Nectar & Light

 

i have been sitting here trying to come up with something exquisitely poetic to write about this little soul.  the words should flow quite effortlessly - for she is our baby and always will be.  she is happiness and joy personified in a perfect package of curls and toothy grins.  but more than anything, i think i am in shock.  i feel as if i blinked, and there she is - a three year old.  a beautiful, feisty, lover girl of a three year old.  happy birthday baby love...

xoox~mama

 

happy sunday friends!  we've been home for a few days now and getting back into a somewhat normal routine - though "normal" for us is rather subjective. camping was amazing and we are already planning our next venture out - it was a beautiful experience.   it's been hot and we've been swimming, catching up with dear friends and enjoying summer to it's fullest - lots of rock n' roll and ice cream.  last night my friend ali and i saw henry rollins spoken word, "frequent flyer."  AMAZING.  he spoke directly to my life philosophy - balls to the wall - live it with passion and your eyes wide open, "knowledge without milage equals bullshit."  next week is full of play and pizza dates, a little someone's birthday and a shoot i am really excited to share with you.  below some things to check out... have a beautiful sunday...

~ loving the black heart procession;

~ for some reason my trip to stockholm in may reignited my 20+ year obsession with him, listening to the full back catalog non-stop - actually the misfits '20 eyes' is playing as i type;

~ in love with this bracelet;

~ bought a piece from her empire collection last time i was at robin richman in chicago that i have yet to remove from my wrist- can't stop looking at her work;

~ swoon worthy;

~ a favorite;

 ~ my beautiful sister-in-law sent me this link... so gorgeous;

~ holy yum;

~ summer love at it's best - it was our signature wedding cocktail;

~ been buying a few pieces for our new walls {more on that soon} and i am loving this {via cc}

xoox~jla

 

we are now making our way home.  once again, a wonderful road trip that has been full of new adventures and new friends.  for those of you who do not know the story, when we were in disneyland in january, we met a family from vancouver.  we were standing in line to get into the park early one morning and adie, being adie, started talking to the family just behind us in line.  within minutes we discovered that adie and their eldest boy shared the exact same birthday.  we were all wonderstruck and had a lovely chat - once through the gate we wished them well and they did the same.  but within moments, james - adie's "twin" - had caught up with us and asked what ride we would be going to first - he had been trying to catch up for sometime and adie kept turning to catch his eye.  we decided to stick together until they had to catch their flight a few hours later - james and adie spent the morning hand in hand running through the park - it was the most adorable thing ever.  since that magical morning, we've kept in touch, james and adie exchanging packages in the post - and his mom and i warm exchanges on facebook.  

just two days ago we left their beautiful home in vancouver.  and it was equally magical to those few short hours in the park.  the children played as if they never parted - adie and james falling quickly into their familiar connection - and his little brother happy to bounce between the attentions of ayla and ari.  we had the most amazing time - there was bbq and beer, giggles and belly laughter, there was tons of tears and embraces the day we left and when we think of "our canadians" we all get a little teary all over again.  we are counting the days until we see them again.  magic.

i also had the absolute pleasure of spending an afternoon with my amanda - and as you can image - i was in heaven; and a day with one of my very best friends {going on 20 years!} who recently moved to seattle - i love you shan!  and if you can believe it - we are camping on the way home - yes, it was that good.  we were rained out of our planned steak camp dinner this evening, but discovered some of the best pizza ever at cosmic pizza in bozeman, montana as the thunder raged - so i will not complain.  tomorrow we are making our way back to the black hills for a couple of days and then back to omaha to start planning our fall - i will keep you posted on that end...

xoox~jla

 

so.  can you believe i am going to write that sleeping in a tent is not so bad?  it's not.  it is actually quite lovely.  the fact that the restrooms are not attached to said tent is not so lovely, but i survived.  i helped put up the tent and break camp in the mornings - we cooked hotdogs, s'mores, eggs and bacon - even coffee from the camp fire.  the girls had so much fun and in truth - never slept better.  we are now in vancouver and staying with friends that truthfully warm my heart and soul. and it is if adie and james {adie's "twin" from disneyland} have not been parted for even a moment.  it is a beautiful thing.  more soon... 

xoox~jla

 

i can not believe i failed to mention my few magical days in paris.  i wandered the louvre for hours.  all. by. myself.  i met irene for dinner and we laughed and sighed over the joys of both motherhood and photography.  i met anne for an equally delightful dinner the following night, and we giggled like school girls over - well, lots of delicious little things.  anne took me to merci - the amazing concept store that i had read about in vogue a few years ago.  i had torn out the article and swore that the next time i was in paris, it would be my first stop.  and then i forgot all about it.  and as anne led me through the courtyard that welcomes you to merci - i was suddenly ecstatic.  i found the most beautiful little snake ring at anna rivka and i ate my first macaroon.  it was heaven.

sunday morning we are off to umm... camp.  yeah, still not so sure about this.  but i will go with a smile in my heart and a skip in my step.  i promise.  what happens after that point remains to be seen.  i will be traveling with my laptop and scanner so i will check in when we get to vancouver.

and thank you so much for the love about love by jen - it is an exciting little edition to my new vision...

see you soon...

xoox~jla

 

it has been a whirlwind.  stockholm, packing, moving, france, packing, moving, scanning, editing, planning, unpacking, more planning, more scanning.  oh my goodness.  i have so much to share in the next two months and i apologize for being so secretive - i just want to ensure everything falls into place as i hope.  in the meantime, i have to tell you a few things:

~ beaune is the most beautiful place in france.  ever.  the wedding was so beautiful and i feel like i have life-long friends in marjorie and her beautiful daughter kendall;

~ over the month of may, i think i may have magically become a wedding photographer {polaroids are coming soon - see the aforementioned scanning, scanning, scanning};

~ we closed on our house last week.  at the moment that my kick-ass realtor called to tell me everything was done, i exhaled so deeply that i suddenly realized i had been holding my breath for two months.  i did not have a moment alone in the house to say good-bye and i am pained by this - but i am not sure i would have been able to - so maybe it was better that way...

~ we are going camping.  if you know me, this is a shocking statement.  but believe it or not, i am pretty excited - we leave next weekend and will be spending four nights in a tent and sleeping bags on our way to vancouver.  if the experience is a good one - we will camp on the way home as well.  adie is over the moon and most likely will be telling me to suck it up.

and somehow, without really being acutely aware of the gentle shift, summer arrived.  the girls are out of school, we have been grilling at my parents and swimming - summer is here and she is glorious.

more soon... 

xoox~jen