Here’s what I’ve been up to this week!
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Events: Planning for Spring [Seal Beach Child Photographer]
February 3, 2012 – 1:58 am
Working a few months ahead is just all part of the game with my job. While you’re dressing up for Halloween, I’m just wrapping up plans for Christmas photo shoots and while you’re thinking about Valentines, I’ve got Spring and Easter on the brain! Enter Pinterest. I love perusing this website for ideas and inspriation when I’m planning for photo sessions.
Sometimes I’ve got the idea nailed before I even start cutting or painting. Other times the concept comes together while I’m working on it. This is going to be one of those times! I’ve been so inspired by the spring branches and baby blossoms, that I somehow want to incorporate that into my next backdrop, but I’m not exactly how it will all come together. This week I’ll be gathering branches and stocking up on the spray paint. If you want to see the progress, follow me on Twitter and Instagram (username: kristineldridge)!
Oh and in other news, I’ve been loving my new Wacom Bamboo Tablet. There is a bit of a learning curve (hello shaking handwriting) but it’s so much fun to incorporate into blog posts!
Stye Findings: Leather Love [Long Beach Photographer]
February 1, 2012 – 5:25 pm
I have a slight obsession with leather. Not the new stuff. The oldest, crinkliest, softest leather that’s been aged by time and wear. Or at least a machine that will make me believe that.
These Frye boots are calling my name (okay maybe all Frye boots call my name). Again, with the leather. How do they make these boots look like they’ve been around since JFK, but they do. And this bag, I found on pinterest. Why can’t I stumble across it while thrifting?
I think this is a wallet. If it were mine, it would hold my business cards. I don’t know what it is based on the fact that the website is in chinese. 
Another amazing leather bag by Anthropologie. And this room. I could read forever and a day all cozied up on that leather couch.
What’s even better than old leather? Leather with fabulous hardware. I’m in love with this watch that I found on pinterest and traced by to Convoy’s tumblr page, but can’t seem to find the source. Isn’t it the greatest? So, simple and perfect. Oh and these types of belts (like this one from Anthro) are perfect. They are the best friends of hippy girls like me. I have a few in this style and I love cinching in my oversized tops.
Paula Deen’s White Chicken Chili [In the Kitchen]
January 31, 2012 – 3:51 pm
Is this even possible? Can Paula Deen really create a healthy recipe? One that’s not laden with butter and sugar??
I stumbled on this Food Network Recipe when I was looking for a hearty chili that used chicken instead of red meat. I’ve made it again and again with a few changes that make it even simpler, if that’s possible.
One of the things I like about this recipe is the use of dried beans instead of canned. Here’s a little article with the many reasons that dried beans are BETTER!
- 1 pound dried navy beans
- 5 cups chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 3/4 cup diced onion
- 1 1/2 cups chopped green chiles (about 2 cans)
- diced meat from one whole rotisserie chicken
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 to 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
Rinse beans well, cover with cool water, and soak for 2 hours. Drain. Put the beans in large pot with the chicken stock and bring to a boil over high heat. I make my own chicken stock by taking the meat off the bones and throwing the bones into a big pot of boiling water for about an hour. I strain the broth and it makes way more than 5 cups. I freeze the extra for future use. I buy my rotisserie chickens at Costco…they are bigger than the grocery store variety (like everything else) and the flavor is great.
In a saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic, onion, and chiles and saute for 5 minutes. Add chile mixture to pot with beans. Add the chicken, cumin, oregano, pepper, white pepper, red pepper flakes, and cilantro. Lower the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, for approximately 1 1/2 hours.
I like to serve this meal with sour cream, shredded cheese and a little cilantro. We also love it with tortilla chips, but they’re not pictured.
Flashback: Spring 2011 [Irvine Child Photographer]
January 29, 2012 – 7:48 pm
Late afternoon light, baby boys showing their muscles, converse and long grass…these are a few of my favorite things.
Sweet and Saucy Cake Lollipops [Long Beach Photographer]
January 26, 2012 – 11:31 am
One of my favorite places is just around the corner from my house. The Sweet and Saucy Shop! I met Melody, the owner, a few years ago through mutual friends and have loved working with her on various projects. She’s one of those people that turns everything she touches into gold. Her latest venture is cake lollipops to go. If you don’t have prime real estate around the corner from her shop, you can have the pops shipped to you in the cutest packaging EVER.
Sweet and Saucy Cake Lollipop Website
Styling desserts for a photo shoot was a rough job, but somebody’s gotta do it!
Girly Pink Baby Shower [Long Beach Photographer]
January 25, 2012 – 3:09 pm
I recently worked on the girliest, pinkest baby shower you can imagine. Basically, I was living in fru-fru heaven for the last month. The mommy-to-be loves DIY and all the details that make parties pop, so I crafted my heart out!
She wanted to incorporate baby photos, so I scanned them and put them in a polaroid template so the look was uniform. They hung from a piece of vintage lace with handmade glitter clothespins. I layered pink tulle on top of a credenza to display the amazing desserts by Sweet and Saucy. Pink tissue paper poufs hung above the display.
I printed off this customized name tag and placed inside a mirror they purchased from Target. It hung in the entry way.
More Sweet and Saucy desserts overflowed onto the neighboring hutch.
More vintage lace displayed some of Sofia’s outfits and shoes along with the favors: OPI polish in Sweet Heart.
I loved how the baby pictures showed up again throughout the decor. It adds such a great personal touch.
The kitchen bar served as the food/beverage station. I hung large tissue poofs above the bar and faux pink marshmallows strung on hot pink embroidery floss in the doorway and under the bar.
Katie wanted her mom’s mac & cheese, so we used these paper boxes from Garnish to package it. It’s tied with paper ribbon from Paper Source and a bamboo fork tied on the top.
Another favorite way to display fruit is skewered and served upright. This time I used a piece of styrofoam from Joann’s and painted it pink then glittered it and tied it with a piece of pink tulle. The skewers easily slide into the foam. I gussied up the picks with little Martha Stewart punches.
Our beverages were individual pink lemonades and water bottles decked out with labels found on Etsy. The cute little straws were also an Etsy find.
Katie wanted a candy bar, so of course all the candy would be pink! We displayed her candy in vintage vessels next to paper bags with baby Sofia’s name.
It was so much fun to work on this shower with Katie and her mom Karen. AND share their love for PINK!
Minestrone Soup [In the Kitchen]
January 24, 2012 – 11:47 am
So recently my body has been telling me that it doesn’t quite like all the junk I’ve been passing off as fuel. All those Christmas cookies I had for lunch last month did not do a body good. I started off 2012 with a juice cleanse and since then I’ve been eating clean and feeling sooo much better. I called my sister, who is one of the healthiest eaters I know, to ask her for some dinner ideas. Even though I’m digging vegetables, doesn’t mean my family is too, so dinners have to pass a certain taste test.
She says her family loves minestrone soup and it has all the nutrition our bodies will thank us for later.
Here’s the recipe that I used from the Food Network website:
Ingredients
- 3 cups reduced-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
- 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1 (15-ounce) can white (cannellini or navy) beans, drained
- 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
- 1 celery stalk, chopped
- 1 cup onion, chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
- 2 bay leaves
- Salt and ground black pepper
- 2 cups cooked ditalini pasta
- 1 medium zucchini, chopped
- 2 cups coarsely chopped fresh or frozen spinach, defrosted
- 4 tablespoons grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
- Basil sprigs, garnish, optional
Directions
In a slow cooker, combine broth, tomatoes, beans, carrots, celery, onion, thyme, sage, bay leaves, and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and black pepper. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours.
Thirty minutes before the soup is done cooking, add ditalini, zucchini and spinach. Cover and cook 30 more minutes. Remove bay leaves and season, to taste, with salt and black pepper. Ladle soup into bowls and sprinkle parmesan cheese over top. Garnish with basil, if desired.
This is such a great rainy day dish. It wasn’t the type of soup where everyone left the dinner table hungry. It’s super satisfying…especially with a piece of french bread. You DID NOT hear me say that. I mean my children had a piece of french bread.
Flashback: Summer 2011 [Orange County Baby Photographer]
January 23, 2012 – 3:52 pm
Summer 2011…Hume Lake. It doesn’t get any better than this!
It’s difficult to photograph babies that aren’t sitting up yet. Especially with their older siblings. In this case, I had a super sweet big sister that was able to hold him, but sometimes a big sister’s arms can get tired or sometimes you’re not so lucky to have a big sister. So, I rely on baskets. It’s the perfect way to prop up a baby. Siblings can get close and interact without having the pressure of NOT BREAKING THE BABY.
If a basket isn’t available, I’ll have everyone lie down. OR…if the baby falls asleep and is not longer able to sit up on their own.
Kristin we love white chicken chili; our recipe is almost just like this with the addition of 1 cup light sour cream mixed in and then one cup of shredded jack cheese mixed in; both right before serving for a richer broth…an optional 1/2 tablespoon of cayenne pepper gives it an extra little kick, too!
looks amazing! can i ask how much water you boil with the chicken bones to make your stock?