31 Aralık 2012 Pazartesi

TanjaBarnes.com's Gone Mobile!

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I'm so excited to announce the launch of Tanja Barnes Mobile. It's the same tanjabarnes.com URL but with an interface tailored to your phone.

With this webapp you can learn in a concise format the various services I provide and the cost of a treatment. You can also:

  • Contact me with the touch of a button and book a massage
  • Purchase gift certificates via Google Checkout
  • Learn a few tips on how to massage a friend or sweetheart
  • Add my new mobile app to your home screen for quick access on the go. 

For those who would like to know more, my full website can still be viewed from your laptop or desktop computer.  It provides more in-depth information about my services and includes access to my entire suite of online resources including FAQs, digital downloads, blogs, 360° panoramas and more.

Check it out by clicking tanjabarnes.com or scanning the QR code above from your smart phone to get started. And please let me know what you think!



TwitThis


"Spirit Tree" Joplin's Tornado Landmark in 360° Panorama

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A year ago a deadly EF-5 tornado ripped through the city of Joplin, Missouri, killing 161 people and damaging or destroying about 7,500 homes and 500 other buildings. Despite it all, the city is well into a significant recovery mode but there is still work to be done. Along the tornado's path at the intersection of East 20th Street and the Kansas City Southern Railway tracks, where Dillon’s grocery store used to be, now stands the colorfully painted “Spirit Tree” — a new landmark for the city of Joplin. Its surroundings are still somewhat vacant but here and there is evidence of new homes being built and new hope as the survivors work hard to recover. It's worth noting that if you perform a search the tornado path on Google Maps you can see a bird's eye view of the devastation from last year. (This information is current as of May 23, 2012.)



Rose O'Neill's Bonniebrook Homestead in 360° Panorama

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Rose O'Neill and Kewpie dolls
The Ozarks were my destination while traveling along Route 66 in these past few blog posts. Specifically what I wanted to see was Bonniebrook, the home of Rose O’Neill (1874-1944) an American illustrator, author, artist, poet, sculptor, inventor, suffragette, and creator of the world famous Kewpies.

Due to some heavy road construction en route to Bonniebrook, I arrived considerably later than planned. In fact, when I got there the place was about to close in 30 minutes but Susan Scott, the President of Bonniebrook Historical Society, graciously held the facility open for me and personally gave me a guided tour of the Kewpie Museum and the art gallery.

The museum houses antique Kewpie ephemera including anything you could brand with a Kewpie from dolls to door knockers. The gallery contains nearly sixty original works of art by O'Neill that are a radical departure from the commercial success of her Kewpie line. It's fantastic! However, due to copyright restrictions no photos were allowed in this part of the facility.

Apolle and Daphne
O'Neill and "Embrace of the Trees"
Afterwards, Susan handed me off to Larry, the groundskeeper and tour guide for the Bonniebrook house.  Both Susan and Larry made my visit so delightful and I can't thank them enough for their hospitality!

Because of Susan and Larry's thoroughness in sharing the life and works of America's most beloved women artists my takeaway is that Rose O'Neill was not only a gifted artist, but also an archetypal "hippie chick" and a radical free thinker that was way ahead of her time.

Another thing I learned about O'Neill was that she studied sculpture under the tutelage of Auguste Rodin after  being awarded with the associate of the Société des Beaux Arts and studying art in Paris in 1906.  The above panorama features a piece is entitled "Embrace of the Trees" that is based on the myth of Apollo and Daphne. It's worth noting that this sculpture was considered vulgar and distasteful by people of her day.

More panoramas of Bonniebrook including the family cemetary where Rose O'Neill is interred can be seen by clicking through the images below. There's also a wonderful radio piece about Rose O'Neill from Ozarks Public Radio on KSMU that you can listen to here.


Bonniebrook


O'Neill Family Cemetery




Scotty's Classic Cars - Arma, Kansas

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For 12 years Scotty's Classic Cars Museum in Arma, Kansas, educated and entertained visitors about the automobile history and its impact on society through the maintenance of exhibitions, publications, collections, records and a library.

Sadly the museum was shuttered in 2011 having sold most of the contents to the Central Texas Museum of Automotive History in Rosanky, Texas.

As of April 2012, eight remaining vehicles are for sale and can be glimpsed in the windows of this panorama.

I truly regret having missed an opportunity to photograph the interior when it was still open however below are some photos from tagged photos on Flickr.


27 Aralık 2012 Perşembe

HotelChatter: Suites Beranger in the Loire Valley

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I have a fun little series on HotelChatter called Boozy B&B's. I haven't written a new post up for it for a while, but this week I had the opportunity to reminisce about one of the lovely little wine country inns I stayed at while in France this past May.



I spent two days out in the Loire Valley checking out chateaux and tasting wines from various AOC's like Chinon and Vouvray. I was based in the medieval city of Tours, and stayed at a delightful B&B called the Suites Beranger, which is in a 19th-century mansion that has been completely redone. My room was beautiful, the food was delicious, and the location was perfect - within the city and an easy walk to the sights, but quiet and private.

Find out more about why I loved this particular hotel and its various features in my HotelChatter story from today, and feel free to comment with any questions.

HotelChatter: Kerry Hotel Beijing

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This week found me contributing to one of my old favorites, HotelChatter, about my trip to China this summer - specifically about the hotel I stayed at while in Beijing: the Kerry Beijing.



As you can see, my view was pretty spectacular  - a perfect shot of Rem Koolhaas's now-iconic, angular CCTV building.

But that wasn't the only feature of the hotel that I enjoyed, which you'll see when you check out my post from today on HotelChatter, so read on to find out about all the other cool features of the rooms here and the hotel's public spaces.

Divine Buttermilk Syrup and a Giveaway!

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 This weekend we had some of our favorite friends come and stay with us.  There's nothing like having company in town to use as an excuse to make breakfast that should actually be considered a dessert.If you need a good go-to breakfast/brunch idea, ANY thing covered in this buttery goodness will win over your crowd, ANY crowd for that matter!  This syrup is delicious on thick slices of french toast, waffles or pancakes.  In fact, it's so beyond good that I can't help but dip my strawberries, bananas, apples, even my breakfast sausage in it...it's that good!On a side note, see this perfect little receptacle that holds my syrup-y goodness (below)?  It's the perfect size, not too big, not too small, just big enough to hold about 2-3 cups worth of syrup to keep it warm on the stove...this is my grandma Dewey's "syrup holding thingy."  Several years ago, when we were cleaning out my grandparents house, after my grandma had passed away, we helped my grandpa have a garage sale.  I saw this gem sitting on a table alongside many other 25 cent items.  I knew I couldn't let this go for only a quarter.  To me, this little container had a lot of history and reminded me of many memories.  My grandma was a wonderful cook.  She wasn't the most adventurous cook, but the recipes/meals that she did make, divine.  Although she made most items from scratch, she was also the queen of Eggo waffles.  She was the BEST Eggo waffle maker.  They were always super buttery, crispy on the outside but soft on the inside, and she always warmed our syrup up in this dish.  This is one of the items that helps me preserve some of the wonderful memories I have of my grandma.
 Here's the recipe:
Buttermilk Syrup:
1 cup sugar1 cube butter1/2 cup buttermilk2 tbs light corn syrup
Bring these 4 ingredients to a slow boil for 4-5 minutes then take the pan off the heat and add in 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1/4 teaspoon baking soda...and wala- that's it!!

Wanna know a naughty little secret that I should admit to and maybe you'll want to try too...?
I double this recipe, use 1/2 of it for our breakfast, put it in the fridge, then reheat heat it later in the day or night...causing it to turn a carmel-y brown color because of the longer cooking time...I then pour the new carmel-y goodness into a dish and dip apples in it...you'll be surprised at how quickly you'll down 5 apples...I'm just sayin...
OK, off you go...TRY this recipe, your family will thank you...and if you do try it- leave a comment here that you tried it AND send me a picture and a note to lindsaybanner1 AT hotmail dot com...and you'll be entered to win a prize...a GOOD prize!!! *You can also leave a comment linking me to one of your favorite brunch/breakfast ideas for a second entry- so 2 chances to enter!!  All entries must be submitted by Sunday, April 29th. *All entries submitted may be posted by us on our Facebook wall and/or our blog*
Enjoy, and get cookin!!

One of the ways our family saves thousands when traveling!

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Photo from Marriott's Website
 I don't know about you, but summer planning is in full force over here at the Banner house.  Living in AZ and away from all of our family in Southern CA and Idaho presents many opportunities to travel to some of our favorite states and visit family, not to mention our desire to escape the heat here in the AZ!
Photo From Marriott's website
 One of the many reasons I love my husband is because he is a deal finder!  Here is a perfect example: for years, we have been enjoying the Marriott Newport Villas via Mike's Mom and Dad who have a timeshare there as well as multiple times when we have stayed there with our own little family as well.
Photos from Marriott's Website
 The first time we ever stayed there, we attended the informational seminar where they try to sell you the timeshare package.  Although we could see the value in it, we just weren't sold on the fact that you had to pay an on-going annual homeowners fee even after you paid off your timeshare.  This is the only reason we chose not to buy.  When we got home, Mike did a little research and found a website called RedWeek.com, a website devoted to helping you find and buy weeks of other people's timeshares often for a fraction of what the actual timeshare costs.  Ever since Mike has found this website, we have been buying week's off of other people at the Newport Villas for as little as $1200 for the week, a HUGE savings!!  You can also buy timeshares off of people ALL OVER the world!
December 2008
 At this stage of life, the Villas have been the perfect place to stay.  The rooms are beautifully appointed with down comforters, gorgeous blackout curtains, 2 bedrooms, 2 pull out couches that sleep 4 people in addition to the king and queen beds, 2 full bathrooms, a full kitchen, dining room and family room as well.  The grounds are gorgeous and manicured to a T with a putting green, basketball courts, multiple large pools, outside grill cafe, huge fire pit with Adirondack chairs, a little market to buy things for smores etc, and the location couldn't be better!
Dec 2008
 The Villas are close to Fashion Island, South Coast Plaza, fabulous beach locations...you name it!
June 2010
 There are beautiful pathways all throughout the huge property,
June 2010
 It really is a dream come true for a young family!
June 2010
 It's been so fun to look through all our old pictures from years past...look how little Chloe is in the picture above!
June 2010
 Since cousins from all different parts of our family live all throughout Southern CA, we have new bits and pieces of our family visit us every day while we stay there- heaven for us!
Dec 2010
 And the views, cannot be beat!
Dec 2010

Dec 2010
This was one year where we actually stayed there during Christmas- you can see our impromptu Christmas tree ;)
Hope you all get to plan a few fun things for the summer, whether it involves travel or not...and if it does involve travel...be sure to check out RedWeek.com!

LAST Day for this week's {Feature Friday}!

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 As many of you know, we do something called {Feature Friday} where every Friday we have at least one of our items highlighted/featured and offered for a discounted price for that week.  If you aren't already signed up to receive our Newsletters, be sure that you do sign up, otherwise you could be missing out on some great opportunities to SAVE big!  To sign up, simply visit our website and enter your email address in the box down in the bottom right hand corner! This week's {Feature Friday} info can be found HERE in case you missed it! Since we are only able to post 3 pictures per product listing on our website, I often have LOTS of pictures of each product that never get to be seen!  I thought today I would share a few more *never-before-seen* pictures of the items that are on SALE in this week's {Feature Friday} sale that ends tonight!  These pictures show our Color Collection Flowers with the beaded centers as well as the fashion rhinestone centers- both on SALE for almost 40% off:

 Here is the Coral Hot Pink shown clipped to a sun hat
 And for those of you that have been asking- here is a picture of the yellow petti romper...the color looks a little less vibrant in this picture then it actually is due to the editing, I just haven't had a chance to list this picture in the shop yet ;) And these pictures show one of my very favorite lace rosettes that we are almost out of.  You can find the link to this flower HERE
 And this headband shown above, a picture of our VERY popular but never pictured until now, the Triple White Dainty Flower headband in off-white- another picture I haven't had a chance to list in the shop...you can find this listing HERE This picture shows our Taylor in deep teal...thought it would be fun to show you what the Taylor looks like in a color other then yellow which is how it's pictured on the website ;) And here (above) is another picture of our Color Collection which is on sale through tonight as a clip instead of a headband...it adds just the right touch to senior portraits, messy buns, clipped to a cardigan etc.Thank you to www.MelissaLynPhotography.com for all the gorgeous photos!  I hope to share more of the *never-before-shared* photos of all our products- there are lots!! ;)

20 Aralık 2012 Perşembe

for Harper’s Bazaar Fashion Forward

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  • Finalist of Fashion Forward awards 2012, held by Harper's Bazaar Ukraine. 


  • Photography: Victoria Bolkina
    Style and designer: Diana Bogach
    Hair: Zina Morino
    Makeup: Anna Kuzminykh
    Models: Marie Orlova @MSS, Julia Dzigalenko @MSS, Anastasia Belena @Star Models, Sasha Popruga @Star Models, Alina Kolisnichenko @ L-Models, Luba Varga @Star System, Daria Savchenko @Star System and Ksenia Chakrian @Star System


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2c management photographic agency | production coordination

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2c Management represents an elite selection of the regions best photographers, stylists and hair & make up artists.

In addition to representation, we offer our artists and clients a range of production management resources and support to ensure we deliver a streamlined, fully coordinated professional service.

We are a well established agency with a firm commitment to service, quality and success.

2c Management offer a range of professional production services including; flexibility in budgeting, budget management, styling, hair & make up, line production, casting and talent negotiations, location sourcing, wardrobe, model and prop making, set design, catering, travel, retouching and logistics.

our team
julie marshall (director)
tammy mclean (director)
kia scott (executive producer)
sarah mury (producer)
shannan kelly (producer)
mavis clift (hair & make up)
susie paul (accountant)

 

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