Nectar & Light

firstly, a very happy veteran's day to my sister's and brother's in arms. there are few words that can truly describe what it means to wear a uniform let alone dedicate ones lfe in service of your country. i am not only grateful for the time i served, but to those who continue to honor us with their service. thank you.

it's also national metal day. so in honor of this most holy of dual holidays, i created a little something to bang your head with the best of them. enjoy your weekend...

11.11.11.

battery : metallica

am i evil? : diamond head

with the quickness : bad brains

antisocial : anthrax

nighttrain : guns n' roses

electric funeral : black sabbath

metal on metal : anvil

the black river : the sword

long way back from hell : danzig

damage case : motorhead

open your eyes : guano apes

living after midnight : judas priest

crack the skye : mastodon

surprise! you're dead! : faith no more

thunder kiss '65 : white zombie

hangar 18 : megadeth

evil ways : graveyard

shout at the devil : motley crue

crazy train : ozzy osbourne

season in the abyss : slayer

run to the hills : iron maiden

for whom the bell tolls : metallica

listen here.

 

oh new york. i miss you so. though i split the majority of my work time right now between nyc and asheville, i am missing living there right now. i spent a quick working weekend there with one of the most amazing and supportive people in my life this last weekend and i danced that delicate line between joy and heartache. we haunted some of my favorite corners of the city including love adorned and catbird - and discovered some new loves in the breslin, peels, flatbush farm and dough. 

 

and as i rode to the airport on sunday - feverishly refreshing my nfl app for the jets score - in a cab listening to lionel riche and bon jovi on the radio while my driver tried to kill me, i squeezed my eyes closed and clicked my heels three times wanting to be transported home... images of nyc and asheville both flashing behind my heavy lids.

 

there is also a new york inspired post over at nectar this week - be sure to check out the playlist as well, music that will get you through this wednesday.

how was your all hallows eve? ours was pretty awesome. the girls really went all out this year. since our trip to disneyworld last year with den's family, ayla has been obsessed with tim burton's The Corpse Bride and knew months ago that this is what she would be come all hallows. and oh did she play the role well. ari, equally enamoured with The Nighmare Before Christmas wanted to be sally - but when we dressed her up as a rock n' rolla for the halloween parade in atlanta last weekend she changed her mind, "i want to be a rock n' rolla for ever mama!" that's my girl. and adie fey - well, i would like to tell you she learned about one of the most influential and powerful women in history at school and chose her character - but alas, it was an episode of scooby doo that convinced her she had to be the queen.

we had good friends over for soup, pie, homemade bread and trick or treating - it was a wonderful night - the kind that reminds me that we made the right decision to move to asheville.

and i have some kind of big news to share this wednesday morning... i started a new food blog. let me know what you think...

sundays are the days that we can sleep in, linger over breakfast, enjoying a roaring fire, the new york times - i take out my stress from the previous week by yelling at football teams on the tv - den tinkers, the girls color, paint and play. breakfast is usually homemade pancakes, waffles or french toast... when den is gone, however, breakfast is usually not such an affair. it's not that i can't cook a big breakfast - it just feels strange when he's not here. this is our first sunday at home together in nearly two months and is a glorious morning.

it has been a very stressful year for us - the rocks on the road to 2012 seem to be breeding instead of receding - but when are together, enjoying a morning like this, nothing else seems to matter. i  focus on how grateful i am for our health, our strength and support of each other and our love. i wish you such riches.

have a beautiful day... and a little something for your sunday... our favorite waffle recipe that den tweaked a bit from the joy of cooking...

the most delicious waffles EVER:

taking the extra time to beat the egg whites makes ALL the difference in the world. this recipe makes enough to freeze leftovers. i pull them out and toast them in the mornings for the girls with a spread of peanut butter.

whisk together in large bowl:

3 1/2 c flour

2 T baking powder

1 T demerara sugar

1 t. fine sea salt

whisk together in another bowl:

6 organic egg yolks

1 t vanilla extract

1 1/2 c. milk

1 1/2 c. half & half

16 T melted butter

in another bowl beat until stiff peaks are formed:

6 organic egg whites

1 T demerara sugar

Turn on your waffle iron so it's ready to go. Combine the dry ingredients with the egg yolk mixture until thoroughly combined. Gently fold in the egg white mixture. There is a fine line here when mixing the whites in - they should be fully incorporated but not allowed to fully deflate. However, not mixing them enough will result in almost a meringue like texture. The batter should be fluffy - but not "gloppy" as den says.

Pour batter into the waffle iron to fill each mold about half way - this you will have to judge by your own waffle iron. Pull them out gently with a fork when the timer dings and keep them warm in the oven at 200F.

 

we started our weekend off right with a pumpkin carving party and pizza last night.

thank you bri for showing ayla a little love - so sweet. she's been busy.

and adie is back... again.

we have a day full of soccer games, a "wild" birthday party and an end of soccer season night out...

tomorrow it's all about the new york times and football. my favorite kind of sunday.

have a wonderful weekend...

i love this instant film. and am kicking myself for not buying more.

i hope your wednesday is going well.

excited to have a listen to new albums by two of my favs... surfer blood and honeyhoney;

ayla will be beside herself to find she's among such company - thank you erin!

my friend jen has a lovely spread in MSL this month - so proud!

 

how was your weekend? ours was full of love. atlanta is always good for us - so much love there. we took the girls to the little five points halloween parade - for the most part is was insanely fun - but there were a couple of floats whose content was a little too intense for little ones - there was a bit of mommy covering everyone's eyes going on. but they did dress up a bit. and we {the adults} saw my cousin perform (she was amazing) in the pangs of the messiah by motti lerner; if you ever have an opportunity to see this play, please do. it is a painful but brilliant look at a jewish family in the west bank. we ate at two of our favorite places in decatur - taqueria del sol and farm burger and enjoyed homemade meals ending in s'mores made from scratch. yes, they were ridiculous.

the shots above were taken at my cousin house. the pool is closed for the season but the colors were still so beautiful - maybe a little haunting. i brought some of the TIP px680 test film that i was asked to test out some time ago - i really love the color palette and wish they'd bring it back as something that could replace time zero - it has sort of the same tones for me. there are more here. i also shot some of the chocolate for the first time - i will share those later this week. 

have a beautiful day.

 

hello loves. we are heading to atlanta for a much needed break this weekend. and there... i am so happy to say, den will meet us on his way home. this was a short seperation of six weeks this time, but they are always difficult. i've found that while i'm better at keeping a routine when he's away, i'm a much better mother when he's around - he's my rock. 

the shot above is another taken on impossible's px680 - i've been shooting it everyday as you can see here. it's feeling easy again - like it used to.

have a stellar weekend and i leave you with a few things i'm loving right now...

- i have no words. except: want. terrariums and platers at score + soldier {via unruly things}

- i have it in white but it's perfect in gold, isn't it?

- this cracks me up - and yes - she is that funny.

- love the jewels. love the story more.

- one of my favorite people in the world - she inspires me endlessly.

- yes please.

- have a listen.

one of the hardest things about working as an editorial photographer is learning to let go. many times, editing falls outside of your realm of control, styling often does and then the possibility of pouring your soul into a shoot and have it not run - well there's the clincher. above is the entire spread i shot this summer for a magazine that sadly did not publish the images. it happens to all of us - but it never gets easier. when i realized there was no longer a reason to not share - i decided i HAD to share. my soul - my heart - is in everyone of these frames. i shot this spread on Impossible Project's film and I could not be happier - nor more moved by the magic and ethereal beauty of the photographs. of course, it helped having a gaggle of gorgeous little beauties to photograph who all belong to some of my favorite people in the whole world.

but i also wanted to show you these images because they are me. i have two packs of polaroid 600 film left. it hurts my heart. i associated that film so closely with my own eye - i could not distinguish the two. the reality of it is crushing down on me and i've realized it's not only affected me - but my work. i've been lost somewhere in the mix of shooting weddings and food, writing books (all of which i love), and moving all over the country, that i forgot what i truly loved to photograph. you see the answer above - beautiful children on instant film. it's time for me to refocus, to be true to my vision and shoot again for myself. thank you Impossible for making that possible.

*edited to say: this shoot would not have been possible without the incredibly beautiful floral pieces designed by the floral lab - thank you lady! *

i used to blame it on being an aries. aries is not only my sun sign, but my moon sign as well - which is fairly rare - if you're into that sort of thing. but we have a little, itty bitty issue with finishing things we start. of course my time in the navy knocked a lot of that out of my system - not much choice in the matter there. i now always meet my deadlines - often before due dates - but when it comes to things that i feel i have little accountability - i can get lazy. i'm working on it!

ayla would love for you to come back and visit. and i promised her i would try {try being the key word - baby steps friends} and photograph her outfits more. she delights in your comments and mommy will TRY and be better about posting. and i finally received more film in the mail for adie - so be watching for updates there as well. thank you for sticking with us.