smirk!
The best seat in the house is in mama’s arms.
I love baby feet, can never get enough.
Yesenia, you’re going to be a great mama, I see this already. Alicia is so lucky to have you as her mama! She is so precious, strong and brings so much joy. Thank you for allowing me to capture this moment for you and sharing your bundle of joy with me, she has brought me many smiles.
xo
Tuesday, February 23, 2010 Posted in Personal
Last week Kris decided to take 3 days off from work since he already had that Monday and Friday off and we both needed some down time and a recharge. We kept it low key and for the first few days just did the everyday stuff and got a few dentists appointments out of the way. I worked in the office for a few hours, we went to gym together, cooked together (even made linguini & clams for lunch, just because) and just enjoyed having no schedule. Something that is really hard for both of us to do at times, we always have to be doing stuff or feel productive, but we did really well considering.
The staycation officially started that Sunday night which was Valentine’s Day and we’re not big celebrators of it, just not our thing. We should have avoided the crowds that day, but we had our tax appointment that afternoon and Socorro and Ubaldo came along since we go to the same accountant. The office is in Rancho Cucamonga so afterwards we headed to Victoria Gardens (she had never been!) and her and Ubaldo loved it, of course. We did a train ride with Ubaldo and took him to the playground, that’s it as simple as that. We had already taken him earlier to Boston Market for some dinner while Socorro had her appointment, he was so funny because of course his favorite activity is dining, just like his auntie. He was so funny in fact that I wish I would of had a video camera. This was my favorite shot of them both (a little blurry, but gotta love that bokeh), I think this is their signature pose because I have so many photos of them in this exact pose.
The rest of the week was spent doing fun stuff throughout LA. Starting with a day at Santa Monica Beach, one of our favorite spots in LA! We explored their downtown on Main St. for the first time, window shopped and checked out a few boutique shops. Made a stop at the 3-story Barnes & Noble on 3rd St. Promenade, can we say heaven? After a few hours there ( yes I said hours, we love reading the magazines and checking out books before we buy) we headed to our favorite wine bar for dinner, 4th & Jane and tried some of their crawfish boil. Very yummy and fun, a great way to end the day there.
Thursday we had booked massages at Burke Williams Spa in Pasadena courtesy of a gift, this is the perfect way to end our staycation… I felt 10 pounds lighter and refreshed and Kris loved all the pampering, who wouldn’t? It was still early so we headed to Silver Lake Wine to do a tasting and try Let’s Be Frank , a gourmet hot dog truck with %100 organic products that parks at their wine shop on Thursdays – foodie & wino heaven! We’re already planning another tasting on a Sunday when they do it in a group format with a local chef doing cooking demonstrations which we get to try, all for only $20! We both had such a great time talking with the workers and mingling amongst other winos. I love LA, there is so much to discover and explore, but I love that they have some of the best food and wine in So Cal.
All in all it was a wonderful staycation. Sorry for the lack of photos, but although I love capturing all the lovely moments I didn’t carry the camera while exploring. I really wanted to just ignore the phone, all my normal “doings” even stayed off of Facebook and Twitter and you know what? It felt very liberating and I enjoyed every minute.
Today’s sunset. I can never get enough photo shots of a sunset… I will always capture them and I am okay with that. This winter has brought some of the most gorgeous sunsets in Southern CA and I need to make more attempts to capturing them because it’s a shame to let this yumminess go to waste. They were both taken today, but at different times. The first one was taken at the beginning of sunset time while the second one was taken at the very end at almost 6:00 PM.
Just a little teaser to hold you over until I return with Alicia’s newborn session, details about my staycation from last week and other good stuff.
Can you blame me?
Just a sneak peak from my newborn session today, she’s cute as a button. I truly enjoyed meeting and spending time with this little one and her mommy whom is just smitten with her.
I can put up a good fight, don’t let the tutu and pearls fool you.
I hope everyone has a great weekend! I’m excited about the winter Olympics starting tomorrow and some fun hang time with my best friends and Kris.
I just wanted to share some of my photos from this project since recently a good friend inquired, the rest of the set can be seen here. Thank you for the continued support for all those that are my biggest fans, it means the world to me.
Also feel free to check out this site for more photo yumminess on this project, love his stuff. I am loving this rainy weather again, California finally has a winter! As per usual there’s a lot of soup cooking and working away going on and really looking forward to what’s ahead.
by Nancy Orozco
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