garden & gun | asheville on tap

I am very lucky to live pretty close to Asheville, North Carolina – the rising beer capital of America . . .   We loved getting this assignment from Garden & Gun magazine.  I mean who doesn’t love touring breweries & restaurants and staying in nice hotels?  I was really impressed with the young brewmasters and their enthusiasm for their craft.  And even though I am gluten-intolerant, I admit I had a few sips of some beers they worked so hard on!

We’ve included photos from the Wicked Weed, the Wedge, and Highland Breweries but these are only a few of the 40 + craft breweries located in Asheville!

We stayed at the Grand Bohemian, a beautiful hotel with the rustic feeling of a European hunting lodge mixed with old world elegance.  The have an excellent restaurant, a gallery & spa and have been named one of the best hotels by Travel + Leisure and Conde Nast Traveler!

local favorites | mateo bar de tapas

Want to try some Spanish inspired tapas with a Southern twist?  Mateo bar de Tapas in Durham is wonderfully delicious and has such a warm feel. 

I loved everything we tried there and especially I remember the roasted spring onions.  Owner Matthew Kelly told us how the onions are sold all over the streets in Spain.  We had a small sampling of the many plates offered –  Patatas Bravas, Gambas, Alemendras and of course some jamon.  Seriously yummy.  

Mateo’s also has an impressive offering of sherry.  We didn’t get to try any since it was on the job but the beautiful painted menu on the mirrors looked amazing!

Can’t wait to go back again soon!

for the love of... italia

I joked on Facebook that I have almost run out of the best aged balsamic vinegar and so I decided to go to Italy tomorrow.  Some thought I was joking but I really am headed out tomorrow for a dream come true shoot at Il Borro, a luxury Relais & Chateaux property in the hills of Tuscany!  My dear friend Krista is coming from Scotland to assist for the shoot and then we are actually going to have a real holiday.  It has been so long since I have had true rest.  I can’t wait to taste the organic olive oil on the farm we are staying and enjoy all the amenities at Il Borro too.  I will be in Firenze for Easter and for a couple of days afterwards – it will be a time for soaking up art and amazing architecture, taking walks down long country roads and drinking wine & eating local food.  Here is a photo from my last trip to Italy.  Arrivederci!

our state | tiffany hill b&b

How lovely to arrive at Bed & Breakfast on Tiffany Hill after the hustle and bustle of a freelance photographer’s life!  Maria and I thankfully drove along the treed country roads and then up the driveway to this peaceful haven near Asheville, NC.  Of course, we were there to photograph for Our State magazine, but Selena Einwechter, the gracious innkeeper gives everyone the star treatment!

We were ushered to our beautiful rooms and shown all the wonderful amenities:  Keurig coffee maker outside the rooms, lots of yummy snacks, homemade peach tea and anything you could need really.  We unpacked our equipment and were able to spend some time planning for our shoot.  It is a luxury to have some time before shooting!

Selena is so warm and friendly and her goal is for each guest to have a peaceful and wonderful stay.  There are porch rockers, a quaint fenced herb garden and a wooded trail with little nooks to sit and read or just soak in the ambience.   The pineapple  has long been a symbol of hospitality and you’ll find that this bed and breakfast to be a fine example!

We were excited to have the cover of Our State this month!  Hope you enjoy seeing a little more of Tiffany Hill . . .

style at home | london style & design

A few more photos of my shoot for Style at Home in London with Debbie Travis & Erin McLaughlin. . .

After we were finished shooting, and said our goodbyes, Erin & I had a relaxing dinner at a bustling London restaurant.  And it was there that I had a pivotal British moment!  I tried my first Pimm’s. . . . yummy delicious!  Many thanks to Erin McLaughlin for the impromptu portrait of me!  I am usually on the other side of the camera.

I was surprised to learn that Pimm’s is hard to find in the United States.  And so the find-the-Pimm’s-saga started. . .  I checked my local ABC store and they told me that all the state liquor stores in each state carry the same items and no Pimm’s in North Carolina.  I looked into ordering some online but the shipping was pretty expensive.  Then we called liquor stores all up and down the eastern seaboard while driving to our assignment in Kennebunk, Maine (see post).  Finally we had success in Virginia and then scored a couple more bottles in New Hampshire.

No one panic –  I don’t have a drinking problem – the bottles are lined up in my pantry either awaiting a summer party or a really cool shoot!

style at home | debbie travis’ london

We were so excited to have the opportunity to travel to London with Style at Home editor Erin McLaughlin to shoot Debbie Travisfor the magazine!  I remember Debbie from her original TV show The Painted House so it was pretty fun to show up at her London townhouse and her greet us with her sparkly smile.  Of course since The Painted House, Debbie has gone on to do many amazing things from more television shows, producing, creating her own licensed products for various companies and winning lots of awards.  She is now restoring a property in Tuscany and even holds a girl’s getaway.

We spent two wonderful days with Debbie, one photographing her delightful townhouse and one exploring the inspiring design stores about London.  Debbie was kind enough to shuttle us around the windy London streets in her car.  She knows the neighbourhoods like a pro – I was glad I wasn’t driving!

I was wowed by the Designer’s Guild – so many beautiful patterns and colours, gorgeous furniture and accessories everywhere you look!  What a treat to be there with Debbie and Erin both. . .  After a lovely lunch and a trip to Portobello Road it was a wrap.  Just one more thing to do – get a photo with Debbie for my mum!

And off Erin and I went to get some Pimm’s (more about that tomorrow).  Read more about Debbie’s London here.

virginia living | levering cherry orchard II

More from my shoot for Virginia Living at Levering Orchard!

traditional home | on rue satin

I am thrilled that photographs from my trip to Susan Hermann Loomis’ beautiful cooking school On Rue Tatin have been featured in the April issue of Traditional Home magazine!  Stephen Exel writes of his culinary experiences at the On Rue Tatin cooking school found in the little town of Louviers.  My mouth is watering for the fresh local ingredients we found at the farmer’s market and for the lovely ambiance of the former convent converted into cooking school.  Delightful and delicious

garden & gun | the party barn

It was such a pleasure to be assigned to photograph Bittersweet Farms for Garden & Gun magazine.  This idyllic property, owned by the Bechers, is near the Blue Ridge Parkway in Western North Carolina.  The barn was constructed out of the most beautiful wood from reclaimed barns brought down from Pennsylvania.  There are belted Galloway cows, meadows for dogs to romp and in a small vale sits an amazing twig sculpture called “Hocus Pocus” by Patrick Doherty.  See a few of my favorites below followed by the article.