to y'all

Thank you to everyone for your comments and support! I wasn't sure how this blog would end up when I launched it earlier this month but so far I have had some great feedback and loyal viewers! Sometimes I feel like I'm pushing, pushing, pushing my latest photography projects on people, but as I told my friend Kat this morning....photography is meant to be viewed and shared - so I'm glad this forum does just that.

Keep dropping by and I'll promise to keep current!

Thanks again,

Emily

SPOOKY!

Charlie and I got spooked at the Haunted Forest this year! Last year I tried out some haunted houses and it just wasn't the same as when I was a kid - so I decided a take a kid with me this time around and relive my own childhood frights. My nephew Charlie and I took a stroll through the Catamount Family Center on Saturday for the matinee showing of The Haunted Forest. We saw witches and goblins, wizards and werewolves and even got to see a neat magic trick at the end. Charlie dressed as Prince Phillip from Sleeping Beauty (my most favorite prince) and brought his armor, sword and shield with him for protection. Thank goodness, too, since those witches were a bit unruly! Thanks for keeping me safe, Charlie.



Charlie and I about to enter the Haunted Forest - he looks a bit unsure of himself. Is it too spooky?



First witch spotting. Charlie kept us safe with his shield. As Charlie says, "If the witch comes and tries to get us I'll tell her 'Take a piece!' and show her my shield." She backed down pretty quickly.



The story of Jack O'Lantern.



If you saw my previous postings, you know I enjoy and appreciate a good pumpkin carving. This one, although not too visible on camera, has all the pumpkin guts spewing out of its mouth. Cool idea!



Charlie and I are pretty soaked at this point, but his little legs and "super-Prince-jumping-power" managed to hop over all those puddles.



The Wizard! We had been "on the hunt" for the Wizard the whole time and there he was! He showed us a really cool trick and handed out some neat toys. Thanks Wizard guy.



Ahhh, back in the warm, dry car....and with cocoa! Charlie sure perked up once he had a bit of sweets in him - don't we all? Save a donut hole for me Charlie! :) Oh, and I never thought I'd see the day when there is a car seat in my car. Whoa.

Check back for Halloween party fun from this weekend! Thanks for stopping by!

a FABulous evening downtown

Wow. What a fantastic dinner party! My ol' friend Lizzie threw a dinner party at her place last night to celebrate her 25th birthday. She's had a lot to celebrate lately and it certainly showed in last night's festivities. Dips, dumplings, chicken and biscuits greeted guests as well as her always welcoming grin. I was really impressed with the way she handled all of her guests and made sure all the food was prepared perfectly. I certainly would've been a frazzled mess, smoke detector buzzing, food in flames and my guests finding the nearest Olive Garden. When did we become big kids? So, thank you Lizzie for a fabulous night! I got a chance to meet some new faces and see a few familiar ones, too. You pulled it off and were fantastic! Happy happy!



Tanner and Jenny enjoy some of the delicious appetizers Lizzie prepared. Sweet potato dumplings! MMM.



Lizzie's guests milling around to awesome jazz or calypso or whatever that awesome music was.



Lizzie, Tanner and Jenny being fab with a glass of champagne.



Lizzie and her mom, who was looking great! and Lizzie's new boyfriend, Andrick.



Why is it everyone always hangs out in the kitchen at parties? Jenny's mom looks a bit suspicious, what's she up to? :)



Time to open presents!



Jane has the champagne pass down pat.



Roomates Lizzie and Van Horn look a tad surprised - did you not see me coming? :)

Thanks again Liz!

Up next -- Haunted Forest with Charlie!

what's to come

Hey! What a crazy week it's been and I wish I could say I was bound for a evening bumming around the house rocking my crazy sweats but no, I will be attending a fabulous dinner party hosted by my good friend Lizzie! She celebrated her birthday last weekend but is now hosting a yummy get together to ring in her 25th year and also as a bon voyage to her apartment downtown. I haven't had Lizzie's kitchen concoctions in years, but I'm sure they've only improved with time.

Then it's an early morning on Saturday as I shoot for the Burlington Free Press at this year's Halloween Festival on Church Street. It should be a blast and will offer up some really cute shots of costumed kids, I just hope the weather holds out. So come back and check out those shots once I've posted them sometime later.

AND THEN...after my shoot it's off to the Haunted Forest with my nephew Charlie. He's a super cute five-year-old and is ready to be spooked by the haunted trails of Catamount. I haven't entertained a little kid in years so this could prove to be very interesting. Where are my Disney tapes....?

Maybe Sunday I'll take a nap....or maybe I can find a nook under my desk to curl up in?

Check back for the photos!

The Great Flaming Pumpkin!

Wow. We've enjoyed hanging out with our new neighbor friends Joe and Sarah quite a bit, but it wasn't until last night that I was completely blown away by their style. Joe is our token science whiz friend now. You can't go for a hike without him teaching you the origins of the various flora and fauna, you most certainly cannot leave him home on trivia night (we win everytime, thanks Joe) and up until now, you really just can't carve a standard Jack O' Lantern without a bit of Joe input.

Tom and I have been entertaining several guests this week. Jason stopped by to watch Total Recall (an Arnold classic) the other night and then we got to play host to my old friend, Mira and her boyfriend Shane. They were roadtripping from Colorado to Virginia then all the way up the coast and now they're here in Vermont. They're on a mission to find a cool, new place to live and so far Burlington is ranking pretty high for them. I wonder if our neighbor Joe and his awesome science experiments had anything to do with it?

Thanks Joe...for being our Bill Nye. And thanks for creating an excuse for me to finally use this picture I shot of Bill Nye "The Science Guy". I had a photo shoot with him last spring and simply couldn't find any relevant use for this photo. Now...it looks perfect.










Awesome. this looks like something out of the scary horror movie box covers that I used to peek at whenever my mom would take me to the video store. i treated the horror section like it was the "adult" section since it was a world so unknown to me.



Perfect! Joe had just the right amount of force on this one.



We had such a perfectly spooky evening. Very quiet outside, chilly, and then these thin clouds drifted in over the almost-full moon. I don't have any Halloween decorations besides these pumpkins...I wish I could just decorate the lawn in creepy Halloween-themed pictures. :)



This is exactly what we were going for.



Ooooooo, this will get the trick-or-treaters a run for their candy. Awesome.

The 2007 Pumpkin Carving Lighting Ceremony Festivities Celebration

They're lit and they're fantastic! So spooky!



Ooooo Goblin!



Me making my best goblin face. Nice camera work, Tom!



Good old fashioned Jack O' Lantern!



Jack O' Lantern #2



Crazy Kitty Jack O' Lantern

That concludes this year's ceremony. See you on Halloween!

Up next? Who knows...it'll be a surprise.

Pumpkin Carving

After getting home from Brookfield it was off to Mazza's for some pumpkin fun. My hands and wrists are completely destroyed after carving these pumpkins - makes me realize how much of the work my parents did when I was a kid. I had an awesome time though, the weather was gorgeous so it gave me a good excuse to sit outside, chat with my neighbors and work on a project. I can't wait for tonight to see them lit!



A little bumble bee decided to check out my first carving attempt. He said it rocked.



Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is now setting in.



I am loving the pumpkin carving but hating how the only carving tool I could find was a battery-operated mini pumpkin saw. I'm sure this is the reason behind the carpal tunnel, 100%. Why is everything battery-operated now? Even lollipops come on swirling sticks! Never thought technology would hit the pumpkin carving market.



Neighbor Joe is scavenging for pumpkin seeds. Gross! Haha. But thanks for taking some of the slop...



Little pumpkin family! What are they smiling about? Creeeeepy.

Tune in tonight for the official lighting ceremony!!!

chaos in brookfield!

We headed down to Brookfield on Saturday to celebrate some birthdays. After devouring a delicious home-cooked meal in Randolph it was back to Brookfield for a serious session of puppy playtime. This weekend we had five, yes, FIVE pups with us which meant completely hilarious and adorable chaos. Here's a little sampling of our romps around Brookfield on Sunday morning. Oh, and thanks for the french toast this morning, Sara, you're gonna make a great mommy. :)



The pack sniffs around Chief's field behind the house while I snap away at the beautiful foliage.



Jasper takes one last look back before bolting for the house.



Armand is pretty pleased with himself after destroying this pumpkin. Trouble makers.



Armando licking his lips after his pumpkin treat and Bear looking quite jealous.



Sara and Sam have a great view from their window!



One tired pup. Jasper takes a breather after Murph and Kia head back to Massachusetts.



Scoping out the land where Terry's cabin will be built. Sweet spot!



Jasper's got the ball and he's FLYING with those ears back to the house. The rest of the pack doesn't stand a chance.



Awww, what a cutie. Sorry Tom, I meant the dog.



and little Potato being silly after all the dogs go home.

I'll be posting some more photos tonight....pumpkin carving!!!

STAY TUNED!

got any spare chaaaaaaaaange?

anyone that's walked the streets of downtown Boston knows this guy. here's a little tribute to those friendly faces we left behind and to the fantastic media market i had to deal with on a daily basis.

The Spare Change Guy on "How to beat the heat" courtesy of Fox News

thanks VB.

eh boston.

well i went to boston. honestly, i don't think enough time had passed since i was last there because it felt no different. Tom and I immediately started griping and putting on our worst accents. there we sat in the traffic we knew all too well cranky from the drive down scratching our heads over the latest detour. ah yes, we we're back...in boston. the huge upside of the horrendous traffic was that we got to listen to my all-time favorite radio guys, Toucher and Rich. these two made commuting in boston enjoyable to the point that i would sit in my car IN the driveway so as not to miss a minute of the hilarity before the next commercial break. adolfo and crash, i miss you boys also. chilli guy? where are you?

adolfo.

We ended up having a fantastic weekend thanks to our friend Christian for putting us up in his amazing place in Central Sq. across from Tom's old venue, The Middle East, and to our friend Beebs for providing constant entertainment. you guys are my unit and it had been too long since we've all been together.



Who knew pedicabs existed in boston? i've seen these guys in Austin, TX which is hardcore in the humidity down there, but in Boston? You barely come out alive crossing the street there, I can't imagine dragging a couple of excitable tourists behind you.

i wish i had a picture of the fried pumpkin raviolis and our burgers from The Publick House in Brookline. Really chill place to eat, read the Dig and enjoy some of the finest brews around. Watch our for the pretentious beer snobs though, they'll get you.

it's been real boston, but i think i'll keep my green mountains thanks.

Up Next!? Hmmm, what's on tap for this weekend? Birthday extravaganzas and Brookfield puppy playtime.

tune in.

off to boston.

hey! I'm disappearing for the weekend and headed off to my old stomping grounds, Boston. I'm looking forward to hanging with a few familiar faces, dining at some of my favorite places (The Publick House, Cafe Kiraz) and snapping off a few photos to bring back with me. There are so many places I wanted to shoot while I lived there, but somehow I never managed to find the time in all my six years living in the city. Maybe this three-day weekend is what I needed?

dinner in Jericho

I love this spot. I pass by it every time I head over to my dad's place in Jericho. Finally, this time around I remembered to bring my camera. This is quintessential Vermont. And, it's right next to Joe's Snack Bar, a historic landmark devoted to everything fried, quick and fatty. Mmmm. Now, that's America.

apple pickin' down Brookfield

Tom and I headed down to Brookfield to catch up with Sara and Sam, let the pups run around the woods, and do some much needed apple pickin'. The four of us stopped by the VTC Orchards and loaded up on Macs and Cortlands. Tom and I made a fantastic apple crisp later that night to calm down my overactive sweet tooth. As you can see from the photos, the orchard is in an amazing spot and we couldn't have picked (no pun intended) a better day.



This apple was tempting me like some sort of Snow White-tainted-poison-evil witch lady-apple.



Sara carefully selects the perfect apple.



Tom is getting creative since we failed to grab a picking ladder at the entrance hut.



Lovely orchard!



Tom being Tom...



The expecting parents! In just about four more months we'll get to meet this little Sara or little Sam!


Took a spin around the Vermont Veterans' Cemetery, a little random, but the views are fantastic.