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Let the Pregginess Begin

14 Dec

Yes that’s right…  I’m officially looking and feeling like a pregnant woman now.  My belly is quite large (though I’m still finding it rather cute thus far) and I’m starting to get some pain in my lower back and butt so I’ve definitely got a little pregnant waddle going on. Oye.  I still have three months to go!  That’s a little bit scary.  The subway routine is definitely getting a bit tougher these days.  I surprised myself while huffing and puffing up the stairs at the 2nd Avenue stop yesterday. Lately, in fact, I’ve grown fond of skipping the stairs altogether and opting for the elevators (at those stations that are blessed with elevators).  Here is a photo of me from this past weekend – there’s no mistaking it now… this girl is PREGO!

Meanwhile, this little guy is kicking up a storm, which I really love.  I love lying on the couch with my hands on my belly and feeling him move around.  It’s such a trip.  Though he’s funny… he’s just like me.  He doesn’t like to perform on demand.  Every time my mom is around for a visit and tries to feel him kick, he stops and stays really still.  Stubborn little guy.  Also when I go for ultrasounds and they try to get a good photo of him, he hardly ever cooperates.  It’s ok though.  Between Adam and his filmmaking and me and my photography – he is going to be the most documented kid ever… a camera in his face at all times!  I’m happy to give him some space while he’s still in the womb.

As for me, I’ve been keeping busy with several projects.  This past Friday I did a photo shoot with my friend Yvonne.  She’s moving to LA (sniffle sniffle) and looking for a new job and wanted some portraits for her online portfolio.  We played around with some natural light indoors and outdoors as well as some shots in front of a seamless white backdrop paper I bought from Adorama.  She got her makeup done ahead of time and brought a few outfit changes and we had a blast!  She was a great model – and I definitely feel like I’m getting more confident shooting people, which is good.  I will post a selection of my favorites next week after I spend this weekend going through the hundreds of photos we took!

Then Monday I did some shooting with my friend Amie.  We fashioned a little makeshift studio in my apartment with some lights and the seamless white backdrop.   Amie’s friend  recently launched this awesome men’s sock and accessories line called hook + Albert so we were doing some product shots for him – testing out our skills in that department.  It was fun to experiment with a new type of photography and I do think the photos came out pretty good.  Here are a few examples.

The biggest challenge in this exercise was perfecting white balance/color temperature (easy intro to white balance here if interested).  Because we are advertising a fashion product, I thought it was quite important to get the colors as true to real as possible.  You know when you buy something online and then when you see it in person it’s a totally different color from what was advertised?  I was trying to avoid that.  So, while shooting, I spent a lot of time customizing the color temperature and playing with the degrees Kelvin (more info on color temperature) in the camera settings until it looked perfect.   After uploading the images to Lightroom on my computer, the color looked totally different from how I saw it on the camera monitor.   And now, the color looks different once again after uploading the images from Lightroom to WordPress!  I’m not sure if this can be totally perfected as I believe different monitors will often have different settings – and you can only control the settings on your own monitor.  But I’m going to do a little more research into this area to see if there is anything else I should be doing to improve my results.  More on that to come.

So, I’ve been busy busy – but alas – I feel like my body (which has been tremendously cooperative throughout this pregnancy so far) is starting to tell me to slow down a bit and chill the hell out.  I am approaching the third trimester (Saturday is the official start for me).  I have this tendency to push myself and run around all the time but I’m picking up on the signals lately and I’m thinking… I better rest while I still can!  Right?  So my new goal is to start taking it a little easier and get my body feeling as good as it can in preparation for what’s to come.   Hopefully I’m capable of slowing down – it might take a little self-control. :)  I’m looking forward to a nice quiet holiday week this year, which will help.  We’re keeping it low key – just hanging out at home, enjoying the last of our vacation time with just the two of us.  I’m thinking some good food, some good movies some Rummy 500 and LOTS of relaxation (plus, maybe a massage).  Sounds good right?

Anyway, have a great Wednesday everyone!  Thanks for visiting.

xo

And we’re back…

7 Dec

Greetings on this rainy, gray Tuesday.  I’m feeling very sleepy today – I am writing this while sitting at my computer cloaked in my zebra snuggie.  Oh how I love my snuggies.  Later this afternoon I’m going to head over to Buy Buy Baby to do some research on baby products.  I spent the entire flight there and back from The Bahamas reading the book Baby Bargains, which helped me narrow down the things I think we need for the little guy’s arrival.  Now it’s time to go check out this stuff in real life.  There is really so much to learn about!  Craziness.

But before I go, I’ll fill you in on the rest of our trip to the Bahamas for the 2011 Bahamas International Film Festival.  There were many positives and negatives about this trip.  I’ll start with the positives:

  • I managed to get a little (really… only a little) sun and the weather was pretty nice (high 70′s to low 80′s most days with some wind and clouds)
  • We met a lot of great contacts in the film world and talented people in general – many of whom live in Brooklyn!  And I’m sure we’ll keep in touch and get to know these people even better in the future.
  • We met Zoe Kravitz and enjoyed her interview while she was being honored as the “BIFF 2011 Rising Star”.  She was super poised, adorable and lovely and now I’m going to keep a look out for her work in the future.
  • We reunited with friends we met at the festival last year – one of whom is a local Bahamian and got us off the resort one afternoon and showed us a bit of the local flavor.  Here are a couple photos from our outing:

    A Statue in Downtown Nassau

    A ruined old building in downtown Nassau

  • Adam was a juror for the “First Look” competition, which included both short films and features made by Bahamian filmmakers.  This was a highlight for me – as I learned a lot about Bahamian culture and about the true essence of the Bahamas.  My favorite feature film in this category was called Amos Ferguson – Match Me If You Can and told the story of one of the Bahamas’ best known local artists.  Amos Ferguson seemed like a special soul and was a talented and passionate painter and I am glad to have learned about his story.  I found this film to be really touching and enlightening.  Here is a NY Times article about Amos if you’re interested in learning more.  And here are a few of his paintings:

 

Now… the negatives.  Although we were grateful to get away for a few days – this was really primarily a work trip vs. a vacation.  It didn’t exactly have that “baby-moon” vibe I was looking for.  And now – forgive me while I rant for a few minutes about the Atlantis Resort.

A view of the Coral Towers at the Atlantis Resort

Here is where The Atlantis falls way short in my book:

  • The resort is monstrous and has the vibe of Vegas, Disney World and a Cruise Ship mixed into one…  not exactly my cup of tea.
  • The food is TERRIBLE.  Yes… they have some nice dining options like Nobu and Mesa Grill – but dining here costs a fortune and the quality is not nearly as good as it is in their NYC counterparts.  For less expensive dining options, you basically have lots of fried, processed, gross food – that still costs way too much (we’re talking $40 for BREAKFAST!).  And then – everything closes at weird hours, so we often found ourselves with no available options except for the overly priced and totally disgusting room service (or mini bar, which we frequented due to a lack of better options.  I ate granola bars for dinner more than once).  To give you an idea about how terrible the food was – our favorite thing to eat during the entire trip was the movie theater pizza, which was supposedly from Domino’s, re-boxed and sitting under a heat lamp.  Yes – it was a sad state of affairs in the food department.  Hell… I was on vacation and lost two pounds.  That’s never a good sign for me.
  • There is NO relaxed vibe in this entire resort.  Although there are at least ten different pool areas – every single one of them comes with a DJ, who pumps bass-heavy music all day long.  I went in search of maybe one adult-only, quiet pool (I know – I’m getting old) and nope… there aren’t any.  So I sat as far away from the pool as possible next to a waterfall, which helped to drown out the sound of the music and the DJ so I could fit in a little reading.  Actually – I even called the front desk and complained on Saturday morning as we were awakened at eight-thirty am by bumping beats coming from the pool area closest to us.  Eight-thirty am?  Really?  We had been enjoying sleeping with our door open up until that point – listening to the waves and the palm trees blowing in the breeze but that joy died on Saturday morning.

So here’s what I’m thinking… If I never stay at the Atlantis resort again… that will be fine with me.  However – I am totally interested in experiencing the authentic essence and spirit of the Bahamas and I’d love to return for another visit – this time, departing from Nassau immediately and making my way to another island.  That being said – the festival was super generous and we were very honored to be asked to return this year.  And, as it was last year, the people we met and connections we made was truly the best part.

Now – I’m off to Buy Buy Baby!  Wish me luck.

Greetings From the Bahamas…

3 Dec

Good morning from Paradise Island!  This is the start of our third full day in the Bahamas and we’ve been kind of vacationing/kind of working thus far.  Thursday we saw a movie marathon – we were at the theater from 11am until 7:30pm and saw four feature films and four shorts.  CRAZY!  My butt’s been hurting ever since.  Yesterday I let Adam go to the theater without me and I did some exploring around the Atlantis resort, some reading (currently reading Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides) and a little swimming.  Swimming DOES feel good when you’re pregnant!  Although I do feel a little funny in a swimsuit with my big belly!  I stayed outside by the pool until the sun started to fade and then I ran back to the room and got my camera for a quick photo walk.  Here are some of my favorite photos from yesterday afternoon/evening:

Atlantis at Sunset - Blissed Out

Atlantis at Sunset - Moody

These two photos have such a different feel – taken only about fifteen minutes apart.

Grumpy Fish Poses for Portrait

A face only a fish mother could love.

School of Fish

Sting Ray

I like how the reflection of the hotel in the water gave this photo more life.

Moon Behind Palm Leaves

I totally played with the colors on this one…  I like the deep red blossoms in the trees against the aqua sky.  Also kind of moody.

Meanwhile, it’s now 10:30am and of course – I’m STARVING (one of the side-effects of pregnancy – I wake up completely famished).  It looks nice and sunny this morning and we don’t have any movies to see until early this evening.  So we have to go get our fun and sun on!

I’ll leave you with this…  Adam found this awesome site featuring Stanley Kubrick’s photography of New York.  I never knew Stanley Kubrick worked as a stills photographer.  I really love a lot of his work.  Here are a couple of my favorites found on VandM.com (Vintage and Modern):

Stanley Kubrick's "Walking Away on the Streets of New York"

Stanley Kubrick's "High Wire Act"

Enjoy and happy weekend to you all!

xo

Weekend in the Catskills & Baby Time

22 Nov

Hi everyone!  I’m writing to you today from Massachusetts.  I took a bus from NYC yesterday and am enjoying some quality time with family and friends over the Thanksgiving holiday.  Looking forward to picking up Adam from the train tomorrow!  Thanksgiving is totally my favorite holiday.  Food, Fall, Family – what’s better?

Meanwhile, we had a lovely weekend in the Catskills at my friend Susan’s beautiful home this past weekend.  Adam and I are both craving a little country escape of our own – but for now, we have to rely on the kindness of our friends. :)  The weekend consisted of yummy food, keeping the fire going in the fireplace, Rummy 500, browsing the local shops and lots of couch sitting, sleeping and reading magazines.  Fun times.  Here are some of my favorite photos from the weekend:

Ruffles

In the Vault

Autumn Branches

Sun Reflecting on the Lake

Thanks for the lovely weekend away Susan!  The change of scene was inspiring.

And now – I’m getting my baby on.  I spent last night at the home of my close friends Faye & Mike.  They just had a baby five weeks ago – Jake.  This was my first introduction to baby Jake and oh my goodness… he is ridiculously adorable.  I got all teary when I first saw him… I mean – I’ve known Faye since we were eight years old!  It’s amazing.  I’m actually sitting on the couch typing away and he’s lying here next to me pooping.  Ahhhh… I can’t WAIT to meet our little guy!  But really – Jake is one of the cutest babies I’ve ever seen.  Here are a few pictures I took this morning.  Just look at that face.

Sleeping Jake

Jake in the Bath

More Jake in the Bath

Jake After the Bath

And now – I can proudly say I just changed my first poopy diaper.  Let the games begin.

If I don’t speak to you again before, I wish everyone a fabulously yummy and wonderful Thanksgiving.

xo

Shouldn’t we all wear flowers in our hair?

17 Nov

Wow – today is such a dreary, cold, wet day.  I am dragging!  Meanwhile, I totally forgot to bring my camera for our Hello Lonesome fondue/commentary session the other night.  Oops.  So no pictures from the other night – but man, the actors in Hello Lonesome are really fun and cool.  And the DVD commentary is sure to be entertaining.  And of course, the fondue was a hit.  Shout out to Harry Chase, Nate Smith and the darling, adorable and totally lovely Lynn Cohen (I’m slightly obsessed with Lynn… she’s just too cute).   You know, she often wears a real flower in her hair and when I pointed it out on Tuesday, she replied something to the effect of … “I am so lucky and happy… why wouldn’t I wear a flower in my hair?”  I like that mentality.  In that case, I feel like I should be wearing a flower in my hair too.  Maybe I’ll start.

Speaking of starting things… I was out to dinner with some friends last week and said friend (Anna) mentioned a yearly exercise she engages in for her birthday.  Each year, she comes up with a list of things she wants to do/accomplish by her next birthday.  The number of items on her list corresponds with her age.  For example – for her thirty-second birthday, she came up with thirty-two things she wants to do by the time she turns thirty-three.  I love that!  I asked her if she usually completes everything on her list each year.  She said no way!  It is imperative that you put some things on your list that are really difficult to achieve… things to strive for.  Of course, you also put some easy things – a nice mix of both.  By the end of the year, if you have not completed everything on your list (which you probably haven’t), you go through the list of unfinished things and determine if they still mean something to you… if you still have a desire to do them.  If you still care – then throw those remaining items onto next year’s list. Oh – and she carries that list around with her everyday.   Isn’t that great?  I’m definitely going to do that for my upcoming birthday.  It’s a fun way to determine who you want to be for that next year of your life… what you want to spend your time doing.  A roadmap navigating you toward your next birthday.

Thanks to Anna for sharing this inspiring idea.

Now – for a little photo love.

Here is a photo I took when we were in Port Townsend, WA for the Port Townsend Film Festival.  A wonderfully sweet woman named Sandy put us up for three nights in her amazing Victorian home (circa 1800 – something) during the festival.  I took this picture in the bathroom that was off our room.  The textured window pane with the light shining through filled me with joy every morning (as I sat on the toilet) so I wanted to capture it and share it with you.

Enjoy.

Windowsill Whimsy

Tuesday’s Ramblings…

15 Nov

Good morning everyone.  I must be brief today as I’m running off to the nursing home for art class (I volunteer there on Tuesday mornings). I’m heading over today with a backpack of supplies as later this evening we’re recording a live movie commentary, which will be featured on the Hello Lonesome DVD (being released in the somewhat near future – stay tuned).  Anyway, there is a great scene in the film where two of the characters share a bubbly pot of cheese fondue, so of course, we’re fonduing it up tonight with some of the film’s stars as they watch the movie and chat about the experience!  We don’t need much of an excuse to make a pot of fondue around here.  So obviously, I’m in charge of fondue supplies.  I’ll bring my camera too and post pictures at some point this week.

Meanwhile, I had an ultrasound last week and for the first time, I could see our little baby kicking on the screen and I could feel him kicking simultaneously!  It was WILD!  For a few weeks there I kept wondering… “am I feeling it?  am I feeling it?”.  Now there is no question.  This little boy is kicking up a storm.  I’ve grown quite fond of the feeling.  It’s like he’s reminding me that he’s in there.  He’s saying hi.  I like it. :)  So far I’m really enjoying being pregnant.  I still feel pretty good.  I have almost as much energy as I had pre-pregnancy (although when I overdo it… I need a couple days to recover).  And everyone is so nice to me all the time!  I actually had a couple people get up and offer me seats on the subway recently.  I guess the bump is really starting to show!

Ok – so now I’m running late and have to go.  I’ll leave you with one more thing…

Here is a funny picture I took while walking around and exploring the neighborhood.  This little guy has such personality right?

Guard Puppy

And speaking of the neighborhood, my friend Yvonne shared with me this awesome NY Times article about our street in Fort Greene.  This gives you a good feel for where we live.

Ok – I’m out!  Enjoy your day.

A Little Show & Tell…

11 Nov

Happy 11/11/11 everyone!  I’ve always thought of eleven as my lucky number – so according to my calculations, today should be a blockbuster day!  Anyway, while I was on hiatus from blogging, I was also busy working on some fun projects.  Back in May, we shot that music video for Jones Street Station with Danny Pudi.  Here is a dorky picture I posted from the shoot.  I don’t think I ever showed you the finished product though, so here it is!  I didn’t shoot video on this project – but all the stills peppered through the project are mine!  Enjoy.

In July I did a fun photo shoot with our friend Dave.  Here are some of my favorites:

He’s a sexy dude – right?  All of the photos were taken inside our new apartment or outside in the neighborhood – and all with natural light and my Rebel T2i (along with some killer L Series lenses).  It’s exciting how much great light we get in our new space!  I’m planning another photo shoot with my friend Yvonne in the next few weeks.  We’re going to experiment with a seamless white backdrop (never done that before) – should be interesting.

Then – in August I helped out my friend Zita with her own blog project.  She has embarked on a year-long vegetarian cooking endeavor, where every week for a year, she will cook one of her favorite vegetarian recipes for the camera, edit and then post the video to her blog – Unnecessary Sweetness.  It’s a LOT of work!!  Zita actually told me that one of the inspirations for this project was my 365 photo project – so of course, I was eager to help a blog sister out.  This video was one of her first and was shot in our kitchen.  I was one of two shooters and I was using the Canon EOS 7D.  Most of the close-up work you see is mine.  I find it really fun shooting close-ups on food and cooking!  (makes sense I suppose).  By the way – this hummus and the couscous were both totally fresh and super tasty!  I highly recommend trying them out.

And last but not least, in October I worked with a small Bodega team on a web video for Microsoft Internet Explorer.  Adam directed and I shot.  We did 90% of the shooting in our apartment – all with natural light.  It was a blast!  Here is the video… I am very proud of it.  And Microsoft totally loved it!

This type of filming is fun for me – because it’s really just like photography.  I set up the shot just like I would set up for a still photo – looking for the light and the best angle.  I’m not moving the camera  lot – although I have been practicing a bit with finding the focus in shot (you can see in that final shot of the sparklers).  I’m going to start watching movies that are known for outstanding cinematography so I can study up on different shooting styles.  I do have a fantasy that one day I’ll shoot one of Adam’s movies.

Anyway – that’s what I’ve been up to lately (among other things).  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend if I don’t talk to you before.

nell’s kitchen

7 Nov

So I told you already that I’m getting all ‘nesty’ lately right?  I’ve been doing lots of cooking and organizing and even a little baking.  Last week I set a personal record for myself.  I cooked five nights in a row.  I seriously don’t think I’ve ever done that.  In fact – from Sunday brunch to Friday lunch I didn’t eat one meal outside our home.  That’s honestly kind of a big deal for me.  I think part of this is stemming from being pregnant.  I’ve just felt sort of cozy at home lately and it’s been fun trying out new recipes and playing with all our new kitchen gear (wedding presents that spent nearly two years at my parents house in Massachusetts because of our previously teeny apartment).  Besides that – our new neighborhood (though completely pretty and awesome) is sort of lacking in delivery options.  Back in the East Village – we had our regular spots that we craved every week.  Delivery was quick, cheap and easy – and we had just about any type of food available to us nearly twenty-four hours a day.  Fort Greene definitely has some good restaurants – but the delivery scene just isn’t really doing it for me quite yet.  So Adam and I have started trying to recreate all our favorite restaurant cravings at home.  It’s become a fun little project for us.

Craving #1: Quality Pizza

It all started with pizza.  For my twenty-eighth birthday party, I hired my good friend (and pizza maker extraordinnaire) Mark Bello to help me put together a pizza and beer pairing party at Beer Table.  Mark has since opened his own pizza-making school in the Lower East Side called Pizza-a-Casa.  He is a pizza guru and all around foodie and I am oh so happy to have him in my life.  Anyway, I got hooked on the fun of making pizza, so I registered for a pizza stone and peel as shower gifts, but I didn’t really end up making much use out of them over the last couple years.  Then recently, I discovered frozen pizza dough from Fresh Direct.  They deliver the dough in four little balls to you frozen and you just thaw it out the night before you want to make a pizza.   Thanks to my work with Mark, I have all these recipes and ideas for yummy pizzas to make at home – so lately Adam and I have been on a pizza-making kick!  With a few simple ingredients: good quality fresh mozzerella, pizza sauce (been using Mario Batali’s jarred pizza sauce from Fresh Direct – but simple good quality San Marzano crushed tomatoes from a can will also do the trick), fresh basil (growing on my windowsill), thinly sliced sopressata picante and a little freshly grated Pecorino Romano for a finishing touch (especially over the crust) and there you have it – a restaurant-worthy, super yummy pizza.  Plus – making it at home is so much fun!

Meanwhile, Adam got inspired by a breakfast pizza recipe he found on Smitten Kitchen, so he adapted it to our liking and it has since become our new favorite breakfast treat.  Last weekend (and the weekend before), we invited over friends and made breakfast pizzas – topped with scallions, chives, garlic, bacon, some ricotta, fresh mozz and then finished with eggs and some fresh-grated parm.  Stupendous!  Here is a picture of one of Adam’s specialty breakfast pies:

Adam's Breakfast Pizza

The eggs on this one were a little over-cooked… it’s more delicious when the yolks break and run over the pie – but you get the idea.  Isn’t it pretty?

Craving #2:  Indian Food

I often get a craving for super flavorful, creamy, spicy, saucy Indian food.  However the Indian delivery in this neighborhood has left me rather cold.  I mentioned in a previous post how I picked up some Indian spices recently so the other night, with my friend Robyn coming over for dinner, I decided to make an Indian menu.  I used a Cooks Illustrated recipe for Chicken Tikka Masala and a recipe for Matar Makhani – Green Peas with Creamy Sauce from Madhur Jaffrey’s Quick & Easy Indian Cooking book.  Alongside I made a simple basmati rice to soak up the yummy sauces.

Well – I must admit that the preparation for this meal took me quite a while (overall prep and cooking time was about three hours!) – however, it was SO worth it!  The flavors were incredible!  And it was rather pleasing measuring out all the beautifully colored spices and ingredients into my little ramekins (you know I have a love for ramekins).  These were the measured out ingredients for the peas… I had even more measured out for the chicken!

Ramekins a plenty

This meal totally rocked!  Here is a photo of the finished dish (with peas on the side):

Chicken Tikka Masala & Green Peas with Creamy Sauce

Robyn showed off her fancy rice presentation skills by using a ramekin to shape the rice and sprinkling a little cilantro on top – another win for ramekins. :)

Chicken Tikka Masala with Basmati Rice

Craving #3: Turkey Burgers

When we lived in the East Village, we’d order from Westville almost every Sunday.  We loved the turkey burgers there  - though the turkey burgers from Zaitzeff also became a go-to for variety.  We’d both order turkey burgers with cheddar cheese, fries and then a side of hot buffalo sauce for dipping!  Now that we don’t have Westville or Zaitzeff around, I’ve started making weekly turkey burgers at home and I must say – I am beginning to master the recipe and they have now become just as satisfying as our favorite delivery burgers.  I once again use a Cooks Illustrated Recipe from the Light cookbook!  Instead of 93% lean turkey meat – I usually just buy ground turkey breast from the farmer’s market and keep it in the freezer until the night before I’m ready to cook the burgers.  Turkey breast can get dry – but this Cooks Illustrated recipe adds in ricotta cheese (use part-skim to make it lighter), which makes these burgers juicy and moist!  I add shredded cheese to each burger for the last five minutes of cooking, which melts the cheese perfectly – and I often serve these burgers on Bay’s Multi-Grain English Muffins.  Now we just need to figure out a hot sauce that completes the dish… I’ve heard Franks or Crystal tastes the most like buffalo sauce.  I’ll keep you posted on that.

(Sorry – no pictures of the turkey burgers just yet – but I’ll be sure to take one the next time I make them).

Meanwhile, other cravings on our list include:

  • Thai – I’d like to master a yummy Pad Thai recipe along with a curry (perhaps Masaman?).
  • Ramen – we sorely miss our visits to Minca in the East Village and are interested in trying out Ramen at home!
  • Mexican – I’d love to make Huevos Rancheros and Chilequiles Verdes
Oh – and I’ve decided, with so much cooking going on lately I should get an awesome “nell’s kitchen” sign made to hang up in our kitchen.  Right?  That thought makes me happy.

Three and a Half Months Later…

1 Nov

Well hello my long lost friends.  Happy November 1st.  I know – I said “blogging will resume” back in July and now it’s almost four months later!  I owe you all a big apology.  I dropped off the face of the earth without so much as a warning or a note that I was alive and well.  But here I am… alive and well and I’ve missed writing and connecting with all of you.  So I hope you forgive me and my crappy communication.

Meanwhile, I have exciting news to share, which I hope makes up for my long absence!  Adam and I are now the proud parents of this little guy:

Baby boy at 16 weeks

That’s right!  We’re having a baby.  I’m currently five months pregnant and feeling great!  The pregnancy has been quite smooth thus far – absolutely zero morning sickness, energy’s remained pretty high and as far as we know – baby is doing swimmingly.  For the most part, I haven’t been turned off or turned on by any weird foods – actually… just milk.  I’ve been craving tall glasses of cold milk, which is definitely a new thing for me.  Though you all know my obsession with dairy products, so I guess it’s just heightened a bit.  Other than that, I’ve been eating like I always eat – while trying to keep it a little healthier by cooking more and adding in extra fruits and veggies.

In this ultrasound photo the little babe’s chilling upside down.  He looks pretty happy – sort of looks like he’s smiling right?   And just look at that spine and those skinny little legs!  CRAZY!  At our twenty-week scan last Wednesday we saw him sucking his thumb and just this past week I’ve started feeling him moving around a little.  What a trip.

As for me, I’m totally getting all ‘nesty’ already.  I’m finding myself cleaning, cooking, organizing and doing more laundry than I’ve ever done in my life.  I’m enjoying settling into our new home in Brooklyn and my domestic goddess is emerging in full force.  I even bought myself some Indian spices the other day and experimented with a lovely silken chicken recipe from Madhur Jaffrey. It came out delish!

Now to fill you in on the last few months… I’ve worked on some fun projects and actually earned some money, which is quite exciting!  I did some head shots, worked at a commercial casting session and shot my very first spot as Director of Photography (with Adam directing) for a major brand (I’ll post it on the site and give more details once it’s officially wrapped up).  We also took a fantastic trip to the Canadian Rockies, Calgary and Port Townsend, WA for the Port Townsend Film Festival, where Hello Lonesome took home a Jury Prize for Best Narrative Feature – HOORAY!  Here are some of my favorite photos from our trip to Banff and Jasper National Parks:

Crazy-looking flower

Another crazy-looking flower

Glacial Lake along Icefields Parkway between Banff and Jasper

View over Jasper after taking the gondola up and up and up

Adam daydreaming on top of the world

Adam and me on top of the world

What's up chipmunk?

Canoeing on Patricia Lake - Jasper

Dragonfly

Maligne Lake - near Banff

Lake Louise

View from the Teahouse above Lake Louise after hiking 3.5 km straight UP! The tea was gooood.

So friends… that’s all for now.  I am glad to be back and hope you are all doing well!  Feel free to say hello.

xoxo -

nell

A Moving Poem

11 Jul


Our Living Room


I cannot write too much today because I am still packing.

I can’t believe how much we have; in stuff we are not lacking.

The boxes in our living room – they won’t stop multiplying.

I think we’re now past forty-five; I swear I am not lying.


But hey, I think the end’s in sight – I’m happy to declare;

The bathroom’s done, the kitchen’s near, the bedroom’s getting there.

In forty hours give or take the movers will be here.

They’ll load our stuff;  we’ll say goodbye – I might just shed a tear.


It’s been five years since I arrived here at two-fifty-two.

Twenty-seven, post-breakup and feeling rather blue.

How things have changed!  I’ve left my job and now I have a spouse! 

The next adventure -Fort Greene, Brooklyn – to our very own firehouse! 

That was a creative break.  Back to packing in progress…  xoxo


 

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