A Visit to the Sullivans - August 21, 2009

We have a wonderful annual tradition of visiting our friends, Jim and Marie Sullivan, almost every summer for a night on our way back to DC from points north where we have vacationed. Jim and Marie live half the year in Manhattan and half in the Catskills.

Our Catskill visit begins with the boys (Jim, my husband, Joe, and my son, Jake) taking Jim's "Mule" out for a spin on the country roads and surrounding land while Marie and I get ready for cocktail hour. Then we sip a martini in their beautiful back yard overlooking the pond, have a fabulous dinner prepared by Marie, and stay up much to late for people who are getting up early to drive seven hours back to DC.

Jim and Marie are both fabulous painters and this year I came home with two watercolors of Marie's. My previous Sullivan purchase was one of Jim's landscapes which hangs in our dining room and which we love dearly.

Our ten year old son enjoys this trip as much as we do. This year he bonded with Dalia the big dog who had initially terrified him.

It is much to early to even begin to think where we might vacation next summer, but I know it will be someplace that allows us to stop by the Sullivan's on our way home.

Cait and Matt - August 20, 2009 - On Their Honeymooon

I met Cait and Matt last week when I was vacationing in the Adirondaks with my husband and son and they were honeymooning at the same hotel, the Mirror Lake Inn in Lake Placid, NY. I was reading in the lobby one evening when they asked me if I would mind taking their photo with their point and shoot camera. Mind??? I live for people asking me to take their photos!! Since I always travel with my whole rig I had them meet me the next evening so I could take some more pictures with my camera. They were so lovely and so beautiful I was eager to take a few images of them.

Such a great couple and so much fun to photograph. I envy the lucky photographer that got to take the pictures of their wedding the weekend before.

Jocelyn and Jim - August 7, 2009

This morning I got up bright and early to meet up with Jocelyn and Jim for their engagement shoot. They had selected three sites to take photos. We started at the Netherlands Bell Carillion in Arlington as it provides a wonderful vista of the river and monuments. We then moved on to the Jefferson Memorial and ended up at the Botanical Gardens and the Capitol. All this before 9:00! There is nothing like early morning light on a clear crisp day. We watched the sun rise over the river and took advantage of the dawn lighting at the Jefferson.

What a lovely couple they are. So much fun and so enthused about taking pictures. I am very excited about their upcoming wedding in October in Alexandria. I will share those images in a couple of months.

Kathryn and Geno - August 1, 2009

Yesterday I photographed the wedding of Kathryn and Geno. Kathryn is a teacher at my son's school and we met through a fellow parent. The ceremony was at St. John the Evangelist Church in Silver Spring, MD. The reception followed at the gorgeous Music Center at Strathmore . What a fun crowd this was. Kathryn and Geno entered the reception to what might have been the best first dance I have ever photographed. Equally as entertaining as the YouTube wedding procession video that everyone has seen by now.

What a dramatic space Strathmore is. Augie Bove and the in-house staff of Restaurant Associates provided their usual excellent service and great food. D.J. Mighty Mouse kept the crowd on the dance floor the whole evening.

Many thanks to Rena Schild for assisting me with photography.

Geno and Kathryn are off to Hawaii next week. Safe travels to the both of you and I look forward to seeing Kathryn often as the new school year approaches.