Valentines Day Treats

Wednesdays are usually the day I watch my daughter, Nora and 3 of her friends. We have lunch together and spend the afternoon playing.
Today, since it's almost Valentines Day, I thought it would be fun to make my mom's traditional Valentine's treat. They don't have an official name, we just called them mom's Valentine treats. This was something we always looked forward to every year as kids. Now I make them for my daughter.
They are chocolaty, pepperminty and full of love. Here's the recipe. You just have to try it. Let me know how you like them!

Mom's Valentine Treat:
Chocolate Layers- You need 3 cups of chocolate chips, 4 TBS of butter.
Peppermint Fondant-5TBS of butter, 1/2c of corn syrup, about 2 c of powdered sugar, 1tsp of peppermint, red food coloring.
Step 1-melt chocolate and butter, spread 1/2 on alum. foil and cool.
Step2-The fondant-combine butter, corn syrup and 1c of powdered sugar. Bring to boil, stirring constantly, add the remaining sugar, peppermint and coloring. Stir 3 min, then remove from heat. spread on a greased cookie sheet and let cool slightly, then pour over cooled chocolate.
Step3-pour remaining chocolate on top of peppermint layer.
Step 4-When cooled completely, cut into to fun shapes.

Enjoy!

New Mama

I just photographed a beautiful lady who is about to have her first baby. I photographed Kelly and her husband Maneesh a few years ago for their wedding and I was thrilled that they called me to be a part of this next phase in their life.
Actually, Kelly called me and asked if I would do her maternity photos as a surprise for Maneesh. Of course, I said Yes! After a little secret planning and lots of hoping that the little bundle wouldn't show up before our session, we finally got it done.
Well, After Kelly saw the photos online, she loved them all and couldn't wait to give Maneesh the artist print she picked out for him and just had to show him the images online.
It was a great surprise for me to open my studio door to see Maneesh standing there with Kelly when they came by to pick up his special gift print. They were so appreciative and grateful for what I could do for them.
Truly...two of my favorite people!
Here's a small sampling.

Family day

I spent part of the day today with my good friends, Jed and Ellen, on Vashon. After many years of living in the great northwest, they are moving to Maine. I've photographed Jed and Ellen throughout the years as they marked the special events in their life...the two of them as a couple, Ellen's pregnancy, the birth of their son, their new family, new puppy and now at our last photo session together, Jed's mom and husband.
I wish them well as they embark on this new adventure. Thank you guys for letting me and my family be a part of yours. You will be missed!

Halloween on Vashon-the show

Tonight was my artist opening for my "Halloween on Vashon" show at Cafe Luna for the 4th year in a row.
This project started as something personal many years ago that has turned into an annual tradition on Vashon Island. Free Halloween portraits for anyone in costume, then an exhibit of the best 25 images the following February at Cafe Luna.

Dogs

Dogs...They are our best friends, our 1st kids, sometimes our only kid. Oscar is our dog of 3 years. A little quirky at times, goofy, but a great dog.

The Light

OK, So I missed day two of my 28 days of pictures. Here's what I saw yesterday as I was leaving the house. The light was gorgeous as it shone on the remnants of our snowman. The hat and home made scarf were the last things standing when the snow melted last month.

Another 30 (more like 28) day challenge

So after almost 2 months of not writing anything, I'm finally feeling the urge to start up again and I want to challenge myself...again.
Last year I blogged every day for the month of September. Starting today, I will be posting a new image every day through February.
If may be an image I took that day from a job, it may be an image from my archives, or it might be something I saw as I was going about my day with my family. It will be organic, no rhyme or reason, just because I want to find out what I see on a daily basis when I carry my camera everywhere I go.
I've called today's photo "I'm having a bad day".