Tag Archives: photography

This here is the Perfectly Flawed weekly round-up, so if you missed me on Pinterest & Facebook, this is where I’ll be sharing some of that LOVE on Fridays. Enjoy!

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Dinner, Produce Bags & Baby Steps!

Woo Hoo, got my cooking grove back this week! Love Pinterest, so many great recipes being shared. I’ve made Gingery Soba Noodle Soup, Shrimp in coconut sauce over rice, Roasted rep pepper & goat cheese alfredo and last night we made homemade chick pea veggie burgers with a side of Brussel sprout & Swiss chard salad!

Finally purchased our reusable produce and bulk items bags. I bought five of these from Flip & Tumble, I also got 6 of these from Kootsac on Etsy. I can’t wait to get these, another stride towards being plastic free!

I’ve been gathering information on making our own cleaning products. I already use alternative non-toxic products, but they come in plastic so…. Next Tuesday on Natural Living Tips I’m switching from Coconut Oil to Home-made cleaning products and I’ll be discussing them throughout April. It is time for Spring Cleaning after all!

Though I did manage to make home-made toothpaste this week, Gavin’s not thrilled, lol. He’ll get used to it.

Just a reminder to anyone trying to go green or make strides in that direction. The best way is baby steps. I’ve not arrived here quickly or without challenge and I’m still far from where I want to be. Here’s an article, from Almost the Truth,  I read this week about Baby steps and why it’s so important to celebrate every one of them. Please read it.

What Baby steps are you taking?
Peace!

Harry says "chill"!

Pacific Coast Highway!

This was the first of three locations where we stayed while in California, it was magical! Big Sur is breathtaking, it harbors a vibrant energy that you can feel everywhere you go.  We ate our most favorite meal of the entire 9 day trip here at the Big Sur Bakery & Restaurant.  It was so incredibly simple, a salad of Bibb lettuce, shaved fennel, fresh shaved parm cheese and a beautiful Meyer Lemon dressing.  Sublime!

We choose to use VRBO.com to find a home rental to stay in and we hit the jackpot. On top of mountain, about 1100 ft. up, the view of the coast was amazing and the house… their are no words! No TV, phone, computer, complete peace, just the two of us.

Take a look for yourselves!
Peace!

Galway City

The Luck of the Irish that is.  We just returned home from our family trip to Ireland, kinda piggy-backed on PFMan’s yearly trek out there to broadcast live for St. Patty’s Day.  This would have been his third year in a row and I was not letting him go without us this time!

We flew out several days prior to the broadcast, finding our way by car to Galway City where we called home for our first four nights.  We stayed at the Kilcullen House B&B which is about a 10 minute walk outside of the City Centre, close enough to enjoy the city, but a distance from the noise.  Many times while walking in Galway I felt as if I were a character in a Dickens novel or a miniature in a Christmas Village scene.  I love that, the old worldliness of it. 

Our favorite food in Galway was hands down found at Ard Bia in the Spanish Arch.  It’s located in the Arch which is very medieval in style, but once you walk inside, it’s the small, cozy and very eclectic eatery.  It was love at first site.  The menu is so creative, using local and sustainable produce and meat sources, which I love!  My favorite entree was the St. Tola goats cheese & pistachio cracked wheat cake with wilted greens, garlic yogurt & muhumara.  I will crave this until I return! Honestly we couldn’t decide what to order so we had them bring us the two most popular starters and mains.  We were NOT disappointed.

Other places we enjoyed eating: McDonagh’s, O’Grady’s on the Pier (actually in Barna on the coast near Galway), and Griffin’s Bakery! McDonagh’s is THE place to go for your required Fish n’ Chips, with many different fish types to choose from you can’t go wrong here. O’Grady’s was recommended to us by Emer and Russel, the Inn keepers at Kilcullen House. It’s located in the tiny coastal village named Barna, just outside of Galway. Located on the pier, great views and the BEST chowder I’ve ever had in my life, no kidding! Griffin’s Bakery, originally founded in 1876 also recommended by Emer & Russell. OMG, we each picked a pastry and thank goodness we got four, they were all DELICIOUS. Again, the BEST scone ever. I could have died happy.

I have to stop here, with the food, I haven’t yet mentioned the PUBS, or the Irish Countryside or our time in Dublin or…. So, you’ll have to stay tuned and for now, enjoy the pictures.

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Ahhh, Venezia!

During our trip to Italy this past April, we stayed in Venice for two nights. Not enough! I could have toured the Cicchetti Pubs every day for hours, wandered around the Fish Market, sipped on Venetian Spritz, disappeared into the maze of alleys and piazzas…. While we were planning this trip, we had heard that two nights in Venice would be plenty of time and if all you want to do is see San Marco then this is more than enough. However, San Marco was a disappointment to us, by simply being the Disney World of Venice. It was filled with tourists and cheesy ‘made in china’ souvenir kiosks everywhere you turned. Who wants to go to Venice and by a mask made in china??

Now don’t get me wrong, it was remarkable in size and architecture and history, we did tour Doge’s Palace and the Bridge of Sighs which we thoroughly enjoyed. The Bridge of Sighs attaches Doge’s Palace to the Prigioni or Prison’s. The Bridge of Sighs in Venice received its name in the 17th century, because the prisoners who passed through it’s two passages inside, on their way to the prison cells on the other side, would more than likely see the beautiful sight of the lagoon and the island of S.Giorgio and freedom for the last time and sigh.

Venice by night is magical. The daytime tourists have gone and the lights are twinkling on the water. Don’t miss seeing this by way of Vaporetti, it’s stunning! The Vaporetto is a water bus system that runs from Venice to the nearby islands, Burano, Lido and Murano. We didn’t have time to see these and would have liked to.

Things not to miss in Venice according to me:-).

Sipping a Venetian Spritz! The Fish Market! And… Cicchetti (pronounced chi-KET-tee) Pub hopping. Cicchetti’s are an assortment of little foods served with toothpicks. Everything from various forms of Acciuga (anchovy) to polenta and meat balls to vegetables and small sandwiches. These are traditional to Venice and served in “bàcari” (cicchetti bars or osterie). The locals, mostly men, would swarm these bars in late-morning, lunch time. I loved to sit, eating cicchetti and sipping house wine of course, while watching and listening to them all speaking Italian. It was one of my most favorite things we did in Venice.

Oh, I miss Italy and cannot wait to return, soon!

Ciao.
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It all began when I was in Middle School, my love of taking pictures.  Once in High School, I was taking photography classes, working in the darkroom, taking pictures for the school newspaper and yearbook.  My dad had the big SLR camera with all the different lenses and I used it more then he did, lol.  It’s just been something I’ve loved to do for as long as I can remember.

I didn’t begin to see it as a career until much later.  In fact it was only four years ago that I knew I wanted to make it more then a serious hobby.  Tanya Sharkey Photography was born on March 1st of 2008.

We opened a studio location on May 1st of 2009 in St. Petersburg, FL where we specialize in modern pet and children portraiture.  Yes, these are two challenging subjects, but I’m a high energy, whirlwind of a personality so it’s fitting.  I’ve also spent most of my working career either working with or volunteering with animals.  I was a Biology major and worked as an assistant to a veterinarian for several years as well as volunteered at a large cat sanctuary in Orlando where we would educate the public about the needs of these wild animals, etc.  So, it’s really a natural fit that my specialty is pet photography.  I love every minute of it!!

Photographs of my family, friends, pets, our travels and experiences together, have always been very important to me. I love to have them on display all over our home for us and others to enjoy always. I have over 12 scrapbooks as well. Preserving these memories for my clients is just as important and it feels so amazing when my clients light up at viewing the images. It’s a feel good all around!

I continue to photograph things for hobby as much as possible to keep my spirits fresh.  I love to photograph flowers. I also take pictures of kitties whenever I’m on vacation. I can’t help it, I’m a cat lady:-).

There are BIG plans for TSP in the coming years, I’m a dreamer you see. Some will pan out and be a huge success and others will sit out. Regardless of what happens, it will be challenging and fun along the way!

Please enjoy some images above from recent sessions.

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Italy has always been the most important European country for me to visit and my wish came true this April. My husband and I brought Mema and Pop Pop to Florida to watch the kiddos while we whisked ourselves away for two weeks. We focused on Liguria, home of Le Cinque Terre, the five villages. They are Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. This region is rich with culinary splendors and the local wine called Sciacchetrà, a straw wine, typically drank with cheese or desserts. They are fisherman villages, and wine villages, known for the best pesto and focaccia in Italy. As well, you must have the acciuga, anchovies, a specialty of Monterosso.

This region is also a part of the Cinque Terre National Park. There are walking trails connecting the five towns and the difficulty levels range from an easy stroll to a rough and physically challenging hike. The segment of the hike between Riomaggiore and Manarola is called the Via Dell’Amore (“Love Walk”). We enjoyed bringing along a little nosh to sit and enjoy during our hike. The towns are each unique in there own way, our favorite was Monterosso al Mare, it has two distinct sides, the new and old. We spent most of our time in Old Town at the Enoteca’ de Eliseo a beautiful little wine bar run by husband and wife, Eliseo and Mary. They serve bottomless bowls of the most amazing capers, they are huge in size and flavor.

This is where you can buy jars of the best pesto to take home and the little pasta called Trofie, Combine them to make Trofie al Pesto!

Trofie al Pesto

We also loved Corniglia. Unlike the other towns of the Cinque Terre, Corniglia is not located on the sea. Instead, it is on the top of the mountain, surrounded on three sides by vineyards and terraces and the fourth side descends steeply on the sea. We found a lovely place to stop for vino named Il Pirun, run by Mario. After you finish up with a drink downstairs, wind your way up the spiral staircase to the second floor for a wonderful meal.

Whatever you do, DO NOT leave here without buying several bags of the olive oil crackers they serve with the wine. These are addicting.

For now, Ciao!  I’ll be back with Venice on our next tour of our trip to Italy.

Passion, a driving force in my life to a fault at times. I get so completely consumed with new project or research that it becomes an enormous wall, blocking out everything else until my interest wanes a bit, and then…, onto the next thing. My passions, interests, obsessions have certainly changed and gone through phases over my lifetime, too be expected I suppose. There has however been one more consistent, somewhat dominate trend which is my desire to explore, to learn, to be a seeker of knowledge and experience new things. This has opened the doors for many new passions, everything from learning about a more compassionate living, to cooking, to road tripping the USA. So I thought I’d begin this venture into blogdom with a series of photographs that I’ve taken that represent parts of my life which are important to me in some way. Enjoy the images and please, if you feel compelled, share one of your passions.

1. coco cay, 2. 57-3, 3. Coconut Plantation Trip, 4. 2, 5. Fresh Cherries II, 6. One of Roswell’s favorite places!, 7. The Glow, 8. Dancing in the Rays, 9. Watch it!, 10. Fiesta, Ole, 11. Stare, 12. Union Square Market flowers

Peace!