photography – Page 9

wedding | redamancy day

Published on October 21, 2013October 23, 2013 by Lan | MoreStomach30 Comments

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redamancy – (red-uh-muhn–see) (n) the act of loving the one who loves you,
a love returned in full

3+ weeks ago
my beloved & i stood in
front of our loves
and committed to One Love

it was a warm september day
approximately 961 days after we first met
after 271 days of planning
and i was sweating like a whore in church

it went exactly like i thought it would:
a blur
but in today’s post i will slow it down
include our top priorities,
what we had to have
what we were willing to let go of
and everything in between

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we chose this venue because of their responsible relationship with food and local sustainability, but also noteworthy: their impeccable service and attention to detail. it is one of dw’s all time favorite restaurants and i have always loved this area of the city.

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initially, we were going to have my best friend Kelcy bake our cake but due to some new MD laws, we had to use their in-house pastry chef who created this very simple cake. it is dairy doom laden, but she was kind enough to make a small dairy free treat on the side.

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our guestbook is now hanging in our living room. if you’re interested in having one done for your event, you can reach out to me & i’ll put you in touch with Stephanie A.

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i purchased our bouquets, boutonnieres & flowers from a booth at our farmer’s market. i’m part of a local food group on google and she posted something about her new flower garden and well, i loved her inclusion of herbs. i was sold & i never even met her. our correspondence was all via text and email. on day of, núria’s husband picked up the flowers for me.

brideswenches

núria read a poem by hafiz, translated by daniel ladinsky:
our union is like this:
you feel cold, so i reach for a blanket to cover our shivering feet
a hunger comes into your body, so i run to my garden and start digging potatoes
you asked for a few words of comfort and guidance, and i quickly kneel by your side offering you a whole book as a gift
you ache with loneliness one night so much you weep, and i say here is a rope, tie it around me, i will be your companion for life

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we practically whispered our vows. and i have an ugly cry face which is why i’m not sharing it. just being real here.

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dw purchased my engagement ring from a local jewelry store in the city. i was out of town, at last year’s mixed con and 2 months later, on new year’s day, at 2am, he proposed. PS. i like the color red and the two rubies on the side are a tribute to that fondness.

photos courtesy of luke eshleman & used with permission

october | 10 hours

Published on October 11, 2013October 10, 2013 by Lan | MoreStomach13 Comments

october has come in
with rain on her heels
there is no complaint from me,
we’ve needed it here around these parts
the temperatures have sufficiently
lowered to the appropriate season
and i’ve got soups and stews
and oven worthy concoctions
on my mind
after spending just a benjamin
on our wedding flowers
i’m now turned on to the idea of
purchasing a bouquet from the farmer’s market
every week
to remind us of the living
while most everything else
goes into decline
and fades
here’s to the 10th month

this is the 10 on 10 project
to participate, go here

painting | our wedding guest book is now hanging in the living room & it’s a fabulous view

view | speaking of views: on clear nights we can hear and see the crowds during ravens’ games

trees | soon these trees will be bare

raindrops | it’s been a steady rain today

dry | drying flowers from my wedding bouquet

seeds | about to roast up some butternut squash seeds for dinner

gift | a coffee cup and saucer set

process | the whole food photography set up can be exhausting sometimes

flowers | almost two weeks later and our wedding flowers still look so good

end | the end of day looks like this

september | remember

Published on September 30, 2013October 16, 2013 by Lan | MoreStomach14 Comments

can you believe?
it’s the end of september
i’m a Mrs!
(thank you so much for putting up with all the wedding
related stuff this month!)
(um. i might have a few more posts,
most likely vendor info, photographs of the actual Day,
and gift ideas for all parties)
~~(sorry about that)~~

oh but this month nearly did me in:

saw … twilight in the country. dw & i roadtripped to southern virginia, i had to work and since it was in the area of my alma mater, i brought him along to see what i saw all those moons ago when i fell in love with the mountains
heard … moos. really. it was enchanting. i could’ve stood in that field for hours watching them
smelled … lavender. rosemary. licorice. my bouquet smelled so beautiful
tasted … red wine. my cup really runneth over with the stuff this month
commenced … crocheting in earnest. this has been on my to-make list forever

and of course, a few pinterest treasures:

|| i’m dying to chop my locks but if can’t go full on pixie, i might have to do this
|| this might be my next arty farty project
|| gawd, this entire collection is gorgeous, i wish i could afford dvf
|| it’s cowl season!
|| excellent read: life divides into AMAZING ENJOYABLE TIMES and APPALLING EXPERIENCES THAT WILL MAKE FUTURE AMAZING ANECDOTES!

photo captions:
crocheted owl rattle – for a friend’s baby girl this autumn. i really did walk around for days after i completed this project, just shaking the shit out of it. i changed the pattern just a smidge, rather than doing the double crochet stitch, i used single crochet instead. also, i didn’t bother with the wings. i may have used a slightly bigger hook too. i purchased christmas-like bells so it’s not actually a rattler sound, and more like you know, reindeer on your rooftop type of sound.
blueberry citrus scones – i did bake this month, and fed dw breakfast. i swear. i adapted this recipe, from this recipe
sweet honey soda water – dw loves his soda water. i can’t remember what the exact ingredients were but this post has a couple of great options
gluten free blueberry donuts – i know. enough with the blueberries already. and i still have a bag in the freezer to use up. yeah. i don’t have a recipe for these gems. they were good though
soup dumplings (xiao long bao) – they weren’t perfect but i’m glad i tackled this project. now i know for sure to just hit up a dim sum joint for the real stuff. i adapted this recipe

and our unofficial song: love is all i am

wedding | diy scratch off save the dates

Published on September 16, 2013September 13, 2013 by Lan | MoreStomach18 Comments

y’all
the time is drawing dangerously near
for the next few weeks
i will be posting some crafts,
specifically diy things that
i worked on for the last 6 months
believe me when i tell you that:
it’s easy
it’s affordable
and most importantly
it’s personal

for the photograph used –
a tripod
camera – we used my dslr, but honestly, a p/s would work fine

how-to:
we chose a sunny day to snap the shot,
it may have taken us 30 minutes
the cellphones were blank, although we
did snap pictures of each other on them

choose a background that is neutral,
in our case, we opted for the brick wall of the condo building next door
and we’re standing on the fire escape
between the two buildings
the sun is at around 2:30pm so it’s not too harsh and not behind us
i stood dw in front of the camera
and had him raise his arm with cell in hand
i focused on the cell
set the timer
ran to stand next to him
10 seconds later, snap
repeat about 10x, or until bored

editting:
dw used photoshop to add the pic
of each of us onto the cellphone screen
i decided to go black/white with the photo we used
i used a random postcard making company,
i won’t tell you who, cus i ended up
cussing them out for bad service
you can google it or use a vendor you trust

scratch off supplies/how-to:
adapted from soda pop design who got it from martha stewart

packing or clear tape
paint, color of choice
paint brush
dish soap
black felt pen, i used faber-castell PITT artist pen in BLACK, size XS

on the back of the postcard, write up what you want
in my case, i decided to get fancy & do it up in calligraphy
i searched on youtube for tutorials
and then proceeded to doodle all the long day
to practice
stick the tape over the doodles,
make it as smooth as possible,
cus you’re painting over it

to paint, mix the dish soap + paint
(1:2 ratio, dish soap:paint)
paint over the tape,
a few coats will do
make sure the writing is not visible
allow to dry between coats

for postcards it’s difficult
to convey to the receiver that it’s a scratch off
but it was fun to hear from people who
couldn’t figure it out
and those who knew instantly what to do
in a card, a penny or coin can be included
in the envelope and most will know what is up

either way, it was a fun crafty project

roasted bone marrow

Published on September 6, 2013September 5, 2013 by Lan | MoreStomach11 Comments

during the languid months of Winter
i’m my least social
except for that first year
i met dw
for some reason
there was always something planned –
an out of town trip
a girls’ weekend
guests in town
you name it, i had it going on
and so,
dw kept my interest
with his daily emails:
eloquent
thought provoking
speckled with $5words
that made me swoon
i could cry when i
think back to that time
when i was already enamored with
someone i hadn’t yet met

by nature, i am a realist
by heart, i am a romantic

it was 3 weeks
before we finally met
it was a slow start,
admittedly,
but i can still taste
how delicious
the anticipation was

roasted bone marrow
*note: you can bake at 350F for 20 minutes, or broil for 8-9minutes

4 bone marrow, we purchased from whole foods, i can’t recall the weight
salt/pepper
rosemary
olive oil, optional

place the marrow in oven safe dish
in a mortar & pestle, grind the salt/pepper with rosemary, amounts at your discretion and according to taste
season over marrow

broil for 8-9 minutes. the goal is to soften the marrow, but not liquefy it.

to serve: i made rosemary dutch oven bread earlier in the day. spread the marrow goodness on sliced bread, enjoy!

i meant to grab the green tomato & mint chutney, which would’ve cut through the richness but i forgot!