Strawberry Music Festival Photos

I've been a staff photographer for Strawberry Music Festival since I was 16 and it's basically the raddest job ever. I wander around for 4 days listening to great music, eating cool food, and meeting wonderful people! It's a rare chance to unplug from the phone, internet, and the outside world and just enjoy the space I'm in. It's easy to unwind when you're this close to Yosemite and camped out among the stars and nighttime jams. This Spring Fest was no exception. Thursday it was warm enough for swimming and on Friday it snowed. Saturday was cold and dreary and by Sunday, the warm sunshine was back and there were smiles all around. Musical highlights were the Wheeler Brothers, Robert Earl Keen, Alison Krauss and Union Station and Sarah and The Tall Boys. My son enjoyed the Wheeler Brother and Alison Krauss the most; his favorite cd is the soundtrack to O Brother, Where Art Thou? and so we kept him up late to see Alison Krauss perform.

It's been nice to experience Strawberry over the ages. I've been coming to Strawberry since I was 12 and have made wonderful friends over the years. I went from making kid crafts to teen dances, drinking too much, and kissing boys. From sleeping just a little to sleeping a lot. Now I'm bringing my husband and 3 year old son and am thoroughly enjoying watching them experience Strawberry. It's so nice to know that my son will also grow up as a Strawberry kid, respecting the earth, good music, and kind people. 

The festival was dedicated to our dear friend Denise Kerner, whom we lost unexpectedly in April. 

Here are my top photo picks from the Memorial Day Snowberry. Have you been? What is your favorite part about it?? If you haven't been, there's another festival in September, over Labor Day weekend. 

Happy Anniversary: 3 Years

Right now, my sweet husband is presumably reading stories to our 3 year boy while I sit in a coffee shop to hammer out some work. He's basically and absolutely the best thing that has ever happened to me. He's kind and honest, devastatingly handsome, and does the dishes & laundry (he's actually way tidier than I am- what a find!!).

We recently celebrated our 3 year anniversary (I'll save you the math… we got married after our son was born) and he surprised me with the coolest anniversary present: yellow leather shoes from Camper. 3rd anniversaries are celebrated with leather gifts. Full list of traditional & modern anniversary gift can be found here. Note: the modern ones seem full-on ridiculous to me (diamonds are suggested on the 10th anniversary on the modern list, compared to 60th anniversary on the traditional list). 

Aren't these shoes rad?! He picked them out himself, because he's smart & stylish, too. I love them to pieces and our son calls them my "fancy shoes." Here are a few photos of them. 

Chris, I hope the boy goes to bed without giving you any gruff. Thanks for letting me have a little evening escape. You rule. I'll be home shortly.

 

Going to the Beach

I just booked our trip to the beach next month!! Here's a picture of the house and I couldn't be more excited! We are meeting a bunch of friends and their littles and we're going to have the best week ever! 

What are your plans for the summer?

Family of 4 & 450 Square Feet

My girl Meghan is living the dream! She and her hubby, Stephen, have an amazing third of a house in the super cute Glen Park 'hood of San Francisco. It's rent controlled and and in a prime location. They've been blessed with 2 super cute boys (1 and 3 years old) and are living in 450 square feet, so life is a challenge, but they pull it off with ease! Their house is so much fun to be in and fun to shoot!

Living in such a small space can be a challenge, but it also has it's perks... they spend a lot of time outside (luckily, Glen Canyon Park is only a few flat blocks away!) and they only keep the good stuff. Meghan is constantly purging her things. But one thing that certainly remains is sweet and kinda creepy style! I love a place that has kid toys in the fireplace (hello, brilliant!!) and shark teeth on the shelves. They definitely make great use of the space they have. They've turned the walk-in closet into the office and their dining room is now the boys' shared room! There are windows everywhere allowing for tons of natural light, which you NEED living in foggy SF and in such a small space.

I asked Meghan a few questions about her home...

Tell me about your sweet little home? Meghan "My favorite thing is also my least favorite thing. I am a minimalist at heart and love having empty counters and spaces and everything being organized. I like quiet and calm, but with 2 kids it's hard. I want them to have toys to play with and make huge messes and be dirty and have fun as much as they want ad we don't have any outside place for them to play so it's crucial [for them to be able to make a mess]. For now I'm sacrificing what I prefer so my kids can have a happy childhood. I dream of a slightly bigger place where all the hard work we've done to purge will pay off and we'll have some empty spaces. My house is moslty clean from 8pm-6 am and we are totally happy with that."

What's the biggest challenge to living in a small space? Meghan's answer "Creating distance of space within the house and trying to find comfort with living with everything being out all the time. We also have to be creative with storing our things. You also have to be ok with friends coming over when your place is a complete disaster" and Stephen's answer "Forcing yourself to selectively edit what you have in your surroundings. It's like fine moonshine- you distill your life to just the good stuff."

What is the best thing about living in a small space? Meghan "The less you have, the less you have to clean!"

What's at the top of your list for your next home? Meghan "Outdoor space! A space to get dirty and run around without having to pack up and go to the park. Washer and dryer is a close second."

Meghan spends most of her time shaping the lives of her precious littles and tidying up after them. Stephen spends his days at Earth Baby (compostable diaper service that totally ROCKS).

Here are a few photos from our visit. The redhead and the little one are Meghan and Stephen's boys... my boy is the blondie in the first photo. Do you live in a small house/apartment? How do you make it work?