You guys should know this by now that the day in the title is merely subjective. I would love to be consistent and on time with a weekly post but sometimes time doesn’t allow it.

I’ll get better, I promise! Anyways - here are 5 things going on right now:

1  GETTING MY LIFE IN CHECK - So July marks halfway through the year and for some reason now is when I want to get my life in check.

I’m running again, which is huge. I even signed up for a 8-week running plan on my RunKeeper app. And I’m buying groceries and utilizing digital coupons. It helps to plan this stuff out … is this part of growing up? Probably so. But the saving money part is awesome!

Drinking more water is also another win. But I for sure need to eat more vegetables.

2  A TRES DUDES (VERY SLOW) MAKEOVER - Over the past few months our apartment has slowly gotten a makeover. There was something about Krissy moving out that allowed me to start decorating the living space. So we moved some furniture, bought a coffee table, created a monster-sized chalkboard, hung up some art, painted a few items, switched out the robots for bikes (it was a poster in the kitchen). 

And Katie bought a new TV. Out with the retro 90’s box and in with the 46” flat screen!  Movie nights at Tres Dudes is going to be RAD.

3  A PRESENTATION GONE WELL - Yesterday morning I had a presentation to give at my networking group. I’ve been part of this group for almost a year now and I love it. Granted I super hate 7 AM morning calls, but I love the group of people I work with. So I wanted to make sure to utilize my 10 minute window on how to sell my work. Because they are the ones who’ll be selling me to everyone they know.

And dude. It went really well. It was good to organize my thoughts on what the business is and where I want it to go. And now they’re all abuzz with helping me out.  I’m excited!

DISCLAIMER: I had to create a few mockups of what advertising photography would look like, so that’s why this photo says ROXY but it’s not a real ROXY ad. 

4  SERIOUS 90’S FLASHBACKS - Recently I went to the Doc Marten storefront in Santa Monica and it brought back all these high school memories (I owned 3 pairs). And then I watched Sleepless in Seattle with some friends (on the big TV … it was glorious). And to top things off, the other night we jammed to curated Christian 90’s playlist. 

5  THE WEIRDEST BRITNEY SPEARS MOMENT IN MOVIE HISTORY - Recently my roommates and I watched Spring Breakers (not a movie I’d recommend) and we came across one of the most weirdest scenes ever. We were like “what in the world is going on??”

Not only is James Franco and Vanessa Hudgens absolutely scary, but the movie is just straight up disturbing. There’s this one random musical montage in there with a sunset serenade while the girls dance with machine guns and pink ski masks. SO WEIRD.

If you’re not into movie spoilers, don’t watch the video. But if you want to watch just this scene - HERE you go!

I know, I know … this is the first MMS in three weeks. I could say that I’ve been incredibly busy (and that’s true) but I just haven’t been able to find the time to hand-select music videos to share.

Part of the blame goes to the fact that I don’t have Google Reader to lean on anymore (I got a lot of music leads from Nylon Mag and You, Me, & Charlie along with many others). But I did hear this band while listening to the Relevant Podcast.  You can always count on Chad Michael Snavely to bring you awesome music.

So this Nashville based duo, Johnnyswim (one word), just came out with an EP, “Heart beats”.  You have to check it out.  I think my favorite song is Don’t Let It Get You Down but I couldn’t find a video for it.  So that’s why I brought you the French themed performance here.  It has the charm of an NPR Tiny Desk Concert with the romance and history of Paris. And the scarves add a nice flair to it too.

Enjoy!

Sorry I’ve been behind on the posts. Delivering a post on time each week should be simple enough but honestly it’s harder than it seems. And it takes a lot longer than one would think … anyways. I’ve mostly caught up on my TeuxDeux list so here goes. Here are 5 things going on with me:

1  6 MONTH MARK - This week marks the official six-month mark of me being absolutely a sole entrepreneur. I quit my job at SEOperks last December to pursue this photography thing whole heartedly and it’s time to find out how I did.

I feel like I’m about to have a SWOT analysis on myself. Back to my grad school days, except this time it’s my company. How am I doing? Um, I could be doing better. I think for the most part I was just figuring out what exactly within photography I wanted to do and how to get there and that’s been the hardest part.

Moving away from weddings/portraits and more to commercial work - I think this will be a good move. I’m ready for it. Time to reflect, debrief, brainstorm, and set new goals.

2  MY BOMB CREATIVE TEAM - Recently I came up with this idea of a fun lookbook for Eyed LA, a boutique optometry shop here in West LA. So I pitched the idea, grabbed all my super talented friends, and asked them to help me on this project.  

I can’t wait to show it to you when it’s ready!

Mad props to the entire team: Mary (stylist extraordinaire), Lisa (hair & makeup guru), Allegra (the talent), and Shawn (videographer, the girl behind the other lens), and me (the photographer).

It’s not quite ready yet, but here’s a sneak peek:

3  ENVELOPE SYSTEM - So I’ve been on-and-off again with the envelope system for awhile now but honestly speaking this month has been really good. I’ve been really disciplined in my spending and it’s seriously made a difference!

If I don’t have the money, then I just don’t spend it. And if I do have the money then I spend it wisely. 

And whenever it’s tight, the Lord provides. It’s kind of awesome. It’s seriously teaching me about faith … in a hard but good way.

Now to get my diet & exercise in check. Hmmmm where’s my running shoes??

4  BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS - This past weekend has been super busy with people’s birthdays galore! Margaritas to celebrate Jess, DJ dance parties for Ken, and water balloon fights for Katie. Yeah!

Time to start planning my birthday. Ima get me a bouncy castle. Just kidding.

5  TRAILER WATCHING - So it’s becoming normal to not have cable right? In this day and age of Netflix and Hulu, twenty-somethings are cutting out cable completely. And that usually means that I don’t see advertisements or movie trailers anymore. 

In an effort to get caught up (moreso I opened the IMDB app and got distracted) I watched a bunch of them. And now I’m excited about a few movies:

“Anchorman 2” (of course). And there’s also “Drinking Buddies” (hello - Nick Miller? A bearded Nick Miller, mind you. But yes).

But one that really caught my attentions is “The Spectacular Now” - how amazing does this look?? it’s the guy from Footloose and it’s written by the same people of (500) Days of Summer). 

You guys - I am so excited.

Hi friends. I’m writing today’s 5TT post from my friends’ living room in Tulsa, OK. We’ve just begun the second half of the NBA Finals.

No worries though. I’ll still get this post out! Hmmm. What’s new with me?

1  A MUCH NEEDED VACATION - I’m here in Tulsa and I’m happy to say that I’ve done much resting. I think I really, really needed it.

Granted, I shot a wedding. So technically this trip has been partial work. But also it’s been rest. Hanging out with friends, watching a lot of TV, seriously just turning my brain off of all the million things I need to do. It’s been nice.

A PLUS FOR ME: Out of the handful of friends I did see, I realized that I shot almost all of their weddings. It’s so crazy how things come full circle like that. It was cool visiting their homes and seeing pictures I took framed on their walls or blown up as canvases. Mini proud moments here and there :)

2  THIS IS THE END - While on vacation, my friends and I watched the newest stoner comedy from Seth Rogen & Friends. And I just have to say that this movie was hilarious!

Granted. There are some inappropriate parts and some satirical parts pertaining to the apocalypse. But seriously, set that aside and you get a ton of funny stuff. The main cast was amazing plus you had the massive amounts of celebrity cameos throughout the movie (seriously, I’ll never look at Channing Tatum the same again). The soundtrack was great too and you learn a lot about friendship and sacrifice. It’s a win/win.

My favorite part in the movie has to be the part featured in this trailer (with Kevin Hart and Aziz Ansari).

3  ROXY SHARES ON TWLOHA.COM - So you have to read this post that my friend Roxy wrote for To Write Love On Her Arms. It was just so raw and real that it made me wish we still lived in the same town so I could have coffee dates with her and share about life.

I know it’s been a tough couple years for her (and for a lot of us), but it’s good to know that she has been getting the support she needs and also finding solace in writing as well. I can attest, writing is very therapeutic. So is talking it out. So I’m thankful for both of those things. Because sometimes in this digital age we tend to only show the good things in life and not really bare any of our struggles. That’s why having friends is a good thing.

I’m thankful for my friends.

4  NEW MUSIC RELEASES - I need to catch up on the new music. But there’s a little bit of everything coming out lately and I haven’t even had time to write up a Monday Music Share post. I really want it to be something worthwhile when I share a hand-selected music video.

But Vampire Weekend just came out with a new album and I hear that it’s awesome. She & Him just came out with Volume 3 not that long ago. And CSS just came out with their new album.  Kanye just came out with Yeezus today. And well, Foster the People is working on new stuff too.

It kind of makes me miss when other people curated my music. I miss Parker’s Playlist.

5  THIS WEEK’S PHOTOGRAPHY INSPIRATION - Famous faces blended with modern day counterparts. This truly fascinated me!