today's best fit: The Present Company Project

I wanted to stop fitting people into my world, but rather see them as they are. I thought if I could connect with others on this level it might make me a better artist, and more so, a better person. 

-  Amber Mahoney

I can't say enough about Amber Mahoney as a photographer and artist... 

and I think The Present Company Project speaks for itself. 

I love how it started and the inspiration it brings. 

Real people. Simply and uniquely beautiful. 

photograph by Amber Mahoney for The Present Company Project

The Loveliest Day

“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, 

while loving someone deeply gives you courage.”
― Lao Tzu

 These pictures are making me smile today. 

Our photo session with Amber of Live It Out Photography 

is featured on The Loveliest Day and I wanted to share!

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The other thing bringing me great joy today

is the realization that finding peace and letting stress wash away - 

with current struggles fighting to cloud the day -

is simply an act of trust and faith.

Even when Mr. D has a lot weighing on his mind,
he takes such good care of our little family
and never stops making me smile and laugh....
something about my husband that I am so grateful for.

as we are.

"We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are."
— Anaïs Nin

Amber just posted the photographs from our shoot onto Live It Out Photography.

I am so in love with them.

Thank you, Amber! 

inflatable lungs and the blue ridge

"I felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery—

air, mountains, trees, people. 

I thought, "This is what it is to be happy."
— Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar 

 And that is why they call them the Blue Ridge Mountains.

-------------

Just down the road from my parent's house in Virginia horse country, 

Barrel Oak Winery sits nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge.

Flooded with people and their dogs, horses grazing on the hill above, 

a live band and more fresh air than my lungs know what to do with, 

we took in the scenery as every part of my flesh and spirit 

felt incredibly content simply to be.

I am convinced that stress cannot touch you there.

And as the gray clouds broke open above, we rushed to 

help the painter load his artwork into his car.

And as the band grew louder, 

the sound of the rain hitting the stretched canvas and 

the grass below began a collaborative crescendo.

 And my chest felt so full that I could hardly 

breathe with that joy that comes from feeling so alive. Happy.

-----------

We are back in the city now, but a part of me

can still feel the raindrops moistening my skin 

in the foothills of the Blue Ridge.

 

"When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs...." - Ansel Adams

"There we did begin, Cloisterd in the waterfall, 

Our summer discipline."
— Bashō

 

Everything paused for a moment when I first saw this photograph.

As if in answer to what I'd been writing and a summation of my thoughts...

there is so much about it that I love.

 And of the man by whom I am sitting...

an indescribable joy that I am the one who gets to travel all the days alongside him.

And Amber, 

so thankful that we met.

You inspire me and our walls, no matter where we call home, will forever show it.

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Photograph by Amber of Live It Out Photography.

There is a sneak peek from our shoot on her blog! 

today's best fit: england wedding

"It's not what a movie is about, it's how it is about it."
— Roger Ebert

nick+maria • england wedding from Paperback Weddings on Vimeo.

Some days the need I feel to type is aloof in photographs or in

images flowing so beautifully across a screen

that my mind is quite content to let my fingers fall still

and simply breathe it all in.

This wedding video is truly unique and wonderful

and I am left feeling so thankful 

to be married to Mr. D.

That is all today

and so much.

video first spotted here.

photography and food.

"Taking pictures is savoring life intensely, every hundredth of a second."
— Marc Riboud

 Last night, Amber sent me a couple of pictures from a shoot we did in May after our celebration

and I can't stop staring at them.

I have been dying to see these pictures and I cannot tell you how much I love them! 

It was the second time we were lucky enough to work with Amber and Jon

and I can't wait to share the result! 

I want to cover our walls with her work.

-------------

Also last night [in between staring at the pictures on my phone]

I made omelets for dinner with our new omelet pan. 

We are so blessed and thankful for all that we were given as wedding gifts - 

every time I use our set of all-clad pots and pans I can't believe we have them. 

And for dessert I made warm chocolate melting cake 

from a recipe we got on our honeymoon. We had it almost every night

and it is sooo good.

First photograph by the amazing Amber of Live It Out Photography

light without windows

"Happiness is the settling of the soul into its most appropriate spot."
— Aristotle

 This is the view out my kitchen window. 

A place where I often feel the happiest - those few hours after work before Mr.D gets home

when I cook and dance around our tree house - listening to French music - all of my senses swirling.

Cooking directs my mind in a way little else can. It is becoming just as much an escape for me 

as reading or writing can be...and often its end result is much more gratifying...

at least to my taste-buds.

And after spending the day in my windowless box, 

I feel quite at ease in my window-filled kitchen....

But today, my day job just got a little brighter...I've been promoted indeed!

----------------------------

Its not just windows that make the world brighter...

its confidence in the form of a surprise promotion, 

a surgery that went well and a dad who is already up and walking again (!),

its a husband who makes my life feel blissful beyond belief

and a higher power who once again makes me feel nothing but thankful

He never fails to take care of us...even in the tiny details.

when words become unclear...

"When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. 

When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence." 
— Ansel Adams

On a whim, we decided to go to the National Gallery of Art

and within 5 minutes of driving, we were downtown and parked literally right in front of the Gallery.

As we meandered through the wooded walls and grand halls

I couldn't stop thinking how lucky we are to live where we do - 

and as we stared at the Capitoline Venus

(on loan to the United States for the first time)

I suddenly wanted to spend hours learning from and being inspired by

all of the great minds and artists whose work is literally moments from our doorstep.

Afterward, 

we walked a couple of blocks to meet up with some of our favorite DC friends 

and eventually we all ended up at Good Stuff Eatery where the peaches n'cream

milkshake swept my heart away. 

There are so many places to go when words become unclear...

this summer, I plan to make the most of being right here.

scenes from the first of spring

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you simply, without problems or pride: I love you in this way because I do not know any other way of loving but this, in which there is no I or you, so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand, so intimate that when I fall asleep your eyes close.

— Pablo Neruda

We had so much fun on this shoot with Amber and Jon of Live It Out Photography. 

Cory - my very favorite hairdresser in the area - pulled my hair up into a vintage style-do

and we drove around the Virginia countryside in my great-grandmother's green Ford.

Be sure to go here and here for more!

Amazing work Amber!!!

through a lens

"Art is not what you see, but what you make others see."
— Edgar Degas

 Mr. D and I had the honor of being photographed by Amber and Jon of Live It Out Photography

a little while ago and we have since become friends with the talented pair. 

We did another shoot with them a few weeks back 

and can't wait to see how the all photographs turned out. 

But in the mean time...

you can see shots from our first shoot. 

I'll post the link tomorrow!

Photography by Amber taken with her holga

[month] six.

Our union is like this: You feel cold, so I reach for a blanket to cover our shivering feet.
A hunger comes into your body, so I run to my garden and start digging potatoes.
You asked for a few words of comfort and guidance,

and I quickly kneel by your side offering you a whole book as a gift.
You ache with loneliness one night so much you weep, 

and I say here is a rope, tie it around me, I will be your companion for life.

- Hafiz, Our Union 

 I can't believe we have been married for almost half a year already. 

It has been the best and happiest five months of my life to date

and I am more excited than ever before for all that lies ahead. 

We have been facing a few trials as of late, but we have only grown closer together - 

and our home has become all the more full of love and a place of harmonious refuge.

 So much so, that I can honestly say that I have never been happier 

or more thankful for Mr. D and our marriage.

Thankful for every struggle that makes us stronger.

And that Mr. D comes home...even after a long day, 

and we talk and day-dream, laugh and count every single blessing we have. 

Six months ago I was given the most stunning gift 

and married the funniest, kindest and most handsome man I know...

he makes me feel beautiful and smart 

and most of all inspired.

I still get just as excited to see him at the end of every day as I used to

after months of being apart long distance. 

first photograph by Carin Davis

a time to celebrate

"We should consider every day lost 

on which we have not danced at least once."
— Friedrich Nietzsche

 A tiny sneak peak from the photo shoot in April with Amber and Jon of Live it Out Photography.

It was really so much fun to work with them - their creative energy is seamless and dreamy.

I can't wait to see/share all the pictures! 

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Today is my last full day at work as we get ready to celebrate this weekend!

I can't believe how blessed Mr. D and I are - so many people are flying in and its been 

better than Christmas at our house with such amazing gifts appearing on our doorstep.

We are seriously so thankful and overwhelmed with all the kindness shown from friends and family.

I really can't wait to be with everyone and dance.  
A lot of dancing.

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Photograph by live it out photography

a captured weekend with new friends.

"We meet no ordinary people in our lives."
— C.S. Lewis

 Yesterday. 

A drive to the country with brilliant new friends.

Friends with phenomenal camera skills who we were lucky enough to spend the afternoon with.

My great-grandmother's 1950s ford. 

My mom's art studio in an old train station.

A rust chair in the middle of a field.

And an old rock barn.

I can NOT wait to see how it all turned out. 

But mostly I'm thankful for found friends in the District.

My hair was up for most of the day...and this is what it looked like when I finally took it down..

yikes!

today's best fit: Jay-z, of course

"A poet's mission is to make words do more work 

than they normally do, 

to make them work on more than one level."
— Jay-Z, Decoded 

 Jay-Z has launched a new website compiling everything that is currently

inspiring him. And inspiration is definitely what it reveals. 

Mr. D put his new book, Decoded, on my kindle while we were in Cabo - 

and I have to admit that I've switched over to it a time or two 

(I'm currently reading 5 books, you see)

and I'm quite enjoying it.

today's best fit: my new favorite food blog!

"There is no love sincerer than the love of food."
— George Bernard Shaw

Just ask husband, if I am not currently snacking or eating then I am thinking about what I will eat next

sometimes even thinking about my next meal while eating the current one -
so food blogs are right up my alley...

This is my new favorite food blog. 

The photography is beautiful and I love the focus on

the connection between food and wellness. 

Foodie Therapy is simply beautiful and Caleigh is drop dead gorgeous herself.

[Caleigh is from Virginia and we went to high school together -

she is now living a beautiful life in France and currently a baker at Marlette Gourmet]

 

Check out all of the beautiful photography and recipes on Foodie Therapy!

my inspiration; or Love Like a Sunset, Pt. II

"After silence, that which comes nearest 

to expressing the inexpressible is music."
— Aldous Huxley (Music at Night and Other Essays) 

 This morning I got ready with Phoenix [and Wolfgang Amadeus, for that matter]

jamming out right in our kitchen, bouncing off our turquoise wall and

and around the poster of Harold and Maude.

And this is one of the many things I love about my roommate. 

I have an in-house photographer and DJ encouraging me every day.

I have never felt more inspired or energetic about life 

than I do now

and that is in large part due to Mr.D.

He has me writing non-stop and singing in the shower,

seeing things at different angles

and not covering my face in front of the lens.

He is the only person who has the ability to make me feel 

simultaneously safe and grounded while my arms are outstretched,

soaring above tree-lines and through clouds.

[I love him so much and would not change a thing.]

today's best fit

adopt rinah from VsTheBrain on Vimeo.

Adoption has always inspired me.

What greater gift is there than to take in and care for another life

and love them unconditionally as your own flesh and blood.

This couple is really amazing.

to pursue beauty to its lair

"To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and the vulgar disparity of life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple. To respect strength, never power. Above all, to watch. To try and understand. To never look away. And never, never, to forget."

— Arundhati Roy   

      I had a hard day at work yesterday, 

but the sunrise this morning truly brought forth joy and light. 

It is so easy for me to let my own shortcomings and areas of weakness 

cast gray clouds over hope. 

 I love writing, but I am not a very good communicator when it doesn't involve pen and paper.

I dont easily let my guard down and I'm often quiet around people I'm not very familiar with.

These are not strengths. Especially when I truly do have a great love and admiration for people.

The art of forgetting oneself. 

No matter your surroundings. 

Because in order to truly pursue beauty and care for others

I have to get out of the way.

photo from flickr.

snow days; or the cure for writers block

"It is good to love many things, for therein lies strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done with love is well done."

— Vincent van Gogh

"You must write every single day of your life... You must lurk in libraries and climb the stacks like ladders to sniff books like perfumes and wear books like hats upon your crazy heads... may you be in love every day for the next 20,000 days. And out of that love, remake a world."

— Ray Bradbury

 I had a really hard time writing yesterday.

Words bounced off walls only to give up and fly in a whole other direction

instead of finding a way around, or through - and the walls were everywhere.

 

Its a snow day for a lot of schools in the area.

The sound of children laughing is echoing through the walls at work

and ever so often small exasperated feet come racing down the hall 

followed by shrieks of delight.

 I cant help but feel their carefree joy run through me.

photo found here.