We just arrived in Sa Pa! Sa Pa is located in northwest vietnam, a quiet mountain town known for its dramatic rice fields. It feels like Christmas here, foggy and cold. Going to a be challenge to shoot outside in this weather:)
xo
Last night we spent the evening on a junk boat in Halong Bay, a land of floating villages and magic landscapes – one of the most indescrible experiences we’ve ever shared. Can’t wait to share photos with all of you. Another 5 hour drive ahead, and then we’re off on an 8 hour night train to Sa Pa. See you soon!
Xo
This weekend was my favorite kind of weekend. Sleep in Saturday morning, wake up bleary eyed and warm under my blankets, throw on some clothes and head to my nearby bar for a leisurely brunch. The fire is crackling and the burning wood is a welcome scent in the morning. Then we’re off on a mission to find a vintage camera strap for my new camera. I tried some of the local Old City boutiques but no luck at any of those (although I did walk out of one with a cozy new sweater with suede elbow patches). We stopped at a couple thrift and antique stores in the South Street/Bella Vista area before making our way back to Old City for the night – the photos below are from Anastacia’s Antiques, a pretty cool spot on Bainbridge between 6th and 7th, and we also stopped at Retrospect on South Street, which usually has some great vintage finds. The holidays have really taken over the city and I find myself craving a heavy snow fall… I love it when the streets are blanketed in white drifts of silence.
If any of you have any tips on where to find that elusive vintage camera strap… holler!
We arrived late last night in a fog of a quietly empty Hanoi.
This morning we saw the chaos of the city alive, scooters racing like bugs below and excitement filled the crew.
And we’re off! The FP team met with our local producer Thoa, at 6am this morning to start our adventure to Halong Bay.
Xo
We’re 24 hours into our journey, having fun during our layover in Seoul, Korea. 5 more hours to go and we’ll be in Hanoi! At 6 am we hit the road for a 5 hr trek to Halong Bay, where we’ll be shooting on the beautiful junk boats. Stay tuned!
Xo
We’re all at JFK- 10 of us are on the same flight to Seoul, Korea! 15 suitcases, 2 photographers, hair and make-up, our models Michele and Martha, and the FP team. See you in 24 hours!!!
xo
Our catalog team is always busy – when they’re not traveling around the world shooting the books you see each month, they’re planning the next ones, months in advance. They are departing soon to shoot our March book and we’ll be posting their journal entries for you here on the blog! Stay tuned…
In two days we’re off on another FP adventure- this month’s journey takes us all the way across the world to photograph breathtaking Vietnam, top to toe- a land of dramatic landscapes, coastlines, colors. We’ve got 32 hours of travel in store- a flight from JFK –> Seoul, Korea, Seoul –> Hanoi, Vietnam. We’re so excited to have the opportunity to share this experience with you – we’ll check in over the next two weeks and keep you abreast of all of our discoveries.
xo
This weekend I was in New York City for our crafting event at Free People Upper East. I love New York this time of year – the weather was still mild enough to walk around outside all day comfortably, but a cheerful holiday spirit fills the air. I spent Saturday wandering around in Brooklyn and stayed the night at the Bowery House in downtown Manhattan before heading to the Upper East Side on Sunday.
My first stop was Brooklyn Flea – a thrifter and vintage lover’s heaven!
I loved the vintage holiday decorations and ornaments :)
I was drooling over the turquoise jewelry!!!
After spending a little too much time sifting through all the treasures, I walked down to Prospect Park where there was a little farmer’s market – and hot apple cider!
I would so love to live in a Brooklyn brownstone one day…
I stopped for a quick cider at a pub in Brooklyn – I loved the little jar they served it in! Then I hopped on the subway back to Manhattan to head to the Bowery House, where I was staying. This place is perfect for anyone traveling to NYC on a budget, if you’re literally just looking for a place to crash. It has a cool history – in the 1940s it was a temporary home to soldiers returning from World War II. The location is convenient and the price is great, plus it has a cool rooftop garden – but if you’re a light sleeper, bring ear plugs :)
Spotted this post-it note in Prospect Park :) Stay tuned for part two, with photos from our event on Sunday at Free People Upper East!
This weekend I suffered from nostalgia, thoughts of home over consumed me and made me quite homesick heavy; it’s always this time of year that I feel this way maybe it’s the dark nights or the grey dreary weather that brings England into my mind… who knows. I spent my days this weekend thinking about Sunday Roasts, long strolls around Notting Hill, and lazy days inside a cozy pub chatting with friends. Here are some snap shots that helped me get through the feeling this weekend. Even though I get like this from time to time, America is where I am and I’m going to give it my all. You only live once, right?
America and British love!
A perfect pub Sunday Roast
The pastel homes in Notting Hill
my golden cocker spaniel
I love Thanksgiving. It’s one of the holidays that my family does best – centered on good food and warm sentiments. Each year, my mother wakes up at the crack of dawn to get cooking – something she’s been doing ever since she was eight years old. She starts with the pies – so when you turn up all bleary eyed from your bed, the sweet scent fills your nostrils and puts a drunk smile on your face. A fire is already blazing in the wood oven, and we all plop down on the couch with blankets, dogs, and the Thanksgiving Day parade. Quickly, hot cups of Jo are distributed, and you couldn’t be happier.
This year, once the caffeine had hit my brain, and I was able to pull my couch-loving-self together, I whipped out my camera to document. In the past year I’ve gotten a lot more into food photography. Not just looking at it on the pages of periodicals, but also practicing it a bit myself. Thanksgiving is a visual playground of food, and this seemed like the perfect chance to mess around…
My Aunt came from Italy and we prepared one of my favorite Italian desserts – Monte Bianco. It’s made with a puree of roasted chestnuts and whipped cream.
Abigail looking very guilty after trying to steal some turkey…
I had to include how beautiful the sky was at sunset. Hope you all had a great thanksgiving! xx
“How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you were?”
My birthday was last week… its funny how as you get older, you start to worry about birthdays more, and want to acknowledge them less. I’ve always felt that the day itself doesn’t really hold much significance, but whenever it comes around I think of it as a time to reflect on the past year, and also think about the year ahead and what I want to do with it.
My dad got me a new camera. As someone who once aspired to be a professional photographer, and built a darkroom in his parents basement, he appreciates photography and has always been incredibly supportive of my little “hobby.” I’ve taken photography classes in the past, but with film, not digital – and this year I want to make a conscious effort to work on it.
So over the past week I’ve been playing around with the new camera a lot, and using it to capture little bits of what I’ve been up to…
My friend made homemade apple cider using tea-bags filled with spices (and a little bit of rum)… YUM!
And after several months of living in my current apartment, I FINALLY got around to hanging up some artwork! The fish is by my sister’s super talented boyfriend; one of my best friends had the painting on the left below done of my shore house –the sweetest gift I’ve ever gotten.
I spent some time yesterday working on a DIY with these fun colors of embroidery floss! Can’t wait to share :)
And lastly, I thought I’d share a few of the Free People items i can’t stop wearing lately! The velvet extreme flares are the most comfortable, luxurious pants I’ve ever worn – they’re getting a lot of wear this season. My sister got me the marled yarn pullover in this lovely wine color and it’s my new favorite sweater! And technically my Gola sneakers are from February of last year when we sold them before, but I still love them just as much today and am contemplating getting another color… put together these items make a cute outfit too!
And, my kitten Jam, who always wants to be the center of attention :)
Oh and to answer the question I started with… I think I would think I’m in my early twenties. How about you??
This weekend I enjoyed the feeling of Fall, the leaves have turned all fiery here in Philly. The rustic leaves brings a vintage feel, a feeling of age and decay that I’m drawn to; throughout my life I’ve loved the juxtaposition of the beautiful and the ugly finding old buildings and seeing the beauty in them. This nostalgic feeling comes flowing into me during fall – the trees decay ready to transform into something beautiful come spring. I kinda love that.
After a scrumptious brunch at one of my favorite restaurants here in Philly “Parc” that recalls the chic brasseries of Paris and a long walk in my vintage French military boots I returned home and got be-dazzled by party hats for these coming festive months – DIY soon perhaps!
Happy Monday all!!
