Sami is the husband of a childhood friend, whom I hadn’t seen since, well, childhood.  She + Sami met in France and recently settled in Portland.  When she contacted me to ask about getting some promo shots taken for Sami, you could have knocked me over with a feather.  The reality of meeting them both in person and making sense of the stunning young woman standing in front of me with her equally beautiful family took my breath away.

I know I’m using a lot of fluffy words here, but all true.

Sami Rouissi.  Commit his name to memory. And count yourself lucky if you ever have the chance to hear him play you a tune.  His voice makes the ladies swoon and gents wish they had half of what he’s got.

I met with the Barbar family on a spectacular fall day for a stroll {sprint} along the Eastbank Esplanade.  Their twins were loads of fun + full of the usual almost 5 year old shenanigans.  We finished the morning with a fine cup of joe and an impromptu Hair Styles of the 80s 101, led by sweet Miss Allie.

During this insanely busy family portrait season, when every weekend of the last few months is spent with one clan or another, I’ve been fortunate to experience “a morning in the life of” so many incredible families, who open their lives to me and my camera, generously sharing their stories and their time.

I’m grateful to add the Barbar’s to that list.

And Katherine Deumling, Portland slow food chef extraordinaire, teaches you just that.

I photographed one of her classes recently, and while I was diligent about my work {which became increasingly difficult with all the wonderful smells floating around her kitchen}, I also kept an ear open with the hopes of picking up anything new to liven up what can become a mundane ritual of opening up my cabinets every night and wondering what and how I’m going to feed the children gnawing on my kneecaps.

This recipe answered my question for the night, as it has at least once a week since.

I don’t think words are enough to describe the deliciousness she whipped up that afternoon with her students, so I’m just going to proceed with photos and hope that if you know what’s good for you, you’ll give yourself the gift of learning from her kitchen.

The Oregon Humane Society recently hosted their annual telethon, broadcast live on KATU2.  In one afternoon, they exceeded their fundraising goal of $320,000 and successfully adopted out 70 of their furry faced charges.

And I was there to document all that fabulous generosity + cuteness.

For the record, the last time I photographed this event, I found myself walking out with my cat Sweetpea, who has served me well {as well as cats can serve their masters}.  It took nerves of steel not to walk away from this one without Mr. Wrinkles {as you might have guessed, a sharpei mix pup} + Jasmine {a sweet as can be rabbit…I know, who knew?} tucked under each arm.  Ala Melissa McCarthy in Bridesmaids.

And if you haven’t overloaded on all things OHS, this coming weekend I’ll be photographing for their annual Santa Paws event…please consider bringing your furry lover to a Fred Meyer store near you to get their picture taken with Santa.

I first met with Amy + Eric in the darkness of winter and it was almost too much to envision a day in late September when the sun would shine again + these two would be married.

But shine it did.  And get married they did under beautiful blue skies at McMenamins Edgefield.

They met in high school and in the 10+ years since, have created a true partnership in every sense of the word.  They complement each other beautifully in a way that I’m sure will serve them well.  And they have folded their friends and family into that dynamic, which was clearly on display the day of their wedding.  “Team A+ E” was evident from the all hands on deck for the setup of the reception…to a collection of family friends officiating + lending their beautiful voices to the ceremony…to another friend serving as emcee + DJ.  And as well organized as that team was in all their preparations, they sure knew how to throw down at the end of the night and revel in their togetherness.

Amy + Eric, thank you so much for the honor of bearing witness to the beginning of the rest of your lives together.  I wish you much happiness together!