The boys

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Betty Cupcake for Modern Luxury

I recently shot a very cool mother/daughter team of owners in a sweet (pun intended) shop appropriately named Betty Cupcake. They have a grand opening coming up. Read more in August issue of Modern Luxury.

P.S. Last photo looks a bit orange on one monitor, fine on another. . . . hates color calibration.

Robert Cavalli opening in Northpark Mall

Robert Cavalli opening in Northpark Mall, originally uploaded by carissabyers.

Fail.

The famous designer is opening a store in Northpark Mall. I was to shoot the interior for Modern Luxury, but it's not quite ready. As much as I can tell through this nifty sign anyway.

Sally Schopmeyer

President of Maintenance Inc.

Mmmm salt

Gigglefest time at the computer.


Maybe it's because they're a bit tipsy from all those margaritas? Put down that phone and call off your social services, nobody's drunk and Penn's is a virgin. He had to try the salt. Salt is cool.

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The Office. Almost.

Office: Not quite done, originally uploaded by carissabyers.

If you're "normal," this picture doesn't bother you at all.

But if you're more like me you're starting to feel a tick, maybe right alongside the back of your neck.

I trekked to the beloved Container Store in hopes I'd bring something back to organize the chaos. The Container Store because of it's proximity to my house and the lack of toll roads along the way. But I didn't find it. Tomorrow is going to go one of two ways: a) Ikea or b) I feel just a little bit crazier.

And I said I was sane. I never said I was completely rational.

This photo is knocking on Daniel's mental door because it's our office and the plugs aren't grounded which means we can't really set it up. Without an extension cord. If you're looking for cheap entertainment this weekend feel free to listen in at the window while he lines up tequila shots and yells at the wall about it's godforsaken ground wires.

Food Photography at Papou's

I rather liked this set of photos. Papous is one of my favorite places in Lakewood.

Wordle

Wordle, originally uploaded by carissabyers.

www.wordle.net/create

New Digs

Out of all of the places I've lived since flying my dad's coop way back when, this might be the first house I feel like calling home.

As adolescents we're trying to figure out who we are. And then we get older and need to figure out what we do. And after enough progress has been made in these areas we get to decide what we want and if we deserve it while trying to remember everything we learned before.

And I feel comfortable. If you walked into any of my previous abodes you would say I was artistic and clean and doing the best with what I had. But it was obvious, somehow, that the surroundings were not permanent. At least to me.

But I don't feel like leaving this house. I don't know that this means "permanent," (as if that is possible for any house or life), but I do know I don't quite feel like leaving any time soon. And if you told me I would be stuck here till the end of my days I would be okay with that.

It's a nice house. Bright and sunny and clean and big with places for everyone to stretch out and play. It's comfortable and welcoming and immediately reflects all of the respective styles that live here. It's not exorbitant. We're repelled by excess and unnecessary. But there's just enough room for us to grow.

I am grateful for the house and for my partner and friend to talk to and my child to take care of and the dogs to play with and my work that is fulfilling and how it all comes together around the dinner table. I'm grateful for the obnoxious ways the evening bowls itself into bath and play and story time and relaxing until the time is all gone because that's what fun does.


Richard Ross in the entry way looking into the dining room.


Skylight in the kitchen.


Big kitchen!


Carpeted den with fireplace.


Un-named space where I can shoot.


Our room.


Penn's room.


The drum room!!!

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I had a dream about last night about a cat. A giant purring cat.

Children's Medical Center Safety Event

I shot the Children's Medical Center Safety Event at Northpark Mall last Sunday. Look for more photos and story in Lakewood Now.

Samantha

Today I shot for the first time in the new house. Here are a few off the top for Samantha's modeling portfolio.

Professional Bank of Lakewood hosts Women in Business

Penn went with me tonight to shoot Women in Business for Lakewood Now. He makes a fabulous assistant.

I'm normally pretty anti "networking party." Anyone who knows me will verify. I don't like socializing with goals. Come to my house. We'll break out the food, wine and UNO. But slap a nametag on me and ask me to tell 50 people ---individually--- "what I do," and poor number 50 is going to get the wrong impression.

Maybe I should work on my alcohol tolerance to make the pain more bearable for us all. But I fear I have 82.3 pounds of metabolism working against me. Sobriety isn't always so pleasant.

Having said that, I was enamored with this particular group! Imagine a large number of women who are there to support their fellow entrepreneurial women. There were folks I knew and establishments I shop at and it was cool enough I had to take my free Dry Soda and put my email down on the list.

I'm telling you this because poor Mr. Daniel not only doesn't want to hear me talk about work, but he's also sick in bed. :(

Saturday's Wedding

Just a few off the top of the file.

Winning

Winning, originally uploaded by carissabyers.

Penn got back yesterday from Crystal Beach with his dad. He wrote his Papa some "postcards" while he was gone. We mailed them today and he took the stickers from around the stamps and did a picture worthy job of decorating himself.

Optimist

optimist, originally uploaded by carissabyers.

More playing with text in the middle of the day.

Quoting myself from Gtalk:

STILL HATE GROCERY STORES ALL OF THEM BECAUSE ALL OF THE TINY ANNOYING THINGS JUST SNOWBALL IN MY HEAD BY AISLE 5 SO THAT BY THE TIME I GET TO THE CHECKOUT LINE IT'S SHIFT CHANGE AND THEY TAKE FOREVER SO I MOVE TO SELF-CHECKOUT AND GET BEHIND THE OLDEST MAN YOU'VE EVER SEEN AND THEN MY DEBIT CARD MESSES UP, ETC. I'M ALL I CAN'T POSSIBLY GET TO MY PHONE TO TWEET MY ANGER AT GROCERY STORES QUICK ENOUGH.

ALSO,

I SWEAR IT NEVER RINGS UP MY ASPARAGUS. THAT BUTTON WILL NOT BE PUSHED AND WHEN IT DOES IT AUTOMATICALLY "SKIPS BAGGING" SO I ALWAYS LOOK LIKE I'M STEALING ASPARAGUS.

Euripides

Euripides, originally uploaded by carissabyers.

Sometimes I play with typography in the middle of the day.

Euripides was cool.

Renee Rouleau gets site update

Renee Rouleau, originally uploaded by carissabyers.

And it's fabulous! Blenderbox did a great job with the photos.

Go to reneerouleau.com and buy stuff. I use the Purifying Face Wash.

Quotable

Quotable, originally seen at Fine Line:

You can’t destroy or diminish Deep Ellum. It was here long before all of the shiny shopping malls, the overpriced corporate live music venues and trendy “red velvet rope” clubs with their snooty bottle service. As was referenced time and time again last night, the area is the cradle of this city’s creative sensibility.

If you’re content to live in a vacuous, benign existence with little sense of purpose or meaning, then stay at home and jerk off your X-Box.

If you wanna break out of a routine that offers little or no spiritual or creative inspiration, then know you will be embraced and made to feel part of this very eclectic creative community.

We’re here. We’re not going anywhere. There’s nothing to be afraid of.

---Jeff Liles

As I’m sure everyone has heard by now, on Tuesday morning the landlord locked us out of Bar of Soap.

---Jessicka

Concerning the lack of work-related photos on this blog

I am a photographer by profession, but this occasionally qualifies me for being a photographer's assistant. (Knowledge I gratefully owe to the patient Erica Fellicella.)

I've assisted twice now for Gary B. Garman from Los Angeles on another of his many celebrity athlete gigs. I don't keep up with sports so I'm saved the bumbling of a star-struck idiot when I meet them and adjust their lighting and drink their Red Bull. But I can't get enough of your facial expression when I tell you who's penthouse I was in.

A slew of interesting gigs is lined up involving food and stinky shoes and safety, today is product shoot day for Renee Rouleau and Xen Tan and I have a fabulous wedding this weekend. The baby is still with me full time and for that I have only gone half crazy.

Concerning my love of automted systems

Re: this and this.

Cheers

Cheers, originally uploaded by carissabyers.

Mmmm, espresso.

Photo by Kate Mackley.

Bikes, Dogs, Oops

Saturday, Daniel and Penn worked on their bikes and added matching bells to their handlebars while the dogs lounged uncontrollably.


Penn learned a bit about chains and grease.




And while the boys were spontaneously romping through the sprinkler....


...I flooded Penn's bathroom with bathtub water.

That day is gone and today Penn and I woke Mr. Daniel up to homemade banana pancakes and a pot of fresh coffee. Wishing this weekend could last just a little bit longer. Life is good.

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Happy 4th

This morning Penn and Mr. Daniel rode their bikes in the 4th of July neighborhood parade. It was short. Hot and lacking hoopla, but still fun.


The "parade" ended with a flood of neighbors, babies and pups at the splash park.


Thursday being Penn's dad's visiting day made it a tad convoluted as to how the plans were supposed to go, so he came with. If you know anything about my personal life then you'll find the above photo Hil-Ar-Ious. With the ex on the left and the current on the right.


I intended to shoot the whole thing. But with it lacking hoopla and a dog in one hand and the heat running down my face, I just wasn't into it. What kind of mom am I? Not even one really good one of my son, who is the whole reason I drug myself out of bed early this morning. But you can click here to see the few I brought home in my camera.