Rabbit Avenue

I am having an affair... with the city of Toronto. It shouldn't come as a surprise since it's often compared to Chicago, but my love for Toronto is in the honeymoon stage when it can do no wrong. For my birthday, I treated myself to a flight there via Porter Airlines. I spent the weekend with some of the most loving, easy-going humans I know. We met only a year ago but their hospitality and city keep me coming back. I spent my last day biking with Annie around Kensington Market, stopping for ice cream and candy and sampling jams and mustard. That evening, I wanted to take a moment to capture my lady friends in the garden they've begun curating. At one point, Cailtin sweetly inquired, "Do you know when you've taken a good picture?" This stuck with me and the answer is yes. There's a feeling when I know I've taken something that encapsulates the moment perfectly; a desire to freeze what my mind sees so others might see it too. Of course, I don't have to travel anywhere to find that feeling... but it doesn't hurt when I get to see these faces.

Sunscapes

 A few more from that time on the roof in Mexico. Color is something foreign countries do so well.

Please hold

This particular morning was spent sitting at my Abuelita's kitchen table while my mother was on hold for a comically long time. Breakfast involved two quesadillas with ham and a sliced apple that I threw in at the last moment. Mostly I sat and listened to my Abuelita talk and my father occasionally chime in with agreement. I spend roughly 5 mornings out of the year at this table but it always feels like home. Nothing about it has changed since I was a child. I spent the next hour taking a series of photos from the single spot I have sat in so many times before.

Posiciones de ballet

One of my earliest obsessions was ballet. My mother has some questionable photos of me, big-eyed with boyish hair, wearing a leotard and tutu, I'm sure of it. However I never made it beyond private living room performances to Beethoven. On my most recent trip to Mexico, my cousin Carolina (great name) and I got to talking about the Ballerina Project. Without purpose, we decided to try some photos in her backyard with the fleeting sun. These are only a few but I'd say they're a little better than the ones my mother has of me.

Up in the air.

It's no secret to my social networks that I've done a lot of traveling this year. I've barely spent anytime in Chicago this summer and have checked into Midway Airport 15 times since January. Yet I never get tired of the view from such great heights (assuming I can land a window seat). Things look so miniature and fragile. Cars move peacefully at what looks to be a snail's speed. I have an abundance of photos from up above but these are a handful I took on my flight back from vacationing in Florida with my boyfriend's family.