we gather {life}

For us, Thanksgiving has often been as much about spending time with friends as it has been with family. Once you step outside the circle of the three of us, our family is fairly far flung, making this holiday as much about the families you create as the ones you came to the table with.

This year we traveled to Charlottesville, Virginia to spend the holiday with our dear friends Seamane and Rob.

Seamane and I go way back. Like elementary-school back. Here are Neel, Callum and Rob looking over our old high school year books. Har Har. Glad you guys got a chuckle out of that. Up until a couple of years ago, I hadn't seen Seamane since our early, early college days. At a cocktail party at their house Wednesday night, I chatted with a friend from Seamane's book club who shared with me an appreciation of the thing that brought me and Seamane back together. I'll go ahead and say it. Thank you, Facebook. Seamane's mom Kathy was there visiting too, and I haven't seen her since I graduated from high school! She hasn't aged a bit, and I'm sure I haven't either. Cough, cough.

Rob always smokes the turkey, and Callum (and Neel) wanted every part of that!

I made chestnut stuffing (which while delicious, is not terribly photogenic), and Seamane made sweet potatoes (with just a little butter) to go with the turkey. And there's Callum, both before and after trying brussel sprouts.

We sampled several Virginia Viogniers (a tradition for Seamane and Rob), the first from Pollak Vineyards. Oh how I envy Charlottesville and their vineyards! It was stunning. The perfect counterbalance to the smoky turkey.

And of course, the pie. Three kinds, for five people! Pumpkin, of course, and a pecan. Kathy and Callum were clearly kindred spirits, got a head start on the apple.

Sweet family. Sweet time. Sweet life.

welcome friends

The pineapple was a originally used as a symbol of hospitality when Christopher Columbus returned to Europe bearing the fruit from his travels to the New World. In Colonial America, where visiting was the primary means of entertainment and cultural enlightenment, the pineapple became a symbol of the warmest of welcomes.

Served as a decadent dessert, the pineapple displayed the dedication a hostess felt to her guests. Overnight visitors were shown to bedrooms with pineapples carved on bedposts, and in seaside towns, sea captians would impale a fresh pineapple on their porch railing to show that they were home and receiving visitors.

So, in the spirit of hospitality, I say to you, Welcome Friends! Welcome to the new and improved Still + Life. Things are a little different around here, but the essence is the same. It's still me. It's still us. It's still our lives and the things that catch my eye.

We'll be doing some things differently, in the hopes of encouraging you to stop by more often. In the mornings, with your coffee (if I may be so bold to suggest...it's what I would do), stop by for a daily photo. The still. Come back later in the day for more photos and the story behind the photo. The life. If you're rushed for time, it'll all be there in the afternoon sometime.

I still have some tweaks to work out and some loose ends to clip, but come on in and stay awhile. If you're missing something from the old blog, click on the Archives tab at the top of the page, and it'll take you to where you need to go. In the meantime, take a look around the new space, and tell me what you think. I hope you like it and come back often.