Before I tell you about our Supper Club, I have to thank you for all your kind comments on Tuesday's House Proud post. It's the first in what I hope will be a series of many. Your words meant so much to me and to Bill as well. I've responded to each of you in the comments section, and in case you're interested, that house is now on the market for just over $1.2M. It is, we think, is priced to sell!

Way back last fall, my friend Catherine and I concocted the idea of pulling together a supper club. We were having lunch together and brainstorming all sorts of things. She's a chef and I like to eat, so it made sense. We wanted people who weren't generally connected to each other, who loved food but didn't need to be great cooks (Catherine did manage to stack the deck, I will say) and who would take the event seriously enough to get together every six weeks or so. Our first meeting was November 17, 2012 (and I'm finally blogging about it). Because we were all meeting for the first time, we landed on a tapas or small bites theme. Everyone brought two small bites, or a small bite and a dessert. From here on out, the host will choose a theme and make the entree. It's up to everyone else to provide a supporting role!

Supper Club, November 17, 2012

Attending

Catherine and Michael (hosts)

Tracy and Mark

Julie

Neel and Lauren

Jennifer and Dave

Artemis and Peter

Not Present

Bill and Alli

The Menu

Coconut Curried Chicken Salad

Sweet Potato and Chorizo Squewers

Tortelini Salad on a Stick

Potato with Caviar

Leek and Gruyere Tart

Mediterranean Lamb Balls

Cherry Tomatoes with Marinated Feta

Garlic Shrimp

Steamed Clams

Pumpkin Cake

Cream Puffs

Cupcakes with White Chocolate Frosting

The last Twinkies in town!

Next Supper Club, January 12, 2013. Neel and Lauren's house.

The father of my dear friend Rebecca is an architect. This means that whenever we get together at parties or cookouts or whatnot, I want to hang out with him, like a lot. It doesn't hurt that both of her parents are just delightful and super easy to be with, but talking with her dad about houses is something I could do all day long. He speaks my kind of house-speak, and he knows how to make it happen for people, sometimes on a grand scale. When we first started talking about architecture, I asked Bill if there was a typical "Norfolk" home, the way you see homes typical to Santa Fe or Charleston or Nantucket. He pointed me to this book, which now sits on my coffee table. Southern Vernacular. That's what we're talking about. Drawing from other traditions, but paying attention to the landscape.

Bill pays attention, and that's what's so great about talking about him. Homes are living, breathing things to him, and he thinks about what a family needs as he designs for them. Not just the sight lines and how the light falls, but how a family moves through a space and how the kids might run down the hall or the parents might need time to themselves. As we'd talked at pool party after pool party and BBQ after BBQ, I dropped shameless hint after shameless hint that I'd love to come and see some of the houses he's designed in town. Knowing Bill, and knowing the little I'd seen, I imagined they'd be pretty spectacular.

Well, you can imagine my excitement when they (his wife runs his architecture practice for him) called to see if I'd come photograph some houses for them. Christmas and Birthday all rolled up into one for me! It's quite possible that I danced a jig. I can't tell you the sheer and utter delight I felt at working with this lovely gentleman and finally having the opportunity to see inside some of his beautiful homes. This stunning riverside home was the first, and I'll have another for you next week. The family who lives here is downsizing, and they've asked Bill to help them with their new home, to make it fit their needs. As we walked around the house, the photography challenges I felt faded away as Bill showed me why he put a hall where he did, or how he carved an attic out of what was intended to be unused space. Living, breathing things, our homes are. He's constantly thinking about them.

Even when the houses are finished and about to be sold to a new family, he still is.

supper club, inaugural edition {life}

house proud, vol. 1 {life}