Best of Caturday (and friends)

Loki can't take all the attention. Hope you enjoyed the look back at some of my favorite shots of 2011. Can't believe the year is already over. Here's to another 365 days of photographs! Hope everyone has a wonderful (and safe) New Years!! See you next year!

Best of (reader's favorites)

Thought today I would post a few photographs that seem to be big hits with other people. I've received some amazing comments about these shots and thought that some people might enjoy seeing them again. Enjoy!

The best of (again)

Noah's fish are a constant distraction for me. It's very easy to just zone out while watching them swim around in their 70 gallon tank. And this year, I discovered just how much they love to get their pictures taken. Both of these shots just make me laugh every time I look at them. Hope you enjoy their fishy personalities as much as I do.

Best of...

So, I don't always plan photo sessions and a lot of the time I'll think to myself, "Well, shit. I have no pictures to post on the blog." When this happens, I grab my camera and start taking pictures of things around the apartment. Sometimes it'll be the plants, sometimes it'll be my cat, and sometimes it'll be the random stuff on the coffee table. That's how these two photographs happened.

Best of continued...

In August, a friend and I went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We went for the sole purpose of taking pictures. Here are a couple of my favorite shots.

Best of 2011

I thought for the last week of 2011 I would repost some of my favorite pictures from the last year. The first two were taken back in January at my moms' house in Morro Bay. These pictures were actually the reason I started to watermark my photographs for the blog. A friend suggested that it might be a good idea as someone might want to snag these without me knowing. So, now if people do steal my photos from here, at least they know that someone named "Jenny B" was the mastermind behind them!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

Alan Sailer takes pictures of this in mid-explosion with his high speed camera. Here are a few shots of his exploding Christmas ornaments. For more, check out this link.

I hope everyone has a really wonderful Christmas! I know it's been a tough year for a lot of people out there and that can be felt even more deeply at Christmastime. Growing up, we didn't always have a lot of money; but somehow, my parents always made this time of year magical. The house would be decked out with something Christmassy in nearly every nook and cranny. Yearly traditions that cost no money made it feel like we were rich no matter what was in the bank. So, even if you can't afford that sparkly present, remember what's important: friends, family and that special magical feeling that only Christmas can bring to your heart.

It's Caturday (and Christmas Eve!!)

Before you think I'm too mean because I put my cat in a ridiculous elf hat, this last all of about 30 seconds (hence the quality of photograph). This is also his yearly punishment for playing with the ribbons and bows on all the presents under the tree. Good luck trying to sleep tonight while visions of sugarplums dance in your heads!

I love you SNOW much!

Happy Christmas Eve Eve!!! Just two more days until the one day of the year that my job has been preparing for for 6 months (yes, we started carrying Christmas crafts back in July). Tonight, I will be at work until tomorrow. Why is a craft store open until midnight on December 23rd? Your guess is as good as mine. I'm looking forward to a quiet evening though. My coworkers and I are planning on pizza, sweets, and trying to stay awake. Wish us luck!

the 22nd day of December

Every year growing up, on the 22nd day of December we would listen to The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens on our car ride to school. Once I moved off to college, this tradition died out for me, but my mom still follows it religiously. So, today, you get a picture of her Christmas card to me. It's one that she made herself (if you didn't know, she's an amazing mixed-media artist). She took Christmas cards dating from 1906-1912 that were sent to her grandparents when they were homesteading in Texas and created a wonderful collage called A Jolly Old Elf. This was then turned into her Christmas card. If you want to see more of her awesome art, check out her blog here: Altered by the Sea.

beautiful bows

pretty packages

greetings

Christmas cards are rolling in from all over. Since space is a bit of an issue in our small apartment, I have been tucking the cards into the tree. This one is from my Aunt Becky in Colorado.

I want this Sunday

No picture today. Today, what I want is for everybody to have an amazing next couple of weeks. The holidays are stressful and hectic: long car rides, last minute shopping, extended families, parties, rich foods that'll leave you wishing you hadn't indulged quite so much, etc. So, take a few minutes to breathe! Have magical and safe holidays!

It's Caturday!

A quick break from Christmas pictures. Hope you're enjoying your last weekend before the holiday. You might not be resting as soundly as Loki here, but hopefully it's not filled with too much craziness.

classic

Gotta throw in some classic Christmas balls here and there.

I couldn't help myself

I saw this ornament at World Market a few weeks ago and wanted it soooo bad, but at $20, I couldn't justify it. Then yesterday, I stopped in and it was 50% off. I just couldn't say no again...still probably the most I've every spent on a single ornament (though much cheaper than my other cameras).

reflections

Can you see me?

Got it!!!!!

We finally got our tree! I can't stop staring at it...or taking pictures of it. Get ready for days and days of Christmas pictures!

take that, frost!

Apparently, the plants behind the apartment are waaaaay too hardy for frost to upset them. The spiders on the other hand? Well, I'm sure we'll see them again next year.

I want this Sunday!

I want my Christmas tree! We were supposed to go on Friday to get it, but Noah ended up working another double, so it was a no go. He had the whole weekend off, but I've been working, going to the ballet, and attending parties. He offered to go get the tree so it would be there when I got home, but I couldn't stand the thought of not being in on the process of picking it out. So, fingers crossed that we can manage to get it tomorrow before I go to work at 2pm! Enjoy a picture of last year's tree!

It's Caturday!!

These are kittens of Christmas Past. Back in 2008, my best friend (and then roommate) got us kittens for Christmas. They were two adorably wonderful tabby kittens. They also had the best names: Gilbert and Sassafras (Sass for short). Seriously, they were some of the best cats I ever had. Unfortunately, we lost both of them the following June (Gilbert was hit by a car and Sass ate rat poison). They are still missed and are the reason that Loki is an indoor cat (that and the fact that we live in an upstairs apartment by a very busy street).

get it?

After nearly a month of sitting around staring at my tickets, I am going to see The Nutcracker tomorrow night!! I can't wait. It's going to be an evening of magical dancing sugarplums and little girls in their Christmas dresses and NO BOYS ALLOWED! Girls' night is very necessary when it comes to ballet. Sorry boyfriends and fiancé, you just don't get it, but we do appreciate you driving us so we don't have to pay for parking.

evergreen?

The past week has been cold! It's frosted nearly every night here in San Luis Obispo (which is cold for here!). I know that others of you are experiencing snow and much much colder weather, but I still want to complain about my chilly toes. Luckily, Noah and I have an awesome heater so the plants in the house stay green and healthy and aren't freezing.

the smells of Christmas

Growing up, one of my favorite Christmas books was The Sweet Smell of Christmas. It was a scratch n' sniff book about a bear family getting ready for Christmas. I still have it and some of the stickers still smell a bit. One of them is an orange. The past few years, I've seen the book back in print and on sale in book stores around Christmas. Every time I see it, I have to open it up and scratch my favorite stickers and let the memories wash over me. What smells remind you of Christmas?

lights out

reflections

I got this Sunday!!!

So, I know I usually post something that I want, but this week, I'm going to post something that I just got. As a belated birthday present, these were sent to me in the mail. They come in a pack of three shotglasses that are very detailed. Can't wait to be back to 100% healthwise and try them out. My only complaint? They are forever set to Autofocus. Check them out for yourself over at Photojojo!

It's Caturday!

go fish

Your smiling now, little fish...just wait until I bit your face off! Mmmmmm....cheesy!

Nuts!

I love getting mixed nuts this time of year and cracking them open. And, for a first, I actually got a nutcracker. A few years ago, my best friend and I lived together and we had this amazing walnut tree in the backyard. Seeing as we had no nutcracker, we used a wooden spoon and the cutting board to open them. It was a great way to relieve stress, and decorate the kitchen floor with bits of walnut shells. Ahhhhhh, memories. This year is tidier, but slightly less exciting.