Every Kind of Love

Love forever. Love at first sight. Motherly Love. Sisterly Love. Brotherly Love. Love birds. Love bugs. Romantic Love. True Love. First Love. Sweet Love. New Love. Love between friends. Love yourself. Spread the Love. Love is.

I know I am a day late, but I threw together a quick video of all the photos of hearts & love I have found over time using my iPhone. Enjoy! ♥

Song: Valentine by the oh-so-talented Kina Grannis

Valentine from Chelsea Chamness on Vimeo.

Fireworks & More

I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July or other celebration if you are not in the U.S.! Ours was nice, Brent's parents always have a party and you can see both the Dana Point & San Clemente shows perfectly. Amazing weather, gorgeous views, yummy food, no crowds... doesn't get much better!! Did you do anything fun or exciting this weekend?

♥

Memorial Day Weekend

Sometimes a three-day weekend is just what you need to recharge. You have probably noticed I have been absent for a little while, life has been a bit hectic on my end lately...in both good & not so good respects. Let's start with the good news. Two of my photos made the finals in the Third Annual Spring Photo Festival, & I started a part-time job with an advertising company, which I am enjoying very much. The not so good, Grandma Pearl passed away. Monday my Grandpa had surgery to insert a stent in his Carotid Artery, Tuesday Pearl passed away. Then Thursday my Grandpa had a hemorrhagic stroke. As of today, he is recovering well & the prognosis is good but it was really scary for a few days. My mom has been with him since Thursday, & they are both on my mind constantly. Please keep my Grandpa Bill in your thoughts & prayers!

Needless to say, this weekend was welcomed with open arms. It started with the Glee Live Tour in Anaheim, CA. Just Aunt Lori & me, the show was so well done & we had a blast.

The rest of the weekend was filled with bike rides, beach trips, sunsets,

& of course yummy food!

How was your weekend? Do anything fun?

Summer is just around the corner!!! Stay tuned ♥ ♥

Green

In the spirit of St. Patrick's Day,

Sending a little green your way!

♥♥♥

Happy St. Pat's Day everyone!

♥ Happy Valentine's Day! ♥

There are many reasons I love Valentine's Day. For one, it brings back fun memories of giving and receiving valentines in elementary school...the excitement of carefully picking them out at the store, distributing into everyone's homemade holders, and gleefully reading each one as I stuffed my face with candy.

Another reason I love Valentine's Day, I can't get enough of all the hearts, the reds, pinks & purples, the sappy cards and of course the surplus of chocolate and candy. And I love walking around the downtown shopping area and seeing all the store windows decorated.

But my very favorite part of the holiday is the opportunity to express my love for those who mean the world to me. While romance is a big part of the day, I like to think of it as a day for love of any kind...shared between parents and kids, significant others, pets and owners, siblings, friends...

This year I spread the love by sending out homemade valentines and chocolates.

I hope that above all else, you were able to spend time with those who you love!

Happy Valentine's Day! ♥ ♥

Hours to midnight

Hours to Midnight

by Chelsea Chamness

2010, goodbye my friend,

you left us rather fast.

Bittersweet is your retreat,

another year has past.

New days await as we create

new plans and goals and lists.

Full of steam and hopeful dreams

for a year of joy and bliss.

Fingers crossed as away we toss

what doesn't help us grow.

A farewell wave as we brave

the new year's ebb and flow.

As we embark on this new start

Remember all the smiles.

Friends around and love abound

Forget not the traveled miles.

Do not erase the hard days faced

throughout this recent year.

Learn and take from your mistakes

with optimistic cheer.

2010, goodbye my friend,

midnight is so close.

January first we'll be immersed

in a celebratory toast.

Happy New Years to everyone! ♥

Life is Sweet

If you know me, you know I love to bake. I may not have mastered the skill of beautifully decorated cakes, or fancy French desserts, or even conquered the entire contents of Martha Stewart's Cupcake or Cookie cookbooks. But what I can and love to do is make desserts that taste good. Simple, yummy sweets that I can share with others. The holiday season gives me extra opportunities to don one of my cute aprons and measure, stir, mix, bake, decorate, eat, and my favorite part, passing them on to make someone's day a little bit sweeter.

This year I decorated a massive amount of sugar cookies in the shapes of ornaments, candy canes, trees and mittens. I made Aunt Carol's candy bar fudge - fudge topped with caramel, peanuts and melted chocolate. Homemade caramels dipped in semi-sweet chocolate and sprinkled with sea salt, chocolate dipped marshmallows, and toffee. Is your mouth watering? Because mine is!

As 2010 comes to a close, these are the sweet moments from the year that I never want to forget:

♥ The party to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of my transplant.

♥ The trip to LaPaz, Mexico with Brent's family.

♥ Entering my first ever photo contest and receiving 4 honorable mentions.

♥ Bryan and Risha's breathtaking Indian wedding at the Nixon library in Yorba Linda, CA

♥ My cousin Emily's high school graduation.

♥ Rediscovering my passion for photography, Shutter Sisters, and Project 365.

♥ Family reunion trip to Granby, CO.

♥ Giants & Dodgers game.

♥ John and Jocelyn's wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego, CA

♥ Brent and my 2 year anniversary.

♥ Tom Petty Concert.

♥ Jack Johnson Concert.

♥ Photo classes "Picture Fall" and "Picture the Holidays".

♥ PCRF Bid for the Kids fundraiser.

♥ Combined birthday celebration for me and my mom.

♥ So You Think You Can Dance live tour show, third year in a row!

{Day 23 Picture the Holidays - Life is Sweet}

Shoot a sweet treat today that you long to share or savor

Post inspired by Reverb 10

♥♥ What sweet moments do you want to remember

as we move forward into the new year?♥♥

Rain + Holiday lights = Magic

Lights Galore

The lights of the season are so enchanting. Lights on the tree. Hanukkah candles. Decorations on the outside and inside of houses. Snowmen and reindeer, candy canes and more. Growing up, one of my favorite traditions during the holidays was taking a drive through neighborhoods to ooh and ahh over the lights displays. This has not changed. To me, the lights are such an integral part of the season and as soon I start to see them displayed, the gears in my click from the last season to the next. Festive and beautiful, they have proved to be very fun photographic subjects!

{Day 10 Picture the Holidays - Twinkle Twinkle}

Twinkle lights, fantasy, wishing and whimsy - all part of the season.

Capture something that sparkles today.

{Day 11 Picture the Holidays - Shaping Up}

Pay attention to the shapes of things today...see if you can find

something that resembles something else today.

{Day 16 Picture the Holidays - The Season of Lights}

They call it the season of lights for a reason and there are

ample opportunities to shoot them.

{Day 17 Picture the Holidays - Warm Glow}

Capture the glow of a candle to signify what is meaningful in your life. Make a wish, set an intension, pray, meditate and shoot.

{Day 18 Picture the Holidays - Recharge}

Take a break when you need it, relax and take a deep breath.

Find what it is you need to recharge.