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The Honey Underground

 Last weekend I went to The Honey Underground to take pictures and see what this supper club model was all about. It's modeled after a NYC supper club however the location is fixed at 1153 Gravel Pike, Hereford, PA and their phone number is 484-330-6405. Reservations are required so if you are interested in dining there, please visit The Honey Underground's facebook page to find out the menu and also the exact hours. Wendy Landiak, vegan chef started The Honey Underground and her unique vegan menu is inspired by Indian, Indonesian and Japanese cuisine. I'm not a vegan but I absolutely LOVE her food. She's an artist in the kitchen and her creative gourmet menu will leave you totally satisfied. You don't have to be a vegan to appreciate her cooking. Wendy also teaches yoga at the same location - (my friend Carolyn modeled a few yoga poses for me in the Zumba/Yoga studio, as you'll see in the pictures that follow). Wendy has been in the restaurant business for a long time, having been a co-owner of The Green Cafe in South Bethlehem and then Balasia in Emmaus. 

This is Wendy hard at work...I think she was taking last minute reservations. 

This is going to be a good year...

I just celebrated my 33rd birthday yesterday! I was telling a friend that this is my "Jesus year"...lol. I don't want to sound super-spiritual or weird. And although I was joking, there is a bit of symbolism hidden in the connection I made to the fact that I am now that same age as Jesus was when he stepped out to do what he was meant to do. Okay now that I compared myself to JESUS...um, I'll come back down to earth. My twenties were all about trying new things and making mistakes. And now my thirties have been more of a concrete discovery of my true passion and purpose. My passion has always been wrapped up in the arts somehow. Just say the word "art" and my heart skips a beat. I feel so at home when I go to the Chelsea galleries in NYC. I love journaling. I love fashion. I love design. And mix that with my tendency to be emotional, I've finally found my one true love and my passion as a photographer. I could spend every spare moment shooting, editing, pinning, blogging or pouring over amazing, emotional photography. It's not the technical aspect that impresses me as much as the ability to freeze-frame a split-second in time that will never repeat itself exactly the same way. And to be able to preserve that special memory and to bring the viewer into that space to feel the emotion from that moment. To me there is no greater or more fulfilling career path that I could take in this life. My father is a photographer as well so he and I share this passion. I call him or he calls me just about every day to discuss this dream of mine. He is my biggest encourager. He believes in me. What more could a daughter ask from her father. Right before Christmas he and my brother were at my house and after we had dinner we were sitting on the couch just looking at some photography. A few months prior my dad and I went to the photo expo in NYC and my dad said I was like a moth to a light because I didn't want to leave the Canon booth. I just loved the speakers and the opportunity to play with the cameras and lenses. We talked about the Canon 5D Mark II the entire day. I told him that every single photographer that I admire uses that camera...heck, even Saturday Night Live shot their into to their show and most of their video shorts with that camera. By the end of the day my dad was finishing my sentences with ...5DMII. It was becoming our little joke. Okay, so back to that moment on the couch with my brother and my father...my brother says to me that he and dad have been discussing investing in me and my future and getting me this camera. My dad pulled out his credit card right then and there and said let's order this camera. After picking myself up off the floor and recomposing myself I logged onto the B&H website where I secretly had a "dream" shopping cart that was just sitting there for the future. Little did I know that my brother and my dad would make that dream come true a lot sooner. I had 2 lenses in the cart as well and my dad said leave those in the cart, we're getting it all. This is not typical of my dad to do this sort of thing. I've always worked hard for everything I have. Nothing has been handed to me.  I never asked my dad to get me this camera. He (and my brother) wanted to invest in me because they truly believe in my success. This is going to be a very good year. I have some exciting things planned. I feel alive inside. I {spontaneously} have to stop what I'm doing at times to journal my ideas and my thoughts. I'm excited. Every day I wake up and say "Something great is going to happen today". And I find that when you walk into your days like this, guess what, truly amazing things really do happen. It's all about how we think and how we choose to perceive things. I can do anything and be anything I believe I can be. And so can you. And you have to remind yourself to ignore the negative voices. Or the accusing voices that try to push you down or keep you in a box of what they think you should or shouldn't be. I'm breaking out of the box of small thinking. I'm bursting inside with inspiration and excitement for what's to come! 

The hardest thing for me is to be patient and to take things one step at a time. I sometimes want to arrive without taking the journey. But I have to walk this out one step at a time. One of the steps I've taken is to take my branding to the next level. So I decided to get a new logo for my business - new year - new logo! I'm the kind of person who changes their hair color constantly so I'll probably play with the colors of this logo and eventually will crave change again {I get bored with things} but this is the new logo:

I'll be working on my website as well so until the new website it up I haven't changed the logo on my old website or blog. 

Thank you for listening to me ramble on and on. I'm kind of excited...can you tell? If you are reading this, please know that I appreciate you so much. I value my blog readers. You are a part of why I'm doing what I'm doing. xoxo (And when you leave me a comment it totally makes my day!) LOL

Personal

Being a parent is magical and no one could get it through to me in language I could understand. I think that was due to the fact that I grew up never personally knowing my own mother so I didn't understand the love and the bond between a mother and child. And maybe that kept me prisoner and subconsciously I didn't want to be a mom because I didn't really know how to be one. But the minute I found out I was pregnant, all of those insecurities and walls came crashing down and I was actually excited to be a mom. My heart had a capacity for the deepest love I've ever known and it took this little guy to show me that. I never saw myself as a mom but now Oliver is 16 months old and at every stage it just gets better. Yes, there are challenges but the rewards overshadow the struggles of being a mom. I don't understand why some people who have been trying and trying to be parents can't conceive and why some (like me) couldn't even fathom becoming a parent get pregnant without even trying. But I do know that in this life God brings what we need when we need it and instead of asking "why" I think he wants us to trust him and ask him for guidance through the seasons that don't make sense. Recently I heard about a young couple who lost a baby at 3 months old and instead of asking "why", my reaction was one of faith. There are certain things that this side of heaven, we will never have the answers to and we have to be okay with that. I'm learning to go to God with everything and say "help" - sometimes that is all you can say. And that's okay.

Proverbs 3:5-6

New International Version (NIV)

 ⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart
   and lean not on your own understanding;
⁶ in all your ways submit to him,
   and he will make your paths straight.

Family

 

27 degree weather wouldn't stop this group from gettin' their smile on. This is Ruth and her son James, his wife Angie and three kids - Shiann, Zion and Jayla. James is an Allentown firefighter and an all-around awesome guy. You can see how much he loves his wife, kids AND of course how much he loves his mom, Ruth. She is a pastor to many women and it is very exciting that she is starting a non-profit organization called Restoration Life Center. She just brightens your day with her warmth and loving heart. To know Ruth is to LOVE Ruth. I was so honored to do this photoshoot.

personal

My baba is so cute. She is a Ukrainian immigrant with a very high-pitch voice. She is funny. I can't really understand a word she says but I love it. On Christmas day we brought her with us to my dad's house. I've been really quiet with the blogging since the holidays were upon us. I finally feel back to my normal routine. We had family stay with us from out of town for the first week of January. It's taken me too long to post a few pics but here are a few snapshots of Oliver's Christmas. He wasn't all that interested in opening his gifts but once they were opened he loved playing with his new stuff.

Oliver was sleepy when we opened presents at my dad's house. My brother got him this Fisher Price riding toy. He loves it.

I love Oliver's curly hair. I'm not going to cut it for awhile yet. : )

This picture below is at my house when we exchanged gifts with Ryan's mom and stepdad from Ohio. They stayed with us for a week after Christmas and over New Years. 

Grandma got Oliver this handmade knit hat from Beanies and Booshkas 

Love

Katrina and Jarrett have a special place in my (and my husband's) heart. Katrina was my doula during my labor with my son. This couple has moved beyond friend status and I consider them family. I've been friends with them since before they started dating many many moons ago. They are a beautiful couple who are still in love after all these years!