kelly sans her camera

It appears that it has been a minute since I last wrote...I hope these last weeks have been filled with adventure and activity and a good dose of whatever living your dream looks like... I've had lots and lots of seasons like that. So many. And I loved them. Not that...

It’s me. Hi. I’m the problem. It’s me. Everybody agrees.I’m the reason family weekend didn’t go as planned… BC KV would’ve loved Plan A! An adventure upstate in the fall! To one of the most beautiful campuses in America?! Like seriously?!?! There was an AGENDA!!! Not...

Good Dawning to thee, friend!In the late 1900s, when we were newly weds and adorably youthful, my grandma was interviewed for some graduate work and I sat in for company. At one point, they were discussing family traditions and cures and remedies. My grandma started...

Hello my friends. In my limited experience on this beautiful earth...Most people are normal. But some are just built different. I won’t name names but some people I love are Beasts. Like the badass awesome kind. They got Six Flags tickets for never missing school. As...

Wrote a Little Blog for my Birthday to Share with YouThis won’t come as a surprise to most people who know me well, but nesting is my earliest memory. I loved setting up my Fisher Price Doll House and arranging my stuffed animals so everyone looked comfortable and got...

to my dear framily, kelcam clients & concerned kinfolk:I don’t want to unintentionally ghost or be all secretive about this indefinite sabbatical; I just don’t have energy, the story is long, and my mysterious illness is awkward, especially knowing that everyone...

You've hit the great divide. The cusp. The watershed.Before this post are all of my old Kelcam blogs.  Get ready. Brace for whiplash. I was an over-achieving, multi-tasking, beast of a photographer and adventurer and matriarch and earthling. It was exhausting just to...

Hope you are bundled and surviving the cold my friends!! I love Chicago and I love the full range of seasons and I say this every year, but $#!+ is winter long. My sis and I have come to the realization that as tempting as it is, curling up in the corner of the couch,...

I have no stats to prove this claim, But I swear this was the longest winter ever in Chicago. We hadn’t been planning to go away for spring break but we all really started crashing… We needed air that didn’t hurt to breathe and sun that warmed sand. We were all pretty...

This winter has lasted about 1000 years and the reign of the White Witch really needs to come to an end. Not to mention that we have a very limited discretionary budget right now, we are in desperate need of some family time that does not involve reruns of Avatar the...

You may wonder how The V Fam ended up in Texas over winter break. It was really quite simple. I was trying to escape winter and the snow so I pulled up google flights and looked for the cheapest place we could fly (obviously on Spirit. AKA the Greyhound bus in the...

Diwali / Dipalwali didn’t even exist in my little world until I was 35. I have abnormally high blood pressure and my doc directly told me that I needed yoga. I consequently met my beloved Guru Deepti and she invited me to my first Diwali party. I showed up because I’m...

College in the 90s + Full Participation in Lilith Fair = Owning a Pair of BirksI didn’t over-think or cherish them as I should; My Birks were simply my shoes. They were still in their prime of life, no more than a mere 7 years old, when I had a few pregnancies and my...

It is no secret that free/cheap is my jam.For one weekend in mid-October there is an all-time favorite Chicago activity. I like it so much that I even recommend that people from out of town plan their visit for this! Chicago has some really amazing architecture, sort...

Today is a topic very near and dear to my heart. Houseplants. Don’t stop reading!!!Houseplants are either boring or depressing, or PTSD inducing (–as everything rushes back upon recollection of the tragic tale involving the orchid from Great Aunt Martha and the guilt...

I take care of things... I help with homework and organize carpools and schedule the plumber but not at the same time as the ortho or PT or allergy shots or practice. I do piles and piles of laundry. I research the best vitamins and find live music for date-nights....

My heart hurts today.  A real lot.When I was a kid, I didn’t really dream of growing up to be a Mama Bear. Being a mom seemed complicated and stressful and it would definitely take away energy from my dreams and passions and goals (I was way more right than I...

Hello my friends!  This was such a good trip!We spent last week on Mount Hood, just outside Sandy Oregon (if you are from Chicago and frustrated with the constant slaughtering of Illinois, I looked it up… it is officially pronounced “aura-gun”). I need to state right...

My friends, if in Chicago catch a concert at Northerly:It is officially time to inform people of my second favorite music venue (hard to ever beat Red Rocks). Northerly Island is in Chicago and had a bit of a dicey start. Way back in 1910, the city planner intended...

Day 2 & 3 were pretty packed (as if day 1 wasn't?!)There is SO MUCH TO SEE IN LA!! Downtown LA isn’t really worth staying in because parking is expensive and it isn’t a great hub for everything else you’ll want to do, but it is a REALLY cool city. My lifemate had...

I love LA.  It isn't really the place I'd want to live full-time, but visiting is the best. I’ve been to Los Angeles a few times now but this was the first time with the kids. We flew in late on a Thursday, took a short free shuttle to the the rental car, tried to hit...

I love Chicago and seasons and the snow and cute boots,but I just try my hardest to escape it a few times a winter. This year, we scheduled two. A trip to Orlando with extended family that ended up being 29 degrees (not a winter escape and story later) and thankfully,...

I keep over-thinking these posts and then I freeze because I want them to be perfect with artistic pictures and a precise layout and every detail but then they never get done at all and I have a million drafts just sitting here. SOOO…Turning over a new leaf here...

It doesn't always go according to the plan.  We always travel with our trusty GPS (or Waze or Google Maps), all affectionately named Nigel.  Nigel is our road-guide; He is awesome but often crazy.  Sometimes he takes us down back allies and dirt roads in an effort to...

I really am not sure how we’ve ended up in Atlanta so many times, but we do.And frankly, I like it more every single time (especially when we aren’t driving)! This time we took the MARTA to Midtown (both the red and gold lines work). Midtown is absolutely adorable in...

Atlanta is often a cheap flight and a great long weekendThe first time in Atlanta was totally legit. My lifemate had a conference and I tagged along as his baggage / eye-candy. I wandered all over for 3 days and had a great time (if I’m totally honest, the great time...

Orlando is a surprise favorite of our fam squadI’m not a fan of revisiting places. There are so many new adventures on the horizon that we rarely have a desire to repeat… except, obviously, Orlando. I’ve been at least half a dozen times in my life and would go back...

That is not our car! But it could be!Our first couple of family vacations were admittedly a learning experience of epic proportions and involved an exhausting game of tetris at each stop. We brought stuff we didn’t need, forgot things we had at home, and there was...

Rumor has it that some people forget to eat meals.Those are probably the same people who work-out as “me time” and look forward to their yearly cleanse. I personally know people like that (don’t worry, I won’t put your names… you know who you are). I admire those...

Settle in my friends!  I have things to say about lodging!My sister and I look similar but we are literally night and day on so many things. For example, that girl LOVES a true vacation. It pretty much isn’t worth it to her unless she is staying somewhere nicer than...

On a recent trip, we were listening to a guy playing acoustic guitar at a tiny bar. It was chilly, we had done a bunch of hiking, were sipping whiskey, and between sets, we struck up conversation with the people next to us (let me start by saying that I know it seems...

In my day job, I organize details and plan proceduresAnd I love it. But I know not everyone is a planner, some people don’t even like spreadsheets (GASP!) Not to be too mellow-dramatic, but planning ahead can make or break even the smallest trip. Depending on who you...

Welcome to my own little space in this great big beautiful world!My vision for this blog is to encourage people to travel and entertain and connect with people and live to the fullest, without scrambling around and eventually collapsing in an exhausted, stressed, and...

On this quest, there will be so many amazing photographers to choose from, many of whom I consider dear friends. If you want to love your pictures, it works best to find a photographer that matches with your personality, style, philosophy, and (of course) budget. Each...

About Kelly & Her CameraLike my grandma with her apron, Linus with his blanket, or George Foreman with his grill… there’s hardly a time I’ve been without my camera. It started as a kid with my hot pink film point & shoot, transitioned as an early adopter of...

You are at the end... or the beginning... who knows on this fool's journey we call life.I find it unlikely… but if you’ve read through the whole Kelcam site and are a little sad that there is no more to read… Back in the days when my kids were little and I was a busy...