Monthly Archives: June 2014

A fishing pole, banjo and a beer

Posted on June 20, 2014 by erikamae82

Once upon a time, my mom and I took one of our usual walks to the beach.

After too many duo selfies and a couple cartwheels (me, not mom) she randomly spotted a cheerful looking fella walking with a huge fishing pole, a banjo and a beer. “Ooh, I wonder what he’s fishing for!”, she says like a curious kid who wants to know everything about everyone. As I turned to look, my lovely mother was already near him with her hand extended. As I approached the banjo man, is was clear she had met an incredibly good natured guy with an easy going attitude. Casual conversation lead to a hair cutting date and a new friend. Nice catch mom!

Fast forward a few days and here we are! A front porch haircut and more smiles… Excellent!

Sorry sweetheart, I’m not experienced in dog grooming.

Glorious! I score another buddy with an instant connection bonded by a haircut. I’m so thankful mom was interested in his fishing adventure.

Moving on in the week, Steven sent me another client that enhanced my day with an additional porch side haircut, meet Grayton!

UPDATE:
I met Steven on the beach who then introduced me to Grayton. What I didn’t mention above, was that he also referred me to a job of my dreams at a local vegan cafe and juice bar. (Turns out Grayton works with there as well!)

Guess who is now officially employed at the one and only Raw and Juicy that sits so perfectly in the center of Seaside beach?! I’ll show you more details of this adorable set up later, but here’s a sneak peak!

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: Beach, Florida, haircuts, santa rosa beach, work | Leave a comment

Digital Graffiti at Alys Beach

Posted on June 16, 2014 by erikamae82

It’s been labeled “Photo Bombing,” “Guerilla Projection” or my favorite, “Urban Projection,”. This is when underground artists use huge structures, such as sky scrapers, to cast their own digitally animated images for display.

“Digital Graffiti” at Alys Beach is the first outdoor festival specifically organized to showcase these unique talents. It reminds me of the white walls in Malaysia that welcomed local artists to draw, paint and tag till their heart was content in a structured and encouraging environment.

For one night, this beach-town of white stucco buildings turns into a living gallery. A dark neighborhood is lit by pathways of colored lights and innovative artwork. The event coordinator explained it simply, “Our town literally becomes their blank canvas.”

Here’s a day time shot to give you an idea of the distinctive buildings that make up the famous Alys Beach.

After the sun went down, the stimulating lights came on and the digital art was displayed for all the guests to view. If you’d like to see video of these photos in motion, go to www.digitalgraffiti.com.

After observing the extraordinary art scattered about the neighborhood, we found ourselves at a dance party, otherwise known as my “happy place”. The Dj did a fine job keeping a crowd along side a chill Vegas-styled pool (that was extremely tempting as we all stood in the Florida humidity trying to look cute and pretend that you didn’t feel the sweat dripping down your back).

A complimentary photo session invited friends to line up and pose for a picture that would probably be used later as friendly bribery and/or memorable laughing material.

Before going on, I’d like to point out the gorgeous blonde in the photos from above. Julia Cole is an upcoming singer/songwriter that I met through Tyler (the gentleman in the post “Beaches, boats and ballads”). I highly suggest checking her out (my favorite song is “Sweetheart”) and let me confirm, her stunning looks match the remarkable voice that comes out of her sweet smile.

Julia, thank you so much for the pleasant path crossing, hopefully next time we’ll get more time! Cheers to you and the journey ahead.

Ok, so this is where my night goes from amazing to heartbreaking. Without boring you with the details, just know that at this point, my body signals the call it a night siren and I decide to head home. Enter sad pouty face here. Feeling like a 9 year old that gets sick at Disneyland, I exit the fantasy evening holding high hopes that I’ll get another opportunity to experience it to the fullest.

A special thanks to Tyler and Andrew for making this a possibility for me!

Please note, many photos from above were borrowed from other sources.

Categories: Art, Uncategorized | Tags: Alys Beach, art, Dance, digitsl graffiti, Florida, Julia Cole, pool party | 1 Comment

Beaches, boats and ballads.

Posted on June 8, 2014 by erikamae82

I finally arrived in Florida to visit my marvelous mom and naturally, we had our toes in the sand within moments of my arrival.

Surprise for me! On this night we got to go to a show of my ultimate favorite local band, Heritage! You may remember these quality fellas from the post, “A man becomes what he thinks about”. With music that feeds the soul and energy that boosts the mood, you really can’t go wrong by surrounding yourself with their unique vibe!

This is my favorite photo of the evening simply because of the bright smiling blonde enjoying the music. Priceless!

Who’s this? No seriously, you can barely see us… but standing next to me is a fine gentleman by the name of Tyler. Within moments of our first eye contact, the conversation was flowing as if we’d known each other for years.

2 days later

Did I mention that this new pal wake boards? With my quick acceptance to his casual offer, I found myself on a boat with non other than fun loving Tyler and a handful of his closest buddies. Yep, it happened.

The drive inland takes us lakeside to a perfectly placed country house that just so happens to be the home of Andrew. I didn’t ask permission to expose his full name or his professional past… Let’s just say some may consider him to be “kind of a big deal”. (To be said sarcastically but half way serious).

Time to suit up, stretch out, get wet and throw some tricks! I’m speaking in regards to their abilities of course. Mine would go more like, “Suit up, cross your fingers, get cold and score some bruises!”. Either way, good times all around.

I forgot to have someone snap a picture of me doing super-skills (ha.ha.ha), but I did snag a few sweet ones of the boys!

Check out the clouds in these next photos. Definitely a typical Florida sky showing signs of potential rain with a side of rolling thunder!

That’s our cue to head in and tie up. My curiosity peaked when I couldn’t see a dock, but was quickly tamed when they informed me of the plan. His backyard had flooded a bit which made for a smooth transition from boat to water… to slimy mud… to grass… and finally to his deck. Ignoring the idea of water moccasins tangling between by ankles or swamp alligators sniffing out my new lotion, I jumped off like the rest of them and made the trek towards his house.

With the barbecue fired up, we made time for quality conversation and an assault attack of some yellow flies (please google them if you’ve never heard of these aggressive insects). Not pictured below was the entire group running, swatting, slapping and yelling threatening phrases at these vicious little creatures!

The sunset brought a calm ending to an energetic day and the perfect opportunity for a handstand.

Much gratitude for the open invitation and hospitality shown by this group. I look forward to the next adventure… Soon to come!

ADDITION:
A week later, I got to head out again except this time there was twice as many riders and some of the best in the world (seriously). These famous athletes were shooting film to promote next seasons gear. From England to Australia and a few Cali kids, this boat towed some extreme talent and I was lucky enough to observe!

Without much explaining, here are some photos I captured throughout the day. I’m sure they’re not as incredible as the ones snapped by the professional (that’s using a waterproof-inspector gadget camera getup), but hey…