23 before 24: St. Paddy’s weekend in Chicago

Spent St. Paddy’s day weekend in Chicago with a few good friends and Brandon. Despite my back hurting the whole time (omg I’m getting old, is this really happening? LOL), I had a great time exploring the city, drinking green beer, and nomming on yummy food. Here is my trip in photos.
Using my lensbaby. ^^^
Trying my hand at some city street photography.

Bagpipers and step dancing at the tavern we stopped by, one of kind experience.

Best, and I guess only, matzo ball soup I have ever had.. Eleven City Diner. Perfection.

23 before 24: Week 13

Week 13/52

13/52- Brandon and I spent St. Paddy’s weekend in Chicago with a few friends.
He loves the city, I love seeing him happy. : ]

23 before 24: Arizona Part 3

Arizona Part 3

My final post on my Arizona trip.
Brandon and I celebrated our 6th month anniversary on Saturday, but we celebrated it a little early while we were still in Arizona. He took me to an amazing Thai restaurant named Malee’s in downtown Scottsdale and then we walked around town to get gelato for dessert. I enjoyed walking around the city and window shopping while the shops and art galleries were closed.

We ate outside and enjoyed the evening weather. It was wonderful.
I got the crispy basil chicken and he got the drunken dragon noodles.

We walked a few blocks down to The Gelato Spot, which is paired with Wood Fired Pizzeria, sounds like that would be a great combination.

Seriously! Look at those toppings. Mmmmm! This makes me wish we had a place for gelato year-round!
We stayed in a condo provided by Brandon’s gracious family. Sadly I didn’t get any pictures of the inside (it was beautiful), besides the amazing lighting. You all know I’m addicted to yummy, natural light. ❤

Overall, Arizona was pretty freakin’ fantastic. I’m so grateful I got to tag along with Brandon. I can’t wait to visit again. : ]

23 before 24: Arizona Part 2

Arizona Part 2

The weather in Arizona was FANTASTIC. Besides hiking, we spent our time by pool, checking out local dining, and at a couple Reds’ spring training games.

Some of my favorite photos came from our time at the pool. I sure looked silly laying on the edge, but I love the angle that I captured above.

Always repping Ohio, everywhere I go. ❤

I used to spend a lot of my high school days trying to capture abstract photographs. I would try to make my photographs look like paintings, much like a drawer or painter would make their illustration look like a picture. The way that the water reflected and refracted the Arizona sun was mesmerizing and brought me back a few years. Y’know, as much as I love the art of photojournalism and lifestyle photography (capturing and displaying things the way they are from a point of view), I will always have a special place in my heart for abstraction and distortion.

I’ll leave you with an adorable photo of my boyfriend resting on my leg. I adore him. ❤

23 before 24: Arizona

One of my 23 before 24 goals is to travel more often, and I have been taking every chance I get, as long as it fits within my budget. I was lucky enough and very thankful to tag along with Brandon to Arizona this past week. His family put together a nice trip to celebrate his graduation in the spring.

In an effort to keep this post short and sweet, I’m going to break our trip up into 3 posts with 3 different sets of pictures (you know the pictures are my favorite part). : D

Arizona: Part 1

Our travels were warm, beautiful, and quite eventful. However, while we were hoping for a smooth vacation, we had a couple of bumps in the road. We started out by missing our flight on Sunday and spent the WHOLE day (7:00 am – 5:50 pm) at the Columbus Airport waiting on the second flight heading to Phoenix. I spent the morning crying in Max & Erma’s, because I was tired from lack of sleep the night before and because we both felt pretty stupid. After a short nap on the couches I was good to go, and honestly, I felt it was nice spending the day next to Brandon. I got some work done, and he got caught up on House of Cards (we can’t wait for the 3rd season), we ate Coldstone and drank a few beers at the brewery. In that situation, you have to find the positives or else we would have spent 1/5 of our vacation upset.

One of my favorite days of the trip was the day we hiked Camelback Mountain. The view was gorgeous, but the hike was intense. I thought I was an avid hiker, until we started trudging up the mountain. Maybe it was because I had a long winter off, or maybe it was just because this was nothing like I was used too, but this hike seriously kicked my butt. It also didn’t help that I was carrying a backpack, and had a heavy camera around my neck. However, I think I got some decent shots despite my exhaustion.

Did you see the part where you literally have to rock climb!? Luckily there was a pole to grab on to, but my hands were sweating and I thought I was going to slip and fall to my death. LOL Brandon and I have plans to go back and do it again someday. We hope to at least be in great physical shape so we can kick the hikes butt and not vice versa.

23 before 24: Weeks 11 & 12

Hi! I’m back. Back from Arizona that is..
I’m behind by a week on my portrait project due to travels, however I’m posting this week’s early… so it cancels each other out right? Ha!

Well, I’m a still a little jet lagged and short on time so I’ll keep this short and sweet. However, check back later this week for posts on my travels!

Week 11/52

11/52- Brandon’s mom got married over the weekend to a wonderful man named Paul. I was honored to be chosen as the photographer for the wonderfully intimate wedding. Brandon got to walk his mom down the “aisle” (it was held in a beautifully decorated Florida room in Paul’s house). In this photo, Brandon just got done letting his mom know that we were ready to start the ceremony. :]

Week 12/52

12/52- Our trip to Arizona was relaxing. We swam and hiked and watch Red’s spring training. It was nothing short of amazing!
We want to thank Brandon’s grandparents, parents, and family for making such a wonderful trip possible. It was great to celebrate Brandon’s graduation and acceptance into grad school (I’m extremely proud of him) and to celebrate my new beginnings after leaving the bank.

I have to run, today is my 6th month anniversary with Brandon and he is taking me to P.F. Changs. Isn’t he perfect? ❤
BUT I have so many posts planned for this next week and I just can’t wait to share. Check back later. : D

Whether you were on spring break or working a regular week, I hope it was relaxing/productive one! Have a great weekend, friends.

Much love,
Chelsea

23 before 24: Boston’s Bistro & Pub

Have you ever been to Boston’s Bistro and Pub in the Clayton area? Honestly, I have only been a handful of times and I lived in the area for 18 yrs. My friend James took me for my first time shortly after I turned 21 in 2011. This was probably good, as the craft beer is a huge attraction and keeps me coming back. However, the Hungarian food is reason enough to stop by and check it out.

Brandon and I stopped by last Saturday to get beer, lunch, and to have a small study session.

These photos have me drooling.
Look at those ^, just look at them! A description straight from the website, “toasted ciabatta bread topped with chipotle crème and feta cheese” with marinated chicken breast from the one and only, Boston’s Bistro and Pub. These may have been the best things I have EVER eaten. I’m serious, I totally daydreamed about them all week. 2014-02-16_0006
Are you a soft pretzel addict like me? There and gone.
Mashed potatoes, cheese, and bacon on a pizza.. need I say more? Didn’t think so.
“Mágyar Garlic/Paprika Potatoes, Cheddar Cheese, Smoked Bacon, topped with Cajun spices and Served with Sour Cream.”

Southern Tier Creme Brulee in a Samuel Adams glass? Blasphemy! BUT, I’d rather take Southern Tier in Sam Adams glass, then not have it all. : ]
When Brandon studies Spanish in a pub, things get silly.
You can wear anything you want at Boston’s. ; D

Where are you visiting this weekend?
What are your favorite local spots?

-Chelsea

23 before 24: Week 7

Oh hey February, nice to see you.
I really don’t have much to say for this past week.
I have been working on my goals fairly consistently and I’m pleased with my progress.

My business Facebook presence is steadily rising, and I’m almost to 600 likes (whooop)! If you haven’t already, like me on Facebook! www.facebook.com/chelseahallphoto

I’ve been practicing cooking. I cook Brandon and I a meal about once a week and I prep my lunches daily.
You can read more about that here.

I will be traveling more very soon! Brandon and I leave for Arizona the first week of March. I am in love with Arizona and I can’t wait to go back. You can read more about my last trip to the southwest here.

I have also been sticking to my 52 week portrait project of Brandon. Below you can see my portraits from this week.
Here are all my portraits from the project.

Brandon called me “paparazzi” yesterday. You can tell in the second to last picture he was over my little portrait session. LOL
I think he is slowly getting used to having a photographer for a girlfriend.

Yesterday we watched the Super Bowl at his grandparent’s house in Yellow Springs. It was great. They bought everyone pizza and we made buffalo chicken and berry, chocolate cheesecake dips (to die for). I love Brandon’s family, they are super amazing people! I can definitely tell where Brandon gets his humor, talent for writing, and kindness. I still have yet to meet his dad’s side, but I bet they are just as wonderful.

Happy Monday everyone!
I hope you have an amazing week. ❤

Much love,
Chelsea

23 before 24: 52 Week Portrait Challenge

I follow a few blogs that do a weekly portrait challenge. Bleubird is my favorite, her project was to take a portrait of her children, “once a week, every week, in 2013.” Her challenge gave me the inspiration to do my own. My current goal is to take a picture of my boyfriend Brandon (and/or both of us), at least once a week, every week, starting the week of my birthday (Dec 18, 2013). So far, I have managed to do just that!

Week 1

My grizzly bear. ❤ This was the week of my birthday. Brandon and I took a road trip to San Diego. It was insanely beautiful. You can read it about it here.

Week 2

My family, Brandon, and I took a visit to my grandpa’s nursing home for a little Christmas party. I happened to have my tripod so we snapped a pic together before our family photo.
The background isn’t the best, but hey, I’m just excited to have “our first Christmas” photo.

Week 3

Brandon and I celebrated New Year’s Eve in Yellow Springs. Yellow Springs is such a cute, close-knit community. They do a ball dropping every year in front of the Little Art Theatre, last year it was snowing and it was magical. I love the immense sea of people in the square cheering, popping bottles of champagne, hugging, and kissing. It really is a beautiful site.

Week 4

Brandon is helping me with this goal, to visit each park/attraction that Five Rivers MetroParks have to offer. What a perfect, convenient way to incorporate my portrait goal as well! Above, Brandon looks out on a frozen lake at Carriage Hill MetroPark.

Week 5

So far, this photo might be my favorite. Brandon and I do weekly date nights to wherever we please. This night Brandon and I took a visit to the Dayton Art Institute, Omega Music, and then Pies & Pints for awesome craft pizza and beer. I think our date nights might just be my favorite night of each week. We always mix it up and make it fun. I’m a very lucky gal, if I do say so myself.

In the future, I’m going to try to make this project more of a weekly feature instead of posting a full month at once.

Much love,
Chelsea

23 before 24: Downtown Ventures

After my trip to the 2nd Street Market, I took a walk around downtown to visit some places I’ve always wanted to, but never have. I’m usually always on the go when I’m downtown, and I never give myself enough time to aimlessly roam the city. Maybe I’ll make this a goal for next year. Welp, in the meantime, I hope you enjoy some photos of my little venture.

In the main building I visited, I wanted nothing more than to climb the stairs and head to other floors, but my fear got the best of me. I think I shall return with a buddy next time to back me up in the case of a fall or other threat. In one of the later photos, you can see I came across an area of belongings, blankets, and pillows. I felt it was time to leave at this point. I almost felt as if I was intruding on someone’s home and wanted to give the place back it’s privacy.

Despite my nervousness to push forward by myself, I’m not opposed to visiting other abandoned buildings around Dayton.
Do you know of any? Are you willing to share that information or come on an adventure with me? Let me know in the comments!

Much love,
Chelsea

23 before 24

Posts tagged travel

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23 before 24: St. Paddy’s weekend in Chicago

23 before 24: Week 13

23 before 24: Arizona Part 3

23 before 24: Arizona Part 2

23 before 24: Arizona

23 before 24: Weeks 11 & 12

23 before 24: Boston’s Bistro & Pub

23 before 24: Week 7

23 before 24: 52 Week Portrait Challenge

23 before 24: Downtown Ventures