crime scene

I have never set foot in a home depot, don't know the first thing about growing vegetables and certainly have never gotten my hands dirty planting anything. Unless you count planting my foot in the barneys shoe department (for the record, I do). 

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She's got the right idea...

Well, that girl is possibly a thing of the past (with a little lot of help from some green thumbs, notably brian & 'the model-maker'). He happens to not only be a talented artist, but he successfully grows over 70 varieties of plants & could live off the land were World World Z to become a reality. 

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Every year he generously offers heirloom seedlings and every year I refuse for the good of the plants. This summer though, I accepted, meticulously writing down his advice & dragging Brian all over creation only to discover that 'fabric smart pots' & organic fresh compost aren't as easy to find as you may think. Ignoring Brian's point that his 6 year old plants happily thrived on 'whatever soil & cheap pots they sell at home depot', I had my vision of gorgeous heirloom tomatoes happily thriving on my deck with their 'companion plants' and nothing was getting in the way. Ultimately we got them planted & my dream was well on its way to becoming a World War Z reality.  

© Brian Sorg

And then this happened. Sophie: 1 Habanero plant: 0...Rachel's control: minus 10 (per usual). Life. 

this dog.

© Brian Sorg

Happy Birthday to our sweet Soph who is 3 today!

© Mutts Comics

In spite of this depicting each morning we'd be lost without that wet nose in our lives!

also. this:

a saturday story

In my quest to be more spontaneous (blue nails instead of black...which will never happen again) & go with the flow at the request of one certain photographer, we set out with no set itinerary besides the farmer's market. After wandering wrestling through throngs of strollers, I had no trouble loading up my backpack with produce & italian sausage for said photographer so we decided to wander escape to Old Town. We lunched at Old Jerusalem (round 2) with the lovely owner filling soph's water bowl when she ran out. Unfortunately, the strollers wandered over stalked us down, but fortunately I can glare all I want at unruly children when hidden behind massive Celines. Phoebe Philo must share the same aversion to small humans.

Brian wanted to check out North Avenue Beach which I assumed meant cruize the ladiez but turns out that was the case on opposite day. Instead, this group of pale bros caught his eye instead...and I'm okay with that. 

I call this 'There's Something About Mary, the G-Rated Version'. 

Next stop: a stroll through Lincoln Park where the brilliant least intelligent decision ever was made to let Soph run around, despite there being a flock of geese/ducks/babies in the vicinity. And a pond. I think you can guess what happened next...

 Yep, that's right. My herding, hydrophilic labradoodle chased the flock into the pond then proceeded to swim out and interact bark a foot away from the hissing geese until she got them in line. Completely ignoring Brian & my frantic calls, she was in the zone, herding that motley crew. I was borderline hysterical thinking she was going to get murdered by angry goose mothers, drown, or be taken by animal control. Brian was about to strip and go get her as it became clear after 20 minutes that she would need some prodding (to I'm sure the delight of the crowd that had gathered), when she finally turned around and swam to us. All with the flock of 40 that she had commandeered paddling right behind her. I've never been so relieved and angry in my whole life. I guess that must be what those mothers of those stroller children feel. Except my dog always behaves perfectly.

"This is my best day ever. I didn't even get the top of my head wet since I can doggy-paddle like a boss"

Photos © Brian Sorg 

After all that excitement, mom & dad decided they needed one many drinks. Kids these days.  

a doodle in denim

Photo © Brian Sorg

cabin in the woods

 

Photos © Brian Sorg

This new years we cozied up in a log cabin...a far cry from ringing in 2012 which resulted in hangovers and cleanup from a party that didn't shut down till dawn. Ellis Lake Resort is 10 minutes from Traverse City and our cabin was everything I wanted. As a cold-blooded reptile I am in constant pursuit of fire, heat and warmth and our cabin not only had a floor-to-ceiling furnace but also featured an authentic Franklin wood burning stove that kicked out insane heat. We had the place blazing hot & I was literally in a t-shirt (see above). Yahtzee, champagne, fire nachos, a hot tub in the woods & my favorite 2 & four legged critters didn't hurt either. It's the little things...if you're into resolutions, take this and run with it for 2013. If not, it's still the little things. Always.

[pieces] of a puzzle

[nosing for snacks]

[soul-searching]

[surface to air]

a [complete] picture. 

Photos © Brian Sorg

layering l/s tee x splendid, vest x elizabeth & james 

santa bear

 Photo © Brian Sorg

 (woof woof)