Move Over JC Penney, There's a New Game In Town

I'm officially expanding my repertoire of photography skills with two new baby shoots over the last two weekends! They were both for co-workers of mine (it happened to be that when I joined the company, we had a virtual explosion of babies being born...so it seemed).

These little bundles are just around the same age (a few weeks apart) and I had a great time playing Supermodel with them. I find that I am learning a ton with practice and Dave helps me critique a few shots afterwards to figure out what could be better. For example, with Oliver (first photo shoot), I learned that an f-stop of 5.6 is my friend. It allows me to get things in focus that I need, while still allowing for that "fuzzy" depth of field that we all love. From the shoot with Devon (last Sunday - 2nd baby down), I was reminded that just because you have a certain pose in mind for the baby, the 7-month-old baby does not always share your "vision"! They were both adorable, really well-behaved munchkins and I had a great time.

Highlights from Oliver can be viewed by slide show or gallery.


Devon slideshow or photo gallery


My next step is to take a class on post-processing!

Stop What You're Doing.....

And go see The Color Purple. I went last week and it was AMAZING! Though Fantasia, Chaka Khan and Bebe Williams are in it in NYC, Destiny's Child's Michelle Williams was in the touring version of the show. It was truly phenomenal.... I loved the movie (with Oprah and Whoopi), and my expectations were moderate for the live show - just figured it would be "pretty good"...I was so wrong. The crowd was into it and the music can put you over the edge.

Check out the website to see if it's coming to a theater near you. You won't regret it!

Time to Give Thanks

Dave and I decided to stay in San Francisco for the holiday to relax with friends and enjoy our (relatively) new "home" in the city. Lindsay & Jon went to Texas to see Jon's parents and Mom went to Los Cabos with her girlfriend, Gaye. Dad & Carolyn stayed in Charleston after a big trip to NYC and an upcoming trip to San Diego and Los Cabos (yes, ironic and coincidental that my 3 parents would all go to Los Cabos for the first time in like 30 years within a month of each other).

Thursday morning, we headed over to Chris & Valerie's to watch a little football. We also decided to integrate "show and tell" where each of us brought a few pictures to share with the rest of us (pictures of that 'awkward stage' that we all went through, pictures of your first boyfriend, pictures of an achievement, etc). It was a lot of fun and we kicked off the day with - what else? Mumm sparkling wine.

Dave and I intended to go home around 12pm to get officially dressed for the day, but ended up staying at C&V's apartment until almost 10pm!!! Yes, almost a full 12 hours spent in the confines of someone else's 1 bedroom apartment. We had a blast though! We split up the TGiving "duties" with Dave on Turkey, Chris on Green Beans (and beverages!), Valerie on stuffing and mashed potatoes, and me on the Bryand-Rynearson "famous" cranberry sauce and Mama Dianne's "famous" sweet potato with marshmallow casserole (Mmmm-mmm good!). Here was our feast (did I mention there were just FOUR Of us???):


Chris introduced me to a Tom & Jerry cocktail, which I had never heard of! It consists of a delicious mix of brandy and goodness, served hot and goes down like WATAH' my friends! Interestingly enough, it wasn't named after the famous cartoon. Read more about Tom & Jerry Drink!. Thanks, Chris!


On Friday, instead of hitting all of the Black Friday craziness, we headed north to Napa to spend the night at Silverado Resort. We tasted wines at Mumm (of course) and Honig, then went to a newbie (new to us) called Robert Sinskey, recommended by friends of my parents named Dee and John. They ordered Sinskey's Pinot Noir at dinner with us a couple of months ago and we immediately fell in love with the wine. The tasting was interesting because, though a little on the pricey side ($20/person), you do have a food pairing with the experience (I use the term "food" quite lightly as none of the pairing food is larger than the size of a quarter...not exactly enough to get full over!). We had a great experience there though and I'm glad we tried it.

The last highlight of the quick getaway was a reservation at the famous chef, Thomas Keller's restaurant, Ad Hoc. This is such an interesting concept because you have no idea what is on the menu prior to arriving AND you have no CHOICE on the menu once you get there! It is a prix fixe $45 four-course meal and you don't have to make one single decision except for what beer or wine you'd like to enjoy. The food was absolutely delicious and I highly recommend this experience if you can score a reservation (we had ours at least a month in advance for a Friday night).

For more pictures (this post turned into a NOVEL!), you can view them here.

This year, we are most thankful for health, our families, our new home in San Francisco and the truly wonderful friends we have made here. xoxo