Friends w/ Skillzzz

In my bid to revitalize my blog after neglecting it for two months I am going to cheat and spend a post praising my friends.

I am some friends with some pretty cool skills.  Some of them are wonderful artist, whether professionally or as hobbyists.  Some of them are comedians and actors in plays in NYC and Chicago.  Many of them work behind the scenes on documentaries, films, and webisodes.

Here I will celebrate a few of them whose exploits I happen to have at my finger tips.

1.  My awesome college roommate is an all-together sweet and kind person, fantastico student & friend (who tolerates my wackiness with glorious patience and grace), and is in the process of applying to med school to become a psychiatrist.  But she also dabbles in painting and gave me this groovy, zany, personalized painting-- one of the best presents I've ever received--- for Christmas!  (P.S. I love butterflies!)

2.  I think of my friend Heidi Celeghin as my debonair artist friend.  Because she is super smart, understands WAY more of art theory and technique than I do, and she is making her way as an artist and art instructor--- which is SO COOL!  Here is one of my favorite of her paintings:

She also drew Guy Pearce for Interview Magazine.  So you know she is pretty awesome. (Also check out her writing, especially Fish Food.)

3.  My friend Ania guest posted a while back.  She has some serious photography skills that I wish I had. 

I especially love her nature photography.























Oh yeah, and she also does all this cool photography while doing an MD/PHD. Crazy, amazing gal!

4.  Comedian Zack Mast is a pretty funny guy.  He writes lots of funny stuff but two of my favorites are his review of lobster and his review of Tower Heist (spoiler: he didn't like it).  I also love his more observational pieces (can't find the links at the moment . . . blogger fail.)

5.  One of my friends, Linda, works on this webseries: Dating Rules from My Future Self.  The episodes are only minutes long but still entertaining, funny, and unexpectedly plot-packed!  So no excuse not to check it out.

So yeah, my friends have super skillzzzz.

Photogsnazzy: Autumnal Guest Author Ania!!!

Welcome to my first guest authored post! I have super cool and talented friends who deserve a little attention. One of them is Ania who does a little, gorgeous photography--- while simultaneously being a medical student! You can check out her blog about photography, U2, and med school here. But first check out her post below:

Autumn Photos, Pinckney State Recreation Area, Michigan by Ania

My friend Ashley and I decided to leave Ann Arbor for a day and go immerse ourselves in the wonders of Mother Nature while the trees were changing colors. Lost among girl talk and miles of trails, I managed to remember to use my beloved Nikon D90.

Ashley really liked the Sassafras leaves, and found one so appealing she put it to her face. Voilà, the birth of a very fun photo.
I am a huge fan of macro shots, and when we spotted these adorable fungi growing on a tree trunk, I could not help myself.