new look, new year

Happy 2011!

While our blog recently underwent a little face lift and we now have a permanent home at ampmcrafts.com, we have been totally MIA for the last month. We know it, we acknowledge it & now we're moving forward.

We were super excited to launch our own website. It's been sometime in the making, something we've been wanting to do for a long time. Now that's it's up and running, we already have plans for some new items that will be posted in this coming year.

2011 is going to be the year of new beginnings, a new chapter to the life of am & pm.

We started it off with a Holiday in Spain (props to the Counting Crows & this version of the song!). It was my first holiday there, and four years tardy for pm. Needless to say, it was time for us to go. We were able to escape the cold and enjoy family, friends, food and wine. Ah, it was wonderful. I hadn't realized just how wonderful it was until we came back. Why did we come back? ;)

Our holiday in Spain, also was a holiday from all responsibilities. We paid our rent in advance, and since all other expenses are on pre-paid accounts, we could sit back and enjoy. We very rarely checked our email and as you can tell from our social media efforts, we stayed away from most technology. Fact is: pm and I need a break.

Prior to our trip we were running in so many directions I am surprised that we even made it to Spain without forgetting the clothes on our back and gifts for family. Or worse case scenario: our passports. I will admit, that was a close call the day we left.

We will post photos soon-- as soon as we finish the rolls and get everything developed. I think this time we took more film photos than digital. My love for doing things the old-fashioned way doesn't lead to the immediate results. I am hoping the photos will be worth the wait.

Along with posting photos, we'll also be posting some of our goals for this space for the new year. Since we haven't had time to think about new year's resolutions (other than to eat more vegetables and cut back on meat for the time being), we haven't had time to post anything here yet either. It will come. After all, all good things come to those who wait.

Rather than make a long post longer, we'll be back. Soon.

I may take a holiday in Spain / Leave my wings behind me / Drink my worries down the drain / And fly away to somewhere new.

Archival Discovery

I love taking walks down memory lane. Looking back at old photographs and reminiscing about the good old days (and the good now days). This photo was a great, as per the tile, archival discovery. Pm was looking through some of our older photos from Chicago and found this goodie. It was taken just about this time last year.

A year ago when he was here and I was still in Michigan. He jokes that this was when he was living on the streets with a sleeping bag. Truth be told, not true. He was being fed and housed just fine without me being around. I think he just missed me. :)

I was looking at a couple of very old photos last night; let's rewind back to elementary school when a dear pal of mine and I decide to dress up as old ladies for Halloween. Looking at those photos made me think about the whereabouts of a shoebox I have of all my photos. I know this shoebox is at my parents house, I am just not sure where. Next time I am home I will have to see if I can locate it. I am sure it is chock full of other good photos - from Halloweens past and beyond. Probably even includes some awkward high school dances and sporting team photos. Maybe it's best to wait... ;)

This brings me to the point of my post [and I better hurry before pm finishes off the last 90 Minute IPA -- I love you Dogfish Head -- we just poured]. I feel like when I was younger I did a much better job of documenting key experiences. This is not to say that I don't take photos of events and everything today, but it's different. Now instead of having hard-copy photos in albums (or shoeboxes) we have them saved on CDs, DVDs or on our computers. Face it: How often do you look through your digital archives?

I am an old soul. Always have been, always will be. I used to think it was a curse, but now I think it's a blessing. [Note to self: Theme for another blog post]

I still take film photos. We still put photos into albums and make prints of photos we like. I feel like this is no longer the norm, and it makes it increasingly harder to find great archival discoveries like the one that we found today.

Is there a quick fix to this? Yes and no, all depending on how much time and effort you want to put into it. Our (as in the ampm) quick fix is to take both digital and film photos. We try to weed through all the photo duds (ironically most tend to be with digital) and either upload them to Flickr or share them through Picasa albums. The ones we really like make it to the fridge, walls and postcards.

Do you have any tricks of the trade with your photos?