“The artist is nothing without the gift, but the gift is nothing without work.”

Quote: Émile Zola, French writer

Good Morning.  Happy Monday!

How quickly the weekend came and went.  It feels as though Friday morphed into Sunday overnight!

Although, it passed quickly, I had a wonderful time dining at Nobu.  The bite sized Lobster tacos are truly addictive…incredibly proud of myself for stopping at six, which sounds quite gluttonous; however, I assure you, they are bite size.

A heart felt and loving thank you to wonderful hubby for finding a quality treadmill on sale; and reconfiguring it into a treadmill desk work station.  Now, I’m able to burn calories while working, just in time for swimsuit season.

Wishing you a beautifully joyous and productive week!

source: © Ty Keennon Photography

Since the arrival of Spring, we’ve (Los Angelenos) been experiencing and enjoying such gorgeous weather!    During the weekend,  I  accomplished  and  crossed  off  numerous items from my To Do List leaving me feeling invigorated and refreshed…

A couple of fanciful pleasures I’ve ordered, signed up for, and can’t wait to see…all guaranteed to inspire and keep the creative juices flowing:

An amazing photographer, Elgort’s first comprehensive book covers five decades of fashion photography.

Tastebuds are tingling over Pairingpalooza: Summer’s Favorite Cheese and Wine Tasting Class—always a wonderful excuse to visit San Francisco.

Will visit the Getty Museum this week to see Johannes Vermeer’s painting Woman in Blue Reading a Letter.  On loan from Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, this special installation returns home soon.

Wishing you a fabulously wonderful week!

source:  Ty Keennon Photography

“Before he reached the town the sun was high and rinsing the standing wheat fields, quiet but for their resplendent shushing.”

Good Morning!

It’s Friday…Yay!!  Taking a short break from editing photos from a recent photo shoot…

In this moment, I’m indulging in the delicate lemony rose fragrance of Maria Theresa (bounty from yesterday’s forage at the L.A. Flower Market); sipping green tea that is infused with pineapple and guava, and reading The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin…

Wishing you a grand and glorious weekend!

source:  Ty Keennon Photography; Quote from The Orchardist.

Good Morning Friends!  Happy Monday!!

I’m super excited…have four photo shoots planned for this week, and on Saturday, I’m photographing an actress/singer whose debut album will soon be released.

Wishing all of you a beautiful and most splendid week!

source: photographs and layout 1 thru 4 © Ty Keennon; photograph 5, photographer unknown.

Taking a short break from chores to read poetry while merlot tinged silken peony petals ripened by age—unfurl, collapse, then fall away.

While dusting bookshelves, I stumbled across the following bookmarked poem:

The Outpouring

by David Meuel

It’s the wetness I like.

The way your pores give birth to glittering salty beads

that sprout about your forehead

and run down your cheeks.

Tiny, clinging waterfalls.

The way their adhesive yields

as I unwrap you

each part of your blouse

peeling like sections of a moist tomato skin.

The way more beads grease our kissing bellies,

letting them slap and slide

like rapids on rocks in a river

pounding its path to the sea.

source:  The Outpouring poem by David Meuel appears in Intimate Kisses edited by Wendy Maltz; photographs © Ty Keennon - Henry Peony

Rise and Shine!  It’s the start of a brand new and wonderful week…

In my wildest dreams, I never thought I would like the pairing of lobster, tomatillo, and wasabi…that is until I tried the Lobster Sashimi Tacos at  Nobu Restaurant.

Please beware—I feel obligated to warn you, the Lobster Sashimi Tacos are addicting, intoxicating, and will leave you aroused and on the verge…(no exaggeration, they really are that delicious).

Wishing you a lovely week filled with beautiful and exciting discoveries!

source:  © Ty Keennon taken with iPhone

“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”

Anaïs Nin,  Author

source: photographs © Ty Keennon;  Model Jessica Paterson;  Darcy - David Austin Rose

My first and last massage occurred seven years ago.

Aloha!  Greetings from Maui…while perusing the resort grounds, I happened upon the Spa.  I asked, just for the heck of it (as my budget is tight), to see the Spa menu.  I quickly skimmed through the menu…facials, massages, and body treatments.

My eyes rested when I came across the Ultimate Cocoon body treatment.  The menu description read:  a relaxing soak in a sea-salt and botanical-extract whirlpool.  Next, sink down into a warm cocoon bed for an Ayurvedic oil-blend wrap…

A warm cocoon bed?  As in caterpillar-cocoon-butterfly sort of thing?  Before I could stop myself, I found a spa attendant, and quizzed her about the cocoon bed.  Her reply,  “It’s one of our finest services.  It’s almost like being in a womb.  You’re cradled, enveloped and massaged in a waterbed type machine.  It simulates being on a raft bobbing and floating in the ocean.”

Seriously?  Bobbing, cocooning, floating, womb?  I nearly howled with laughter.  Who makes this stuff up?  The spa attendant continued, “It’s couples month, should you and your husband opt for this service, you’ll receive a 20% discount.

Say no more, I quickly made reservations for hubby and I.  And, yes the Ultimate Cocoon body treatment was everything the spa attendant said it would be; and phenomenally more…

My favorite moments of our vacation…

Attending the Feast at Lele–a polynesian luau featuring hula dancing; Pacific O’s Pineapple and Ginger Martini; Spago’s Spicy Parmesean Flatbread and Carmelized Maui Onion Focaccia; lounging languorously by the pool while reading Semi-Charmed Life; falling asleep each night to the sound of waves gently crashing along the shoreline; and needless to say, the Ultimate Cocoon body treatment and massage.

source: photos © Ty Keennon

Granny Smith apple green is my favorite color.  While studying fashion design a few years ago, I discovered the joys of pink, purple, and to my surprise, orange.

Today is filled with an impulse purchase….while shopping at the grocery market for coconut water, out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimmer of purple…

It was love at first sight, and I couldn’t resist purchasing a new pair of purplish-plum shoes in soft corduroy.  Simple pleasures making me smile today….Granny Smith apple green hydrangea and eros-pink heirloom roses from the Flower Market, a handwritten letter received in the mail, and of course—the coconut water.

Have a blessed and beautiful weekend!

I hope you’re having a splendid weekend!  As for me, I’m taking a break from chores…and reminiscing…I celebrated my birthday three weeks ago.  Hubby ensured it was a special day for me.  A breathtaking and fragrant arrangement arrived filled with heirloom and modern roses, dahlias, hydrangea, and tulips.

We dined at one of my favorite restaurants in town, Providence.  I feasted on the Wild Alaskan Halibut with artichokes braised in white wine, nantes carrots, pearl onion, and parsley-jalapeno pistou.  Oh, how I would love to have the recipe!  It’s an outstanding dish–absolutely perfect for a dinner party.

The dessert was simply called Manjari 64%.  It consisted of chocolate, espresso, sweetened condensed milk, gianduia, and ube. Dining out is always a pleasurable adventure for me,  as I love to try new flavors.  Ube, a purple yam, with origins in the Asian tropics was new to my palate; and it paired fantasically well with the chocolate and espresso.  Unfortunately, my dessert photos contained too much noise (the downside to dining by candlelight), so I didn’t include any photos.

After dessert, mignardises (sometimes referred to as petit fours) were brought to the table and I was sucker-punched by flavors that temporarily left me euphorically dazed…coconut caramels, lime mint jalepeno pâté de fruit, and chocolate macaroons.  The macaroons were phenomenally light and airy, crisp and chocolaty.  The best I’ve ever eaten…

I received gift certificates for cheese tasting classes (which I’ll redeem later this month) and a Holga film camera that I can’t wait to use.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

source: © Ty Keennon