Showing posts with label kids. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kids. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Photo project - Childrens Photography part 4
During much of November and December I was a busy bee building my Children's photography portfolio. Our friends were kind enough to let me invade their home one afternoon and take some pictures of their two beautiful kids, Mia and Luke. The family had recently returned from a trip back to the US so everyone was a little jet-lagged - or so they claimed! The kids were running around playing like crazy, only towards the end did Luke show signs of fatigue (by laughing uncontrollably - I hope my kids are like that when they are tired).
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Weekend Wrap-up
In case you missed it, here's what I've been up to!
Winter Warming Drink - Irish Coffee
For those cold winter days when regular coffee just isn't enough! This is guaranteed to warm you up from the inside!
Look at my belly!
Week 17 - my belly have officially popped! I say that now...I'm sure I'll be saying it again as I get bigger and bigger! Also, check out my NEW Week by Week page to see my belly grow from 15 to 40 weeks!
Gingerbread Cupcakes
I made these awesome Gingerbread Cupcakes by La Casa De Sweets after I saw her post on Twitter. Every Christmas season I become obsessed with all things gingerbread, and have had an even stronger obsession with them this year (maybe the baby loves all those yummy spices!). I brought them to work this week and they all disappeared!
Cute Kid Alert!
I am continuing my photo project that I started back in September of exploring childrens and baby photography. I have had a blast so far and I am learning A LOT! I had a photo session a couple of weeks ago with these two cuties - and the sun actually came out for once! Which means we were able to get some great shots. How much cuter could they get?!
Pregnancy Pains
Sure, you read and hear about all the normal aches and pains that are associated with pregnancy, but what about those that you DON'T hear about?? Check out what pain in the...belly...threw me for a loop! While you're there, share you own weird pregnancy pain story with us!
Bacon Caramels
Oh yeah...you read that right! I wanted to make an extra special birthday gift for one of my closest friends here in London, Adrienne, and I knew these would do the trick! Chewy, sweet caramel married with crispy, salty bacon. How could it get any better?! A big thanks to Not without Salt for the recipe - go on over to her site and check it out!
I hope you all had a great week and are gearing up for the holidays! In one week we will be off on our Christmas market adventure (more details on that coming up this week). What do you have planned for the holidays?
Tuesday, December 06, 2011
Photo Project - Childrens Photography part 3
WARNING!
This post is very picture heavy and full of adorable children.
Consider yourself warned.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Why I have been MIA...and some big news!
Last week I sent out a tweet apologizing for being such a bad blogger lately. I'm sure you've noticed that my posts have been somewhat lacking lately. I went from posting 2-3 times a week to barely once a week, if I was lucky. Hopefully you'll forgive me though, now that I can finally share my exciting news!
I'm pregnant!
 |
| 15 weeks! |
I am just about 15 weeks now and into my second trimester. Wondering why my food posts went from 100 to 0 in no time flat? Blame that on the nausea which has finally (and thankfully!) subsided. Curious as to where my Friday Favorites and travel posts went (apart from the couple that I managed to squeeze out from our weekend in Italy)? Blame that on the lack of energy and constant need for sleep that I had for about eight weeks straight. I could barely stay awake long enough to eat dinner let alone troll the internet for hours like I normally do. I can now make it through (most of) a full day without needing to sleep under my desk from 2pm-4pm, though just barely.
Baby is growing big and strong and all of our appointments have gone smoothly so far. We have our 16 week appointment next week and we can't wait to see our little one again! Baby is about the size of a medium apple this week and is growing bigger every day.
If you're interested in keeping up with our babys progress and other exciting (well, at least for me as a first time mom!) updates please visit my NEW blog - the mini traveling cupcake! If you would rather not know all the details (I totally get it, it's not everyones bag of chips) then stay right where you are - now that I have my energy back I will be posting as regularly as possible.
Apart from being pregnant and adjusting to that huge awesome news, I have also started a new day job and my weekends have been booked up with children's photo shoots - so I have lots of exciting recaps from those to share with you. We also have some awesome trips coming up (including the ultimate Christmas Market trip) and I can't wait to fill you in once we are back! And now that am back in the kitchen making something other than a bowl of cereal (seriously, I have consumed so.much.freakin.cereal in the last nine weeks) I'll be sharing what I've been busy baking - just in time for the holidays!
Thanks for staying with me while I was so MIA. Here's to a great winter, fantastic holiday season and a healthy mini cupcake!
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Photo Project - Childrens Photography part 2
I enjoyed my first time taking childrens photos so much and got such great feedback that I decided to do it again. The mother of the little boy (William) put me in contact with a whole bunch of her friends who were interested in having photos of their little ones taken. I am so thankful for this opportunity to grow my portfolio and gain some real experience.
And let me tell you - I am learning a lot.
I am learning my limitations as a photographer. I am learning how to overcome those limitations and grow and improve.
And I am learning how exhausting children can be! Man alive, where on earth do they get so much energy?!
Wednesday, October 05, 2011
Photography Project - Children's Photography
To combat my boredom with Project 52 I decided to try and challenge myself in another way. I have been interested in expanding my photography experience into other areas for a while now. I've done plenty of travel and landscape photography, and really liked the fast paced street photography that I did in Vietnam. I would love to try my hand at photographing weddings or newborns or children.
So that's what I did.
I put the word out with a friend of mine that has two little ones and has lots of friends with children. Soon after I had my first "project". The Roos family graciously let me invade their home for an afternoon taking photos of their beautiful children (and one cousin!). The children - Sienna (two and a half), Mia (eighteen months) and cousin William (also eighteen months) - were really good sports, letting a strange lady stick a big, weird camera in their faces.
I'm not really around kids that much so to say I learned a lot was an understatement. I learned how quick you have to be on your feet and comfortable with your camera you have to be. I found myself sticking the settings on Aperture Priority just to keep up with the little ones. I also learned how quickly little kids moods can change - from happy to crying to laughing all in less than 60 seconds!
I would like to give a great, big THANK YOU to the Roos family for letting me photography their lovely kids!
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Risotto with peas
It would start with asparagus. The asparagus bed had its own separate location apart from the rest of the garden, seemingly posher than the humble potatoes and corn. As soon as we saw their little tips peeking up from the soil we knew the season was in full swing. It took many, many years for me to finally like the taste of asparagus (without a pound of melted velveeta cheese slathered on top, oh the horror). The same goes for peas.
One of the most vivid memories I have of growing up in my parents house was picking fresh peas from the garden. As a child I loathed the taste of cooked peas - somehow the only ones that I could remember were dull and brownish from being cooked too long in the microwave (sorry mom). But fresh peas, oh those were something different. My parents would send my sister and I out to the garden with a plastic bag and we were to fill it with peas. They were lucky if they ended up with half of the bounty that was growing, the other half in my belly with a trail of empty pods stretching out behind me. I'd seek out the perfect pea pod - not too big (as that meant the peas were too starchy and slightly bitter), not too small (you wanted to actually be able to eat something out of the pod) but just right - the peas would be sweet and tender, and I would gobble them up like candy.
These days I have a better appreciation for the taste of cooked peas, but even now I find it hard to get them cooked just right when we are dining out. And of course now in my life there is the British staple of mushed peas served with fish and chips. But even that is a tricky dish to get right. I don't have the luxury now of picking fresh peas from my parents garden, so the farmers market is my next best option. When I saw a bag of fresh peas last week I knew I had to do something remarkable with them.
I have (slowly) been reading through The Silver Spoon (the holy grail of Italian cooking) and noticed a recipe for Risotto with Asparagus. And that's when the lightbulb went off - Risotto with Peas and Mint. It was my first time cooking risotto and I am hooked. These something so methodical and hypnotizing about stirring a pot for 25 minutes, slowly adding stock, stirring, stirring, stirring. This dish requires very few ingredients so it is critical to use the freshest, best quality ingredients that you can get your hands on.
Risotto with Peas and Mint
Inspired by a risotto recipe by The Silver Spoon cookbook
1.5 litres (2 1/2 pints) of vegetable or chicken stock (homemade or low sodium from the store)
40 grams (1 1/2 oz) butter
3 tblsp olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
350 grams (12 oz) risotto rice
1 cup fresh peas
1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese, plus more to serve
Fresh mint, chopped, to taste (I used 10 leaves, about 1 1/5 tblsp chopped)
Fresh mint, chopped, to taste (I used 10 leaves, about 1 1/5 tblsp chopped)
- Bring the stock to a boil. In a large sauce pan melt the butter and olive oil, add the onion and cook over low heat until the onion is slightly soft and starting to turn translucent. Tip in the rice and stir until the grains are well coated.
- Add a ladleful of the hot stock and cook until the liquid has been absorbed, stirring constantly. Continue to add the stock, one ladleful at a time, making sure that all liquid is absorbed before adding more, stirring constantly. This should take around 20 minutes, give or take a few minutes. After the last ladle of stock is added tip in the peas. Once all of the liquid is absorbed add the fresh grated parmesan cheese and chopped mint and stir just to incorporate.
- Add a few fresh mint leafs and grated parmesan cheese to serve. Makes four generous servings.
- Add a ladleful of the hot stock and cook until the liquid has been absorbed, stirring constantly. Continue to add the stock, one ladleful at a time, making sure that all liquid is absorbed before adding more, stirring constantly. This should take around 20 minutes, give or take a few minutes. After the last ladle of stock is added tip in the peas. Once all of the liquid is absorbed add the fresh grated parmesan cheese and chopped mint and stir just to incorporate.
- Add a few fresh mint leafs and grated parmesan cheese to serve. Makes four generous servings.
Monday, June 27, 2011
This is what summer looks like...
Summer decided to grace us with her presence over the weekend (fashionably late as usual). It would have been nice of her to call and let us know that she would be late, but I still welcomed her with open arms.
Ok, maybe he doesn't "look like summer" but he is one heckofa cute kid!
(Don't worry, I do know him, I didn't take a picture of some random persons kid)
(I can't promise that won't happen in the future though)
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Enough is enough
That's it - I've had it.
I just CANNOT WAIT ANY LONGER to tell you about my favorite part of our trip to Vietnam. I tried to be a good girl and post things in order so you could get some idea of the flow of our trip - but I just can't do it anymore!
Whew, now that that's out of my system...shall we?
My FAVORITE part of our trip to Vietnam, hands down, was a sunrise photography tour that I took on our third day in Hoi An. That would be the day after our motorcycle trip (more on that later) and two days after our walking tour of Hoi An (also coming later).
I was a little queasy about the fact that I was getting picked up from my hotel at 4:45 AM....read it again (especially if you know me, like at all) - 4:45 AM. Just thinking about it brings that sick feeling in my stomach again. Glad thats over!
But seriously, getting up early was totally and completely worth it. After picking up the other members of the tour we set out for a small fishing village outside of Hoi An. We started off on a small ferry boat that took us to the town. It was a cool, hazy morning. At first I was a little upset that we weren't going to get to see a great sunrise - the light was really flat and the haze was just sitting on top of us like a cloud. As I started shooting though, I realized that the light made everything look a little more mysterious, a little more muted than it might normally be. Some of the palest photos on this post are completely unedited, and show a true reflection of the light that day.
Our morning went as follows - first we went to observe the fisherman bring in their morning catch and sell it on shore, after which the fish are taken to the market to be sold again. Then we would walk through the small town, visit with the locals, take a (much needed) coffee break, and then visit two local businesses before making our way back to the small ferry.
We arrived at our first stop just in time to see the fishermen pull up in their boats, ready with the catch of the day. The fishermen fill up their small basket boats with the fish and take it to shore where a slew of feisty women were waiting to grab whatever they could as fast as they could, buy it on the spot, and immediately take it out to the markets to be resold. (side note - the basket boats were originally invented when the local government, back in the day, started taxing the fisherman on their boats. The fishermen crafted super large "baskets" to take to shore from their large fishing boats. When the government tried to tax them on it, they replied back that it wasn't actually a boat - it was a basket. Taxation avoided)
This was absolute mayhem.
The women moved and talked and yelled so fast, for the first few minutes I just stood there stunned not knowing what to do. Finally, I jumped in to action and was able to get some great shots.
After the craziness down by the water calmed down a bit, we made our way in to town. Most of the young people leave the village in the early morning to go work in Hoi An or Da Nang, the bigger towns and cities close by. That means that during the day, most of the people left in town are children and older people. This makes for great photography!
After our stroll around town we made our way to a family run fish sauce making business, and then we went to the home of a woman who makes traditional cakes and sells them to shops in Hoi An. Clearly you know who my favorite was in this round of photos.
And then before I knew it, it was time to head back to the small ferry. As we wandered back along the water I tried to take it all in, quietly observing the activities of a life so different from my own. I wanted to absorb every site, every smell, every thing that was going on around me.
For more information about the Sunrise Photo tour that I took, check out their website here and their facebook page here. You can check out some more of my photos on my facebook album as well!
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