chookooloonks + my honey’s birthday = love thursday

Long, long ago (last year), before I had a blog and before I was “officially” a photographer, I was searching. I wanted a more creative, balanced life and I wasn’t quite sure how to get it. So I did what any 21st century gal does: I consulted the internet. And there, I discovered blogs of some pretty amazing women – creative women who had quit their jobs to pursue careers in art, writing, and photography. They had seemingly found not only a way to do what they love, but had also found a community of supporters who were just as amazing. I knew I had found my home.

I wanted in.

Early on in my search, while mining the infinite abyss of blogs, I discovered Karen Walrond (a.k.a. Chookooloonks). Her blog stood out immediately. Not only was her photography breathtaking, but her words hit home. It felt like she was speaking directly to me. I quickly clicked over to read her bio and discovered that she had quit her job as a lawyer to become a photographer. Reading her story gave me a little boost of confidence. Heck, if she could do it, why couldn’t I?

Needless to say, I adore this woman. From the moment I found her blog, I was hooked and have been following her journey ever since – from her life list to her love of rum to her weekly “Love Thursday” posts to her mission to photograph 1000 faces to the launch of her spectacular book, The Beauty of Different. I had even decided that being photographed for Karen’s 1000 faces project would have to go on my own life list.

Fast forward to last week when I found myself in a cozy cafe in Houston, Texas being photographed by Karen.

{photo by karen walrond}

And, of course, I had to get her from behind her lens and in front of mine! {Note, the second photo below is of Karen impersonating how her six-year-old daughter, Alex, poses for photos. Diva-licious!}

So how did this happen? Well, let’s just say it involved a moment of inspiration after Karen put out a call for creative ideas and suggestions for places to do book readings next year. In the blog post, she said:

If you’re an artist of some kind, perhaps when I come to your town, we can work together to promote your work, as well — make the event beautifully different, you know?  We’ll brainstorm something — I’m happily taking any ideas.

My mind immediately was a-buzz with ideas for what she could do for her book reading in Seattle (because of COURSE she was coming to Seattle, right?) I shot off an email to Karen and we made plans to meet to brainstorm when the hubs and I were in Houston over Thanksgiving.

And so we met. And we brainstormed. But mostly we chatted about life and photography and how we ended up where we are at this moment. We talked about her book (which is AMAZING by the way - you should buy it.) We talked about Thanksgiving and what it is that we Americans love about it (she’s originally from Trinidad and her hubby is British).

The three of us hit it off and before we knew it, we found ourselves having lunch at the home of “Mr. and Mrs. Chookooloonks” a few days later, meeting their daughter and their dog, and eating our first Trinidadian curry (seriously amazing). What I loved about connecting with this sweet family was that it really didn’t feel like we were getting to know each other. It felt like we were catching up on lost time. 

Looking back at our initial meeting with Karen at the cozy cafe, what struck me was how quickly she tuned into how much love Jason and I have for one another. Granted, we are a bit nauseating to be around sometimes, but she didn’t seem to mind. In fact, she wanted to know all the nitty-gritty details of how we met and how we got engaged. When Jason snuck off to the restroom, she leaned over and gave me kudos for marrying such a great man.

I couldn’t agree more. He is beyond great. He’s friggin’ great.

me + jason in one of my most favorite photos ever taken of us. {photo by karen walrond}

So today, I’m excited to tell you that something is brewing for late January in Seattle that involves Karen and her beautiful book. More details coming soon!

I also want to wish that great husband of mine a happy birthday. I love ya, darlin’! And I look forward to nauseating people together for years to come!