A Belated Review: 2013

Hello my wonderful readers!!

Happy (belated) NEW YEAR!!! It is 2014! How crazy is that?! Is it just me, or has this year flown by?! I am super excited to see what 2014 has in store for us, but as I look forward I am also compelled to spend a moment honoring all of the wonderful (and perhaps not so wonderful) moments in 2013.

This year:

I bought my first Iphone and, subsequently, 
Posted my first image on Instagram

Bought my first vinyl album and went to Nichole's for the first time 

I turned 22 

Went to my first NHL game (GO WINGS!) 

Started learning how to play hockey
Spent St. Patrick's day with family 

Attended an outdoor party (yes, we spent the day outside, and yes there was snow) 

Fell in love with the Como Conservatory

Graduated from college!!

I found/was found by Brooke Kupcho
Attended the first Wolftree Event

Visited the Minneapolis Institute of Arts for the first time

Ran/walked my first 5K! 

Went Kayaking
Went camping in Itasca State Park

Went to two family weddings (congrats again Emily and Charlotte!)
Lost dear family friends to illnesses :(  
Started working at a bank
Saw THE POSTAL SERVICE in concert!!!!!!!! SO AMAZING! 

WAS PUBLISHED IN WOLFTREE V. 2!! :D
Chopped wood for the first time :) 

Watched my dad run a half-marathon in the rain :)
Celebrated birthdays :)
Went to Colorado
Saw my Dad run an impromtu 5K in Colorado
Saw lots of my extended family
My best friend got engaged!
Donated to the Kickstarter community (and began an art collection) 

Commissioned a piece of art
Realized that the details matter to me
Worked on Wolftree's first Ebook, "5 Pies and a Sugar Cookie"
Baked. A lot. (for me) 

Attended the Wolftree cooking workshop!! :D 
Read books. Lots and lots of books. (and contributed said books to my library- also known as my room)
Had a food fight in a bar, and didn't get kicked out
Helped my dad create a rink  in our backyard 

I applied for grad school (all done!!! *happy dance-> like this about 20 seconds in*)
Had 4 wonderful Christmases

Thank you to all of those who joined me this past year! I am excited to see what the future will bring for all of us!! :)

With gratitude and joy,

AK

Itasca- The Film Shots

Hello my lovely readers,

Happy fall! Or should I say winter? We had snow today in North Dakota, and while it was beautiful I did feel a faint twinge of pain at the thought of fall being over already. I have been a busy bee lately, as I am partnering with Anne Gillie, Molly Yeh, and the wonderful people at Wolftree to make a holiday Ebook! You can fine more information about the Ebook Cookbook on Wolftree's blog, as well as read guest posts by Anne and I. I am super excited to share these yummy treats with all of you- the Ebook is set to release November 15! If you can't wait that long and want to spend your Saturday learning to cook with the talented Molly Yeh, consider signing up for Wolftree's cooking event on November 9th! All participants get a free early download of the ebook! That's right, you cook with Molly AND you get a free download of the Ebook an entire week before it is released!! :)

As excited as I am about the future, I would also like to take a moment to share some images from the past! Below are some of my film shots from Itasca State Park. I took these over the summer and sent them to the FIND lab about a month ago. I am thrilled with the way these turned out!

 Hope you all have a fabulous week!

-AK

P.S. If you want to see more film images that were processed by the FIND lab, check out this post.

P.P.S. All images were shot with a Pentax K1000 camera using Kodak Portra 400 film.

P.p.p.s. Sign up for the cooking workshop here: wolftree.co/workshops 

Reflections on the idea of "Home" and a quick update :)

Dear readers,

I have never been able to give my heart to one place, on destination. Growing up, the word "home" was malleable in meaning- it could mean the state in which I lived (ND), the place where my mom grew up (WI), a specific house (whichever one we were living in at the time), or whatever house we were staying at while traveling. Like ivy, my family roamed across the northern half of the United States- we spread our tendrils out into the wide world while at the same time sinking our roots into my hometown for stability. Our bonds with our friends and with each other were our source of strength, and I could never quite give my heart to a particular town. It seemed like everywhere we traveled to had a different reason to be loved, a different flavor to enjoy.
I was not, however, a tumbleweed. My family was incredibly fortunate- despite being in the Air Force we stayed in the same location for much of my childhood. Our travels were to visit family and to explore the National Parks and wonders of the USA. I am well aware that many of my fellow Air Force friends were not so fortunate- I had many friends who were transferred to a new location year after year, who were truely like tumbleweeds drifting from one base to the next with each set of orders. No, I learned early that despite my love for travel I liked having a place to store my stuff, a place to curl up and read a book, to sleep in peace, to think in. Yet that location was not where my entire heart belonged. Perhaps you will call it the no popular term of "wanderlust," perhaps it is a testament to the wide world to which I was exposed to as a child, but the house and town that I grew up in do not hold my entire heart.
As I have gotten older I have begun to accept the idea that my heart may belong to a much broader place- the North. Places covered in lush forests and dotted by quite (and not so quiet) lakes. Places who accept the fact that snow will cover the ground for a greater portion of the year than the grass. Places full of hardy folk who know the importance of friendship and family, who know that the warmth of a gathering among friends can block out the biting winter chillls. How else can I explain the way my heart soars at the sight of hardy conifers, the majesty of bald eagles, the unforgiving expanses of the plains? The fact that I feel a kind of homesickness when I come across pictures of the northwest and northeast coasts of the US, when I stumble across images from England and Ireland? Is it possible to love the lands above a certain latitude? 

The above post is something I have been thinking about for the past few weeks. Below is the summary of my adventures via instagram photos from the past month or two. :) I have been camping, kayaking, learning new things, and learning more about myself as I go. :) I hope that everyone has had as lovely of a summer as I have been having! #adventureIsOutThere 

Saw the Postal Service for the first time!!! It was AMAZING!

Bob and I kayaking in Minneapolis! :)

Minnehaha Falls

Itasca in July

Itasca State Park! (If you are in Minnesota you should take the time and stop here!)

I got Bob up at five in the morning and we went and watched the sunrise paint the lake and the sky with soft purples and pinks. :)

North Dakota weather #thatNDSky

First time kayaking! :)

Reduce, Reuse, Re-cycle

The camping group :)

#whpReplaceYourFace

#thatNDSky

Itasca State Park- Seriously people, just visit it! :)

 Well, this post has been a bit of a smorgasbord of updates and ponderings! For those of you who are wondering, I am still working on my ISBN project, if you would like to take part please email me at akphotog@hotmail.com. :) For those of you who are wandering, exploring, and having adventures, I hope that you are having a blast!

Thank you for giving me your time and attention!

Until next time,
AK <3

The Holidays

Dear Readers,

As I write this my hands are coated with the contents of a box of markers- a memento of the hour or two I spent coloring tongue depressors for my mother's kindergarten students and bonding with my family. Tis the season, but of what? I have noticed over the years that we now say "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas," and this change I do not entirely mind, however it does make me wonder what it is that the Holidays truly celebrate. I don't think it matters whether you are religious or not, the Holidays are important. They are a time to focus on those who care for you, who have helped shape your everyday life and been a part of your everyday joys. This does not mean exclusively the family created through shared DNA, but also those who have become family through bonds of friendship; through late night phone calls and stories that are always more amusing in retrospect. It is a chance to gather together and create deeper bonds; to create an atmosphere of love and compassion, of respect for the similarities and the differences within us all.

With these thoughts in mind, I have looked back and decided to share with you all images of a very dear friend of mine from Itasca State Park. This was a day of laughter and adventure; of lonely highways and clear fall skies. This was a day of family and of friendship, and I am happy to share it with you all.

Happy Holidays, my wonderful readers, may you find joy throughout this chilly season.

<3 AK