The Year of the Soup is halfway finished: 26 soups down, 26 to go.  What I’ve learned so far from this project:

• Rapunzel vegetable broth powder is amazing.
• I require supervision when using the blender.  (see here and here for evidence)
• Carrots, onions and celery will make just about anything delicious.
• John will eat nearly anything.  He even ate the leftovers of this and this.  Bless him.

My favorite soups to date:

• Chickenless Noodle
• 44 Garlic Clove
• Wonton
• Broccoli Cheddar
• Stracciatella

My least favorite soups to date:

• Borscht
• Creamy Mushroom
• Rhubarb
• Matzo Ball
• Quinoa Vegetable

Do you have a soup recipe to share?  Have you made one of these soups?  Leave a comment – I love comments :)

The two girls who made it to their appointments rocked it.  Completely rocked it.  And thank goodness they did, or I might be swearing off boudoir shoots forever, because to be honest, this last weekend’s boudoir marathon was a bit of a train wreck.

Going into the week I had 5 appointments for hair, makeup and shooting.  But by Wednesday, I was down to just three girls, as people decided to cancel last minute.  The day of, one girl was a complete no-show.  I have never ever had that happen before – everyone who has committed to their appointments has shown up, excited and ready to go.  The makeup artist and I were devastated.  I’ve never required deposits or contracts for boudoir before because no one has ever taken advantage of it.  This will no longer be the case.

To the two of you who came, on time, to your appointments – thank you so, so much.  I had a blast shooting your sessions, and would gladly work with you again for anything.  They were two of the best boudoir shoots to date, but because they each asked that I not post anything from their shoots, this image is from the last boudoir session in April.

This marathon didn’t run smoothly, but I’ll still be doing boudoir sessions because they truly are a lot of fun.  I’ll be launching a boudoir website later this month – stay tuned!

Nothing gets people into photography as quickly as a new baby.  For Ryan, this was especially true.  He’s got a new zeal for taking photos that I never saw before.  I can see why – Camille’s chubby cheeks just make you want to take her photo.  She’s 4 months old now, and Rebecca and Ryan seem to be loving the whole parenting thing.  Such a cute family :)

I’m a big kid now.  I used the blender all by myself.  And no one got hurt.  And soup did not explode all over the cabinets.  This is progress.

Now that I’ve mastered the whole blender thing, cream soups are getting old.  They’re all the same: boil X vegetable in broth, puree, add cream and a dash of spice.  That’s it.  And then they all tend to taste the same – like cream with a hint of green vegetable.  Even a cool veggie like kohlrabi (which I’d never had before), couldn’t upgrade the cream soup to anything more.

It’s good to know the formula for this kind of soup, in case I need to make quick use of a delicious veggie about to expire, or whip up an appetizer soup last minute.  But unless one of those circumstances arises, no more ‘Cream of X’ soups.  Without the looming threat of impending blender disaster, they’re far too boring.

Cream of Kohlrabi Soup

Ingredients

• 3-4 small kohlrabi, peeled and cut into pieces
• 3 cups water
• 1 vegetable bouillon cube
• salt
• white pepper
• cayenne pepper
• nutmeg
• 1/2 cup cream

» Continue reading “Year of the Soup: Week 26″

Kids don’t know how to take great photos.  They don’t have to – all they do is show up, be themselves and someone takes an adorable photo.  It’s that simple.

But at some age, we all decide we need to be in control of how we look in photos.  We decide we have a “good” and “bad” side, that our hair must look a certain way, that certain angles make us look chubby.  So when a camera comes out, we start acting…weird.  We use our phony “camera smiles” that we’d never use in real life.  We wear clothes we’d never wear.  We sit in poses we’d never be able to get into without serious guidance.  And the result?  Well, it’s usually less than adorable.  Has anyone ever told you your “camera smile” makes you look really happy?  Highly unlikely.

So I invite you to revert to being a child for your next portrait session.  Give up the illusion that you can control what you look like in your photos, and just look like you.  Just have fun, laugh, and show your real smile.  Allow yourself to be photographed as you are, rather than trying to create a fictitious “perfect” version of yourself.  There’s no need – you look better as you than you might think.  When you get the photos back I guarantee you will get a much better result.