The List.

**Image by Dylan**
POTW- I'm going to starting posting a picture each week that one of the Strehle kiddos takes. I want to start letting them explore the camera and what interests them. I love watching them stretch themselves artistically already..oh if only I could have figured that out at 14 instead of 34!

10. I've been searching high and low for the perfect camera bag. While I love the cute, snazzy bags that are oh so popular right now, I need FUNCTION. So I came across a photographer from none other than National Geographic that gave a nice little review for the Crumpler Bag.

It's not exactly like this one, but pretty close. I needed something for Kenya that does not look like a camera bag, is compact and will stay close to my body. So far I've rocked it at a pretty big function and two different shoots. Works like a dream, and holds all my most important stuff. The final test will be Kenya:)

9. K..I'm soo loving this image from my BFF Scott..seriously. (k..I know he is not my real BFF)

Let's talk about it..

The color! Everything pops..perfect background, pale skin, dark color dress. Light, just right. perfection.

Sexy, yet subtle. No cleavage, but a little nip, shear but not in a trashy sort of way. Beautiful undergarment! So so important peeps!!

Detail..Hair bows match her jacket..not the dress. Little bow on the vintage suitcase {insert wistful sigh here}.

I'm not sure if this is a designer dress or not, or if she is some fashion mogul that I do not know about, but it is a picture of how just a few details can change a whole outfit. It does not take labels to make someone look beautiful.

8. Speaking of The Sartorialist, Glee just upped its Amber Cool Points by mentioning The Sartorialist on the show a few weeks ago..two of my favorite things all wrapped up in one.

I have been wearing leg warmers on my arms ever since.

7. A little something to chew on.

I finally watched The Social Network this week. Good movie.

The World Is Obsessed With Facebook from Alex Trimpe on Vimeo.

6. And a little something to inspire..like really inspire.

Artists Wanted In Focus : Pete Eckert from Artists Wanted on Vimeo.

5. And a little something to make you laugh..

This is a spam comment I got on my blog this week. Hmmm.

"BOYCOTT AMERICAN WOMEN Why American men should boycott American women / I am an American man, and I have decided to boycott American women. In a nutshell, American women are the most likely to cheat on you, to divorce you, to get fat, to steal half of your money in the divorce courts, don’t know how to cook or clean, don’t want to have children, etc. Therefore, what intelligent man would want to get involved with American women? American women are generally immature, selfish, extremely arrogant and self-centered, mentally unstable, irresponsible, and highly unchaste. The behavior of most American women is utterly disgusting, to say the least. This blog is my attempt to explain why I feel American women are inferior to foreign women (non-American women), and why American men should boycott American women, and date/marry only foreign (non-American) women. BOYCOTT AMERICAN WOMEN!"

4. SNOW IN FEBRUARY?!?!?!!?! UGH!

3. Miss Elaine is gearing up for BOHO! Are you going? Should you?? YES!!!!

2. I HATE folding and putting away laundry. There I said it. I feel so much better now. Not too long ago I looked at Zach and told him.

"I will never be good at this part of my life, in fact I'm going to stop fighting it, its time for me (and mostly you) to accept this part of me. There will always be clean laundry lying about in our room..ALWAYS."

Yeah that went over well.

1. I'm so in love with my new gold nail polish.

So. In. Love.

Who knew you could draw this much happiness out of one bottle of nail polish?

Dreams, circus elephants and Justin Beiber. (stay with me)

I was having breakfast with Zach last Monday, a few days before I had hatched a little idea in my noggin. It was kind of more than just a little idea, more like a big idea.

Zach is my very best sounding board. So I said my idea out loud, acted like it was no big deal and waited for his response.

"Oh hon, thats a great idea."

Have you ever noticed that circus elephants are kept confined by just a metal cuff, chain and a wooden stake driven into the ground? Don't you think if the elephant really wanted to get away it could just pull that flimsy wooden stake out of the ground?
When a circus elephant is born in captivity they put a metal cuff around its foot and drive a heavy stake into the ground that it can't pull away from. It trys and trys and eventually gives up, believing that no matter what he does, he will not be free. So that is what the elephant believes for the rest of his life, he can't break free. He stays hostage to something that he could easily master with just a little pull.

Yesterday I went and saw the Justin Beiber movie with Sis.. (there are soo many blog posts wrapped up in just that statement)

Before the movie I was not a fan, after the movie I feel a pretty big change of heart about the Beibster. Really I found some respect for the young man in that movie.

Justin (and his family) could have chosen to give up and stop pulling against that chain.

He had God given talent (yes he really does, yes it almost pains me to say that!) as we ALL do!

The Beibster pulled against that chain. I'm sure some days he was weary, but he knew deep down that there was more for him, it was not pride it was just a simple easy confidence in the talents he has been gifted with.

Then the chain broke..we all know the rest of the story.

So when Zach said..

"Oh Hon, thats a great idea."

I was a little shocked. (cue elephant tethered by only that chain)

So I told another person, then another.

I realized I just had to tug a little bit on the chain.

So I made the final call..

A simple idea of photographing 48 school kids and maybe their families in Kenya (kind of a Help-Portrait event), turned into a day of me photographing right around 600 school kiddos in Kenya.

Kids that have never seen their own reflection, these kids could not identify themselves in a group photo..crazy thought.

What is more crazy? The logistics of photographing 600 kiddos, getting photos processed and returning them to Kenya for less than 5 billion dollars and before I'm 100 years old.

Surprisingly I'm not stressed. It's like everything was laid out so perfectly that I just know its all going to work out fine.

God wants my dreams to come true.

I'm a done with the chain, I'm in love with Justin Beiber and I will never again be afraid to dream big.

post script- I stole the elephant story from my Pastor.

post. post. script-Justin Beiber is TOO a real artist.

post. post. post. script -I leave in 23 days..GASP!

List coming soon..promise:)

Ruffles & Rust

Here is where I will be spending the next 48 hours.

Join me!!

Paris on my mind

My boss lady called me the other day and asked if I had any images that I took while I was in Paris that she could use for an upcoming project. This gave me the excuse of wasting an hour or so scrolling through my Paris pic's.


***sigh***




Will Amber get up in the priests business at Notre Dame to get the shot?? Why yes apparently she will.


On our very first day in Paris, my VERY gracious Aunt arranged for us to take an AMAZING 3 hour long tour of the entire city in with this little guy in this very little {topless} car..I learned more in those 3 hours about the history of Paris than I had ever known before. It was such a great introduction to such and AMAZINGLY endless city..he famously said the quote (I quickly penned it as to not EVER forget it)
"You can live in this city a lifetime and still never see it all."


My view in the car from the back seat.
First sight of the Arc de Triomphe..and the back of Val's head:)


I even love Starbucks in Paris..and for the record I did not EVER go inside..I mean seriously who drinks Starbucks in Paris??:)
Really this picture was my act of celebration..I gave up Starbucks for almost an entire year to save for my trip..well except for that one time I was having a bad day (better than going to the bar..right?) then it turned into a REALLY bad day because I ran the car into a curb on my way into the drive-thru..split the tire open and had to call triple A. Husband was SUPER happy with me that day.
Story. Of. My. Life.


Another tour (we took 3) it was the "Paris at night" tour, I also LOVED this one. The guides were all so knowledgeable, it was kinda like walking through a history book.




I took this one purely for scale..I had no idea that so many of the paintings in the Louvre were so HUGE..I mean look at the size of that thing!! Even though I got my wallet stolen in the Louvre (RUDE!!) visiting was still one of the highlights of my trip..yes it's touristy but oooooooh the history!!


More Notre Dame..I visited multiple times..went to latin mass on Sunday morning, am I catholic? No..was it simply one of the beautiful things I have ever witnessed? Um yes.

Hope you are enjoying your week dear sweet readers..stay dry!

Don't go it alone.

{My afternoon cuppa in Paris..ahh le sigh..}

My was it ever beautiful out this morning!!

Over my steaming hot cuppa this morning I was reading some words from Ecclesiastics..let me share.

It's better to have a partner than go it alone.
Share the work, share the wealth.
And if one falls down, the other helps,
But if there's no one to help, tough!

Two in a bed warm each other.
Alone, you shiver all night.

By yourself you're unprotected
With a friend you can face the worst.
Can you round up a third?
A three stranded rope isn't easily snapped.

(The Message)

Beautifully flawed, honest relationships are few and far between.
They are precious, hold them close.

The past few weeks I've had the immense blessing of noticing some of mine. By "noticing" I mean appreciating. Appreciating tears, long conversation, words of encouragement.

Our lives are rarely uneventful..life comes at us as an unrelenting force.

Having a hand to hold, a shoulder to cry on during those forces makes the burden lighter.

I'm pretty sure it was meant to be that way.