I have a new video fusion portrait of Samantha and her horse Nick. I am in love with this type of video it captures a special friendship between a girl and her horse. I was so fascinated by horses when I was growing up. I use to pretend I was riding one long before I ever did ride one. I think there is a certain freedom you feel being one with a horse. The beauty and the grace of a horse is magic, but there is also something a bit terrifying about the sheer power beneath you.
Sometimes life sends us messages to guide us and help us along our journey. But sometimes we're not listening. We are all so busy being busy that we miss what is right in front of us. I am truly guilty of this and it was never more clear then when I was in Costa Rica staying at the lovely wellness retreat spa Hacienda del Sol. I will explain. But let me first tell you a little about this wonderful place.
I found out about Hacienda del Sol thru this goddess .... Megan Talpner. She did a whole blog post on it here. Essentially she did all the research and found exactly what I was looking for in a retreat, beautiful place, healthy food, yoga classes, salt water pool, wonderful caring people and so much more. Where do I sign up? I'm in!
I would say this place is not for everyone but everyone should go. If you enjoy everything I listed above then let me put your mind at ease. This place is for you. You’re not too fat, you’er not too lazy and your not too unhealthy to go. It's funny how our minds will try to talk us out of anything. I went to Hacienda thinking all those things but learned thru the reflection of those around me that I was strong and healthy and exactly where I needed to be. I pushed myself to be present and to just show up mindfully to every adventure. My yoga teacher Ange reminded me of this many times during yoga class. You are perfect in this moment and exactly where you need to be. I thought I understood. I thought I was totally tuned in. But then I realized I still needed to learn this lesson. I was out on a hike one day and stopping along the way to marvel at all the little creatures in the jungle. Well I came upon a hermit crab and looked down at him in disbelief. How did you get here? And why are you so far from the beach? I scooped the little guy up and carried him with me to the beach; feeling very proud of myself and my generosity to help this creature. Once I reached the beautiful white sandy beach, I gently lowered the hermit crab down to the sand. As soon as he was free to crawl the hermit crab took off toward the forest again. I stood there with a bewildering look and a heavy heart and thought to myself what have I done! You see that little creature wanted to be in the forest and I moved him. At that moment I realized everyone and every creature has there own journey and it is not for us to judge or decide but only trust that they are actually where they need to be.
I will never forget this lesson and I will always have a special place in my heart for my time at Hacienda del Sol. I encourage you to go and give yourself the gift of soul energy building, health and love. I promise you will be met with open arms and a handy life lesson to stick in your pocket for when you’re ready to hear it.
I created a visual diary of my time at Hacienda del Sol which will show you everything, the glorious food, yoga, hikes, beaches, accommodations and of course all the beautiful lovely people that I met along the way. The only thing not in the video is my experience with the massages. duh. That's another kind of video. I treated myself and got massages from Nadia, Ange and Shar and they were all so different and wonderful in their own way. I don't really recommend one over another. All I will say is … treat yourself and get as many as your budget will allow because you won't regret it. I also highly recommend the pedicure from Veronica. It was truly the best one I've ever had.
So please sit back and watch and let me know if you enjoyed the video. Leave me a comment. Email me if you have any questions. Thanks for stopping by and remember next time you feel restless and unsure all you need to do is say this little phrase... You are perfect in this moment and you are exactly where you need to be.... and soon you will feel the calm wash over you.
Share this post with someone you love that might need to hear this today.
much love jan
“Its my mission to use my camera to empower women and make them feel beautiful. ”
This past December I set out to make a video that would show my hearts work. Its a simple message of love and laughter .... of kindness and acceptance..... its my world where women never have to feel less then.
My french inspired photo shoot started in the mountains of Virginia with my beautiful nieces Ashley, Erin, Samantha and Jillian. We transformed our ski chalet into a french inspired salon. We covered the walls with white sheets, posted inspirational photos, and hung sparkly lights. Each girl got their own photo shoot, which included outfit styling, hair and makeup, and some good old fashion giggles and dancing.
I want to thank the girls for letting me take "before" photos of them to help illustrate that these girls are not professional models they are just beautiful extraordinarily "normal" girls.
Have you ever looked in the mirror and not felt good enough? Do you look at magazines and think I wish I could look that beautiful? I am here to break down those myths and show you that you are beautiful and your are perfect in this moment.
Give me a day to change your mind and change your heart to believe in how special you are to the world. Come get pampered for a day and lets make magic together.
All you need is yourself and an open heart .... plus a willingness to laugh and have fun.
Email me and lets make a play date.
Click on image to start video
That's what I call her .... Jillian my niece also known as Jilly-bean. I love my Jillian that’s what anyone would say who knows her. She has a light inside that shines bright and you can’t help, but be affected when your in her presence. I remember her mother telling me when she was a baby that she looked forward to her days of play with Jillian. She said "she is just a happy baby always smiling". I believe happiness is a choice and some people are put on this planet to remind us to look for the brighter side of life. Jillian does that for me. I am lucky to say Jillian has been one of my muses since she was very little. She was always game to do whatever I cooked up in my creative brain. Recently, I asked Jillian to help me create something, which combinds three of my passions video, photos and music. I introduced the concept with my Camp Easy Couture video, which you can see here. So with Jillian’s help, my camera and a few hours of play together I created a video fusion show reel. Video fusion is simply the combination of still photos, video and music, but what results is pure magic to me.
Here are some earlier photo shoots we did together. The fairy wing photo shoot together resulted in this photo, which was selected to be featured in a German magazine. When Jill put on the wings I remember she tranformed into an other worldly creature, I just followed her and tried to keep up.
