showing through

photograph by rebecca wood

saints of old florida

some friends of ours down in port st.joe, florida recently released a book called saints of old florida. the book captures the spirit of this charming part of florida near the panhandle...through beautiful photographs and recipes and stories. anyone who has spent time in this area or who just loves the southern coast will enjoy this book!

words by rinne allen

shed leaves

photograph by rebecca wood

moss oaks

there's nothing like the dappled light under old live oaks bent down, grey moss swinging in the warm breeze. ancient moods and languid beauty .

photographs and words by rebecca wood

patina

photograph by rebecca wood

marfa

this summer my family drove to the west texas desert and back. we passed through new orleans, austin, and marfa on our way to big bend national park and loved every minute of it. our trip to marfa was the second time i had been to this strange, beautiful town in the middle of nowhere. the last time i was there was 5 years ago- a lot has changed since then, and...nothing has changed.

this rancher town has, over the years, evolved to include a handful of artistic and creative endeavors that draw in the curious. the serene, vast desert landscape is the perfect backdrop for the art of donald judd, the late artist who lived in marfa for decades. he installed his sculptures in and around the old army barracks here, and eventually he took over rows of downtown buildings for studio space. there is a thriving community of artists who live & work here now, and small flocks of tourists coming through town to see it all in this most-unlikely place. 

but, the thing i love about marfa, is that you have to really want to get there; it isn’t any easy trip to make...which is one of the most appealing things about it, really. if you go, you will know.

photographs and words by rinne allen

begonia and brass

arrangement and photographs by rinne allen

little forager

photo by kristen bach

foraging chanterelles

this weekend we got to enjoy some fall-like days due to the hurricane working it's way through.  saturday we went out hiking and hunted for chanterelles.  on our hike we happened upon a hill, covered in golden chanterelles!  we cooked up a feast of them for dinner.

my favorite way to eat chanterelles is simple.  saute them in olive oil or butter and salt them.  simple is the way to go with these flavorful mushrooms!!

photos and words by kristen bach

the glow

photograph by kristin karch

wildwood revival

this past weekend, our friend and helper, kristin karch, attended wildwood revival in arnoldsville, ga. the small music festival brings together people and artists from all over the country to celebrate country, folk, and rock n' roll all while having a sweaty good time on an 1850's farm. there was beer from terrapin, tintypes from nashville photographer giles clement, local artists booths, and incredible music by gillian welch, athens cowboy choir, susto, and more.

photographs by kristin karch

tree beauty

photograph by rebecca wood

edisto wild beauty

what i love so much about edisto is all the wild beauty that abounds there. where there's not a house or some kind of habitation, it looks as wild and primeval as if man had never set foot. these are the open marshes and sky on the half mile walk to botany bay, remnants of old plantations and unchanged for a hundred years or more. wild and free.

photographs and words by rebecca wood

edisto botanicals

photograph by rebecca wood

along the etowah river

photographs and words by kristen bach

coastal beauty

photograph by rebecca wood

clematis, persimmon and friends

in the garden right now, there are clematis, salvia, morning glory vines, and ripening persimmons...

horse country

photograph by kristin karch

kudzu in the kitchen

if you live in the south you are most likely very familiar with kudzu.  at this point in the summer kudzu is covering just about everything. this week the sweet smell of it's flowers started to breeze through the air, it rivals the sweet smell of wisteria blossoms.

the other day i was chatting with our chef friend mimi maumus or home.made. she was talking about how excited she was that the kudzu was blooming. something that i love about mimi's food is that she draws inspiration from the past and the area that we live in. kudzu is a huge resource in the south, an untapped one at that.  mimi has found several ways to work it into her food and bring an inventive angle to her cuisine.

mimi spent the morning with me, showing me some her kudzu experiments and concoctions with kudzu. this week, i plan to do some experimenting of my own. here are some photos from my morning with mimi, documenting her kudzu flower lemonade.  enjoy!