Iris Knows You Can't Have It All

May 12, 2017 mithra ballesteros

A few years ago, I watched the Albert Mayles documentary on Iris Apfel, the self-described nonagenarian starlet. Have you seen it? She's quite a woman, a darling of the New York fashion industry who worked as an editor at Vogue Magazine, founded her own textile company, decorated homes of the rich and famous, and recently stars in national ad campaigns for Kate Spade and Alexis Bittar.

But only once does she touch upon one reason for her success. The director asks her about children and she says, "You can't have it all. I knew that."

Oh, did those words sting me.

From the Bottom of Our Wooly Hearts

December 18, 2015 mithra ballesteros

Look at them, an idyllic family, frolicking hand-in-hand-in-hand through the grass on a breezy fall day. I spent an afternoon photographing them for their holiday card and let me brag for just a moment about their stellar qualities. They are very low-maintenance. No one worried about hair or clothes or the cold. They seem to really like each other. Seven people crammed together and not one nasty word was uttered. And talk about patient!

What a Snapshot Reveals

May 8, 2015 mithra ballesteros

Today I planned to hit you over the head with an ambitious do-it-yourself project. It involves taking an old slide or negative and turning it into a sentimental masterpiece worthy of prime wall space in a soulful home. The image I’m using for this project happens to be of a woman and a child sitting on a horse in a desert. The woman is my mother, I am the child, and the desert is in Iran. Which is frankly a lot more fun to write about than pixels and filters. So the Photoshop step-by-step will have to wait for another day. Let’s talk about my mom.

Caption Help Please!

March 27, 2015 mithra ballesteros

I'm working on captions for my April Fool's photos. These photos will live for twenty-four hours on Finder Not Keeper's home page on April 1. Above is one of the photos I'll be featuring. I'd love help from you clever people to supply a caption. Make fun of the bunnies. Or the flowers. (The whole collage will be available for sale next week.)

There's only one rule. Don't hold back. Leave your suggestion in the comments below. For examples from last year, scroll to the bottom.

Be aware that swear words don't bother me. Because I am modern. Like my mom. One evening a few years ago, she called me on the phone.

Santa and His Reindeer Need a Shave

December 18, 2014 mithra ballesteros

This was our holiday card last year -- a reincarnation of the days, sixteen years earlier, when my sons actually did what I asked. By which I mean they donned antlers and Irish knit sweaters and lined up by age.

We took the original photo the year that we moved to Wisconsin. The boys loved how deer, foxes, even coyotes would meander through our woods and the idea of dressing up as reindeer delighted their innocent little imaginations.

They don't really do what I tell them anymore. Because at this point, what can I tell them that will be heard? To match their socks? Those days of parenting are over.

Our Video! Of Pond Frogs, Pizza, and Passing Years

November 27, 2014 mithra ballesteros

Happy Thanksgiving Friends! I have for your Black Friday enjoyment a little ditty of a video for Finder Not Keeper. If you enjoy it, I hope you "like" it and share it. After watching, scroll down below for a few fun tidbits about the making of "Shelf Life."

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