Sweet Blogging

December 16: I was invited to the Fashion, Food and Lifestyle Bloggers Reception at sweetgreen in Dupont Circle in D.C. The sweetgreen restaurant cleared some space for this reception and we filled it for this special night. We celebrated the blogs for Glamazon Diaries, K Street Kate, Oh My Goff, and FW: Fashion Washington.

sweetgreen has such a fresh, casual and chic atmosphere with healthy dining and they're all for a sustainable environment. sweetgreen provided an impressive selection of food and offered some water and wine to go with it. Honest Tea had a table set up to give out samples of their organic tea drinks and gift bags were available to grab. The DJ was adding to the vibe with music tracks and the crowd was all into conversation and hanging with the blogging community

The QB Club - Redskins Player of The Year

December 15: I had the opportunity to cover the 44th Redskins Player of the Year Awards Dinner hosted by The Quarterback Club of Washington. The event took place at The Westin in Tysons Corner, VA. Upon arriving at the hotel, I checked out the scene and was drawn toward the VIP reception where a few of the players were signing memorabilia and having pictures taken of them. There was also a live & silent auction and raffle prizes.

The 2009 nominees for the Redskins Player of the Year Award were London Fletcher, Andre Carter, Rocky McIntosh, DeAngelo Hall, and Albert Haynesworth. It's good to note that last year's nominees were: Clinton Portis, Chris Horton, London Fletcher and Jason Campbell.

The Master of Ceremonies was Rick "Doc" Walker. Recognition was also given to former Superbowl Legend Mark Rypien & Charley Taylor, Sam Huff, Brian Mitchell, Charles Mann, Ron McDole, Mike Bragg, Andre Collins, Pat Fischer, Darryl Grant, Ken Harvey, Roy Jefferson, Raliegh Mckenzie, Rich Milot, Mike Nelms, Neal Olkewicz, Ron Saul, Virgil Seay, George Starke, Clarence Vaughn, and other former Redskins and NFL players. The presenter of the award was Four Star Air Force General Craig McKinley.

The event benefitted Operation Second Chance, The Fisher House and The Boys and Girls Club of Greater Washington. It was good to be a part of a night that recognized the achievements of these athletes and one that benefits our soldiers.

Nicole Wolf's Sea of Faces Exhibit

December 11: I've been to Penn Camera stores many times and always enjoy seeing the photographs exhibited on the walls of the store from local photographers. I was especially excited to hear that artist, designer and photographer Nicole Wolf of Sota Dzine was having her photographs from a recent trip on display at Penn Camera in Fairfax, VA.

I had some time to visit her gallery of photos at the store on the night in which she invited people to come and see the photos. It was also a chance to hang out and talk more about her photography and of photography in general. It was good to be in an environment that supports and encourages photographers, and although it was a bit tempting to be around all that photography stuff, I only bought one small item. There was also a discussion about the Wedding and Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) Convention and Tradeshow. I hope to be able to go to WPPI next year and it would be my first time at WPPI and in Las Vegas for that matter. Sounds like I need to go to it.

So I took a couple pictures of the evening just as a memento of the occasion. It was good to see Nicole and her photographs there, and I wish her and Sota Dzine continued success.

Neiman Marcus - In Season

December 10: Every time I walk into a Neiman Marcus store I am amazed at it's opulence with how everything is put together. There is impeccable style, luxury, and fashion represented in the store. I was at the Neiman Marcus Mazza Gallerie store in Washington, D.C. for Fashion Night Out on September 10th and I could see from that event that this store really knows how to put on an event. My photos from that event were seen by someone on staff with Neiman Marcus and I was invited to come and take photographs in covering a special event on December 10th.

When I arrived at Neiman Marcus I started taking photographs and tried to capture the details of the evening. There were a lot of great things about the night. There was an opportunity to buy a key for charity, by making a donation to the Children's Law Center. In getting one of these silver keys was a chance, there was a chance that it was one of five that opened a Tumi suitcase filled with gifts. A donation to "First Book" yielded a gift card. There was a sugar plum fairy and a trio of carolers singing. A portrait photography area was setup with a Christmas season backdrop. Several items were featured such as Tom's Shoes with their One for One campaign. There was a custom airbrush design with your purchase of Ugg Boots. An amazing array of snacks and drinks were offered. There were gourmet whoopie pies provided by B. Hall Baker. Eliot Raffit made a personal appearance at the store displaying his fabulous collection of holiday ornaments. The evening started wrapping up close to 8:30pm, and it was a successful night.

The Scene Bisnow Holiday Party - DC

December 8: In the Dupont area of Washington DC, The Scene Bisnow hosted their holiday party at Public Bar. When I arrived around 7:30pm I walked into a crowded floor and finally made my way to the bar. It was good that so many people wanted to come and celebrate. I was glad to see people I know there such as The Scene Bisnow reporter Makeda Saggau-Sackey and she introduced me to Bisnow co-founder Elliot Bisnow. I stayed for a couple hours and took some pictures of the scene there.

Sarah and Victoria at Neiman Marcus

December 7: Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York who is often referred to as Fergie, was at Neiman Marcus at Tysons Galleria shopping mall. Fergie was there from 4pm till about 5pm promoting a movie called The Young Victoria which she co-produced. Fergie was also signing the boxes and bottles of Clive Christian’s exclusive fragrance collection for guests. This collection was inspired by the scents that were commissioned by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.

Ben & Colleen Engaged

December 6: I've known Ben for several years and have always considered him to be a faithful worker with a penchant for engineering success in what he does. We've worked together to set up volleyball nets and to help facilitate volleyball games and so I could also see his leadership and decision-making abilities. I was glad to hear that he proposed to his girlfriend at a weekend getaway at a youth camp in the Shenandoah Valley.

I met with Ben and his fiance Colleen over coffee and we got to know each other better and talked about their upcoming wedding. We also discussed their engagement photographs and since they were engaged surrounded by wilderness, we thought about an outing in a park, a big park. The wedding is in March and they were ready for engagement photographs soon. In this cold season, we were waiting for a day with the best weather possible, and we were ready to jump on it when that day came.

The first day of snow in 2009 fell on December 5th, and several inches had fallen. It turned out that all three of us were free in the afternoon on Sunday, and with the snow still on the ground we went to a park. It was good to be out in the wilderness again, as I used to hike a lot. I enjoyed being outdoors, exploring, and getting a little exercise while photographing this engagement outing. It was an enjoyable afternoon in beautiful surroundings and we have photos to remind us of the beauty of nature and how it's important to take time out for a little getaway.