I have been friends with local Wilmington artist Todd of ToddTully for a while, and last week he dropped off these beautiful pieces to our Glen Mills studio to feature. I absolutely love them, each one was hand carved and painted by Todd himself.

His news section is a fun read, I highly recommend it for the design-loving blog enthusiast!

This past winter I decided to go for it, and join a local CSA since I love fresh fruits and veggies. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture and it works genius-ly. You pay to join. As a member you get farm fresh food once a week throughout the growing season which is from late June through mid October. Then you get bunch of what's in season. The food is delicious, fresh, healthy and it's a fun adventure to find out what I get each week and then add in the challenge of figuring out what I'm going to do with it. There are many things in the share that I wouldn't necessarily buy, but I hate to see great food go to waste so I end up searching for new recipes and cooking meals that I have never made before.

Since up the CSA share has been a big part of my summer so I thought I would share some of the different ways that I'm preparing each week's bounty. There was a lot of zucchini coming each in July so I started to make these cookies each week. John loves them and they are super healthy!

Lemon-Zucchini Cornmeal Cookies
(modified from Martha Stewart)

* 1/2 cup smart balance
* 1 cup confectioners' sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
* 1 teaspoon packed finely grated lemon zest
* 1 teaspoon coarse salt
* 1 cup whole wheat flour (you could also used unbleached flour)
* 1/2 cup fine cornmeal
* 1 medium zucchini, grated on small holes of a box grater (about 1 cup)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, mix butter and sugar with a wooden spoon until pale and fluffy. Stir in vanilla, lemon zest, and salt. Add flour and cornmeal and mix until mixture is crumbly. Add zucchini and stir until a thick dough forms.
2. Drop dough by rounded tablespoons, 2 inches apart, onto two parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until cookies are light golden brown at edges, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Let cool completely on wire racks.

With the last dish dinner setting an urban fete, the most recent dish moved out to the country to enjoy the peaceful surroundings of Kathy's house. There were many fireflies, delicious blueberries, and lots and lots of laughter.

When I first met John, I didn't have a cable television, and almost never turned on the small T.V. I only purchased a small one to show DVD slideshows to my wedding clients. After a few months of living together, we purchased basic cable and then right around when we got married we signed up for the big cable package with lots of channels, more than I ever thought I would look at.

For a while when people asked about a show I would respond with "I'm not much of a TV person." But more recently than before, for whatever reason, we have realized how many little gems are on cable that John and I love to watch.

A few years ago John brought home a movie from a friend at work called Street Fight, knowing my love of documentaries. A few months after I watched the movie, I found out that a bride I photographed was promoted to the Director of Communications for Mayor Booker. Just a few weeks ago I found a great show about Mayor Cory Booker on Sundance called Brick City, about the revitalization of Newark, NJ.

If you ever feel discouraged about a dream or passion you think you are unable to achieve, watch the movie, watch the show. You will be inspired at Cory Booker's ability to slowly, diligently, move towards what many would disregard as an impossible dream.

Work of Art is a new show about the fine art world, mainly in New York City, and how new talent in fine art is evaluated. It's a fun show that reminds me of what life was like as an art student (and especially how stressful art critiques can be for the artist!).

For you Anthropologie fans, Man Shops Globe follows a buyer for Anthropologie around the world searching for the next best find in flea markets, art studios and boutiques around the world. A new season starts soon and I can't wait to watch!

And finally 9 by Design is the story of a New York City couple with seven children who purchase, renovate and live in the spaces they renovate. Their company Sixx Design takes on all sorts of interesting interior design projects and one of my favorite aspect to their work is that they almost always include personal family photos in their design. The photos are never placed in small frames as an afterthought - but are an integral part of the design concept.

So on your next rainy Sunday (like the day I am writing this) I'd love to hear your thoughts on any of my finds... and please share yours as well!

I have been friends with Jessica for years, but in the past two years or so she has started to seriously train and coach cross fit training. With all the sprints and lifts and paleolithic diet I have to admit - I wasn't sure at first. But last weekend I visited her at the beach and she is in amazing shape, looks fantastic and has tons of energy. She even started her own cross fit training center called Cross Fit Rehoboth and when watching her, I tried to do a few exercises and they kicked my butt. Clearly I have some work to do...

John and I just got back from a visit to Sedona, the Grand Canyon and Pheonix for a short vacation combined with photographing a few family sessions. Arizona is such a magical place, we had a wonderful time exploring the scenery.

Sometimes it's just so fun to get together with friends and dish about the arts, being creative, business and life.

I simply don't do it often enough, so it was wonderful to spend this time amongst friends.

What a year it has been! I am so thankful, and grateful to everyone who has helped to make this year so special for everyone here at Laura Novak Photography.

Instead of rushing around to buy presents each year, John and I pick out one piece of artwork together. Last fall we went on a short weekend vacation to Asheville, North Carolina with our friends Andrew and Rachel of LaCour - a photography studio based in Atlanta. We stayed in a very cool new hotel called the Grand Bohemian and fell in love this this artist whose work was displayed in the gallery named Joshua Smith. Right now we are slightly obsessed with atmospheric landscapes so we ended up purchasing one of his pieces for our home instead of Holiday gifts.

The one we got was not listed on their website but here are a few examples of his work from their website to enjoy:

Happy Holidays to everyone and best wishes for the new year to be filled with joy, happiness and of course - great artwork.