The winners of USA Landscape Photographer of the Year 2016 have just been announced and their photos are nothing short of spectacular. One of my favorites is by Mark Basarab who won the DPR Special Award Youth Winner for his clever photo showing a leaning man juxtaposed with a slanted tree. It was taken in Point Reyes, California.
The two big winning images can be seen below. You can check out all the winners on the USA Landscape Photographer of the Year website or you can sit back, relax and enjoy a compilation video, that includes a great selection of the winning images.
USA Landscape Photographer of the Year Winner: Alex Noriega
Sunrise light illuminates Mount Rainier as it rises above low clouds, seen from high above Tipsoo Lake, Washington.
My USA Youth Winner: Raiatea Arcuri
Coastal lava tubes in Kona, HI cause the water to flow in and out creating beautiful water motion.
Thanks to some inspiration from Pinterest, I’ve decided to drastically change up my hair. When I first saw the galaxy-style hair trend late last year, I knew it was something I’d love to try. My sister told me I should check out Guy Tang, he’s a West Hollywood-based hair stylist that’s so popular he doesn’t take on any new clients. Here are some examples of his work.
Yesterday, my family got together to celebrate two November birthday’s, my sister Grace’s and her husband Keith’s. Grace had a private chef come to her house to cook up some bbq, the first time we’ve ever done that. She found Pat’s Famous BBQ on the Nextdoor app and booked him to cook up the whole meal which included not just ribs and skirt steak but mac ‘n cheese (for the kids), salad, and cornbread muffins. Everything was delicious! I’d highly recommend him.
Though I’m not a cake person, I loved the cake my sister bought. It was from SusieCakes. Called the vanilla celebration cake, it’s 6 layers of vanilla cake baked with colorful sugar confetti. Not only was it pretty, it was perfectly sweet. If you’re looking for a dessert place, check out SusieCakes, they have multiple locations.
Now, here are some pictures from the celebration.
This is Pat from Pat’s Famous BBQ. He came with all of his cooking gear and he made fresh, delicious food right on the spot.
Berry, my niece, loves this hammock that I gave them. I bought it on Amazon on a whim but it turned out to be one of the best gifts I’ve given them. They use it all the time.
My brother-in-law, Burt, enjoying a glass of wine on my sister’s deck.
Grace recently bought two Max Wanger prints to hang on her walls. One of them is from his Hawaii collection. It’s called Waikiki No. 4.
This is part of the food that Pat prepared. I couldn’t get enough of those ribs.
One of my sister’s friend’s daughters came over to celebrate. Carol loves to braid hair so I caught this picture of her in action.
A sweet moment caught between my brother-in-law and his son.
Next week, my sister Carol is receiving an award at her work. My other sister, Grace, wanted to lend her a dress. Carol tried on multiple ones but I liked this one the most. Doesn’t she look stunning? (I hope she doesn’t get mad at me for putting this up on the Internet.)
I like where Airbnb is going. It’s all about experiences!
I’m holding out for the iPhone 8 and I’m looking forward to seeing these other tech products roll out next year.
This modern apartment complex in Ecuador was inspired by nature and reflect the elements of Fire, Air and Earth. Marcel Wanders is a genius. (I want to live in Air.) After seeing this video, you’ll want to live here, too.
If you follow @songofstyle on Instagram, you have to get this book. (It’ll up your Instagram game.)
Design*Sponge’s Grace Bonney picked out her gifts you can buy on Amazon. (I like the idea of polka dotting a wall.)
Using paint or lights, artist Asae Soya can transforms an ordinary room into a surreal wonderland. The Japanese artist, who is skilled in multiple mediums like painting, drawing, installation and video, takes her work to the next level with her deliberate use of color.
Soya obtained a doctorate in fine arts from the Tokyo University of the Arts in 2006. I can’t get enough of her work! How I’d love to see one of these installations in person.
When I first saw pictures of this installation, I was mesmerized. As a fan of unique lighting, I couldn’t take my eyes off of this. Haberdashery’s Leaf is a delicate and customizable canopy system suspended from the ceiling. Individual leaves are made with porcelain and gold. Combined together, the leaves look like they are being blown by the wind. With down-lights, the sculpture brings out elegant shadows that bring a beautiful ambiance to a room. Leaf comes in five hand-applied finishes, including 14-carat gold, gold, platinum edge and the elegant and timeless pure-white glaze.
The wall-mounted version, called Leaf Eddy, features leaves mounted upon an adjustable stud that can be arranged in any configuration.
It’s like sculpture, installation and lighting combined.
Though I’m a person who favors an all-white walled house, I can’t help but love this new trend. Wallpaper with giant floral design are bold, brave and beautiful. In this example, I like how the flowers stand out against a black background. It really makes the flowers pop while setting a moody tone. Brit + Co and Curbed called floral murals one of the hottest wallpaper trends of 2016. You can find this one at Murals Wallpaper.
By now we’ve seen our share of Supermoon photos. This one just popped up on my Facebook feed and it made me smile from ear to ear. It’s by @trevorandkahlua who wrote this, “The super moon last night and tonight was insane! I hope everyone had a chance to get out and see it. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t howl.” Love how Trevor (of Trevor and Kahlua) is pushing the moon while his little doggie, Kahlua, sits on top of a mountain.
I just got off the phone with my oldest sister, Grace, who I consider to be one of my best friends. Today is her birthday. Growing up and having two sisters, I got to develop strong bonds with the both of them. The two couldn’t be more opposite, they bring out completely different sides of me. I always tell people that “I’m somewhere in the middle” of those two. While Carol is all about cooking and crafting, Grace is the fashion guru who’s heavy into politics. Since I wrote that open letter to Carol, I thought, today, that I would do the same for my other sister, Grace.
Here goes.
Dear Grace,
If there is one thing I know in life, it’s that you got my back. While we were living together, when I got my first job at MTV, you were always there for me, making sure I wasn’t working myself to death. Our bond is strong, we’ve been through a traumatic childhood yet we somehow managed to turn out ok. I think this is in large part due to you, our “mother hen.”
Thank you for taking charge of every birthday and holiday, for making sure we all meet up as a family. You help us remember what’s important in life.
If it wasn’t for the confidence you gave me, I would never have started my first company, My Modern Met. You never doubted that it would be successful (or at least you hid it very well). Now that I’m at a crossroads with my career, thank you for your encouraging words and your unwavering support.
I’ve always looked up to you for your fashion sensibility, you somehow make anything you wear look effortlessly chic. I’ll always remember the times you took me shopping, when I had an important meeting or a speech to give. You even flew all the way to Utah for me and Bom (Eugene) when we gave our first speech on behalf of My Modern Met, at Alt Summit.
I know I’m not a good phone person so I appreciate how you give me my space, to come to you when I’m ready. Your love is deep and I can feel it every day.
I appreciate the relationship we have. I tell myself who needs a bunch of friends when I have my two sisters as my best friends?
Remember when I broke down in Mexico? Unsure of who I was, I questioned all of my relationships. I didn’t feel like I could trust anyone but I had you and Jae (Carol). You guys always give it to me straight and I appreciate that. I never have to doubt your authenticity, question your motives.
I love you more than you’ll ever know. I don’t say it but I feel it. Please remember that.
A few weekends ago, Sam and I took a few days off. We scooped up the kids and decided to embark on a road trip to Monterey. It was our first road trip as a family, the farthest we had ever traveled with the kids, before that was to Santa Barbara. Loaded with snacks and drinks, we hit the road. Why Monterey? The boys love aquariums (like the one in Long Beach) so we thought we’d show them one of the best we’d ever experienced. On a side note, Monterey was the first trip Sam and I went on as an official couple, back in college. Going in, I knew it would stir up some good memories we had shared there.
Now, let me show how we experienced the trip in pictures.
Parker and Logan seemed content with their chips and movies on the long ride up.
On our way up, we decided to take a break and explore the Santa Barbara Zoo. It’s not too big (like the San Diego Zoo) and not too small. The best thing about it is that you can get up pretty close to the animals. (I like the way Logan is adoringly looking at his older brother.)
We decided to stay at the Intercontinental, The Clement Monterey. It’s walking distance to the aquarium and all the shops and restaurants. I wanted something contemporary and clean. I literally had no complaints. We joined the Intercontinental Hotel Group (IHG) Rewards Club, for free, which gave us a good discount on the room. (Here the boys are cozied up together playing with their iPads.)
After we checked in, we walked around the city and picked up a few toys for the kids which included a small, soft ball. When we got back to the room, the boys threw it around and played catch with it. It was the best three bucks we had ever spent.
We started off the next morning with breakfast at the C restaurant, which is located inside the hotel. It’s a family friendly place with good food and excellent service. After breakfast, we headed right outside our hotel to a walkway where you can see the ocean. Here, Parker is giving me his biggest smile.
Logan thought the sound of the crashing waves was much too loud.
We walked over to the aquarium the next morning and took this sign at the entrance. Clearly Parker was excited. (Cue sarcastic tone.)
We got inside the aquarium and immediately came face to face with scuba divers who were cleaning the inside of a tank. Parker and Logan were fascinated.
Sammy is pointing out all the sardines swimming round and round in this tank.
Each exhibition was mesmerizing. Just watching fish and other sea creatures going about their day is fascinating.
Of course, the boys liked touching the sea animals like the starfish and sea urchins. I was proud of my Logan that he was so brave.
Parker was, of course, ecstatic to touch sea creatures. He loved learning about them.
Of course, what’s a family trip without a total meltdown. After the aquarium, Parker was tired. He wasn’t listening to us and instead wanted to do his own thing. We had to give him a moment to compose himself.
On our way back down from the trip, we hit up this very modern park called Uptown Family Park. The kids loved it! It had this cool climbing wall that Parker enjoyed.
In conclusion, we had a great time though we don’t think we’ll drive THAT far next time. Because we took the pretty coastal drive on the way up, it took us about 10 hours to get there. (This includes time at the zoo, lunch, dinner and a fill up at a gas station). Perhaps we’ll do Palm Springs next or maybe even Vegas. At least we survived this one!
Hello, I’m Alice Yoo! I’m founder and CEO of Skylar Yoo, a company dedicated to inspiring and empowering women to be bold. We sell apparel, art prints and accessories to the modern feminist.
In my former life, I was editor-in-chief of the art and culture blog My Modern Met, which I founded back in 2007. I curated and wrote about art, design and photography for more than seven years. (In fact, I published over 7,000 articles which were seen by millions of people worldwide.) I’m also co-author of a book called For Love: 25 Heartwarming Celebrations of Humanity, which is on Amazon and wherever books are sold.
I live in southern California along with my husband and my two toddler boys.
This blog is about what I love, the tough experiences that I’ve learned from, and my journey as a second time entrepreneur. Right now, I’m in the midst of a 365 day challenge, to read one book a day. If you share my passions or want to learn some cool new facts, come along for the ride. I hope to inspire, educate and entertain you!
