hello friends. i hope you had a lovely and long weekend. ours was wonderful. after realizing that my kitchen just won't be finished any time soon - i stopped letting it keep me from having friends over for dinner {silly, i know.} ashley's family and kristina and her husband ian joined us for our first official asheville dinner party. i took every opportunity, in regards to the menu, to craft magic and then failed monumentally when it came to capturing the evening with photographs {which is explored a bit below}. regardless, it was such a beautiful night with beautiful friends. the next morning we took the girls to the annual apple festival in hendersonville and as you can judge by the photographs - we ate our way down the lovely historic downtown street. i shot my second to last pack of 600 film *sniff* but one of the shots above was taken with my phone - can you tell? i think it's pretty obvious! ;) today we enjoyed a day inside - windows wide - allowing mists of rain to dance lightly in the air. adie and i painted, her sisters drew, i made a crystal and leather necklace and more bread...

so those gentle changes i wrote about in my last post - they are starting to feel like they are taking root. i have been cooking and baking again - a lot. in brooklyn we relied on take-out - a lot. and it took me some time to feel comfortable in a kitchen again. i was surprised to find that one of the reasons i had delayed was fear - what if somehow i lost that gentle rhythmic grace i once possessed in a kitchen? and i had not been inspired in so long. there has been a lot of discussions on blogs of late about over-exposure - there is so much to see and take in - i had been pulling back from all of that for some time and when i found that i finally stopped attempting to digest so much; i wanted to create my own voice again. in an odd way i felt depleted and overwhelmed rather than uplifted and inspired. and there was a painstakingly beautiful moment when i realized - as we all sat down together at the table for the third or fourth night in a row, discussing - laughing about our day - that our girls need this. the coming together at the end of the day is so, SO important and holds a special alchemy when the food has been prepared with love and longing - and i lost that somewhere. we light candles and listen to music every night when we eat now - every night - it's simply become part of a ritual - one that has become vital to our happiness.

and that slowing down has me reflecting on a number of things in my life - in particular, photography. somewhere along the line, i stopped shooting for fun. that might explain the lack of posts this last year as well. i've been so busy writing and shooting for work, that i forgot why i started shooting. why did i start? because i thought the way the morning light coming through the window was glorious - or the way my daughter's curls spilled down her back needed to be remembered always. i didn't make a conscience decision to shoot less - but i know i said to myself on more than several occasions, i want to live this moment, not photograph it. i do realize there is a happy medium - and i am on a quiet path of rediscovery.

maybe it's the south... but slowing down, drinking in life and savoring the details again - it's resonates with me...

and some things i am loving:

~ loving the horrors, the ettes {who i discovered the day after they played the grey eagle!} cults and esben and the witch;

- reading the swan thieves, re-reading jewels: a secret history and wanting to read turquoise;

~ wanting to add this to my collection;

~ planning our garden for next spring & crossing fingers our neighborhood allows us to keep bees - we should find out next week - so hoping i can buy this book; 

~  crushing on darlingtonia moccasins;

more soon.

 

Comments

[Brittany]

it's good to see you writing happy. ;)

[rebekka]

The south will certainly do that to you...make you rest on your laurels for a wee bit :)

[rebekka]

The south will certainly do that to you...make you rest on your laurels for a wee bit :)

[charlotte]

i always think of september as a time for digging in and new beginnings - reading this post compounds that. here's to the slower and more inward season.

[jen]

brittany - thank you so much - it feel good ;)

rebekka - i'm pretty much in love down here!

charlotte - yes, i agree. fall is a pretty magical time - i hope your fall is beautiful and full of reflection...

[jen]

i love to see you posting again. i am sure you will be inspired by all that fall leaf beauty!

[Tim]

Apple fest! Hendersonville! ( It seems so crazy to see someone write those words besides me. ) I hope you all had a blast, Jen.

[jen]

jen - thank you love. thinking i can try sticking to a schedule of longer, more thought about posts once a week or so - fingers crossed. and i can't wait to see fall. xo

tim! i know - crazy ;) we certainly enjoyed ourselves - such a cute little town!

[Christine Chitnis]

I loved reading your beautiful words, Jen...I have always been so inspired by, and drawn to, your photography because you seem to perfectly capture those fleeting moments that make up day-to-day life with kids.

My little one is just a baby, but following your work over the years has helped me find new ways to capture his precious little nuances.

I am so glad you are finding your way back to that place of joy when it comes to your own photography.

[jen]

christine,

your words filled my heart. thank you so very much - it truly means the world.

xo

[beth]

i'm guessing the funnel cake photo is with your phone...maybe....and along with the other sentiments, i love how and what you write....

and self discovery...isn't it just the best thing ever :)

[jen]

beth! you got it lady! ;) and thank you, thank you... it's an endless journey, is it not?

[Jeannie]

Oh, I hope they let you keep bees! I've been going back and forth about doing it Fingers crossed for you!

[beth]

love these photographs. and was just looking at those moccasins. beautiful.

[jen]

jeannie - me too! they already said no to chickens :( so i really, really, REALLY hoping for the bees!

thank you beth - and aren't they beautiful - loving the colors and details.

[Josefine Laul]

Beautiful! Really beautiful.

[jen]

thank you so much josefine!

[Carol]

Good to see you finding your flow again Jen. I have missed your regular posts :-)

[the purcells]

beautiful images & the apple festival looks amazing!! Glad you are back in your groove in the kitchen!!