Introducing my very first Photoshop Actions set! Inspired by summer vibes, vintage photographs and one of the greatest albums of all time, l&l's first Photoshop Actions set is FULL of light leaks, sun flares, and faux-analog goodness. Here's a little more about the 6 fully-customizable actions included in the set:

Could you have guessed that this photograph was taken last summer? This action gives you all of the charm of a vintage film photograph without having to wait 40 or so years for it to age to perfection.

This action features a lovely sun flare and very natural-looking warm tones. Instant pop of beauty to any photograph.

Here's a classy-looking black and white that will take you back to much simpler times. 

One of my personal favorites, this action gives you the opportunity to add spots of haze to achieve that film feel that everybody is looking for nowadays.

This simple and subtle action makes the perfect quick-fix to any photograph. Instantly brightening and warming the slightest bit, this action is extremely versatile and will shed light on undesirable dark areas.

Another one of my favorites! Add a subtle but beautiful light leak and a slight haze to your photographs.

You can find them all here! Let me know what you think, this is my first one and I hope to keep them coming!

xo, e.m.

modeling session:

This adorable cutie had some modeling and headshots done. Isn't she so cute? This was probably one of the most fun shoots I've done so far, hopefully this summer will hold a lot more!

xo, e.m.

announcement:

I haven't been as active on here as I would like to be, which I hate but there is a good reason for it! Some of you might know this already because I've made a few references before but I decided that I should make the formal announcement right now:

That's right. Kissin' Dirty Jerz goodbye. I didn't want to say anything definitive until all of the details were nailed down. This whole "moving" thing failed twice before so I was hesitant to make a statement! Don't worry though, I won't be gone for good considering that my boyfriend, my friends, my clients, my church, and my dentist are all still in NJ. I'll actually only be about 40 minutes from where I am now, which isn't too bad at all! I'm excited. I had a bit of time to explore the area a little and I fell in love with it! Very historic, literally right on the Delaware river! I won't be having as many fun DIYs and projects since packing is going to get progressively more intense but I promise that it'll be worth it and I'll be having a slew of home decor posts coming up in a month or so!

xo, e.m.

bling bling for your ring ring:

Like these wallpapers? I wanted to do something a little different so I made these with my lovely readers in mind. You can share your l&l love and look great while doing so! Get them here! They're the perfect size for iPhones but they'll definitely work with others also. Enjoy!

xo, e.m.

some more iPhone love!

It's kind of a shame but I really do love my iPhone. It's a great business tool! (Although it can also kinda be a really great time-wasting tool as well...) I think I might have way too much fun buying new cases and changing my wallpaper a million times and finding awesome new camera apps... ya know. Anywho, a lot of people have been asking me where I get my iPhone "swag" so here are a few of my favorites!

Society6 Cases: They're definitely not the most protective thing for your phone but there are SO many to choose from and they're all so unique! 

Postagram: This app is AMAZING. (And it's now available for Android too!) You can create and send a postcard out of any one of your Instagram pictures right from your phone. You can write a message and my favorite part is that the picture pops out! I've sent countless Postagrams to CJ and he loves them. 

Eat Drink Chic's Wallpapers: These are all so unbelievably cute! I am obsessed. They also might work with other phones, not just iPhones! 

iPhone SLR Mount: I don't have this but I want/kind of need it. It may or may not be the single greatest invention... ever. 

Hipstamatic: The original awesome camera app, need I say more?

Do you have any favorite apps or accessories? I've love to know!

xo, e.m.

memorial day snapshots

Today was another busy, busy, busy day! I spent most of it packing up my room (more about that later!) and then hanging out with some new friends and now I'm just relaxing with my love. Not too shabby! If anybody reading this is serving, has served, or will serve in our military, I'd like to thank you! You have the most important job of all and personally, your sacrifice means so much. 

After I left my friend's party, I was craving a hoagie (Or to the rest of the world a "sub" or a "hero".) so I stopped and got some sandwich components. I try to stay away from processed food but sometimes you just need a sandwich with fake meat and cheese, ya know? It wasn't as good as the real thing but it was still pretty good. I'd try it again if I had to ;) 

xo, e.m.

a little about me:

I realized that I've had this blog for quite some time now and I've never formally introduced myself! As you probably know by now, my name is Erika. I'm 20 years old, I live in New Jersey, my boyfriend is a hip hop producer, I take pictures, I play music, etc. That's stuff that pretty much everybody knows about me so here are a few things that nobody knows!

1. Every time I'm either driving to a wedding I'm photographing or driving back from a contract-signing, I listen to Mac Miller's "Knock Knock" EXTREMELY loud in the car. I don't even particularly care for the song, it just gets me pumped up because it's the Flyers' win song!

2. I sleep with a fan at night. I love the noise and I can NOT get to sleep without it!

3. I have my tragus pierced and I did it myself, which I would NOT suggest to anybody!

4. America runs on Dunkin and I run on Iced Americanos. Seriously, I'm obsessed. Even in the dead of winter, I will drink at least one Iced Americano a day. 

5. Speaking of which, I drink my coffee black-- no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Also, I am a firm believer in DEATH BEFORE DECAF. 

6. Although I was in a band in high school and college and I still play/sing in front of crowds regularly, I am still extremely shy about playing music in front of people and I usually won't when there are other people in the house. 

7. I was homeschooled for some time and I hope to someday homeschool my own children.

8. As girly as I can be, almost all of my favorite movies are sports movies. Especially the Rocky movies. Growing up just outside of Philly, they're more than just films to me!

9. I've got some big aspirations and somehow I'm going to figure out how to balance all of them! They include a musical career, a photography career, owning a vintage store, creating a clothing line, creating a recording studio, running a music venue, running a coffee/juice shop, and starting a non-profit that will create art and advertisements for other non-profits! Whew. It's a lot but I have too many dreams to pick one, so I'll pick all of them!

10. I am a science nerd. I grew up wanting to be a Marine Biologist and then a doctor and still have my Anatomy Coloring Book and I have the Table of Periodic Elements hanging in my room. I think that science is actually why I'm so interested in health and nutrition!

xo, e.m.

this week in instagrams

This week has been CRAZY and this entire month is probably going to be a wild one so I'm bracing myself now! How have all of you been lately? Hope you're all having a great weekend, I almost completely forgot that it was Memorial Day weekend until about 20 minutes ago! 

xo, e.m.