So much pizza, so much beach, and loooook at that dreamy hunk in the shorts! Up next (and our final stop on the France trip in pictures tour), Nice!

I just loved shooting with this tiny Lomo camera I have! And the Fuji film turned out great, too ;) Next up, Marseille!

I'd like to address something here: Alex and I are carry-on only travelers. Yes! We hate luggage! We hate luggage when heading to a weekend at the cabin, we hate luggage for a week in Los Angeles. And we hate luggage, yes, even when traveling to far places, like Europe. And not only because luggage is often always cumbersome and heavy, costs extra to check, and you have to stand in long lines to check it at the front desk; but also perhaps due to an irrational fear of our luggage getting lost (!). So in preparing to pack for almost 3 weeks in Europe, we knew it was going to be a special challenge. It was bit of a conundrum because we had to take into consideration that Paris is generally colder, but we were also on the beach in Cote d'Azure, where temperatures are still warm and sunny. So I knew that I'd have to plan ahead in order to fit all of my things in one small backpack that wouldnt be too overstuffed to carry with me everywhere (on planes, in trains and on foot).

I did my research and found some really great packing tips and capsule wardrobe recommendations from various sources (for example) and so I thought it might be valuable to share my experiences here as well. I think I came up with a packing list that was just about as close to perfect as it was gonna get, and figured that anything we forgot, we could just pickup while we were there. Instant souvenir! Here's what I brought:

1 pair dark denim jeans
1 pair black jeans
1 black jumpsuit (most women recommended a maxi dress, which would do double-duty as both a beach cover-up AND dressed-up dinner dress, but I figured a jumpsuit was about the same)
1 shorter dress (mine was a silky/slinky number that did great as both a nice going-out dress and over my suit at the beach)
1 pair high-waisted black shorts
2 tees - one grey, one striped
1 black (dotted) sleeveless cami
1 black sweater (heavier-weight)
1 long grey cardigan (lighter-weight)
1 dark denim shirt
1 black leather jacket
1 scarf
2 black bikinis (one was a convertible strapless top that worked great as a strapless
1 pair leather sandals (again, that could be worn both on the beach and are nice enough to wear out to dinner)
1 pair comfy and stylish black flats (with extra Dr. Scholl's!)
1 necklace
1 tube red lipstick
+ underwear and something to sleep in
all rolled and packed into this very nice looking Burton rucksack, which I picked up at the last minute at Urban Outfitters, and I am so glad that I did!
+1 small brown leather cross-body purse for everyday

Crazy, right? I did the math and I had about 13 different outfits right there. Of course, I ended up wearing one of 2 outfits mostly, and the rest less frequently. Also, you'll notice most of what I packed is black. And although I love black and is the most prominent 'color' I wear anyways, it was highly suggested that the French wear predominantly dark colors (and a lot of black). It worked out suuuuuper well, no complaints!

We also didnt bring any hairdryers, straighteners, no shampoo/soaps, no detergent, as the apartments we chose to stay in had clothes washer/dryers and provided the necessary linens, bath towels and accoutrements. Hooray! Of course, I did still pack my toothbrush/paste, a travel sized deodorant, phone charger and extra battery, european plug converter, and a book to read on the plane. Oh yeah, and a super small lomo camera with 35mm film ;) More details and outfit photos to come!

PS: I did also buy a tote bag at Zara before we left Nice, to carry the souvenirs and baguette and cheeses we bought for lunch. We could have stuffed all that into our backpacks, as we did end up having room, but it was nice to have them more accessible, instead of packed away into our backpacks in the over-head storage bins. You could easily pack a cotton tote (they are everywhere in Paris!) instead of buying one there.

Alex and I are back from our big trip to France ( I know, already! ) And I even got my 35mm film back from the 1-hr photo already! Look at me, I'm so on top of things! Paris and the Riviera were magical, and our vacation was both fun-filled and completely rejuvinating. I can't wait to go through everything and share more about our trip and photos soon. Until then, enjoy this photograph of a bridge I took while on a cheesy boat tour ( YEP TOTALLY ).

<3

Alright folks, super exciting announcement time.

Alex and I are planning another jaunt to Europe this fall, I am so indescribably excited! This time we will be in Paris for 8 days, and then meandering around the French Riviera / Cote d'Azure for an additional week. If you know me in real life, you know that I can barely stop talking about it, and for that I am truly sorry, friends! I feel so incredibly blessed to be able to be able to travel at this point in my life. I know it is not super common for people my age to travel outside of school-sponsored study abroad programs... My parents are always joking (not joking) that we are by far more well-traveled by age 30 than they will ever be. We will of course be on a strict budget, Paris has a pretty bad rap as being super expensive. But honestly, I would rather travel on a budget than not travel at all.

I just cant wait to do everything in Paris I've always dreamed about (hellooo Paris flea, I'm comin' for you!) and then spend some time just stuffing ourselves with pizza and seafood, drinking wine, and lazing about the beach all day. I think we're going to skip the touristy things this time around, including admission to the Louvre (I know, shoot me if you must. Again, budget constraints) and the Eiffel Tower (though I wouldn't mind finding a scenic hilltop to gaze at it from afar!) I just want to roam the streets, window shop, eat and people watch; picnic along the Seine and maybe stroll through the Pierre Lachaisse cemetère to say hello to my dearest, Edith Piaf.

Have you been to France at all, do you have any must-see / must-do / insider tips for a couple exploring Paris on a budget? You must fill me in!

Although this is belated, I think it really has taken me a few weeks of the new year to formulate what changes I need to make for myself this year. And so, some words + pictures for you (but mostly me, we all know the real reason we really blog our resolutions for...)

GOALS:

+ Take better care of my skin, particularly on my face. Cleanse EVERY DAY, moisturize EVERY DAY, and remove makeup at night ALWAYS (I don't do any of these things with any sort of regularity). You are growing older missy, and so is your skin! It is time to take care of yourself.

+ STOP CHEWING MY CHEEKS! Okay bad habit, the buck stops here. I will get this under control if it kills me. Because you guys, this is killing me! (not literally, obviously) But it is an ugly habit, one that guarantees that I get a bunch of canker-sores and go through a thousand tubes of chap-stick a year, all while garnering funny looks from people as they watch with fascination while I stress-chew my own face off.

+ Read more books. I have a seriously long queue this year and feel an urgent need to finish them all (which is not unlike the urge I commonly feel to cross things off my to-do list, but definitely more related to the knowledge I'll consume and enlightenment I'll feel as opposed to the former). I have been flying through the Game of Thrones series (actually, the books are called A Song of Fire and Ice) and it really has rekindled my love of reading. I'm hoping I can keep that momentum going when I finish the series!

+ More traveling in 2014! Big and small trips. We already have some exciting tentative plans for the Fall (which I will fill you in on at a later date, dont you guys worry), but I definitely want to be more spontaneous with small trips and vacation days this year. Carpe Diem, Allison! Those vacation days won't use themselves!

+ And, as always, TAKE MORE PICTURES! I always do great with this one through most of the year, and then taper WAY OFF in the Winter at the end of every year. I just lose that motivation with the change of seasons and frigid cold. Work on strategies for getting yourself motivated and inspired and MAKE ROOM for photography all the time.

PS: I have to say, looking back on my resolutions for 2013, I feel pretty good about how I did. I touched on every single goal except for that last little one :)

I have now officially not blogged almost all summer.

I have to be honest, once July rolled around, I was all like, hey how about a no-blogging summer?!? I have things to do, people to see, and I shouldnt be inside on the computer! Welp, I couldnt stay away folks. Nope, I've just had too much to report on. What a crazy hectic summer it has been so far. I have been trying my darnedest to soak up as much sun and relaxation as possible amongst the crazy. And so, I will leave you with the first of several summer posts, in chronological order, a (lengthy) sampling of film photographs from our trip to Istanbul, Turkey from back in June. It was such a great trip and the chance of a lifetime. But, I just got the film back (I know! getting it processed and scanned was an ordeal.) I am so thankful... I hope all of you out there are taking as much time for yourselves and enjoying the summer as well.

PS: I have so much to report on: the trip, cabin-times, the patio! and backyard!, miscellaneous house projects, friends visiting from out of town, friends moving out of town, new babies coming into the world, BBQs, parties, epic thrifting trips and even some new personal work. (I know, I know, you know everything already because you follow me on Instagram, right?) Prepare yourself friends, it's gonna be great.

PPS: It feels good to be back.

I came across the work of this photographer Dayanita Singh recently, and I'm feeling really inspired by her work. I love the way she fills the frame (square format frame!) and the way she achieves such a lush, dense black and white quality.

It gets me thinking about two things: one, how I will go about photographing in Istanbul this summer. I know that I'll need something compact and light-weight if we're to be traipsing up and down steep, cobblestone streets all day long, and through dense, urban areas where pick-pocketing and purse-snatching is somewhat common. Although I'm tempted to take along my Rollei square format that I used in Hawaii and loved so much. I will also need to use a fast film speed most of the time (if not all of the time) I am there so that I can photograph in low-light situations at night and in the mosques. And two, a project I'm about to embark on that I wont be able to talk about quite yet, just because it hasnt fully materialized in my brain. But, suffice it to say that it involves significant past memories and explores how we remember imagery (at least, how I remember imagery) from moments in our past. Stay tuned on that one...