sister Archives - A Compass Rose

It is my half birthday which means it is my younger sister’s Birthday today! She turns twenty five years old and to mark her quarter of a century birthday I have devoted this post to her. Zoë, who works as a sommelier in DC, is celebrating this milestone by jetting to California to enjoy the wineries out west. While I so wish I could be celebrating with her I will have to wait until she comes back to visit the UK at the end of July.

Took these in Tucson, AZ in 2011 before saying goodbye to Zoë as she headed home to DC and we soon left for the UK.
Effect caused by placing her BlueBlockers sunglasses in front of the camera lens.

Zoë is also a Third Culture Kid, graduated from Pepperdine University, and is the favourite Aunt to Ronan and Maddox.
Since we spent a significant part of our lives growing up in Italy, my sons call her Zia Zoë.

My sister and I in Naples Italy during the total of sixyears that we lived in Naples, Italy.

I am holding our boxer, Baci, who stole our hearts as just a young puppy. RIP <3

So excited and proud to be able to see her graduate from Pepperdine University in Malibu, California in 2011.

Zoë, means ‘life’ in Greek and we have always joked from a very young age that she is ‘full of it’. She really lives life to the fullest and is not afraid of taking risks. She grew up moving and traveling around Europe until she was a preteen. In the states she found her love for dance, ballet, cheerleading, and music. Spent her senior year as a foreign exchange student in Australia before attending Pepperdine University. While there she studied at their campus in Florence, becoming fluent in Italian and began learning Arabic back in California. After getting her degree in International Relations, she found her passion in wine and is now a Sommelier certified, level 2 of 4. Though she now lives in DC, I can foresee her moving abroad sometime in her future. She is a Third Culture Kid after all and traveling is in her blood. I am so blessed to have her in my life and I only hope our paths continue to cross through out our lives.

Zoë in Photography

I love taking her photo when we are around and here are some of my favourites:

‘Broken Down’ was a concept fashion shoot about a dancer who got delayed during a cross country road trip.

Zoë at Seaside Heights boardwalk at the Jersey shore in 2012 and on a rooftop in West Hollywood in 2011.

Our Holiday portraits December 2012 in Bath, England.

Love this behind the scenes shot with Zoë, who was assisting me on a photography shoot in California.

Music can remind you of people and places.
Mumford & Sons will always remind me of Zoë.

Have a great 25th Zoë!

We miss you so way much and

look forward to seeing you this summer!

I love keeping journals, as does my little sister Zoe. In fact sometimes when I’m writing in my journals I think of Zoe and how she writes in cursive in hers. Not sure why this random fact comes to my mind, but it does. I clipped my flower hair clips on my journal here for a nice little photo op for Instagram.