Boston | DAVIDsTEA

While we were on the waiting list for our brunch at Aquitaine in South End, we stumbled upon this lovely tea shop called DAVIDsTEA. We were instantly in love! A plethora of loose leaf tea with pure chai samples? Yes, please! The two gentlemen who were working there were just the friendliest, down-to-earth people I had met in Boston so far. One was even from North Carolina and went to a high school 25 minutes from ours. Definitely a firm believe in six degrees of separation.

They have the HUGEST selection of loose leaf tea and of course I had to take some home. The shopaholic in me also bought one of their "perfect mugs" and a mint tin to hold my tea. I am in tea drinking heaven! I can't wait to try all their fun flavors like popcorn at the movies or stick to my favorites like chamomile.

For more Boston photos, click here.

GUEST POST WITH ERIN OF STUDIO 336

Well hello! I'm Erin and I blog over at Studio 336. Melissa invited me to pop over and share a few things with you today, and I couldn't be more happy to do so.

I've been reading The 25th Hour for some time now. Every time I stop by I'm encouraged to find that 25th hour, the hour of taking it easy, going out for coffee, reading that book you've been wanting to read, or tackling that project you've been meaning to get to, for.. say.. about 2 years now. I know I'm not the only one who could use more hours in a day which is why we all need to find that 25th hour. Find the time to do things that are good for the soul.



1. / 2. / 3. / 4. / 5. / 6.

Handmade. Printed, screened, painted, built, or drawn. It's all made by hand. There's something about know that someone put time and effort into make these goods that makes them even more special than they already are. And then, to know that you can directly effect that same person, by purchasing their item. It's fulfilling.. not to mention that awesome knew thing you have to wear, or use, or have remind you of something good. That's how I see these things. This is almost always how I spend my 25th hour. Now, to find a 26th hour to get that coffee and start working on that project.

Melissa, It's been a pleasure, and to your readers, I'd love if you'd stop by Studio 336, and feel free to stay a while. You'll find an assortment of handmade finds, small production goodness, the occasional DIY idea, and giveaways. I love to share what I love, and if you end up loving those things too, well I won't complain. You can also find me on facebook, and twitter, and instagram, and pinterest, or in my shop. But really, it'd make my day if you stopped by to say hi!

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Isn't Erin wonderful? I just simply love her taste so much! Be sure to check out her blog and follow her as well. She posts the most amazing handmade items, some even her own! She's such a talented and inspiring individual. I assure you, you will be seeing more of her soon :) Thanks Erin for stopping by!

Hallelujah

 

Every now and again, I like to look at my past journal entries. Some entries I'm entirely embarrassed about, others I definitely reflect on. Journaling has honestly not been on my "plate" for years...I wrote an entry a few months ago, but before that it had been about 1.5-2 years since the last entry. I'm on a mission to try and journal more...at least jot down my thoughts. Here's a more recently entry I wrote while I was waiting for my car to get fixed at a Meineke (I know, a great place for deep reflection).

"I'm so excited to love. Not necessarily a specific someone. When I meet that someone, I'll know, but in general to love. Love myself, my family, alone time, the little things, love a stranger, love the unlovable things in life. Just love everything, because I know I have that capability. I'm really excited for my life right now and my heart is so full and ready to love."

I'll leave you with some Rufus -


*Can you notice my tired eyes? I would say "that's college," but I'm not sure if this is the extent of the exhaustion I will feel in the "real world."

Contact Sheets || B&W Film

I miss you.
I have spent nearly all my afternoons and evening with you two years ago.
It was hard not to fall in love with you.
You inspired me.
You made me feel passion.
You made look at things through a new perspective.
You made me feel like a true artist.
I made mistakes with you, but they were beautiful mistakes.
There was no such words like perfection in your vocabulary.
You helped me understand what it truly felt to take a photo.
Not a snapshot, but a photograph.

You made me believe that photography is truly painting the world with light.

Thank you for being my light.
I miss you.
I miss you, film.

From an earlier post, you may not have noticed that I took a black and white photography class two years ago and it truly was the best experience I ever had. These are a few of the contact sheets I have from class. What are contact sheets? After you develop the film (and let them dry), you cut them into slips of five and insert them into a page protector. You then transfer it to photo paper in the dark room like you would for any photo. This way you can see all your pictures on that roll of film at once and decide which photos you want to develop individually. This also helps see which shots were overexposed or underexposed. I think these contact sheets are a work of art in itself. Tells somewhat of a story doesn't it?

I hope to continue to use film more. As far as developing goes, I have no access to a dark room, but maybe one day, yes, one day, I will have one of my own. I guess I should add that to my bucket list, huh?

A little black & white film

Two years ago, I was able to take a Black and White Film class offered at Appalachian. It truly was one of the most creatively inspiring and challenging courses I ever took. I say challenging because the dark room aren't no walk in the park! I was feeling nostalgic about using my manual camera and dug some of these photos up from my old class binder.

I'm on a mission to find the photos that I used for critiques. These photos were either not turned in, or developed just for the sake of developing :]

I hope you enjoy a little of my adventures with my '76 SLR Nikon and the photos I had the lovely opportunity of developing in a dark room. I miss you dark room.

Photo details

[1] My camera and I on a little adventure down 105 [2] Appalachian Library [3] My beautiful friend Olivia who I used to swap clothes with [4] My inspiring father and loving younger sister [5] My old roommate and wonderful model back in the day when I took more photos [6] Isn't she beautiful? [7] Right outside that little park [8] Hannah being the cute model that she is [9] My ever inspiring friend, Rene [10] My first love, Zoey.

I'm escaping down to Georgia this weekend to take a break from finals. Good luck everyone!

A little piece of my mind.

click to enlarge. (c) melissa vega

Taken Feb. 28.11
My view from my back porch.
"Poem" written by moi.