dripping with passion

good morning, friends! it has been an interesting experiment offering a giveaway connected to a fundraiser. i have been quite surprised, and, to be blunt, quite disappointed, at the level of response. having hosted giveaways that have drawn hundreds of submissions before, i wasn't expecting the added requirement of giving just a tiny amount to support refugee relief to cause such a significantly lower rate of engagement. perhaps it's an interesting bit of societal commentary about the allure of getting something for nothing!  many, many thanks to those who have donated!! since we will be traveling back to london this evening, i will announce the winner of the $75 pinkblush gift card tomorrow morning. the random selection will happen at 10am gmt, so you have a bit more time to make a donation and enter the giveaway! please do share this opportunity with anyone you know who would be interested in the awesome prize (we all have a couple friends who are pregnant or lo

a few months ago, i got a wee bit obsessed with crafting an ideal finale trip for the boy and i to enjoy before our lives change forever in july. obviously we’ve had plenty of lovely and exciting opportunities to travel together pre-baby, but i was just a little over-excited about the whole “babymoon” concept and got my heart set on a super warm, relaxing, and bonding vacation over the holiday weekend at the end of may. i spent way too many hours trying to decide where we should go, trying to weigh prices and weather and accommodation options and flight paths and preferences. i put off the decision, and flight rates went up. the boy and i discussed all kinds of different possibilities and finally i just had to choose – so i bought tickets to milan one morning and was determined that spending four days at lake como would be juuuuuust right. i feel like we have really lucked out in so much of our traveling when it comes to logistics and weather and timing working out really well. b

{hey! why not go into the weekend with the happy feeling that you have done something good for the world and also knowing that you have a chance to win a fantastic prize! enter my giveaway for good !} this week i spent a bit of time in chelsea, one of my favourite london neighborhoods. chelsea is always pretty dreamy, but it is especially lovely this week because the streets are filled with incredible flower arrangements. about forty shops around sloane square are participating in “chelsea in bloom,” in connection with the famous chelsea flower show, and have mind-blowing displays of blossoms in and around their storefronts. when i first heard about chelsea in bloom, i obviously knew i had to go check it out and snap some photos to share the beauty! i love this city more and more and more. every season seems to beat out the last. i am so glad this is our family’s home right now. and i hope the creativity and beauty i tried to capture in these photos helps a few out there feel h

while my photographer sister saydi was in town last week, the boy and i had her take some maternity pictures for us! it was kind of an ordeal trying to figure out when and how to take the photos considering different schedules and locations and etc., but we ended up having such a fun and lovely monday evening together (and with my sister saren), chasing the good light. we spent some time right outside st. thomas’s hospital, where our son will be born (in less than two months!!!), and some time around our flat and in trafalgar square. the weather was just perfect and we were all feeling so captivated and endeared by this spectacular city. saydi just sent me the photos this afternoon and i absolutely love how they turned out! she’s incredible ! i had the hardest time trying to decide just a nice selection of the pictures to post on my blog – so many fun and beautiful and good ones! click through and see how terribly i did at narrowing down… we are sure excited about our london baby

{image via london calling blog } last week, my sisters and i visited st. paul’s cathedral together. as we quietly wandered aisles saturated with beauty and holiness, we were stopped dead in our tracks by a piece of graffiti art nestled into a sunlight streamed corner, standing boldly in striking contrast to its surroundings. we soon realized the painting was a madonna and child representation, like many others in the church. but instead of being depicted as clean and pristine and glowing in marble or mosaic, mary and jesus were depicted in this painting as modern-day refugees – dirty and cold and despairing. i was struck by this image. it bubbled up feelings that have been piercing my heart lately, especially as i’ve considered the millions of refugees around the world - tugging feelings of gratitude and guilt, of disturbance and desire. as i’ve been earnestly endeavoring to live my own unique (and outrageously privileged) life the best i know how, i’ve been compelled to find time