Freckle PhotoBlog

Monthly Archives: June 2008

Click on the title of the blog post to view the entire entry.

The summer festivals

June 30, 2008 – 10:43 pm

Chicago goes crazy in the summer and every weekend brings a new outdoor festival or two or three. Already this year we’ve gone to two new (for us) ones.

Above, the Puerto Rican fest is only a half mile from our apartment but this is the first year we made it over. Humboldt Park is a huge greenspace where they throw up some creaky-looking rides and fill the rest of the open area with lots and lots of food. We had to try the hanging meat (the man beside it is chopping some up for us). I asked what it was, but he didn’t speak very good English and I have no idea what he said–but it was delicious. And that’s me trying my hand at some sort or rolling ball race game. I lost. Twice.

Yesterday we went to the Pride parade in Boystown. It was outrageous and entertaining and for every man walking around in his underwear there was one in a fancy gown. Sadly, my pictures aren’t very good but some images are best left to the imagination.

EDITED TO ADD: Phil said I should share a few of my Pride pictures for those of you who can’t quite imagine them so I added several pictures, all of them of men. Enjoy!

By Melissa | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (4)

Why we live in Chicago: the food

June 29, 2008 – 12:58 pm

Hi! It’s Becky, the sister, guest blogging about my life in, you guessed it, Chicago. I’ve lived here for almost six years now and I thought I would share some of my favorite parts of it.

Phil, my boyfriend, and I are both adventuresome eaters. I like to try new flavors and foods and he likes to try, well, new body parts. When our friends invited us to their neighborhood for dinner last night we got to try a little of each.

First of all I thought I would mention we took the bus. I snapped a photo of the gas station across the street as we waited for it and gas was $4.35. We haven’t had a car for a year and a half and we have never been so glad.

Back to dinner, we ended up at a Vietnamese restaurant called Tank (yes that is a picture of an army tank on the left side of their sign). Phil had the Chao Cong Doi which translates to Pigs Innards Congee (a kind of soup). Here is what was in it: Vietnamese sausage, pork liver, pork heart, pig intestines, cooked pigs blood and pork tongue. Needless to say, I didn’t even try a spoonful. The blood was in large gelatinous chunks and Phil said he didn’t dare show me the hearts. He thought it was tasty!

We also stopped at a Vietnamese market and he picked up some Instant Natural Jellyfish. The back of the package reads, “It has the unique refreshing and crisp, and tender and smooth tastes of its own.”

We love the food here, but for different reasons.

By Melissa | Posted in Guest post | Comments (11)

Campingpalooza!

June 28, 2008 – 10:10 am

It’s that time again! The Speelman Family Campingpalooza begins today! We’re probably setting up our gigantic tent right this very moment. Every year I make t-shirts for the campers. My very talented sister, B, designs the logo. I absolutely *adore* this years logo! Every year she comes up with something fresh, fun and new. I’m never disapointed. Here are some logos from years past . . . 2007 and 2006. B will also be guest posting while I’m gone (you didn’t think I’d leave you high and dry for a whole week did you!). Leave some juicy comments for her (otherwise know as “blog love”). Upon my return I’m sure I will have lots of Campingpalooza pics to share.

By Melissa | Posted in Family, My boys | Comments (2)

Outtakes . . .

June 27, 2008 – 1:05 am

I came across these photos from my “sister” session. I just loved their interaction and fun expressions. Thought I’d share :).

By Melissa | Posted in Portfolio, School | Comments (1)

Sisters . . .

June 26, 2008 – 12:05 pm

Here is the *official* sneek peek from last weeks session. I just love the vintage look of these images. Both parents of these two cuties teach in my school district. This is the third time I’ve had the pleasure of photographing them. We went to an abandoned home in Kings Mills. The girls fit into this scenery just perfectly. They have the sweetest relationship too. That first photo sums it all up.

By Melissa | Posted in Portfolio, School | Comments (7)

Gallery

June 25, 2008 – 3:00 pm

I just finished up Kelly and Andy’s engagement photos. I thought it might be fun to post a little slideshow of all the images. If you click the photo above or click here, you can see all of their proofs. You don’t have to wait for the whole slideshow to load. Click the little triangle on the bottom left of the window. The show is about a minute and a half long. I set it up to go pretty fast. The music is a little quirky. Makes me want to watch “When Harry Met Sally” :). Enjoy!

By Melissa | Posted in Portfolio | Comments (4)

One from this morning . . .

June 24, 2008 – 9:55 pm

IMG_7452web copy.jpg

Check out these three cuties! We met at Spring Grove this morning. They did such a great job. I wanted to share one quick photo before we head out for vacation. You’ll see more after we return. I’m doing my very best to get caught up before we leave.

By Melissa | Posted in Portfolio | Comments (3)

I’ve been tagged . . .

June 23, 2008 – 10:55 pm

Let me start by saying that I do my very best to avoid these things, but my good freind Kelly (blog here) tagged me and to be completely honest I didn’t have a post ready for today. So, here it is . . .

#1 What were you doing ten years ago? Well, I actually dug up some pics from 10 years ago. It wasn’t easy since those were “film” days, but I managed to find some photos that are pretty darn close to EXACTLY 10 years ago. These photos are from our annual Fourth of July camping trip- yes, we’ve been doing this a looooong time! Joe and I were married with no kids yet. Come to think of it, we conceived Isaac the summer of 1998 (there’s a thought!).

#2 Five things on your to do list First of all, I wish there were only five things on my to do list! 1. Pack for camping (that’s a doozey right there!) 2. Finish proofing photos (another biggie) 3. Clean the house 4. Play with the boys (an easy one) 5. RELAX!!! ( I really should move that to #1)

#3 Snacks you enjoy I’m starting to have some pregnancy cravings, they include chips + dip (a total addiction for me), grapes (I leave a bowl in the fridge and snack on them all day long) and Auntie Em Cinnamon Pretzels (yuuuuum!)

#4 Places you’ve lived Shelby, Akron and Cincinnati, Ohio

#5 Things you would do if you were a billionaire Wow, that’s kinda tough. I would definitely travel with my family. I’m pretty sure I would keep my teaching job- maybe go part time. I would also photograph families all over the place- for free of course :).

By Melissa | Posted in Something to make you smile . . . | Comments (5)

Speelman Reunion

June 22, 2008 – 8:02 pm

Speelman Reunion.jpg

We’re back from the *BIG* Speelman reunion. I didn’t get to take as many photos as I usually do. The reunion was rudely interrupted by a Tornado Warning. Don’t get me wrong- we didn’t leave or anything, we just took the kids to the laundry room and waited out the storm. Unfortuantely, the rain lasted a few hours so then we hung out in the Commissary and played video games. Joe’s cousin Kelly always plans super fun activities and games for the kids. We were about to start the water balloon fight when the storm swooped in. The kids were still able to do the scavenger hunt, but it was getting pretty dark by then- so no pics :(. Joe’s BIG family is always so much fun. It was great to see everyone. Plus, it got the boys all revved up for our camping trip. They were already catching fish and frogs in the river. I just hope it’s not as cold and rainy as it was yesterday!

By Melissa | Posted in Family, My boys | Comments (6)

Love this . . .

June 21, 2008 – 10:43 am

Flynn bw.jpg

I’m out of town this weekend so I wanted to share one more photo from Andy+Kelly’s engagement session. I’m still working on their session and I’m just loving their images. Hope they do to!