before the humidity sets in... spring in dc.

the jefferson momument at sunrise

true to my neurosis, i attempted to take some cherry blossom photos at 6:30am on today to avoid the crowds at the tidal basin.

the washington monument at sunrise

there were a ton of people there. it was cold. my point and shoot died. and since it was sunrise, the slr's exposure was going nuts. that and in my infinite knowledge, i took a whole bunch of RAW images that i'll need to edit and convert so others can view them.

sprout | tidal basin in washington, dc | march 31, 2009

i'll be taking more when i brave the crowds at the festival. but after inauguration, what's crowd in dc, right?

la vida es demasaido corta

i have a love/hate relationship with the actual product but damn, do they know how to make a commercial that means something.

St. Paddrick says: go forth with the gift of eloquence

liveleah kissing the blarney stone | september 2007

SnugPeep - the Blanket with Sleeves

Last year, I posted about my cousin's and friend's semi-finalist entry to the Washington Post Peep Diorama Contest.

This year, I finally got in on the action and created a diorama with my friend Chris. A few weeks ago, I sewed a Snuggie and made a couch and laptop with modeling foam.

In true fashion, I waited until the last possible minute to work with Chris on the rest (the deadline is before midnight tonight). But coincidentally, we're both very detail-oriented and were able to pull this together in just a few hours this afternoon/evening.


Here's a close-up:



some fun facts that you may not see in this non-professional photo.

• i actually hand-sewed the snuggie
  
• the couch isn't [p]leather but it matches the color of the couch on the commercial.
• that window is double-paned (backyard image, plastic film, wood then more plastic film)
• the photos of the peeps on the walls include the grand canyon and niagara falls.
  
• i framed all the photos with wood and plastic film.
  
• chris made molding for the top and bottom of our walls; she even pulled out a saw today.
  
• chris created the peep bunny inspired wall paper and painted the peep screensaver on the laptop.
  
• yes, that's coaster. but you can choose your ending: beer vs soda.
  

See how mini some of the pieces were? (we nixed this piece in our entry)

Definitely fun. I'm already thinking of my entry for next year!

it was feckin' great craic!

so in the fall of 2007, i decided - on a whim - to go to ireland to visit my cousin, maye. while planning, i recruited my cousins and a friend to join in. cousin maye is my second cousin from sablayan (in mindoro, philippines) and she and her husband immigrated to ireland instead of the US. they live in the suburb of clondalkin, just a few minutes from dublin proper.

our trip was an 8 day sprint. we made the best of the short trip, visiting all major parts of the country by taking 3 hour train rides everywhere - including a day visit to belfast in the UK.

i've posted a few of the photos from that trip here and there, but have never really gone into depth on this page. choosing instead, to just [hastily] update the flickr.

luckily for you, our friend farrah managed to finish [finally!] her online scrapbook of our trip today. it's pretty detailed so i guess 18 months is better than never.

if you ever get a chance, i highly encourage a visit to ireland. guinness tastes better there. slainte!