A Texas Christmas...

Hey. Rachel here.

I know I haven't been keeping up with this like I should, but I've been busy visiting family in Texas for the holiday. It's really great to see everybody but there's no snow! It just doesn't feel the same without it...

However, a friend took us to Santa Land and that was a lot of fun! I'll post some pictures later. Santa Land is this huge forest that you pay to drive through and it's all decorated with lights and stuff...it's pretty awesome!

The image included is one taken by my beautiful aunt! Check out her photography blog here.

tlk 2 u soon,

rez

ps. i am the one in bright blue.

Extra! Extra!

Hey. Rachel here.

So, on Thursday Laura and I delivered some of the magazines to the shops in Steamboat. Yesterday I distributed in Hayden. Today Laura and I will drop some off in Craig.

I put ten at GGs Coffee Shop yesterday at 1:30. By 7:00 there were only three left!!

So, if you haven't picked up your copy yet, go do it now! They're going fast!

tlk 2 u later,
rez

Today is the DAY!

Hey. Rachel here.

Today is the day that the second issue of Valley Vogue debuts! It looks so good and we are so proud! Please pick up a copy at one of these locations: GGs Coffee Shop, Off the Beaten Path, Epilogue Book Company, Salon Eleven, Downtown Books of Craig, Serendipity Cafe, and Starbucks in Steamboat.

Thanks to everyone who helped with the making of this issue!

tlk 2 u later,
rez

And They're Off!!!!

Hey. Rachel here.

So, I just sent our second issue off to the printers. It should be ready by Thursday! This issue is filled with tons of stuff! We have a Q&A with local coffee shop owner, Bonnie Girton. We have a story about a local girl from Moffat County who is extremely well-rounded: she can sew, she can paint, and she's a state champion cross-country runner. We also have our regular book and song reviews and a contest. See contest details here. Pick up your hard copy of our newest issue on Thursday at these locations: Red Clay, GGs Coffee Shop, Epilogue Book Company, Off the Beaten Path, Salon 11, Downtown Books of Craig and Starbucks in Steamboat.

Also, check out our website at http://valleyvoguemag.webs.com for special online contests, extra song reviews, and more.

tlk 2 u later,

rez

ps. the picture included is kind of the valley vogue magazine logo. the legs and such belong to laura and she staged and took that photo herself.

I am a sucker for a good musical.

Hey. Rachel here.

Okay. I'm just gonna say it, I love a good musical. 

One musical my family's been a little bit hooked on lately is "The Lion King." I know it's a Disney cartoon, but my Lord, that movie is freaking amazing! The story is so powerful and the songs just add power to it. Whenever I see that movie I get the chills....wow. 

Wow. Wow. Wow.

That is all I can say about that movie. 

Wow.

tlk 2 u later,

rez

Laundry Day.

Hey. Rachel here.

Why is doing laundry such a burden? I mean, I really need some clean clothes but I can never seem to drag myself to do it. I feel like it takes so much time out of my day. Although, I know if I just got off my butt and did it, it would be done, then I'd have fresh clothes to wear. 

Okay, okay. I guess it's not that much of a burden. 

I'm off to the washer. 

tlk 2 u soon,

rez

Stand-Up Comedy

Hey. Rachel here.

For some reason (not that I could ever pull this off) I've always had this secret urge to get into the stand-up comedy business. But, I've held back. A) I'm not that funny B) I'd hate all that pressure. Although I know comedians love what they do, it's gotta be a tough job sometimes. I mean think about it: some guy has taken a bunch of time to plan out jokes and transitions... and what if nobody gets it? That's gotta stink.

But I have to hand it to them; at least they're doing it...

One person who always seems to make me laugh is Brian Regan. This guy is HILARIOUS!! He's always making faces and doing accents... oh man, he's a riot. Check him out in the video I've included above. It's one of my favorites. You won't be disappointed, I promise.

tlk 2 u soon,

rez

I'm a "Hungry Girl!"

Hey. Rachel here.

Okay. So I'm trying this new diet thing... ya know, the whole no white carbs, no calorie-infested drinks (I miss you, frappucino), blah, blah, blah...

Anyway, I've been doing pretty good. I'm staying away from cinnamon rolls and white chocolate mochas. I find this especially challenging, seeing how I work in a coffee shop with sweets and treats galore; but as they say, "Just say no!"

In my diet search, I found a great site called HungryGirl.com. This site is PERFECT for those of us who just love to eat; but instead of focusing on intake, Hungry Girl focuses on content. I receive daily e-newsletters from their website, reminding that I can make the right choices when it comes to what I put in my body, or as Hungry Girl says, "Chew the Right Thing!" Click here so you can get daily e-newsletters too!

Happy eating!

tlk 2 u soon,

rez

ps. the image included was taken by laura @ cafe lalo in new york. it's where a little movie called "you've got mail" was shot.

Let me introduce Elaine...

Hey. Rachel here.

Seeing that I've introduced myself and Laura as members of the Valley Vogue team, it's time for one more introduction. So introducing Elaine Cromie, the third and final member of the Valley Vogue team.

Elaine is one of my best friends in the entire world. The one word that always come to mind when I think of her is happiness. She's always friendly and smiling and I love her so much. She's such a caring person of people and the environment. She's the one who came up with the idea to put a recycling reminder on the magazine.

Although she's been very busy these past couple months as a senior in high school, she'll be back for the next issue in January, to help us with our articles, design and so on.

We can't wait to have you back Lainey! Love you!

tlk 2 u soon,

rez

ps. the image above is one taken while the three of us (elaine, me, laura) were on a trip in new york city.

Music is Amazing!

Hey. Rachel here.

Isn't music just amazing? Everything about it is just beautiful... the sound, the sensation, the power.

One song in particular that always gives me the chills is by Aqualung called "Brighter Than Sunshine." Check it out here. Such a lovely song about how being love is so beautiful that it's brighter than the sun. I love this song and I appreciate its simple honesty, and I've never even been in love before. Well, I take that back... can I count Ashton Kutcher?

tlk 2 u soon,

rez

ps. the image included is a really neat aqualung photo. :)

Laura's PhotoFinish and "Laura's Lens"

Hey. Rachel here.

As I said yesterday, I have a little sister. She's two years younger than me, and she's the co-founder of Valley Vogue Magazine. As our resident photographer, resident review girl, and all around awesome sister... I have to give her a shout out. So, Laura, this one's for you.

First off, let me say that it's sometimes tough to be the older sister, but I gotta hand it to Laura: it's gotta suck to be the younger one sometimes. I mean, how can one not feel pressure from parents, friends and the like, to either A. not be anything like your older sibling or B. they're wondering why you're so different. But Laura is neither. She's neither my opposite nor my mirror image. She is truly her own person. 

Anyway, besides being an amazing younger sister, she also is a very talented little photographer.  If you look to your right, you'll see my profile picture... she took that. If you look at the previous post of our magazine cover... she took that. She is so gifted and I hope this gift one day blossoms into a profession. She's trying to start a photography business called "Laura's Lens." Check out some of her photos here and drop her a comment or two. She'd love that.

tlk 2 u soon,

rez

ps. the image included in todays blog is one laura took of my other little sister, caroline, and her best friend, shjon. aren't they beautiful?! 

Intro Time!

Hey. Rachel here.

Okay, so in my last post I said I wasn't going to do a silly, non-interesting introduction... well, I'm not. But I do think I should introduce myself; I'll just keep out a boring list of my favorite movies.

I call myself "A Student By Day; A Magazine Editor By Night." Ya see, I'm moving to New York City in June from a little rural town in Colorado. So, since I want to get into the magazine business when I move, and there's no way of getting into that business where I live, I decided to get into it on my own. My sister, Laura, and our best friend, Elaine, have created a magazine: Valley Vogue Magazine. It's a women's magazine that features talented, creative, and independent women all over our mountain valley here in Colorado.

Anyway, so our first issue came out in October. I edit and design the magazine, Laura writes and takes photos for it, and Elaine writes as well. We all had a lot of fun with it. But for our first issue, it cost us $400 to print! Now, that's a chunk of change, especially for three poor students. But, we decided it was a worthy investment and that we'd sell ads to cover the cost for our next issue. But selling ads is hard work! You got your people who are really nice and say, "I can't this time, but thanks so much for the offer;" then you got your people who say, "No. Now, I have to go make a phone call. You can see yourself out." But, we have almost made enough money to cover this issue's cost (coming out on the 10th) so I'm not too worried about the people that said no.... you've just got to move on. It's not personal, it's just business.

Check out our official website and let me know what you think.

tlk 2 u soon,
rez

ps. the image is the cover for our next issue featuring cross-country state champion alicia nelson.

Long Time Reader; First Time Blogger

Hey. Rachel here.

Blogging has always seemed a teensy (is that even a word?) bit silly to me. Before I really knew about it I thought it was just for these people who sit in front of their computers for hours, writing down their inner most thoughts, only to show me that they have way too much time on their hands. Then it hit me, A. not all blogs are sappy, dramatic accounts similar to diary entries that give perfect strangers way too much information about people's personal lives but they can actually be rather interesting; I mean you have a whole gamut of helpful blogs: photography & art, helpful cooking advice (which I definitely need) weight-loss tips, and on and on. B. a blog takes as long as you want it to take. If you feel you have something really interesting to say, take five minutes and write it down, no big deal.

So, moving on. This is my first blog. I'd thought I'd start with a little introduction about my life in the sticks, then move on to what I want to do with my life, then on to how much I love chick flicks, espresso, and a juicy steak dinner, but honestly, couldn't you care less about all that? Think about it: you don't know me at all and what makes anyone think that telling someone how well they like their steak cooked is going to be interesting. It's just not. (I like mine well done, by the way.)

Ok, now seriously I'm moving on.

So, I downloaded the StumbleUpon application... (a website that let's you pick a whole bunch of stuff you're interested in, then whenever you press this button it "stumbles" to different websites based on your chosen interests) and really interesting stuff pops up from time to time. I've found some great photography pages, some hilarious blurbs, other really interesting stuff and so on and so forth. But the most pointless website I've "stumbled upon" yet is simply called mister nice hands. Now, when it first loaded I didn't know what I was supposed to do. There is no "press here" button or copyright information at the bottom; just a simple illustrated pair of hands, a relaxing two-chord acoustic guitar song for background music, and then the rest is up to you and your mouse.

tlk 2 u soon,

rez

ps. the image included in this is one i also found while stumbling. thought it was adorable. check out more here.