This week was full of…
gorgeous sunset lighting. happy one year olds. kisses from mommy.
sweet smelling newborn hair. cuddles. more mommy kisses.
a trip to Balboa island for the first time. sister hugs. all kinds of colorful dingies.
another brand new baby girl. more love from a big sister. cuddled up like a bug.
AND a first day of school!
Okay friends…I’ve been working days and days on coming up with the perfect balance of new ideas for holiday mini-sessions. Don’t worry, I’m bringing back a few favorites too! The mini-sessions will take place on five different dates at five different locations. The times will be based on when the lighting works best for that specific location. The cost will be $100 (plus tax) for the session fee.
You can call (562)980-6480 or email info@kristineldridge.com to book your session!
The first will take place in Long Beach at a location I just found that has AMAZING fall foliage and the perfect sunset lighting.
September 19 (20 minute sessions) 5:20-6:40
The next location is downtown Long Beach. I found this location while headed somewhere else and had to go back because the buildings were stunning!
September 29 (20 minute sessions) 4:00-5:20
Next Thursday I’ll highlight the other locations. The dates will be October 4, 10 and 22.
If a project cannot be completed in 2 hours or less, it will not be finished. That’s why I’ve never taken up knitting, cross-stitching, recipes involving overnight processes, etc. I stick things with quick results. SO, interior projects don’t get done. I start something and get distracted. But, not this summer. No this summer, I decided to conquer the kids’ rooms.
I started with Jillian’s room because she has less stuff and I like girly things better. When we moved into the house 3 years ago, she was a toddler and loved everything pink. The room was a wash of pale pinks and little bits of green. I loved it, but there wasn’t much going on. She just turned seven, so we were thinking it was time to liven up the colors a little bit and make the room more age appropriate.
The first thing we did was choose colors. They were based off the pillows on the bed, which I found at Room Service. I like to have one splurgey thing in the room that sets the tone. Everything else can pretty much be found on Craigslist or secondhand.
The trundle bed is from Craigslist and it’s just the shabby chic part of me that I can’t get rid of. I like girly things! So, Laura helped me choose colors that would venture away from the shabby and into something a little more modern. We painted the bed gray and kept the walls white for contrast.
The dresser is a mini armoire wardrobe that I bought before Jillian was even born at a thrift store in the bay area. It was in her room before, but I had painted it pale pink, distressed it and kept the original wood hardware. In the make-over it got painted a citron yellow and fancied up with rhinestone hardware.
Her chandelier is a cheapy from Home Depot and that stayed from the original room!
This wall was fun to put together. I did a mini photo shoot with Jillian and tried to incorporate the colors of her room. We used some of the photos in frames I had bought at Home Goods and spray painted white. I made a few graphic prints to mix in and the zinc letter J is from Anthropologie. The barnwood is scrap from one of my recent backdrops and I hot glued starfish from the shell store in Seal Beach to the front.
Jillian likes to collect things, so I got her this oversized piece of pottery from an estate sale and spray painted it white. It keeps all the not-so-pretty things she finds all tucked away!
Her favorite story books are nestled between elephant book ends that I found at Home Goods. It’s the perfect little pop of color for the top of the dresser.
And by the way…all her toys are organized in bins in the closet behind where I’m taking the photos. The room is tiny, but the perfect amount of space for a little girl!
If you follow me on twitter, you know this week I was talking about eating edamame risotto leftovers for lunch and YUM…it was good. I had never made risotto, but I do watch Top Chef enough to know that it’s a slow process and it should not be dry! This is a side note, but I feel like risotto has been one of those popular dishes on menus at restaurants and a dish that foodies pride themselves on making well. I was thinking this week about how each generation is defined by their food. Dishes they’re known for. Our moms mastered meatloaf and their moms had fancy jello molds with fruit cocktail and weird stuff like shredded carrots floating about. I wonder if our kids will say, pffft…risotto…icky wet rice.
Anyway, risotto. There’s no real recipe. You start by simmering some chicken stock in a pot, then in a different pot saute onion and arborio rice (can be found at Trader Joe’s…among other places) until toasty. Start adding the broth (don’t let it boil) little by little until each bit is absorbed. I was adding it about 1/2 cup at a time. If you cook it too long, it will be dry. And the next thing you know Wolfgang Puck will be coming back to the kitchen to give you a quick lesson. 🙂
You can add a little white wine along with the chicken stock. When it’s nice and creamy and the rice is cooked, you’ll be done. It takes about 25-30 minutes total. Then you get to add the fun stuff. Like, oh, a huge pile of freshly grated parmesan. A big handful of edamame will balance that out. Season with salt and pepper and you’re done.
I added a little tossed salad for dinner that night. I was trying to re-create something I ate at my friend Allyson’s house. I cut up some granny smith apple, red onion, toasted almond slices and diced dried bing cherries. Dress with the best salad dressing ever and you’re good to go!
Over ten years ago, we lived in Solvang and they only had one market, Nielsen’s. It was an adorable little gourmet market and that was where I was first introduced to Brianna’s salad dressings. It’s a little confusing with the strawberry on the front. It’s actually blush wine vinaigrette, not strawberry. Anywhoo, it’s awesome. As in best ever. And I saw it at Allyson’s with her amazing salad the other night, so I thought I’d mention it here!
Fall of 2009…
In a few weeks I’ll be seeing them again and photographing Luca’s new baby brother. Last time around was a warm fall day…with golden light that filled every space between the leaves of the trees. Luca had the most amazing dark curly lashes and little whisps of curls around the back of his head. I can’t wait to see how he’s changed and meet his little brother!
Instead of being overwhelmed, I’m going to sum it up. Every week, I do a sheerly mad amount of photo sessions. Most never end up on the blog because I’m busy and really don’t know where to start. SO, this week I start taking a week’s worth of sessions, choosing a few and summing up the week.
To die for curls…
The sweetest couple with a baby named Ruby. Love.
A family photo session at home. Just documenting day to day life. The best kind.
Documenting a first birthday. Bonus points if you can guess the location.
There’s just one week to go until the Rascals to Rebels fall photo sessions! There are a few more spots left, so if you have signed up, drop by either the Rossmoor or Huntington Beach store!
Also…if you keep up with me on twitter or facebook, you know that I was on the hunt for a new sofa. Something I could drag outside for photo shoots this fall. I wanted a rich-colored velvet. I’ve always done pale colors for spring, so I was ready to change things up! Late one night, I was stalking craigslist and found the perfect little love seat. It also came with 2 chairs, so I decided to take all of them! I took one of the chairs out for a test-drive yesterday…and can I just say…wow! I love the contrast of the elegance with the rustic background. So, here’s a little sneak peek of what’s to come!
The location fulfilled every bit of my grungy loving fantasies! I’ll be setting up some mini-sessions there soon!!
I cannot believe I’ve never shared this here on the blog…my studio/guest house. This is the place that I meet with clients to do their ordering session. I also photograph newborns and babies here!
We moved into our house in the summer of 2008 and it was bank-owned, so things were pretty much a mess. Off the garage was a pool house/shanty, so we ended up re-doing the place and turning it into an area for me to work. We also have lots of friends coming through to visit, so we needed a place for them to stay. Enter, my father-in-law. If I can dream it, he can make it. If I can break it, he can fix it. But, that’s another story…
He created from scratch this built-in cabinet and the TV is mounted to the front. I can hook up my laptop to with a cable and create slide shows on the large screen! Here’s where stuff gets crazy….this cabinet is a MURPHY BED!
So, my studio/guest house is multi-functional…which is a must in these small-ish Long Beach homes.
Since we’re sharing, I bought this white leather sectional for a crazy low price on Craigslist from a musician trying to make it in LA. Things weren’t going as well as he anticipated, hence the livingroom furniture liquidation. He also couldn’t help us load it because he had broken both his wrists when he fell OFF THE HOOD OF HIS CAR. WHILE DANCING. Oh Craigslist.
All the displayed frames are frames that I carry. They are made by artisans in Montana and I love them!
This chair is also from Craigslist and right now it’s covered in white, but I got a blue itch awhile back and it went really well in the studio. The frame to the right is from Ikea, just spray painted white.
Every time they hear the kitchen aid mixer being taken out, the kids head for the kitchen, dragging stools and chair behind them. Everybody wants a turn to add the ingredients and maybe sneak a taste or two! This year for my birthday, my mother-in-law gave me a pasta maker for my birthday. I recruited the kids to help and went to pinterest for a fresh and easy summer recipe for the sauce.
I actually used a mix for the pasta itself (part of the birthday present). But next time, I’ll make that from scratch. With just flour and eggs, how hard can it be?
The kids loved cranking the handle and once we got going, it was quite easy. The pasta was delicious and tastes totally different from the dried pasta that you buy at the market. I will say that cleaning the pasta maker was my least favorite part. After soaking it, I was using a toothpick to get all the bits of pasta out of the nooks and crannies. If anyone owns a pasta maker and knows a better way…fill me in!
Once we made the pasta, I covered it in plastic and put it in the fridge to wait while I made the quick and easy sauce! I roughly chopped an 8 ounce package of sliced mushrooms…
Then cut up a half of a medium sized red onion. I sauteed those both in a little bit of olive oil.
Then I added one cup of heavy cream and one cup of fresh parmesan cheese. After the cheese melted into the sauce, I added a cup of frozen peas and seasoned with a bit of salt and pepper. Mix with the pasta (that you’ve boiled in water for 2-3 minutes) and you’re done!
I recently ate dinner at my friend Allyson’s house and she served a simple sliced rustic bread brushed with olive oil and lightly toasted. The simplicity of it was delicious and it was the perfect compliment to this meal!
Spring of 2009…
Once a week, I’m going to dig through old photos and share stuff that’s not been shared before on the blog. Here’s what I remember from the day… chubby rolls, sunset lighting, just the right amount of overgrown greenery, a baby boy who didn’t like touching the ground with his bare feet and the sweetest little hint of curl in his hair (which has since grown into gorgeous blonde toddler curls).
