10 on 10 | anya elise

There are two vases of flowers that have been sitting in the cottage house for the past month. Or six weeks. Respectively. I’ve watched them transform from their robust, life-rich selves to droopy but stiff, near-mummified ghosts of their former glory (I am almost 95 percent certain ghosts can’t be mummified, but I’m no expert). I really should learn to discard dead flowers in a timely manner. But as I’ve watched them, day by day on my journeys from the living room to the kitchen, I came to see in them a quiet beauty. A record, preserved in their brittle but surprising sturdiness. So though it was much past the deadline for removing these two vases and their expired buds, I decided to hold onto them a bit longer. After all, I needed my next 10-on-10 project.

But before we go further, say hello to my buds, the fellow 10-on-10ers:

CLB Creative

Shaw Photography

Twinty Photography

Brittany Conner Photography

Button Media

Courtney Z Photography

Now, for those of you who didn’t immediately exit out after that horrible pun, the coffee is on me. And bless you. And here we go.

I started with the untouched remnants. They were almost sculptural. Resolute. Fragile, but sure. Then I decided to deconstruct the individual pieces.

The pedals, though dried out and brittle, retained such a brilliant color. Luminous and vibrant. They looked like they may just be daring enough to never fade at all. I felt a bit like a painter, manipulating around this little palette. Arranging the hues and textures however I please. There was a part of me that always wished I was a painter. But you can just go ahead and ask any one of my siblings and they will tell you that me plus painting equals some sort of affront to art everywhere. Seriously, my college painting 101 teacher was nice enough to never ask me to leave the class, but I bet she wanted to. But that’s another story. For now, I’ll take my photos, and the freedom you have when you decide to create.

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February 10, 2015 by Anya Elise

10 on 10 || february

It doesn’t take long getting into a new year for me to start longing for a trip. A vacation. An adventure. A grand sojourn through hill and dale, wild and wonder, over the mountains and through the woods to grandmother’s house we go. Sadly it will be a few more months before I can cash in on this longing, but I stoked the fire a bit when I visited the new and beautiful Union Station here in Denver. I have visited the fresh-of-face train depot a number of times since it reopened last July, and I’ve loved it on every occasion. It’s swoon-worthy, truly. There’s nothing quite like imagining oneself hopping a train to land unknown, old-timey luggage in hand, scarves fluttering, a letter clutched in one’s pocketbook. If you’ve ever wanted to pretend to be a 1940s starlet, don your best ensemble and get yourself down there. In fact, I’ll go with you and we will grab a cocktail and then read great literature while lounging in the classy hall. Gentleman, if you have a fedora you can come too. Everyone grab your calendars and let’s pick a date. I’ll wait.

…and until then, here are some photos of our fair station for this month’s 10-on-10 installment. Visit my pals-in-arms for our monthly collaborative series, then scroll on down for some train depot fun.

Twinty Photography

Button Media

Courtney Z Photography

CLB Creative

Brittany Conner Photography

Shaw Photography

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January 10, 2015 by Anya Elise

10 on 10 || january

Hey, hey, party people. (That’s just something new I’m trying out for this year. It’s also something I’ve decided to no longer try out for this year. Live and learn.)

It’s time for your favorite feature, our monthly installment of 10-on-10. Let’s start with the list of our fair comrades.

CLB Creative

Courtney Z Photography

Shaw Photography

Twinty Photography

Button Media

Brittany Conner Photography

I decided to make this month’s post a whole hat tip and salute to the last day of last year, December 31, New Year’s Eve. The one and only. We had the great fortune of being only an hour away from New York City this year, so decided to do it up right and head into the city for the celebration. We booked a hotel room (rewards points for the win!), got train tickets, and trekked on in…

…with about 700 million other people. But I suppose that’s to be expected. We skirted around Times Square with great care, ate some delicious steak in a restaurant that dates back to the 1880s and hangs clay pipes on its ceiling (Buffalo Bill Cody used to frequent the establishment; Colorado west shout out!), then descended into the depths of the city to party with the mole people. Or to catch a subway to Brooklyn. One or the other. You can decide, “Choose Your Own Adventure” style. We saw old friends, popped some champagne, talked about records and turn tables and puppies. It was a really charming way to ring in 2015. Here are some photos! Ten photos to be precise, because that is how it works.

This was our view at the hotel. Seriously, I thought we stepped into a dream. Gotta love those rewards points programs. (And husbands who wrangle all the info about said rewards points programs so I don’t have to.)

We almost didn’t make it to midnight.

Midnight! We made it! 2015!

And finally, the first light of the new year. I hope you all have an adventurous, happy 2015.

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December 10, 2014 by Anya Elise

10 on 10 || december

Oh December, you have arrived in such a hurry. What’s the rush, I ask you? When you’re just a kiddo, December and all the best holiday festivities seem to be forever in the future. Never quite arriving. As if you will just be waiting for Christmas to arrive for the rest of all time. Then you grow up. And with adulthood comes a vortex in the time-space continuum which effectively means you will never be able to slow down time again. Months will just fly by you without warning. You will be carving up a pumpkin for your doorstep, setting out pounds of candy for the trick-or-treaters, when suddenly a snowman shows up on your doorstep with twinkle lights in hand. It’s possible I’ve had too much coffee as of the writing of this post, but then again, is there such a thing as too much coffee? Prepare your nine-part answer and get back to me.

The point is, here we are. The last month of 2014, a year that proved to be a real beauty. And frankly, there is no better way to top off a year than the with the month of December. Lots of hot chocolate and time well spent with friends and family. Holiday parties and twinkle lights. Celebrations and Christmas trees.

This past weekend we adhered to our age-old, family tradition of driving up a mountain and cutting down our Christmas trees. Trees plural now, because we all live in our own little homes. I documented the whole endeavor for the last-of-2014, 10-on-10 extravaganza.

But first! Check in with these fine, photo folk and give them a tip of your woolen cap.

Button Media

Twinty Photography

Courtney Z Photography

CLB Creative

Shaw Photography

Brittany Conner Photography

OK, here we go!

Happy holidays, one and all!

And to all, a good night.

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November 10, 2014 by Anya Elise

10 on 10 || november

Where would we be without these 10-on-10 posts, friends? Well, we’d be a vacant blog, that’s what. All boarded up with a No Trespassing sign plastered to the entrance. Yikes!

Autumn is always an introspective season for me. Spring is often considered the time to clear out the cobwebs and start fresh. But I think Autumn inspires that feeling in me. Something about reaching the last few months of the year, makes me look back and consider what I have (or have not) accomplished. It makes me think more concretely about what direction to take next. What move might be ahead. All the changing colors around me, the shedding of the old to hibernate in the cold and spring forth anew, inspires a bit of personal change as well. It’s beautiful.

So for this month’s 10-on-10, I give you one last look at the autumn we had this year. It was a warm and lingering one. Really quite perfect. Full of brilliant colors and corn mazes and more warmth. I hope you enjoy this last look. Because as you read, we in Colorado are beginning winter, finally. Snow and cold and flurries and freezing are ahead. Here we go!

But before all that… take a look at these fellow 10-on-10ers and see what they’ve been up to this fine October. Give them a clink of your hot chocolate mug and settle in for the winter.