Lapis Lane Cabins | Seattle Airbnb Photographer

Heading over to Whidbey Island always feels so exhilarating to me. I have so many great memories, from spending my first Seattle birthday with my husband there many years ago (and screaming 25 and aliiiive! out of the sunroof of the car), to day trips taken with our kids. It’s where our first started walking in a cozy cabin tucked way into the woods. He sat on the stone fireplace hearth and just stood up and walked away! We’ve also taken family from out of town when we really want to impress them with quaintness and views for days.

Needless to say I was thrilled at the opportunity to capture Lapis Lane Cabins in all their Whidbey glory. Also tucked away in a beautiful forest (isn’t everything over there?), this property has three magical structures that have been incredibly and artfully detailed by the owners Elaine and Dimitri. Artists in method and execution, they’ve created a magical experience in both interior and exterior. Elaine is a talented landscape designer and gardener and the grounds are so magical, with moody outdoor bathtubs and showers to hammocks under mature trees. Inside a renovated barn is a window-clad room filled with natural light and reflecting the greenery of the surrounding property. They’ve been Airbnb hosts forever, and have a true passion for hosting.

Photographing these spaces was such a joy. I was free to create in accordance with the feeling of each space. There is a time and a place for bright and crisp images, and there’s also a time to honor the feeling of a space and translate that in a photograph. This latter approach has become my closer calling lately. If a room is close and cozy it should be portrayed that way, allowing for the viewer to really imagine a peaceful afternoon spent reading on a porch rocking chair with a quiet bedroom just behind reach.

I hope you enjoy this beautiful property!

Letting That Sh*t Go: A Retrospective

Summer has gone on and on here in Seattle (and the SMOKE) but it’s slowly getting better. A few crisp mornings have felt really good and helped ease me into a different mindset. Unpacking a lot of feelings (as one does) about my habits toward work, and also feeling gratitude for the path I’ve taken and the ways in which I’ve evolved over the years. I had a camera roll moment the other day — you know, when you fall backwards in time and it all replays to you in a new and different sense?

I lost my favorite beanie two Christmases ago. We were staying with family in a big cabin near Chelan and I arrived with it and departed without it. I’ve toiled about it for two years, maybe ridiculously so. I got that beanie when Mike and I first arrived in Seattle years ago. We were getting ready to meet my aunt, uncle and cousins at Kalaloch for our first camping trip (together, ever, and first in WA). It was mid-summer, and we Chicagoans figured we’d be fine in whatever tee and shorts we packed. We were WRONG. As we made our way around the peninsula we were frigid. And wet. And a little panicked. We pulled off in a very very remote Goodwill parking lot and ventured forth to get some warmer gear that we’d probably never use again. I pulled the hat off the rack, gave it a sniff (like one does at Goodwill), and bought it for two or three dollars. It didn’t leave my head (sleeping in a beanie will always feel like camping to me) for four days. After that we were bonded.

The earliest photo of my beloved hat.

Flash forward to the two Christmases ago, I was bulging pregnant with my second and devastated at my loss. Every now and then I go back to the many many many photos I have of myself wearing that hat and study its details trying to compare it to the zillions of other gray wool beanies I’ve seen online. Nothing has been just right, even though I’ve made several 85% right purchases.

I fell into one such hole the other night and came across some photos from 2016. I was miserable. I mean, my face was smiling but my eyes told a different story. I felt so lost during that stage of my life. I was working a job that demanded an incredible amount of my energy, and had some very toxic leadership situations. I was also in a life stage where I was expecting my job to save me. I thought my career would make me happy, or that it should. I felt like I was truly failing because I wasn’t thriving and didn’t see a way out. I googled “how to leave retail” in desperate fits feeling utterly deflated that I hadn’t figured it out.

I could go on about the transformation that happened over the next few years, and about how I left that job and started my own business, but that’s another story for another day. It’s relevant to now because I’ve been making shifts and changes in my own business ever since it started. However, sometimes I get stuck in ruts where I believe that the sum of my suffering is the sum of my tenacity, and that seeing through difficult situations is virtuous, even when those difficult situations are probably toxic and detrimental to my wellbeing. I’m telling myself as much as I’m telling you: the suffering doesn’t do shit. No one is rewarding any suffering on my part. As a matter of fact, that kind of suffering out of dedication’s sake is the biggest drain on my productivity and inner creative genius that is desperate to make bold choices and create from passion.

In a rare moment of total clarity the other night as the lead-heavy blanket of anxiety and doubt was starting to settle in for a long winter’s nap I suddenly zoomed 10,000 feet above myself and realized that the suffering I was enduring was optional. And I decided to end the source of it and stop working on that project. Along with any freedom from a decision to stop something professionally as a freelancer comes the equal and opposite panic of the well of income drying up. But then I remember something my grandpa told me years ago as I was starting out. He had his own business for many years and he said, “Once I started I always had work.” And it’s the truth. The work comes, and it always has. Whatever superstition you might be telling yourself about your income situation (and I’m saying this to myself as much as to you"): freaking cut it out. Look at how far you’ve come, the beautiful things you’ve created, the wonderful people you’ve met. If you think the well is running dry look around at all the beautiful proof that you’re being an utter fool and get on with the good work.

One thing I will not let go of: replacing my hat.

I created these photos for Laude the Label on a beautiful October afternoon as I was basking in all of these thoughts. Laude creates beautifully made pieces that transcend trend and give back to the earth and the people who make the garments. Really good for existential pondering, too. :)

The Thing I Almost Gave Away

I practically gave away our kitchen aid mixer five years ago. It’s a heavy piece of machinery and it’s sometimes hard to justify its kitchen real estate (especially when we were moving around a lot in our early marriage!). Someone told me to hold onto it because I’d bake more when I had kids. At that time I wasn’t even sure kids were in the future but I listened to their advice. And lo and behold, now that I have kids, spending a quiet nap time alone in the kitchen baking actually is pretty great.

Last weekend I walked over to the apple tree in the yard and picked a few and tried @onceuponachef’s apple cake recipe and DAMN. The scent of baked apple wafted up the stairs and drew my family down where we devoured half of it before it even cooled.

Here is the recipe. (Note I subbed whole milk for dark rum and was very happy with the results!)

The Coziest Mt. Rainier A-Frame 90 Minutes from Seattle | Seattle Airbnb Photographer

A few days before my 33rd birthday, my friend Katherine and I took to the mountains for a quick girlfriend’s getway weekend to a super cozy cabin near Mt. Rainier. When the owners reached out for new listing photos I jumped at the chance to get out into the fresh air and get in some quality time with my friend (which can be so hard when you have a young family at home!). Along with photos, I like to offer lifestyle photos of short term rental properties. It really helps to bring the space to life and the creative opportunities are endless. It ends up being a ton of work (thinking of making each moment a beautiful photo) but it’s a lot of fun, and it’s rare that I can stay in that level of artistic flow for such an amount of time. Luckily, my friend Katherine is a producer and enjoyed helping and generously doing more than just keeping me company!

I loved having a few different outdoor “zones” to hang out and work in. The grill/picnic area is on one side of the house, and the fire pit and chairs are on another. Behind the chairs is just… wilderness! We even had a little family of curious raccoons peep their heads out of the bushes, but quickly lost interest when they found no chance of being fed s’mores from our stash.

Katherine and I also relaxed and caught up a ton during this trip which I really treasure. After I put my camera gear away we sat in the chairs and talked for HOURS until the mosquitoes made feast of us. You know those great late night looooong conversations with a good friend? GOLDEN — especially in my 30s when life is super busy with family and work. It was a great reminder that your friends see you through so much life and so many changes, and that they’re worth their weight in gold and more.

If you’d like to take a trip yourself you can find the Airbnb listing here!