Sicily

January 31


Just a few travel tips:
* You’ll want to rent a car.  Sicily is big and public transportation isn’t as good as the mainland.
* Make sure to stop in Syracusa. It’s a gorgeous old seaside town with crumbling but beautiful baroque buildings and countless little alleyways to explore. If you like fish you must, must eat at:
Apollonion Osteria da Carlo.  This is the type of restaurant you always think you’ll find when you travel but usually don’t.  It’s down a quiet alley, away from the tourist zone.  There’s no set menu but 35 Euros you’ll get 6 delicious and innovative courses plus a bottle of wine.  Go, eat, there!  Hotel Algila in Syracuse is set in an old renovated mansion.  Canopy beds, wrought iron balconies.  sigh. Get a sea facing room.   The service is fantastic.
* Don’t miss the resort town of Taoromina (pictures 9-12).   Yes, it’s a bit touristy but there’s a reason for that!  This is where Dolce and Gabbana vacation.  Most of the tourists are Italians from the mainland.   It’s seriously gorgeous.  If you want a lounge chair at one of the little beach clubs make sure to reserve at least a day in advance.  Italians don’t like to come to the beach early so they reserve spots the night before.  At twilight take the cable car up to the village on top of the cliff.  Lots of great restaurants and fun people watching. Hotel Panoramic has a rooftop pool and great views over the ocean.
* In Palermo don’t miss the Capuchin crypts.  Creepy but fascinating.
* Try to pack what you need in carry-on. My luggage was lost and it took days to retrieve it.  I had to hit the Italian version of Walmart for a few quick, cheap but not very stylish basics.  Ironically the last time my luggage was lost (and never found) was on a trip through Italy.  If I ever have to board an Alitalia flight again I will find a way to wear 15 outfits at once…just in case.

Geomyra Lewis – Event Planner

January 24

I was super excited when Geomyra Lewis asked me to take some headshots in the Oatlands gardens.  How can you not love photographing someone with a 1000 watt smile?!   She’s also a fabulous event planner so head over to her website for more information and samples of her work.

A winter sunset at the grand canyon

January 19

We had spent hours in the car and I wanted to catch the sunset.  We got there just in time but it was overcast.  Big storm clouds that were about to dump a foot of snow the next day were rolling in.  It was cold, and blustery.  Everyone else left, we waited awhile.  Just before the sun set below the horizon it peaked out from a cloud, and lit up this tree.  I like this picture better even than if I had seen the typical canyon sunset.   Besides how often to you have the grand canyon all to yourselves?

The Woods girls in the desert

January 17

 

Kristen and Ryan – an October snow wedding

January 3

As a treat for the New Year I have some really fun wedding photos to share.  Kristen and Ryan certainly couldn’t have expected it to snow for their October wedding at Hillsborough vineyards.  It hasn’t snowed in October in Northern Virginia since before the civil war. When the flakes started coming fast and furious though, Kristen and Ryan took it in stride. Kristen’s aunt was dispatched to Target for boots, shawls, and umbrellas.  Pink wellies might not have been the wedding shoes she planned but they’re undeniably adorable anyway!!

Kristen and Ryan were totally freezing in these pictures.  We all were.   A behind the scene video would have been hilarious.  I was really cold but trying not to think about it and working as fast as I could because poor Kristen had just a strapless lace dress under her coat.  I love how the pictures came out though.   It’s obvious how much fun they’re having together.

The weather outside might have been frightful but the party inside was quite delightful.– sorry couldn’t help myself!

This gang from New Orleans really knew how to let loose.  Laissez les bon temps rouler!

Photographer: Jennifer Chase
Second Shooter: Graeme Jennings
Venue: 
Hillsborough Vineyards
Catering and Cake: Karen Harper-Fuog
DJ: Ian Lade
Florist: Holly Heider Chapple flowers
Hair and Make-up: Carlos Day Spa
Invitations: The Dandelion Patch 


The great family christmas cookie decorating contest – year one

December 28

Now that we’ve started hosting Christmas at our house at least some years I wanted to continue some of our family traditions and also create some new ones.  I always loved having breakfast in the morning and then opening our presents but the time after the presents always seemed a little anti-climatic.  So this year we decided to do a Christmas day cookie decorating contest.  The rules were pretty simple.  1.  All the cookies had to be decorated on Christmas Day (no fair doing them another day.  2. The cookie and everything on it had to be completely edible.  3. No pre-decorated wafer papers. and 4. Any supplies you brought (sprinkles, colors, etc.) had to be shared.

We had two rounds, one amongst everyone at our house with my neighbor coming in to judge and a second one with my aunt’s family and ours emailing photos to my food blogger friends to judge.

I collected ideas for weeks and even had Jonathan scouring the Prague Christmas markets for a castle or a Czech village cookie cutter set to no avail.  He didn’t find any and my nephew Lee beat me anyway with this simple but beautiful snow globe cookie (below right).   I should have known I was in for it going up against a talented artist!  My red mitten (below left) did get second on round two. yeah!

We used this sugar cookie recipe from The Kitchn and they turned out just right.  For the  icing we used the recipe from the back of the Wilton merigue powder box -just meringue powder, confectioners sugar and water.  The Kitchn has a good tutorial on working with royal icing.  Pioneer woman and Green Figs and Ham have great cookie decorating tips also.

I had big ideas and ordered this set of Matryoshka cookie cutters but unfortunately I think mine look a bit more like deformed snow men (below right).  Definitely going to master this by next year!  My mother was all about the colored sprinkles and I think they look out great on her candy cane (below left).

Third prize went to my nephew Don with his perfect little christmas tree below.  The trunk is made out of melted chocolate.  Don also earned a team spirit award for making the cookie dough and icing.



We really loved doing this and I think it was my favorite part of the day. It was our first year and we learned some lessons for next year.
1.  We had the cookie dough ready but we should have baked the cookies a day or two earlier.  Christmas is busy and it would have given us more time before we had to cook dinner.
2.  Simple is good.  Despite having never actually decorated cookies before I was surprised that mine weren’t turning out like the ones I saw in the bakery.  When you’re not very experienced the simpler ones usually come out better.
3.  The pastry bags worked a lot better for us than the squirt bottles.  You have a lot more control and they’re easier to fill.  The disposable bags are great and they’ll be less clean up.
4.  You’ll need more icing than you think you will.  Everyone wants different colors and their own bags, etc.  If you run out of confectioners sugar on Christmas day the grocery stores are closed and you can’t buy more.  Unfortunately putting regular sugar in the food processor, as we tried to do, doesn’t really work.
5.  Have real prizes they don’t have to be big but they have to be something people might want.  It makes it more competitive and more fun.
6. Try rolling out the dough between a sheet of wax paper and a sheet of parchment.  The wax paper comes up easier and you can leave the cut cookies on the bottom parchment paper to be baked.
7. Have a bunch of toothpicks on hand, they would have come in handy for mixing and applying tiny bits of icing.
8. Get your supplies early.  Michael’s is a scary place 3 days before Christmas.  The shelves are almost empty and you won’t be able to find what you need.

We can’t wait to do this again next year.  In the meantime, watch out family I’ll be plotting and planning all year!

Jennifer

Not quite Currier and Ives but a merry christmas 2011!

December 28

It’s been a busy end of the year wrapping up my work from last season and getting ready for the two new additions to our family early next year.  I have a fun snow wedding to show you and some beautiful portraits but first, a little christmas post.
I was inspired by a friend’s blog post about a trip to the christmas tree farm with her husband and toddler.  It sounded like something out of a Currier and Ives card with the whole family bonding and singing christmas carols and her daughter running gleefuly from tree to tree picking out the best one.

I think you can see where this might be going.  My daughter who is usually a very happy baby, threw a fit the minute we got out to the farm and carried on pretty much the entire time.  Somehow, not sure how, but with all that distraction and in a rush, Jonathan and I managed to pick the prickliest tree on the farm, which the guy working at the farm so helpfully pointed out after we had already cut it down.  With Jonathan dragging that prickly tree and me trying to carry our screaming daughter back to the car, it was all a bit more griswald christmas then currier and ives.  As Jonathan said on the ride home, maybe next year we should just buy one at the parking lot up the street.

Jonathan was off to Prague after that, so it was up to Giselle and I to decorate.  Considering it was our first Christmas tree chez nous, and I had to wear thick ski gloves the entire time, and of course I was 7 months pregnant with twins and can’t bend all that well, I’m super happy with the result!!  I love my little tree now and I may just keep it until February!

This photo taken of my mother and Giselle playing on Christmas morning just  makes my heart smile.  It completely makes up for the tree farm day.   Sometimes the fun is all in the little moments like this.

Just love Giselle’s red flannel Lanz of Salzburg pyjamas.  We had Lanz pyjamas like this when we were kids as did my mother and her sisters.

Giselle trying out her new radio flyer push trike.  Definitely her new favorite toy.


I hope all of you had a very merry christmas and if it wasn’t quite Currier and Ives, at least it was full of laughter, fun and lots of love.
Tomorrow, I’ll post the results of our great christmas cookie decorating contest!

Jennifer

My paper goods have arrived!

December 8

Oh my, I received a little package from the Making Brands Happen team, a bit early for Christmas.  Inside were gold deckle business cards,  cd covers, paper with hand torn edges, notecards letterpressed in Italy…so much gorgeousness.  I love stationery and this is just exquisite. I die a little!  Here’s a few little details:

Katie and Tom – Meridian House

November 11

Katie and Tom said they wanted a back yard wedding but didn’t have the back yard big enough.  Instead, they transformed the Meridian House garden into their french inspired back yard for a super relaxed and fun wedding.  My favorite part was towards the end of the night.  The guests were enjoying themselves outside so Katie and Tom just decided to bring the cake outside for the cake cutting.  Not so difficult to do when the cake was a family recipe (from a box) made by her aunt every year on Katie’s birthday.

The lace on Katie’s dress and keyhole back was just stunning.

I’m seriously in love with the Linden trees in the Meridian gardens.

Second Shooter: Matt McLoone
Venue: 
The Meridian House
Coordinator: Ashleigh Dorfman
Caterer: Catering Company of Washington
Band: The Mustangs
Florist: The Floral Studio
Hair: Hair by Jewles
Make-up:Leah McKay

Times Two

November 7

We have exciting news!! Giselle is going to be a big sister.  x2!

Yes, that’s right she’s going to have not just one but two little brothers. We found out we were having another baby (or so we thought), while we were in Sicily this summer. I wasn’t feeling well and Jonathan thought it must have been something I ate. A couple days and a pregnancy test later, we realized it was little more than a bad plate of pasta! A lot more, we learned at our first sonogram appointment.

We’re thrilled and –and a bit terrified to be honest. But what new parent isn’t a bit terrified? We thought we had this newborn thing down – sort of. And now it’s going to be a whole new world. Twins. Two of everything – at the same time.  And, boys. I grew up in a world of women. A sister, lots of aunties, women’s college. There’s so many things I don’t understand about boy world. Like how do you change a boy’s diaper without getting peed on? Or why do boys and big boys (ie, men) dress up in “their” team jersey and shout at a television set as if it has any effect on the outcome? Forgive me if I’m being sexist. My friend Romina reminded me that there are women that yell at their television sets too. Romina, if you’re reading this, it’s pointless.  They can’t hear you!

Joking aside, we’ll do what parents do. We’ll fumble along. We’ll learn from our friends, parents, and doctors. And we’ll learn from our kids. Giselle has already taught me so much. She’s a beautiful, inquisitive, loving little girl. She dances and sings a tune we sort of recognize but haven’t figured out what it is yet.  She’s happy being outside and seeing lots of people around. She laughes a lot and puts herself in funny yoga-like poses, and she hates to nap (unless she’s being pushed around in a comfy stroller). She loves her dada. I love her dada too and seeing what an amazing father he has become makes me love him that much more. Honestly, Jonathan never seemed that interested in kids before. He’d hold other people’s babies arm’s length away like they might slime on him any minute. With Giselle it’s never been like that.  Some of my favorite memories from that first week are jonathan and giselle napping together with Giselle on his chest, both blissfully content.  When Jonathan’s home he changes just as many diapers as I do and on Sunday mornings he’ll get up and make her whole wheat pancakes just the way she likes.  When Giselle’s not feeling well in the middle of the night, he’ll rock and hold her for hours.  That’s love pure and simple, and when you love someone or something like that it changes you.

We started as two adults who didn’t even have any plants or animals. We worked and played and traveled around the world together. Then we had Giselle and it was the three of us playing and traveling and taking care of each other. Now it’s going to be 5 of us. A lot will change. I am so  grateful for the friends that  just told me that I’ve got this, it’s doable and wonderful too. I have no illusions that this is going to be easy.  That there won’t be days  I’ll want to run out the house and keep running, but if you know me  you know I’ve never run away from difficult.  The best things in my life have never been easy.

*Note I’m still doing office work but I won’t be shooting until next June. Please do contact me for any photography starting in June. I will be very excited to be back at work. I love doing what I do and I always miss it when I’m away.

** pictures at top taken with my iphone at the Standard Miami mud lounge.  With parents like us, how can they not all grow up completely normal??

I’ll end with a a couple cute pictures taken this morning of the big sister.  Doesn’t she look ready to change a couple diapers?

xoxo Jennifer