Friday, January 28, 2011

{Friday LOVE} Nutella

The questions that haunt me... how could I go through twenty-eight years of life without experiencing the pure culinary pleasure of Nutella? How could I be so deprived of its yummyness?
Maybe because I'm not much of a peanut butter fan (don't hate---I love me some peanut butter and chocolate together). So I never ventured into Nutella territory.

Then.
28th Birthday Celebration.
Friends handed me a jar of Nutella.
I grabbed a spoon.
First taste...
I was complete gone...
Spent the rest of the evening walking around blabbering about the glories of Nutella!


Hazelnuts + cocoa + milk = Almost. Complete. Bliss.
(My personal favorite serving suggestion?? Add fresh strawberries to Nutella. YES!!!)

And there's some Friday LOVE to Nutella. :)

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

{They're Married!} Brian & Liz

On a cold, beautiful, sunny winter day in January...
Brian & Liz began their journey of life together.



Stay tuned for the whole story... coming soon!

Friday, January 21, 2011

{Friday LOVE} Matchy-Matchy

It is kinda funny when your personal quirks continually become fodder for family jokes. It is well-known among my friends and family, that I like to match. It's the reason I wear so much black. And the majority of my shoes are black. Because black matches everything. And I like matching!! I like matching clothes, house decorations, even food sometimes...
I like matching almost anything.
I like when other people match well.
I see something that matches well, and I smile.
It is good "for my matchy-matchy heart." (as my sis would say)

Last weekend, my dear little niece Serenity turned 1 year old. And her parents hosted a fabulous party. My sis-in-law, Chelsea, is pretty amazing with this party stuff. She made almost everything herself, include the cake and decorations and the birthday girl's party dress!! Pink-and-black-and-white. It did my matchy-matchy heart well.




So Friday LOVE goes to matching things. Because un-matching things is like low-level stress in my book. ;) Matching things is like cinnamon spice and everything nice. :)

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

{Local Life} Victorian Christmas

The Victorian era is near & dear to my heart... no particular reason, I suppose, except that I seem to like books written in that time period. And the fashions of that day. And the quirks of humanity. So it's no surprise that when my little historical hometown of Bellefonte hosts a Victorian Christmas weekend every year, I must go. :) It's been somewhat of a tradition. The ladies of my family try to go every year. It seems to kick-off the Christmas season (as it falls on the 2nd weekend of December, right when I'm starting to hum Christmas carols non-stop).

This year was by far the BEST Victorian Christmas celebration... I regret that I could only spare a few hours on a Saturday morning to experience it. There was so much more! Historical house tours, carriage rides, Dickens' Christmas Carol performances, a "Gaslight Gala" and dinner theatre. *Sigh* Someday. Someday, I will see it all. :)

And... gingerbread house contests!


Victorian Children's Party!
With stickers & Santa for little people's joy...



Costumed actors roaming about, talking in English accents...
Christmasy musicians roaming, too. LOVE!


Craft & miscelleneous shows.
I confess, I tend towards anything scented, silver or sparkly.


Cashmere.. I (heart) you.


Sharing & caring... the Christmas spirit.


Perfect end of the day. Calm classical piano, Christmas medleys. :)


Victorian Christmas is an absolutely lovely event.. I hope it goes on and on and on..
I hope this blog entry inspired some overdue Christmas spirit in you.. or at least, stirred some happy Christmas memories. :)

Friday, January 14, 2011

{Friday LOVE} The Beginning...

Welcome to the First Edition of {Friday LOVE} .

I've been thinking of new and interesting things to blog about in the new year. While I already blog about weddings, portrait sessions, travel and local life... I'd like to share with you lovely readers things that make me smile. Things that really lift my heart.. things that I love. :) And so every Friday until I run out of things to say (will that ever happen?!), I will be spotlighting some interesting thing or place or person or object or activity, that I love!


Today, I love DOORS.

Fascinating doors. Interesting details.
Why don't they make doors like they used to?

And as I looked through pictures of doors in my archives,

I found out....

I like RED doors the best.


And here's the proof! ;)















Tuesday, January 4, 2011

{NYC Portraits} Jamel

In the midst of my super-duper-fast sojourn in the Big Apple, we found a little time for a mini-portrait session.

Actually, the story goes something like this.
My friends and I were wandering around Chinatown looking for a place to eat.
Not finding anything...
So we kept walking.. and walking.. and walking..
And walking some more.
Eventually, we ended up in the lighting district. I didn't even know there was a lighting district! Several streets of nothing but lighting stores. Like this one.


And then we turn onto a side street.. and see this crazy wall! I loved it! Perfect! Its zanyness worked for Jamel's portraits.



Oh yes, so to introduce Jamel. He's a native New Yorker. Transplanted to Pennsylvania several years ago... but he still fits the city vibe just fine.





I love New York. Yet *ANOTHER* cool wall!


Heeeey! A famous pizza place! (We did not eat here either).




For 15 minutes on random streets of New York.
It was pretty radical.
Thanks to Jamel for being a willing subject.
And for being freezing cold all for photography's sake.