Happy Thanksgiving! I hope that if you’re reading this you are a couple drinks and multiple helpings into the celebration. I’m thankful for many things this year, but in particular I’m grateful for my wonderful fiancé, Bryan, who you see mentioned on the blog here and there, and most of the time in my photography credits. Among many things, Bryan is an incredible support to my creative pursuits, and without him this blog wouldn’t be possible!
After a couple of days in Latmingue, Natalie and I traveled to Saint-Louis, an old colonial city, the heart of which is located on a narrow island in the Senegal River. Saint-Louis was established in 1659 by French traders and is characterized by the distinct French and Portuguese architecture throughout the city. Today, Saint-Louis relies heavily on tourism and is full of shops, cafes, and street vendors, so there was no shortage of delicious pastries, beautiful textiles, and fresh fish. On our first day, we took a horse-drawn cart tour around the island and learned about the hard-working fishermen and families residing in the area, and saw the large wooden boats that take months to carve for their many fishing voyages.
We had a lovely Christmas staying at La Residence, which was a nice break before hitting the road again. On our way to Dakar, we stopped at Lake Retba – the Pink Lake – which is “pink” because of bacteria that is attracted by the lake’s high salt content. The salt is extracted by locals from the bottom of the lake using their hands, then placed into baskets to be transported to the shore where it is used mainly to preserve fish. It was an overcast day, so the lake was not as distinctly pink as usual, but we managed to get a light pink hue against the bright blue boats in the salty water.
After a couple days in Thies, Natalie and I left for a 2-day trip to Koalack to visit her host family in the village of Latmingue. After a long drive, we were greeted with warm hospitality, attaya [the most amazing mint tea], and a cieb dinner. I’m pretty sure I’ve never eaten as much and as often as we did in Latmingue, but it’s difficult to refuse all of the delicious tea, yogurt drinks, fresh melon, and homemade sauces! Between meals, Natalie and I explored the villages in the area, the local mosque, and walked to the river. Sharing their home, food, and customs, in just two short days Natalie’s family showed me the beauty of their simple yet rich life in Latmingue, which will forever stay with me.
The name of the game is to be bold this season, from head to toe, and your eyeglasses should be no exception. Warby Parker’s new spring line is just that: bold and beautiful, boasting colorful hues and tortoise shell patterns. I walked around the corner to WP’s Shaw location in Washington, DC to check out some of their new line and immediately fell in love with the new frames. All of the frames are delicately placed on shelves in the bright corner store, neatly organized and just waiting for someone to lift them up and try them on for size. Chandni Sandhu, Store Leader, explained that the display is meant to resemble the inviting feel of library. You are supposed to pick up the frames and try them on as you would pick up a book and flip through the pages. The beautiful space, comfortable couches, and reading material all contribute to a pleasant experience while spending some time at the store.
I gravitated toward the straight brow line and blue fade of the Welty glasses, but I’m going to try some of the fun larger frames and tortoise patterns too when I choose 5 frames online! Our neighborhood is lucky to have a store, but in case you don’t have one nearby, the Home Try-On program is a great option to test out frames before making a larger commitment. I’m looking forward to getting mine in the mail, and to see what WP comes out with next! Sleek metal frames are next on their lineup, which are sure to stand out while complementing their blue and blush companions. Follow me on Instagram to see the frames I am trying, and which ones I pick! I’ll be back to the blog to share my experience with the Home Try-On program and how you can make an impact with your purchase.
I’m finally getting back to some blogging after a long break! After a busy fall and holiday season, I’m now editing and sharing photos from the trip I took to Senegal at the end of December. My sister Natalie has been a Peace Corps volunteer for the past two and a half years, so we decided to spend Christmas together in Senegal. She was with a host family in Latmingue for two years, but is now living in the city of Thies. We spent the first couple of days of my trip exploring her neighborhood and nearby city, walking through the markets to buy fabric for dresses, eating local beignets, and taking in the culture. The colors and patterns in the city are incredible, from fresh fruit, to spices, to long swaths of fabric hanging in shops and women dressed in vibrant gowns and headdresses.
Natalie and I are also in the process of launching a new business – Fulla&Fayda – so we took the opportunity of being together to do some planning and to visit the artisanal village where our handbags are made. It was so exciting to finally meet Tapha and his brothers, who are incredibly talented. Their shop is one of many in the village, among woodworking studios, jewelry shops, and textile galleries. After touring the village, Tapha invited us to have lunch in the workshop – my first (of many!) ceebu jen meal. Ceebu jen is a traditional Senegalese dish of rice, (usually) fish, and vegetables. The proteins and vegetables vary, but the dish is always flavorful and spicy! It is usually presented in a large bowl that everyone eats from communally, and with incredible thoughtfulness. The Senegalese are known for their hospitality and I have never felt so welcomed and included than when eating from a bowl of ceeb.
To round out our business ventures with some pleasure, Natalie and I took one afternoon to explore the mangroves of Saly. We found a car pool to take us most of the way to the beach, but ended up getting out to walk the rest of the way. It was a gorgeous 80 degrees and a great way to explore the area, which was more tropical than Thies with its palm trees and bright flowers. Once at the beach, Natalie found a guide who would take us on an hour-long boat tour. The water was quiet and still, letting us drag our feet as we weaved along the edge of the mangroves. We stopped on a small beach with a baobab tree decorated with shells and were told to choose a shell and make a wish as we added our own to the branches of the tree. Toward the end of our tour, we came upon a happy island with a string of restaurants and bars, so we decided to spend the rest of the afternoon in the sun with fresh seafood and ice cold beer. It was a relaxing day, and a great way to end our time in Thies before heading to Kaolack!
After the wedding in San Jose, we had a couple of days to explore the surrounding landscape. If you ever find yourself in San Jose, there are some great tours to take advantage of. We decided to make the most of our free day and opted for the “combination tour,” consisting of Doka Estate coffee, Poas Volcano, and La Paz Waterfall Gardens. It was a full day of sight-seeing and walking, but it was totally worth it.
We started the tour at Doka, where we had a traditional Costa Rican breakfast (and coffee, of course) and walked through the roasting process. Almost a century old, this estate still produces some of the best coffee in Costa Rica. After the tour, we made a couple stops along the way to Poas, one being a rest stop selling fresh cheese and coffee and where we met the sweetest mountain dog.
It was an incredibly misty morning, so we only got a few glimpses of the volcano as the wind blew the clouded cover. The national park was gorgeous, though, and we took an hour-long walk through the forest and saw some amazing plants and flowers. The beautiful scenery continued on our drive to the La Paz Waterfall Gardens, where we encountered orchids, butterflies, tropical birds, wild cats, and a series of majestic waterfalls – the perfect end to our day.
Photos also taken by Bryan Wallace
At the end of March, B and I and a couple friends embarked on an amazing trip to Costa Rica. Our reason for the trip was our friends’ wedding in San Jose, but we decided to make a little vacation out of it. We stayed at the Coutyard Mariott San Jose Escazu, walked to Bulali for breakfast, explored downtown San Jose, and drank a lot of coffee.
Photos also taken by Bryan Wallace
I met Melissa Dorn of Lissa Ryan Photography two Decembers ago on a styled shoot in Annapolis, MD that ended up being featured on Style Me Pretty. It was a magical day that completely opened up my eyes to the world of styled shoots. I immediately fell in love with the energy, dedication, and passion that is involved with bringing a styled shoot to life, much like an actual event. There is a freedom with styled shoots, though, that typically doesn’t exist for “real” weddings. An uninhibited kind of creativity that comes hand in hand with limitless possibilities.
Ever since that day I have gotten more involved with styled shoots, collaborating with amazing and talented vendors (or “friendors”, I have recently heard them called) ranging from photographers, florists, designers, and planners throughout the greater Washington, DC area, and making friends along the way.
Melissa and I have worked together on other styled shoots since our first one together two years ago (one to be published at the end of March on Magnolia Rouge – stay tuned!), but I was eager to work on something more personal with her. I love Melissa’s work with film photography, so we settled on a date in late February to do a little shoot in Rock Creek Park. It was the end of a rainy weekend, so the overcast sky and surging creek lent themselves to a moody winter atmosphere. I hope you like them as much as I do!
Xoxo,
Jackie Tara
2015 was an amazing year full of travel, events, friends, and family, and was also the first year with my Fujifilm X100T. I have been slowly learning the craft of photography, toting my little fuji friend along with me wherever I go, and I have selected a few of my most favorite images from this year to share with you.
XO,
Jackietara
A couple weekends ago I took a slightly spontaneous trip to visit my best friend, Brittany, in Chicago. I had been trying to make this trip happen for about a year, when I realized that I had to get there before winter rolled into the windy city.
We landed on a perfectly brisk and sunny weekend, the best kind for exploring. One of my highlights was walking around Brittany’s adorable neighborhood of Andersonville, drinking coffee, and getting brunch at a local spot – Big Jones – where we had the tastiest shrimp and grits, griddle cakes, popovers, salt & pepper biscuits, and complimentary beignets. It was carb overload and I was in heaven.
We also did a little sight-seeing and visited the “big hits” like The Bean and Dylan’s Candy Bar, and caught an amazing view of the city from the Willis Tower, cocktail in hand.
Jackie Tara 
