Lemon Bars- A Crowd Favorite

 Hello! I had a blast this weekend shooting these lemon bars, a soup from Heidi and an engagement session at a castle in Napa! If you think I'm crazy for baking and making soup in June, you are obviously not familiar with my neighborhood. June is a complete tossup--some days are clear though cool and others are filled with low, rolling fog. This was not the case on Saturday in Napa where it was a generous 107 degrees when we arrived a little before 3. We considered ourselves lucky that it cooled off a couple degrees by the time the lovely couple arrived so they would not melt away before our lenses. More on that later.

My mom used to make these lemon bars and I honestly never thought much of them even though I knew people loved them. It's been years since I've had them and I like them much more now, though they still are not my favorite. When I think dessert, I think chocolate; a good combination of salty and sweet. I made two batches, because I thought I messed up the first and didn't have time to photograph them anyways. The first was a big hit at my aunt's house and the second batch managed to mysteriously disappear from my kitchen in large chunks. People love these things.

Time Spent Waiting

It seems like there's always one thing or another holding us back from what we say we will do: time. We don't have the time to work out, eat healthy, cook our own meals, or actually call someone on the phone. But we will never have that time we think we will have after [insert excuse] is over. When I was in school I thought that after graduation I would have so much more time because I wouldn't have classes and journalism assignments at random times of the day. Then I started working full time; not only did I not have the time I thought I would have, I was exhausted when I wasn't at work. Mind you, I sit at a desk all damn day.

I started this blog after much procrastination saying I was waiting until I "had more time." A year ago I sat staring at my first post, palms sweating at the anticipation of the first time I would click "publish." I didn't want to publish anything until I had what all the blogs I liked had. I wanted to be interesting, funny and relevant. I wanted to have a style and a voice. And, yeah, a few followers. But then I realized that the other blog writers had a major advantage over me: time. The time they spent thinking, writing and actually blogging trumped my worried obsession and lack of action. So I hit publish knowing that, much like photography, I would inevitably improve just by doing.

This photo may seem unrelated; Vegas is kind of the opposite of serious realizations about life. I took this photo last weekend from the balcony of our suite at The Cosmopolitan where we were having a bachelorette party for one of my best friends. This trip (and my subsequent recovery) is why, if you asked me, I have not had a chance to post. And yes, I am totally aware of the hypocrisy.

Thank you to all those who have read, are reading and will read this little blog of mine!

Chocolate Stout Cake

I have been keeping this chocolate bundt cake in mind ever since I saw it on 101 Cookbooks, though I used a tube pan since I don't have a bundt pan. Her pictures of the cake made me feel like I was there, but sadly when I reached for a piece I only smudged my computer screen. I'm not really a fan of boozy desserts so I was slightly nervous about this cake, especially after cooking down the beer and tasting how potent it was. However, I was happy to taste that the final product is not boozy at all but very flavorful! Heidi's recipes never fail. Happy Memorial Day and I hope you are enjoying your long weekend!

Garnished with a bit of sea salt before devouring.

The Bardoutsos Family

Here are some photos from a family portrait session at the Sutro Bath ruins near the Cliff House. Teri's son, Michael, recently graduated from the maritime academy and her husband just turned 60, so she wanted to mark the milestones with a family portrait session. Tony's birthday was actually on the day of the shoot and he was just so excited to have portraits taken, it was great! Unfortunately, one of their sons missed out on the action this time, but there's always next time. Thanks for the great shoot, you guys!

Yosemite

Here are some photos I took during a weekend in Yosemite with Stephen's family. We stayed in the valley and could see and hear Yosemite falls from the patio behind our room. It was the perfect amount of being outdoors but not roughing it for my liking. There were still bits of snow up on the mountains and lots and lots of orange poppies on the drive in, my favorite flower. The second day in the valley we rented bikes and rode all over the valley, which was so much fun!

 

On the Farm

Yeah, it's been a while. Let's skip the excuses. Here are some photos from my first maternity shoot a couple weeks ago with two of the nicest people you will ever meet. They live on a sweet, little farm in Gilroy with a very friendly goat named Bravo, four dogs and nearly fifty chickens. This was super hard to narrow down since we spent a couple hours shooting all over their property, way to be troopers; especially Jaime! Congratulations Jaime and James! And now on to the post with too many pictures courtesy of my indecisive side, which clearly won the battle this time.

Note: Sorry to those of you who are receiving this twice, I meant to publish tomorrow but I accidentally selected last Monday and it posted automatically. I panicked and took it down, and then realized there was no point in doing that. And that I am a spaz.

Time out: Imagine this is your backyard. I know, right!

(talking in Morse code to the baby)

It was a pleasure to shoot with you, two.

Drawing a Blank

I'm having a bit of writer's block lately. Only it's not that I have nothing to say, it's that I have tons to say but not sure what I should really share here. Not sure how much to edit myself. I have been consumed with thoughts, day dreams, wishes, doubts and fears. Excitement and anxiety. And then excitement again. I saw a quote through pinterest, which I traced back to Liberian President Ellen Johson Sirleaf's speech to the Harvard graduating class of 2011 (correct me if this is the wrong attribution), "The size of your dreams must always exceed your current capacity to achieve them. If your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough." If she is right, then I must be doing something right.