Mirror To The Past.

This is my family.

I love this photo, taken at my brother's wedding in August of 2000.

I am a little disappointed with myself in regard my attitude captured here. I did not care for the photographer that day and the look on my face conveys my annoyance. My girlfriend Leilani picked up on that when she visited here a few weeks ago. She asked me what was going on with me here and since then I feel like I soiled a lovely moment, the only professional photo we have of us Sattler's as adults. I still love this photo.

See this red dress I wore to my brother's wedding? In 2000, Tim and I were living in the Napa Valley and so a few months before, I met my Mom in Sacramento one afternoon to pick out a dress to wear for the big day. I mention this because there are very few times I spent quality time with my Mom as adults, just she and I. I remember so many special details about that day, mostly because she spoiled me like no other day before. This dress she picked out at Ann Taylor, a store I didn't really frequent. She liked it so much that while I was changing in the dressing room she went to pay and slipped in a black dress with it. She told me, "Every girl needs a Little Black Dress." She treated me to new shoes, a pocketbook and lunch. It was a princess moment for me.

Last night Leilani and I met at this same shopping mall and as I stood in the handbag department at  Nordstrom's (in the very same space I picked out my pocketbook 12 years ago) she came around the corner and handed me an Ann Taylor (Loft) bag. She treated me to a black jacket she thought I would like and for just a moment, my Mom was there with me. The gift itself was lovely. It's relevance in relation to another time in my life, a happy memory, was powerful. (Thank you so much  L xo)