thank you!

Hello Lovelies!

I hope you’ve been having a great week. Things are looking up over here. The funk I wrote about last week has lifted. Tiny buds and blooms are starting to show up here in Seattle, so it feels like spring is right around the corner. And last Saturday’s Love Trumps Hate fundraising dinner was a huge success!

I got to hang out and cook with some awesome people. I figured out how to make a pretty respectable tamale. I developed a recipe for a smoky, floral mezcal-marigold margarita that is going to be on heavy rotation when the weather warms up. Most importantly, we raised over $3000 for the ACLU! 

Before this dinner, I’d been feeling more than a little despondent about the future of this diverse, boundary-pushing, democratic nation I call home. I know we’ve got a lot more to do to protect civil right here in the U.S., but this fundraiser felt like a great start. We were able to support a great organization while also doing a little community-building here in Seattle. To my mind, anything that brings people together instead of tearing them apart is good news. We need more of that. Especially now. 

To keep this spirit of community and engagement alive, I plan to organize some more fundraising events this year. I’m thinking maybe a community potluck. Or a soup night with homemade bread and wine. Or an old-fashioned ice cream social. Let me know in the comments below what sort of events you’d be interested in! If you’d like to volunteer for future fundraisers, shoot me an email.

I’d like to send out a HUGE thank-you to all the hard-working volunteers who made this dinner happen: Alex, Ellen, Erin, Kaylah, Linda, Marianna, Nicole and my sweet mamma! I’m so grateful to Danielle for shooting the event. It was such a pleasure to have a talented photographer to capture everything so I could focus on cooking! And an extra dose of thank-you goes to Beau, who first had the idea for this dinner, put up with me being a total crazy person while I planned and prepped for it, and who washed a mountain of dishes afterwards. (You’re my hero, Babe!)

I also want to send out a heartfelt thanks to the local businesses who so generously donated to the dinner: Book Larder for allowing us to use their space, Honor Society Coffee for providing us with their amazing coffee, Marigold & Mint for sending over such stunning flower arrangements for the table, and Tieton Cider Works for offering several cases of thier beautiful dry cider, which we transformed into a sangria blanca with pineapple and serrano syrup (recipe coming soon). 

I feel so grateful for the outpouring of support around this dinner. I couldn’t have done it without all you wonderful people!

XO,

Olaiya

All photography in this post by Danielle Elliott. Click here to check out her beautiful portfolio!

P.S. There’s only 1 spot left for the Paris food and photography workshop I’m leading with Yossy Arefi in May! Click here to make it yours.

oaxaca wanderings

I’m home from Oaxaca and what an amazing trip! I went for a photography workshop that turned out to be a little tougher than I’d expected. We rose early and headed to bed late. We shot through heat, dust, smoke and into darkness. We muddled our way through a foreign language to ask total strangers if we could take their portrait. I got a stomach bug. And slammed my finger in a metal door. And one night I drank WAAAAY too much cheap mezcal and danced my ass off at a salsa bar and then had the (second) worst hangover I’ve ever had in my life. It was not pretty. 

But was it ever worth it.

In addition to the above trials and tribulations, there were visits to some of the most beautiful, vibrant markets I’ve ever seen. A trip to see artisans making paper by hand and coloring it with locally sourced natural dyes. A visit with a group of feisty sisters crafting ceramics using techniques thousands of years old. A bumpy car ride to a palenque where we watched as our hosts smoked woody agave hearts, then mashed, fermented and distilled them into some of the finest mezcal I’ve ever tasted. Everywhere we went, we were greeted warmly and fed heartily. The Oaxacans we met generously shared their stories, their knowledge, their traditions and their tables with us. 

Through those sunrise shoots, rides over dirt roads to breathtaking locations, and interactions with the people we met in Oaxaca, I feel I’ve grown as a photographer, too. I learned more from Andrea and Martin in nine days than I would have in a year (or a lifetime) of experimenting on my own. Add to that the generous feedback and advice of my fellow travelers (many of whom I can now call friends) and this trip was truly invaluable.

Oaxaca has changed me a little. The time I spent hearing the stories of such talented, wise, humble women and men in Mexico has left me feeling more connected to people everywhere and more grateful for my time on this earth. Bruised fingers, sleep deprivation, hangovers and all.

paris food & photography workshop with Yossy Arefi

I’ve got big news for you today: I’m teaming up with the super-talented Yossy Arefi of Apt. 2B Baking Co. to bring you a food & photography workshop in Paris this May!

We’ve planned 4 glorious days of cooking, shooting and styling in our light-filled Apartments Actually flat. We’ll visit local markets, boulangeries and cafes as we stroll the streets capturing the light Paris is famous for and tasting the city’s best chocolate, coffee, pastries, cheeses and natural wines. And of course we’ll gather around the table to share meals both in our beautiful workshop apartment and out and about in Paris.

We’ve designed this workshop for all skill levels. It will be a great opportunity to learn to shoot manually and master the settings on your camera if you’re new to that. More experienced photographers will benefit from our hands-on styling and editing sessions as well as our guided photo tours through the city.

All you need to do is book your ticket, pack your bags and show up. We’ve got all the details covered so you can focus on taking in the incredible beauty of Paris. You’ll leave feeling more confident in your photography skills and full of creative inspiration!

There are only 8 spots available. My last Paris retreat sold out in a week, so treat yourself to one of them before they’re gone!

XO,

Olaiya