Washington D.C. Wedding Weekend

A very good friend of ours was getting married in Washington D.C. so we took the train down there on Friday afternoon.  It was actually really easy to take the train, I would definitely do that again.  We smuggled the dog for the ride (shhh, don't tell) and arrived at our dog-friendly hotel, The Fairmont; also where the wedding was going to be (so convenient!).

We went out to dinner at Farmers, Fishers, Bakers and then we went to right next door to The Sequoia, a beautiful room where we had drinks and dessert with the out-of-towners.  It was a really cute spot right on the water.  There was an ice-skating rink and pretty lights.  Apparently this is where the couple had gotten engaged and I could see why.  

On Saturday we went to brunch at the newly re-opened Art and Soul.  I got the BLT Benedict which was great but even greater was the scones before the meal.  O.M.G. !!!!    

After that meal, we thought it would be best to walk it off a bit.  It really sucked that it was so cold so after we made it to the Capitol, we beelined for the first place we could find which happened to be the National Gallery of Art.  Then we decided to head a little further down the Mall to the Smithsonian American History Museum.  I wanted to stick around but my college roommate C. picked me up as soon as we got there so I'll have to return to see Dorothy's Ruby Red slippers!  

We went and got Gabriel and attempted to go to the dog park right outside her house in Adams Morgan but it was too cold and we only stayed 10 minutes.  I found that D.C. is a pretty dog-friendly city.  All along Rock Creek Park (which runs from the Potomic River, 12 miles to Maryland - even the National Zoo is along the path!) there are cool trails and dog parks.  I'd love to go back in warmer weather to really explore - it's very neat to see this thing run all along the middle of the city.  C. did however get a great shot of Gabriel which later ran in a local blog!  Check him out on popville.com!  

It was time to get ready for the wedding and I was really excited because I used Renttherunway.com and ordered a dress and earring combo.  I have never gotten so many compliments on a dress in my life!  Here I am in my Mark & James by Badgley Mischka Sapphire Star Dress and Dannijo Cecile earrings.  

I thought about making a separate blog entry for what a great experience I had with RTR.  It was so easy and saying I am impressed with the company as a whole is an understatement.  Really glad I rented!  

The wedding was absolutely beautiful.  The space at the Fairmont was unique with its elevated dance floor.  It was also really nice to be at a wedding and just be guests.  The last wedding we were at was our own and the past couple, either one of us were in the wedding.  And just a side note, it's heartwarming when you see how happy the couple is to be getting married.  Both the families were just awesome and we were really happy to see them all happy.  OK corny part over, :) 

Photography

  Call it a New Years resolution, or just a hobby I have been talking about pursuing and now just getting around to for serious.  For my wedding gift, my husband got me a fancypants Canon EOS Rebel T3i.  Photography has always interested me and I had been thinking about getting one myself for quite some time.  Ain't he thoughtful?!

   I was speaking with a friend the other day who also got the same camera recently and told her I still hadn't taken it off of automatic yet and she was horrified.  She said it was such a waste of the camera and it really made me want to finally devote some time to figuring this thing out.  So, here I go, on my journey to a new hobby.

   I am completely overwhelmed trying to not only find quality tutorials and tips but also remembering everything as I go.  I know this is not something you can just study and get overnight, and I am excited to practice and master this camera.  I'll be posting some trials to document my (hopeful) progress.

   So far, I have found this blog, iheartnaptime.com, and look forward to finding others.  If you know any - please feel free to share in the comments!

D met me at Central Park with a huge surprise.  He gave me my wedding gift, the camera, and this was the very first photo I took it! 

"Ghostbuster" Clouds

A storm came in yesterday that looked a lot like the scene from Ghostbusters!

via Pam Fischbein 

via Harris Graber 

How To: Honeymoon When You're Camera Shy

The Art of a Tourist Photo

A friend of mine recently posted this photo with the caption "This is what happens when you ask a stranger to take your photo in front of the Statue of Liberty!" 

I couldn't help but crack up from it.  This is one of my pet peeves!  (That and the other one where they actually can't figure your phone camera out and just close the app instead of taking the pic.)  Why is it so difficult to get a stranger to take a decent photo?  It's hard enough just to get the stranger in the first place so when you realize they took a bad photo and want another, they are on the move and you need to start all over again!  Then you have to wait til they are out of sight so you don't offend them, and you come off as anal to the next do-gooder because you don't want to repeat the whole process again!  Oy, it's exhausting!  

Tourists, this is my solution - We live in a digital age.  This gives you the luxury of taking a bunch of photos and selecting the best.  Therefore, just take a bunch of different ones and ask yourself, would I like this photo for myself?  And keep in mind, chances are if you are in front of a landmark, you'd want to include that in the photo too.  Why is this such a hard skill for some?    

Sessed: Donni Charm

A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of working with a company called Donni Charm.  Alyssa, the creator of the company, is a great woman with a great team behind her.  

The story behind Donni Charm is worth mentioning.  Alyssa went through the tragedy of losing her father unexpectedly and created scarves with charms on them as a way to remember and honor him.  She started to expand in the past two years and for her Spring 2012 catalog and asked my place of work for some additional models and shooting space (see below for finished product).  

I can tell you first hand these products are super soft and super cool.  I wanted everything!  (There is a hamsa charm so you know I am into it.)  In addition to this new Spring line, Donni Charm has also teamed up with the Grateful Dead.  Yes, that Grateful Dead, to create a unique and kick-ass line of scarves.  

Go check them out and get some, a percentage of the sales goes to a selected charity each season.  So yea, it's not only just an amazing line of products but also has a philanthropic side.  Not hard to figure out without saying, who benefits from this season's sales.  

E-Sesh

Engagement photos are becoming a fun, popular and creative way to introduce yourself to the world as an engaged couple as well a way to get to know your photographer.  I was thinking of some creative places to do these shoots.  I love NYC, and can appreciate the Central Park shoots.  It's one of the most beautiful places in the world.  But it's time to start to think outside the box. especially if you don't live in New York and a plain old park or beach won't cut it.  Here's what I came up with.  

1. I recently went on a yacht. It got me thinking of a really fun New York Harbor story.  Champagne flutes, picnic at the foot of the boat, captain hats, fiance steering and the other navigating.  All with the Manhattan skyline in the background.  Hell, throw in a Titanic King Of The World pose while your at it!

2. The green market like in Union Square or food market like Chealsea Market or Grand Central.  Even take it a step further and actually cook the meal and take some photos in the kitchen.  Or skip the market and just do a cooking shoot.

3. FAO Schwarz fun shoot.  Playing on the piano, BIG style.  Posing with the Lego creations.  Peeking from behind giant stuffed animals.  Maybe heading over to the candy shop.

4. Yoga session.  Acroyoga is a really cool practice involving two or more people posing as one.  It's pretty cool but I think it could also be for a more yoga advanced couple.  Faces aren't always cute when posing in odd positions.

5.  I recently saw some really great shots of a couple at Fenway Park.  I think catching a couple at an event they love to go to, or going to a venue they love is a really neat concept - but could also be pricey.

Photographer - Check!

Things are coming along in the planning process.  Photographs were our main focus when it came to budgeting and ranking what we felt was the most important aspect.  After much search and thought, we met with our top three and...

The final decision: INKU
We are really excited to work with him!

NO!

A picture is worth a thousand words?!

All American Wedding

My Argentinian college roommate married a Smith from Cape Cod and they couldn't help but make fun of themselves at their All American Wedding.

Photo Break

Top Photo: Me in Israel

Remaining Three: Jetset Farryn 

Keep It Light

I am trying to stay positive in light of the negative things going on in our world.  There have been some powerful photos that only prove a picture is worth a thousand words.

and on March 23, 2011 a bomb went off in central Jerusalem killing one and injuring 31. 

New Blog

Maybe I'll just rename this blog Louboutin Love.
Marie Labbancz, photographing a brides shoes on her wedding day.

New York Freaking City

How beautiful is New York?  This is a pic from free movie night in Bryant Park via guestofaguest.

Sunset 6/27/10

Mayfield Heights, OH 

9:19PM

Bonnaroo 2010 Collage

It's been 5 years since I went to the festival but I love reliving the fun through the pics!

All photos from Bonnaroo.com

Egg Yolk Ravioli

I was looking at Cleveland Food Blogs today and came across this one in particular and can't seem to get the image out of my head! It was on Ruhlman.com (photo by Donna Ruhlman) and if you are interested in the egg yolk ravioli:

"Summer is flying by too quickly and I’ve been buried in all the good things–work and family and friends and food. Ma was here and I showed her the Iron Chef show with Symon v. Bloomfield and she was so enamoured of Symon’s idea of putting a yolk inside pasta, I made some for her (above, on a bed of sheep’s milk ricotta I got from Paul Minnillo at Baricelli Inn, seasoned with citrus and espelette), served with a simple brown butter sauce. Sooo. Good . Yolk spills out into the butter. Then off to NYC to judge an Iron Chef competition, then back home on the 4th for Old Chicago’s on the grill at my Dad’s and fireworks viewed from the first fairway of a local course, then Pardus, my chef was here, for reasons I won’t reveal now, but we cooked a meal that is worth a blog post on it’s own. His visit of course required a two day restoration of the body and soul before work began again. Yesterday I was with Symon as he was making some of his own egg-yolk-only pasta dough and he said something interesting that I’d never thought about. He made it very dry and scarcely kneaded it. I believe in kneading for at least ten minutes till it’s satiny smooth, but Symon believes that the key to great texture is in not creating too much of a gluten network (which happens by kneading) so he treated it practically like a pie dough. It makes sense. I don’t know if I’m willing to give up that satiny pasta dough, but it’s an interesting idea, and his ravioli were very tender. Is this a common thing? Not kneading? [I've since tested this and find that the all-yolk pasta does not need the kneading, whereas pasta dough with whole egg does require thorough kneading, which is part of the fun!]

For those of you wanting to try an egg yolk ravioli, they’re very easy. Marcella Hazan recommends a cup of flour and two eggs to make a pasta dough, mixed and kneaded till it’s satiny, about ten minutes. And of course there’s a Ratio for it! Three parts flour, 2 parts egg by weight; if you have the Ratio iPhone app, weigh your eggs, plug the weight into the ratio calculator to calculate the exact weight of flour you need, add it right on top of the eggs! (I love the Ratio app!) While it’s resting in plastic wrap in the fridge, mix into a cup of ricotta, citrus zest (any kind you like, lemon and orange are great, maybe a little juice), black pepper, espelette if you have it, some chives or minced shallot if you have it, kosher salt (and taste it for to make sure it’s delicious). Make a pillow on the pasta for the yolk, put a little cheese on top to protect the yolk, and fold the pasta over it, using water or egg wash to seal the pasta. Boil gently for a few minutes and serve with a brown butter and some julienned parsley. The yellow ooze is worth the effort."

Kristy Mitchell

via RocknRollBride, I found this photographer. A different way to look at flowers.


More here.

Life Of A Blogging Model's Agent

My friend works over at NEXT Model Management and posted some candids from the recent fashion shows. Just thought I'd share.

(Photo's by Maddy Root.)

Intuition

Not gunna lie, I have a gift. For some reason I can usually pick up on trends and people that will last and or make a larger impression on people.

For example, one time I worked with this photographer at an event. Afterwards, we walked home in a rainstorm, parted ways after a laugh, and I. Was. Infatuated. I will admit, I may have stalked him a bit after but it faded fast. I do still try to keep up with him though because I realized it wasn't so much a crush on a guy, but I just had a feeling he was special.

When I became facebook friends with him, he had this photo album called Thug Life and its just his family hanging out pretending to be thuggish. It was one of the funniest things I had seen, because I just imagined my family sitting around doing stupid things like this (not that we did, it would just be funny if we did.) I thought I posted this in my blog a while ago but I cant find it:


Anywho, after my little crush died down, a couple months later he was in the news. He was doing a photo project and getting himself and his models arrested all over town for them dropping trou in public places like the subway and the MET. I was so proud of my little artist friend.

Now, after just seeing him in a split second screen shot in that atrocious reality show, High Society, according to guestofaguest.com, he will be the newest cast member on MTV's The City. Yet another step into the spotlight. Man can I spot em!

For those interested, Zach's photography page is zhfoto.com