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!

Melissa + Lon entered into their marriage with a conviction unlike any I’ve seen.  With absolute faith in their destiny to be together, they pledged their love under clear blue skies on the side of Mt Hood in the rustic beauty + simplicity of the Raven’s Nest at Timberline Lodge.

Theirs was a morning wedding, so I enjoyed my first stay at the Lodge and the magic of a full moon night from the top of a mountain.  Melissa was a meticulous planner so because of that, I had the gift of spending a relaxed early morning with just the two of them wandering the trails around the lodge.  Their ceremony + celebration was a wonderfully intimate group of family + friends + their first dance included some VERY unexpected moves busted by both of them to the tune of Right Said Fred “I’m too Sexy”.  Hy-ster-i-cal.

The reception wrapped up just as smoke from the wildfires on the back side of Hood started blowing through, obscuring all views of the mountain and curling through the vents…I left smelling like I’d just spent a night at a campout and not a wedding.

Thank you so very much Melissa + Lon for the opportunity to share this most memorable day with you both.   All my love + best wishes for the rest of your lives together.

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?

It’s hard to go wrong when you plan your wedding for such a spectacular setting as The Gorge.  Wind or no wind, that part of the world always delivers for me jaw-dropping gorgeousness in all it’s natural splendor.  So you match that up with two of the smartest, more creative, slam-poetry rappin people and all their wonderful people and you really can’t have a bad day.

Susan + Daniel were married on a spectacular August afternoon on little known Thunder Island out in Cascade Locks.  Minus the Skipper + MaryAnne, this Island in the middle of the Columbia River is still a world of it’s own.  Add to this the fact that Susan was wearing her step-mother’s original Laura Ashley dress from her own wedding {oh, how I miss those Laura Ashley wearin days}…and they had a plethora of talented people in the bunch perform assorted musical accompaniments as well as the ceremony itself…and that they collected every single last piece of dinnerwear from local 2nd hand stores…and the bride really did throw down with some of the most amazing slam-hop I’ve ever heard.

And then you can begin to see why I love my job so much.

I am a lucky girl to have this incredible opportunity almost every single week to meet people from all over the world who invite me into their lives and share their love stories.  And Susan + Daniel were certainly no exception.

Thank you both so very much.  Wishing you much continued mutual adoration + creativity in your life ever after.

Konnie + Bet’s August wedding was a beautiful blend of Lao + American wedding traditions.  With a simple + intimate ceremony earlier in the day, the focus of the evening was the reception + celebration of their life together amongst a much larger gathering of family + friends.  This is the second Lao wedding celebration I have had the fortune to be a part of, and especially enjoy the performance of the first dance, a slow circling of the dance floor, with the bride + groom gracefully swaying their hands back + forth.  Family + friends then join the dance in a mesmirizing swirl of hands.

And I couldn’t help but find the humor + enjoyment in all 30 of my backup photographers.  Thanks guys.

Konnie + Bet, thank you so very much for the honor of being a part of your celebration of a life lived happily ever after.