p.s. We didn’t have much time for photography. We put Harper on the butcher block in the kitchen, pulled it close to the window, and did our best with only a little bit of light. I have a few more on film coming soon.

I think linen would be a great choice to help me pack lightly. Linen is breathable, looks good even when wrinkled, it’s durable, and washes easily. Here are a few things I found. I’m loving this etsy seller in China with affordable prices, lovely designs, and everything seems to be custom made. Wow.

Do you have any good sources for linen clothing? I would also love this EmersonMade Linen Topper Coat in my wardrobe. Regan bought it and it looks amazing.

1. Bow Window Dress, $95  2. Grey Flax Long Sleeve Sundress, $79  3. Asymmetrical Linen Jacket, $59  4. Hemp Tencel Pocket Dress, $182  5. Red Sundress, $56   6. Flower Bud Linen Long Coat, $79

p.s. Just found this super-cute little girls dress made from vintage linens. Right here.

p.s. All thirteen of us ate brunch at Cheeky’s. The lattes were pretty but not very tasty. However, the flight of bacon and the buttermilk and fresh corn pancakes were beyond delicious.

See you Monday! I’m off to the pool.

Me on vacation, Palm Springs, 2010

p.s. for the photo-nerds I’m shooting with the Contax and the d700 but mostly the Contax. I brought along one lens for each camera and all sorts of weird film that I found in my refrigerator (Fuji 160c, Fuji Astia 100, Fuji NPH 400, Kodak 400NC, and some black and white 320), we’ll see what happens…pretty sure it’s all expired.

p.s. I look kind of silly waving my hand like that – was trying to do a screengrab and wave at the same time – eek!

Last weekend I spent some time with two of my dearest friends in the Santa Ynez Valley just north of Santa Barbara. We have known each other for over 25 years (that always amazes me) and we all grew up within about ten miles of each other in one of the most beautiful landscapes in the world, at least in my opinion. One of my favorite things about California is that both of these amazing woman live here as well.

We had a lovely weekend. We drank lots of delicious wine, welcomed the first of the Spring lambs to the vineyard, took naps, ate way too may cupcakes from Enjoy Cupcakes in Los Olivos, stole some breakfast from the vineyard chickens, and took long walks at night.

Enjoy a few images from our weekend. For the photographers out there, I shot with a Contax 645, 80mm lens, Fuji 400h and the black and white images are Trix 320 (much grainer than I remember). These are straight scans right out of the camera and can I just say it was so nice to drop them off at the lab and pick them up a few days later. Have we forgotten how great that is?

Lauren’s profile as we drive South.

The vineyard house. It’s a really amazing place but sadly I didn’t shoot much inside (needed faster film).

I tried really hard to bring one of these lambs home with me. These little guys are three days old and ridiculously adorable.

Tara is gorgeous.

Reuben (the vineyard manager) and a three day old lamb.

Tara and Lauren, all smiles.

Lauren and I stopped in Paso Robles and found some fun vintage items for upcoming kids shoots. (vintage, western scarf and costume jewelry).

How sweet are they?

We woke up bright and early to steal some eggs. Doing our best to avoid the rooster.

Lauren riding a horse named Sundance (wish I had a wider lens while we were on the horses).

Our first flight of cupcakes from Enjoy Cupcakes. If you haven’t seen Jose Villa’s amazing shoot of this place, you can see that here. I introduced myself to Amber and she was so very friendly and sweet. My shot here is a bit too ‘cupcake noir’ for my tastes but it’s all I could muster before the girls devoured them…and yes we went back the next day and ordered many more. 

Here’s one of our sunset strolls through the vineyard. We got caught in the darkness shortly after this but the stars were magical.

How very sweet are these two? They’ve had many fun adventures together and even though I’m not in the photo with them, I feel like I’m there too and they are looking back at me. So sweet.

p.s. If you haven’t shot film in a while, I’d encourage it. Remember the days when you could shoot, drop off film, and pick it up. Most importantly, no long hours editing after your shoot? I miss those days and wish I could shoot film all the time. It’s not quite practical for me in my business (yet) but I’ll be shooting more film this year. If not for the ease of film, just to simply slow down a bit.

I hope you enjoyed my sappy post! Stayed tuned with an exciting update about an East Coast shooting trip with a few sessions available.

Joe and I have been reminded of all the blessings in our lives and for me, one of those things is my job. I meet the most incredible people all over the country and spend my days celebrating the joy and wonder of childhood. I can’t think of anything I’d rather do.

My very first day of shooting happened to be three 7 month old boys in a row, not sure how I planned it that way but it was the perfect re-introduction. I absolutely love the age before a little one goes mobile either expert crawling or full-fledge walking. It varies for every kid but the sweet spots seems to be between 6-9mos. I encourage everyone with little ones to photograph around that time – even though there isn’t an obvious milestone. Here’s one little guy from my first day back. I’ll be sharing the rest very soon.

Thanks for all the thoughtful emails and especially a big thank you to my clients for being so understanding with my schedule. I hope to see you soon.

TECHNICAL NOTE: I was shooting in the back of the house with very little natural light. I had set up a strobe so I could get both boys sitting up on the bed (yes this little guy is a twin – can’t wait to share images of the two of them) but took a few w/o the strobe to take advantage of the lovely, low light. ISO 250, f3.5 at 1/50.

Marilyn moved back home with us yesterday and we are thankful to have her here. She is not suffering. Instead she’s teaching us all that life is very short and it’s important to follow your dreams and love with all you’ve got.

I hope you’re all enjoying a lovely holiday season with your families, much love from our family to yours. Enjoy a few images from our time together below. I am online here and there but responding to emails a little slower than normal. If you have an urgent request from me please give me a call.

xo,

Sarah

when i was a kid we didn’t have these clever devices for snowballs. I prefer the home-made variety (these snowballs hurt!)