This is my grandmother, Anna, in France. A year ago, I lost her, and I was standing in my kitchen when my heart broke so wildly and completely that I thought I was dying too. Grief…what a spectacular haunting. And while my heart is still bruised, I am telling myself over and over, that she […]
My grandparents were adventurous spirits. Their best times were spent in the high country of the Pacific Northwest. Shown here, my grandmother Mary Pearson, stands in the majestic Cascades of Washington. At 20 years old, she was wise and passionate. She absorbed the stillness and cool mountain air, photographed by her newlywed husband (my grandfather) […]
This is where my love of vintage truly began! My grandparents, Mummu and Vaari, inspired me in countless ways. They were full Finnish and they were the “it” couple. Vaari was born in 1915. Mummu was born in 1917. People used to say Mummu was as beautiful as Marilyn Monroe, a beautiful blonde bombshell. This adorable […]
My Mom, circa 1975, just hanging out and reading Josephus. My Mom Leona Jean Graff Randell Wells has always been one to do her own thing. This shot was taken in our living room in Anchorage, Alaska. She’s probably 28, has 3 kids and is reading Josephus. Most likely, she’s taking a break from painting […]
When I was going through old photos of my grandparents, I discovered this picture of my grandma. I don’t remember my grandma ever playing guitar, but I do remember her playing piano and singing, especially yodeling! My Grandma Rose was the strongest woman I’ve ever known. I wrote this about her for her eulogy: “I learned […]
Just look at my dad being all hipster before it was even a thing. Pretty sure he doesn’t have skinny jeans on though. . My dad never had a mustache or beard normally, but he grew it out special for our town’s 100th anniversary. They were going to have an ‘old settler’s beard & mustache […]
Meet my grandmother, Ada Sawyer Cooper. She graduated from Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, in 1922, with a degree in what was the precursor to Fashion Design. . She bought me my first sewing machine. She taught me how to draft patterns. She told me always trust your eye, never a ruler, because there’s not one single […]
My beautiful mother turned 86 this month, so I knew I had to share this glam photo of her, in Hawaii in the early 1970s. She had traveled to the islands to meet up with my dad, who was deployed in Vietnam. As she says, he needed some R&R. . This photo captures the era […]
This was my parent’s engagement photo, circa 1976 in Southern Illinois. I love this shot because it is a natural pose in a natural setting. It’s not overdone or forced, like some photography today. No photoshop, no frills, just natural beauty. . Plus, it captures both of them so perfectly and they look so happy […]
Meet my Grandmother, Georgia, with her big hair and her big heart. . Here she is, lounging and looking glamorous while visiting my parents in Alaska in the 1970s. . The local paper, The Nome Nugget, even raved about her beauty. . Unfortunately her battle with MS took her beauty and eventually her life. But […]
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