This year I decided to take on the project of taking one photo per day for the whole year. I challenged my brother to the same and we’ve been keeping up so far. Of course it’s been only 21 days into the new year but it’s a good start. A fellow photog and friend of mine was also inspired and started too. It’s certainly fun to see the lives of my friends and family through daily snapshots.
Last night we went to the Bangs’ for a tasting of high-end vodka from Poland and Russia. We all had individual shot glasses labeled with a famous person’s name. Mine was Pavlov. Heh heh.
There were 10 different vodkas and Vyl made a card of tasting notes and sheets for us to write down our thoughts and guesses of which was which.
I just enjoyed tasting them and had no idea what a Polish or Russian vodka was supposed to taste like. I DID, however, pick out the Stoli. Haha. My #1 favorite of the 10 was Chopin. It was creamier than the others and a little sweet.
Vyl also picked up food from a Russian deli. I tried a perogi that looked totally like a potsticker. And surprisingly, I really liked this dish that had beets, potato, onions, salmon, and herring at the bottom (the bright pink one). Sounds disgusting but it was pretty tasty!
Here are the rest of the photos.
Photo courtesy of Brother
Thursday, December 24, 2009
On Christmas Eve morning, Brother came over and we headed down to Fountain Valley for my photo assignment. Debbie’s good friend from high school found me as a link from her blog and asked me to take family portraits for them. Brother came along to be my second shooter and it turned out to be a fun hour.
We originally were supposed to go to Mile Square Park but ended up staying at their house and taking all the photos in the backyard. They have a really nice backyard with a great shady spot. Coupled with the morning light (around 9:45 am), the photos turned out pretty well. They have a beautiful family and it was great working with all of them. Thanks for the referral, Debbie!
Later in the day, Jes and I went packed up our belongings and headed to the Buena Park house. Jes and his brother hung out while I wrapped Christmas presents. In the evening, I drove down to the Suminos’ house to deliver gifts and hang out before dinner. The boys have grown so much and Cole is a walking, talking human now. Crazy. Brandon is such a fun little guy too. He’s small but really scrappy. Love it!
The boys tore open their gift and were so happy to see four Bakugan toys inside. They showed me how they work and I was genuinely impressed. I miss having them around.
This evening we celebrated Ryan’s 35th birthday. They made the roast and Yorkshire pudding and we made the creamed corn, green beans, and mashed potatoes. Vyl made an iceberg lettuce cobb salad and brought mochi/taro cake.
There was birthday apple crisp (compliments of Tracy) instead of cake and it was delicious.
We also watched A Charlie Brown Christmas with Jack spinning himself in circles by the end of the night. Good times…
Here are the rest of the photos.
I’ve had some photo referrals and inquiries from friends and co-workers lately and have felt kinda dumb not having anything to give them. So, I went online and ordered these really cute mini business cards with my contact info on one side and a snazzy photo taken by yours truly on the other. They arrived in the mail last Saturday and I was so happy to see them! They come packaged in a sturdy little box and I also got a card holder for free!
Michelle and Ryan threw their annual Holiday Pie Party this afternoon and once again I made an apple pie. They say I’ll never win with an apple pie but dog gonnit I’m going to keep trying! To switch it up a bit this year, I used a new recipe that involved adding fresh cranberries and topping it with a crumble. As an apple pie, I thought it was quite yummy with a little sweet, a little tart, and a little texture from the chopped pecans.
Here’s the mixture of two kinds of apple, cinnamon, brown sugar, lemon juice, and cranberries.
Here’s the pie right before it goes into the oven. Check out the little cubes of butter that I had to add to it!
After 30 mins, I added the crumble and baked it for another 45 minutes. With some final touches of my little cut-out stars, it’s done!
I also had some filling and crust leftover so I made some mini pies with just filling and crust on top. Aren’t they cute?!
Well, after everyone voted for their top three favorites and the points were tallied, a savory pie won again. Aw shucks!
Vyl (for the second year in a row) won with a bacon and egg quiche that was super tasty and totally deserved to win. Perhaps it was because she pulled the Bacon Card?! Next year I’m going to make a bacon and apple pie. That should win it!!
Here are the rest of the photos.
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