winter part 3. {red.black + bertoia} | newburyport ma

once a day she tells

the spin to sit still,

the twirl to behave, the laugh to whisper,

the dream to sleep.  and for a moment

she was untwirled, whispered

and dreamless...     {no. 333  m. duval}

model:  nissa lafond
location: spencer peirce farm, newbury - mass.
inspiration: a splash of mid-century.a bit of new england classic.a touch of burberry with a twist of school.

[film.again.] | newburyport ma

i remember saying i would never ever give up my film camera and switch to digital. and then i did. i remember saying i would never use photoshop to edit my images. and then i did. i remember saying i would never use actions i would be a straight out of the camera gal. and then i did. i remember saying i would never shoot raw. and then i did. i remember saying i would never use lightroom. and then i did. and i remember saying i would never go back to film.
and then i did.
today.
and i was happy. a different kind of happy. memories of high school - memories of my dad. memories of discovering photography for the first time. full circle. it's good.
we shall see where this journey takes me. thank you h. xo

an old film scan - java + kylie rose - circa 2001

[the power of a photograph] | newburyport ma

i found this image in my archives tonight. i know. i know. i have a cigarette in my hand. it was a djaram to be exact. and i was sitting on the spanish steps. people watching. in rome. (everyone had a cigarette in their hand and it was a fleeting thing for me i hadn't smoked in years) seems like another lifetime ago. i wasn't married. mom was still here. although she was working hard at getting better. i remember being afraid to leave the country, afraid to leave her time zone. ridgefield was still there as home. i wasn't pregnant or even thinking about being pregnant. (that would change the next month.) i just jetted off to rome with some friends. simple. and wonderful. i look at this photo and i remember the meg of march 2005. perhaps a bit hipper, obviously younger. a boston gal. a much different meg than the one of february 2011. sitting there thinking. and watching. and amazed at the beauty that is rome. never did i think that 6 years later would i have a beautiful little girl snoring next to me, a husband, a now defunct tea house, mom trying out her wings, a new career, dad remarried and moving to florida, and of course some more pounds. oh how life changes on a dime. 
the power of a photograph. to help me remember the meg i used to be and to shape the meg i am and the meg i will be. photography does that. an image can take you away to another place and time. it can be a reminder of your dreams, your goals, your happiness, your sadness. an important emotion or thought forever framed. it has made me who i am today. it will mold me for my tomorrows. photography makes my heart happy. oh and no.... i don't smoke anymore. xo

[spanish steps. roma 2005 mar]

winter part 2. {the quilt + audrey} | newburyport ma

...and those worlds you used to create for me.

Remember?  we'd sit on the floor,

Grandma's old quilt draped over our heads.

"Invisible." you'd say. Pure dark space until

we looked up and noticed the pinpricks of light piercing the fabric.

"Stars," you'd say.    

                        {no. 221 m. duval} 

model:  nissa lafond

location:  spencer peirce little farm, newbury - mass.

inspiration: the embrace of a cozy quilt.audrey hepburn.vintage prettiness

winter part 1. {the black tutu} | newburyport ma

i say, "it's all black and white."

i say, "it all adds up." but you, in your

inevitable way, insist that the colors are hidden.

so you scratch the surface and find the azure.

and you say nothing adds up at all.

"infinity + infinity is beautiful blue chaos," you say

                                        {no. 341 m. duval}

model: nissa lafond

location: spencer peirce little farm, newbury - mass.

inspiration: winter. ballet. a little rock and roll and vogue.

[words of love]. | newburyport ma

Words of love

Softly spoken like clouds above

Drift away

What shall I say?

To let you know the way I feel

Should I cry out loud that love is real?

Or simply reveal

Forever my love

Time alone will tell us

Lovers born in May

May grow bitter and jealous

Faded and gray

What shall I say?

It's not another lovers game

It doesn't seem to have a name

It changes and remains the same

Forever my love, my love

Yesterday's projection will never really know

But tomorrow's recollection will surely show

It was so between us

Ain't no other way

Time has seen us

Day after day

What shall I say?

That isn't in the way I act

That'll carry through the years intact

I'm lookin' forward to lookin' back

From further on down the track

Together in fact

Forever my love, my love {c.simon/j.taylor}

[bertoia love] | newburyport ma

the urge for good design is the same as the urge to go on living.

{harry bertoia}

a splash of 60s a dose of 70s and a dollop of 80s - the three decades that defined me.  from birth through college and career. i saved marriage and motherhood for the tres modern new century - i was too busy being fabulous in boston. wink. wink.  and of course the 90s is where i kept my eye on the prize. career. career. career. and of course  contract furniture. 

i don't know if it was the fact that i was raised in connecticut -  beautiful fairfield county, that i have such fond memories of mid century fabulousness. from my piano teacher to our dentist to the photog who took our family photo in 1976 and all my babysitting gigs where i could peek inside some cool california modern homes - it was just everywhere. and really connecticut has nothing to do with it but  i just associate the two together. i really can't explain it - it's a feeling.  every time i see a beautiful danish credenza, a vintage brown jordan chaise lounge (the lido lace or the vinyl cords - awesome) a george nelson clock, knoll tulip chair, eames anything or even a tastefully made shag rug my heart skips a beat. i am so drawn to that genre.

and my home doesn't even look anywhere near  mid-century - not even close - i'm at that i hate everything in my house stage. but thanks to my sister who scored four bertoia wire side chairs on a trip to pennsylvania {she just knew i had wanted them for years and years} i have a start. and now my entire home has to be redesigned to accommodate them. who wants to help?! hands up! xo

[george nelson. edward wormley. eero saarinen. harry bertoia. charles eams and jens risom] hail to the chiefs.

[paper hearts] | newburyport ma

I love you we said

Or one of us did

And the other agreed

From the heart. {c. simon}

we have craft monday {and/or} craft friday around here - yep that's what we call it.  squeezing projects in with annie between library and swimming and ballet and friends. she's a busy gal and i'm a little bit envious of her social life.{there i admitted it!} and now we have  sweet little paper heart garlands  hanging in our windows. greeting the passerby with a message of love as chrissie hynde would say. i love them. she loves them. mission accomplished! xo




{thanks to the fabulous erin of starving artist ink for the inspiration - i'm thinking of other garlands to make now with my stack o mags! xo}

[soul song]. | newburyport ma

"...and what does it mean,"

i asked, "to follow your heart?"

she laughed and beat on her drum.

"so you want my secret recipe?"

she said.  i said yes.

"to follow your heart is as simple as closing your eyes

and listening to the rhythm

of your soul song.

once you find the beat

you will always walk in tune..."

                                   {no.194} m. duval

a five year old always follows her heart. without a care in the world. a twirl, a smile, a glimpse in a mirror.
a snippet of a moment within a million snippets of moments. my gal. getting ready for her ballet class. for
whatever reason, and honestly do we question a five year old, she wanted to stand on the bathroom counter.
she studied her face in the mirror. she glimpsed up and down at herself. she posed. she blew a kiss. she smiled. she was quiet. i took her picture. i had to. she had found the beat of her own soul song. and i didn't want to forget a single moment. 
she is pure delight. xo

[beauty my camera finds] | newburyport ma

today i had a conversation with my true self. she asked me why i had abandoned her, why i had ignored all her constant advice. and then she reminded  me of  all the things i had forgotten. 
and never once did she say, "i told you so." {m. duval}


sunday.
there are moments i stop myself and take a breath. there are moments i forget. but when i do take a moment and remember what makes my heart happy. everything else falls into place. it will all be okay. 
this i know is true - the beauty my camera finds. xo