photos: "The Pool Where It Once Stood" & "A Rose For The Lost"
by Lelann Gillham for © Lelann Azalee Photography
the newsroom
It's rare when a television show comes along and truly captivates you. Some do it with humor and wit, others with drama and intensity. The new HBO show The Newsroom created by Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing, The Social Network, Moneyball) has all of those qualities, not to mention wonderful actors (Jeff Daniels, Emily Mortimer, John Gallagher Jr., Alison Pill, Thomas Sadoski, Olivia Munn, Dev Patel, and Sam Waterston) and filled with fast paced dialog, and likable intelligent characters. The first five minutes of the pilot episode actually made me smile, laugh, cry, and shout for joy. Jeff Daniels' lead character Will McAvoy says the things we wish journalists in real life would say about politics and the current standing of our country, and what we used to stand for. The Newsroom is a breath of fresh air and something we greatly needed at this time in our country. Let's just hope it makes a big of an impact as shows like it's predessesor The West Wing. It seems to have all the potential and talent needed, now its just needs that social media bang and not just a slow fizzle that eventually catches on, if ever.
*watch it Sunday nights at 10 pm on HBO
favorite looks for summer
I did a new Pinterest Board for the fabulous Elizabeth Banks and one of her new contests that she brilliantly comes up with. So check out my board and see if you like my picks for my FavoriteLooks4Summer!
beauty tip
Beauty nail tip update I found from The Beauty Department that I'm obsessed with. I have a love for turquoise and now my nails can look like my favorite stone...
*my color choices for this technique: Diwali by Chanel & Turquoise & Caicos by essie
*my color choices for this technique: Diwali by Chanel & Turquoise & Caicos by essie
tutorials
NAILED IT!
photos/post/graphic design: Kristin Ess
""It seemed many of you were fans of the “Robin’s Egg” & “Gold Leaf” color combos, so we thought we’d do one more nail art combining turquoise with gold. In this tutorial we’ll teach you how to make your nails look like turquoise stones, but instead of using black as the accent color (which would make it quite literal) we’re using gold for a slightly softer and more glamorous look. Here are the 6 simple steps:
- Start by painting your base with a nice shade of turquoise. We used this one.
- Next, take a small plastic sandwich bag or plastic wrapper and crinkle it up. Hold most of it of it in your palm and make a “flower-y” shape with the rest as you see in the photo above. You’ll use this like a stamp.
- Paint some of your gold polish (we love this one) on the plastic. Doesn’t matter how you paint it on or where.
- Note: Dab the plastic bag/wrap on a piece of paper once or twice before you start to remove the excess polish. Now dab it on your finger. Then do the next finger. You’ll need to re-apply gold polish to the plastic bag every couple fingers.
- After you finish dabbing the gold on each finger, clean up the edges with nail polish remover and a paint brush.
- Add our favorite quick drying clear coat and you’re all set!
Show us your version on twitter. You can honestly do this in any color combination you want. Can’t wait to see which colors you choose.""
snow white and the huntsman
I've been excited for this film for quite a long time now, and I have to say it didn't dissapoint. In fact it surpassed my expectations! I've seen it twice now, and I'm pretty sure this is going to be one of those movies that when I go to my "movie pantry" I'll reach for it 8 times out of 10. It should last for a very very long time! I can't even go into detail about the Kristen, Charlize, and Chris, we would be here all night reading a novel. They all blew my mind with their stunning abilities to make me go "WOW" every second of the film. Haven't seen it... then GO! NOW!
fashion photo friday
Now I know it's weird when blogs blog about other blogs... but I have to say WhoWhatWear is one of my fav sites and this is just such a great "fashion photo friday" post I had to share it...
featuring:
featuring:
celeb instagrams
Sometimes I come across celebrities with amazing instagrams posted on their twitter pages
so I'm going to start a designated post for those who make me smile with their perfect little pieces of life taken with their cell phone.
This posts instagrams come from the fabulous Taylor Swift!
serena
The movie I can't wait for next year... Serena
Ron Rash is one of my favorite authors and this novel is a masterpiece. I was able to vividly picture the entire book into a film in my mind, and even though my main characters did not look like Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper. I couldn't choose a better casting, especially with Jennifer as Serena. She seems to be type casted quite a lot recently, but at least she has the best "type-casting" of any 21 year old in Hollywood. Serena is another naturally gorgeous, powerful, and ruthless female protagonist for Jennifer Lawrence. It's the kind of character she does best, and I have the feeling she'll leave me hypnotized and restless. Hopefully this wonderful poetic book will be translated into film with justice to the author's original work. Fingers crossed.
elena & mathew wedding
I'm going to start posting some of the engagements & weddings I've photographed starting with this sweet couple... Elena & Mathew. It was a very quick shoot right before their wedding and yet one of my favorites to edit. The V-day inspired one being the stand out photo!
Hopefully I'll be taking a break this summer on doing weddings, so I can focus on my fashion shoots and fine art pieces. But come August I will get to take some shots at my brothers wedding in New York, and I'll post them here.
game of thrones hair
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I have now been obsessed with Game of Thrones since the 1st season aired on HBO, but now I'm also obsessed with the hair and wardrobe from the series. A few months ago I started wearing my hair in the signature Daenerys twist braids and I've never received so many compliments on my hair from random strangers. The greatest part about it is... it's so simple, and adds just the right touch to your look for the day. I've started experimenting with the more complicated braids that Sansa's character wears in the show, and I must say they make me feel regal and beautiful. If you want something more intricate for a special occasion, grab a friend and do the braids connecting with braids look like in the second photo above.
So my summer style tip for those of you who want to update your hair this season. Skip the hairdresser and just where your hair down in natural waves or curls, and then add the simple twist braids. It'll give you that extra special touch for summer.
If your feeling super fun add some small flowers woven into the braids, and poof your a fairy princess.
the hunger games
I'm so excited for The Hunger Games it's insane. I read the first novel almost 4 years ago, and it instantly struck me as one of the most original and amazing stories I had read in a very long time. Most young adult novels do not hold the amount of perfection this trilogy contains within it. Not to mention the incredible heroin who exudes all the qualities we wish we had. But the thing about Katniss Everdeen that tugs on us is her inability to see what makes her special. She's relatable, brave, and flawed. Thereby belonging to my small group of favorite literary heroins such as... Elizabeth Bennet, Jane Eyre, Anna Karenina, and Lisbeth Salander.
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With only 10 days to go until "the girl on fire" hits screens, I've got my tickets to see it at the Arclight Hollywood's DOME, and I haven't been able to top counting down the days for what seems like a year now! I've included one of my favorite stills from the movie that I have seen so far. It's of two of my favorite characters Cinna & Katniss right before she's lifted into the arena. It's moving and beautiful and makes me anticipate the movie that much more.
fashion: awards season
My FAVORITE Oscar gowns from yesterday... Best Dressed in my opinion goes to Michelle Williams wearing a cute coral colored Louis Vuitton custom gown, then Emma Stone in Giambattista Valli, and I liked Shailene Woodley's quirky yet refined Valentino Couture dress.
The women from The Help all looked fabulous, and picture perfect. I have to admit I have an obsession with Jessica Chastain's custom Alexander McQueen gown. It was the the only dress to really WOW me for the night!
Emma Stone in my opinion was the Best Dressed for the consecutive 2012 Award Season!
& Michelle Williams get my vote for having worn the Best Dress now to two Academy Awards! (The stunning canary yellow dress was from 2006)
My favorite After Party dress had to be Katy Perry in Blumarine at the Elton John Oscar Party... she looked amazing and it was the perfect dress for her and her colorful fun style!
* Now as to the Awards... my votes were with The Tree of Life, The Descendants, and The Help. Yes, I loved The Artist and Hugo, but Best Picture in my opinion belonged to one of the three above.
inspiration for the day
The Artist - directed by Michel Hazanavicius, starring Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo
I can see why this has been talked about all over, and why it has garnered the most nominations for the golden globes... it's FANTASTIC! I love watching silent films from the 20's, but this modern rendition of that era and type of film making was spot on and yet unique simultaneously. While Dujardin shines as the famous silent film actor of which he does it flawlessly, it's Bejo that steals the show with her stunning and uniquely endearing performance. Well and maybe the dog does steal a little of the attention as well while doing tricks and saving the day multiple times. From the phenomenal acting to directing to cinematography, it's one of the best things I've seen this past year. If you haven't seen it, I can't recommend a movie to see more than this one before award season. I hope it will be going home with a lot of the statues come February.
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