The Good, The Bad and The Fun ● by Jess

*whew* These last two weeks have been one major emotional roller coaster. I haven't been blogging much because, honestly, I hadn't really processed it. But here's what's been going on:

The Good: We discovered Richmond.

I had a shoot here a couple of weeks ago and fell in LOVE with it. Jon and I spent the day there and both went gaga over everything. It is our new favorite part of London and I suspect when we eventually have a baby, this is where we will move. It is this beautiful, English town that is really posh (or "leafy" as they call it hear). It even has a Whole Foods people! What more could a yuppy mom ask for?!

The Bad: £4000 worth of uninsured photo equipment damage.

*sigh* I am only barely at the point where I can talk about this one. 

I was at a shoot last week. We had all these amazing couture dresses that the stylist brought in and we were shooting at this phenomenal venue... I started shooting and after the first look my favorite lens mysterious stops working. Like completely will not communicate with my camera so the shutter won't open. This is super weird. 

Then, while I'm changing lenses, my best flash unit suddenly falls off the stand it is securely attached to (for no reason) and smashes into four pieces. 

Then, another lens rolls off the table and breaks. 

It was crazy. One thing after another kept happening, until I couldn't even use my camera anymore. I ran around the corner to the camera rental shop and guess what? IT WAS SHUT DOWN! 

Incredibly disheartened, I went back to the shoot, and we decided we'd just finish it off with an Avant Garde shoot-with-your-phone approach. 

Then, my phone dies (the battery was still at full power). 

It was like there was this poltergeist sucking the life out of everything I owned. We finished the shoot off with the models phone, but it was epically sad. 

The worst part is that I haven't bought insurance on my equipment yet over here and my US insurance has just ran out. AHHHH! 

Anyway, on the bright side it has really forced me to look at where I'm headed and make some positive professional changes in the right direction. 

The Fun: Jon's 29th birthday-- whoo hoo!

Several weeks ago, Jon woke up and said, "Jess, I had this amazing dream where I came home from work one day and you had decorated the apartment and it felt incredible!"

Despite being an art major, I've never bothered to decorate or even purchase any furniture other than a bed, desk and table. The super practical side of my brain prevents me from doing anything in a space I know I won't be in for more than a year. But Jon's dream made it pretty clear that the time has now come! 

For his birthday he got the works-- the art, the bedspread, pillows, rugs, mirrors, lamps, etc. More photos to come... I'm holding out for the day that our stuff FINALLY arrives from New York before sending photos of the apartment. 

Anyway, it was lots of fun. The things he asked for were a triple layer chocolate cake (check!) and a hundred reasons why I love him (gaggy, I know, but we are both pretty sappy romantics). I did the latter as a sort of art instillation on one wall. Lots of fun even as such a quiet birthday with the two of us :)