I find myself inspired by the creations of those around me (in life and online) and have decided to start this blog in an attempt to channel this rediculous creative itch that I have.
Miss Molly is not quite okay with the new puppy having full access to her collection of toys. Frequently, I'll catch her with them all in a pile, guarding them.
After a particularly exhausting attempt to steal the toys, Rex found a comfy place beside the chair.
For the second part of her senior picture shoot, Kaitlin decided she wanted to head to Norfolk Botanical Gardens.
If you live in the Hampton Roads area and appreciate horticulture on any level, this venue is a must-see. I've only been here a handful of times but I can assure you, its never the same experience as before. There's always something new to see.
Here's just a taste of the ammmmmazing shots I was able to get of this gorgeous girl!
This girl is a trooper. She was willing to do anything I asked and let me tell you, I had her hiking hither and yon. There are just soooo many great places to shoot at the Botanical Gardens. I definitely recommend them!
My boss at my previous employer asked if I would take senior pictures of his daughter. I happily jump at any opportunity to stretch my photographic skills so of course I agreed!
She decided to do a two-part session, the first half at Chix Beach.
These are a few of the shots from the day. Kaitlin is such a beautiful girl, she certainly made my job very easy!
Saute chopped onion in 1 Tablespoon olive oil. Add chicken and continue to saute until no longer pink inside.
Using two forks, carefully pull apart (or shred) chicken into bite-sized pieces.
Add cream cheese and dust with garlic powder. Stir occasionally until cream cheese is melted and chicken is evenly covered.
Layer a small handful of spinach in the middle of tortilla. Using a large serving spoon, add about two scoops of chicken mixture on top of spinach. Roll, and place in 9x13 baking dish, seam side down.
For the sauce that I added on top, I combined half of a container of cream cheese with enough chicken broth to get a nice, runny sauce. About the consistency of a thin ranch dressing.
Pour on top of the enchiladas and add shredded Mexican Style cheese.
At this point I poured some of the extra chicken broth around the enchiladas so that they didn't dry out. Just enough that you can see it all around the enchiladas.
Bake at 350 until cheese has melted and edges of tortillas start to brown.
Delicious, quick, easy, and if you use low-fat, fat-free, and sodium free ingredients, not too bad for you.
One piece of advice that I wished someone had shared with me prior to my engagement, is that when you share your ideas for your wedding with others, you open the door and invite them to share their opinions of your ideas. And also, to share their own ideas for your wedding.
What I never realized is exactly how many women have been planning my wedding for years. Many of these women were at it loooooonng before they had ever met me. Some had every detail ironed out, even before I myself was prancing around my parents' home with a pillow case on my head, envisioning the magical day that I would one day walk down the aisle toward my very own Prince Charming.
And ladies, let me tell you, the weddings they've planned in their minds are not any where close to the day I'm envisioning. Not close at all.
Now, if you are the kind of bride-to-be who needs a little help (or a lot) then you have a bevy of women who are already a mile ahead of you to lend a hand with the planning. You can breathe a sigh of relief.
But if you're like me, and have even the smallest detail planned, this "help" can come as quite a shock.
I know that my engagement and early wedding planning phase would have been so much more pleasant and enjoyable if I had only known what I was getting myself into. If only I had been aware of the number of women who were ready and willing to plan my day for me. That there were even a few who expected me to let them plan my day for me. Which for me, is not what I wanted.
And so ladies, I hope your experience is very different from mine. I hope no one ever tells you your ideas are bad or wrong. I hope you never recieve "no" as a response to your "wouldn't it be great if...". I hope your family/friends/future in-laws are supportive and encouraging. But if you think you might recieve the responses that I did, I encourage you to keep the details between you and your wedding planner (if you have one).
Its not very often I get a chance to be in front of the camera. Its even less often that Chris and I are both able to be in front of the camera at the same time.
For this reason, I knew that the most important part of our wedding planning process would be finding the perfect photographer to capture our story. I didn't even mind if this became one of the largest parts of our budget. After all... when all is said and done, all you have left are the pictures to remind you of your big day.
I searched and I searched and I was worried I was just being too picky. I've done my share of modeling and the last thing I wanted to look like on my day was a model.
I didn't want vogue. I didn't want high fashion. I didn't want editorial.
I wanted real life, captured for us "on film". I wanted the feeling and the emotions of the day. I wanted to look like a real bride, overjoyed to be marrying her best friend. Not an impostor playing a role.
This seemed to be a tall order here in Virginia Beach where it seems everyone is trying to break into modeling or photographing models.
That was, until a previous colleague of mine mentioned Amanda Hedgepeth. Once I saw her work, I fell in love. It was exactly what I had in mind... the lighting, the feel, the emotion, it was all right there. I praaaaaayed she wasn't booked!
When we were finally able to meet, it got even better. This little ball of fire is FULL of ideas! And excitement, and enthusiasm, and passion for what she does. And let me tell you, she is ammmmmmazing!!! I cannot say enough wonderful things about her and since a picture is worth a thousand words, I'll let a few of hers speak for her themselves.
And these are just a few!
We managed to squeeze in what is probably a half-session before the skies opened up and it down-poured. Despite the clouds and the whipping winds, she was able to capture amazing shot after amazing shot.
Seriously, if you're looking for a life-style photographer in the Virginia Beach area, she is it!
I ordered two Dwarf Meyer Lemons from Park Seeds in February-ish 2011. Last winter the trees attempted to produce fruit. It was a rough winter, however, between the spider-mites, scale, and low lighting in my house, and all the teeny fruits dropped off the trees.
This summer, the trees flowered again. I didn't give much thought to the success of this round of flowers, especially since the trees sat at my house while I've been spending most of my time at the fiance's.
Well, I'm happy to report, there may be hope for my trees to bear fruit this year!
This lemon is about the size of a golf ball, or maybe just slightly larger.
The same tree is flowering currently.
This little guy is on the other tree. He has seemed to explode over night and doubles in size weekly. I've moved the trees to the Virginia Beach house and they seem to love the blazing sun that this house provides.
