Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Richard and Cathleen

For your viewing pleasure....one of our weddings from last summer.



"Such a heartwarming and faith restoring story. On the surface this is the story of a simple charming little wedding at a quaint and serene lake house. But beneath the surface, this is the story of three lives from very different worlds coming together against rather remarkable odds to become organically intertwined into a family. This is a story for everyone who believes in second chances. This is the reason we love doing what we do. Richard and Cathleen thank you for the honor of allowing us to be a part of your wedding."

Saturday, August 28, 2010

With Tissues at the Ready

This is pretty awesome. I cried. Which, if you know me, may not say a lot, as I am one of the great criers of my generation, but still.




This story was recorded (and I believe animated) by StoryCorps. It's a non-profit organization that makes audio recordings of the stories of everyday people's lives. A copy of every recording is kept in the Library of Congress and becomes part of the oral history of America. The interviews are conducted between two people who are important to each other. Children interviewing parents, immigrants recalling when they first arrived here or spouses like Annie & Danny remembering their first date. Lover of history that I am, this is so up my alley. Apparently they feature different stories every day on NPR's Morning Edition.

I dig it. I want to make one now.

Monday, August 23, 2010

Mondays are for Random


1. This is my friend Courtney's kitchen window sill. And a reminder that tomatoes in season, sliced with a little salt and pepper have been changing my life on a daily basis recently. (um, my mouth is watering just thinking about them)

2. Too bad the weather today does not remotely match this picture. Although I do love a rainy day, they are really only lovely when you don't have to leave the house.

3. I think I might have broken my toe. And what's worse, I the potential incident in which it was broken was over 3 weeks ago (at the Barn reunion where my crazy lack of depth perception made me walk into a doorframe instead of just through the actual doorway). I can walk on it, but I think only because it's open toe shoe season. It hurts when I have to wear real shoes.I fear the coming of fall may bring me much pain. I fear also that because I've done nothing about it, I will now never be able to wear closed toe shoes. This does not bode well for winter in the northeast.

4. The wedding we shot this weekend was at a GORGEOUS house in Connecticut that I have been thinking a lot about. I mused to the photographer on Saturday, "If we do a really good job, do you think they would let us have this house?"

5. It's August, and I'm wearing a thick cable knit sweater and drinking Earl Grey tea at my desk.

6. On Sunday morning when we woke up after a late night shoot, while the curtains were still drawn and our room was nearly as dark as a cave, I said to Geoff, "It sounds cloudy outside."

7. Later in the day on Sunday, while making grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner, he said to me something like, "You look in the fridge and tell me what sounds good to me." Which we also thought was funny.

8. We stayed up way too late last night looking at zillow.com to find the amazing house I fell in love with this weekend. That website is addictive.

9. Now that I've talked about my broken toe, it's starting to hurt more.

10. I mean, that's about all the semi-interesting tidbits I can muster today. It's rainy and I'm sleepy.


xo

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

The Quest

When we were dating, Geoff took stock of my still very poor college student bedroom furniture (dresser from my highschool bedroom, my dad's old tool storage bookshelf turned on its side and draped with a sheet as a "vanity", wobbly circular bedside table also draped with a sheet with glass on top - and pictures under the glass, of course) and encouraged me to upgrade a bit. Why was I so into draping things in sheets? Come to think of it, I'm almost positive there were storage boxes draped in a blanket in there too. What was I thinking?

Well I saved up and bought a matching desk, nightstand and dresser (which looks like this, you may remember. And felt like such the grown up. Granted I bought it from good ole Bob's Discount Furniture (since we know how cheap/thrifty I am), but it's still in good shape. Geoff even encouraged me to get the matching blanket chest. Which I did. It sits in our front hallway below our picture wall and does, in fact, store blankets.

The problem? When we bought the new furniture, I was in a different apartment, using a different bed, which was pushed up against the wall. Thereby, only needing or having room for one nightstand. We're still using this furniture and now need two nightstands. They have since discontinued the line of furniture at good ole Bob's and we've been searching through their damamaged/used/returned items every couple of months for the past three years. We have yet to find one. Poor Geoff is making do, but I would reeeeeeeeeeeeeally like to find something better. Even other stores don't seem to have a similar style/color that would match. I've all but given up. People say I should get something contrasty, like a mirrored nightstand or something.

Like this maybe?


Which I do like the idea of, but my guess is Geoff would want the solid wood one and I'd get the mirrored one on my side. Which I'd like. Except I cannot keep things looking nice and it would be covered in fingerprints in about 5 seconds flat. And stay that way permanently.

Although, I just noticed that Crate and Barrel has this.


It matches! But honestly C&B? $500?? I bought basically this exact thing at good ole Bob's for $199.

Get over yourself.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Very Cool Photos


Geoff sent me this link to these awesome photos. They are some of the only color photos of the Depression Era in the United States. They were part of an exhibit a few years ago and currently are kept in the Library of Congress.

Worker at carbon black plant. Sunray, Texas, 1942. Photo by Worker at carbon black plant, John Vachon.


M-4 tank crews of the United States. Fort Knox, Kentucky, June 1942. Photo by Alfred T. Palmer


Distributing surplus commodities. St. Johns, Arizona, October 1940. Photo by Russell Lee.


Women workers employed as wipers in the roundhouse having lunch in their rest room, Chicago and Northwest Railway Company. Clinton, Iowa, April 1943. Photo by Jack Delano.


Woman is working on a "Vengeance" dive bomber Tennessee, February 1943. Photo by Alfred T. Palmer.


Hauling crates of peaches from the orchard to the shipping shed. Delta County, Colorado, September 1940. Photo by Russell Lee.


There are a ton more photos, all very cool. Check them out!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

The Reality - Day 2


We started with homemade Sunday brunch. Scrambled eggs with parmesean cheese, rosemary breakfast potatoes and my blueberry oat scones. Iced coffee for me and iced tea with fresh mint for Geoff. He deemed it better than our usual brunch at Quaint (no offense to them), so score one for me.


Then I made some whole wheat pizza dough and left it to rise


We did a bit of work, called a photographer we needed to get in touch with and tied up some loose ends. Then we hopped in the car and headed into the city for a Mini-Adventure at The Highline.


For those of you who are unfamiliar, the Highline is a park that has been built on an elvated train track on the West Side (currently between 14th & 23rd Streets - though that's only phase 1 of 3 - it will eventually extend to 34th Street). Starting in the mid 1800s, freight trains ran on street level delivering milk, meat, produce and a variety of other products. There were so many accidents with street traffic that 10th Avenue became known as Death Avenue. So they built an elevated train that could make deliveries to second story loading docks and kept the freight trains off the streets. The last train ran on the Highline in the 1980s and when it was in danger of being torn down in the late '90s, community activists lobbied to preserve it and it ended up being turned into a really really cool park space that pays tribute to its history. (Speaking of the history, you can read more about it on here....it's pretty cool.)


(cool bridge between buildings)


There are all these cool sections...like this viewing box, where people can just sit and watch the world go by on the street below.



At one point you walk under this cool steel bridge that's holding up a building (I think) and has these amazing windows...


There are cool different kinds of sitting areas, including these lounge chairs that actually are built on the tracks and are locked in place, even though they are on wheels.



The landscaping is fantastic....again, paying tribute to keeping it as natural as possible, it was created to mimic the things that were growing there naturally when they started the project.


And it is SUPER popular and crowded on a Sunday, FYI. Best to go on a weekday. But when it's a family like this, I don't mind...



We left the Highline when I got too hot and had a mini-meltdown. We all know that I shouldn't be allowed to get hot, hungry or tired, so we had to abort mission and take me home. I felt much better once I was home, away from crowds and in the AC, and also once I started making pizza for dinner.



It was really REALLY good. Pizza, wine and a few episodes of Pillars of the Earth was a perfect end to my super fun weekend. *sigh* Who knew weekends could be so fun?

Monday, August 9, 2010

The Reality


Well, I did pretty well with my list, all things considered. I did not manage to get a pedicure, write a letter, go on a bike ride, make cheddar dill biscuits, rosemary flatbread or the peach blueberry cobbler. Why did I want to bake so many things? It's summer. That was a crazy idea.

The Zumba teacher didn't show on Saturday, so they offered a pilates class that I took instead. Ran home and swung by the farmer's market where I immediately wanted to buy everything.

Including this woman's bag.








You know those peaches that have been in season lately that look like butts? Well, I learned they have an actual (classier) name.


Loved this little one


Glad to see she was starting her wine tasting early. A girl after my own heart.


What I accidentally came home with from the Farmer's Market...



Then I headed to Brooklyn to see Alison


And I made my first trip to the Brooklyn Flea, where they sell nearly everything cool.


Like these...


I really wanted to buy these. But I already have way too many glasses & cups and no room for them, so I restrained myself.


No idea what these are made out of. But they are fun.


Old school truck - Love it


Absolutely


Very Cool


I really wanted a pair of these.


A whole stand with a woman who does Art on Post-its. Very cool. People think of such interesting things...


All kinds of jewlery (cuff links, rings, earrings, pendants made from scrabble letters, typewriter keys and all kinds of other cool things). Again, with the thinking of interesting things...


This guy was selling sourdough toasted & brushed with olive oil then sprinkled with salt and pepper. Since it after 3pm and I hadn't eaten since my maple oatmeal muffin at 9am, I bought one for $1. Yum.


Then Alison and I got a very very late lunch (can you still call it lunch at 430pm?) and encountered these munchkins, who were embracing what summer is all about.


Then Alison and I played HGTV and rearranged the furniture in her living room before I headed home. Once there I made Whole Wheat Blueberry Oat Scones, boiled potatoes for tomorrow's brunch and edited some photos for one of Geoff's clients. And watched Design Star.

All in all....a very FULL and very FUN day off. And I haven't even told you about Sunday yet!