These photos are from one my very favorite sessions. The photo shoot took place in Laguna Beach. There were just so many things to do and see here. I love being able to explore Orange County!
Oh Monday! You snuck up on me again! Here’s what we were up to this week…
My friend, Matthew, gardens like no one’s business. He invited me over to see what was in bloom. Apparently, everything.
Also, I went with a new friend on a location scouting adventure. We were all the way outside San Juan Capistrano. And I hope to take some of you there with me some day! Are you guys up for a drive? For a tree this awesome!? I mean. Seriously, though, let me know if this is too far for mini-sessions or if you guys are down for an adventure!?
Here’s a shot from the day, that’s not iphone.
Also, we updated my head shots. (Again, how great is this location!?!)
On Thursday, our small group from church volunteered at Laundry Love. You can read more about it here. (Laundry Love Norwalk) It’s such a great program and we definitely want to volunteer again!
We also went with friends to the Galaxy game on Saturday night. Brent is the chaplain for the team, so it’s been fun to get to know the staff (they’re awesome!) and start to get into soccer. I had never been to a game before!
Yesterday I had some mini-sessions and my friend Laura came to help out/love on the client’s pets and document some behind the scenes action! Oh and don’t mind that giant electrical tower. Thankfully my clients trust me!!
Last but not least…Tuna Melts My Heart. Our friend Alie, introduced us to her newest instagram obsession, Tuna. The kids insisted I follow, so Tuna, we’re helping you make your way to 300K followers!
I try not to let Google Analytics determine my happiness. But, it’s that page that tells me how many of you are listening. Blogging can be a little lonely sometimes. As in, tap tap, is this thing on? One of my more popular posts was my Green Smoothie with Peanut Butter and Banana. Thanks to a site called Oatmeal in My Bowl that featured 30 days of green smoothies, they’re my number one contributor of hits. So, ALOT of you care about green smoothies! As in thousands!
Where does that lead me? A summer version. A Tropical Green Smoothie!! This recipe is just as good as the original, but has a much more summery taste. Just try it, already!
The key to a good green smoothie is frozen bananas. I like to prepare a few bananas ahead of time and then have them ready. But, if I run out, I’ll slice a banana very thin on a plate and freeze it for 15-20 minutes.
I make this smoothie for the whole family, so this recipe will give you 3 large portions or about 5 medium size portions. I add the banana at the bottom of the blender, top with another regular (unfrozen banana) add a sliced mango, a can of light coconut milk and a big handful or two of fresh spinach. If you like your smoothies very cold, add a cup of crushed ice. Blend until the spinach is thoroughly pulsed.
//photography by Kristin Eldridge in Long Beach
It’s Thursday, y’all. Which, I’ve been told is now called Little Friday. This is a thing. People are anticipating the weekend and the party starts on Thursday. So, que up The Office and Friday here we come!!
//recent family photography in Los Angeles, CA
Awhile ago, I instagramming about how I was whizzing through zippered pillows at home. Making them right and left and then humble-bragging about how EASY it was! Then, like a meanie, I made you wait. But, the tutorial is finally here! I shared it today over on Little Skye Kids, so I hope you’ll check it out. It’s just a few steps and I pinky-swear you can make a zippered pillow in about 15 minutes. And you don’t have to have any special equipment, just a regular old sewing machine!
Click here to check it out!
//photography by Kristin Eldridge in Long Beach
Did you know that every astronaut that has been into space was a first born? Or that half the American presidents and Nobel Peace Prize winners are first born? Those over-achievers! I would love a statistic on artists and musicians that are middle children and babies. Their free spirits make it easy for them to explore the world in a different way.
I recently wrote a post for Tiny Oranges about my thoughts on birth order. I’m curious to know if you agree. Do you parent your children differently? And how do you try to build their strengths and challenge their weaknesses based on their birth order?
//Here’s a few ‘shares’ from my family photography in Long Beach, Los Angeles and Orange County.
I’m intrigued with dyes in nature. It’s the good stuff…green spinach and kale, pomegranate that dyes our fingers red when we pry those seeds out and anti-oxidant-rich blueberries. This year, we are in the kitchen playing around with natural dyes. And I started early so we could really get our technique down! I did a little googling on the matter and was not surprised that red cabbage is a wonderful dye. I was surprised however, to find that it dyes the eggs blue! And boring old brown onion skins, who knew they make a perfect orange dye!?
Well, let’s get started! Buy a handful of beets, a head of red cabbage and a brown onion…
Roughly chop your ingredients. I’m not sure that heat helps release the dye, but I tried it, just in case. The cabbage went over the stove top and the beets and onion were microwaved for a few minutes in separate bowls.
Leave the mixture to steep for at least 15 minutes and then strain it into a bowl or mason jar. Add your hard-boiled eggs and decide how long you want to wait. I left mine overnight in the fridge.
Here’s what I found out…the red cabbage and the onion skins were awesome! They had rich vibrant color. You could leave them in for an hour to have a pale color. The beets left overnight just turned brown. Boo! But, when I had checked them after about an hour, they were a pale pink. I predicted leaving them overnight would result in dark pink, alas brown was what we got.
These mimic robin’s eggs, in that they are slightly speckled and have varied color. I love how rustic they are. I think the possibilities are endless and I’m excited to try spinach and pomegranate seeds next!
//photographed at my home studio in Long Beach
Wisdom comes in all forms. And this time in came in the form of Aunt Ginger. It was weeks before my wedding and the gifts were starting to pile up. I made a comment about thinking I’d seldom use some of the nicer dishes and service items. But, why not, she asked? Why do we have to save our nice stuff. Why can’t we use the nice stuff every day? Since tomorrow may never come, I use the best I have today.
Along with life tips, Aunt Ginger also gave me recipes. And many years later they are recipes I still use! There’s one thing I remember her making that I never got the recipe for. Those ooey, gooey, stick-to-your-fingers honey bran muffins popped into my head a few weeks ago, so I tracked down the recipe for you guys!
Honey Bran Muffins
makes 12
Bottom Layer:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 T. honey
2T. water
Beat butter and brown sugar, add honey and water. Line muffin tins with the mixture.
Top Layer:
1 1/4 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 cup oil
4 T. honey
1/4 cup crushed pineapple
3 cups All Bran cereal
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup craisins
Mix all ingredients well and scoop into your muffin tins. Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees.
**edited to add: Two people commented they had trouble with spilling over and the sugar burning in the oven. If your muffin tins seem very full, try adding less to each tin and making more muffins. Also, turning down the oven would help with burning on the bottom of the muffin. Each oven can heat differently. Hope that helps!
Here’s that free lensing technique again. I love it! I need to do a blog post on it!
Here’s a little photographer math problem for ya… ice cream + penny boards=smiles. As kids get older, taking pictures falls somewhere around dental work and getting bitten by a wild dog. So, we make it fun! Tera and I brainstormed some ideas for her shoot last fall and came up with a few things that we would space throughout her session to keep those smiles coming. And I think it worked! Three cheers for ice cream and penny board presents!!!
//Los Angeles Family Photographer
If you missed the first two posts about Annie’s colorful modern home, you can check them out here and here. Or you can stay here and enjoy Baby Charlie’s nursery! I love when one incredible find can kick off a whole theme. The white elephant mount was an etsy find, which spurred handmade elephant art, custom bedding and so many details and that tie everything together in this adorable nursery.
