March 31, 2012

samantha janay: sick of samantha janay

april 2010
this month was brutal. march is over hallelujah! having to brainstorm something personal to blog every day for 31 days was no fun. i swear i won't tell y'all anymore lame stories about myself.

i'm excited to skip writing this month (and stop talking about myself)  and go back to what i know and love: photos.

april will be 30 days chalk full of portraits. to start things off, here's my self portrait from my senior class at UT. it's a little outdated (circa 2010), but i still love it. i'm barefoot, in comfy clothes, with my favorite Beatles album. de-light-ful.

keep checking the blog for some of my favorite portraits and thanks for reading!

love love love,
samantha janay

March 30, 2012

samantha janay: proud texan

state flower: bluebonnet
comin' at ya from my homeland's northern neighbor...Oklahoma. Jerrett and i are visiting his family whom we haven't seen in a while (he's from a little town outside of Norman). oklahoma is nice, but it's no texas!

i have lived in texas my entire life and don't really have plans of ever leaving if i don't have to. i love everything about this state (including the heat!) and am overly proud to be a true, born and bred, Texan.

you know that bud commercial about "mr. way too proud of texas guy?" that's me. i know so many random facts about this state and can name all 6 flags that have flown over us. impressive? i know. ps... don't mess with texas.

love love love,
samantha janay

March 29, 2012

samantha janay: world traveler

Boston: my most recent adventure
my main goal in life is to have as many adventures as possible. hopefully, most of them will allow me to see the world. so far, i've got a good chunk of America covered and am only missing a few major cities i'd still like to see.

i couldn't even begin to list all of the places i want to visit and the sites i want to see. i have yet to leave the country (getting a passport is on my to-do list) and realize that i better get started if i plan on seeing the world.

i had so many friends study abroad in college and can't believe i didn't join in! Catlin spent a semester in Australia, Cassy studied in France. Mackie actually just returned from being in Australia for a solid year. CRAZY!

lesson to learn: all college students should take a semester to study elsewhere. leave the country. it's a once in a lifetime experience and you should definitely take it!

love love love,
samantha janay

March 28, 2012

samantha janay: clumsy

showing off wounds from a former fall
i wasn't planning on writing an "i'm super clumsy" blog, but i have taken 2 pretty hard falls this week. here's snippets of some of my best walking blunders.

i fell on my elbow on my mom's kitchen tile floor a few years ago. my elbow, still to this day, is squishy. ask me to feel it sometime. pretty sick stuff.

a couple of weeks ago, while wearing new (and slippery) flip flops in Randall's, i fell in front of a few elderly folks. on my bum. while holding a half gallon of milk. clean up on aisle 7!

2 nights ago, while running down Duval (the most uneven sidewalks EVER), i rolled my ankle and fell into the grass.

i wore the same new flip flops (not so new or slippery anymore....so i thought) to work yesterday and they caused me to fall on the stairs. i hurt my back and scraped up my arm.

apparently, i need to start wearing actual shoes. or would barefoot be the answer? who knows.

love love love,
samantha janay

March 27, 2012

samantha janay: celebrity stalker

i've already mentioned this a few times, but i love famous people. even the slightly famous local-style people (they are actually my favorite!). instead of talking so much about it, here are some of the celebrities i've been ballsy enough to take a photo with (usually when i see famous people, i like to stare when they aren't looking and hope they don't know that i know who they are..)
Chuck Klosterman
?ueslove
Robert Earl Keen

March 26, 2012

samantha janay: halloweenie

dr frank-n-furter
dia de los muertos

halloween is absolutely my favorite day of the entire year! i'm not even a huge fan of scary movies, it's more about the costumes and orange decorations and candy for me.

i'm definitely not satisfied with your average buy-at-the-party-store-all-in-one costume either. i put a bunch of thought and time behind my costumes and put them together piece by piece. which means that i've got a plastic bin full of random wigs, clothes, glasses, and accessories if you ever need to borrow anything!

in recent years, i have been lady gaga, a california raisin, mario (complete with a luigi counterpart AND a princess peach!), toucan sam, and a 1970's basketball player. 

i know it's only march, but i'm already thinking i'll be The Dude from Big Lebowski this year. i attempted to be him last year, but couldn't find a robe. hopefully this year works out!

love love love,
samantha janay

March 25, 2012

samantha janay: subscriber

a small portion of my stash
magazines are my absolute favorite form of media entertainment. i will read (or at least flip through) just about any magazine you put in front of me! i've never encountered one that i haven't been interested in at least looking through the pages.

i think my love of magazines stemmed from my interest in Rolling Stone. i have now been a loyal subscriber for almost 7 years, and i don't plan on cancelling anytime soon. i will say that the format change upset me a bit, as they became just like every other magazine (they shrunk down from the oversized version to a normal 8x11 a few years ago...apparently due to sellers not stocking the shelves because the publication was physically too big), but i still love it.

i love you jann wenner.

love love love,
samantha janay

March 24, 2012

samantha janay: amateur chef

peppers for a HUGE batch of salsa
my kitchen is one of my favorite places to be. i love cooking and baking and anything in between. i wish i had more time to spend there because it is such good stress relief.

i often think...maybe i should figure out a way to open a bakery? maybe people want to pay to eat my creations? then realize a gazillion and two other bakeries already exist in Austin.

i also often think...maybe i should sell random edible concoctions on etsy? people sell candies and chocolates and whatnot on the website all the time. when i have enough time, maybe i'll start making taffy again and sell it, along with my other favorite things to make!

coming soon: samantha janay's online bake shop. specializing in salt water taffy, guacamole, salsa, and eclairs.

love love love,
samantha janay

March 23, 2012

samantha janay: attracted to grey

the Dude is yummy
when talking about attractive famous men with friends, i seem to always dig on similar types: old. you could say i'm the opposite of a cougar. for whatever reason, i love the crow's feet wrinkles and grey hair. Jeff Bridges. Liam Neeson. George Clooney. KEITH RICHARDS.

i'm not really sure why, i just find the older gentlemen nicer to look at than the men my own age. maybe it's the timeless, classic style? maybe it's the way men of older generations hold themselves? what i do know, is i'd definitely pick Jeff Bridges of Ryan Gosling anyday.

love love love,
samantha janay

March 22, 2012

samantha janay: conspiracy theorist

NOT Paul McCartney
i'm definitely one to question things. i think that the government and media could be lying to us about all kinds of things and we would never know the difference. i love reading about conspiracies, especially the big ones: JFK assassination, the moon landing, Area 51...

but of course, i think the most interesting conspiracy theories involve famous people. everyone knows i love celebrities! here's my favorite/most convincing conspiracy:

the Paul McCartney we all know today is actually not Paul McCartney at all. he died in 1966 in a car crash and was quickly replaced with a look-a-like to continue on with the Beatles legacy. i'm sure you're all aware of this conspiracy, but reading this book will make you believe it. it gives some of the craziest and most convincing tidbits i've ever heard to support the "Paul is dead" theory.

love love love,
samantha janay

March 21, 2012

samantha janay: muppet

i really have no idea how this started, but i love that 2/3 of us still do it. Ty currently refuses to do it and smiles like a dope, but if you notice, once upon a time (2006) he joined in the fun. i'm sure eventually he'll come back around and re-join us. what is this 'it' i'm referring to? why, it's the muppet face of course! we have countless photos of our entire family doing it. i'm pretty sure i even have a photo of Zak and Amber making the muppet face immediately after Couper was born. bork bork!
Ty's college graduation, Ty & Angelika's wedding shower, this New Year's Eve

March 20, 2012

samantha janay: gLeek

rachel berry times TWO
i love glee. absolutely love it. there was even a time when it pretty much consumed most of my daily thoughts (season 1). my good friend Brittany (the rachel berry in white) and i have loved it since the pilot. we have thrown glee themed parties, we usually watch together every week, and we've even been known to do aerobics to it in the morning. we agree that it's taken a different turn in the current season and it will never be as good as season 1, but we still love it.

another friend of mine, Stephanie (the rachel berry in yellow), became a fan later in the game, but caught up quickly. after listening to me rave about it for weeks, she borrowed my DVDs from the first half of season 1 on a friday, and was ready for the current episodes as of monday. she fell in love just as quickly as we did.

love love love,
samantha janay

ps... i listened to this track while writing this blog.

March 19, 2012

samantha janay: music lover

the magical night i saw Aretha in 2007
there are 3 (very different) artists that i absolutely couldn't live without: the Beatles, Garth Brooks, and Aretha Franklin.

everyone loves the Beatles, but more specifically, i love George Harrison. the songs he wrote are my favorite Beatles tunes (while my guitar gently weeps, free as a bird, something) and his solo work post-Beatles breakup is my favorite of the fab four. i would highly recommend the Concert for Bangladesh album.

Garth Brooks was my first concert (in Amarillo, Texas at the tender age of 9) and is why i love music the way i do. i was pretty sure that the "hello Samantha dear" line in "callin' baton rouge" was directed at me, and i loved him.

Aretha, Aretha, Aretha, need i say more?

love love love,
samantha janay

March 18, 2012

samantha janay: seasoned pinner

my Pinterest page
as most of you already know, i'm a creative-minded person. i recently went through a time where i was in a creative rut and felt as though i was simply going through life's motions. this all stopped when my friend Kat introduced me to Pinterest.

the site got me thinking creatively again. not only does it give me actual ideas of things to create, but it makes me want to be creative in all aspects of life. i recently wrote a blog about Pinterest's success for one of the businesses i work for. i would highly recommend that all creatives at least check it out!

love love love,
samantha janay

March 17, 2012

samantha janay: longhorn for life

in front of the tower
i made the best friends while attending the University of Texas and hope that the good 'ole 40 acres will keep us bonded for life, despite graduation spreading us all over the country (quite literally...just the people in the photo to the right span from california to chicago, and everywhere in between!).

i will always bleed burnt orange and root for the Longhorns. living in austin might be one of the best decisions i've ever made and i'm glad to say that i'm still here.

my 4 years at UT left me with some amazing experiences. i witnessed and worked a presidential democratic debate (clinton vs. obama) via CNN on my own campus. i listened to the great Maya Angelou speak. i met ?uestlove. and those are just a few of the memories involving celebrities (everyone knows i love famous people). i'm sure you'll read some of my other stories later in blog posts.

gang in the photo to the right: Chris, Reagan, Blake, Amanda, John, and me

March 16, 2012

samantha janay: jeep driver at heart

sexy sadie and i on the beach in south padre, 2010
i drove a jeep for about seven years and only recently became a normal-car driver.

for those of you that aren't jeep drivers, it's like automatically having a group of friends. jeep drivers wave to other jeep drivers, they always acknowledge each other, and heck, i even had a couple of people leave notes on my windshield about online jeep forums and meetups. i miss being in that cult and i miss being able to drive over anything at any given moment.

i love my new car, but nothing will ever compare to my green jeep i recently parted with. RIP big green/sexy sadie. (i thought he was a boy for a long time and called him big green, then one day came to the realization that she was, indeed, a girl, and quickly renamed her sexy sadie)

love love love,
samantha janay (& totota, my new car)

March 15, 2012

samantha janay: geocacher

recently found cache
i started geocaching a few years ago after hearing some friends and my brother talk about it. IT IS SO MUCH FUN. if you don't know what it is, here's the simplest description i know: worldwide treasure hunt with strangers.

once you sign up for free online, you can see caches that are hidden all over the world. you are given coordinates to find them, so you'll need a GPS (the iPhone app makes it crazy simple with everything in one place!). you are supposed to sign the cache's physical and virtual log so everyone that comes after you can see who all has been there! some caches are micros (like the pictured) and just have a log to sign. others are bigger (usually ammo cases) and have knick knacks that are take one/leave one. it's especially fun to do while traveling! i would highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys being outdoors.

love love love,
samantha janay

March 14, 2012

samantha janay: mario kart professional

bowser is KING!
that's right ladies and gentleman, i own a Nintendo64 complete with Mario Kart. i'm just as good as i ever was and if anybody wants to challenge me, i'll buy you a beer if you can beat me in 10 rounds of battle.

the photo to the left was taken after a long hard evening of taking Jerrett down round after round of battle. it's a hard job, but somebody's gotta do it.

love love love,
samantha janay

March 13, 2012

samantha janay: photographer

top: Richard Avedon image
bottom: my copycat image
i love shooting photos of just about anything and everything. while i have slowed down on shooting since college, it is still one of the things i enjoy most.

i studied quite a bit of Richard Avedon's work in college and definitely look up to him as an artist and photographer. as a class assignment i 'recreated' then 'reinvented' his infamous Marilyn Monroe portrait. the photo to the left is my recreated version of Avedon.

my good friend (and fellow photographer) Amanda Jermstad AKA Hanson posed as Monroe for me. it's always a blast shooting with a friend!

you'll see more of my work later as the blog continues...

love love love,
samantha janay

ps...fun side note: Amanda is wearing my senior prom dress!

March 12, 2012

samantha janay: picky eater

gross.
some would call me a picky eater. i disagree. i like to think of myself as very selective when eating.

i could list hundreds of things i don't eat due to taste, smell, texture, or a combination of the 3. this, however, could go on for days and days and blogs and blogs, so i'll keep it simple:

pickles are the most disgusting thing ever. the smell alone makes me gag.

that is all.

love love love,
samantha janay

March 11, 2012

samantha janay: friend of royalty

queen Jenna and i
that's right ladies and gentlemen, i have met (and kissed!) the queen....err..a queen.

this is my good friend from high school Jenna and i after she was crowned prom queen our senior year. doesn't she make a gorgeous queen?!? i just thought i'd share a fun photo from my past.

Jenna, i sure hope you prance around the house in this crown and make Kevan kiss your feet and all. ALL HAIL QUEEN JENNA!!

love love love,
samantha janay

March 10, 2012

samantha janay: sissy

in front of the UT alumni center
statues and people behind masks/costumes are 2 of the scariest things on earth to me. when i was little my brothers would threaten me with the thought of Jason (Voorhees) coming to get me. i think this is where the fright began.

mascots at sporting events - not ok
clowns - scariest of them all
V for Vendetta - freaky (i NEED to see his face!)
phantom of the opera - weird

statues are another story. if they look very lifelike in the face (most that you would see up close do) i'm afraid they'll come to life and grab me. they're just the kind of thing that i don't want to be close to for very long. taking the photo to the right was a very uncomfortable few seconds for me. i probably ran away as quickly as possibly once the photo was taken.

moral of the story: don't approach me in a Jason mask (or any mask for that matter). no likey.

love love love,
samantha janay

March 9, 2012

samantha janay: cousin

i have five cousins all very close in age to me. the six of us were always known as 'the little girls' to the rest of our family. most of our aunts, uncles, and cousins still refer to us as that, actually, even though the youngest of our bunch will turn 21 this year.

these are just photos too funny not to share. the top photo was taken (i think) somewhere around 1992...? maybe 1993? we decided to recreate it years later, sometime around 2004.

i actually get to see them this weekend in Dallas (most of them i think...) and I AM SO EXCITED!

cousins (top left to bottom right): Stephanie, Alyssa, Holly, Jessica, Chelsea

love love love,
samantha janay

March 8, 2012

samantha janay: lover of all things yellow

if you haven't figured it out yet, it's pretty easy to look around and tell. i love yellow. probably because my mom loves yellow and it was ingrained into my mind as an awesome color, but also because it IS an awesome color.

it's safe to say that 70% of things i own (home decor, paint, clothes, accessories, knick knacks...) are yellow. i will always pick yellow over any other color. photos i edit tend to have a yellow hue. my favorite Pantone is 14-0848. i always solve the yellow side of the cube first. i have an entire board on Pinterest dedicated to yellow.

simple as that. i. love. yellow.

love love love,
samantha janay

March 7, 2012

samantha janay: family man...err...girl

here's a quick breakdown of mi familia (from left to right...ish):
white family christmas pajamas
-zak - oldest brother - lives near san antonio and is the pastor at revolution church

-amber - sister-in-law - amazing cook and mom who keeps her family alive and helps zak run the church

-babygirl white - niece - coming soon (this summer) and has yet to be named (her older brother Couper is thinking about Diamond or Peach)

-couper - nephew - about to turn 5 and easily the funniest person i've ever met

-patti - mom - nurse and donald duck lover who sticks out her bottom lip as she thinks

-jay - dad - crazy marathon runner and probably the healthiest person i know

-ty - brother - high school coach and teacher who loves beer, notre dame, and the boston red sox

-angelika - newer sister-in-law - new momma and nurse in san antonio who can't turn down a dare

-madi - niece - born last august and loves eating, cooing, and smiling

March 6, 2012

samantha janay: partner in crime

handsome devil
i feel lucky to hang out with such an awesome guy/BFF/ boo/boyfriend/partner-in-crime everyday. Jerrett is the funniest and most genuine person i've ever spent time with and after a year we still aren't tired of each other! we always have fun together, even if we're just harmonizing with Freddie or Florence while driving.

this past valentine's day we ate at a very swanky restaurant among other couples on very romantic dates. there were balloons and flowers and wine everywhere, but instead of being lovey-dovey, we talked about which celebrities we would marry and kill. we tend to have interesting conversations in inappropriate places.

he keeps me laughing pretty much constantly and even watches glee with me from time to time! (i know he secretly loves it) we share a love of music, movies, food, beer, and of course, each other.

he is one of the best people i know and makes me want to be a better person!

love love love,
samantha janay

March 5, 2012

samantha janay: crazy cat lady

kitty says 'hola'
i don't care what anyone says, being described as a 'crazy cat lady' really isn't all that bad. mind you, i only have one cat. gato, rather (he speaks more spanish than english). his name is henry, but he is most commonly referred to as 'kitty.'

he's the biggest cat i know, weighing in at about 19.6 pounds. you've probably already seen him, as he has already appeared on the blog.

this is how kitty's mind works: he wants to make you think y'all are BFFs, then right when he has you wrapped around his finger...err....paw, he goes in for the kill. and by the kill, i mean the bite. and he's known to leave some marks and draw a little blood. BEWARE.

love love love,
samantha janay & kitty

March 4, 2012

samantha janay: rubik's cube solver

one fall semester during college, in between spending hours in the dark room and hours in the photo/design computer lab, my great fellow-photographer friend Jillian passed along the most useful knowledge possible to me. the steps to solving the rubik's cube.
the day the cube was solved
shot by our friend and classmate Oscar

it literally took us an entire semester during our down time. it started on a camping trip with some other photographer friends, Mackie and Brenda. by the end of the semester, our classmates hated us because of our constant cube-talk. 

the day i solved the cube for the first time was magical. i'll never forget it, for more reasons than just the cube. we were with our entire photo class after our last photo critique of the semester (including our professor), and we experienced all 4 seasons in 1 day (it was in the 70's during the hottest part of the day, but snow flurried that night). 

thank you Jillian. i'll always remember the countless hours we went over and over the steps, and the class we spent seeing who could solve it the most times.

love love love,
samantha janay

March 3, 2012

samantha janay: best friend

top: somewhere around 2002
bottom: christmas eve 2011
my best friend Heather and i have known each other since we were 5 and have some of the funniest stories you'd ever hear.

we once snuck up to our high school algebra teacher's front door with diet coke asking for help on an assignment. i once fell out of her moving vehicle while holding no less than 5 sonic root beer floats. we share packs of pixy stix (she eats the blue, i eat the purple, we split the red). we used 'tweet' as a secret code long before twitter existed.

we are also polar opposites. we are as different as 2 people could possibly be. in a job interview a few years ago i was asked what my best friend and i had in common. my only answer was "each other."

she is why i'm so excited about 2012! i get to stand next to her this june as she marries her OTHER best friend and i couldn't be happier for her! she has been looking forward to this day her entire life and i think i'm just as excited as she is for it to be here!

love love love,
samantha janay

March 2, 2012

samantha janay: 13.1 mile runner

why was i in Dallas that fateful day that led to me being in an Erykah Badu video you ask? let me explain.
us before the Dallas 1/2
my dad is a serious marathon runner. because of this, our entire family has turned into runners. we were in dallas that day to run the rock n' roll 1/2 marathon. this was the second 1/2 marathon for my mom and me. we ran our first together in disney world a few months before this.

i would highly recommend participating in races. there's no other feeling like crossing the finish line and knowing you have such a huge accomplishment behind you! for you austinites, i would highly recommend running this year's Cap10k on March 25th. there are tons of people running the approximately 6 mile race in COSTUME. that's right. costumes. it's always a fun race to participate in!

love love love,
samantha janay

March 1, 2012

welcome to the NEW samantha janay blog!

greetings friends!

after months and months of brainstorming and rejecting idea after idea, i have finally revamped the blog. as you can see, it is much prettier and from now on will be much more fun and frequent! i have some great ideas that i'm excited to share via blog, but here's a simple explanation.

i'll be doing something fun and new every month. sometimes they'll be personal challenges, sometimes they'll be silly things i just want to write about. since today is the first day of a new month, i'll be blogging everyday from now on! this first month will be fun/random factoids about me: some you'll know, some you won't. here we go!

a few years ago while taking photos outside of the sixth floor museum (the JFK assassination museum in downtown Dallas) i witnessed something strange. a woman was being video taped walking slowly, talking to the camera, and gradually stripping off all of her clothes. in the middle of downtown Dallas in broad daylight. once she got completely naked, a mini van quickly picked her up and sped off.

seeing as this was one of the weirdest things i've ever witnessed, i told my friends about it after returning home to Austin. a few days later, my friend Blake called to let me know i was internet-style famous. that's right folks, i am featured in an erykah badu music video.

as news revealed later, ms. badu was filming a music video that day in downtown Dallas which later got her into a heap of legal trouble. she was fined by the city for disorderly conduct. the video got all kinds of media because of the legality issues, which means i'm a true star.

you can see me behind her taking photos at the 2:48 mark (no worries, she's still fully clothed when you see me) in a tan sweater and blue shirt. thanks erykah for fulfilling my 15 minutes of fame!
love love love,
samantha janay