Photography 101

Looking through this blog, I'd say its obvious that I'm no photographer. I am so envious of bloggers who can take gorgeous shots that really make you feel like you're right there experiencing the picture. I just point and shoot. But I'm working on it. To that end, here are some tips I've learned so far:

1. Make bad photos black and white to make them look artsy and poignant. 

Cant you just feel the struggle of the working man?

2. Have fun with mirrors. (Especially if no one is looking)

Aside from Dad looking silly, the paint colors came out really well!

Mom is very excited about her color choices.

3. Play with perspective

This angle makes it look like he's going to topple over!

Or it could have been the fact that I was supposed to be holding the ladder steady.

4. Try to capture the lines and colors that make ordinary things interesting

With the new wall colors, the turquoise booths look really great.
I take back everything I ever said about hating turquoise.

These are beer taps. This photo would be way cooler if amber streams
of ale were pouring out of each- all "Be our guest" style.

 5.  Or skip that step and take photos of interesting subjects

Like how nice the walls look with the new paint!

Or wine glasses. I'm always interested in more wine. 

6. Frame your subject

Who on earth is that happy washing windows?

7.  Capture candid expressions

"I  want to feel like I'm right there inhaling paint fumes with you!"

Aaaaaaaaaaaaand you capture the moment when someone
realizes they got paint on their pants.

8. Follow the rule of thirds 

I feel so fancy when I talk about the rule of thirds. It basically just means that if you divide your picture into a grid of 9 equal boxes, the focus should be on the intersections because our brains like threes or something. But I promise you, talk about the rule of thirds and you'll feel like Annie Liebovitz.

Nailed it.

Does this count as toes in the sand? No?

9. Get out the way

I get this one all the time. Apparently, when people are sanding, painting, and moving heavy things, they don't like a camera fiend getting underfoot to capture the action. German Mike has resorted to yelling "The paparazzi is here!" every time I walk in. (At least I think that is what he is saying. He could be saying "I want pepperoni pizza and a beer!" or maybe  "I bring macaroni and fear"- who knows.) But its cool. I'm principled. I stick to my journalistic integrity and bring the real story to the people- even if I risk getting trampled. 

"Oh, did you need me to move?"

We also brought in extra muscles from New York this weekend.

10. When all else fails, take a selfie. 

Who doesn't love a selfie?

You can choose the most flattering angles!

We'll have other updates this week- things are really coming together! While there is still a lot to do, I have some cool things to share. Stay tuned!

Love Love Love Team Mojito!

Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?

Just wait. If you haven't met her, you're going to LOVE my Mom. I speak from experience. Everyone loves my Mom. Shes just so cool.

Why can't coolness be genetic? seriously.

Sometimes she's all business, the result of years and years in the corporate world. But before she was "Mojito Mama: business woman extraordinaire," she was "Mojito Mama: Artist". It was a long time ago. Hardly anyone remembers the days when she would paint sweeping landscapes and bold portraits to sell. But every once in a while Artist Mom and Business Mom combine and devour one another. Introducing: Awesomely-creative-but-don't-get-in-her-way-or-you-will-regret-it Mom!

Watch out! She will run you down with her Home Depot shopping cart!

We are choosing paint colors for the walls. So far, it has been an uphill battle. There are a lot of opinions, but only one artist-in-residence.

I'm just going to go hide until all the colors are chosen!

We tested out a whole bunch of palates. We want to bring some light and openness to compliment the giant windows out front, but also some hues that evoke the sun, sand, and sea. And of course, we are trying to include that unique Cuban flair!

Testing, testing...1...2...3.

But paint colors are so WEIRD. First of all, they all have dumb names. "Oyster". "Golden Buttermilk". (I've never seen an oyster I'd like to see painted on a wall of a restaurant and I've never seen buttermilk any color other than grayish white) We actually chose those two. But we passed on "Tarragon Tease" and "Crusty Butt". Ok. It wasn't really called "crusty butt". It was called "Crested Butte" and when you read that really quickly it looks like...well,you know.

"Now I just need something that compliments Ralph Lauren's "crusty butt".

Not only do they have dumb names, but the colors look nothing like what you imagine when you put them on the walls. The lights, shadows,and the other colors in the room-they all conspire to turn a perfectly nice "Soft Chamois" into an awful shade closer to "Dusty Brown". (Seriously Behr, you've got a Turquoise called "Sweet Rhapsody" and cant come up with anything better than "Dusty Brown"? Ok.)

Choosing colors feels like an impossible task. To me, so many colors look the same.

"Oh yeah, I see how the 'Camembert' is SO MUCH different than 'Pot of Cream'. Not"

And even if I did have an eye for these kinds of things, it wouldn't matter. 

Because only one opinion matters here. 

And dissenters shall be BEHEADED! (Ok, not beheaded, but their taste in paint colors will be mercilessly scorned. And then they'll blog about their dashed artistic vision and tyrannical determined mother. At this point, I'm just really hoping I won't be grounded when Mom reads this post. I haven't worried about being grounded since I was 16, about 10 years ago).

But I have to admit, my Mom is really good at this.

Even her underarms are photogenic. It's just not fair. 

I may not be able to tell a matte from an eggshell but she's got a real eye for coordination. She also has this slightly funky streak so she can tell when a metallic finish will look really neat. If I tried to paint with metallics the result would probably be overwrought. Which is why it's good I am not in charge of decoration. Everything would probably look like this:

"What's wrong Mom? Everything matches!"

I guess it is just an extension of her coolness.

That's a palm tree tank top. Even her outfit matches the theme.
That alien arm invading my shot belongs to my father.

But sometimes its difficult to admit when someone else is always right.

And sometimes it's difficult to live with a brother who fancies himself a comedian.

So after a lot of back and forth, we decided to compromise and go back to the store for additional samples. While there, we also looked at some light fixtures.

Are we more of a oblong crackle family, or a warpy fishbowl family?

Mom likes grassy hanging lanterns.

Which probably means we will go with grassy hanging lanterns.

But we did find these cool "parchment leaf shades" that had a cool design, but they only came in bright white. Lame. 

Before we went, Mom left instructions for the team to take down the collapsing fabric roof on the landing.

And for Dad to tackle the electrical wires with Mike.

Apparently, there was time left over for muscle conditioning:

And showing off.

I'm just gonna hang out with my shining bulging muscles. NBD.

We came back with the samples and decided to tie in some green to go with the booths. Everybody was happy!

Finally everyone agreed. So Mom and dad decided which colors would go on which walls.

So cute! After 30 years of marriage and about 3 hours of arguing about colors.

And we had the happy task of driving BACK to Home Depot for the third time and buying 900000000000 gallons of paint.

"Yes we need 30 gallons. Please don't cry." Seriously though, these ladies were awesome.

Helpful tip: Home Depot is great about their military discount program so if you're a service member or veteran you get 10% off your entire purchase. Even if you buy 30 gallons of Ralph.

So now the painting has started and all the tension around colors is over! And we all lived happily ever after!

Just kidding.

That green color? The one that was the result of compromise after many battles and many trips to the Home Depot?

It's terrible. Really really terrible.

So it's back to the drawing board.

And the absolute worst part? Mom was right all along.

Mother knows best.

And when we do get the colors figured out, I'm sure you will love them. They will be Mom's artistic vision. And like I said, everyone loves Mom. 

Stay tuned for updates on the painting and other features! And stop by to say "hi" if you're walking down Main St.! 

Happy painting!

-Team Mojito

Slow and steady progress...

Have you been outside today? I went outside today. The temperature was 90000038290473270928 degrees Fahrenheit.

When I looked up the weather this morning, the forecast called for sizzle.

It's hot out. Which is why I am so appreciative of the work these guys are doing:

Heat rises. Maybe it wasn't the best day to bring out the ladder. 

Today the crew is replacing broken windows and fixing up the wobbly ones. And speaking of windows...

We put up "Coming Soon!" signs! Some how they make everything seem like its coming together, even if the progress has been slow. Slow, but steady progress- and it's starting to show! This is what the floor looked like last week:

These floors have seen better days.

This is Mike a.k.a. The Sand Man.

But this is what the floors look like now!

It makes me want to slide around in my socks, all "Risky Business" style 

Hello stubby toes. My brother calls them my Flintstone feet.

There's also a lot more work going on outside. Today a bunch of trees were cut back so it looks less like a jungle. (But that was early in the morning before the camerawoman had enough coffee to know a camera from a camaro.) Much of the day has been devoted to patching up the wobbly slate in the patio. However, um, someone (totally not pointing fingers here ::cough cough The Sand Man did it! cough::) decided to patch up the grey slate with bright white concrete. You know concrete is naturally grey (er, gray? whatever), so I don't understand why white concrete was chosen as a filler, but maybe it was an artistic vision. In any case, we're fixing up the patio.

Ok when I say "we're", I really mean that the manly men in the family are fixing up the patio.

Not that I couldn't bring over my sledge hammer and play with rocks.

and while I could definitely wield all these manly man tools...

I think it's good for little brothers to tackle the big jobs. Character building stuff.

Hard work in the heat. Ahhhhhhh memories to last a lifetime.

Like this kid needs more character. 

Good job guys! All your hard work is starting to show. Now, can someone get this crew a Mojito??

-Team Mojito