04.26.08 // coronado island marriott resort // coronado, ca
There’s so much I could say about this amazing wedding, but I honestly think the photos do it more justice than I could by babbling. :) Debra & Dean were married at the Coronado Marriott, overlooking the amazing San Diego skyline. :) The weekend proved to be a hot one (thank goodness it wasn’t the day after, when it was in the 90’s!!) but the wedding was cool and went off without a hitch. :)
Thank you so much, Debra & Dean, for allowing me to photograph this incredibly special day for you two. :) Your personalities, joy & spirit truly shine and I wish only the best for your new journey together! Much love to you both :)
What an amazing view, seriously! How picture perfect is this?!
Had a little fun with the rings :)
During her brother’s toast :)
First dance
A shot with the skyline at night :)
ceremony & reception & coordinator . Coronado Island Marriott Resort – Ricardo Garcia
florist . Wholesale Flowers – Kendra
dj & planner . Soundstorm Tech Entertainment Productions – Nelson and Lori Llorin
officiant . Ken Hensley – Lifepoint Community Church
I have been wanting to shoot at this location near my house for a while now, open fields with flowers & fun! When Cathy & Jaime and I were brainstorming ideas for locations, this came up and when they decided to go for it, I couldn’t be more thrilled! These two are really awesome people, and it’s always so fun for me to do these engagement sessions because it provides me an opportunity to observe a couple’s connection and love :) Cathy & Jaime were so sweet and in love, the minute Cathy would turn to Jaime, her face would melt into a smile and she would begin giggling. It was totally adorable!
Thanks so much, you two, for being such awesome sports with me making you run, jump, sit in a road with traffic, lay down and everything in between! Can’t wait for this weekend! :D
P.S. The one bad thing about shooting in a field of flowers around dusk? The MOSQUITOES!! I had like 20 bites when I got home!
What a beautiful wedding it was – can’t wait to post the rest later this week :) Stay tuned :)
More to come later this week :) It “happened” to be that the tree is shaped like a heart :)
Two album layouts for your viewing pleasure. :)
The cover
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So I know I’ve been killing some of you with my “announcement!” Some (well, many) of you guessed that I was engaged, and sorry, but NO! lol! So what is it? :)
I am now offering boudoir photography!
Okay, maybe that’s not as exciting as me possibly getting engaged, but it’s still exciting! I was holding off until I could get some images online, and show you the wonderful shoot I did with Kristine!
To view the slideshow, click here!
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Username: boudoir
Password: photos
Don’t know what boudoir photography is? It’s basically an intimate shoot, in lingerie, bra, panties, and tasteful/implied nudes. Of course, all images will be tasteful! :) But fun at the same time. :) You can read more about it here.
If you’re interested in doing a shoot with me, or have questions, please send me an email! I’m really excited to be offering these now, it’s a great present for your future husband, or an anniversary gift! ;) *wink*wink*! Each session will include photography by me, a makeup artist (if you choose) and an album with 50 gorgeous images of your beautiful self. :) Please email me for more details/info/questions!
& thanks so much to the wonderful Kristine for being my first to do a boudoir with! :D & Meagan, who did Kristine’s makeup :)
***
And another day for random thoughts. :)
re: muxtape. music.
So many people posted about this yesterday that I just had to try it. Check my muxtape! It’s basically a page where you can upload music and make “mixtape” playlists for people to stream right off the page. It’s fun, I think I’ll start updating it weekly if I can. At least add new songs weekly and change things out. :)
re: yoga.
I’ve been trying to find a great yoga studio in the north county area. Anyone have suggestions? :)
re: sour nerds.
Best. Thing. Ever. My mouth is watering thinking about them.
re: cooking.
Since I’ve done so much this week (more than usual!) I’d love to hear suggestions :)
If I haven’t said it before, I love to cook when I can. I love entertaining, as well as making & trying yummy recipes. I usually never get the time to try things on a regular basis though, because I’m always so busy! But special occasions (like someone’s birthday ;)) will always have room for special treats like these. :)
The pie I first spotted on Jamie at Home, and watching him make it looked SO good, so I attempted to tackle it after buying the ingredients at the grocery store. It was SO much fun, but: 1) I forgot the flour in the stew, so I sat there, staring at my beef “stew” wondering why it wasn’t more “stew”-like for about 20 mins. Zach wanders in saying “Did you put flour in?”…. “FLOUR!!!” I gasp. Um, yea. When making stew, flour is important. 2) I could not for the life of me, figure out if the bowl I bought would be big enough for the pie. I figured no before the sauce thickened, so I put the crust in another bowl. But once I started filling it, I realized that I COULD use the nicer bowl that I bought, so you can imagine what it was like trying to transport a soggy crust half-filled into a new bowl.
5 hours later, we were dining on delicious pot pie. :)
Luckily, the cupcakes weren’t so awful long & hard to make! lol
Here are the rest of the photos of the process & recipes. :)
The stew in the oven!
my apron
Ready to bake!
It was seriously soooo good.
Steak, Guinness & Cheese Pie with Puff Pastry
from Jamie at Home
Serves 4-6
Olive oil
3 medium red onions, peeled and chopped
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
30g butter, plus extra for greasing
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 sticks of celery, trimmed and chopped
4 field mushrooms, peeled and sliced
1kg brisket of beef or stewing beef, cut into 2cm cubes
a few sprigs of fresh rosemary leaves, chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 x 440ml can of Guinness
2 heaped tablespoons plain flour
200g freshly grated Cheddar cheese
500g best quality ready-made puff pastry
1 large egg beaten
Preheat the oven to 190C (375F/gas 5). In a large ovenproof pan, heat a glug of olive oil on a low heat. Add the onions and fry gently for about 10 minutes – try not to colour them too much. Turn the heat up, add the garlic, butter, carrots and celery and scatter in the mushrooms. Mix everything together before stirring in the beef, rosemary, a pinch of salt and pepper.
Fry fast for 3 or 4 minutes, then stir in the flour and pour in the Guinness and add just enough water to cover. Bring to a simmer, cover the pan with a lid and place in the preheated oven for about 1 1/2 hours. Remove the pan from the oven and give the stew a stir. Put it back into the oven and continue to cook it for another hour, or until the meat is very tendr and the stew is rich, dark and thick. A perfect pie filling needs to be robust, so if its still quite liquidy, place the pan on the hob and reduce until the sauce thickens. Remove from the heat and stir in half the cheese, then season carefully and leave to cool slightly.
Cut about a third of the pastry off the block. Dust a clean work surface with flour and roll both pieces of pastry out evenly with a floured rolling pin to the thickness of a pount coin. Butter an appropriately sized pie dish, the line with the larger sheet, leaving the edges dangling over the side. Tip the stew into your lined dish and even it out before sprinkling over the remaining cheese. Brush the edges of the pastry with a little beaten egg.
Cut the other rolled sheet of pastry to fit the top of the pie dish and criss-cross it lightly with a sharp knife. Place it over the top of the pie and fold the overhanging pastry on to the pastry lid to make it look nice and rustic. Brush the top with beaten egg, then bake the pie directly on the bottom of the oven for 45 minutes, until the pastry is cooked, puffed and golden. Delicious served simply with peas.
Fresh out of the oven!
Chocolate Cupcakes and Peanut Butter Icing
from Barefoot Contessa
2 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk, shaken, at room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream, at room temperature
2 tablespoons brewed coffee
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup good cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Kathleen’s Peanut Butter Icing, recipe follows
Chopped salted peanuts, to decorate, optional
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners.In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and 2 sugars on high speed until light and fluffy, approximately 5 minutes. Lower the speed to medium, add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, sour cream, and coffee. In another bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. On low speed, add the buttermilk mixture and the flour mixture alternately in thirds to the mixer bowl, beginning with the buttermilk mixture and ending with the flour mixture. Mix only until blended. Fold the batter with a rubber spatula to be sure it’s completely blended.
Divide the batter among the cupcake pans (1 rounded standard ice cream scoop per cup is the right amount). Bake in the middle of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, remove from the pans, and allow to cool completely before frosting.
Frost each cupcake with Peanut Butter Icing and sprinkle with chopped peanuts, if desired.
Kathleen’s Peanut Butter Icing:
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup heavy creamPlace the confectioners’ sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.
So I keep alluding to this announcement, and thought I should share a teaser photo with you. ;) More to come later this week. ;)
P.S. Happy Earth Day :)
A very special day today! My boyfriend, Zach turns one year older. :) I spent most of yesterday making a very special pie for him (which I will reveal at a later post) which I’m very proud of, to say so myself! :)
Right after I came back from Nor Cal & Vegas, we spent a (short) day in Julian, which I had been meaning to go to for a while now! It was a fun little mini trip/date, something that I definitely think we need more of. :)
& have no fear! More big posts to come this week, so stay tuned :)
This cracked us up :)
And for good measure, a photo of us last year :)
The cutest shoes are the ones that hurt the MOST to walk 3+ hours in. :(
So, I had so much fun doing the random thoughts last Friday that maybe I should implement something like this every Friday (not unlike [b]ecker’s miscellaneous mondays :) )!
re: website galleries.
It’s been over a year since I’ve updated the website galleries, and I’ve finally done so! So go head over there and check out the new images!
re: exciting announcement soon!
I will be announcing something VERY exciting next week – stay tuned! :)
re: le pain quotidien.
Dear Le Pain Quotidien.
Please bring your restaurant to San Diego. Thank you.
Sincerely,
A huge fan of tartines and your to-die-for hazelnut sugar spread.
re: inspiration & fun.
01. decor8’s what to do when you don’t know what to do series. A truly great set of interviews with different people in the design/art world, how they got into it, and helping others find their way as well. Totally inspiring to read. Often times people (especially in the art field) often feel lost when trying to decide their “calling” and I think this definitely helps push people in the right direction and get past that fear. :)
02. orla kiely. Um. Yes please.
03. get carded. I have said it SO many times before, but I. love. letterpress. I recently just met the wonderful couple Ricki and Ron, who have just started their own wedding invitation company called get carded, and they introduced me to their very own letterpress machine, in which I proceeded to become VERY excited. Maybe a little too excited. lol. Either way, you should check them out, and if you’re in need of invitations (especially letterpress!) give them a shout! :)
04. pride & prejudice. I’ve seen this movie so many times now (especially recently), and it never gets old. The mood, tension, wit and style is something I love.
“God loved birds & created trees. Man loved birds & created cages” – Jacques Duval
04.12.08 // admiral kidd club // san diego, ca
So you may remember Michelle & Bill’s amazing fun engagement session (post 1 & 2), and it was time for their wedding! It was a festive affair with a tropical theme. Michelle & Bill exchanged lei’s during the ceremony, and plumeria’s decorated her bouquet & cake. Speaking of cake, it was from Extraordinary Desserts and it was SO delicious! Mmmmmm! Makes me want more. ;)
Michelle & Bill, you guys are far too fabulous for your own good. :) I’m so very glad that I was blessed with the privilege of photographing this amazing day for you – a thousand blessings unto you both!
This little guy literally ran down the aisle :)
The cookies before the ceremony
And after. Before the reception, even!
First dance
The talented Greg O’Connell sang a song from Juno as well as a few other songs he wrote. :) It was pretty awesome. :)
Mothers & daughters
The talented DJ Kanoya
The DELICIOUS cake from Extraordinary Desserts!
And one of my fave shots of the night ;)
coordination . Sheila Kanoya
location . Admiral Kidd Club
florist . Anar Floral
officiant . Rev. Renate Daversa
dj . DJ Kanoya (Justin)
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