Secret Garden

Kris has already headed back up to Oregon but while he was here, we went to check out Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden @ The Mirage. I haven't been there since I was a little girl and it's a lot better now then it was back then. It's not a huge zoo or anything, just the dolphin habitats and the big cats but it's nice to spend a little time there anyways if you want to do something different on The Strip.

What are some of your favorite places to visit in your city?

Scavenger Hunt Sunday {July 28}

Cool Colors

Kris and I recently visited Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden @ The Mirage... I hadn't been there since I was a little girl and it was nice to try out my camera at some up close and personal wildlife. I really love the color of this leopard and his contrasting spots. I'll have more from this day visit up soon!

Leaves

Iced Beverage

Ever since Katie @ Skunkboy mentioned that she goes to this local place for Lavender Iced Coffee, I've been attempting to make my own. I made a second attempt today to make the lavender coffee syrup and should have the recipe up soon if it goes according to plan.

Cooling Off

Murderface loves playing in water, Jasper does not. However, they both like to stay cool and hydrated by eating ice cubes. 

Raw

I took this Raw image of the moon last week during the monsoon storms. It made for great cloudy night shots!

Join the fun and link up every Sunday!

July Playlist

The summer jams continue on Mocha Fox with this month's playlist!

My favorite song that I can't get enough of lately?

Clarity- Zedd (ft Foxes)

It's been on constant repeat on my iPod, can't get enough of it. If you like it then you should really enjoy this...

July '13 Playlist

+ "Summertime Sadness" - Lana Del Rey & Cedric Gervais Remix

+ "Get Lucky" - Daft Punk

+ "Chocolate" - The 1975

+ "Midnight City" - M83

+ "We Have Love" - Panama

+ "Love You In The Dark" - Sombear

+ "On & On" Snakehips (Snakehips Edit)

I want to hear your suggestions on what to add to next month's playlist!

What songs should I be listening to???

Friday Foxy Things!!

These are the foxy things I'm feeling this week!

>1<

I just signed up with Feedbands! Basically you receive one new released vinyl record from an unsigned band a month in the mail for $19.99 and if you don't like it, you can send it back and not get charged that month. I love vinyl and I'm always on the hunt for records so this seemed right up my alley. If you sign up now, you can start a free trial for a month! I'm really excited to receive my first record and you know what else is great about this besides finding new music? Your vinyl also comes with a biodegradable download card to get a digital version of the record. After you download, plant the card which contains wildflower seeds!!

Visit Feedbands.com

>2<

I am so into muscle tanks with the really deep armholes, I can't get enough of them. It's hitting the hottest part of summer and not only do I look cool wearing them, I feel cool too! There is something about that extra side ventilation... Don't be tacky about it though! I always wear a sports bra or one of those cute bandeau/bra tops underneath.

>3<

Fav Pins:

+ Long Distance Relationship Advice from Lauren Conrad

+ How to get the perfect Top Knot

+ My favorite Cheesy Baked Gnocchi recipe

+ I love this couple portrait!

+ I may not be British (wahhh) but I'm so happy for the Royal Couple! Still think Royal Baby needed a far more epic name then George..

+ Pretty set on getting bangs back on my next haircut, what do you think of this?

>4<

One of my favorite stores, The Printed Palette, is selling these special American Blogger tanks in honor of the upcoming "American Blogger" documentary! I just ordered mine, snag yours now!

>5<

Sponsor Love:

+ Emmy @ Love Woke Me Up This Morning has these great posts on amazing fictional female role models, keep your eyes peeled for my guest post on the subject soon!

+ You have to check out Cazz @ Nerdburger and even more so.. You need to check out her Etsy Shop filled with nostalgic, childhood, custom made jewelry. I really love the Trent Ring she's selling!

+ I absolutely love everything about Crissy @ Candypow from her hair color to her photography. She's got a great giveaway going on now so don't miss out!

+ Bree @ Who Is Bree Anyway has a great photo project in the works!

+ Shay @ My Confidence + Me recently posted a DIY cutoff shorts tutorial that would go great with those deep tanks I'm loving!

>6<

If you haven't watched Drunk History yet... You really should. The Al Capone one is by far my favorite followed by the Lincoln Assassination.. It's so great you guys.

>7<

I recently made Murderface wear my Adventure Time hat and now he looks like a panda.

>8<

+ Did you guys know I have a Tumblr? Yep, keeps me occupied for hours and I reblog some pretty cool things there...

+ You should also follow me on Twitter. I'm a riot.

+ Have you snagged a spot for August sponsorship yet? You probably should as it's my birthday month which means some cool shit will probably be happening. This is the last month to get a $5 discount, just use the Promo Code: SUMMERFOX. 

Life Lately....

This past week has been a trip.

>> I said goodbye to an old friend with his family and our friends. It was sad but at the same time, so much fun to be with all my old friends again. We all went out together afterwards to the bar we have been going to since we were underage. I'm not exaggerating when I say friendships were mended and memories were shared that night, I also found out other sad things about people I still care about that are unfortunately no longer in my social circle... But that's life. I'm glad that in the light of death and sadness, there was still laughter and goodness to come out of it.

>> The day after the memorial, my boyfriend decided to come and be here with me for a few weeks. He drove all night to show up on my doorstep early in the morning and it's nice to have him here with me for awhile after being apart for so long. We both needed to see each other, specially with everything that's happened. He's probably going to be hanging out till the 10th of August and then he will drive back up to Oregon  and wait for a week and a half till I fly out there for my birthday trip. I've been busting out all my Italian cooking now that I actually have someone around that appreciates it!

>> Monsoon season has hit Sin City. It's funny how crazy people get about the rain, my Facebook feed turns into the Weather Channel every time it even sprinkles. It has been nuts though, the first storm brough 75 mph winds and there were quite a few lightning fires, power outages, and ripped up trees. Driving through my friend's neighborhood, we saw a tree in a house and one had landed on a car. It was pretty crazy. The last few storms have been pretty tame in comparison and we just wait them out by doing this..

>> Horse head masks are the best thing ever.

>> Summer semester is over in five days!! Hooray! 

Unfortunately these last two semesters are going to really really really suck for me. This fall I'm taking Communications and Statistical Methods.... If you guys didn't know this already, I'm really terrible at math. Like extremely awful. The fact that I haven't taken a math class in over ten years makes it even worse. Which leads to my next bad school thing... My very last classes I need to take is my Capstone Course and my Math class. Only two classes before graduating right? So I have to study to take a placement test that will hopefully place me in the Math class I need... Otherwise I may have to take a lower level class to get into the actual credited class I need which means extending my graduation date to next Summer or Fall instead of Spring. Phew, so irritating! So even though I have a month off till Fall semester, I'll be spending it studying math for the placement test. 

You can cry for me, I appreciate your tears. 

So that's been my life lately. 

Fill me in on yours!

>> August is the last month that my summer ad space will apply! Use the Promo Code "SUMMERFOX" for a $5 discount on all ad spaces! Get it while you can!!

Water Nymph

Remember those crazy back to back photo sessions I had a few weeks ago?

I finished them last week and really want to share since I absolutely love them!

See the rest from this collection here.

I promise to be back on more regular posting starting this week. Thanks for hanging in there with me. 

Love Woke Me Up This Morning

Between the loss of my friend and the stress of finishing up summer semester in two weeks, I've been too distracted to get a decent post up. That's why I figured today would be the perfect time to introduce you to Emmy, my Featured Sponsor this month. Emmy blogs at Love Woke Me Up This Morning which is something I think we all need to wake up too lately.

Can you give me a brief introduction about you and your blog?

Mother Theresa once said: "I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love." What gets you up in the morning? On the surface, at least for me, it's my iPod alarm, an enthusiastic dog, and a strong cup of coffee. To be totally honest, I'm not really a morning person. It takes me a little while to get coherent thoughts going in the early hours of the day and my snooze button is always tempting me. But eventually, I do get up. I go about my day. There's something that motivates me to gPiet my rear out of my bed and do my thing every single day.My hope is that "something," is love. I want this blog to be where I can remind myself, and you, of that. Love should be the thing that motivates me every single day.

What do you like to do for fun when you aren't blogging?

 I read ( A LOT), write novels, participate in my local community theatre, watch musicals, and spend time with my family and friends.

What is your favorite "geeky" thing?

I'm a HUGE geek - so this is a tough one to pick just one thing! I'm the biggest Harry Potter fan ever, but recently I've become a fan of Doctor Who and Supernatural. But Harry Potter will always have a special place in my heart.

Anything else you would like to add?

 I can't wait to get to know all of you better!

Blog / Twitter / Instagram / Facebook

Make sure you stop by and say hi to Emmy. 

I also wanted to thank those of you who reached out to say something nice or just leave a kind word for me. For some reason I've lost some blog and twitter followers over the death of my friend which I totally don't get. Thanks to all of you who stick with me, it's much appreciated.

Goodbye my friend.

I got some bad news today. Unfortunately one of my friends took his own life last night, he is the one on the left in the picture above. Exactly the same way my cousin lost his life. I'm sad, mad, and confused all at once. It's really heartbreaking to not know why he would do this. He could have talked to anyone of us, we would have been there. 

I'm sorry you were in so much pain Alex. I hope you're at peace, wherever you are. We love you and miss you and I'm truly sorry that this happened.

Suicide is NEVER the answer. 

If you or someone you know needs help, PLEASE reach out to someone before it's too late.

You can find Counseling & Prevention Resources here.

Nurture Photography Summer {Golden/Evening}

I just finished editing all my shoots and just in time to make this Nurture Photography prompt!

Golden

My last shoot was in the historical Woodlawn Cemetery, one of the oldest (and nicest) graveyards in Las Vegas. Unfortunately, it's located in the heart of North Las Vegas which can be a very scary place. Luckily, the drive through a homeless shanty town was worth it to get these images.

You can see more from this session here. Truly check it out because I haven't even begun to show my favorite images from that shoot yet!

Evening

I'm biased but I swear we get the prettiest evening skies here, the sunsets are to die for. 

Before & After: Cloud Drama

I've been chained to my computer the past few days due to three different photo sessions I'm trying to edit. I was just working on a photo from my second session when I thought, maybe this process is something I should share with my readers.. Running a photography based blog and all. To me, personally, just taking a good photo with a nice camera is only half the work. I really get down and dirty when it comes to my editing process... I think any good photographer does some kind of editing, even if it's just removing one simple ugly blemish. I love retouching and exploring in photoshop with my photos even more then I like taking the pictures themselves sometimes! The moods I can create by running one simple action, it's powerful.

This is the photo I was working on. It's a little dark since she was sitting in the shade and notice how bland and boring the sky is. It could also use a little sharpening up. 

Before

After

The biggest difference is the cloud overlay I used to add some drama to the sky. I used Yellow Sky Action's Cloud Overlay for this. I also did some light skin and eye retouching as well as using some filters to brighten her up. I would usually realign the horizon as well but I didn't want to chop her lower leg out of the picture by doing so, so I left it as is. 

I highly recommend to any starting photographer to invest in some retouching actions. It's the easiest way to really start making your photos pop. I adore Florabella Actions & Textures, it's pretty much my favorite. 

I can't wait to show you guys the rest of what I've been working on, I'll be showing you guys soon!!