Making Use...

Hello, Little Girl

This week I have been wonderfully distracted by the arrival of my new niece, Althea.  She is such a beauty, such a love.  

I spent a couple hours with Carter, Maggie, Henry, and Althea yesterday and got to hold the little lady for quite a while, hearing all about her beautiful birth, feeling her stretch and relax again in my arms.  She is the first newborn I have cradled since my daughter was born one year ago.  It felt wonderful.

Meanwhile, Flora and Henry have become big buddies, just in the last few weeks.  It is exciting to picture this troupe of kids playing together in the coming years.  

And Flora got to pat, pat, pat her first newborn, too.  She was very gentle and sweet, which made me quite proud.  It's so obvious to even type this... but I cannot believe how far we have come in one year.

Henry's arrival, nearly three years ago, was so thrilling.  He was the first grandbaby for my parents, the first child of my siblings.  It was easy to love him and all the newness he represented.  But now I feel a much deeper and more experienced love as our family grows further, which comes from knowing my nieces and nephews (on both sides of the family) and knowing my own feelings as a mother.  That, too, feels wonderful.

[Official baby photo shoot to follow in the next few weeks.]

A Poem And Some Pictures For This Sunday Scratch That Monday Night

Snow Poem

 

It waited, this year, till almost March to snow,

It started on a cold Sunday afternoon,

Hard after a Saturday that felt like Spring.

And I was probably alone in the house in just tolerating its arrival.

 

I carried Littles onto the front porch, after a half hour or so of its falling,

A wet blanket that stood up on the grass (but not the street),

And pointed to the great whiteness for her sake,

Though the one-year-old had already seen it, and was in awe (as she often is).

 

Later, as I rocked her to sleep, I smelled a dirty diaper and began to change it, 

And called to Meredith (she can't smell), who called back that--alarm--

A fire truck was on the street.  So I did the awful work myself,

And rushed Littles down the stairs in her reindeer-inspired pajamas.

 

We watched the red and white colors that lit up the front of our house.  

It wasn't clear why the fire truck was there, out on the street.

But the lights on the trees, covered with blankets and pillows of snow,

Were startlingly beautiful.  Meredith took pictures.  

 

--THB

Snow, Charlottesville, VA, February 19, 2012

The Week Begins

Been quiet here on the blog for a couple of weeks as we had some major sickness run through our household plus other life and work obligations that kept me from my desk.  I'm happy to report that the vomiting has ceased, the baby is joyful, the mother can breathe from her nose again, the daffodils are poking through, and all is well in this tiny corner of the world.  

-- This weekend Todd and Flora celebrated their birthdays.  As I whisked up semi-sweet chocolate ganache frosting for their cake on Saturday morning, I realized I was so excited about the sweet little birthday party we had planned for the afternoon, and for the dinner date for me and my love that evening.  I have a new favorite day all year and it falls in early February.  I think I've been looking forward to baking Flora's birthday cake since she arrived last year, and it turned out beautifully.  It was a simple chocolate cake with choclate frosting, but I made it myself, infusing it with all my motherly and wifely love, and I was proud to serve it to my family and friends on Saturday.  The recipes I used for cake and icing were torn together from a Real Simple magazine sometime in the last 12 months.  Because we all know: if a recipe is not real simple, Meredith's not even going to bother!

-- On Facebook last month I saw a link to this letter that John Steinbeck wrote to his son in 1958.  His son was a young teenager who had written home to announce that he'd fallen in love at boarding school, and Steinbeck replies in the most thoughtful, respectful, and loving way that any adult could.  I appreciate how he honors his child's feelings and encourages him to "glory in it [...] and be very glad and grateful for it."  

-- Also on the subject of love, sort of.... I enjoyed this post from tulips & flight suits about being single.  I think Mary's advice is prudent not only for those who haven't yet started the life they hope to live, but also for those of us who have.  Whether you are single or married, content or searching, I feel it's always a good idea to embrace your life as it is, to surround yourself with beauty and good people, and to focus on what you have and what you can do with that.  Sounds trite, I know, but it is a scientific fact that a large part of being happy is making yourself happy.  (That's another post).

-- I watched this video recently and really enjoyed it.  Iceland looks so unbe-freakin-lievably stunning.  I think I must go there.  Interesting soundtrack, too.

-- Finally, returning to the subject of being happy, I started a new board on Pinterest last week.  I call it "MerryMakers" and it's just a collection of things that make me happy and lift my spirits, so that if I'm ever in need of a simple pick-me-up I can look at it and be made merry.  I can also use it as a reminder that going out for coffee, baking some cookies or granola, kissing a baby, etc... would probably be a wise move to improve a sour mood instantly.  I plan to continue adding to this board and ask that you consider making one also.  Share it here in the comments so that I (and others) can be made merry by the things you love, too!

I hope you have a heart-warming week.    

First Birthday Cake, Charlottesville, VA, February 4, 2012.  

Instagram.

The Sweetest Wait

A year ago today:

... We were in the homestretch!  

My due date was approaching, but I didn't know yet that my baby would arrive thirteen days later.  Or that she would be a girl.  Because she came one week early, I never quite got to the point of impatience.  Instead, I remember feeling like every day in those last weeks was really special.  And so nearly every detail of what I did, what I ate, who I saw, etc... is emblazoned in my memory.  

I'm so glad to have these portraits, too, because I really loved being pregnant, and I feel like Jen captured that beautifully.  

Meredith, 37 Weeks, Charlottesville, VA, January 22, 2011.

Photos by Jen Fariello Photography

 

Bo & Flora

My daughter's first name, Flora, is inspired by my grandmother's name.  We call my grandmother Bo, which is a variation of 'Flo', which is short for Flora.  To her grandchildren, Bo has always been Bo, and our Flora is never Flo (though sometimes Dora).  Do you follow?

This fall, while I was working really hard at my desk, my mom would come over, pick up my baby, and take her to visit my grandmother.  They would return home with stories about how Flora had charmed every person at the Martha Jefferson House, making appearances in the dining room at lunch, smiling at the doorman on her way in and out of the building.  How she liked to climb around Bo's walker, how she like to play with the assortment of tennis bracelets on her wrist.  Flora was seeing far more of Bo than I was and they were building a little relationship.  

Then, the week before Christmas, Bo entered the hospital with pneumonia.  At first the hospital stay seemed to be a precaution, then it was a necessity as her health took a turn for the worse.  And then one night nearly all the family (daughters, husbands, grandchildren, husband of grandchild, great-grandbaby) crowded into her hospital room and filled every seat and corner.  Bo slept under our eyes.  She looked to me like a woman who was dying.  After the room emptied out, Flora and I went back to give her kisses and say goodbye.

But Bo lived through the night.  And the next day she was much improved.  And so a few days later she left the hospital and returned to her home.  And then it was nearly Christmas.

My 92-year old grandmother declared that all she wanted for Christmas was for all of her family to be around her, and to eat some candy.  Done and done!

I like looking at these pictures and knowing that the arms holding my baby once held me as a child, and my mother before me.  I feel so fortunate to see Flora and Flora together.  

Flora and Flora, Charlottesville, VA, December 22, 2011.

Bo gave Flora an Olivia doll for Christmas and we were shocked and amused to see that the two little critters matched!  Flora and Todd read about Olivia nearly every night before bed. 

(Flora got her own walker for Christmas.)  

Our Fifth Year On The Porch...

We have come a long way in 5 years!  

Taking this picture on December 23rd was easy peezy lemon squeezy, as far as getting everyone outside and smiling towards the camera.  I'd say for a growing family of this size that that's a pretty proud accomplishment.  

David, Meredith, Flora, Todd, Percy, Anne, Maggie, Henry, Carter, and Ellie,

Schuyler, VA, December 23, 2011.

2010, 2009, 2008, 2007

Welcome, 2012

I'm so glad you are here.  

2011 was possiby the best year of my life, but it was hard, too.  

This past fall nearly knocked me down flat, and navigating my new role as a working mother over the last 11 months forced me to reexamine my goals, values, and identity.  Exhaustion, frustration, moments of despair...  I've felt all of these powerful forces in 2011.

Overwhelmingly, however, 2011 rewarded me like no other year in my life.  

I had the immense pleasure of photographing more couples this year than ever before, and those jobs took me to Maine (twice!), Massachusetts, New Jersey, West Virginia, Washington, DC, and all over Virginia.  I realized this year, in the middle of one wedding in particular, that I actually fall in love with my couples over the course of my working relationship with them.  I'm convinced that I collaborate with some of the nicest, most gracious, thoughtful, and beautiful people out there, and I am grateful for their trust in me.

My greatest accomplishment and most wondrous joy of 2011 is my daugther, Flora.  I suppose I don't really consider her to be an accomplishment, per se, as I find her so marvelously miraculous that I can hardly believe she is made of my bones and blood.  But as her mother, I do feel a compelling sense of accomplishment---for her birth, her survival, her daily thriving.  Motherhood, though incredibly challenging, of course, comes naturally to me, and I credit my instincts to the good mothering I experienced in my own childhood (and to this day).  I am grateful to my mother, my daughter, and my husband, who are all making this experience so emotional and special for me.  

2011 was a banner year, both personally and professionally, and now 2012 looks to be... a little something different...  But I am thinking it will bring a lot more of the same, if you know what I mean.  I am grateful to have the opportunity for more.

Hope your 2012 is looking bright as sunshine.

Flora, 10+ Months, Charlottesville, VA, December 21, 2011.  

P.S. What what of resolutions, you ask?  Okay.  I resolve to take up running again (did you know I ran a season of cross country in college?!).  But not until September.  I resolve not to run until September.  How's that?  

Christmas Eve Tried-And-True Gift Guide

I'm happy to say that I finished up all my Christmas shopping on Wednesday evening.  Now I just have a bit of wrapping to do this morning.  But if you are still in search of a gift or two, here are a few thoughts that have been swirling around my head this holiday season about what makes a great Christmas present. 

1.  Books - We always have lazy afternoons on Christmas Day, after opening presents and feasting on a big brunchy meal (with champagne).  So after the wrapping paper has been crunched into a trash bag, and your dad has stoked the fire, and you've made yourself a cup of tea, it's so nice to curl up on a soft leather sofa with a sleeping dog and a new book.  I try to always ask for at least one book, whether it's a cookbook, a photo book, or a novel, so that I'll be almost guaranteed have something interesting to flip through on Christmas.  But if it's not my own, someone in the house will have something new to read.  Note: this year I am giving at least one book on Christmas Day.

2.  DVDs - As the day turns to night, we usually find ourselves together in front of the fire.  And heaven help us that we don't have to watch football!  Sometimes we turn on an old movie, like Meet Me in St. Louis.  Last year my dad received the HBO series The Pacific and the whole family watched the first several episodes together in the dark.  I find war stories so hard to see, sometimes, but Todd and I ended up getting pretty hooked.  In fact, the final weeks of my pregnancy last winter are defined in my memory by late nights on our sofa, devouring every episode of The Pacific and Band of Brothers after my parents had finished with them.  A couple years ago I gave Todd Season 1 of Mad Men, just so that we could watch it at the cabin over the holidays.  Note: this year I am giving at least one series on DVD because I want to watch it on dark, Christmas nights.  Self-serving, maybe?  But I think it will go over well.

3.  Edibles - Food is always a great gift, especially homemade treats or specialty items that we wouldn't necessarily buy for ourselves.  Carter and Maggie have historically done this really well.  One year Maggie gave us her pancake mix and now that's all we eat (I've been mixing up her recipe ever since, I mean).  She also has given tall jars of granola (also my standard recipe these days).  And in the past Carter and Maggie used to make the most delightful gift baskets laden with homemade bread or pie, artisan bacon, grainy mustard, local honey, hand-mixed spice rub, etc.  Charlottesvillians, I like to buy specialty food items at Foods of All Nations or Feast.  Note: this year I have already gifted several jars of Jam According to Daniel.  And many bags of my favorite cookies.  

4.  Photographs - This one is kind of a no-brainer if you are a) a photographer or b) a parent.  This year I am both.  In the past I have given framed and matted prints of my photograpahs, though sometimes I find this gift to be tricky.  You have to be pretty certain that the recipient actually wants one of your photographs, or else you look like an ass cocky person.  If you give the gift of art and it's prepared to hang on the wall, you want to be sure that the person to whom you are giving your art actually wants to hang it on their wall.  Otherwise an awkward situation arises.  Either choose a really neutral, crowd-pleasing image, or give it to your parents because they'll love most anything.  And if it's a photograph of your child, the gift is pretty much guaranteed to be a hit with all family members and honorary aunties.  Note: I am giving at least one photograph of my child to at least one person this Christmas.  

5.  Unique Find - The gift of something unique and found is hard to come by at the last minute, except that sometimes your desperation to find a gift leads you to unusual places (like a thrift store, or even a jumbo discount shop) or opens your eyes to a different kind of gift.  This year Bean gave me a perfect example of a unique find:  A lobster tea cup.

Uniquely found at an antique store and perfect for me because sometimes I drink my tea from my collection of mis-matched china cups, and even more perfect because it has a big red lobster painted on one side and fisherman in his boat on the other and the whole thing screams of Maine, discovery, quirkiness, and being known and loved.  Well done, Bean!  She also pointed out that it has a slightly masculine feel so that when Todd has tea with me he can use the manly cup.  (Whatevs, I'm drinking from the lobstah).  Note: this year I did scrounge up a couple of unique finds, but none of them is quite as cool as the fine china lobster tea cup.  

Good luck you last-minute shoppers.  Remember, it really is the thought that counts.  So if you don't see an item that feels right for your recipient, just write a nice card to tell them how much you love them and wish that person well in the new year.  Hugs and kisses go a long way, too.  

Merry Christmas Eve and peace to you.  

The Week Begins

Last week the regularly scheduled programming here was interrupted by a quick, 40-hour trip to New York City, which encompassed all of Monday and for which I granted myself a blogging vacation.  Because, obviously, I've been doing so much blogging in recent weeks months.  I needed to rest, people. 

Flat Iron Baby, New York, NY, October 31, 2011.

Last Saturday, which began with morning snow showers, I photographed a fun wedding at UVA and then on Sunday F. and I drove to DC, picked up Rose, and headed on to Manhattan.  On Monday we had breakfast at Eataly, lunch in Bushwick, and--our reason for the trip--a bon voyage dinner with our friend Pri before she moves abroad for the next 2 years (note: look forward to an upcoming family adventure in a tidy little Asian city-state)!  Then it was back to work for the rest of the week.

This weekend I photographed a wedding with Jen at King Family Vineyards and when I returned home afterwards my husband had whipped up some homemade butternut squash soup accompanied by ABC's Apple Cider Bread.  Yum.

Hope your weekends have been full of adventure and deliciousness.

- I once saw this show on the Food Network called "The Best Thing I Ever Ate."  It was the snacks episode and the whole show was chefs describing their favorite snack.  Ever.  One man--I don't know my chefs--talked about pickles.  I can't remember now if it was McClure's or Brooklyn Brine.  But it was pickles, made in Brooklyn, and it was the best snack he ever had and I thought, "YES!"  So last summer, when I was 8-weeks pregnant with my love child and photographing in Manhattan, I asked Yvonne to find me these pickles.  She bought me a jar of each kind and I hauled them home on the train.  This past Monday we were wandering around Brooklyn, the love child now strapped to and sleeping against my chest, and I bought more pickles.  So far I have three spears left in the McClure's jar and then it's onto Brooklyn Brine.  These things are go.oo.ood if you enjoy pickles.  

- In 2002, Ellie, Bean, and I spent a couple of days in a rented apartment in Vernazza, Italy, one of five hillside towns that makes up the scenic Cinque Terre.  This past week my beloved travel agent, Rochelle, posted a link on her Facebook page to Rick Steve's pictures of Vernazza following the recent flash floods.  Looks awful.  Hope they can dig out from the mud by next spring when the American college students will be en route!

- Two weeks ago, when the weather was turning colder and my nose was getting sniffly, I made a big pot of Nell Newman's chicken soup.  My mom used to make this recipe when I was in high school and there is something about this combination of ingredients, plus the exceptional stock, that feels so healthy and nutritious.  It's the freshest tasting chicken soup ever.  Possibly.  Try it this winter and let me know what you think.  (If you click on the link above it takes you to the book's listing on the Barnes & Noble website, but the recipe is listed there as a sample.)

- My friend Meredith McKee, who has a budding photography and design business here in Charlottesville, was quoted in a recent Washington Post article about student entrepreneurs.  My husband and I have three businesses and one non-profit between us so we clearly embrace the entrepreneurial model and  have been known to encourage one or two under-employed young people to start their own business in this economy.  The article is interesting and definitely worth a read, especially if you happen to be an under-employed young person.

- And, finally, speaking of young people making their own way, my cousin Meg's jewelry designs were highlighted last month in the Hook's fall wedding issue.  One of Meg's pearl bracelets dominated the cover photo and then several of her pieces, plus a little write-up, were included in a feature story about bridal accessories.  This special issue will be on newsstands throughout the season and you can also check out and buy Meg Hannan Designs at her etsy shop.  I have the turquoise wrap teardrop earrings in gold and LOVE them.  Simple yet striking and lightweight, too.  She does custom designs, as well.  

More this week.  I can almost promise it.  

The Week Begins

Thanks for all the nice feedback on my Monday series.  While some of my posts take a lot of time to prepare (lots of words... lots of images...) I find this collection of links to be pretty speedy to throw up here and am so far  impressed that I'm on week 3 already.  Go me.  Also, it sounds like a longer post about traveling in style and my tips for doing so might be of interest to some of you.  I'll try to make that happen.  

This weekend was busy busy.  I had two portrait sessions and second-shot a wedding with Jen Fariello and on Sunday morning Meg came over for brunch and a walk in the sunshine.  On Friday evening, Flora, Mom, and I attended the opening performance of the Crozet Spirit Walk just as the sky darkened to night.  We carried hot chocolates from Mud House and pushed a bundled baby in her stroller until she grunted loud enough to be carried.  At the end of the tour she became riveted by the "strolling yodeler" character and watched him, eyes transfixed and arms out-stretched, as he strummed and sang to the crowd in a voice she knows so well.  Girl loves her daddy.

- Have you heard this song by Stephen Kellogg & The Sixers?  It's downright catchy, for sure, but it also sounds unmistakably like a reworked version of Cecilia.  Melodic homage or appropriation?

- We cook with olive oil probably every day in our household, though I admit to being pretty ignorant about our oil's sources and standards.  This NYT article from the past week really piqued my interest in exploring California olive oils.  Tasting party, anyone?

- Miranda July is possibly a genius and this video (and her solution to the plight of the easily distracted) made me laugh out loud.  Imagine how EFFECTIVE!

- I am taking my love child to New York City in the near future.  It will be her first foray into deeply urban culture, and my first time taking an infant to a big city.  Any tips for NYC with a baby?  We'll be driving in so I plan to bring her travel crib (super lightweight and easy to fold and pack) and travel stroller (lives in the back of the car and is, again, super lightweight and folds, one-handed, in a second).  But would it be better to wear her?  Where do you change diapers in the city?  Are restaurants cool about babies?  Even the teeny four-tables-and-no-toilets kind of restaurants?  I guess I'm about to find out...

- A month or two ago I decided to get me some new spectacles.  I have been wearing the same eye glasses (when I wear my glasses...) since, I don't know, 2005 or something?  It was time for a new look.  I had read about Warby Parker on Design Mom and was totally sold by the fact that you can order 5 different frames, free of charge, and they will send them to your house for you try on for a week.  How fun?!  So I picked a range of styles and colors and when my frames arrived I gave Todd an eye glasses' fashion show of various looks around the theme of "sexy-librarian-meets-Revenge-of-the-Nerds".  A few days later we did it all again, just to be sure.  Turns out we agreed on the same pair.  "Preston" in Whiskey Tortoise.  Just $95 to put my prescription in these geek glasses and the company even gave a pair away to someone in need.  Pretty darn cool.  You can see my new look below.

Have a great week.

Morning in our chair, Charlottesville, VA, September 8, 2011.