The lady Athena is more than 6 months old now. We had the good fortune of having 55 degree weather both today and yesterday and we took full advantage. Yesterday we visited the Stodder’s Neck dog park (on the line of Hingham and Weymouth), and today we visited Larz Anderson dog park (on the line of Boston and Brookline). Athena is rather tuckered out I think. We are so excited for spring to come so we can do more outdoor activities with her. I can’t wait for our first trip to the beach.
I have had the incredible good fortune to fall in with the Oggi Family. They are a hyper-talented group of wedding photographers associated with the Bristol Workshops in Rhode Island. I met Julie at an open house and we instantly hit it off. I am over the moon about shooting for Oggi this summer. Today we set up a table and met with Newport brides at the OceanCliff estate’s tasting event. It was a simply splendid day full with lots of gorgeous brides and brilliant winter sunlight on the ocean. We were invited there by the wonderful staff at OceanCliff along with event planners, florists, and confectioners. Here are a few photos from today. More on my other camera to come!
I realized yesterday that I have not made a single post about the new addition to our family. Meet the lady Athena. She is 6 months old now and has been with us since November 11. She has successfully weaseled her way into our hearts, snuggling her furry self into our family.
Little Alexandra P is 12 weeks old now! I took some holiday photos of her and of course she looks adorable. It’s hard not to smile when you look at these photos.
Alexandra is almost 7 weeks old now! Here are some photos of her from a few days ago. She changes every day and gets more beautiful by the minute.
The delightful Trouern-Trend family asked me to take some outdoor photos to use for their Christmas card. I joined them in stunning Newport, RI by Brenton Point Park and we did some shots as fast as we could because chilly autumn weather starts to creep into little bodies faster than bigger bodies. Afterwards we warmed up with some soup and cocoa and that’s when all the smiles came out. 
I know that it has snowed in October, but honestly, this is the earliest I have ever seen winter arrive. Last week (still technically “early October”) we had to turn the heat on in our apartment because it was 45 degrees outside. Then it continued to be a high of 45, 50-ish for the rest of the week. The leaves on the tree outside my window are still GREEN. I feel like I’ve been robbed of my first autumn back in New England. Heavy sigh for global climate change. While a blustery Nor’easter brought cold, wet misery to all of the northeast today I was snug as a bug inside all day. I made a delightful dish of braised butternut squash with saffron, garlic and chopped almonds on top of a blend of different grains. I have also had 2 mugs of hot apple cider, a baked apple and I’m going to finish off the evening with a microwaved s’more!
This little dumpling was a guest at Kimberly’s Baby Shower. Just about every woman there was a nurse from the hospital where Kimberly works and there must be something in the water because FIVE of them were there with infants! Here are a few other pics from the happy hot day in Scottsdale, AZ.
Meet precious Alexandra Marie. She is the sweetest peanut the world has ever seen. This was her first official photo shoot. I think she’s going to be a super model and take over the world.
Yesterday, without intending to, I came home with a bag full of new bath products. As I laid out my goodies on my desk I thought (with some buyers guilt) “Why am I such a sucker for product?”. This thought broadened into - why are women such suckers for beauty products? I obsess over which products to buy. I read the ingredients, read the advertising copy and all sorts of online reviews with an insatiable appetite. When I first discovered the product reviews on drugstore.com I would spend hours and hours pouring over them, trying to validate which reviews were written by people with a worth while opinion.
I do not think that all women are like me (including a chunk of change for “personal care products” in a monthly budget). In fact, of my two bestest girlfriends one of them doesn’t own any face wash or lotion (I think there might be some body lotion somewhere in her house) and the other buys whatever is on sale at Ocean State Job Lot (although she is a sucker, like me, for promos at Origins). But, that doesn’t negate the fact that beauty products for women is a multi-billion dollar a year industry. Go into a drugstore and you are assaulted with a hundred brands, then go to Whole Foods and you get a hundred more, then finally, make your way into a department store and your brain has now officially overloaded. It’s probably best to not even mention the mecca know as Sephora. And what do they all promise? In short - a better you. The reason I do not have a problem with this is that I do feel like a better me when I use these products. When my skin is glowing and my hair is bouncy I actually feel better; and when I feel better then I also look better.
My husband often likes to point out (with a resigned sigh of affection) that I am very susceptible to advertising. To be fair, though I am really only influenced by things that I already want anyway; namely beauty products, sugary treats, and hand bags. I do not see an ad for cigarettes and think - “yes, I will be like that menthol girl in the ad!” Which brings me back to my recent splurge at Lush. The place is warm, fizzy, bright colored heaven. It smells divine and everything in there promises to take rough, dirty you and spin out a softer, cleaner you that positively sparkles with magic. Bath bombs, yummy soaps and quirky product names entice the shopper from every angle. And free gift with purchase!? Yes, please. Of course after my sudsy warm bath last night, all my buyers guilt melted away with my new body butter and delicious smelling face mask.
Happy bathing.
