Sunshine Project!

Last night I attended a meeting at a beautiful little house to talk about getting good food to people in Denver who don't have access to it.

I knew this was gonna be right up my alley.

It was only a small group of people, but we talked about the need for affordable, organic, fresh & unprocessed foods to be accessible to EVERYONE - especially certain "food deserts" in Denver (where there are no grocery stores nearby, no access to any foods except fast "foods").

It was a wonderful meeting, and I love how excited everyone is about this food program.  It started as a co-op, but they're now a full non-profit.  They need help with gardening, filling orders, reaching out to the community, and much more.  I am SO EXCITED.

This is just a sample of some of the amazing foods they sent me home with from their garden!

I can't wait to try them all!  :D

Click here to read a little more about the project (it's from last year, but still has good info).  I'm so excited to be a part of this program, and to be helping people who share the same passion that I do.  Getting good, local, organic, HEALTHY foods to EVERYONE.

It's time to change the world!

Beautiful Portraits

I've been pinning a lot of portraits lately on Pinterest - I'm just in love with them.  I always loved portraits the best when I was in photography school, and I find these so inspiring and beautiful.  It takes more than a beautiful person to make a beautiful photograph.  

I just love these!  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do! 

And just for fun, here's a new little portrait of me that my good friend Dave Wood took of me.  He did a photo shoot with my whole head-shaving team (Megan, my sister Taryn & I), the week after we got all of our hairs shaved off.  He did an amazing job, and I can't wait to see them all!  But for now, here is one lovely shot from our session.  He's such a talented photographer! :) 

St. Baldrick's Event - We shaved our heads!

Well, this weekend we did it!! 

Just a reminder - here is what we drove to Durango for, and why. :)

Taryn and I packed up some things (along with John), got up at the butt crack of dawn on Saturday (her birthday), and drove about 7 hours down to Durango.  It was a beautiful drive - the Aspens have started changing and they were all beautiful yellows & oranges scattered through the evergreens.  It was gorgeous!

We stopped at a tiny diner along the way (I think it was called Rooster's Crow or something), and got some coffee and breakfast, and a cinnamon roll the size of my head.

After breakfast we were back on the road again!

A nice "we still have hair" shot, with our big huge coffee mugs.  It was a bit chilly that morning!

John, contemplating breakfast with a beard scratch.

When we arrived in Durango, we decided to stop for a quick beer and some snacks.  We went to Steamworks, which had some pretty amazing beer!  Taryn even got a free drink because it was her birthday.  Win!  I had their Oktoberfest beer - it was absolutely fantastic.

Then we headed down to the center of town (it was such a beautiful & super cute area - I am now a fan of Durango for sure!), and we found out that it was Oktoberfest that day!  How fun!

John and Taryn - striking a pose at Oktoberfest!

Sisters & sunglasses!

We realized we were pretty pooped, so we got checked into our hotel and took naps.  My dad arrived shortly after (he rode his motorcycle down to spend the weekend with us), and after we all got cleaned up we headed to the Irish Embassy where the big event was going down!  We had to have some dinner first - I got their fish & chips (probably the best fish & chips I've ever had), and we all enjoyed some drinks.

They had an amazing Irish band there that struck up in song towards the end of our dinner.  They were awesome!  They had violinists, a guitar player, a flute player, a woman on the keyboard - and even an accordion!  They were so much fun!

Shortly after that - the head-shaving began!!

Taryn went before me...

John thought she looked like Tank Girl in this shot - haha!  Look at that smile! :)

Just about done! 

My turn!  I was a little freaked out at first - had some butterflies in my tummy, and a moment of "what the hell am I doing!?"  But it was awesome.  And the band played a little jig in the background while each of us were shaved.

Off it comes!

Taking off the last few bits!

Oh my gosh - it's all gone!  Ha!

It was so sweet because he gave us a special little shout out and had us tell our story.  They were thrilled about how much money our team had raised - over $3,600!  They even gave a shout out to our team member that couldn't be there (Megan) - Taryn told the guy that she was our "friend in Derby", and he thought she said "friend in Germany" - so that was pretty hilarious.

Here is Megan's lovely finished product!  She rocks it!

And here are the "after" pictures for Taryn & I!

John's hairier than I am now!  Haha!
He was so supportive of this whole thing - it only made me love him more.  Such a great guy. :)

Taryn got a free car-bomb for her birthday.  It was her first!  And after the hangover, probably her last... ha!

Such a happy girl!

Us with some of the other ladies that got their heads shaved that night - such amazing women!  They were fantastic!

Our new Scottish / Irish / English friend Richard - he told us jokes & stories, and his friend Roy was awesome too.  We had a really wonderful night!

This is one of my favorite pictures of the evening too - before & after!  Ha!

The next day we had some breakfast at the hotel, and made the long drive back to Denver (rubbing our heads in amazement).

All-in all it was a wonderful experience.  I'm so glad I did it, and that we could help such a great cause.  THANK YOU to everyone who made our team so successful, and who supported us in this endeavor!  You are all SO amazing, and my heart was so happy with love that I thought it would burst.

And by the way, showers are an absolute breeze.  :)

Moments to myself

Lately I've been in a lazy / solitary kind of mood - and enjoying every peaceful moment of it.  I've been spending time with friends more one-on-one (rather than in large gatherings), and enjoying some quiet time to myself in between.... 

Here are some images I've been pinning lately that kind of express the mood I've been in!  :) 

I'm looking forward to the cooler weather so that I can walk through some leaves, and enjoy the crisp morning air!  I just love this time of year... 

My friend Alyson - and her adventures

I used to work with a pretty rad girl named Alyson - she did graphic design where I work.  Then one day she told us she was quitting to live and work on a farm in Oregon for 6 weeks, then travel to another farm in California and see where she went from there.  

My jaw dropped.  I was so jealous!! 

She has completely inspired me to take a similar travel some day.  She started a blog called Sock Buns & Work Boots to update us all about her adventures.  I read it every day, and hope to someday share some of her experiences! 

Here are just a few photos about what she's been up to for the past few months from her amazing blog...

How cute and totally awesome is that?? 
 
This is one of my biggest goals to reach when I have my debt paid off.  I want to do the same thing!  My debt is holding me back though, because I still have to make minimum payments every month - and these are all unpaid internships.  You just go, work on the farm, learn, have fun, meet people, and they provide food & housing (even if that means just a spot to pitch your tent).  

It sounds amazing, and it's something that I will definitely do - hopefully next year, or at least by 2014!

What do YOU want to accomplish in the next year?  
The next five? 

Would you live & work on a farm for 6-weeks?  Get your hands dirty and live off the earth?

All photos are from Alyson's blog - and all are hers!