A favorite walk : cross manhattan ave to franklin street at Huron, take a left and wander in and out of franklin street's lovely shops, making a handful of casual stops along the way.. until Franklin turns into Kent ave. Grab a coffee at Blue bottle on Berry... the perfect way to start the day! I love walking this walk in the morning hours... when all is quiet; it is always quiet, really... but morning walks are so underrated!

I have a new favorite shop on Franklin! Photos soon!


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unscathed. and we are thrilled newtown creek stayed put!

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minolta xg-m 35mm; kodak portra 160

Sometimes when I wander around our new neighborhood....


I feel like it's just another neighborhood in Chicago...





a Chicago with lobster rolls!

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I love what this lady is doing so much.

Just a few more days left of this online sample sale.

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minolta xg-m 35mm; kodak portra 160

A few moments at home lately. I love the light in our new apartment.

And a few new, little things.

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mamiya c3 tlr; 120 kodak portra 160

I've been glued to the computer more days than I wish to admit lately, but Stephen has been making us healthy salads to eat, which helps me feel more present in Summer. He made a salad the other night (from Gourmet's limited edition quick recipe zine from December 2010) with feta, and tomatoes, red onion, black eyed peas.... hearty, delicious, fresh. Perfect. A hunk of bread sopped up the remains of the dressing, which was made up mostly of fresh tomato juices..... summer magic.

Below is another one of those perfect salads. I was introduced to it just a few days ago, at Eat.





We were on our way to meet up with a good friend for a few drinks and well, after peeling myself away from the computer for the first time all day, I knew I needed a nice meal, (or really wanted one). So I wandered off to find myself a quick bite... and Lo! Eat was still open! And sure enough, a quick bite soon turned into a stolen evening; just me and my journal, a lovely peach gazpacho and this perfect, little salad.



I think the rare combination of ingredients really does it for me, with this one. There are hints of the season in every bite; the dill along with a beautifully aged, soft cow's milk cheese (which adds a creaminess) combined with cool chunks of honeydew, cantaloupe, fresh corn and cucumber make it a sweet, hearty and savory salad all at once. I love the subtle spiciness from the finely chopped leeks, and tangy-ness from a small squeeze of fresh lime, too. Stephen likens it to a dessert salad, but I think it would be a perfect accompaniment to any meal, or even as a meal in itself; but especially for right now ---- while the corn is still fresh and the melons ripe.

Summer Corn & Melon Salad with Dill
inspired by the lovely salad at Eat

1 small to medium honeydew (cut into 1 inch pieces)
1 small to medium cantaloupe (cut into 1 inch pieces)
a handful of dill (roughly chopped)
4 ears of raw corn (cut lengthwise from the cob)
1 large cucumber (peeled, de-seeded & sliced into 1 inch pieces)
1 medium sized leek (white and light green parts finely sliced)
A few smallish chunks of fresh, soft cow's milk cheese (like dorset or mettowee)
salt and a tiny bit of black pepper to taste. (You may not want black pepper here at all though. I would taste before you put any!)
1 quarter of one lime for squeezing (optional)

To make, combine all ingredients in a large bowl. With adding the cheese, I would use your fingers and gently massage the cheese into all the ingredients until dissolved and you are left with more of a milky dressing and the fruit looks a bit more opaque in color. I think I would also let it all hang out in the bowl for a good 10 to 20 minutes or so before diving in.

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mamiya c3 tlr; 120 kodak portra 160

Remember the projects I told you about? Well I worked another all day photoshoot last week for one of them, and these are a few behind the scenes shots of our space. We had a great view of the shake shack line from up there!

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mamiya c3 tlr; 120 fuji 400h

The beach is just a short ride away, which is perfect.

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a cute shop

a few shops in my neighborhood that I really love: here and here

adoring this blog

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minolta xg-m 35mm; elite chrome 100

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I need to mix it up. So lately, when I'm not eating tomatoes, I'm eating this (save the sugar) and this:

2 oranges sliced into wedges
2 grapefruits sliced into wedges
2 avocados cut into slices
a handful of almond slivers

and for the dressing: juice of one lemon, a drizzle of good olive oil, honey, salt and pepper to taste.

Serve on a bed of arugula or eat as is.

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Learn | Eat | Move

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mamiya c3 tlr; 120 portra 400

Today I made a promise to myself to write things down. So much happens in a day here. You know, like :


When I sat down to have a quick grandma slice for lunch the other day, this song by Laura Branigan popped on the radio. And on my way to a meeting at Balthazar a few days ago, I spotted a butterfly flutter past me on the N train and watched as it exited the train at 14th Union Square.


And that's all I can muster about this past week.





Days are infused with so much --- comparable to the amount I would experience in a week's worth of time in Chicago, I feel. I sometimes ask myself, “Am I o.k. with this pace?”. I run around a lot more. We run off to meet up with friends in other neighborhoods a lot more. Sometimes it feels exhausting, this new pace, or maybe I'm just aging myself. Or maybe I'm just really busy right now.





I love that the constant movement still makes me feel overwhelmed; all of this sensory overload of people everywhere and activity. I don't want to loose that sense of awe about it. I am relieved when I return to our apartment; the calm of our neighborhood feels like home. And I just don't want to forget all the little moments that make my days my own.

(tomatoes!)

The eagle street rooftop farm in my neighborhood is three years young, but has a fire under it's belly. I wandered there early last Sunday morning to chat with the volunteers. They serve a handful of chefs in and around Brooklyn and it sounds like the list is growing! The Eagle Street salad at (my new office) Champion coffee is so nice --- the ingredients differ every day but it's always huge and tasty. I've also enjoyed their bounty at Eat, Marlow and Sons, Sprizenhaus and their lettuce greens in Eastern District's yummy sandwiches in combination with their perfect cheeses, is a match made in heaven, friends.

I love our neighborhood.

The High Line is close to a spot where I like to process my film. (that's a nice treat)

Section TWO

I have been uber slammed with work lately. Yay Summer! What's helping me stay in the summer mood are our weekend trips to the beach (hoping to have time to process film soon!) And a little gift I bought myself last night. I cannot wait for my new lovely tote to arrive in the post!