PTL!

Aubrey is a spunky 2 1/2 year old. She loves dancing in the aisles and playing with her sister. When Aubrey's family moved to town Phoebe loved her the day they met. They became fast friends.

Aubrey got sick recently....and now...

Our dear friend, Aubrey, is getting better! She is shocking the docs! It is amazing to see our community fighting for this young one by praying and fasting. Check out the updates here.

http://believingforaubrey.blogspot.com/

second shooter

My friend, Carrie, is a Photographer. She does weddings, events, family, and commercial photos. She has a great style; she is on a search for beauty through the lens.

I have joined her at a couple weddings as her second shooter and assistant. It has been great to learn from her and to remember some of my basic design education of balance, proportion, and composition. Plus I get to watch a wedding (through the lens), which can be one of the most beautiful and intimate days of a person's life.

Here are a few shots that Carrie sent me as her favorites of mine from the second wedding I worked with her. Of course she does all the processing, so the style is all Carrie!

Beautiful Spaces

Today I had an afternoon adventure sans bebe. It turned out to be an afternoon full of beautiful spaces.

First I stopped by a new yarn shop in Dupont Circle named Looped. It is on the second floor of a building on Connecticut Avenue. When you walk up the stairs and enter the space you are close to the middle of the narrow rowhouse like space. From there the front is the living room and the back is the dining room and yarn, beautiful yarn, lines the walls. The women who own this little shop have decorated the two spaces to be places that yarn-ies would want to sit down and just start creating; bring your friends and make a scarf! It is lovely. Here is a gallery of pictures, take a look. With all the natural light in the space it even feels beautiful.

Then I went to Immortal Beloved to get a hair cut. This was my first time at this salon and I really loved it. I love the design of the space; it is earthy, homey, and industrial all at the same time. The living tree potted in the bathtub in the center of the space really made the experience complete. As you sit back and let someone else wash your hair (thank you very much) you can stare out the old school skylights and begin to wonder if you are outside or inside because there is a tree waving in front of the skylight and one waving outside the skylight. Simple and beautiful. The wood furniture that was built specifically for this salon has and edgy amish feel to it, raw edges with refined spindle backing. And the unfinished industrial look to the place makes one feel like they might have just walked into the woodshop where this furniture was built, I wouldn't be surprised to see sawdust on the floor rather than hair. But all of these pieces compliment each other well. I felt like I was in the right place. Not to mention my hair stylist, Nate, was fantastic and he reminded me so much of my brother, Lance. Here is a little video of their space.

meatless monday

This week we had Risotto Stuffed Peppers and fresh baked bread. I used a few recipes to help guide this tasty meal. And of course it was paired with some fresh from the oven artisan bread. This was a huge success; Phoebe even ate her share!

Grape Harvest

IMG_3447, originally uploaded by whitneyporter.

Last weekend we joined some friends in Virginia for Grape Harvest. It was a fruitful day, full of great harvest analogies. Phoebe loved being outside, running through the vineyard, and eating her fill of grapes. (She is now the new face of Sandy Branch Vineyard.)

We were picking a Cabernet Sauvignon grape that will be pressed and made into wine by Gabriele Rausse Winery. After picking the grapes we had a feast and the wine makers joined us for some wine when they came to pick up the harvest.

It was a beautiful day in the Virginia countryside.

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."John 15:5

meatless monday

I read about this idea on some blog...I have no idea where I got it, but I was inspired to try Meatless Monday as a step in cutting back on our meat consumption. The mister approved, so we are on our way. The last month (at least?) we have successfully gotten enough protein in our evening meal without any meat. Seriously people, you can do this! To us Midwesterners the idea of a meal without meat is kind of scary. As long as we are prepared for what is to come I don't get any questions about when the rest of the meal is coming to the table.

Tonight we had Potato, Pepper and Artichoke Frittata with goat cheese and a fruit salad, last week we had Black Bean Burritos and the week before that Vegetable and Tofu Stir-fry. It is a fun experiment because we end up eating things that we normally don't eat. And we are doing our tiny part in not buying or consuming as much meat which is supposed to matter on a number of levels that I haven't learned about yet.

Let me know if you have any good vegetarian recipes, or if you want to join us in the experiment, we can trade ideas!

mommy's cousins

P loves her cousins! All of them. She has special little connections on both sides of the family. On the misters side she has two boy cousins born the same year she was, one actually on the day of her baptism. On my side she has two girl cousins that she fits nicely in between, almost as if they were meant to be sisters; Scarlett, Phoebe, and Vesper. Phoebe asks for her cousins often, and she loves any little connection we can help her make: phone calls, daily pictures, videos sent via e-mail, they all make her smile. We love to encourage these relationships.

So, when mommy's cousin came for a visit, Phoebe was thrilled! One of my (many) cousins, Brian, came to visit for Labor Day weekend. He took the bus from Fort Lee to DC; he is stationed there for his post boot camp training (there is some other more formal name that I don't remember.)

Phoebe LOVES Brian, sometimes she called him Rhino, I am not really sure why - it is just how she remembered his name for some reason. And if she couldn't remember his name she just called him Mommy's cousins.

We had a great time!