Weekly Wonders

I have been eating a lot of cantaloupe lately.

I went strawberry picking at the most beautiful farm in Charlottesville, VA. (Chiles Peach Farm)

The oddly shaped strawberries are the best!

"Off with their heads!" :) De-stemming some strawberries.

A fun card and the most delicious wrapping paper that I found for a 7-year old's birthday.

Late afternoon puppy kisses.

Weekly Wonders

An old lime slowly drying out on my dad's window sill.

Thrift store trip for the win! I found real maternity clothes and JCrew pieces. All of it for $18!

Fun flowers in my step-mom's garden.

Blueberries and yogurt afternoon snack.

My friends' picturesque wedding venue in Charlottesville, VA. (Mount Ida Farm)

Friends gathered at a wedding.

Wedding champagne with a fizzing blackberry in it.

Weekly Wonders

My whisk after making a chocolate cake.

I am staying at my Dad's house this week and a common sight is open windows and stained glass. It is always one of the most relaxing places to be.

Chia seed kombucha. I love this stuff, it has such an interesting texture. I can never get through a whole bottle in one sitting though.

There is a new doughnut place near my dad's house so of course I had to check them out. You get to pick your doughnut base, then the icing, and then a topping. What fun!

Over the weekend Andy and I went canoeing and camping with some friends. We have to fit in all of these activities before the baby comes because life with a newborn won't be so flexible.

I made a flourless chocolate cake with a dark chocolate ganache topped with raspberries for my brothers birthday.

We are headed to a black-tie wedding this weekend!

Weekly Wonders

The late afternoon light that shines into my kitchen is heavenly! Here, my asparagus with parmesean is awaiting the oven.

 Working on my baby-bump. Some days it is overwhelmingly large, other days it seems barely there. I've got 6-month bump issues...

 Sunny Slope Farm. Enjoyed a food truck festival here. The day was lovely, but the lines for food were way too long.

 More afternoon light. These are flowers that Andy had delivered for me while he was on a work trip. That man o'mine knows how to make a pregnant lady happy!

Remnants of a teal color themed party for our friend with ovarian cancer. Teal is the support color for ovarian cancer, like pink is for breast cancer.

Art Inspiration: "Waiting"

"Waiting" is a photography series of sleeping pregnant couples done by Jana Romanova. Jana is a Russian photographer who decided to photograph sleeping pregnant couples after most of her friends started to have babies. Over two years she found 40 urban Russian couples to participate in her series. She would either sleep at the couples apartment, or enter the home early in the morning to take the pictures. To get the top down perspective Jana used a ladder. Jana was surprised that the couples each had their own positions of sleeping and that no two were alike. She was also surprised that the bedsheets were all different. How interesting! More here.

Art Inspiration: iphone Photography Awards

Have you heard of the IPPA's? I had no idea this has been happening for the last few years until someone recently sent me a link to this years awards. But seriously, how cool! I have not yet joined the iphone worshiping clan of people, but the day that I do I will surely have to enter this contest. It just amazes me what cool things we can do with our phones now. I only just converted to a smart phone a year ago and since then I have been using it for everything! The camera on my smart phone is simple with much to be desired, but hey it works. I think the day that my phone starts taking great pictures is the day that I no longer carry my large DSLR in my purse. (Seriously, that thing is heavy!) Anyway, enjoy these cool iphone photos and check out the contest website for even more.

Art Inspiration: Ballet in Random Places

I recently stumbled upon this photo series done by Jordan Matter. Ballet dancers always amaze me with their grace and flexibility, so this photo series was really fun to look at. I can always appreciate something out of the normal...especially a ballet dancer. So cool!

Art Inspiration: A Beautiful Body

A Beautiful Body by Jade Beall is a project being done to help reshape the way women's bodies are viewed. Beall got started by taking a self-portrait of her postpartum body and posting it to facebook. When she got an overwhelming positive response from other women, she realized she was on to something. Women starting writing to her asking her to photograph their semi nude postpartum bodies, and the project was born. Beall does all of her photoshoots for free. She has photographed over 50 women who will appear in a photo book that will be funded through Kickstarter. Read more about the project on Beall's website.