Stephanie {Maternity}

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Thank you!

Some of you may remember Stephanie from the session I did with her family last fall.  When we did that photo shoot, Steph had only a teeny tiny baby bump, so we talked about doing another session once she was closer to her due date.  When I got my new camera, Stephanie was the first person I called!  
I've mentioned before that I just love maternity shoots.  There is something so special about capturing the glow of pregnancy, and the excitement as a mom anticipates her new little one.  I am really excited to share these pictures with you, I think they came out beautifully!  The light was perfect and dreamy, and Stephanie is gorgeous from the inside out. :)

Stephanie, thank you for tromping around in the bushes with me!  I loved getting to do this shoot with you... and I can't wait to meet your precious baby girl.

Hello weekend, so nice of you to stop by

I'm the kind of person who rarely stands in the gray areas.  It's black or white. I love it, or I hate it. It's awesome, or it's stupid.  I saw this picture on Pinterest, and it expresses my sentiments exactly:

When I find something that I looooooove (yes, all those o's were necessary), I often feel the need to find out everything I can about the subject, to use a ton of superlatives when describing it, and to convince everyone around me that it really IS that awesome.  Just ask Andrew.
I discovered the Hunger Games trilogy this summer, and I think I read all three books in a matter of days.

If you haven't read these yet, go buy them now!! You'll be completely swept away. When I heard that they were being made into movies, I was beyond thrilled!  We are going to see the movie tonight, and I. cannot. wait.  I would have liked to see it last night when it opened at midnight... but after dragging Andrew to the opening night showing of the final installment of the Harry Potter films, where we waited in line with a gazillion teenagers, I think he began to wonder if I was a little crazy.  So that was probably a one-time deal.  Being an extreme book-to-movie critic, I really hope they do the book justice (I mean really, how hard is it to follow a plot-line?).


The movie tonight kicks off a fun weekend for me.  I'm meeting up with my dear friend Amanda for breakfast tomorrow morning.  I love getting to hang out with her! Plus we're going to Egg Plantation, which happens to be one of my favorite breakfast places.  


I'm also getting a haircut.  Now, you may be thinking, "really? she's writing about a haircut?"  Yes. Yes I am.  Do you want to know why? Because I think my hair looks like this right now...

... and that's a situation in dire need of a remedy.


I'm also really excited to spend the afternoon with my friend Stephanie, and to do a maternity session with her.  I love maternity sessions already, but that I get to use my newest investment makes it that much more fun!

Isn't it gorgeous??? I think I am in love.  Is it ok to be in love with a camera? Will Andrew get jealous? I don't know. But I DO know that I can't wait to start shooting with this baby, and to show you the photos next week. Stay tuned!


Until then, happy Friday everyone!

The Measure of Success

This last Tuesday evening, I had the privilege of attending a business seminar called theFIX, put on by wedding photographer Jasmine Star.  I discovered Jasmine's work a little over a year ago, and let me tell you, this girl's savvy approach to the wedding photography industry is something I greatly admire... not to mention, her photos are gorgeous. 


When I saw that Jasmine was giving a seminar here in L.A., I jumped at the chance to learn a little something from a woman who launched an internationally acclaimed business in a matter of years.
The goal of the seminar was for photographers to be able to identify weaknesses in their business and to provide helpful tips on how to keep moving forward.  When I got home from the seminar Tuesday night, Andrew asked me how it went.  "Good," I replied, "but I need to do a lot of thinking."
And think I did (and think, and think, and think).  I've been mulling over the points that Jasmine presented, and there are a few points she made that impacted me the most.


The first was that I need to "embrace the struggle."  Starting my own business and pursuing this crazy dream is going to be difficult... and I'm only at the beginning.  So when I'm in the middle of those moments when everything in me wants to walk away and say, "I can't do this. It's too hard," I need to stop myself and say, "don't quit. Keep running forward, and don't look back."  I need to remember that struggle brings about change, and change is a GOOD thing.  Jasmine also pointed out that everyone in this business struggles (especially at first), and that I'm not alone in this.  Misery loves company, right? :)


The second point that Jasmine made, which prompted me to think the most, was that in order to go anywhere as a photographer, I need to stop trying to be anyone else, and just be me.  This lead me to evaluate something about myself: how do I measure my success?  Do I base success on my own personal goals? Or do I base it on what I think success "should" look like?  It hit me quite suddenly, that it was the latter.  


With that revelation, I sat down to think through what that meant, and how my mindset needs to change. I realized that I can't base my success as a business woman on other photographers' achievements or goals.   I have to take a good hard look at the direction I want MY business to go, and know that it's ok if the way I want things to run looks different from everyone else.  I need to be able to set my own personal goals and decide what I'd like to accomplish to be able to determine what success in my business looks like to me.  Finally, and (I think) mostly importantly, I realized that personal success and business success are two very different things.  Struggling and overcoming matters of the heart and becoming the best wife, friend, sister, daughter, child of God I can be, will make me successful, whether or not my business flourishes or fails. 


There are many more ideas still swirling around in my noggin, but I'm content having written about these two for now.  I'm so excited to see what happens and love every minute of learning the whole process.


I'm so so glad I was able to attend theFIX, and I'm really looking forward to her FREE Creative Live photography course in April (check it out here, if you are interested: http://www.creativelive.com/courses/making-marketing-editorial-wedding-jasmine-star)


Also, and I'll openly admit it, meeting Jasmine Star was the highlight of the evening.  I got way more excited about meeting her than I would about any person in Hollywood, 'cause well, she's awesome.  I even got a little starstruck and got all rambly when I said hi.  Ugh!  Oh well... it was worth it :)

German Chocolate Cupcakes {Recipe}

I'm not usually a cake person.  Given the choice, I'd take a cookie or a piece of pie.  German Chocolate Cake is the one great exception.  I looooove it.  If I had to marry a food, this would be the one.
My mom always made this cake for our birthdays, which meant that between March and July I'd get to eat this 6 times. It was fantastic!
I recently discovered that my boss also loves German Chocolate Cake, so when her birthday came around, I decided I'd try my hand at making it... but since I didn't have round cake pans, I thought cupcakes would be a fun alternative.


To make German Chocolate Cupcakes, you'll start with the cakes, and while they're baking, move over and make the frosting.  So that's how I'll lay out the recipe.


For the cake, here's what you'll need:


1/2 cup Nestle Semisweet Morsels (or 4oz. of another sweet baking chocolate)
1/2 cup water
2 cups sugar
1 cup butter, softened
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (not self-rising)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk


Preheat the oven to 350.  Then heat chocolate and water in a saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently, until chocolate is completely melted. Set aside to cool.

Beat sugar and butter in a medium bowl with electric mixer on high speed until light and fluffy.

Separate your eggs into two custard cups, you'll need both parts of the egg separately.

Then beat the yolks, one at a time, into sugar mixture.

Beat in chocolate and vanilla on low speed.

Mix flour, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl.  Beat flour mixture into sugar mixture alternatively with buttermilk on low speed, beating just until smooth after each addition.

Using clean beaters, beat the egg whites on high speed until stiff; fold gently into the batter.

Grease your muffin tins with butter, then spoon the batter into the pan.

To avoid any bubbles in the batter, which will make your cupcakes lopsided, hold the pan and each end and hit it against the counter a few times.  This will smooth out the batter.

Bake the cupcakes for 30-35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let cool in the pan for at least 30 minutes, then remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

Now to start on the Coconut Pecan Frosting (mmm my favorite part!!); here's what you'll need:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter

1 cup evaporated milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 large egg yolks

1 1/3 cups flaked coconut

1 cup chopped pecans

Mix sugar, butter, milk, vanilla, and egg yolks in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat about 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thick.

Stir in coconut and pecans.

Cool about 30 minutes, beating occasionally with a spoon.

Once the frosting and cupcakes are completely cooled, grab a serrated knife and cut your cupcakes in half.

Then frost the bottom layer, add the top half of the cupcake, and frost the top as well.  

Sit down and enjoy your decadent hard work.

Mmm.... 

*This recipe can be found in the Betty Crocker's Cookbook.

Here is a copy-and-pasteable version of the recipe:

German Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Nestle Semisweet Morsels (or 4oz. of another sweet baking chocolate)

1/2 cup water

2 cups sugar

1 cup butter, softened

4 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (not self-rising)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk

1. Preheat the oven to 350.  Then heat chocolate and water in a saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently, until chocolate is completely melted. Set aside to cool.

2. Beat sugar and butter in a medium bowl with electric mixer on high speed until light and fluffy. Separate your eggs into two custard cups, you'll need both parts of the egg separately. Then beat the yolks, one at a time, into sugar mixture. Beat in chocolate and vanilla on low speed. Mix flour, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl.  Beat flour mixture into sugar mixture alternatively with buttermilk on low speed, beating just until smooth after each addition.

3. Using clean beaters, beat the egg whites on high speed until stiff; fold gently into the batter. Grease your muffin tins with butter, then spoon the batter into the pan. To avoid any bubbles in the batter making your cupcake lopsided, hold the pan and each end and hit it against the counter a few times.  This will smooth out the batter.

4. Bake the cupcakes for 30-35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let cool in the pan for at least 30 minutes, then remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

Coconut Pecan Frosting 

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter

1 cup evaporated milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 large egg yolks

1 1/3 cups flaked coconut

1 cup chopped pecans

1. Mix sugar, butter, milk, vanilla, and egg yolks in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat about 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thick.

2. Stir in coconut and pecans. Cool about 30 minutes, beating occasionally with a spoon.

Once the frosting and cupcakes are completely cooled, grab a serrated knife and cut your cupcakes in half. Then frost the bottom layer, add the top half of the cupcake, and frost the top as well.