Nineteen Days

It's that time of year again. Baha'is around the world are preparing for that special time of spiritual renewal--the Baha'i Fast. Nineteen days of fasting during which we make a special effort to turn our focus inward, refreshing our hearts and re-invigorating our spirits through reflection and prayer.

Sarah-J (left); Ramin Hosseini (right)

During the past three years one of the highlights of the fasting period has been following, and participating in, the Nineteen Days blog--a collaborative photography project created by Amy and Leila that enlists photographers from across the globe in sharing reflections on the Fast and beautiful images taken daily at dawn and dusk, some of which I've included here.

.leili (above)

Tomorrow Nineteen Days enters its fourth year, with an incredible line up of photographers from every corner of the world. I hope you'll join us.

.leila (left); elliot|v (right)

Driftwood and Details

Aside from the obvious pleasures of sun and swimming, one of my favorite things about visiting the beach is seeing nature's detritus scattered along a shore.
Shells. Polished stones. Driftwood. The odd coconut here and there.

Bleached by the warm sun, scoured by the sand and wave after wave of salty surf, and revealing colors, textures and stories of all sorts.

Our Biggest Adventure Yet

It has been quiet over here on Under Consideration these last few months. Our time and attention has been completely consumed by our latest, and most exciting, adventure yet, and my lens has been trained almost exclusively on little fingers, tiny toes and pudgy cheeks.

But it's time to get back into the swing of things. And there's lots more to come.

Home Sweet (New) Home

After moving away from New York City last spring, and a long summer in beautiful Vancouver, we have finally settled down in our new home - a small town outside San Jose, Costa Rica. It has only been seven days, but we're already smitten with the natural beauty and the warmth of the people we are meeting. And don't even get me started on the fruits and vegetables. The words "avocado heaven" flash into my mind at least three times a day.

Perhaps we're just in the honeymoon period, but so far the monsoon rains, exceptionally large spiders and constant muddy paw prints of one particular member of our family have done little to dampen our enthusiasm.

Can you blame us?

The Vintage Baby

We've had babies on the brain here lately at Under Consideration, and for good reason! Come November, a wee little lass will take our family from three members to four (we include Hazel in the count, naturally). Let's hope we're up to the challenge!

It's no wonder, therefore, that items like the following have recently been catching my eye online and inspiring bouts of nostalgia. So many vintage baby clothes and toys remind me of things I once had, or that were passed down from my parents and grandparents. I thought I'd share the reminiscing by putting together a little collection. Do any of these things take you back to your days as a little one?

aluminum baby cup (from berrygoodlifefarm)

vintage baby clothes hanger (from veraviola)

I still have a few of these very same hangers that belonged to my dad as a child.

flowered babydoll dress (from hartandsew)

vintage playskool wagon (from happydayvintage)

smocked-front buttercup yellow dress (from hellodarlingvintage)

vintage baby blocks (from busybree)

antique muslin baby dress (from ethanollie)

seersucker baby jumper (from muraivintage)