It's Pho Real...

Hi old friends! I know it's been far too long since I've been in touch but I do have an excuse. Not so much an excuse as much as really exciting news! In about two weeks, Pem and I are going to be...

...moving to Vietnam! It's been a crazy last few weeks preparing for this reality and yet we still feel like somebody has to pinch us to make us believe it's all actually happening. We'll be moving to Hanoi mid-December (visas pending!) so I can start a quasi-new position for my company in January 2013.

We are over the moon about living in Hanoi, though saying goodbye to our friends here in D.C. is really, really difficult. We can only hope that the world continues its promise on being a much smaller place than we think.

More news to come, but Pem and I are planning to start up a new blog about our adventures. In the meantime, you can bet I'll be posting news and plenty of photos here on Dolma!

Dolma Prints Now Available!

Thanks to the brilliant Society6, selected photos of mine are now available to purchase as art prints, stretched canvases, stationary cards and even iPhone cases. You can browse the dolma photography offerings here (U.S. and international shipping available!).

For fellow artists and photographers, exploring selling your work but don't have the time or know-how? Society6 is a service that facilitates selling your artwork and connecting with other artists in the community. They take care of the orders from printing to shipping while you maintain all the rights to your work.

Plus de Paris...

Since returning from Paris, I feel like I've been seeing it pop up everywhere on the blogosphere (I'm sure it's because I was there, and not because of Fashion Week or anything :-).

Some Parisian scenes and inspirations for your weekend -

Love the song in this video.

Petites pieces of Paris, without having to fly. 

Stunning long exposure shots of Paris by night.

The one and only Garance Dore, bien sur.

Also, behind the scenes of Fashion Week photographers...

and finally, what we think fashion week looks like vs. what it actually looks like.

MA + RFA

The Saturday in Paris began as a cloudy day threatening to shed some rain but as the afternoon drew closer, the skies proved guileless for Marie-Adelaide & Rafael's mid-September wedding. The ceremony was held at the stunning L'eglise Saint Germain des Pres and afterward, we all put on our party hats to fete the grinning newlyweds at La Maison de l'Amerique Latine.

Though I wasn't the official photographer, I sure snapped away like one. From the pre-wedding dressing through the wee hours of the next morning, not once was there a lack of beautiful moments, details and people to capture. Here are a few photos...

Cheers to a lifetime of happiness together, Ade and Rafael!

We Had Paris

Amazing, amazing, amazing. That pretty much sums up my week in Paris for the wedding of Pem's sister Marie-Adelaide and her new husband, Rafael. The weather, the people, and of course, the city of lights itself - it could not have been more perfect. Nor soon forgettable - I got completely snap-happy and took nearly 1200 photos!

We stayed with Pem's family in an apartment on L'ile de la Cite, practically in the shadow of Notre-Dame. It was a great location to explore the St. Germain-des-Pres area and the rest of the Left Bank. Most of our excursions outside the apartment were part of my mission to buy shoes for the wedding. Though the mission itself failed, we got to see quite a lot of the city over so few days.

Our trip in short - we had wine. We had crepes. We had friends and family. We had love. And we had Paris.

Some pictures from our excursions below. More photos of the wedding festivities to follow in the coming days...

*p.s. - Two books I love that will take you to Paris without having to fly! Both now, and then: Essayist Adam Gopnik's Paris to the Moon on raising a toddler while fulfilling his childhood dream of living in Paris and always, Ernest Hemingway's A Moveable Feast.

 

Vacation Time!

Tuesday night, I'm off to Paris! Though I've had a great time the two previous times I've visited, I know this time will be different. Not only will I be there with Pem for the first time, but we'll be in one of the world's most romantic cities celebrating his eldest sister's wedding - hooray!

Though the trip will be short (only 5 days!), I fully intend to get my fill of the city. I may end up needing a vacation from my vacation, but Paris is worth it!

We'll be staying on L'ile de la Cite, which should be a good location for walking to a lot of great neighborhoods. Any recommendations for things to see/do/eat?


p.s. - We used these Paris "mapkins" at Pem's sister's bridal brunch. I found them at D.C.'s Home Rule. Aren't they adorable?
 

The Chillest Weekend

After the last few busy weeks, we decided this long weekend would be all about chilling. No plans were made, except for a haircut appointment far overdue for me.

Saturday morning we enjoyed an amazing brunch of buttermilk banana pancakes topped with homemade fruit compote and greek yoghurt sauce, all to be washed down with fresh orange-carrot-pineapple juice. Afterward, we took a quick nap before we commenced planning for our evening meal. We ended up snacking on popcorn tossed in melted truffle butter (thanks for the idea, Ina!), crisp apples and juicy grapes, creamy cheese and avocado mashed with Hawaiian pink salt and butternut squash oil.

This morning we explored the Dupont Circle farmer's market. Being one of the last weekends to get fresh peaches and nectarines, my mum made it a mission to buy as many as we could carry. Below is a picture of her picking the best ones (you can see the determination in her eyes) among some other shots from our morning stroll at the market. Afterward we rewarded our morning efforts with a tasty dim sum brunch at Ping Pong Dupont and rolled home feeling as round as steamed buns.

I don't know what's next up for us on this chill weekend (ice cream? movie? nap? so many choices...) but I do know I could really get used to this...

Last Weekend...

Pem and I were back in New York and we had a blast. The two days flew by with...

...birthdays at the Blue Ribbon...

 ...bubbly above the High Line...

 ...and lots of bicycles thanks to NYC's brilliant Summer Streets initiative!

 Some other shots from the weekend...

Coasters + Instagram

= brilliant idea, Coastermatic!



Coastermatic — Tabletop from Coastermatic on Vimeo.

(via Cup of Jo)

...

In a society that almost demands life at double time, 

speed and addictions numb us to our own experience. In such a society

it is almost impossible to settle into our bodies or stay connected with our hearts, 

let alone connect with one another or the earth where we live.

- Jack Kornfield

Wishlisted

Why yes, yes that is a camera bag. Currently swooning over one of the newest additions to the always delightful collection by Lo & Sons. Wouldn't this be a chic alternative to those clunky, hey-look-I'm-a-tourist camera bags when traveling?

Very Busy People - Part 2

I feel like the access more of us have to a widening range of experiences is completely unprecedented*. Not only can we travel abroad for a year or return to grad school, but we fully expect that we can simultaneously manage a blog, start a small photography business, volunteer at a community farm (or at least learn how to compost properly!), and become a yoga instructor.

We were raised to be well-rounded and from that same mold, opportunists. The world has become our oyster is so many ways and we’d like to experience all it has to offer. If two roads diverged in a yellow wood, we would hike them both and then set out to blaze a newer, better trail altogether.

Furthermore, modern-day gadgets plus social networking and daily deal sites such as LivingSocial, Groupon or Jetsetter have made it even easier to fill our time with seemingly enriching activities (Explore Merlot & Monet!, Unlimited Skydiving in West VA!, D.C. Monumental Photography Tour!). Not only that, but there’s the additional pressure created when, in your “down time” cruising Facebook, you see how busy and accomplished everyone else is! The question now is, if a tree falls in a forest and no one posts about it on their Wall, did it really happen?

Very Busy People - Part 1

On the return bus ride from New York to D.C. last night, I was listening to my iPod on shuffle when The Limousines’ song “We Are Very Busy People” came on. Not only was I reminded of how much I like this song, but it also reminded me of the recent NYT article “The 'Busy' Trap.” One of my friends half-jokingly said she was too busy to even read it! After putting the catchy song on repeat, I watched the scenery pass by and mulled over our culture’s obsession with being busy.

When I was eleven or twelve years old, my parents enrolled me in a summer course (I’m pretty sure it wasn’t my idea) to help me plan, prioritize and multi-task better. We were encouraged to list our short-, medium- and long-term goals on a regular basis. A lot of parents must have been on the same wavelength as mine because now that I think about it, I don’t believe adults from my generation* have any problem identifying their goals. The problem is that they don’t know when to stop.

Over the next few days, instead of posting pictures from California like I said I would, I want to explore a bit more the preoccupation we have with well, being occupied. But for now, my short-term goal is to finish my pizza, drink a beer and catch up on some well-deserved TV (Breaking Bad, anyone?). 

So instead of photos from San Francisco, I will leave you with this clever video of SF Bay Area-based The Limousines.



THE LIMOUSINES from Mathieu Wothke on Vimeo.

*probably from my socioeconomic background, as well. But I'd like to think this behavior is increasingly present across the board.

S.F.

Pem and I had the most amazing time in San Francisco for the Fourth of July. As expected, there was tons of great food, wonderful company and lots and lots of walking!

Far more to follow soon... Stay tuned!