I posted the other day about Ashton’s birthday party, but also wanted to share his one year portraits. We met on a separate day to spend some time documenting the life of a busy one year old! He’s such an expressive guy. His little surprised look was my favorite. 🙂
One of my friends is a chef. He was over cooking with me yesterday and we were talking about quality ingredients and how when they are prepared well, it’s all you need. When your body feels tired and yucky after a processed meal, it’s an allergic reaction to all the chemicals and unknown ingredients you just ingested.
I’m always amazed at how simple recipes can be so delicious. The flavors are bright and you don’t need much to feel satisfied. Like how this brussel sprout salad can be dinner. I have to admit, I am not a fan of brussel sprouts. My previous experiences have been bland and mushy. But, this recipe serves them up raw (what!?) with the right amount of salty tang.
I found the recipe on the website A Pinch of Yum: (serves 10)
A few weekends ago, I photographed Ashton’s first birthday party. He loves Clubhouse Disney, so they went all out and created a party that would make Mickey himself jealous! Every detail was to perfection and every vendor I worked with was at the top of their game.
There were hundreds of photos from the party, but I tried to narrow it down so I could share the highlights of the day!
Event Location: The McCharles House in Tustin
Event Planner: Kathy Jo Weddings
Catering: Room Forty
Linens: Wild Flower Linen
I’m half-way trying to relax and half-way itching to edit away on all the cute pictures from the you and me by the sea mini-sessions that happened over the last few days. The work bug is winning out! I made my first animated gif out of these two cuties by the bay! Much more to come soon!
Even though I love my thirties, it’s not perfect. Yes, I’m wiser, stronger and more efficient than I was in my twenties. But, I have the unfortunate combination of wrinkles and the occasional break-out. Didn’t I leave that in junior high with my trapper keeper and pegged jeans?? Apparently not. So, I treat myself to a facial every now and then. Kelly is a naturalist and believes that so much of what ails us can be solved with home remedies. On her recommendation, I started doing a strawberry mask every other morning.
It’s a simple combination of greek yogurt and fresh berries. I puree a half container of single serving plain greek yogurt with 4 medium size berries in my mini-food processor. I keep that combination in my fridge for the week. Before I shower, I’ll paint it on my face with a pastry brush…or fingertips will do in a pinch. Kelly says you can leave it on for just a few minutes, but I’ve found the best results when I leave it on for about 30 minutes until it’s slightly dry. Then when I jump in the shower, it’s easy to rinse off.
Strawberries contain salicylic acid that rids the skin of dead cells, makes your skin pores smaller and your face look brighter and shinier. They gently refresh and exfoliate the skin, remove impurities, and reduce redness and swelling, which is wonderful for a cleansing and skin softening facial mask. Kelly also recommends a pumpkin mask, so when strawberries are out of season just add pureed pumpkin.
(Some people are allergic to strawberries, so test it out on a small patch of skin before applying everywhere if you have sensitive skin.)
One of my favorite bread recipes is foccaccia from the California Pizza Kitchen Cookbook. Let me back up and say, I don’t love making bread. There’s just too many elements to mess up. Temperatures are important, salt not touching yeast is key, over-kneading is a no-no. Ahhhh, the rules. They are just too overwhelming. For whatever reason, this bread recipe has worked for me. I’ve made it over and over the last 10 years since I bought the cookbook and I haven’t ever had a flop. Knock on wood.
The bread is delicious on its own, but goes into eye-rolling amazing when it’s paired with checca. The simple mixture of tomatoes, basil, garlic and olive oil is perfection. Especially when the tomatoes are garden fresh.
Here’s the bread all kneaded and rolled out. Just so you know how it should look. I used a mixture of white and wheat flour on this batch, so the color is a little darker. All white flour works great too!
Add a few herbs and onions and this is what you get…
Foccaccia Bread: (slightly adapted from CPK cookbook)
2 t. active dry yeast
1/2 c. lukewarm water
3 1/4 c. all purpose flour
2 T. honey
2 t. salt
1/2 c. cold water
2 T. olive oil
Dissolve yeast in warm water for 10 minutes. Place dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Put a well in the middle and pour in the liquids. Use a wooden spoon to combine until it forms a smooth ball. Knead the ball on a floured surface for about 5 minutes. Lightly oil the ball and place into a greased bowl to rise. Cover the bowl with a towel or plastic wrap and set in a warm area until it doubles in size (about 2 hours). Punch down the dough and roll it into an oval shape on a greased pan. Lightly brush with olive oil and add sliced onion and dried rosemary and thyme. Add coarse salt to taste. Bake in a 450 degree oven for 10 min or until golden brown.
Checca:
I don’t use an exact recipe for this one…I just cut up a few tomatoes into smaller chunks. Chiffonade a few leaves of basil and add that in. Here’s a tip…roll up a few leaves, the cut thin slices through the roll. Makes it easy! Olive oil, minced garlic and salt to taste all go in. Stir it up and let it sit for about 30 minute before you serve it.
In other news…I just wrote a blog post about taking better pictures of your kids! A few easy tips with examples! Go check it out on Little Skye Blog!!
Here’s what I’ve been up to! Don’t you love this guy’s hair?
Here’s one more Mother’s Day session that happened last week.
It’s almost summer, which means it’s time to head over to Rascals to Rebels! I’ll be back to the store for mini-photo sessions on June 30 and July 1. The back drop is playful and full of color…perfect for all the fun clothes they have in store right now!
Head over to the store to make a $50 minimum purchase and the session is free. Prints and digital images can be ordered from the session and all the details can be found on my website.
June 30 10:00am-12noon
July 1 noon-2:00pm
**max 3 children per session, ages 12 and under
Summer. You guys, it’s so close I can almost feel it. I mean with these 80 degree days we’ve been having, it essentially IS summer, with one exception. School. We are just waiting for that pesky thing to be over so we don’t have to get up early, miss the beach and be doing homework when we should be playing outside. Just 15 more days of learning and we are free!
In honor of summer allllmost being here, I pulled out the popsicle sticks…recently give to us by Brent’s mom. Perfect timing! I had just purchased a flat of strawberries, so I put them to good use.
There’s not really a recipe. I was just throwing stuff in the food processor until it tasted good! I pureed strawberries until they equaled about one cup. I use my mini-food processor. You don’t want any big chunks, so puree away! Whisk the strawberries into a half cup of strawberry yogurt, 3/4 cup of half and half and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Depending on your sweet tooth, add between 2-4 tablespoons of agave (or sugar if you prefer). Carefully pour the mixture into popsicle molds or paper cups if you don’t have molds. I tried freezing them 2 hours and it was a disaster. Freeze them over night. I know it’s hard to wait, but just trust me on this one. You want them frozen SOLID.
I have to admit, after having Memorial Day off, it’s been hard to get back into a schedule this week. You mean we have to go to work and school after Monday? We don’t get to play the whole week? I made some recipes I wanted to blog about and then a few things got in the way of them actually making it on the blog! I pulled out my popsicles before they were ready. Do not do this. It’s very disheartening. Then, I was trying to photograph bread minutes before my dinner guests arrived. Again, do not do this. It stresses your family out when they can’t eat the appetizer, BECAAAAUSE I have to photograph it. SO. I will be sharing something else today. Don’t worry it’s cute.
My friend, Heather, asked me to pick up a stick for her the last time I was on a stick-collecting mission. She was going to be making a bow-holder for her girls’ hair accessories. I was looking for big straight sticks for the tent I was trying to create. I picked up a cute little stick and handed it off to her the next time I was running by her house. The last time I was there she showed me the finished product. It’s the perfect addition to her girls’ room!
Her directions are: Paint stripes on the stick with acrylic paint in various colors and widths. Leave some of the wood showing. Tie pieces of fabric or ribbon on the stick to clips the barrettes to. Lastly, tie a piece of twine to both ends and hang on a nail or the edge of a frame (as shown).
What a fun way to display hair accessories and an easy way for the girls to grab them on their own and easily put them away!