Chocolate covered Cheesecake strawberries!

EEPS! You know it's almost summer when it's strawberry pickin time in SoCal.  We went this weekend with the kiddos and picked our little hearts out.  And then bought some in their beautiful baskets as well. Long story short we had quite a few strawberries. I have lots of plans for these strawberries. The first is smoothies, the second is jam, the third is snacks, and the fourth is these bad boys. Go ahead lust over them..because guess what?? They were so easy to make my 5 year old could've done it.

First you'll need to over-shop at the strawberry patch. One bucket is never enough.  Strawberries freeze great so go ahead...indulge.

Then you steal your husbands fancy pancy culinary school chef's knife...OOOH AAAHH

Hollow out your strawberries.

I used a straw, my husband was determined a knife was easier...But hey my 5 year old can use a straw!

Next prepare your cream cheese filling.  I had no recipe I just threw this together and it was wonderful (I may have some experience with cream cheese and sugar)

This is where the fun part happens.  Put one lid full of vanilla,  half a block of softened cream cheese and 1/2 cup of powdered sugar (I just kinda threw it in there and said...yeah that's about right) into a Ziploc Bag.  Now hand it to your toddler.

Squish until its not lumpy anymore, and twist the bag until all of the filling is in one corner. Cut a tiny corner off one end of the bag.

Now you're ready to fill your strawberries!

 And for the pièce de résistance....  Drizzle your creation with chocolate, and voila!

Calling all small business owners!

Do you know how important it is to have great photography for your business? If you are selling products online, or through a catalog, it can make or break your profits.  Your customers want to know exactly what they are buying, the colors, the textures, the tiny details.  If any of your pictures show these characteristics inaccurately, your customer may leave dissatisfied.  I personally do shopping for many of my props on Etsy, or Ebay and can tell you, if I'm matching fabrics, I need color accuracy.  If a photo looks like there is poor lighting, or white balance, I will not buy the product.  Beyond accurate, your photos should be crisp and bright to be appealing. 

If you research how to sell more products you'll find many articles (like this one, this one , or this one) about how important pictures are to your listings and websites. This is where I come in.  In April I am providing, free of cost, four sessions for business owners just like you. From cakes to crochet, models to musicians, any small business can benefit from good photography. Not only will you get digital files optimized for the web, but I will share your product on my Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest accounts. Not local to San Diego? No problem! Simply mail your items (contact me for shipping details) Contact me to book your free product session! And please share with your small business friends.

Somewhere over the rainbow...

 Our Littlest munchkin turns three today! We had a cute little party with friends yesterday, that turned out great. I have three little girls, and all three of them looooooove horses, and naturally My Little Pony.  So this year we took Littlest's favorite pony, "Rainbow Dash," and designed a rainbow party.  It was a very colorful celebration to say the least.  Here are some of the highlights.

The doggie, knew exactly where the crumbs would fall :)

 The princess absolutely HATES the birthday song...

And my oldest daughters absolutely loved the blue sparkly slime we made :)
Note: many of the ideas (and tutorials) for the party can be found here, on my Pinterest board.

Not just any Mug Cake

Most of you know I'm obsessed with Pinterest ( you can find me here.)  Well, this is my year of action, and I'm determined to not just leave all of those wonderful ideas on the computer...I will actually bring them to life! One of the trends on there lately is to make desserts in a mug.  It's pretty clever really.. One or two servings, so you don't have an entire cake sitting there tempting you all week until you finally binge and shove it all in your face and drink a gallon of milk to wash it down (just me?) Less clean up, with just the mug and for you use to mix and eat it with. And tiny amounts of ingredients, that you usually already have in your cabinet! So I dug around on Pinterest, and saw what the basic ingredients in most of the cakes were, and made my own wonderful, preggo approved recipe. And now I'm going to share it with you :)



 First I gathered all my ingredients into these great little 2 oz cups (totally not needed in real life, but they were cute to photograph :) We in the chef business like to call this "Mise en place" you can learn all about that here. (Full recipe at the bottom)

And then one like this, because depth of field is fun.

 Don't forget the Vanilla!!

 Literally dump it all in the cup and mix it up.  It will be thick and lumps are ok, kinda like brownie batter.

 And voila! (more French for you.) Moist gooey cake fresh from the microwave.

Ingredients

4 tbs flour (any kind)

2 tbs cocoa

4 tbs white sugar (or stevia)

2 tbs brown sugar

3 tbs oil (I used coconut oil)

2 tbs milk

1 tbs sour cream (or softened cream cheese)

1 capful of vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients until moist. Lumps are ok. Throw that baby into the microwave and cook on high for 1-2 minutes (1:30 is my fave for a gooey center.) If you need more decadence, throw a marshmallow or ice cream on top.  Let me know how you like it!

March Newborn Special

Spring is in the air! I'm loving this new start I've been given by moving into a new area... It just feels so fresh! I hope you've enjoyed the subtle changes I've made so far to my business. My goal is to bring a unique experience to you through my photography. One that will be special and leave a lasting impression. So in addition to giving 20% of prepaid sessions to charity every month, I will be running other specials as well. For the month of March, it's all about newborns!

For every newborn shoot booked in March (baby can be due any time this year, just booked in March) I will order a very special gift. I will preorder this item before little one is born so that I have it ready to showcase at the newborn session. Items will be a surprise but will be valued from $15-$50. Many are personalized items, so only parents who are sure (as sure as you can be anyway lol) of initials will get those items. But don't worry, I have items in mind for everyone :) The pictures below are just a sample of what your baby might be surprised with. Items will be high quality keepsakes that you will treasure forever. Remember, you must book in March to qualify for this special, as it will change in April.

Giveaway time!

It's giveaway time! I haven't hosted a giveaway in what seems like forever! Soooo, what's up for grabs? Well for this, my first giveaway of the year, I am giving away a photo session of your choice. This can be anything from a homecoming, to boudoir, to birth, to high school senior. All you have to do to be entered is comment on this blog post, or on the Facebook post pinned to the top of my page here.  Easy peasy.  After you enter, share on your fb page, for more chances.  How, you may ask?  For every 20 entries that I get, I will give away another session.  As long as you don't win the first session, you can get another chance in the same giveaway! As a bonus, anyone who doesn't win, but books in the month of February (reserve a date up to 10 mths in advance) you'll receive 20% off of your print order, and 20% of your session fee will be donated to Kosair Children's Hospital Charities (our charity of the month.)  This contest will be open for one week, and winner's will be picked at random on February 20th. So, comment and share!

Notes: For those in KY, I will be in Louisville approx the last three weeks in October.  If you would like a session during that time, feel free to enter or prebook.

It's January!

      Time for New Year's Resolutions, changes and evolutions. HA! I'm a poet and didn't even know it. But anyway, I have started my very own journey this year, in hopes of repairing, growing and leading a most fulfilling life. You can read all about my Happiness Project here on my "other" blog.  One of my goals for this Happiness Project is to use my talents to help others. I've been brainstorming ways to do this and have come up with what I hope everyone will like.

Non-Profit of the month!

For every prepaid session purchased I will give at least 20% donated to the Non-profit organization of the month. I will get nominations for Non-profits, so you will get to vote to see who gets the donation for that month! If you have a Non-profit that you would like to nominate, please contact me with their information, as well as their Facebook page or website if applicable.

In honor of my brand new pet, Max, the donations for any sessions scheduled through Feb 1st will be donated to the San Diego Humane Society.  For any prepaid session, I will donate 20%. OR if you bring and 2 or more items off of this wish list, I will give 15% off of the session. Session packages can be found on my website.  

Note: Shoots can be scheduled up to 10 months in advance, but must be prepaid for this deal. Non profit from the month you paid will get the donation, not the month you choose for the shoot..

Please spread the word, and bring me your list of Non-profits so that we can begin voting for February!