la bella italia, day one

I thought I'd share with you the pictures and the writing from the trips I've taken in the past few years. Travel photography is one of my favorite areas; I have the time of my life trying to capture moments, small details of the places that usually go unnoticed by the regular postcard photography. Besides, they give me a window back to those times, take me to those places again. I spent most of my week processing the photos from the trip I'm about to share, and I swear I could almost smell the Nutella crepes that they sold a couple of streets from our hotel room. 

So, here is my take on Italy. The trip will be split in a couple of blogposts — too many memories to share, too many photos. The texts will look kind of... diary-like, because I took them off the notebook I brought with me. But I hope you like each and every one of them. Don't forget to let me know what you think, share your experiences with me! This world, this tiny little universe I'm creating here, is nothing without your input. Talk to me!

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girls' night out!

last week I went on a well deserved girls' night out with two of my favorite girls in the world. we went to our usual vegetarian restaurant and had an absolute blast, as we always do.

these times with R and M are one of the things that keep me going. they are just so unbelievably supportive, so kind and so funny that they always light up my soul; I think we're all like that with each other. the fact that we have the band helps — it requires more confidence, more strength in our friendship, it makes us bigger and brighter. like with most of my best friends (and I have a few) it's almost like having a sibling that's not of your own blood, but of your own heart. I know. I'm a sap. but when it comes to counting my blessings, they're definitely in one of the top places.

gabs and the glasses

This is nothing but a random post, showing off a little family fun with my new prop glasses. And myself, pretending to be a model from the 90's. And just family stuff. But I think you'll like it anyway.

Take a look?

days of fun

okay. this is kind of a counterpoint to wednesday's post, since it's all about a summer day so full and joyful that I absolutely had to share it with you.

my mother is lucky enough to live in a condo with a pool for the residents, and  we had some friends over on sunday — a good enough excuse for me to take pictures! there's not much to say about these, just that it was an absolutely lovely day with even lovelier people.

days of nothingness

The Summer can be dull.

During Winter, I normally have this picture perfect idea of Summer. Splashing in some paradise-like beach, eating ice cream and wearing shorts and colorful shirts, going for bike rides, suddenly becoming a thousand times prettier than I actually am. It's my ice cream commercial idea of a season that almost always ends with staying home, watching series and taking self-portraits, running errands and baking my ass off. 

Yeah, that kind of ruins the expectations. 

Why am I telling you all this, you ask? Because yesterday I found myself having one of those paifully boring Summer days. There was nothing to do. I told myself I wouldn't take new work in August, so I could rest, so I didn't have photos to process; my friends are away, the vast majority of them. Even my significant other is away on vacation, so I had absolutely nothing to do and no one to talk to. What did I do?

I decided to paint my hair with soft pastels. I'm not even kidding. 

The adventure started with an hour and a half of search. I could not, for my own sake, find my box of soft pastels. I searched the entire house for it, and in the meantime I found an old pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses (I loved them!), a box of mini business cards (from moo!), an old pencil case with a bunch of goodies and the best part: my calligraphy kit. 

Over the years, I've been collecting tips and antique pens. I got this kit when I was 18 and I absolutely adore it; I have another small box filled with the ones you see apart. They are so lovely. 

After I found my pastels, I sat on my bed and started to paint the tips of my hair with several colors. I used aqua, soft pink, yellow and light green, all the while making a mess out of my bed, my shirt and my hair.

It didn't turn out quite as fabulous as I'd hoped; my hair is too dark for it to be truly noticeable and I have absolutely no talent for dealing with my own hair. I did have a blast, though. I felt a little bit badass, I have to admit.

See? Not fabulous. But not horrible, either!

The shot below is from a few days ago, an equally boring afternoon; I had fun throwing a cookie into a glass of milk. And then I had a little less fun moping the kitchen floor.

I hope you're all having a wonderful week!

Don't forget that I'm currently scheduling my photo shoots for this Fall/Winter! E-mail me at luminousphotographer@gmail.com for more information!

Não se esqueçam que estou agora a aceitar marcações para o Outono/Inverno! Enviem-me um e-mail para luminousphotographer@gmail.com para mais informações!

go medieval

Hi, everyone!

A couple of weeks ago I did one of my favorite things to do, all year: visited the medieval fair in Santa Maria da Feira, a nearby city. You can visit the website here, but I do believe the best way of experiencing, if you don't have the chance to go there, is to see the pictures visitors, like myself, take. I've been going through blogs and albums and everything related, and everyone takes such wonderful pictures! It's wonderful to see.

The fair itself is a joy to visit. Everyone in the city gets involved; you can see it from the moment you drive into town — every window is decorated with medieval-style flags — to the way people circulate. Everyone wears medieval gowns, every bank, store or institution has a medieval-style front, everything is related to the fair. You don't need to spend more than an hour there to realize the hard work and commitment these people have with this project; it's clear, everywhere you look.

Here are my photos, then! I hope you like them! Don't forget to leave me feedback in the comments — I love talking to you guys!

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baking adventures: oatmeal cookies

Hi everyone!

I finally got around to bake the cookies I'd been craving! I took advantage of the fact that I had my sister with me for the afternoon and we decided to do some baking. We always have the time of our lives in the kitchen — she loves it just as much as I do, and I have the feeling she'll be a lot better than I am. That sense of promise, of joy that always comes with spending time making something delicious; that's what keeps dragging me back to the kitchen.

We used the recipe found on the wonderful Smitten Kitchen. I am so in love with this blog, it's not even decent! We made two batches, one for raisin and almonds and another for chocolate chips. Guess which ones Gabs liked more?

Find more pictures under the cut!