Talos Turns 1

It's official - my baby isn't much of a baby any more. Talos turned 1 on Thursday, January 22, 2015 and my heart totally hurt because I can't believe he's so big compared to the little puppy we brought home with us nine months ago. There's still some remnants of that little guy, especially when he tilts his head down just slightly and looks up at you with his big, brown eyes. Total puppy face. I have pictures of him making the same expression at 4 months old, so it's refreshing that my tiny baby boy is still in that big, grown body somewhere. 

Of course, in true Danielle fashion, the pup got spoiled. I wanted to get more presents for him, but someone (James) said no and that the day was ridiculous enough as it is. Whatever, dude. 

Talks got woken up to a little extra food in his bowl and a raw egg mixed in, and a whole lot of "Happy birthday!" from mom and dad. It helped that neither of us had obligations that day, so instead of spending a few hours out of his crate before going back in, he got most of the day with us. Bubby also got his new big boy collar. I will admit that I'm devastated about seeing his red one go. James wanted a darker one, though, as well as leather. I compromised on that I got to pick out what he got, even though it's not quite what I'd put on him. Regardless, he does look much more adult and it does compliment his coloring well. 

Along with many loves, Talos, indeed, got a cake for his birthday. As a photographer who's starved for something different to edit and who hasn't done a cake smash in forever, this was bound to happen. So, I found a recipe to an aesthetically appealing cake that happened to be VERY puppy friendly and the idea was set in stone. And before I get any "dogs shouldn't have cake," back off. All that was in it was some almond flour, some eggs, dog appropriate berries, coconut oil, peanut butter, and some greek yogurt with VERY low sugar content. All organic, too. Yes, he's incredibly spoiled. 

Once it was done, the "little" guy got to go to town and he loved every bite of it. He was actually disappointed and confused when it was gone, as if more should've magically reappeared once he was done. 

All the photos below are copyright of Danielle Armstrong and are not to be altered in any way or claimed as another's work.

Gaviota

We don't really believe in "new year's resolutions" in our household, but we do believe in making changes where necessary. And if it happens to be on the new year, then what a coincidence. One of our changes we want to make is getting out of the house more and doing something, at least, once a month. "Something" being a small trip or a more costly activity for us, such as a short camping trip or heading to something like the Ostrich Farm. We also wanted to get back into our habit of going on hikes like we did back in New York, and just being more active in general. I'm not particularly happy with the amount of weight I've put on since moving and while a lot of factors were out of my control, I still am somewhat disappointed in myself for letting myself be lazy. Getting out and hiking through the mountains is an obvious way to fix that.

So, on one of my days off, we packed up the old ruck and the pup in the car and headed over to Gaviota State Park to hike one of the trails there. A few weeks ago, I did some research on locations for a session I had and came across all different kinds of trails through there. James had been raving about how gorgeous of a place it was and that the camp grounds were really nice, so it seemed more than convenient to go there. We picked the Wind Cave trail, which lead to these really cool caves in all the mountain sides. Be warned, though. It may only be a 2.5 mile hike roundtrip, but it was incredibly energy depleting. The majority of it was uphill, and not a subtle uphill. It was a pretty steep incline that was slippery, narrow, and taxing on joints. For my knee, it was a little sketchy. Worth it, though. The view from the top was spectacular and the whole trip was beautiful. I have a feeling we'll be going back. Also, fun little tidbit - the beginning of this trail would be perfect for photos ;)

All the photos below are copyright of Danielle Armstrong and are not to be altered in any way or claimed as another's work.

Ostrichland USA

Not too long ago, we had some friends from New York visit us while they were down here on leave! Talk about awesome, right? We took them out to Solvang for the day and on the way there, we drove by Ostrichland USA. Mental note taken. 

Once I had a day off a few days later, I pulled out that mental note and the two of us trekked down to this wonderful place. Pay a few bucks and you literally stand face to face with, like, a hundred ostriches. I'm not even joking. You don't get to stand down on the ground with them or ride them, which is a bummer, but you can feed them! Just so you're aware, feeding them is hysterical. I can't even write words about it to truly express how hard I was laughing while I was behind the camera. 

In all seriousness, though, this place was awesome! It was a low cost for the two of us to go see not just ostriches, but emus, too. The place is a preserve for them and they even have baby ostriches there in their own little pen. Even in childhood, these birds are still pretty big. The emus were much smaller, actually. Compared to the bigger birds, anyway. Don't let it fool you, though. The man who was addressing guest questions said that their curiosity is dangerous and that it's not uncommon for them to jump the fence and just meander into town. I, personally, am hoping to witness this at some point. 

We'll definitely be back, especially because they sell ostrich and emu eggs at their gift shop! 

All the photos below are copyright of Danielle Armstrong and are not to be altered in any way or claimed as another's work.

Project 52: 2014

So, I didn't make it all the way through project 52. I completed 30 weeks of it, the wrench getting thrown in as soon as our real preparation to travel across the country kicked in. My absence of photos took place at 27 weeks, and I didn't get back into the swing of things until week 47. Even then, I had a hard time really balancing this with working and going to school.

Despite that, I'm pretty proud of how long I stuck with it and that it took a move from NY to CA to throw me off! More than anything, I have 30 beautiful images that represent my year in photos - photos from week to week. I love seeing the growth in me from one week to the next, seeing the growth in the photos and the development of it all. 

Needless to say, I do plan on doing this again in 2015! I may not complete it again, but that's the goal! Or, at a bare minimum, maybe I'll make it 31 weeks. 

All the photos below are copyright of Danielle Armstrong and are not to be altered in any way or claimed as another's work.