Wedding Photoshoot - K & D's Wedding

When my hubby suggested I shoot his friend's wedding, I was a tad bit nervous.  It would be the first wedding that I photograph.  Don't get me wrong, I've been to plenty of weddings and I have taken plenty of pictures, but those pictures were for me so it wasn't the end of the world if I didn't capture every special moment.  This time, I would be taking photographs for someone else so the pressure was on.

After arriving at K and D's Wedding, I surprisingly was quite comfortable behind the camera.  I had so much fun.  It was a perfect evening, aside from the dozen mosquito bites I received that night, but it was all worth it to be able to capture their special day.

  

 

Thanks K and D for allowing me to photograph you and your kids.  I had a wonderful time.

Autumn Candy Legos

I'm a perfectionist, but I'm human so I do make mistakes.  To celebrate fall, I thought I'd make some candy covered pretzels.  The orange candy melt was supposed to make the pretzels look like little pumpkins, but it turned out pretty ugly (despite that, my kids did devour them all), but I still had a bowl of melted candy melt I didn't want to dump so I decided to pull out my lego mold I made and make some legos for the kids.

Autumn colored legos to celebrate fall.

I love how they look just like legos, from size and shape. The instructions for making the mold is here. 

It looked so realistic that A. thought I was nuts when I told him to eat it.  I had to reinforce to him that it really was candy.  It wasn't until he saw his brothers devour them that he decided to finally taste it.  That moment was pretty priceless.

Maternity Photoshoot

No, I'm not pregnant (knock on wood), not that I wouldn't mind hearing the pitter patter of footsteps around the house again, I think I have done my duty in populating the world with the boys that I have.

That being said, I was delighted and so honored when my friend asked me to take her maternity photos.  You probably could hear me squeal in the next room.  It was a double excitement when I was able to use my new camera to shoot her pics. 

They humored me by being ready for the photoshoot before the crack of dawn since I told them photos would be nicer before the sun came out.  It was freezing, but they were such a great sport and I had a lot of fun.  Here are Pedro and Audrey's captured moments.

 

 

 

Thank you guys for letting me capture your special moment.  I can't wait to shoot Baby A's picture when she is ready to come out.

Caramel Apples

I love caramel, from caramel popcorn to peanut brittle (which to me is like hardened caramel) so I thought I would make caramel apples for the kiddos especially since they have never had any.

Caramel Apples

9 assorted apples, room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/2 cup heavy cream, room temperature

chocolate chips, chopped peanuts/cashews, sea salt, sugar (for decorating)

Directions

 

Insert a 5 inch dowel, popsicle stick or non-toxic twig into the stem end of each apple.  I just used some branches I had cut from our tree we were trimming.

Combine sugar and corn syrup in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, and stir.  Cover, and cook over medium-high heat until sugar melts.  Uncover, and continue to cook, swirling occasionally, until mixture is dark golden, about 10 minutes.  Slowly drizzle in heavy cream.  Remove from heat, and stir until smooth.  Let stand for 3 minutes to let caramel thicken slightly, then dip bottom of 1 apple to test if caramel is thick enough.  If most of the caramel runs off of the apple, let caramel cool 1-2 minutes more, then try again.

Dip apples one at a time into the caramel to coat three-quarters of each apple.  Let excess drip off, and scrape bottom of apples against the side of the pot.  If caramel begins to harden, reheat pot.

Immediately after coating each apple, dip into nuts, chocolate chips or any garnish you desire.  Transfer each apple as decorated onto parchment paper and let set completely about 30 minutes.

 

I used black sugar to coat the bottom of one of the apples to make it look a little wicked.

I used mini chocolate chips to coat the bottom of another apple.

I do love the way they turned out.  The caramel is SO yummy that I may use this recipe again to make a batch of some caramel candy.

Who's ready to sink their teeth into one of these?