In Response to California

swimmy emmy

This is the highlight of my week. Every week.

Lauderdale by iPhone

Vacation is... leaving the real camera at home.

snorkel

Grabbed my mask, fins, snorkel and a cheap flight to Fort Lauderdale so I could go hang out with my good friend Josh Ritchie for a few days. As always, he inspired the underwater photographer in me. So, on our trip to Key Largo, I had a blast testing out the new underwater housing unit I got for my little Canon G9 point & shoot. So. Much. Fun.

New Orleans Aquarium

Rebecca & Steve

New Orleans. Crawfish boil. Benachi House. Brass band. Second line. Crawfish etouffee. Two wonderful people officially becoming one amazing married couple.

Goddess in the Garden

"Normally I get a kiss," said Evelyn Downing of St. Petersburg, after having her glass of water refilled by Billy Crowder, a toga-clad USF student during the Goddesses in the Garden event at Sunken Gardens Thursday. Downing, who's legally blind, mistook Crowder for her grandson, who was also donning a toga and helping out at the event, but Crowder, good-naturedly obliged, leaning down to give her a peck on the cheek. Goddesses in the Garden featured a luncheon and fashion show, and under the canopy of trees and beautiful foliage, women were invited to take part in a wine tasting, tarot card reading, sit in a massage chair, and enter a silent auction. Tiaras were also given out to over 100 women who attended the fundraiser benefiting the Blossom Montessori School for the Deaf. "These women set the standards for the tiaras," said Sue Brett of St. Petersburg, who brought Downing, her mom, as well as her aunt and mother-in-law. "They're all goddesses."