A beautiful and interesting article of why ordinary moments are the ones we should seek to remember from The Atlantic. 

Days Tutorial Series Episode 6

Taking Festive Photos of the Holidays

With a few holidays behind us and a few ahead, here are 3 tips on capturing festive photos during this holiday season:

1) Set the scene and document the holiday’s flair otherwise known as  “the details”. Someone has spent a really long time setting that table or creating that ornament so snap a picture before it gets filled with people and ruined

2) The gratuitous amounts of food need to be pictured. From your plate that’s never been so full, to the one that is inexplicably clean. What are you eating for the holidays?

3) Holidays are all about the traditions and the people that make them.  From family football, to extensive trivia games…the first one to fall asleep, to the last…. capture the moments that make your holidays your very own.

Having close family, friends and gratitude all in one place should not be taken for granted. Don’t be shy, take lots of photos so your memories can keep you warm for years to come.

While feeding a discerning downtown crowd at SoHo's favorite neighborhood restaurant Jack's Wife Freda, co-owner and hostess Maya Jankelowitz manages to fill everyone with love and a sense of belonging.

7:43am — Meet Maya Jankelowitz (@deanswifemaya), co-owner of Soho’s #1 neighborhood restaurant Jack’s Wife Freda — Home

7:52am — Mission Impossible: husband Dean trying to put Bennie’s shirt on without knocking his glasses off — Home

8:01am — Cuddle puddle before school — Home

8:38am — Shoes off, kisses on — PS 63 

9:05am — Running into someone you know on the street? Hallelujah! — NoLita

9:13am — Updating the ever-important Jack’s Wife Freda schedule on the run — NoLita

9:20am — Welcome to Jack’s Wife Freda — NoLita

9:21am — Calm before the storm — Jack’s Wife Freda

9:41am — Staff breakfast: chopped salad, pita, 2 eggs over easy and soft cheese — Jack’s Wife Freda

10:15am — Receiving deliveries — Jack’s Wife Freda

11:56am — Restaurant regular Mara and her mom stop by for lunch — Jack’s Wife Freda

12:17pm — Noon. Time to pop bottles — Jack’s Wife Freda

12:19pm — A lunchtime celebration for a promotion! — Jack’s Wife Freda

1:06pm — Cat-walk during the lunch rush — Jack’s Wife Freda

1:27pm — JWF regular @manrepeller stops in for lunch — Jack’s Wife Freda

2:43pm — Chatting with Nada, a resident of the neighborhood for the past 30 years who frequents Jack’s Wife Freda and sits at the same table, every time — Jack’s Wife Freda

2:46pm — Free hugs. A mother to all Soho — Jack’s Wife Freda

2:50pm — Artist Curtis Kulig gets his paper delivered to the restaurant every day. His paintings hang on the wall — Jack’s Wife Freda

3:14pm — The restaurant’s name is an homage to Dean’s grandparents. The food reflects a shared Israeli / South African heritage — Jack’s Wife Freda

3:17pm — On the lunch table today: burger and chopped salad, grilled haloumi cheese and grapes, matzoh ball soup, kale greek salad, cantaloupe juice and a “nana” tea — Jack’s Wife Freda

4:54pm — Getting some fish for the kids’ dinner and putting a photo up for the restaurant’s instagram account — Whole Foods

5:07pm — Dean and the kids play a new video game before he heads out for his shift at the restaurant — Home

6:01pm — Bennie clean and snug after bathtime — Home

6:07pm — Emily from JWF comes to watch the kids. JWF servers are identified by their striped shirts! — Home

6:47pm — Hugs before heading uptown to the Bergdorf Goodman Home holiday soiree — Home

7:35pm — Hi Rachel Strugatz, WWD Accessories editor and Jack’s Wife Freda french-fry-quality- tester — Bergdorf Goodman

8:14pm — Elad’s home-ware line for Bergdorf (L’objet) is being showcased tonight — Bergdorf Goodman

8:50pm — Final hug from tonight’s date and old friend from Israel, Galit. So many hugs and so much love for the the woman who feeds an entire neighborhood. Goodnight! See you tomorrow! — Alphabet City

CFDA Incubated, award winning fashion designer and sometimes DJ, Timo Weiland inspires men and women to return to the art of dressing with his beautifully hip mens and womenswear.

9:10am — Rise and shine @timoweiland, creator of the eponymous CFDA-incubated fashion brand — West Village

9:12am — Uptown meets downtown meets international vibes — West Village

9:33am — Even with 13 New York Fashion Week collections under the belt, you still put your pants on one leg at a time — West Village

9:54am — Ran into Max Osborne of Public School, recent winner of the CFDA Fashion Fund award — CFDA Fashion Incubator

10:00am — Designing the Fall/Winter 2014 collection — Timo Weiland Design Studio

10:04am — Coconut is the Timo Weiland mascot and a continual source of fashion inspiration — Timo Weiland Design Studio

10:55am — Model from the Resort 2014 collection stops by to choose some wears — Timo Weiland Design Studio

12:36pm — On the street with Alan and Donna from the design team — Garment District

12:49pm — Visiting one of fashion’s most prestigious milliners. Albertus has designed hats for every major fashion house including @timoweiland — Albertus Swanepoel Studio

1:34pm — After the milliner, it’s on to the furrier. Feeling it — Fox Unlimited Furs

1:46pm — Let’s cut some furs down to size — Fox Unlimited Furs

2:12pm — Dining “al desko” with a Hale and Hearty chicken noodle soup and the daily Rice Krispies Treat — Timo Weiland Design Studio

2:58pm — Double-checking the Spring/Summer 2014 fabric samples that will go into production any second — Preview Textiles

3:33pm — Bumped into Jesse, the owner of fab Southampton boutique Tenet — Garment District

4:02pm — Meeting with the Casio team. *Watch* out for a collaboration — SoHo Grand Hotel

5:53pm — Good friend Xiyin (Xi Xi) picking out a dress…or two or three — Timo Weiland Design Studio

6:31pm — Picking up Resort 2014 samples — Preview Textiles

6:37pm — It’s like Christmas in here — Timo Weiland Design Studio

7:41pm — Headed to a gallery, Red Bull in hand — Garment District

7:49pm — Art food — Marlborough Chelsea

7:55pm — Friend Alexandra in from London to see art and grab some dinner — Marlborough Chelsea

Former star of MTV's The Hills, co-founder of Revelry House, best-selling author, and executive producer Lo Bosworth epitomizes the modern hostess

9:14am — Meet Lo Bosworth (@lobosworth), star of MTV’s The Hills and co-founder of Revelry House, the ultimate resource for stylish entertaining — New York Flower District

9:19am — Picking up flowers for a Daily Candy photo shoot — New York Flower District

9:33am — Inexplicably found an entire aisle of fake food at the flower shop — New York Flower District

10:08am — Favorite tea: toasted almond tisane. Love the pink color — Home

10:15am — A “flower purist” doesn’t mix flowers in their arrangements — Home

11:46am — Prepping a Revelry House New Year’s Eve decoration kit to send to Gwyneth Paltrow and the GOOP team — Revelry House HQ

12:40pm — New-Years-in-a-box is en route to Gwyneth/GOOP — FedEx

1:47pm — Intense lunch time spin class with instructor Kendra. Soul=cycled — Soul Cycle Soho

2:49pm — Smoked paprika egg salad, feta, roasted red peppers, pickled onions and watercress sandwich — Jack’s Wife Freda

4:09pm — Meeting with Deena Varshavskaya, founder of social shopping site Wanelo — Mercer Kitchen

4:53pm — Mom is flying in tonight for a visit! Stocking up on some of her favorite snacks — Citarella

5:35pm — Good cooks need to hone their sense of smell. Practice makes perfect — Home

6:38pm — Boyfriend Jeremy is off to a meeting in midtown. Kisses — Home

8:18pm — Bright lights on the red carpet for the new Club Monaco opening — Club Monaco Flagship

8:34pm — Oh, hey jillyhendrix long-time friend and DJ — Club Monaco Flagship

8:46pm — The new store features collaborations with New York specialty shops like Strand Book Store — Club Monaco Flagship

8:51pm — Chatting with Club Monaco COO Robbin Mitchell — Club Monaco Flagship

9:21pm — Stopping to smell the roses before heading to the airport to pick up mom — Club Monaco Flagship

We love a box that takes a seemingly mundane item and completely geeks out on it. In #FAR04, Jeremy and Keenan of Wander went farther and fancier than we thought possible with that simplest of seasonings: salt.

"Working with a group of talented woodworkers at Heartwood Creations in Illinois, we designed our own beautiful salt box. Carved from sustainably harvested cherry, with a hidden sliding top, it's just big enough to fit a spoon (and an ample supply of salt)." 

In addition to that gorgeous keepsake, Keenan and Jeremy had a cherry wood spoon made by master spoonsmith Jonathan Simons. And of course, they added a box of delicious English Maldon. If you haven't tried it, it's the salt that will make you understand all the fuss about salt.

Recently named one of Womenswear Daily's "Ten of Tomorrow", Fivestory shop owner Claire Distenfeld outfits her luxury uptown boutique with the coolest and hardest to get designers in the world. See as she exudes good taste and style on every level

7:48am — Meet Claire Distenfeld (@clairefivestory), owner of Fivestory, an innovative luxury boutique on the Upper East Side — Serafina Juice Bar

8:11am — Joined this Brazilian boxing gym a year ago — Punch Fitness

8:56am — “It’s 8:56am and the club is jumpin, jumpin” — Punch Fitness

9:32am — Living downtown means frequent visits to mom and dad’s to shower and raid the fridge — Upper East Side

9:45am — Ran into Brett Heyman from Edie Parker while getting coffee, or “café” as they say on the Upper East Side — Via Quadronno

9:52am — On the hunt for home accessories after moving apartments yesterday — Upper East Side

10:07am — Snapshot of Fivestory’s Spring/Summer 2014 inventory — Fivestory Office

11:35am — Welcome to Fivestory, which Vogue called New York’s Colette — Fivestory

11:36am — High-end fashion mixes with exclusive collaborations and a selection of international designers not available anywhere else in the US — Fivestory

11:57am — Checking out AS 29’s ocean-inspired pavé diamond pieces — Fivestory

12:40pm — Lunching with dad, Fred — Le Charlot

1:46pm — Exotic skins are an old family business — Fivestory Office

1:49pm — This Balmain belt is not lightweight fashion — Fivestory Office

3:56pm — Unpacking the art book collection in the new apartment. John Wesley is a favorite — Washington Square Park

5:43pm — Who needs furniture when you’ve got a bearskin rug? — Washington Square Park

6:19pm — Warming up by the fire at her uncle’s new hotel around the corner. Grrr! — Marlton House

8:27pm — Put this ear cuff on in the cab en route to a dinner hosted by Julia Restoin Roitfeld and Swarovski. Skillz — Taxi

9:10pm — Top shelf tequila on the rocks. With lots of lime — Lafayette

10:12pm — Dear friend and former Days in the Life subject @manrepeller stopped by to eat trout and chat — Lafayette

11:40pm — Off to Dallas in the morning for a benefit and auction. Fashion never sleeps — Marlton House