List Two: Ten Things I love About Winter

  1. Wearing hats, scarves (the bigger the better), and sweaters.
  2. Holding with both hands, a cup of hot tea/coffee/chocolate and feeling the warmth as I bring it closer to my face.
  3. Winter cold is a perfectly good excuse to remain nuzzled in Ariel’s arms all night long.
  4. Weekend nights in watching movies…
  5. and our dogs curled like beans, cuddled, as close as possible, next and in between us.
  6. First day of snow
  7. Body heat
  8. Intertwined legs
  9. Rosy cheeks
  10. Fingerless gloves

Our Work Featured!

So very excited! Pam and Steven’s beautiful destination wedding (here, here, here & here) in Dreams Punta Cana Resorts & Spa, Dominican Republic has been featured today at the lovely Destination Inspiration blog. So happy and honored and thankful! Head over to take a look and also to check out the video by my dear friends Caritza and Gabriel over at GT Modern Creations, whose work was also featured. Yay!

Happy Friday the 13th! xoxo–Julia

February Portrait Session: 10 Spots Available

I’m now booking portrait sessions for the month of February!

Photographing people is my favorite thing to do! Come out to play with me and my camera!

Book your session now.

You may contact me at julia@juliaazcona.com for the details.

xoxo–Julia

List One: Books I read in 2011

Last year I had set a goal to read a number of books but, sadly I was only able to read maybe half from the list I created. I really admire people who can read a book in one day or even over night. I’ve tried and later found myself asleep with the book on my chest. For this year I’d like to read at least 28 books and keep up with my account on Goodreads which I have abandoned for almost an entire year. I’d also like to get better at writing reviews… I’m not very good at it. Please bare with my lame reviews from the below books. I’ll get better with time. This list is not in any particular order.
  1. How to Win Friends & Influence People - I had this book on my list to read since forever and never really read it. This is a motivational book where Carnegie discussed ways to be a more understanding person towards others. I think the author wrote this book to help professionals improve their people skills (be kind, be humble, etc.). This is a very old book, printed in 1936, I believe, but it remains to be a very popular book within business owners still today. I highly recommend it.
  2. Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life - I love the way Rosenthal wrote this book. It is written just as an encyclopedia, from A-Z, describing moments of her life. I thought it was sweet and funny and made me a little more alert  to the little things that happen on a daily basis. A delightful read.
  3. Rework - I read this business book at the beginning of the year and sadly I cannot remember anything I learned from it.
  4. The Hunger Games - Such an exciting read for me. I loved all the action that took place in this book which is about a game of a single person survivor. I also can’t wait for the movie!
  5. I Am the Messenger - After reading my favorite book, The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak, I felt some sort of attachment to him and had to read another of his books. And while this book is completely different than The Book Thief, it is a lovely read about a young man, named Ed, who is given secret assignments to deliver messages to random people. I Am the Messenger leaves you feeling like one person can change the world.
  6. The E-Myth Revisited - So many reviews have been written about this book. It is one of the best business books to read and like everyone else I highly recommend it.
  7. Something Borrowed - This book. I don’t know. I was in need of a chick-lit and got my hands on it. Let’s just say that it was definitely better then the movie (duh), but there’s nothing really special about it in my opinion.
  8. The Book Thief - FAVORITE BOOK OF 2011!  I cried, I laughed… I’m in love with this book!
  9. Sold - While at the airport one time, Cari recommended this book for the flight. It is a short read, but very powerful. Sold tells the story of a young girl who was taken away and sold into the sex trade in India. The story is told by the girl, Lakshmi. She’ll leave you thinking of her even after you have finished her story.
  10. Bossypants - I love Tina Fey and wish she was my next door neighbor. She’ll make you laugh in this book, especially when she talks about her time during Saturday Night Live.
  11. Loving Frank - It took me so long to finish this book. For me, it dragged towards the middle of the story. This book is the story of Frank Lloyd Wright told by the point of view of the woman with whom he had a love affair for many many years. It is an interesting insight of the life of Wright. If you’re not familiar with the biography of Frank Lloyd Wright the ending will leave you in shock.
  12. The Night Circus - I reeeeeally wanted to love this book, but I guess I was expecting a more detailed love affair between the protagonists of this story of two magicians.
  13. The Glass Castle - SECOND FAVORITE OF 2011! This book is a true story. A page turner and  such a thoughtful and sensitive memoir.
  14. Fine Art Wedding - This lovely book is by Jose Villa, a super talented photographer who I admired very much. I love the honesty and all the wonderful help he provides in the book. This book is just as lovely as his photographs are.
  15. Daughter of Smoke and Bone - This was the last book I read of the year: I am certain it will be a movie and I kind of wish that Kristen Stewart will play Karou… the girl full of tattoos and blue hair. This book is different than anything I ever read. It has angels, demons, magic, teeth–the author does a great job at keeping everything fresh. I’m looking forward to the sequel.
  16. Catching Fire - The sequel to The Hunger Games was not as interesting to me as the first one was. But it is still an awesome story. Still have Mocking Jay to read!

I’m looking forward to amazing books this year! Happy reading! xoxox–Julia

The Birthday Weekend when I Took off my Pants

First of all, THANK YOU so much for being so so kind in wishing me a happy birthday on Saturday. It was indeed a very happy birthday. I enjoyed myself very much all weekend. There was a minor incident on Saturday when I went to get my hair all done up–you know to keep the tradition of always cutting my hair for my birthday–when the stylist cut my hair shorter than I had hoped for and styled it in a way that made me look as if I was turning… older! Like, a lot older. Other than that, Saturday was a day in January like no other day in January ever was. It was sunny and somewhere in the high 50s. Normally, January is a gray month, often with frigid temperatures and little character for activities. But not Saturday the 7th, the world granted me a gorgeous day in my January and for that I’m quite grateful.

The day ended with bowling. Two teams of guys Vs. girls where we lost count of what was happening and for me, I kept wondering why my ball kept on going to the left. All the time. No matter where I stood to bowl. Bowling is just one of those things that’s not going to go on my list of “Things I’m good at” but I enjoyed it very much either way.

Yesterday was really awesome too. Some time last week Ariel emailed me this link with a Subject line of “We’re Doing This” (with lots of exclamation points). At first, my initial thought was “no thanks!” There was no way I was going to take off my pants in NY, on a subway, in January, especially with the conditions of my shorty legs. But then, Ariel is just one of those guys who gets so excited about things as silly as this and well… it is kind of contagious and I ended up agreeing. And I’m so glad I did. It was the silliest thing I have ever done, completely hilarious and I can’t wait to do something like that again. I wish I had taken my camera, but those who were participating weren’t allowed to take photos. We did sneaked in some iPhone photos, because, one just couldn’t help it! The look on people’s faces was priceless.

There were people who didn’t find the prank very funny. There was a lady right in front of me that kept saying THERE ARE KIDS HERE! I thought, for sure, she was going to yell at me once my turn came, but there were so many people participating that it was just too hard to not find it amusing. There was even a lady sitting right next to Ariel who kept saying she couldn’t believe what was happening, that she didn’t understand. All the while Ariel kept agreeing and shaking his head, once his turn came up to de-pants though, the lady was in so much shock that she kept yelling I KNEW HE WAS IN IT, I KNEW IT! Best moment ever!

The rest of the train ride was as hilarious and so many people were in it. I highly suggest for you to participate whenever this comes up again. You may find it silly and might not get the concept, but I guarantee that at the end of the day you’ll be glad you tried something out of the ordinary. Life should be full of silly, hilarious and unordinary moments.

Most certainly a very memorable (and pant-less) birthday weekend! xoxox–Julia

UPDATE: The video of this year’s NPSR is out and Ariel is there eating strawberries:)

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