Nectar & Light

i am a bit overwhelmed with trying to finish the book this week - and oh yes, being a good mother to my girls at the same time - a challenge when on a deadline i assure you.  i wanted to pop in and thank you again for the support of the sale over in my shop - there are just a few sets left - thank you, thank you.  and to leave you with some beautiful link love - hope to pop in on friday... until then, happy browsing:

~ amalia's wondrous portfolio;

~ one day hannah is going to be famous;

~ a favorite new {to me} space;

~ and this {more on my current obsession with this woman coming soon}.

enjoy, enjoy and enjoy...

xoox~jla

{the image above was shot last weekend with the hasselblad - i feel like i should share when i post any non-polaroid shots as the new tag line indicates that this is a polaroid blog - i am strange that way.}

good morning - i am so energized by all of the work i got done on the book this weekend.  i can't wait to share more with you.  i hope to have more news in the next week or so, but i am so excited watching this project truly take shape {you can sneak a peek at a teaser of one of the possible covers here}.  and in other news:

~ i am sure you noticed that i freshened up the blog a bit - summer is starting to gently creep into my limbs and when the seasons change, i tend to change a lot of things around me - i also wanted to mark my first 6 months back with something new - hope you don't mind ;)

~ i updated the shop with new prints and a sale.  all of the note cards are 50% off to clear room for some new things i hope to add soon - any order over $50 will also receive a free set of note cards;

~ above is one of the photographs i submitted to pia's inspiring project, 'my heart wanders'.  if you are interested in submitting work - do so soon - there is only 20 days left.

enjoy and be well...

xoox~jla

p.s.  thank you so much for the response to the sale this morning - i am nearing my '100th' item sold - who ever purchases that 100th item will receive a free 8x8 print of their choice - thank you so much friends!

spring is:  sweaters & skits+dappled sunshine+cool evenings+curls flouncing+trike riding+sandals+green+warm days with delightful breezes+rain+tapping on the roof like a lover at the door+filling the air with mist & promises+color+smiles+happiness.

a few things to check in on over the weekend:

~ my friend anna's new blog highlighting her beautiful photography;

~ the heady beauty of heartdew {via anna};

~ new flickr favorites here & here;

~ trying to read this and get my mind off of this {the most delicious book i have read in ages}

~ listening to this {alone} & this {with my girls};

~ and hopefully shooting more film {like the shot of ayla running about above}.

have a truly beautiful weekend friends...

xoox~jla

it is true, i have been neglecting the recipe section of this blog for sometime.  and there is a very good reason for this; i have not been cooking or baking.  part of it is the thought that my less-than-a-year-old beautiful gourmet kitchen is sitting, lonely, 30 minutes from where i am now, and quite frankly, it depresses the hell out of me.  if the house had sold by now, it might not be such a difficult thought - someone else would be taking great pleasure from the space - but no offers, and alone and cold it sits.  but a thought has occurred to me, a gentle reminder that came dancing up behind me - quite slowly - and whispered into my ear, "bake, it is the only time your mind stops reeling."  and there is so much truth in that fact, laying in bed, taking a hot bath, trying to read a book - it never quiets.  unless, i am baking, then it is flour, the eggs, the vanilla and i.  i wanted to try something this morning that i had never baked and i found a box full of recipe cards that i had filled out in my early 20s.  when my girlfriends were buried in the heat and heavy mascara of cosmo magazine, i was wiping flour off the tip of my nose and the latest copy of food & wine.  so i am unsure the source of this recipe - most likely a food & wine from the mid to late 90's - but it is as easy as coffee cake comes, delightfully comforting and perfection warm from the oven with hot coffee. 

sour cream coffee cake:

~ 1 c. butter

~ 2 c. sugar

~ 2 eggs

~ 1 t. vanilla

~ 1 t. salt

~ 1 t. baking powder

~ 2 c. flour

~ 1 c. sour cream

~ 1 tsp. cinnamon

~ 1/2 c. brown sugar

~ 1/2 c. chopped pecans

butter a bundt pan thoroughly and preheat the oven to 350F.  sift the flour, salt and baking powder together and set aside.  mix the brown sugar, cinnamon and pecans together and set aside.  cream the butter, sugar and eggs - fold in the sour cream and vanilla.  add the dry ingredients to the batter.  pour half of the batter into the bundt pan then top the batter with all of the brown sugar mixture.  top that with the remaining batter and knock the pan on the counter a bit until the batter settles.  bake for 1 hour.  let the cake cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan.  flip onto a plate and dust with powdered sugar {after it cools a bit more.}

xoox~jla

i would like to start by thanking each of you who left such warm and thoughtful comments on monday.  my heart goes out to each of you that has a family member serving our country - they are the most selfless individuals and i pray for them everyday.

the theme for our Trade in june is "Into the Light:  learn to love flare" - as simple as it states - shoot into the light and see what happens!  the photograph above was shot with a Polaroid - it tends to turn light into milky softness; other examples of light peeking through a compositions or shooting into filtered light can been seen here and here.

for more information and sign-up for this month's Trade, visit The Photo Trade site and if you are new to the Trade, please be sure to read our rules.

have fun with this friends!

xoox~jla

p.s.  see you tomorrow - and if all goes well - with a recipe! ;)

 

i am sorry for the lack of posts last week - days after arriving home from atlanta, my brother's family came into town to stay with us for the week.  it was the last chance to spend some time with him before he deploys for the fourth time.  it is a very emotional time for me, he is my baby brother and seeing him as a man - one who has created a beautiful family with a caring wife, and two gorgeous daughters is surreal at times.  but it is the life he has chosen, his unselfish and unwavering devotion to America that moves me to tears nearly every time he walks across the landscape of my thoughts.  truly, it is the angry growl of his Harley that i hear first - then his face comes into focus - the boy i love so and the man i respect endlessly.   please pray for his safe return...

{above:  adie on his bike the day before he left}

a good monday friends!  a hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  i am so proud to share with you all that i have been asked to be the guest contributor at everyday polaroid this week.  while i wanted to share bits of my everyday life with the readers, i also wanted to do something a bit different - so please pop over if you would like to follow the adventures of the glass dove this week.

also, be sure to check out the new volume of lines & shapes featuring the work of one of my favorite photographers, maditi, who is also contributing to for the love of light. 

have a wonderful day friends!

xoox~jla

My mother:  is the most beautiful woman i have ever seen+is the reason i am a good mother+reminds me everyday that life is what we make of it+is the most gentle soul ever created+giving+unconditional+open-minded+open-hearted+a rock star+a beauty queen+a princess and the pea+a dirty martini+she is the woman that i most admire+my light+my rock+my mother.

My girls:  without whom i would feel incomplete+bring endless joy to my soul+remind me to stay young+remind me to have a wonderful time no matter the task+make me so proud to call you my daughters+amaze me with your insights and depth of emotion+remind me that you will not always be so young and that the strength and beauty of the bond we cultivate now will only flourish as we age together.

To all of the mother's in my life, the mother's who read my little space here, the mother's to be - may you always love and be loved unconditionally and without question; may you cherish the bond with women in your life and remember that we are the soul and eternal element that defines the world.

Happy Mother's Day to all... have a lovely weekend friends...

xoox~jla

p.s.  my mom and i on cape hatteras in 1977

My studio space was recently featured on Poppytalk - click here to read and see more... {i can't seem to post a direct link so you may have to scroll down a bit} ;)

Until tomorrow...

xoox~jla

again, home again.  We are home, unpacking and delightfully road weary.  Thank you all for your sweet travel wishes.  Atlanta was - as always - so wonderful.  I felt my heart tug as we drove out of the city, I felt as if I was leaving home - and as we drove across the country - lush greens giving way to the flat, almost haunting landscape of the Great Plains, I knew simply by the way my body reacted that it is time to move on.  I am experiencing a lot of confusion - or maybe just so many conflicting emotions about the road ahead, the word 'home' seems to mean a great deal to me right now - yet, I am unsure of it's full definition.  What I do know is that I love the South with the very core of my being.   For a few more shots of our travels - and I do mean "few" - I was so busy holding on to babies that cameras did not get a lot of use, click here.