Lately

The Seattle waterfront.  The boys and I are riding the ferris wheel on the pier, and this is our view!

After a couple of rotations on the ferris wheel, we started gettings used to the motion and heights--kind of.

Here is beautiful Sammy.  This old gal is funny around pictures.  I'm lucky to get a non-blurry shot of her.

Here is gorgeous Odin.  He's always up for a photo session and a dance.  He's my special boy.

Vino at the Landing in Renton, WA.  I had lunch with a sweet friend.  Delicious chocolates to finish off the meal.

Mateo at afterschool pick-up yesterday.  He looks for us then follows up with a big hug.

Tomas at afterschool pick-up yesterday.  He comes running out of the building to surprise us from behind.

Just a quick still life on our kitchen table.  We really need to eat those satsumas before they go bad.

Lately, my thoughts and life have been pretty random (as you can tell by the photos).  It's my younger son Tomas's birthday!  He is officially 8 as of February 28.  He was sad for a bit in the morning because he wasn't going to be 7 anymore.  That's my fault for lamenting out loud that he's growing up too fast.  Well, what is a mama to do?  At 6am, all I could think of to cheer him up was that it will be fun to write the number 8 after his name: "Tomas, Age 8" which is what I used to do when I was a kid.  I would write "Charmaine, Age 8" on my books and wide-ruled paper.

For the weekend, we are heading to Whistler, B.C. to celebrate Tomas's special day with family.  It will be a time to relax, snowshoe, ski, snowboard, and eat.  I can't wait.  I also can't wait for the long drive.  We love hitting the road.  Good music.  Great conversation.  Camp-style snacking.  My stash of books and my journal.  Our pillows for napping.  It's going to be a great weekend.

Peace and Light

Now We Are Six | A. A. Milne

I promise to honor the 26 lives lost at Sandy Hook Elementary School; I promise to do everything I can to encourage and support common sense solutions that make my community and our country safer from similar acts of violence.

Today marks one month since the horrific tragedies at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.  

As a mother of 7 year-old and 9 year-old boys, this has truly affected me--as I am sure it may have affected you in your own personal way.  Every time I read or watch a story about these amazing teachers and beautiful children, I have had to grab my heart for fear it will break.  I just want to hold these families.  The children who have left this earth--I feel that they were my children too.  I can't even fathom what their families and friends are going through during these dark days.

I pray for every single one of them.  I pray for peace and light.

I hope that this poem by Mary Elizabeth Frye brings some bit of comfort and hope. May her words flow with peace to anyone who has lost someone special.

Do not stand at my grave and weep

I am not there.  I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow.

I am the diamond glints on snow.

I am the sunlight on ripened grain.

I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you awaken in the morning's hush

I am the swift uplifting rush

Of quiet birds in circled flight.

I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry;

I am not there.  I did not die.

Amen.

Magical Journey: An Apprenticeship in Contentment by Katrina Kenison

I am very excited to begin reading the latest book by one of my favorite authors Katrina Kenison called Magical Journey: An Apprenticeship in Contentment.  Katrina is also a mother of two boys (who are now grown up), and I feel such a kindred connection to her.  The words that she shares always move me and inspire me.  They seem to be the right words when I need to hear them.  She is such a soulful and thoughtful writer.  I wish her a flood of goodness with this latest gem.  If you have not yet read any of her other books, I highly recommend that you add Mitten Strings for God and The Gift of an Ordinary Day to your library or bedside table.  I cherish my copies, and I often give them as gifts because they are just that beautiful.  You will look at your life more mindfully and with an abundance of gratitude.

These Days

Day One | 8 o'clock (Saturday Morning: lazy start, reading, warm blankets, cold rain outside)

Day Two | Peace (My real 'day two' was packed with Sunday activities, so I actually took this photo a day late.  Ahhh, Monday peace...)

Day Three | Something You Held (my collection of rosaries from Mom, good friends, my big sister, my sons' baptisms, my travels to Rome and the Vatican...  if you ever need time or space to meditate or center yourself--or if you have a case of insomnia, sometimes praying the rosary really does help.  Repetition, reverence, faith, quiet, solitude, healing, peace...)

Day Four | Black and White (After-school pickup in the rain and cold sunshine)

It's time for a mindfulness tune-up.  What better way than to participate in a Photo-a-Day project?  I always enjoy the list that Chantelle of Fat Mum Slim puts together each month.  I am always inspired when I stop and think and look around.  Now that the end of another year is approaching, I thought it would be a great way to close it out.  It's not too late to join this monthly tradition!  I would love to see what you capture each day.  The hashtag is #FMSphotoaday and my Instagram is @charmainevelasco.

There is so much more of my recent days that I want to collect and share, but for now I have this.  You just have to start where you are and be ok with it.  

How have your days been--especially with the holidays in our wake?  If you need a song to slow you down, here's a pretty one for the season from the lovely Nico: These Days.

Autumn in Seattle

Yellow Taxi

Orange Taxi

Post election day.  What a ride!  A nice time to reflect on the current season.  Grateful for having the freedom to use my voice...

One of my best girlfriends and I met for an autumn afternoon in downtown Seattle last Sunday.  It was a mild Pacific Northwest day, and a perfect time for being out on the town.  I thought it would be a good opportunity to share my senses captured...

Sight: Golden trees and floating leaves dancing under moody skies along Fifth Avenue.

Smell: The potency of vanilla and fruit in the lip balms and cheek tints that we played with at Sephora.  Girl time can be so fun.

Sound: Although we were not in New York City, I still had Ella Fitzgerald's and Louie Armstrong's duet of Autumn in New York playing in my head as I watched the yellow taxi pass by.

Taste: Piping hot portobello mushroom soup at Palomino's for lunch.

Touch: Intricate paper cutting at Anthropologie during their holiday display workshop.  I don't think I have the patience or talent for paper crafting, but it was still an interesting experience.

During this beautiful and hopeful season, what are you grateful for?

Souvenir Foto School | Food + Foto (Assignment Four)

50mm lens | f/3.5 | 1/30 | iso 400 | natural southern afternoon backlight; white diffuser and silver bounce

50mm lens | f/5.6 | 1/100 | iso 400 | white cake stand; natural southern afternoon backlight; white diffuser and silver bounce

In this final Food + Foto assignment, we got to play with dessert!  My favorite.  It being chocolate was a bonus.  Chocolate Honey Mousse with Sel del Mer.  As I was making this over the stove top, I kept thinking that I must be doing it wrong because it was extremely easy to prepare!  The recipe was adapted from Bon Appétit via Epicurious.  You will definitely want to serve in small doses because it is very rich and decadent.  So delicious...

Souvenir Foto School | Food + Foto (Assignment Three)

50mm lens | f/1.8 | 1/30 | iso 640 | kitchen ceiling floodlights at night, diffused by white photo umbrella

Our recent assignment was photographing linguine with pesto, but I only had enough time to work with parts of the ingredients.  Hence, the lonely head of garlic!  I shot this image at night.  I usually like to shoot with available daylight, but this was one of those times when I only had darkness, lamps, and lightbulbs.  I wanted to keep the soft, gossamer quality of the garlic skins.  They are so delicate and pretty to me.  I used my photo umbrella for diffusion, I also worked with some gorgeous Photoshop actions created by Souvenir Foto School.

Souvenir Foto School | Food + Foto (Assignment Two)

50mm lens | f/2.0 | 1/320 | iso 400 | side lighting from the left, white bounce from a canvas from the right

50mm lens | f/3.5 | 1/60 | iso 400 | side lighting from the left, white bounce from a canvas from the right

Our photo assignment for week two in SFS | Food + Foto was Caprese Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette.  Miss Tristan B. of Besotted Blog highly recommended the hand spun mozzarella from the Seattle Metropolitan Market.  Boy, was she right!  Thought I would share my senses of this experience this past weekend.

Sight: During my trip to the market, I loved seeing all of the rich tones of the autumn harvest.  Pumpkins outside the entrance, rows of vibrantly red tomatoes, creamy white tones of cheeses...

Smell: Potently fresh basil as I rip a few leaves from the stems.

Sound: The knife as it hits the cutting board as I slice the roma tomato.  Allen whipping up an avocado smoothie in the background.  The boys laughing while trying to construct their marble game upstairs.

Taste: I couldn't wait to try this caprese concoction.  I wrapped a basil leaf around a bit of mozzarella and sprinkled a bit of salt.  I didn't even get to the tomato yet!  The combination of the cheese and basil was enough satisfaction.  Mild cheese + punctual basil + sip of cool white wine = mmmmm... no words. 

Touch: I was on my way to my girlfriend's house for girls movie night in (we planned to watch scary movies over wine, tortilla soup, and pumpkin spice cake).  The warm afternoon day turned into a mildly chilly evening as I walked out of the market back to my car with my ingredients in hand.  A perfect evening with good friends.

Souvenir Foto School | Food + Foto (Assignment One)

Rosemary :: 50mm lens | f/5.6 | 1/200 | iso 100

Herbed flatbread :: 50mm lens | f/5.6 | 1/25 | iso 200

So here are the results of my first assignment from Souvenir Foto School | Food + Foto.  I am having so much fun and definitely learning a lot from this class.  There will be three more weeks of material.  So please stay tuned for more postings.  Bon appétit!

Hello October!

My Monday morning :: calendars, permission slips, a birthday card for Ms. Rose...

Madeline for my Goddaughter Emily's 3rd Birthday :: this should be in every child's library

So that I can stay motivated with my blogging!

Ahh, October...  A gorgeous, crisp, and sunny first day in the Pacific Northwest.  What a beautiful way to start the week!  Autumn is my favorite season and October is one of my favorite months.  I get to celebrate a birthday, cozy indoor weekends, baking, pumpkins, cinnamon sticks, fiery colors of red-orange-goldenrod on outdoor hikes and soccer games...

I'm trying to stay afloat in the busyness of life's waters.  Coordinating my boys' 4th and 2nd grade classroom and after school activities.  Balancing work and my photography business.  Connecting with my loved ones.  Staying positive.  Being inspired by creative folks.  All good things--but they can definitely derail the mindfulness track.  So, I wanted to take a quick moment and record my senses before the day gets too far ahead of me.  

My senses this morning...

Sight: Robust and swelling pinecones on the treetops ready for the birds' harvest.

Smell: My boys' apple-scented hair as I flatten down their cowlicks--more like their rooster combs (I didn't know what the top of a rooster's head thing was called until now--there's actually a Google search named "what do you call that thing on top of a rooster's head?" Apparently, I wasn't the only one who needed this information).

Sound: A neighbor hammering away on some house project.  I wonder what it is?

Taste: Rich and steamy espresso with a drop of heavy cream.  My 'I Heart NY' mug with the perfectly hot temperature for clasping my hands around.

Touch: The coolness of the morning air that I breathe in as I work on today's projects at my kitchen table next to an open window.

I invite you to stop what you're doing right now.  Take a deep breath, and get present.  What are you seeing, smelling, hearing, tasting, touching?  Right now?  I would love to know...

Souvenir Foto School :: Food and Foto

Photograph courtesy of Miss Tristan B. of Besotted Brand

I am looking forward to attending another photography project by Souvenir Foto School | Food + Foto beginning October 1st!  It's the latest installment by Miss Tristan B. of Besotted Brand and Michelle P. of Creatocrat.  I have taken a couple of their classes before, and these ladies really know their stuff.  They are creative, smart, and stylish.  You will receive lots of positive encouragement and photography tips from them, as well as from fellow students.  One of my favorites is Jamie of Intertwyned with an amazing collection of photography!  I have learned so much from being a part of this group--and I'm still learning as I go.  I can't wait for this new challenge.

This class will surely be a sumptuous feast for the senses!