The Graham & Co. in Country Living

I wanted to share something with you today that got me really excited this month. A photograph I took at The Graham & Co. hotel last summer is featured in this month's June issue of Country Living magazine! 

I'm so thrilled Country Living came across my photos of this charming hotel in the Catskills, and then contacted me to use one in print. It feels great seeing one of my photographs in a major magazine! 

Something to think about too, for any of you who want to start a blog, but haven't gotten around to it yet  - you never know what can happen when you do. C.L. may never have found my photos of the Graham if it wasn't for my blog. Even if you don't have a clear direction yet, just start it and see where it goes! So far that method has been working for me! I'm very happy with how things have been coming along here and with the new opportunities that are popping up.

The Graham & Co. was a last minute find on a stormy camping day, and we enjoyed every minute of our short stay there. They've been getting a lot of great write-ups lately, and it looks like they're destined to have a busy summer. Book now if you're thinking of staying there!

{A Note on My Photography}

Taz and I like to travel when we can, and I always take lots of pictures when we do. I'll be working on adding a photo gallery soon, but in the meantime you can browse through my Travel posts - most recently we went to Amsterdam, the Phillipines, and Beacon, NY. (I also have many more photographs that don't make it into blog posts.)

If you are interested in purchasing or using a photograph of mine, please contact me at melinda@melindadiorio.com.  Keep in mind that everything on this site is my own unless otherwise indicated and is copyrighted. Using a photograph without my permission and/or compensation is illegal. If you are a fellow blogger who is sharing a photo from one of my posts, I don't mind at all. Please just include written credit with the photo and a link back to my site. (And let me know too, I'd love to check out your blog as well!) For all other purposes please contact me for use of my work.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Hope you all had a good weekend! Mine was spent relaxing and catching up on some blog related stuff on a rainy Sunday. I made a few updates to this site (which is still in progress), and I finally got around to editing and posting a group of photographs that I took in Ditmas Park a few weeks ago. You can see them all on my Tumblr, MD Hearts BK. In the 10+ years that I've lived in NYC, I have to admit I've never been over to this quiet little 'suburban' area in Brooklyn. The historic brownstones and towering trees of my Park Slope neighborhood have always impressed me, but the colorful Victorian homes and perfectly manicured lawns of Ditmas Park are a whole other kind of neighborhood beauty.   Check out the photos and let me know what you think! Would you want to live in one of these houses? Or do you prefer apartment style, city living?

Friday I'm in Love...

This week's Friday I'm in Love post is a Food and Drink edition! Because who doesn't love food?? Healthy recipes, plus a spring cocktail, and some cute kitchenware is inspiring me to do some springtime entertaining...

1. Simple Garlic & Greens Soup with Smoky ChickPea Flatbread, via The First Mess

2. Dr. Bird Juicer from imm Living, image via Honestly Yum

3. Dragon Fruit Limeade Cocktail, via A Beautiful Mess

4. Roasted Cauliflower and Corn Tacos, via Oh So Lovely Vintage

What are your favorite Spring/Summer recipes? Do you tend to eat on the lighter side this time of year? I find that I do, and I personally can't wait for the local farmer's market to start stocking up with fresh spring veggies. Hopefully I'll be able to fill up my tote bag this weekend!

Have a Happy Friday!

You Can Go Your Own Way...

Sorry for the scarcity in my blog posts this week! My mom visited me this past weekend for Mother's Day, and I disconnected myself from social media so I could spend some quality time with her. There are a few photos from our excursions on my Instagram, but since I'm trying to find a balance between my personal life and my blog life, I probably won't be doing a full post of our wonderful weekend together.

I've also been doing a little soul-searching lately. There's an inevitable change going on in my life, and like the above quote says, I need to adjust my sails! (More on that later.) This blog has been on my mind too. I'm spending a lot of time thinking not just about an updated design, but also about updated content. I want to take photographs and share art & design work that inspires me, but I also want to talk about intellectual inspiration and living a healthy lifestyle. This has been coming through a little more lately in my posts - I hope you can see the change, and that you like it! I really want this blog to be definitively "me" and not just a regurgitation of the infinite amount of material on the web. However, because so many things inspire me I find that it's sometimes hard to find a balance between the two!

What are your thoughts on change? I always thought I was pretty adaptable, but lately I've realized change kind of freaks me out! It takes me longer to adjust them some I suppose. But when I do make a change...I go all in!

Friday I'm in Love...

I read a lot of different blogs, but, although I work in fashion, I've phased out of reading blogs by the "top" style bloggers. To be honest, I'm just a little bored with seeing outfit-after-outfit posts. I've taken most of my original "big blogs" off my Bloglovin' roll and replaced them with less known (or completely unknown) bloggers who write and post about everything from food, fashion, design, travel to honest bits about their everyday life. 

But for some reason I kept around one of those top girls on Bloglovin' - stylist and creative director Kelly Framel of the Glamourai. I don't often check her blog these days, but this week she caught my eye with a creatively styled post:

Floral headwear is a trend I'm loving right now - how beautiful and ethereal is it to wear a montage of fresh flowers on your head?! Bess Wyrick of Celadon + Celery created the flower sculptures for this project, Austin Phelps photographed, and Kelly herself directed, styled, and collaged the final product. (See the orginal post here.) 

What do you think? Would you rock a flower crown? Do you follow the top style bloggers, or do you have some lesser known blogs you'd like to share? I'd love to hear your suggestions!

Have a great weekend!

Oh! And as far as...

I've been loving adding some thoughts on being more green at the end of each of my blog posts (and also the feedback I've been getting, it's great!), but I'm finding it's a lot to research and keep up with daily. Going forward I'll be adding a once-a-week green tip, and most likely it'll be getting it's own day and time slot! Look for it coming soon.