This space is on hold for a bit. In the meantime, come visit me at curate the day for new posts!

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Oh, hello. I have been absent from life for the last few weeks. We have been working on our business plan and my head has been consumed by projections and spreadsheets. But no more! Officially finished.

Today is about catching up on everything that I have missed, including beauty. The collection this week reminds me that there is beauty in everything we see or do. Joslyn of Simple Lovely posted about a TED talk with Graham Hill in which he said that “Editing is the skill of the century.” Love it. It’s all about curation, friends. With so much out there, we need to curate the lovely.

Here are a few lovelies this week:

Being Here, Mark Garry.

1. This art installation by Mark Garry. I love how the thread illuminates as the light hits it.

2. This Mad Men-inspired wedding photographed by Christopher Currie. A good reminder that this weekend I need to finish the season of Mad Men. Wow, it’s good.

3. This home tour photographed by Dabito. Everything about his home is warm and eclectic.

4. Art and patterns by Sonia Delaunay. She was a gifted artist, who had a talent for creating whimsical, yet classic patterns and bold, innovative art.

5. This adorable photo by Shalonda Chaddock of Chubby Cheek Photography. It perfectly captures the spirit of children and their summertime art.

Hope you have a great weekend! I am off to spend the weekend with the lovelies in my home. xx

We had a great weekend with a pool full of kids celebrating preschool graduation. I haven’t had a moment to download the pictures, but it did get me thinking about photographing kids. Now that summer is here, it is the time when children spend long afternoons playing with friends and exploring their surroundings. These carefree days provide the perfect opportunity to photograph children in a candid way. So, forget the studios and backdrops and instead, choose to capture those perfectly imperfect moments that childhood is made of.

1. Choose an environment that allows for exploration. Your shots will be more candid if you let children roam around and play. After all, that is what children do best!

2. Relax. When you (the photographer) are calm and relaxed, your children will respond in a more natural way.

3. Shoot from different perspectives. Photograph them from above or behind to really get a sense of how they relate to their surroundings.

4. Use props or toys to provide comfort and encourage play. This is particularly effective if you are photographing shy children.

5. Get the parents involved. Nothing is more beautiful than the bond between children and their parents.

I’d love to see some of your favorite photos of your kids. Share a link here!

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Spending the week in Palm Springs is good for the soul. The desert warmth and light, rich colors and wood are inspiring to bring back home and add into life. Although taking the freeway is the most direct route to Palm Springs, I am a backroads kind of girl. I just can’t resist them. The smaller, the dirtier and more indirect, the better.

It was a light week of plugging in, but here are a few beauties collected.

1. I love these pillows from Pendleton’s Fall 2012 Portland Collection. I’ll take one of each, please!

2. At Your Leisure magazine by J3 Productions. Complete with great articles and photos, and stunning layouts, this publication is really a work of art.

3. The blog of photographer Heather Zweig. I can’t get enough of her beautiful photographs, and her blog has quickly become one of my favorite weekly reads.

4. This collection of serveware from Dwell Studio. I love the mix of simple patterns and natural materials.

5. This wedding photographed by Tec Petaja. The photography is gorgeous, and I love how that pop of yellow contrasts the rustic, earthy color palette.

Throwing a big party tomorrow and relaxing the rest of the weekend away! Any fun plans? Hope you enjoy!

The weekend started with Starry Night and ended dancing under the stars at one am, around a huge oak tree, with a group of my favorite women. So. Much. Fun.

The creativity began on Friday night with the long awaited, preschool art show. The kids and teachers worked so hard preparing for the show and were really excited. The class had studied different artists, techniques and styles of art and photography. The Warhol study was probably my favorite. The wall of pictures, each carefully hand painted by the kids was stunning. The teachers told us about all the time they spent working on each project with the kids and how much they loved it. Really, what is more inspiring than creating art with kids! Another favorite, we when studying Matisse’s paper collages towards the end of his life, the kids learned that he was bedridden and had assistants assembling each of his collages according to his directions. In order to properly study his work, the teachers had each child lay on a cot, with a beret and glasses on of course, and direct their “assistant” to place the cut piece where they wanted it on the paper. A fantastic experience for them and the pictures of each child during the process were adorable.

After the show, I was off to my annual women’s retreat which was a perfect combination of relaxed, energized, creative and moving. Our theme for the retreat was Dreamcatchers: Achieving Your Life Vision. We cooked, ate, drank, talked, made dreamcatchers, painted t-shirts, hiked and ran wildly through open fields. We discussed our reoccurring dreams, daydreams throughout our life and creating a life vision. And then we danced. Late into the night. There is something incredible about coming together with the same group of people year after year, that really anchors your life. It is a measure of time and allows you to have witnesses, a step back from your daily life, that really see you and watch your life and dreams unfold. Do you have a vision for your life? Is it something you have written down and refer to? Have you made one with your children? I haven’t yet, but I would love to write down their dreams for the future at each year of their life. Do you enjoy helping other people achieve their dreams? I would love to hear it all! xx

Although I’ve been deep in spreadsheets this week, the first unofficial first week of summer has been a great one. Looking around, I wanted to create a cluster that feels like the start of summer as well as an optimism that comes with the changing of seasons. This collection feels just right.

Here are few more favorites:

1. This recipe for play dough made from Jello! Sounds like the perfect project to do with the girls. Thanks, Modern Parents Messy Kids!

2. Art by Jennifer Sanchez. All of her pieces are great, but ny1016 and ny1017 are among my favorites. The vibrant colors and compositions create such an playful energy.

3. This gorgeous dress by Everly. I can’t get enough of that pattern.

4. This summer fiesta wedding, photographed by Jesse Chamberlin of Our Labor of Love. I just love the rustic simplicity of the event.

5. This rattan chair from Serena & Lily. Perfect for a relaxing afternoon under the summer sun.

Do you have any favorite links this week? Feel free to share, I’d love to hear them. I am off to CAMP ATHENA, my annual women’s retreat. I am looking forward to a great weekend with inspiring friends, crafts and soulful conversation. Hope you have a great weekend and I’ll see you all next week! xx

Stamped Lips by Andy Warhol, Bright Lip by Bernadette Pascua

Vase with 12 Sunflowers by Vincent van Gogh, Flowers for Milner by Lulie Wallace

Yellow, Blue, Orange by Mark Rothko, ny1206 by Jennifer Sanchez

Art is one of those things that is constantly changing. Over the centuries, art has progressed from simple etchings on cave walls to effortless paintings on canvas to the computer-generated designs we see so often these days. And no matter how far we come, we still look to the past. We learn about the great artists that came before us and we study their works of art. We appreciate the beauty that came from a simpler time, and we draw inspiration from it. Do you prefer the classic pieces of the past or like the modern works of today?

Summer is here and the days are lazy. Well, sort of. Life is never that lazy with four kids in a house and skyping with programmers in the Ukraine, but we did do a lot of relaxing, eating and drinking.  It seems like everywhere I looked people were on vacation. It’s in the air and it’s good. We had a perfect long family weekend. Now it’s home, unpacking and back to work. Hope the week is good, everyone.

This collection is summer in the works! The mix of natural light and bright colors is surreal and dreamy. It reminds me of long summer days spent with friends and family, soaking up the light into dusk.

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The West is color. It’s colors are animal instead of vegetable, the colors of earth and sunlight and ripeness.

It’s been a good week exploring light. I am off to Mexico with the family for a long weekend. The quote above, by Jessamyn West, really captures the western landscape. I love it.

Here are a few of the links that I have collected this week. I hope you all enjoy them as much as I do.

1. The Resort Swim collection from Mara Hoffman. The bold colors and patterns get me in the mood for summer.

2. Anything and everything from The Glow. Every photograph captures the special moments that define motherhood and shows them in such beautiful light, literally.

3. This watercolor painting by Emily Green. The colors are rich, yet the overall composition is light and fresh.

4. This bohemian wedding shoot featured on Green Wedding Shoes. I love the bouquet of wildflowers and succulents, and the eclectic mix of rustic textures and elements.

5. This agave margarita looks so refreshing. Sounds like the perfect drink to make on a warm summer evening.

Any fun plans for the weekend? Hope it’s a good one, enjoy!

“I guess I am not very human. All I really want to do is to paint sunlight on the side of a house.” Edward Hopper

Sunlight in an Empty Room, Hopper.

In 1963, four years before he died, Hopper painted Sun in an Empty Room, one of his most mysterious and beautiful works. When asked what he was after in the painting, Hopper responded, “I’m after ME.”