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Milia is a little piece of heaven tucked away in the mountains of Greece, with delicious food (some of which is foraged from the mountain!) and beautiful scenery, and I was so excited to host a photography workshop there this past April. People from all over the world, including US, Canada, Switzerland, Finland, to name a few, joined me for my photography workshop in the beautiful Milia on Crete Island, Greece, and just learning their stories, hearing their perspectives, understanding their goals for their work inspired me like no Pinterest board can. Words cannot describe how thankful I was for this group of lovely friends during this workshop, and I still smile and giggle as I remember those late nights after lessons with copious amounts of wine, too much food, and lingering conversations.
A year ago, I taught a workshop in Gradara, Italy, where I met Eleni. We connected instantly and kept in touch, and suddenly we were planning a workshop in her home country, Greece. This is why I love doing these workshops. They can get overwhelming in the planning phase, and I have countless nightmares when I think something is going wrong or logistics were falling apart (ask me someday), but the reward lies in the real-life connections made with the people who come, this community that I have loved since I started blogging. A huge giant thanks to dear Eleni and Artemis for hosting, to Milia Mountain Retreat for their hospitality, to Constantina for the help, and big hugs to Jenny, the best assistant who honestly kept me sane :).
I still remember the nerves and angst when I hosted my first photography workshop (see the very first one here!), which were quickly relieved when I realized how wonderful the attendees were, how we could trust our months of planning, how naturally, conversation flows because we all nerd out about, say, mushroom foraging, or finding the right light, or unified sighs of delight as a poached egg is cracked, with the yolk oozing out satisfactorily for the perfect shot. Read more »
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It’s taken me three years to even consider putting together a “recommendations list”, because I dare not say “guide”. Even after three years in Boston, I feel like I wouldn’t be able to put a comprehensive guide to Boston’s food scene, because it’s that varied, innovative, and in flux. SO many new restaurants opened in just the past year, and there are more anticipating openings next year! Let’s just call this my favorite eats and treats in Boston, including the surrounding areas such as Somerville and Cambridge. This is .jpg)
Because #virtualpumpkinparty was so epic, let’s extend it a bit shall we? Say, all fall? :). I can’t seem to resist the call of the seductive flesh of pumpkins and squashes. The shapes of the delicata, the sweetness of kabocha, the tenderness of acorn squash – I love the varieties and playing with them all. Just the other day I discovered that a local farmstand sold honey squash – little cute squashes that resembled mini butternut squash! I’m going this weekend to see if they have any left, because apparently they’re sweeter than butternut squash!!!