File this one under "Bedtime Avoidance Tactics".
Suddenly, the light from IKEA that we've had sitting in the living room for 3 years is so interesting.
Happy Tuesday to all and to all a good night.
staplehouse: a purpose-driven restaurant
The story begins in 2009.
My friends, Jen and chef Ryan Hidinger, began a small weekly supper club, where a community of Atlanta-based food lovers emerged out of the dining room of their charming bungalow. Relationships were formed and good food was devoured.
Over the course of the next few years, the community grew; the weekly suppers continued to be served alongside multiple events and family-style dinners and partnerships with farms and awards and gaining publicity and due acknowledgement... and the once ambitious dream of opening a restaurant, Staplehouse, was now becoming a reality.
On December 21st of 2012, everything changed.
Ryan, 35, was diagnosed with stage IV gallbladder cancer. Staplehouse was put on permanent hold, as they set out to fight the bigger fight.
Obviously I am writing this with only 3 months between the time with which he was diagnosed and now. But during those days and weeks that followed his diagnosis, so much happened and continues to happen. In between making plans for recovery and going to treatment, an outpouring of love from the same community that they fed in the home has now created the support needed to help redefine and reinvent a new Staplehouse.
And here we are.
What was then a dream of a husband/wife-run restaurant is now a dream of a restaurant to serve an industry. An excerpt from their PR brief,
"We’ll bring inventive, beautifully prepared seasonal food to the Atlanta community and put every bit of the restaurant’s profits after taxes into a non-profit that will support members of the culinary community who encounter unexpected financial circumstances. Staplehouse will be the first-ever modern, farm-to-table restaurant, powered by award-winning chefs that will never make a single cent!"
With the help and vision of fellow chef Ryan Smith (currently Executive Chef at Empire State South) and Kara Hindinger (currently general manager at Abattoir), Ryan & Jen are still pursuing their original dreams, but now with the greater purpose of giving back to their community.
You have the opportunity to share a part in their dream as well. This began with an Atlanta-based reach but has since grown...
It all makes me very proud to be an Atlantan, but I'm equally proud to be a part of a national/international community on social media. I get chills thinking about how love grows exponentially when we take the time to share the stories of others. Not everyone can donate money, but just passing this on or linking to it would mean so much. Thank you for your time and heart, your positive thoughts and prayers.
As their motto goes, "dare all and prevail"!
xoxo, Dera
You have the opportunity to share a part in their dream as well. This began with an Atlanta-based reach but has since grown...
>>> If you are inclined to contribute to their campaign, you can do so HERE. (It is very easy to follow the prompts, and there you'll find more photos, more details about this project, and more information about these two wonderful people and the wonderful community in which they exist.) <<<
It all makes me very proud to be an Atlantan, but I'm equally proud to be a part of a national/international community on social media. I get chills thinking about how love grows exponentially when we take the time to share the stories of others. Not everyone can donate money, but just passing this on or linking to it would mean so much. Thank you for your time and heart, your positive thoughts and prayers.
As their motto goes, "dare all and prevail"!
xoxo, Dera
week 15 // you are my wild
The question is: what are you NOT allowed to do at Grandma & Papi's house? As it turns out, not a lot.
They help her make dinner; they help themselves to whatever is in their fridge & cupboard for that matter. They pick flowers from his garden. They climb in his wood pile. They use her sewing machine to make their dolls bed linens and pillows. They play his instruments on the porch swing. They fall asleep hard on the way home.
brother links
All interesting and cool things in my life are credited back to my husband and brother. Brother Joey just flew back to NY today after a short visit, but he left behind some great links.
Then (on a completely different note) there was this:
I've linked to the Alec Baldwin episode, but they're all so good.
First there was this:
* * *
Then (on a completely different note) there was this:
week 14 // you are my wild
While we're no Denver or Indianapolis, as far as being landlocked goes, Atlantans are still pretty desperate for a bit of water by the time the weather teases us with 70º days and 60º nights. And that time usually aligns itself with Spring Break.
My mom, dad, the girls, and myself took a little impromptu trip to the Barrier Islands last week.
I've always been intrigued by these cluster of islands off the small shore of Georgia. Similar to neighboring islands of South Carolina and Florida, you can find:
exaggeratedly beautiful live oak trees, with limbs that dip in and out of the grass like sea mosters, dripping in moss and covered with lichen; whiffs of sulfer water- a smell that would be otherwise awful if not always associated (for me) with the ocean and vacations; dense forests of palmettos and palms; inland marshes so filled with wildlife you cannot help but wondering what would happen if you step foot in and sank into those murky grassy waters; fragments of mixed-era history scattered around in the forms of Spanish conquest forts, Civil War trenches, and the remains of Victorian Era hunting clubs and mansions (and the ghosts of the Vanderbilts, Morgons, Du Bigons, and other American royalty); beaches filled with the huge remains of oaks being beaten by wind and surf until they look like ancient ruins made of driftwood; wandering wild horses and brazen families of raccoons looking for grape handouts; the most picturesque sunsets that seem to last 10 times longer than your average sunset.
Short but very sweet.
rewind to easter & a birthday
Easter was spent at my parents' house. We had grandparents, aunts, uncles, mother-in-laws, parents, neighbors, and even my brother and cousin over FaceTime from Brooklyn & Toronto. There were yummy mixed drinks, obligatory ham and deviled eggs, spring vegetables, and more than enough dessert. It hurts just thinking about how much food was eaten that day.
the girls spying the egg-hiding crew.
my grandparents, ignazio & faye, as he discusses one of a thousand hilarious topics. (note grandma's intense eye roll).
and grandpa in his studio.
It was also Terry's birthday that day. We celebrated with... (belch)... more dessert and sweet gifts and family.
Photographing him has proved over the years to be more difficult than elusive wildlife or the Loch Ness monster. (See how I didn't compare him to Big Foot? You don't call a birthday boy Big Foot...) If he sees a camera, he hides. And so, I am very proud of this photo. He still has sleepy eyes, but I'll take it. And I love all 37 years of him. Happy birthday, favorite man.
week 13 // you are my wild
Meet Chisel Chowder. He was rescued from the throes of a nasty little game of whack-a-chipmunk by our cat. We spent all of Sunday feeding him and petting him and washing hands. Repeat. He was given back to the family he left the day before, right after he disrobed that pretty little pink doll dress he was wearing. (Darnit for not getting a shot of that!)
Look at the others' here. The bond that is being formed between each photog is special... and I really love those other kids already. I can't wait to meet these families one day.
week 12 // you are my wild
When the Curtises are away, the White's will play. (Thanks for letting us crash your farm, guys).
We soaked up the sun, and giggled about goats nibbling our shirt tails.
We tried to ignore just how cold our toes were, standing on those smooth rocks in the stream.
We stood in the center of the greenest part of the greenest grass, watching men in cowboy hats put fencing in around the perimeter of the enormous pasture. We tried imagining the horses that will one day graze there. We laughed as we tried picturing each of us on the backs of those invisible horses.
We hummed Ennio Morricone's soundtrack to the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly the entire time, even with mouths full of tortilla chips.
We whined a little, because it just wasn't the same to climb that tree without our best friend there too. But boy do we love that place.
>>> Week 12 is good and is HERE.<<<
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