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.

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.

So I’m a month late and several bottles short with this post… I’ve been too busy enjoying the fruits of their labor.

“Their” being Ken + Mauro.  “Fruits” being their most amazing Chardonnay + Pinot Noir.

For any of my *millions of fans out there, as you might have guessed, this has become my new favorite way to close out the summer.  Just as I did last year, I found myself at their vineyard perched on the hillside of Parrett Mountain on Labor Day, once again capturing their final warm weather tasting.

Which now seems like a very very long time ago…she says as she cranks the heat up {again} and pulls the blanket around her shoulders.

Now where’s that corkscrew?

I am a storyteller with a camera.  I am an avid seeker of faces, places and experiences.  So if there are no people to be found, I love the exploration of the spaces they inhabit, poking around through all the nooks and crannies that define it and make it meaningful to someone somewhere, documenting the things they have left behind.  The stamp, or in this case, stickers, that say, “Once upon a time, I was here”.

This past Friday, I was given a unique opportunity on behalf of Dive Bar Shirt Club.  A site that celebrates all the beauty of…well….dive bars found all across the country.   In a city increasingly over run by hipster hangouts that require a PhD in fashion just to step across the threshold, the comfort of come-as-you-are corner bars can be quickly overlooked here in Portland.  Of important note however:  in googling my destination for the day, I came across an article that indicated a certain magazine with the words Play + boy in it had listed this place as one of 10 Great American Dive Bars.  For spam purposes, I think I’m going to regret including that little bit of trivia but found it interesting nonetheless.

Welcome to Billy Ray’s.

What do barbells, bingo, and the beauty salon have in common?  These cuties.  Thanks to Concepts In Community Living facility in Stephenson, Washington.

I wish I could say that I shot this but alas, I was just the photo assistant to magic maker Michael Schmitt + Sahalie’s own creative force Jen Gillette. So fun to see the finished product!  Click the link below to see what all the buzz is about…

Sahalie: Fall to Winter

Ok. If you haven’t had any K + M Alchemy Vineyard Pinot Noir or Chardonnay, I won’t hold it against you. Yet. Their vines are over 30 years old but they’ve only been on the market for a year.

However.

If say, I find out six months from now that you have yet to taste the sweet nectar from their vines, I will find you and make you take a moment to share a bottle or two. Or three. With me.

They’re located on the sunny side of Chehalem Mountain, a short drive south from Portland. And I spent Monday afternoon making pictures at their Labor Day tasting. Lucky lucky me.

Bert + Ernie mugging for the camera.

Ziggy supplied the appetizers.