it is the season.

for the finest scotch.

and the finest snow.

for friends young, and old.

for magic.

and of course, for christmas cheer.

was that solidly holidly or what?

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

say my name.

okay, look.
we get it. we blog.
it's a thing we do sometimes.
we're not proud of it,
 but it's not something we can deny.

i'm not saying that our blog is the funniest

or the most sarcastic or the most interesting.

but what am saying is this:

guys, c'mon. do we not have the best 

pictures and fashion out of any other blog out there?

do we not blog about the best food?

i felt it would be disloyal to our readers

if we didn't share our blogging secrets.

consider this your christmas present.

the key to food photography is

making your dish look interesting.

give a little background or tell a story.

also, if you're going to put more than

one picture on, make sure the setting and

contexts varies ever so slightly.

here's an example of a little treat

we call "our lunch almost every day."

 

see the contrast in those two photos?

the first really brings out the peanut butter

and the graham cracker, and the second

really makes the chocolate chips pop.
or maybe it's the other way around. i can't remember.

sorry, no recipe. we want to leave you guessing.

fashion photography is a different story.

we'll start with what we like to call "the abstract."

the abstract is usually 2-3 photos that are almost 

exactly the same. this way, the reader

is able to really focus on the fashion of the photo,

not whatever the model is doing.
better yet, catch the model doing something
really embarrassing--like driving.
it keeps things honest.

we really wanted to highlight the contrasting

colors and block coloring/pattern of our model's attire.

shirt: not sure sweater:not sure

next. self-taken images are key in 

proper fashion photography. 

they really express the confidence

you have in your outfit to your readers.

readers need to know that you know 

you have a good sense of fashion.

how else will they trust your 

tastes and suggestions?

utilizing the flash is important,

because it gives your photo an element of mystery.
smudges and dust on the mirror are less than ideal,
but they really do accentuate the outfit's,
"i just threw this on" vibe.

sorry, i can't remember where i got 

anything that i'm wearing. 

finally, you should mix up your pictures

by having someone else take some different

poses or your outfits.

the key to "the series," as we like to call it,

is, again, only slightly changing your position.

you want your readers to have a good idea

of your whole outfit.

these pictures also give you a good opportunity

to show off your personality a little.

 

love you guys, our readers!

don't forget to enter our giveaway!

*sorry about the poor quality of these photos. 

they were taken with my sucky iphone 4s.  

oops comes with consequences.

it's been a while.

but sorry that we're not.

here's a quick downdate:

bridal showers, blah blah.

weddings, blah blah.

broken toys, broken promises, broken cars...

what's the difference really?

for thanksgiving this year,

we shared each other,

and 5 kinds of festive desserts.

but the fire is so delightful.

time for the weather to be frightful.

it's the most wonderful time of the year!

nawwwwmean?

fitt romney.

listen, we've never been much for halloween.

we don't get the whole spend-money-time-and-energy

on clothing (or not) that you're never going to wear again.

sure, maybe if we were really crafty & creative like our friend kelly:

but we're not.

so, we took a step back.

what are we good at?

being ourselves.

another thing we're good at?

finding pants that are size 54.

of course, if we were being our(self)

we had to play the part.

so, while our friends were being the

young (paul ryan),

the rich (mitt romney),

& the famous (the kardashians),

we weren't.

i'm no beauty queen,

i'm just beautiful me. 

also, there was some confusion

as to whether we should be considered

a single or group costume for the costume contest.

but we like to like people guessing.

happy halloween.

--taylor (haha). 

sorry, i'm busy.

sometimes, you have to just kick back, relax, and take pictures with your friends. all two of your friends. (three, if you count the friend we were sending this picture to). why text when you can snapchat instead? i can't think of a single reason.

also, so sorry if you don't understand our hilarious inside jokes.

still drifting off the lot.

hi, it's us.

to prove it, look at the over-sized

picture of mainly our heads.

that's us taking a break from studying.

school is a real thing.

but so is fall. see?

falling into a cave.

according to the ideological origins 

of the american revolution,

homework sucks.

taylor o. is living it up, though.

cheers to new york, jay-z. 

taylor in real life.

life is real, and it's real good.

september has sure flown by,

so we thought we'd share some pictures

of us flying (aka us posing and smiling

at various locations doing various fun things):

taylor o.'s CD release concert:

taylor b.'s brother's farewell:

the most beautiful place at the most beautiful time:

speaking of fall, though,

we'd like to talk about how fall 

always makes us feel very nostalgic.

and as it turns out,

we very separately, without even talking about it,

 have been missing this place:

who knew we both consider our 3 days 

in vienna in some of our most favorite memories?

here's what we did there:

slept, ate, walked around.

and didn't spend a penny.

impressed? don't be.

it is to be expected.

so, enjoy fall.

and enjoy this song,

courtesy of our nostalgia, longing for love,

and, of course, linda. 

also, feel free to replace the lyrics

of the chorus with these,

as we feel they more accurately represent

our experience there:

"cause in vienna, we were eating!

yes, in vienna, food was life.

watching you watching me,

eating all that our eyes could see.

it was the best time of our lives."

i feel so close to you right now.

yes, hello.

watch this:

turns out, taylor o. has a real good voice. 

good meeting.

summer is just wrapping itself right up.

but we're not going down without a fight. 

as we're visited by the ghosts of augusts' past,

we're realizing more and more that

growing up is the worst. 

but don't worry. 

after all,

"august creates as she slumbers, replete and satisfied."

--- joseph wood krutch

something like olivia.

hello anyone and everyone.

who said it was july 27th already?

time doesn't mess around.

well, our summer has been grandiose. 

we've done a lot of cool things, ie:

played croquet.

watched state championship baseball.

visited other countries.

ate at buffets.

 made cool music videos.

watched our friend qualify for the olympics.

hosted rad concerts.

played in rad concerts. 

had knee surgeries. ouchie.

 ran a half marathons.

and...

- had lots of friends get engaged.

- had lots of friends get married.

- welcomed home missionaries.

- car rides.

- hikes.

- good food.

- fell in love (???).

and the works.
(but not fireworks. we don't
condone that).

we're already jealous of our own summer.

but who wouldn't be?

we played croquet!

ciao for now.