Arriving home, almost.

We came into California through the sunny mountains just past Reno. It was epic. Jessie drove through Lake Tahoe, pretty much the worst roads outside of Chicago. We are now on our way to San Francisco by way of Oakland looking for our new home. 

As an act of initiation, we got In-N-Out. Animal Style. Probably the last time. 

How we roll.

The way she drives.

The way he waits.

Only allowed to ride shotgun if you are going to shoot.

Nevada.

The last state in the way of California. We drove over around, and through the mountains.

 

Utah.

This is where we broke the land-speed barrier for a Pontiac Vibe loaded with two humans, two cats, photography gear, and 20ish Terabytes of harddrives. 

Antelope, Bald Eagles, Purple Mountains, and Driving into the Sunset.

Its true and happened in Wyoming. I believe this is where wild men go to die. 

This post is dedicated to Nebraska. It would not be anywhere with out Iowa (who does not get a post) Nebraska was the calm after the storm. We drove in delirious, got a night’s sleep and woke up for my favorite day. 

Nebraska was empty, very flat. However, they got you through with their 75 MPH speed limit. The best part about Nebraska is it boarders Wyoming.. 

Yesterday we said goodbye to our apartment, Jaclyn, and our dear city. It did not come easy. There were tears, followed by feelings of new adventure.

Then we pulled onto Lakeshore and the surfboard on top of the car started howling.. $125 Dollars later and it will arrive via UPS. After we left Chicago a full two hours later than anticipated, we had a few problems with our cargo hitch then met Iowa with tons and tons of rain. Past the stresses of the day, we arrived delirious to our hotel. Finally the day was over, iPhone pings with an email.. oh our webspace was hacked. 

So today is a new day in the middle of Nebraska. There will be some 404 errors for a bit, and some fun calls to tech support from the car. California or Bust.. I vote for the first. 

Adventure of the heart.

Today is my birthday, 29 and I am pretty happy. The big news is that Jessie Stevens and I are moving to California on Monday. So far we have just started. We are transitioning Jessie to her new office, myself to my new job.

We are finally able to ‘put down the bourbon’ and have an adventure of our hearts. If you want to follow this, its quite simple copy http://putdownthebourbon.com/rss and add us to your RSS feed, or just visit the site when you want to see what is new. 

We will have adventures and bring back amazing images and stories, enjoy!

Headed to the west coast.

Some call it the best coast, we are just going to call it a new home. Jessie and I are getting excited to snap that golden California sunlight. Quite probably a killer road-trip through the south western route of the USofA to come… Oh Snap, we are moving! 

putdownthebourbon

To set the tone I am going to start with an excerpt that is so fantastic there is no need for imagery to follow. The following is from Kpoene owner of  Mignonette:

“I grew up watching my mother sew, and my earliest memories are of visiting the fabric store with her on Saturdays, playing in the fabrics and running my hands through the loose buttons in the bins.”

This last week I was very fortunate to accompany Kpoene at the Vintage Bazaar Popup Shoppe which took place at the Empty Bottle in Chicago. The event was a Bridal show mixed with eccentric vintage items that one would find at Bazaar. After writing that, it seems the event’s title was spot on. Kpoene brought quite a few of her demi couture custom bridal gowns from her Lakeview shop Mignonette, with accessories and models in tow.

I love to watch the process of setup because it speaks volumes of the creative person behind it. In this case it was Kpoene, so I was sure to get there early. Tables were going up, Kpoene was laying out jewelry delicately displayed in an array of small containers flaunting their unique details, the hair, makeup, and dresses being collaboratively fussed over. 

All in all the show was a hit, the models wore her dresses fantastically, and all who attended gawked as they began to imagine themselves in her dresses. If it was a competition Kpoene totally won.

Thanks for the adventure into your love, Kpoene.


putdownthebourbon