A Tale of Two Weddings - Part I

September 12, 2018

Julia Framel is now Julia Peter. There is something to be said about feeling so surrounded by technology all of the time that it's important to look up for those special moments. This was the first of two.

Since my husband is from Europe, and all of his friends and family are so far away, we decided to have two weddings. A smaller, legal signing and party in Switzerland, and then a larger affair with more people in Napa, California. This meant that I could have my wedding cake and eat it too!

First, my dreamy winter wedding where we were surrounded by chilly, snowy weather outside, and then had a warm, modern setting inside a classic Swiss courthouse.








Our friends and family surprised us by all showing up, cheering us on. We were also featured in the newspaper! Everything was written in German, but it was a beautiful story about how we met, and how Lukas proposed in an Italian cave before driving me through the Italian countryside and the amazing days that followed, all leading up to this event. 






The biggest surprise was when Lukas' mother surprised us with a horse and carriage ride. I felt like the princesses I'd admired in my books as a little girl. Just pinch me! 











The tour ended here where we had our party at a beautiful hotel that we could only get to by riding from this station to the top of the hill in little electric carts.




Lukas and I met over a competitive match of Tennis so his parents set the table up with these cute little decorations.










Lukas friends / photographer acting silly as he and his girlfriend took all these pics - check them out here! https://www.instagram.com/leandracristianphotography/

Europeans have different wedding traditions...this was my favorite game.


Now I cant wait to go back and see everyone and the Swiss countryside again during Christmas. 




XO Julia

Sparkle

September 9, 2018

As mentioned last time, I think all robots have a little personality. Therefore I decided to name my DJI Spark drone Sparkle.

I'm also having way too much fun with it. So far the only negative feedback is that the RC takes some getting used to and the battery life is super short. Otherwise it's getting easier and more fun each time. This one was taken in Pacifica yesterday. I played with some quick edits and filters. Music by LCD Soundsystem:


My favorite part about filming with a drone is that it tells the viewer more about the entire picture of the day - it also frees up the photographer to take pictures and videos of friends easily.

Stay tuned for more videos from Sparkle and I as we find more places to fly to.

XO Julia (now Julia Peter!)

A Day in Hobbiton

August 30, 2018

I was so happy and excited to be flown out to Aukland for a speaking engagement. Everything was perfect. One of the best parts, was after the conference and my hubby flew out to meet me for some sightseeing and a trip to Hobbiton! It rained a little but otherwise was just lovely. Here are a few pics.







I also wore my Snap Spectacles for the day which made for an even more exciting trip. In my opinion, nothing beats capturing the moment without a phone always in front of your eyes. ;) Stay tuned for more New Zealand adventures.

XO
Julia Peter

A Sparkle in the Sky - are Drones the New Selfie Stick?

August 8, 2018

This blogger thinks so.

Without anyone to take pictures of you in a beautiful environment, or wearing a cute outfit - the only alternative offered to us is a whacky plastic stick. There are many things wrong with selfie sticks, but among those the worst is the stick gets in the way of the photo, and you still can't cover much area.

Now, I think I've discovered a solution with one of the smallest drones from DJI: "The Spark": Selfie Drone. Yep, they actually call it the selfie drone on their website.


Here, I wanted to capture myself within this beautiful beachy environment. Mission accomplished, although I'm still getting the hang of flying in high winds so the video is not perfect yet. 



I also want to stop pestering my husband to take photos of new outfit ideas I'm trying out, so use it for those instances as well.



So far, the process has been more fun than anything - however the drone is loud and typically still freaks people out if you fly it too close to them. Overall, I really like hanging out with my drone - and as with any robot, I think this one has a bit of personality to it. I named it Sparkle, and you'll be seeing more adventures we go on very soon.

XO 
Julia


A Year in Quick Review - Seeking Inspiration Through Art, Travel, Tech, and Fashion

July 28, 2018

Can you believe it's been a year since I've written anything here?! I've missed it so much, mainly because you've gone quiet as well, I'm sure just patiently waiting for my next post ;) Anyways, I'm back now, mostly because I had to get through a few major life events, both including digging fully into a new career space in the crossover field between Design and Artificial Intelligence, but even more importantly - planning two weddings! I'm not going to hold anything back here - a wedding is something I've wanted since I was a little girl, however was never ready to settle down until the right guy came along. Since the right guy came all the way from Europe, we got to celebrate two times, two cultures, two dresses, two parties ... and I can't wait to tell you about it.

My NEXT post will be a full review of both exciting events, including the apps I used to plan, and the top recommendations for things you should not miss out on if you are still in the planning phase (note this planning phase starts from five years old and up). 

Today my goal is to catch you up since we left off just over a year ago......




MAY 2017



Where we left off, springtime in the Napa Valley

Living in San Francisco, nestled in the fog and bracing from the wind, we found ourselves escaping to Napa on the weekends for sun and amazing farm-to-table cuisine. I learned about ecological farming and ecosystem preservation as almost all of the farms are being displaced by grapes due to the rapid growth and opportunities for profit in the area of wine-making. Did you know 90% of all wine is consumed within 1 week of purchase? We also participated in this 90th percentile, as well as stocking up on our favorites.


SPRING 2017

Inspiration from the wildlife and agriculture in the valley inspired me to paint again. Besides bringing bubbly from Francis Ford Coppola, I made a gift for my grandmother for her birthday - hummingbirds are her favorite.



I set up the easel again in our city apartment

SUMMER 2017

Lukas and I travelled to Italy, where we attended a real Italian wedding (in a castle!). Then we travelled around the country for a few weeks afterwards, I focused on enhancing my photography skills (this requires it's own post later on) and I think he was feeling inspired as well, because he proposed here, inside an enchanting cave restaurant during the trip! 


 


FALL 2017

During the fall I studied the intersection of math, art, and design. Developing my expertise as an AI Designer was a committed effort, during which it was also time to shop for wedding venues. In case you missed it, here is an insta slideshow of my top favorites from the Napa Valley, our wedding destination of choice.















Through caves, vineyards, and hilltops we hunted (and tasted) our way to the final choice. See the smog? That is not coastal fog, but residue from nearby fires that devastated the valley this year. Was such a tragedy and brave firefighters still work hard to keep this beautiful location in tact and thriving.


At work in Facebook campus in Menlo Park - I was not afraid to protect my lungs when the smoke got really heavy. 
This past fall was also my second trip to Paris, where I studied the history of Fashion and learned more about AI from our team there.







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