Since it’s a cold and very grey day here in New York, I decided it would be a good time to post some of our photos from our vacation this past August in the Hamptons. These photos brightened my day. Hopefully they will do the same for you.

This was taken the night before the hurricane arrived. Available for sale in my new Etsy store.

Do you Instragram? It’s my latest obsession and I’m head over heals. For a photographer this is a little like crack. It’s basically twitter for photos. Instant photo gratification, at your finger tips, on your Iphone. What’s better? If you don’t Instagram you should. Join the masses, download the App, and follow me here or by clicking on the new top right button on my header.

A little taste (compliments of Instagram) of what our Christmas countdown has been like over here in Chappaqua. Our days and nights have been filled with mint chocolate chip and candy cane milkshakes, poinsettia picking, cutting down and decorating out tree, dinner in NYC, visits from “Rusty,” our version of the elf-on-the-shelf, cooking a few of our favorite winter meals and mailing out our cards. Lovin’ this time of year.

This year our Thanksgiving celebration was a favorites of mine. It was very special, as we all met in California and planned a wonderful meal. Everyone pitched in making a few of their favorite dishes. We met at my dad and his wife Nancy’s home, and spent the day hanging out, cooking, laughing, drinking and eating, of course. Preparations began on Wednesday morning at the famous Santa Monica farmers market. What a feast for the senses.

On turkey day, a few of the boys playing outside.

Back inside where the festivities began.

Some of our recipes included sweet potatoes found on Sara Tegman’s blog via Bon Appetit, Martha Stewart’s turkey stuffed with fig and prosciutto stuffing, green beans and radicchio inspired by this recipe, roasted carrots and parsnips with maple syrup, a new favorite cranberry sauce with port and tangerine, and this pecan pie, not homemade but delivered from Texas. It’s by far the best pecan pie on the planet which not only tastes like heaven, but comes in a cool wooden box and makes a wonderful gift. Make sure to click on the link to see the clever slogan that makes me miss my roots.

The best part of the trip was once we returned home. I was putting Conner to bed, when I asked him what his favorite part of the trip was. He replied, “Thanksgiving.” I asked, “why?” And he replied, “because everyone was there.” Sigh.

We are in California for the week. We stepped off the plane yesterday and were greeted by a bright blue sky, a flood of sunshine and nice cool breeze. Ahhh… Such a nice change of pace after our spastic weather in the northeast over the past few months.

Both Brendan’s and my family will unite on Thursday and prepare a grand meal for a party of 15. We’ll cook while watching the parade on TV and I’ll think back to when my dad and step-mom used to drag us into the city at the crack of dawn on Thanksgiving morning, to watch a parade that we couldn’t even see, being 4′ tall. All I remember are the tops of the floats dancing by the sea of winter coats I was sandwiched in. We would freeze our tails off while relentlessly whining until the folks finally caved, deciding it was time to head back to Westchester. It would take the entire ride home to defrost.

I can make one promise to Conner and Ty. I will never drag them into the city for a parade they are too short to see, while they freeze their butts off. Instead we will take them to Cali where there is guaranteed sunshine and they can watch the parade on TV, in front of a fire, even though it’s 55 degrees out.

Our menu consists of the following items; turkey, Italian fig and prosciutto stuffing, green beans and radicchio, roasted carrots and parsnips, brussels sprouts, mashed and sweet potatoes, wheatberry and quinoa salad, cranberry sauce and 3 pies, one of which is flown in from Texas. We’ll top it off with a viewing of Planes, Trains and Automobiles. I’ll be back with all the links and details. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

This past weekend we went to friends for a little dinner soiree. The head chef Lisa, just completed the Institute of Culinary Education’s program so dinner was very tasty, to say the least. Baked from scratch bread with garlic, ricotta, lemon zest and honey kicked things off. Next up was a celery, red onion and olive salad with homemade pasta and bolognese sauce. And then, out came the panna cotta which was pure heaven. After dinner drinks consisted of this and this, while listening to this, which you must listen to. She rocks. Cheers.

two sump pumps broke.

for those of you who don’t have basements, those are what pump the water out of our basement when it rains and snows.

one is located under a massive toy shelving system, which means we have to take it apart to get to the pump.

now you know our plans for this evening.

i didn’t even know how to spell “sump” until yesterday.

this was after it kept blowing a fuse and caused us to spend a day without cable, internet and a landline.

joy.

my nanny is on vacation.

for one of my busiest weeks of the year.

sweet.

both boys started school at new schools.

which went very well.

on conner’s first day he told me he, “took a poop, read a book and came home.”

hilarious.

i managed to get a little work done.

but clearly didn’t have time to blog.

which is annoying because I have alot to blog about lately.

there is alot going on in my head.

stay tuned.

Before I tackle my long list of things to do, before I start processing the mountain of shoots from the last 3 weeks, before I have my lunch on this rainy 6th day of September, I will write a little here. Get my thoughts down, or onto this screen and say hello. The sounds of the rain hitting the leaves fills my office, as I settle back in after a long trip to the beach. It’s a nice change after several days of sand-covered toes. Sand that still sits on my flip-flops and in the cracks of my car. I feel like overnight we have gone from summer to fall but that’s the Northeast for you. I’m trying to keep up, switching gears as I type.

Yesterday we returned from our family vacation and although mine was more of a “workacation” we had a good stay at the beach this summer. Our days were made up of lobster roll lunches, collecting treasures on the beach, dips in the ocean, rounds of miniature golf, homemade donuts and rolling down the hill at the Lighthouse. As wonderful as the last 7 days were, we were all so happy to return home. The joyful homecoming reminded me how much I love our house, and I think the boys felt the same way. To have all of our things, our family room, our kitchen, our shower, back at our finger tips felt so comforting. Finally back in my own bed, I slept better last night than I had in nearly 3 weeks. Brendan and I fell asleep in each other’s arms giggling about funny little things that happened over the past week. Things the boys did. Things we did. It felt so good to be home.

Now we are onto fall and starting the school year. This will be Ty’s first year in nursery school and Conner’s last. We will sort out the drawers, tucking the old clothes into the attic before we buy some new ones. Jeans that don’t look like shorts. Shirts with out stains. A new lunchbox and new sneakers to fit the little feet that grow like weeds. We will buy mums and pumpkins for the front of our house. We will enjoy the cooler air and make soup. We will enjoy my favorite time of year. Fall.

Just a few of the treasures I found along the beach. 

It’s been kind of a crazy week. As we know, Hurricane Irene kicked it off. Amazingly enough we didn’t loose power at home in Westchester or here in the Hamptons. We were some of the lucky ones. People are still with out power which has thrown things for a loop. The only benefit of people not having power out here was I had a few clients reschedule, and therefore got to spend a little more time than I anticipated with my family. We logged in a few hours at the beach yesterday. On the agenda for today? Shelter Island…

Almost over night he has changed from a little boy to what I consider is, on his way to a big boy. You discipline until you turn blue in the face and then one day you wake up and think, WOW, maybe just maybe, it’s paying off. That’s the case with Conner right now. Over the past few weeks I have noticed a huge difference in him. I don’t know if it’s the disciplining, his age (most likely), my frequent prayers to god or my trip to Santa Fe but regardless he is growing into a confident, beautiful boy. Over the past few months he has started to enjoy going to the movies (a big step considering he’s not a big fan of the dark), taken swimming, tennis and golf without any kicking and screaming, and even started to put himself to sleep. A few things I wondered would ever come our way. More importantly, he’s confident, happy and content. When raising boys I think that’s what you hope for. He is all I hoped for in a million more ways than one.

wide open sky

cocktails after a massage

sleeping with the windows open

listening to my dad’s stories about our family members who were miners in Colorado

a pre-dinner snack of margaritas and chili con queso

a tour of the hill-packed, 25 mile bike ride my dad tackles almost daily

realizing he’s in better shape than I am

not cooking once

going out for wonderful dinners every night

buying 2 hand embroidered mexican shirts

hummingbirds

picking out cowboy hats for the boys

my dad’s smile when greeted me at the airport

pulled pork sandwiches and a santa fe pale ale for lunch

spanish market

afternoon thunderstorms

visiting neighbors, two of my dad’s best friends I grew up with in TX

discovering horn toads

watching the sunset from the patio

coming home with 2 paintings for my foyer

wine

discussing my father’s plans to write, draw and paint after his retirement

lyle lovett

drinking my morning coffee in silence

3 days to rest, relax and catch up with my father, something we haven’t done in quite some time

Many of the shots above are of my dad’s condo. He has great taste. I was trained well. ; )