{Shoe Fetish}

Am I allowed to lust after kid shoes? Is it sick that my daughter has an incredible collection of Livie and Luca's when my own feet (a size larger after my two pregnancies) don't even have a pair of sensible pumps to call their own?

{My Muse}

I love the fog. It makes everything feel so mysterious. So while waiting for carpool pickup, I forced my toddler—dressed in her new 4T pants, which are way too big—to stand in the middle of our dirt road for a photo. I was going for something enigmatic. But my toddler, my muse, the main victim (focus?) of my photos, has recently decided that she gets to call the shots in front of the camera. This is her pose. I love it. What do you think?

{Sad Faces}

An amazing portrait photographer, Dmitri Kasterine (his portraits show up at places like the Smithsonian, but you can see his work on his active blog), plays an awful lot of tennis at the courts behind my house. This means he has the privilege of watching me walk my girls home at the end of the day, when at least one of them is screeching or emitting some equally loud noise. We wave, we smile. And sometimes we chat. I told him about my blog and when he checked it out he made one of those compliments that feels a little like an insult: "People like to look good and you do that." So I thought he might appreciate this photo of my fevered, crying toddler. And one of my favorites, of my grandmother. There was something both haunting and beautiful about seeing my nona, in the last months of her life, meeting my baby, who was just beginning hers.

{The Postcards Are Here!}

The talented Elissa Josse, package designer/invitation maker/awesome mommy/generous friend created these lovely promo cards for me. Aren't they the cutest?

{Peach Season}

In honor of peach season—and a trip to Lawrence Farms with a few of my favorite photo subjects—I give you this recipe from Cat Cora. Try it when you’re sick of peach pie, peach smoothies, and peach cobbler. (PS, this works well with plums too.)

Grilled Zinfandel Peaches with Kasseri Cheese

8 ripe firm, but not overly soft, halved peaches or plums
1 ½ cups of Zinfandel wine
2 teaspoons of brown sugar
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, for brushing and drizzling
1 ½ teaspoons Kosher salt
2/3 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 - 4 ounces Kasseri cheese, thinly shaved

1. Turn on grill to high heat. In a small, heavy bottom sauce pot, pour in the Zinfandel and brown sugar and stir in well. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to medium and simmer the wine slowly until reduced to a glaze, about 20 to 25 minutes.

2. Brush the peach halves with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place on a hot grill, 1 minute on each side, to lightly mark the fruit. When warm, pull from the grill and place on a warm plate. Brush the peaches with the glaze and place on a serving plate. Lay the pieces of cheese over the peaches. Lightly drizzle the some of the remaining glaze over the fruit and cheese. Serve immediately.

And here, another reason to enjoy Lawrence Farms.

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{Eowyn, all grown up}

It's only been three months since I took newborn photos of Eowyn, and as I discovered yesterday, she doesn't care about little things like "growth charts." Seriously, this kid is as big as my one year old. Well, my tiny little fifth percentile one year old, but still. She's a beautiful, giant three month old now and it's amazing to see how much she's changed in such a short time. These are a couple of favorites from the sessions. The first is a face she likes to make. Often. And I just love how happy her mama looks in the second. It's hard to look that happy when you're sleep deprived!

{Pause for a Wedding}

I have a lot of new sessions to upload, but I've been busy traveling.

With. Out. My. Kids.

Oh yeah. My husband and I spent a glorious few days in Vancouver to attend a college friend's wedding. He found himself an amazing Canadian and the wedding was full of genuine love and meaning and wildly fast Jewish dancing. (My calves were groaning in pain for a week after.) The groom wrote a song for the bride. I seethed with jealousy. Good times. Vancouver itself was beautiful, with its fresh blueberries and heirloom tomatoes and sweet cherries. And that was just Granville Island. I'll post some gorgeous food shots once I unpack...

{I Heart Brooklyn}

I was in Brooklyn recently visiting with my good friend Elissa. She's an amazing graphic designer and promised to design promo cards for me in exchange for photographing her kids. Easy, right? Well her 3 year old is one of the hardest kids I've ever photographed. He hates the camera and doesn't stay still for even a nanosecond. But he does love ice cream. (The new-to-me Blue Marble in Prospect Heights is delish.) And he loves fountains. And running. And his parents. So I had some great moments to work with. He and my 3 year old twerp had their first sleepover, which went brilliantly. (They were so tired from the ice cream and fountains and running that they passed out cold and didn't move until morning.) And our two little ones pawed at each other and cooed. It was a fantastic weekend. Can't wait to do it all over again!

And this is one of my favorite photos, it shows the juggling and monkeying it takes to parent two kiddos!