for you

as sad as i am to see summer go, i'm ready for a change of clothes. granted if i had my way, it would never ever get any colder than 50 degrees. the perfect temperature for cute sweaters, blazers, and even a nice little jacket. not nearly cold enough for things like down coats and frozen fingertips & toes. this fall i'm building my wardrobe around the christian dior boys wool blazer i found thrifting. yeah, you read that right, christian dior. i won't get that lucky for at least another three years, as i am the world's worst thrifter. but enough about clothes, because as far as i'm concerned clothes are just an excuse to pick out a pair of SHOES. i'm on the hunt for a pair of oxfords this fall. i've got my eye on the rachel comey derringer at habitat. i'm keeping my fingers crossed that the size 6 is a small 6. very very small. but let's talk about sexy. because i've been tapping into my sexy shoe side. i was in habitat a few weeks ago and they had just gotten in the heel you see in the photos above, it's the odanak from coclico. people. first let me tell you that it is a genius mix of heel & bootie, second let me tell you that the leather that wraps around your ankle feels like BUTTER. seriously, it's the softest leather i've ever felt, i wanted to sit there and pet it. and here is the best part yet, besides this shoe being ridiculously sexy, it was also incredibly comfortable. so where am i going with all this? well today through sunday you can shop online and get 20% off new shoes, boots and handbags, just enter the code newfall20 and that my friends, is how this is for you. woot!!

last first

today is the last day of summer and just like always i'm missing the heat and sunshine, already looking through the long dark tunnel of winter to when i can next enjoy those things. kansas city is giving a taste of fall today, with grey dreary skies, rain and a crisp feeling in the air. i had grand plans of putting together a lovely little summer zine but life and work came front and center the last few months or so, leaving me little time or energy for such things. and what time i did have i chose to squander it watching studio 60 on hulu with david. and i have zero guilt about laying in bed, watching excellent tv with my husband. so here we go, only three more seasons until summer again! i'm counting down the days.

late summer

listening to cicadas, enjoying the late afternoon on the porch, eating the last of the cherry tomatoes straight off the plant, pulling on a cardigan after the sun goes down, turning off the attic fan because it's just a little too cool, but leaving the windows open nonetheless, daydreaming about tights and soup, waiting for the mayor of fall to usher in the change. late summer i will miss you, but i will savor every day you give me.

portrait of a three year old ennui

i am

i had a revelation today. this may come as a surprise to you, but today i realized i am a photographer. what? i know. why today? let me back up a bit. remember last week how i was so excited to find out that my friend prentiss is a photographer? and how i talked his ear off about lights, and studio space, and all kinds of other nerdy photography things. well, as what usually happens when i start talking about cameras and whatnot, i get "the question". you know the question. everyone get's it. "oh! so are you a (fill in the blank)?". some lady overheard us talking and sure enough, she asked the question. and i hemmed and hawed like i usually do. oh, not really. well, yeah kind of. i do it on the side, i really like photography etc etc. she looked at me like i had a camera growing out of my forehead, and i somewhat awkwardly returned to my conversation with prentiss. we talked some more, and i said something about having been published in a polaroid book. see! he said, don't do that. don't do what, i said? don't answer the question like that, you are a photographer. oh, i said. i stewed on it for a while, and a few days later had another one of my reoccurring conversations with david, you know the "what am i even doing?" one. i get so worked up about defining myself or my style or my work or whatever that i forget one very important piece of the puzzle. nobody, and i mean nobody is defined by one single, solitary thing. i am a million things. i am a mother. i am a wife. i am an archaeologist. i am petite. i am sassy. i am a klutz. we all are a million things. to be defined by one thing would be almost nonhuman. not to mention boring. so where am i going with all of this? well, today this arrived. i opened it up, squealed a little, and then turned over my card and saw this.

can you read that? it says image copyright © by Hannah Huffman. that's right. it's me. it hit me like a ton of bricks. and if jenifer altman lived in kansas city, i would have run right over to her house, screamed in her ear, jumped in her lap, and given her the biggest hug ever. thank you jen so much for including me in your brain child. for asking me twice! for encouraging me when i was skeptical that i could do it. and of course, i have to thank david for giving me the kick in the pants i need when i get all wishy washy. last summer when john asked me if i wanted to have my first show, my head was spinning. what?? yes, but how?? and david ever so dryly says, stop freaking out and just do it. oh. ok. he's like my own personal tim gunn. so will i be the next annie leibovitz? no. i doubt it. will i take photographs for the rest of my life for fun? yes. will i take photographs for other people who want to pay me? hopefully. why? because i am a photographer. and a million other things.

today

is david's birthday. i love this man for many reasons, but most of all he has an amazing mind up there in that head of his. he wrote a new story for today. on top of the million things he has on his plate, he finds time to be an amazing father and do creative things with me. what a keeper. happy birthday david. you are my favorite.

toby & maureen

toby you are the best person i know, so it makes perfect sense that you would find the best woman possible to be your wife. congratulations my friends, all huffmans love you very very much.

prentiss

this is prentiss. he is pretty awesome, for many reasons, but when i found out that he is a photographer, i practically pounced on him. i picked his brain, asked tons of questions and gushed over lenses. because that's what photographers do, right? oh. maybe that's just me. anyway...

so here is the great news - prentiss is having his first gallery show this first friday. what makes it even better is he has turned it into a charity event to benefit the healthy kids initiative of rosedale. see, i told you he was awesome. please, come on down. the show is at 2012 main from 6 to 9 pm, this friday, september 4th. you can read all kinds of details on the event page. they are going to be shooting street style portraits for goodness sake! david, eliot and i will totally be doing this. and yes, i will totally post it here.