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Photography

Upon arriving at El Silencio Lodge & Spa, Bruce and I just knew that we weren’t going to be ready to leave just 2 nights later.

Nestled in the mountain jungle about an hour and a half from the airport, this little eco-resort was the perfect salvo to a long flight and a treacherous mountain road from the airport. El Silencio came highly recommended by a friend we were visiting in San Jose, and we instantly fell in love with the location and misty mountain vibes.

We pulled up to the main lodge late in the afternoon, and were welcomed by the hotel staff with a cool and sweet Costa Rican iced tea, and given an overview of the grounds — then, brought up to our cabin suite, boasting gorgeous views of the mountains, a swinging porch sofa, and a hidden patio jacuzzi (!!). Our bags were already in the suite, along with a handwritten welcome note, and a pico de gallo + guacamole appetizer that was so good I drank the juices from the bowl when we gobbled up the root veggie chips and dip.

The staff had preemptively heated up the jacuzzi for us, so we get settled in, ogled at the warm decor, and hopped into the tub to let the water draw out all the stress from a day of travel and wrapping up work emails!

Sidenote: to say that I was “stressed” leading up to this trip was a vast understatement. I recently accepted a full-time job that I’ve beec really excited about, but learning how to balance a few of my long-time freelance clients alongside a day job has been a struggle to say the least. So up until the plane landed, I was desperately trying to finish photo edits and design projects — and I knew that if I didn’t wrap them up, I’d never stop thinking about them. But sure enough, upon landing in Costa Rica, I was able to close my laptop and turn off my work brain for a few precious days! So climbing into a jacuzzi was exactly what I needed to just relax, just in time to really kick off our first international vacation together since early 2019.

One of the things that really drew me to El Silencio was the variety of activities they offer, from guided hikes, night jungle tours, cooking lessons, and fly fishing, to name a few. We were only staying for a couple of nights, but we met a few other travelers who were there for several days, and thrilled to take on some of the activities we didn’t have time for — but in the meantime, we opted for hiking on our own to the 3 waterfalls exclusive to El Silencio’s property. It took us about an hour total, and we considered it to be a pretty easy hike — more like a walk through the jungle with minimal climbing! On the way, we checked out the on-site greenhouse, as well as the chicken coop and trout pond. I’ve been to tropical places before, but nothing quite like a true rainforest. It rained most of the time we were there, but being able to see the mists work their way through the mountains and even some areas on the trail itself was nothing short of magical.

After lunch in the lodge, we joined another couple for horseback riding around the property, which was a gorgeous way to see some of the grounds. I am not much of a horseback rider, and happened to get a sassy horse named Cacao that was mostly focused on snacking on foliage on his own terms. We figured out a recipe for compromise eventually, to Cacao’s dismay.

When it came to the meals, everything we ate was nothing short of delicious, but breakfast was always our favorite meal of each day! Between flavorful chorizo, veggie, and eggs, to the typical Costa Rican breakfast of rice and beans, eggs, and sausage, we found ourselves salivating over the next breakfast we would be enjoying the the all-glass walled lodge with it’s beautiful views of the jungle and river.

Long story short, we’re still thinking about the most magical days we spent at El Silencio, and we are just dying to get back to explore even more of their gorgeous property!

Special thanks to El Silencio Lodge & Spa, which gifted a two night stay! I can’t wait to return, and to explore more of the Relais Chateaux Properties. Follow them on Instagram at @elsilenciolodge and @relaischateaux.

It took me way too long to get to Italy (and all of the classic European travel cities, really) — I had always focused my travels on the road less taken, namely because destinations like Tanzania, Mexico, and Morocco were exotic and always worlds cheaper upon arrival.

But last year was a rough one. I left my job at CAVA and took on an intense advertising job with long hours and lots of stress — and with the upcoming election and scheduled work events, Emily’s vacation days were limited in summer. So we decided to go big: the Amalfi coast.

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Whoa, it’s been a minute.

Just about a year ago, Emily and I decided that our big trip would just have to be to Vietnam. She had never been to Asia (and the only Asian country I had been to was Singapore, which is basically “Asia light”), and we wanted a big, two-week trip to push us out of our comfort zones and help us really escape the grind that’s been life in DC.

So we did it. And oh, did Vietnam push our comfort boundaries. To start, we were a little worried about the flight situation — DC to LA is 6 hours, LA to Tokyo was 14, and then Tokyo to Ho Chi Min City was another 7 hours. So to say the least, we were trying to find all the hacks in the world to make this bearable (fwiw — this hack was a game changer for me).

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Having grown up in Los Angeles, and being one of those people whose parents rarely understood the need to leave California, I could count on one hand the number of times I had witnessed snow falling. That is, until I moved to DC, where I heard it “rarely snowed,” and in my first winter, we got about 48 inches of snow.

There’s no better introduction to snow than one of those rare, city-shut-down, break out your skis blizzards. And since I haven’t seen snow quite like that first East Coast winter, getting to Montreal just before a blizzard gave me that magical winter wonderland that I had been craving for the last nine years.

My travel partner, hailing from Montana by way of Spokane, was less entertained – but nevertheless, entertained me by trekking through Vieux Montreal amidst a white out.

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I never quite fell in love with printed pieces until my first shipments from Artifact Uprising came in. It was a couple of years ago at this point — I put together a family photo calendar for my stepmom as a Christmas gift, thinking it’d be cute. And after distributing gifts, other family members were so enamored with the calendar that I got back onto the site and ordered another set before Christmas brunch was even over.

Artifact Uprising, Sarah Gerrity

So, needless to say, I’ve been pretty obsessed ever since. And now that I’m spending most of my days as a professional photographer, I honestly can’t justify printing my photos through any other service. I’m a stickler for going with the most affordable service, and while these prints aren’t the cheapest out there, the quality is by far the best I’ve ever worked with.

Also note that this post is so incredibly overdue — back in July, I traveled to Kauai for a week and got in touch with the team at Artifact Uprising to have some prints made, and life got away from me. But the prints are still there and just as vivid as they day they arrived!

After my recent trip to Iceland… where by day 2, we were four girls in a constant state of the giggles, I knew I wanted to have photo books printed for us.

I’m also pretty smitten with the fabric hardcover photobooks they have out there, and after the past year of travel, I’ve decided to treat myself to creating a year in photos for myself every year — just my top 50 to 100 photos from work, home, and abroad to remind me how incredible this world is.

Artifact Uprising, Sarah Gerrity

Artifact Uprising, Sarah Gerrity

Artifact Uprising, Sarah Gerrity

Artifact Uprising, Sarah Gerrity

Artifact Uprising, Sarah Gerrity

A couple of weeks ago, I got the chance to check out the newly reopened Renwick Gallery here in DC. I visited the museum once, years ago, when it was called the American Craft Museum, but it’s been so long and the exhibit in there will hold fast to my memory for pretty much, ever.

Thanks to this dude, I got to spend a leisurely lunch with several other IGDCers, exploring the Wonder exhibit, which, you can tell by these photos, is mesmerizing to say the least.

The photos don’t do it justice. Go, and take lots of photos. There are signs throughout the building that encourage it 🙂

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#EmptyRenwick, photo by Sarah Gerrity (@gurrity) #EmptyRenwick, photo by Sarah Gerrity (@gurrity)

#EmptyRenwick, photo by Sarah Gerrity (@gurrity)

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Last summer, I got roped into the organizing crew for Dîner en Blanc, an amazing event that happens on different nights all over the world, where thousands of attendees meet at an undisclosed location for a flash mob, picnic dinner.

This year, the location was so perfect — the Carnegie Library, located right smack in the middle of DC. And, since my assigned meeting point was in Chinatown, the 350 people headed to the location with me didn’t even have to get on the metro. Talk about convenient!

Here are some shots from the night.

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Just over six months ago, I started working for Cava. Man, how that time flies. Man, how cool is it that I get to create stuff like this, all day, every day? And it feels like things are just getting started. California, we’re comin’ for ya.

I had been wanting to get into some fashion-oriented photography for the past couple of years, so when I started working at Cava, I dropped a few hints at Liz to collaborate on some outfit posts.

Luckily, one of my favorite streets in DC happens to be the one I live and work on, and a quick afternoon stroll made for the perfect mini photo shoot. Check out Liz’s kicks — the brand uses sales and production to help entrepreneurs develop their businesses, all while creating a product that’s functional and beautiful too. You can see + shop Liz’s carefree but perfectly styled attention to detail here, and follow her on Instagram here.

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