People

My family is from El Salvador, so Thanksgiving is not really a crucial holiday for us. So, I usually try to spend that day with my partner’s family cause he is more American in that way (he’s from Canada and they do have Thanksgiving there too but in October). But, now that we’re older there really is no need for that division. We’ve been trying to merge our families more and more as we grow older, and we try to be the hosts for these events to make it pain free for everyone else.

My Canadian mom is always in charge of Thanksgiving dinner and no way anyone else can do it, so she is responsible for all the delicious food we had. The most popular recipe is Flemming’s potatoes. EVERYONE wanted that recipe. She makes chicken cause no one really prefers turkey in this family. I was in charge of the side, an altered green bean casserole from Basics with Babish,  I made poinsettia spritz punch from Half Baked Harvest, and bloody Marias from What’s Gaby Cooking. My partner did the most ambitious cheeseboard I’ve ever seen in this house! It was incredible. He got all the meats and cheeses from Whole Foods, and if you like pickles you gotta eat Bubbies (too good!). Finally for dessert I made this strawberry balsamic creme fraîche from Adventures in Cooking (my favorite food blog right now!).

I researched my decorations on Pinterest and created my own mood board for it! I ended up just foraging around our neighborhood for the placeholders which were fall leaves as well as for the lavender and other green accents around the flowers. We got orange tulips (my favorite flower) to match with the red/yellowish color scheme. My partner carved the apples that held the candles. Last touch was adding a bit of a neutral color, brown, with aromatic pine cones and some pine cones that I have collected from Big Bear. I really loved the tall candles as a last elegant touch.

We had the cheesecake and homemade eggnog to cap off the night. It was lovely. We all went around the table saying what we were most thankful for. I’m definitely the most thankful that my partner’s family and mine can come together and celebrate life together. Special thanks to my mom for helping me write the placeholders since I was really busy with so much other crap. It’s not easy hosting people! BUT the best =)

Best wishes to your family from mine! Love the holidays <3

It’s the utmost pleasure to meet people that share your passion for photography! Surrounding yourself with people who want to create, explore as much as you want or even more is so amazing and fueling.

I found Rigo through Instragram after searching for the Watts Tower hashtag. Of course, the uniqueness of film totally attracted me to his style. I call him a visual anthropologist. He captures the people from this eclectic city in beautiful, harsh sunny light that I’ve come to embrace! I’m used to shooting during sunset when the sun is not so shiny, but he has turned me to the other side.

Excited to learn film photography with him. I’ve always been pretty scared of film. It’s uncertain! There’s no instant gratification, no sure way of knowing how that film turns out. I like that now. It’s a great exercise in letting go of control, cause we don’t really have any control so it mostly gets rid of that ridiculous illusion. JA!