café indigo | sperryville, virginia

Nestled in at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains is the charming small town of Sperryville. Though small, this town packs a punch -- a handful of fantastic dining options, progressive minded artisans and picturesque scenery. This time of year being one of my favorites, fall, when the leaves catch fire and add colorful texture to the mountains.
Café Indigo can be found in the River District Arts building and is serving brunch and dinner on the weekends. It's super cozy and a perfect "Sunday" in my mind. After walking through the 12 or so artist studios you enter the restaurant which is showing off more local art, with hanging textile art, the tables where you sit (made by Antique Tables Made Daily) to the coffee creamer cups and of course the food. Supporting local food. Yup, these guys are good. Beautifully renovated and recently under new management this is a promising stop on your Blue Ridge outing.
Thank you guys for having me out and feeding me well. :)

a moment | autumn begins

I agree with Dorothy Parker, autumn is fantastic. I'm loving all the little hints of fall beginning to take over summer. It's a beautiful time of year in here in Virginia, hope everyone can take a moment to get out and enjoy it!

winter dusting

hello november.

what the hell happen to oct?

It's my favorite time of year and it goes by way too fast. There is much I want to share and plan to do so over the next few months. Virginia had it's first snow already -- not that it was much to brag about but it left me feeling all nostalgic and ready to slow down and embrace the season.

honey harvest!

oh yes. I love this time of year, bees buzzing, floors get a little sticky to the step, porch transformations and the end product...raw, fresh, unheated, untreated honey. there's nothing sweeter.

The other week my Dad (aka the bee man) gathered all his tools and began the extraction process and of course I had to shoot a few photos to share! My Dad is quite the resourceful worker. As you will see, the knife used to cut the thin wax cappings off each frame is nothing but the kitchen bread knife (used daily I might add) and to heat that knife he uses nothing other than his camping stove and french press. quite simple and smart I think. He doesn't do this commercially (anymore) he does this for himself, the environment and for his incredibly pushy daughter that would never let him hear the end of it if he quit. Therefore, he can convert the porch into a sticky, sweet, honey house once a year with out too much hassle from my Mom.

After all the frames have been spun and filtered into the bucket he put them out for the bees to finish it off, meaning, free lunch for the bees!

One last portrait of my Dad, The Bee Man. xo