Hello, fall

Whoops, I definitely didn't intend to have back-to-back posts of photos of myself, but I was excited that it was finally trench coat weather this weekend and wanted to share. This post is also very much inspired by this pin.

I am by no means a style blogger, but I do want to say how much I appreciate a good trench coat. The first month after I moved into the city (about 3 years ago), I decided I was going to invest in a Burberry trench. Because every time I bought a not-Burberry trench, I wore it for a season and got sick of it or it lost its shape or whatever. So why not get THE classic that will last me years and years. I went to the flagship store on 57th Street and (after multiple visits and some alterations) came home with a tan timeless mid-length trench. The sales lady warned me that I would want a black one - she said, "Everyone always comes back for the black." Well, lo and behold, guess where I found myself again earlier this month when the weather started turning cool... Now I'm wondering if she just said that to plant the idea in my head!

The thing is, my tan trench gets SO DIRTY so quickly because hell, I live in a dirty city and I walk a lot. And I take public transportation. And cleaning that thing ain't cheap. So at least the black trench doesn't show dirt and grime. And I feel instantly put-together with a well-fitting trench. Even if I'm just wearing jeans and a tee (which is the case 99% of the time).

The details:
Bag - Givenchy
Shoes - Madewell
Jeans - Current Elliott (the ankle jeans are great for petites!)
Shirt - Everlane
Trench - Burberry
Glasses - Warby Parker

What about you guys? Do you have certain investment pieces in your closet?

Self.

I forgot how hard it was to take even basic self-portraits. The light was too pretty in my living room this afternoon to not try, though.




I'm amazed that my $3 remote from China that I had gotten for my Rebel XTi back in 2008 still works. On the original battery no less.

Polux Fleuriste

I enjoyed this beautiful arrangement from Polux for a good week or so. I can surely make this a monthly habit, no?

Still beauty in the dry and wilted remains.

Ad Hoc

Snaps from a dinner at Ad Hoc on a fried chicken night.

Sam + Gus

Short for Samantha and Augustine. I was excited about this wedding since the original inquiry - because it was going to be held at Public, a restaurant in Nolita that I love. I remember the first or second time I went to Public, I saw that the middle area looked like it had been set up for a wedding, and I thought, "Damn do I want to shoot a wedding here!" I love the space, but I also knew that it was going to be dark, very dark. And while I obviously prefer natural light (I mean, who doesn't?), I like the challenge of getting good flash-lit shots. Most of the photos from my previous wedding blog posts are naturally or at least ambiently lit. In this post, there's definitely a higher percentage of flash-lit shots than ever.

Though it isn't obvious from these first few photos, shot at Sam's adorable studio apartment where she and her girlfriends got ready together.

On to the ceremony. One thing I've noticed with so many brides is that during the vow exchange, they look like they're laughing uncontrollably in the photos. Actually it's more their natural reaction to the fact that they are choked up and can't get the rest of the words out. (Erm, I may or may not shed a tear(s) every time this happens too.)

More details from the night. The two moody shots near the middle are, as you'd expect, not flash-lit. It's always nice to turn the flash off for a few that capture the atmosphere.



Congratulations again to these two. I feel very lucky to have met so many great couples this year.

Tomorrow, I'm shooting a wedding in NJ for this lovely pair. The season's madness is not over yet!

Valley

Beautiful valleys in California in the Bay Area...

OliveBox

What a treat it was to work with Grace of Pink Olive on her newest venture - OliveBox, which just launched today. It is a monthly subscription service packed with paper goods and products ranging from beautifully packaged soap to greeting cards to books. For the website, I shot some lovely paper products in a variety of settings to highlight their uses in our daily lives.


Thanks to Nicole for lending a hand here ;).


The teaser box that was sent out pre-launch.


See the rest of the images on the OliveBox website.

Lazy

A rare Sunday post, but this one's been curled up in his bed all day and I couldn't resist botherin' him a bit.



Remember how small he once was?

Chairs! + an alternate workspace

If you haven't noticed, I've gotten really into furniture over the past year or so, oof. I'm now all for getting pieces that will last, both in terms of style and construction/build, instead of tossing and re-buying my Ikea furniture every time I move. It's been hard not to make our new space into a design victim's lair (and I don't think we quite succeeded), but hopefully we'll be able to collect some cool and unique things over the years that will soften the edges up a bit.

The 35'' Saarinen dining table is perfect for our tiny space, though our experience in getting it - from the DWR outlet on eBay - was far from perfect. It took three (!) deliveries, but we finally ended up with the correct table. I researched chairs for a good, like, two weeks before I went with my first pick anyway. We ordered them back in July and finally got them today. They make them from scratch I think. It's embarrassing to admit how much these chairs excited me (these are the wafer + walnut legs).



I'm also pretty excited to be able to sit at a different "desk" for some work, especially as my iMac's wifi has been busted for months.

And if you're curious, we painted this wall "Wrought Iron" by Martha Stewart Living.

Happy weekending!

P.S. Thank you all for the thoughtful responses on the last post - it was great to learn more about your current/past whereabouts and how you feel about them.

Misc. thoughts

Recently, it's felt like a lot of my friends are moving away from the city. For them, the city was a good middle-ground but they are ready to leave and settle down elsewhere. And many others, who are still in NYC for now, don't see themselves here in five or ten or twenty years. While I very much welcome the idea of living abroad for a few years, I know that NYC is where I want to end up. I can't fathom ending up anywhere else and I have never felt so strongly drawn to a place as I am to this one.

[iPhone photo from a bike ride along the East River]

How about you? Are you currently living in the city/town where you want to end up?

Olana

A few stragglers from our Vermont/Upstate NY trip - these were taken on the Olana grounds on Portra 160. I wanted to wait for sunset, but alas, we were racing back to the city to return a rental car.

Friends and the apartment

Cozbi was in town a few weeks back and I took the opportunity to shoot her in the (tiny) apartment. Then Pei came over, and I grabbed a few of her too. :) All on 400H (a film I haven't used in forever!) and Contax 645.

Had to finish the roll, so here are some gratuitous photos of the apartment and an Avedon cameo.

Happy weekend!

Triple Creek Horse Outfit

One of the highlights of our trip was horseback riding on the lovely Kunde estate winery grounds. I had some issues getting my horse to listen to me (and kept getting called out by the instructor - I felt like the bad kid in class!), but it was still a great experience. I took the bottom three photos while on my horse and not looking at all at the viewfinder heh.


All taken on the x100.

His and hers (sorta)

Why hello there, little blog that I've abandoned for too long. I got back this morning after a rough night on the red eye. I will just never be able to sleep on planes. Our trip to the Napa area was really lovely - I actually didn't take many photos (mostly because it was too sunny, hah). Most of our time was spent enjoying the wide open roads, the golden hills, copious amounts of wine, a mud bath spa treatment (a veeeery new experience for all of us), and killer sunsets.

J and I spent the first day or so visiting his family in the bay area. We happened to take a few photos of each other, and it's been ages since the last his and hers outfit post, so why not? It looks like we both could use a haircut... ;P

Outfit details: Jacket - Zara // Shoes - J. Crew // Dress - Madewell // Bag - Goyard
On J: Shirt - J. Crew // Pants - J. Crew // Shoes - Clark's // Bag - c/o Kelly Moore (more on this camera bag later!)

The last photo is from the same day, but I had to add a trench coat - I was still freezing in it! I forgot how rapidly temperatures dropped in the evening. Though I will take bay area California weather over summer in NY any day.