2012

Review ~ Jo Totes Camera Bag


I've been researching camera bags for the past few months, and found tons of reviews for Jo Totes. Obviously I'd heard of them before... they sponsor a lot of the blogs that I read, and are generally a respected brand.

The problem is, just because a bunch of people are talking about a product like it's the best thing since sliced bread, doesn't mean it lives up to the hype. I can imagine that it's easy to overlook flaws sometimes when you're getting sponsored by a company. Don't get me wrong, I'm not opposed to sponsored reviews at all! I've definitely done them on this blog (and always for products that I love!) But for this purchase, I was in hyper-critical mode and reeeally wanted to make certain it would be worth it. I'm very stingy and hate getting ripped off!!

And well, I needed a camera bag bad. So I went forward in my pursuit of the Betsy. Rest assured, this is not a sponsored review... However, I am so completely and deeply in love with this bag, that I wanted to write something in order to help people who might be in the market for one.

Jo Totes Camera Bag


I was really lucky to get this as an early Christmas gift :) As soon as I saw it, I knew was ready to toss aside my actual purse and start using this for my everyday needs.

First of all, the bag itself is very lightweight. Not only that, but it manages to distribute the weight of the contents evenly. Long walks with a bag loaded down with stuff are totally manageable. And dare I say... easy! This is especially important to this New Yorker, who lugs everything everywhere, and for long periods of time.

To see if I could do it: I fit a 13" Macbook pro + cable, a book, two journals, Canon T2i (prime lens attached), my makeup bag, plus a few other little things. It all fit, and the 20-minute walk was easy! Without my Macbook, it's positively a breeze.


Second thing- I am so much more motivated to take photos again. This should be a no-brainer. It is a camera bag, right? But I didn't realize just how unmotivated I was to bring my camera anywhere before, since it was just one more thing to carry. I'm already noticing how having my camera everywhere I go allows me to frequently pull it out and snap whenever I feel the whim. Making me feel more creative and productive. Which makes me feel a lot happier in general :)


Now for the design. It's made of faux leather, but doesn't look fake at all, and I can tell it's a material that will hold up well. My bag needs to be able to take some abuse, so this is ideal for me. Oh and also... this bag is big. Usually, that would be a hassle (the bigger the bag, the more stuff you carry, the more back pain...) But see #1 for the explanation of why that's not a problem :)

The mustard color is lovely- suitable for all seasons, in my opinion. Great color for fall, but also cheery enough for summer and spring!

There are also customized dividers, which are amazing. I only ended up using one of them, seeing as I just need one section to divide my camera. The rest of the space, I use for my other various things.


The only complaint is that it's a little difficult to maneuver right now. I got into a good system with my last purse, where I could just reach into the pockets and immediately grab my metro card, keys, anything I needed. The Betsy is pretty deep. I fit so much stuff in there, and everything is all packed in- it's especially hard to grab my camera with ease. But keep in mind that I'm using it as a purse- not just a camera bag. I'm thinking with some practice, I'll get into a better grove with it.


All in all, I'm really happy with the bag. I'm in the honeymoon phase where every time I see it, I smile. Matt got mine from the Jo Totes site, but if you're extra broke, there's always ebay... a way I frequently get stuff I can't afford on the cheap :P

Hope this helped!

Jo Totes Betsy Camera Bag



chantilly

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Makeup review- MAC Twig and Mehr



I don't know why I'm embarrassed about this, but I indulged in a slight tryst with MAC makeup in my college years. I was working hard, juggling classes and doing 12-hour shifts at Applebees on the weekends. While everyone else was out socializing and making those much-needed "connections", I was slinging steaks in order to buy groceries.


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let your heart be light

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I know this is a summer dress and I'm wearing it in the winter, but I don't care. That's what happens with 90% of my winter outfits, anyway :) I got it last week from the big Tulle Black Friday sale. This dress was on my radar for probably a year, so I was psyched when it went on sale for $18. The cardi is also from that sale.

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Don't you just love Christmas lights? They're so gorgeous. Too bad the actual glow of the light didn't show up much this shoot. But that's a lighting issue... It would have to be darker to see the glow. But if it were dark, you wouldn't be able to see the pretty dress or the pretty girl in it :)

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Yes, I know. Women in our culture aren't supposed to acknowledge anything positive about ourselves, especially having to do with looks. We're supposed to play dumb and play ourselves down, and be unaware of the power of our goodness and valuable traits. Otherwise we're vain and narcissistic.

Well I'm sorry. I just can't with that today. I can't be bothered. Eff that. I'm too tired to fake it with the same faux modesty that we're all used to. I go through enough negativity in my own brain every day. Tearing myself apart for everything imaginable. I think we can all relate to that.

Today, I'll just come out and say it. I like the way these photos came out. I like the way I look in them.

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Not that a woman's looks should be put on a pedestal above all else that she is.

And not that I think everything should be all about inflated positivity.

There obviously should be balance. But a lot of people are pretty okay with tearing themselves down, or minimizing themselves. I could've written something like "I think these came out okay, but I'm not sure!" Even though that's not what I really think.

Honestly, we put up with enough negativity. And so the opportunity came along for me, where I actually think something positive about myself. I'm not going to keep it to myself. At least today.

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dress- tulle/ cardigan- tulle/ headband- anthro/ necklace- f21/ tights- c/o we love colors/ shoes- thrifted
photos by matt panton



chantilly

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DIY Indoor Photography Lighting


Most photography tutorials I've come across online proselytize that you should always have a natural light source when you shoot photos, even indoors. But what if you don't have a natural light source?

It's been annoying. Winter = less light = less time. Plus we live in a major metropolitan city. So I can't just waltz outside with a tripod and take my own photos. For me, the solution has been relying on Matt once per week to get my shots for me. We began shooting style posts indoors with a little lighting system that he put together.

In the past few weeks, I've gotten a lot of questions about how to do this, so I thought it would be interesting to show you guys just what goes on behind those shoots!

This...

DIY Indoor Photography Lighting


Is achieved by this. Our rig is actually pretty simple! (If not a little annoying to set up.)

DIY Indoor Photography Lighting

As you can see, the very first step is hanging some white fabric against the wall. You can use any kind or color fabric- even a cute vintage fabric like this girl! But we found that the white really helps the light that we do get bounce back and make the photos brighter.

Note- dark backgrounds absorb light and produce a different effect on photos. See here.

DIY Indoor Photography Lighting DIY Indoor Photography Lighting


Next, you will notice the lights themselves. Matt picked up these incandescent lights at Home Depot. I think these were the exact ones. He manually pried off those thin pieces of metal crossed over the lights.

The clamps come already attached, and we clamp them onto the backs of chairs. They were insanely cheap... the link says that they're $13, but he swears he paid $5 to $10 each. You do need to buy the bulbs separately though.

DIY Indoor Photography Lighting

Now for the bulbs- We like the incandescent ones. We briefly tried out some fluorescents, for less of a yellow tint in the photos. But they weren't bright enough, so we switched back to the originals. It means having to edit out lots of yellow tones, but it's worth it.

Speaking of brightness- in case you couldn't guess, the lights will be very, very bright. It's hard to get used to at first. But basically, if they are shining directly at your face and you are going blind, it's a good thing :P

Also- they are hot. I was originally wearing a cashmere sweater in our freezing apartment for this, and I had to take it off. Keep this in mind for your skiing/ snowboarding/ xxtreeeem winter vacation clothing shoots :)

Oh, and lastly we use a flash with a light diffuser :) If you're like me, the mention of the word "flash" in conjunction with the word "photography" sends you into fits. But here's the thing- it's very effective when done right. First of all, you can't just go around using the flash that's built into your camera. It's almost always better to use a separate flash, ensuring some (much needed) distance from your lens. Secondly, the diffuser makes a HUGE difference. It softens harsh shadows, and evens out where the light is bounced from.


DIY Indoor Photography Lighting


To be honest, our lighting system isn't completely perfect. There are still weird shadows in some places, we do still get the dreaded yellow tinge, and it can be tough to position everything just right. We're still just learning, and hope to get even better! But it's a great, cost-effective alternative to getting a complete studio light set- even a cheap one can be hundreds of dollars.



I hope this helped some people!! xoxo



chantilly

♥ watch my new video for "just the way you are" on youtube!!

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homemade body butters

recently, i've been doing something very indulgent and naughty... buying products from the store lush. i decided to try out something called buffy, an exfoliating body butter. it's $13 for one bar, which lasts about 2 weeks. unfortunately, i sort of loved it.

so i took a look at the ingredients, and decided i could make one of my own. it's mainly cocoa butter, shae butter, ground rice and almonds. i got shae butter from a beauty supply store around the corner, and shelled out for cocoa butter at whole foods.

cocoa butter & shae butter


i did my best at dividing up 1 oz each of the butters...

the shea was easy to portion, but the cocoa butter was very hard. i ended up breaking the tip of the knife that i was using to chop it with... beware! i almost had razorblade surprise butter. i'd suggest heating it slightly first...


after they were divvied, i:

~melted the butters in the microwave
~ cooled them in the fridge/ freezer so they would harden faster.
~ poured in the ground rice and almonds (which i used the magic bullet to chop with.)
~ note- if the mixture is too hot, the exfoliants will sink to the bottom, so you've got to keep a close eye on how fast it's hardening.


ingredients
i used wild rice instead of regular rice :)


i then poured them into little heart molds.

...but was too impatient to wait for them to harden all the way. so i got one cracked heart, and one with a hole in it. sounds kind of like my life :P

homemade body butter


next time i'll use less shae butter in my mixture... it was a little greasier than i'd like. other than that, i love! i i've been using it in the shower on the lower half of my body (ahem, legs & butt), and on my hands. it's sort of magic.

i'll make these again fo sho.


chantilly

♥ listen to my new record on bandcamp
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coffee talk ~ marry yourself

hand


people often see this ring and assume i'm married... even though it's on my right hand.

i bought it for myself when i got my first "real" job out of high school. my mother was working at the local casino, so she helped me score a front desk position at their newly constructed five-star hotel.

it was my first taste of "big money" ($8 an hour!!) and even though it was only three days a week, i had no rent or bills except for a car payment. so i did what any dysfunctional girl with a surplus of cash would: i compulsively shopped.

i bought cd's, ugly sweaters, novelty t-shirts, and girly lingerie.

i was very depressed and lonely.

on one trip to the mall, i ended up happening by the macy's counter and purchasing this white gold ring for $59. it is the one item from that time period that actually ended up lasting.


since then, i've had a lot of experiences, and gone through great self-transformations. the sadness isn't completely behind me, but i've always gotten through it and will continue to do so. unconsciously, i feel like i've kept this ring for so long as sort of a marriage pact to myself. a promise to never leave me.

it's not that romantic relationships aren't and shouldn't be important to us. of course they are. but i could never understand people's obsession with them. all those souls out there scurrying and worrying over finding the one to "complete them..." but that will never happen because they are already complete.

some perspective on you: you lack nothing. you are not broken. you are not a puzzle. you are simply an imperfect, amazing human. and you can't have a healthy relationship with another imperfect, amazing human without knowing this first.

so make a pact... never leave you. don't push yourself down so that someone else can feel better. don't sacrifice your feelings to make someone else more comfortable. don't tell yourself those negative garbage lies.

show yourself the love and kindness that you would a child.


don't get me wrong, some people are the type to flourish under harsh criticism and scrutiny.

i have never been one of those people.


it's kindness.

support.

love.




chantilly


chantilly

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up to the moon ~ making the cd cover

good morning!

it is special day folks, as i've been planning this post for a long time... i wanted to show you guys how i made the little hanging stars and moons for my cd cover :)

when i came up with the title "up to the moon," i knew i wanted a strong visual aspect. thinking about the concept and playing around with ideas was a lot of fun!

i thought a lot about symbolism, and how the moon can be a symbol for people's wishes and dreams. having the moon on a string gave me the feeling that all your wishes could come true if you could just have that...


anyway, here are some of the supplies i used:

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yarn, paper, mod podge, and glitter.

i started thinking of what other shapes i could also utilize. moons naturally go with stars, so that was a no brainer. i also thought hearts would be appropriate, since most of the songs on the ep have to do with love/ unrequitedness. i drew some paper cutouts...

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next, i painted one side each with mod podge and glittered them. this was hard, because the glitter wouldn't stick in certain places, and some of them didn't come out perfect.

after i did this, i found out that there is such a thing as paper that is pre-glittered. it's used for scrapbooking. i wish i knew about it sooner- i would've just used that.

oh well! doesn't this look pretty?

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i then glued the two sides of each shape together, with a piece of yarn in the middle.

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after that, i had my moons, stars, and hearts all on strings!

if only we could do this in real life...

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my original idea was to make them into a mobile, so i strung them all up on one. however, it wasn't photographing the way that i wanted. then i came up with the idea to just pin them against the white wall.

and that is how my cover idea evolved :) we still have them hung up in our apartment this way! they're too cute to take down.

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xoxo!!


chantilly

♥ listen to my new record on bandcamp
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salted rum limeade

moving away from some of the earlier frustrations in the week... i made some yummy drinks for you :) (too bad you can't sip through the screen...)

i showed the pictures to matt, and he said it looked like they were "taken in heaven." i can't lie, they kinda taste like heaven too. my old roommate made these at a bbq, and i've been in love ever since. at the time, she used "simply limeade," which actually worked great. but i wanted to try and make the juice from scratch.


i'm definitely a rum girl, and this is my favorite kind- gosling's black seal. (and no, it has nothing to do with ryan gosling.)

rum limeade 1


you'll need:

~ 15 limes
~ 1 1/2 cups sugar
~ 3 cups water
~ 1 1/2 cups ice (as needed)
~ 4 shots of rum
~ 1/4 tsp salt

i peeled the limes and ran them through the juicer, but you can hand-juice them...

rum limeade 2


next, i took the the juice, sugar, water, salt, and ice- and poured them back and forth between two different containers.

rum limeade 3


then, all you do is put a shot of rum each into four 8 or 10-ounce glasses, and pour the mixture over that. bam! delicious.

oh, and i recently got some of those super-cute paper straws to give my drinks a little more pizazz!!

rum limeade 5


the color of the cocktail is amber, because i used dark rum. you could use a lighter rum, and it would probably turn out the light green color.

rum limeade 4
rum limeade 6



chantilly

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The Muffington Post ~ Funfetti Cake

up to the moonr





Hello everyone! I am Mary-Morgan from The Muffington Post.


me500#2

I am so excited to be part of this wonderful event in Chantilly's life! It truly is a time to celebrate, and in my opinion every celebration needs music (which Chantilly has already provided) family, good friends, drinks, and sweets!! My specialty is sweets and I want to share a homemade cake worthy of any celebration! Enjoy lovelies!! ♥


There are box mixes you can buy for any cake, but homemade cakes are simple to make. This is my version of a Funfetti cake:
Carnival Confetti Cake:

♥ Ingredients: Cake:

~ 12 tblsps. (1 & 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
~ 1 & 1/2 cups sugar
~ 2 cups all-purpose flour
~ 2 tsps. baking powder
~ 1/4 teaspoon salt
~ 6 large egg whites
~ 3/4 cup milk
~ 2 tsps. vanilla extract
~ Carousel sprinkles (about 2 hefty shakes)


♥ Ingredients: Frosting:

~ 4 large egg whites
~ 3/4 cup sugar
~ pinch of salt
~ 2 sticks butter, softened, & cut into pieces
~ food coloring (optional)



cake1



♥ Directions: Cake:

~ Preheat oven to 350 F
~ Spray 9in. springform pan with Bakers Joy.
~ In a large mixing bowl, beat butter & sugar together, about 5 minutes.
~ Stir together flour, baking powder, & salt. Set aside.
~ Combine egg whites, milk, & vanilla extract.
~ Add 1/2 flour mixture to butter mixture, then 1/2 egg mixture with butter mixture.
~ Continue to alternate & beat until smooth.
~ Toss sprinkles into cake batter & gently fold in.
~ Pour batter into prepared pan & smooth top with spatula.
~ Bake for 30-45 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted into center of cake.
~ Let cool completely.


♥ Directions: Frosting:
~ Whisk egg whites, sugar, & salt into heat proof bowl.
~ Set over saucepan of simmering water (do not let bowl touch water).
~ Simmer until the mixture is warm & the sugar dissolves.
~ Remove bowl from pan & let cool slightly.
~ Beat the egg mixture in stand mixer until stiff peaks form, about 12-15 mins.
~ Beat in the butter a few pieces at a time, then continue beating until smooth.
~ Add food coloring if you want but this is optional. You can use the frosting white or color it any color your heart desires. :)

Assembly:
~ Slice cake in half with a serrated knife.
~ Frost bottom layer, place top layer of cake on top of frosted bottom layer. Frost top & sides.
~ Decorate as you wish! I used multicolored non pareils :)

cake2


xoxo & candy kisses,

Mary-Morgan
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