last week in instagrams

Well, this weekend was the longest time that I've been away from my blog since the beginning. Sad day! I'm sitting here on my bed in the aftermath of last week with sore feet and great memories. My absence has without a doubt begged the question, "what were you doing?" The answer is that I was literally all over the place. Flyers fans will probably recognize those two handsome men in the photo near the top, fans of New York City will recognize a few more. Needless to say, I had an exciting week! It was my 21st birthday (NO, I did NOT get drunk, who do you think I am?) and I finally got to experience this "mystery date" that CJ had planned for me. Are you guys ready? He took me into the city to see Bon Iver at Radio City Music Hall! AAH! I was so surprised, wasn't expecting that at all! He got us front row tickets, I think he loves me. It was the most incredible show I have ever seen and Radio City is absolutely breathtaking. I will never forget it. Some other notable fun things from this weekend include a huge wedding (previews to come later this week) and a birthday party for a friend with kindred spirits that I haven't seen in what seems like forever. Last week was crazy but filled with lots of love. If I could do it again, I would in a heartbeat!

xo, e.m.

21.

 Dear Sixteen-Year-Old Me:

Before I attack you for your lack of eloquence, your brutally blunt disposition and your adamant stubbornness, I'd like to let you know that you haven't completely grown out of them yet. Also before I go on, I must regretfully inform you that you will become a college dropout. You'll never finish (or even go to) medical school. You're probably extremely disappointed in yourself for not finishing school but would it help if I told you that you would use your college experiences to mold you into an independent small business owner? At least you're not a COMPLETE bum. You quit with a plan and you avoided hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt! I gotta thank you also for choosing to travel with dad in Europe instead of having a sweet sixteen party. Honestly, nothing good ever happens in high school, at all. Stay away from any parties. It'll make your life so much better. Also, stop dying your hair crazy colors. It's killing it.

As for the big things in your life now: You think you're in love? You haven't felt anything yet. This guy will be nothing to you someday. When you turn eighteen, you're going to meet a man who will change your life. He'll ruin all other men for you but it's okay because he's the one. He'll be a godly man and his deep thinking and compassion will challenge you and mature you in a way you've never experienced before.

You're going to go through a period of darkness. These next five years will be tumultuous to say the least. Keep your head on straight and don't go looking for trouble. It'll have no problem finding you, and when it does, run full-speed in the opposite direction. You'll avoid a lot of heartbreak that way. (A lot.)

Stop wasting so much time worrying about what other people think of you. You'll eventually figure out how hard it is to trust somebody and if you're constantly seeking approval, those two factors create a dangerous situation. Direct your eyes upward before anything else and never settle for even your best, because there will always be something better that you can do. No matter how old you are, never stop growing. You'll learn the hard way that whatever you project on yourself is what you'll see the in the rest of the world. If you're projecting negativity, you'll see no hope in the world and will become inexplicably sad. Avoid this pattern of thinking at all costs. Cherish your innocence, don't let anybody tell you that you're naive for having high standards. I can't stress this enough.

Save up your money to travel. After coming home from France, you'll have an unquenchable sense of wanderlust. You'll travel to China eventually and you won't leave the same. In fact, you'll want to go back and just might. You'll find that this is where you'll find yourself-- in an unfamiliar city where nobody is speaking your language. Speaking of which, your French, Russian, Spanish and Greek? Don't stop studying them, they'll be of great use to you someday!

You'll make a lot of terrible decisions in these next five years. You'll scream and cry into your pillow for what seems like every night. You'll be frustrated and fed up and want to crawl into a hole and die. Don't let this scare you. It will refine you like gold through the fire. It won't be the end. You'll also make a lot of good decisions, a lot of moves, and you'll be on your way to living your dream. They'll make you feel stupid for this. Don't let them. Keep strong and never give up.

xo, e.m.

all layer'd up

It was in the low 60's today, which means that I could go layer crazy, which I did. (Obviously.) Tomorrow is my birthday. Today is my last day of being twenty years old. Whoa. So much has happened in the past year, SPEAKING OF WHICH, this is my 200th post! Don't worry, no "I'm growing up!" speech right now. I'll spare you the sappiness and save it for tomorrow's festivities. CJ has some big mystery date planned for us. Any idea what it could be? I'm not even trying to guess, I don't want to ruin it! Off to a wedding rehearsal (in the middle of the week...) I'll talk to y'all later!

xo, e.m.

how to add a subtle haze to your photographs

Confession: I've always been a little hesitant to share some of my secrets with y'all because well... ya know, my photography business is the only income I have and a girl's gotta eat! I realized though that there's no better way to get the creative juices going than to share the goodness! I'm so appreciative for things that I've learned from other photographers so here is a trick that I learned and use a lot, and you'll probably use a lot too! The idea is to add a subtle hazy glow to your photographs. While it is definitely subtle, the difference is, in ways, drastic. More attention will be drawn to the main subject if you do it right, so here's how:

1. Open your original image in photoshop. (A pretty good place to start.)

2. Add a new layer.

3. I'm kind of... "obsessive"... so I name and color-code all of my layers. You can skip this step if you're not as crazy as I am.

4. Pick a brush, a color, and an opacity. Make sure that the hardness is set on 0% and that you choose a light color, preferably one that compliments your photo's color scheme. I've found that a larger brush works best, and the level of opacity changes with every picture. Play around and find out what works best!

5. Make sure that your new layer is selected and that you're not drawing directly on the photograph and go to town. I like to "highlight" my subject with the brush but every photo is different. Once again, play around with it because it's supposed to be fun!

6. There will be a little drop-down box above your layers that says "Normal." I believe that this is the list of "Blending Modes." Click on it and select "Soft Light."

7. Your brush strokes will instantly blend with the photograph. Feel free to leave it the way it is or to play around with the opacity a little.

Viola! It's subtle but it certainly makes a difference! Have fun playing around with photographs, trying out different brush size and color combinations and creating new works of art!

xo, e.m.

falling (more) in love with pennsylvania

Every time I get out and explore my new home state, I fall more and more in love with it. This weekend, my family and I hung out at Peddler's Village in Lahaska, PA. What a cozy place! I'd been there before but I definitely found a new appreciation for it. If you're in the area, definitely check it out!

xo, e.m.