i ♥ faces week 23: sepia toned

this week's challenge at i heart faces is sepia toned images. i am not a huge sepia person, i prefer just a tad bit of brown/maroon tone to some of my black & whites (that might sound kind of gross, but it's not!), but this actually gives me the chance to use pioneer woman's "sepia tone" action .

look at this little bub. i like to call him "bub" because this is what i call little cute guys like him. it's what i called my 2 "bubs" and still sometimes do. in fact, the big boy probably thought that "bub" or "bubba" was his name for quite a while...who knows.

but look at him, isn't he just a doll? i try to tell this to his mom when he's terrorizin' her!

and this one.

he doesn't like to have his picture taken. he really hates it. and he hates that i post his "likeness" on the blog.

i tell him he looks fine & i wouldn't post something that didn't look good. i don't think he really cares what is tell him though... but this is a new one & i liked it. and getting him to look at me... him & toddlers. hard to keep their focus on me!

best strawberry pie ever

we have lots & lots of strawberries here with our 'larger-than-necessary' patch, so for about a month, we eat lots of strawberries, strawberry shortcake, strawberry jam, and strawberry pies!

i grew up on this pie...the only kind of strawberry pie i've really ever had. i know you can buy or make a glaze & make what i call your 'standard' strawberry pie, but this recipe is something different.

my mom made this recipe, given to her by a friend of the family & it's the recipe everyone in my family makes.

as you can see in the picture, i didn't use a round pie plate, that's because 1 pie is never enough! this summer, i got smart & decided to make it in a 9 x 13 instead of making 2 pies at once.

i hope you enjoy this pie as much as we do!


fresh strawberry pie
crust:
1 1/2 c. flour
1 1/2 Tbs. sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. milk
1/2 c. oil

filling:
1 1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. cornstarch
2 c. water
1 small box strawberry jello=3 Tbs. jello
fresh strawberries - enough to fill your pie plate

mix crust ingredients & pat into pan. bake at 400 degrees till light brown, 12-13 mins. cool. combine sugar, cornstarch & water in pan & cook on stove until thickened. add jello, mix & let cool. placed sliced berries into cooled crust, pour cooled jello filling over berries. chill till solid.

*the filling makes about enough for 2 regular pie pans, enough for 1+ deep dish pie pans but not quite enough for 2. makes enough for 9 x 13 pan exactly. the crust recipe above is enough for 1 pie, double is a bit more than enough for 9 x 13 pan.

favorite friday: image of the day

this is my pick today because:

• it's my sister-in-law on her wedding day & i think their anniversay was this week! congrats guys!
• i really like this pose, see how she's turned slightly with her shoulder toward me rather than straight on & her head's tilted...that's a very flattering, feminine pose
• i shot the wedding totally on auto, probably having pretty much all the default settings on my camera set "as is", so i rather enjoyed editing this photo...it provided me many challenges, it was shot in the shade & underexposed, just to name a few of the things i had to correct in photoshop - but i like that because i am always learning something new about photography & how to get it the best i can in camera right from the start

*this image was shot at f4.5, 1/60, iso 100 with an 18-135mm 3.5-5.6 lens at 57mm

the smith's: family photo shoot

memorial day weekend i had the pleasure of photographing this adorable little lady & her family!





she even sang & danced for me...

here she is with mom & dad...

and the rest of her family...

my thanks to the family for letting me capture a bit of your weekend - you were all such great troopers!

~apryl

favorite friday: image of the day

this is my pick today because:

• these are my men & they look sweet
• this is a typical thing, boys on top of dad...if you're on the ground, you're game...
• this is a really soft image, but it kind of works here (note to the wise: don't hand hold images at 1/6 of a second if you want them to be sharp!
• i actually took this photo straight with the horizon straight across, but i like the crop this way & i'm not concerned about a crooked horizon
• a note from my son: he is not naked in this photo! he's concerned that since he wasn't wearing a shirt & you can't see his shorts, someone will think he's in the buff, but he's not...so now you know

*this image was shot at f3.8, 1/6, iso 100 with an 18-135mm 3.5-5.6 lens at 22mm

peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

today, i am busy.

since school's out, i'm trying desperately to get into some sort of a "summer" groove. right about now, i feel all over the place.

i am knitting, proofing images & my housework needs some serious consideration. and the laundry's been waiting for the rain to clear out so i can hang it on the lines.

and the strawberries...the strawberries are coming at us like gangbusters! since just over the weekend, we've picked nearly every day & we've already had strawberry shortcake twice (not that this is a bad thing). i'm making pies today. and i think the jam will be coming along shortly, too.

but here's something good i can leave you with.

here at our place, we like our carbs. we like cookies & muffins, breads & pancakes, granola bars & such. these things are the "happy" makers.

but honestly, i try to keep snacks around because i have 2 growing boys who are always hungry, yes, i mean ALWAYS. they do lots of bananas, apples, yogurt, raw veggies, etc. but there's nothing like having homemade cookies around for a treat.

this recipe is for one of my favorite cookies that i've been making for years...

outrageous oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

1/2 c. sugar
1/3 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. butter, not the fake margarine stuff
1/2 c. natural peanut butter, not the transfat filled stuff
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
1 c. flour
1/2 c. old fashioned oats
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
6 oz. semi sweet chocolate chips

cream sugars, butter, peanut butter, vanilla & egg. add dry ingredients and mix. stir in chocolate chips. bake on ungreased cookie sheets at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

*i bake most of my cookies on the middle rack of the oven unless otherwise specified
**this recipe does not make very many cookies, i always double it

the bitting 7: family photo shoot

as most of you know, i'm just starting out with my photography business, so when i got a request several weeks ago to shoot a family, it really hit me that i hadn't done any family sessions for a while & that i might be really rusty...it's not the same as working one on one with someone, so i was a tad nervous.

so, i called my sister-in-law & said "i need to take some family photos of you guys sometime this week!"

see, i knew she'd go for that...at least i know i would...so we worked it out that same night.

she's so nice to go to all the trouble for me. getting 5 kiddos ready, not to mention getting my brother to cooperate...that's a lot of work!

so here they are...some of the much anticipated images from that day. i hope that everyone else likes them as much as i do!

these guys are raising angus beef, so i thought it would work to have the family standing out by the gate to the pasture because this is their life right now...

here's a quick snap of 2 of the girls, these are the moments that make you scratch your head as a mom...one minute they're yelling & fighting with each other...the next...

here are a few of the family... mom had some good posing ideas...i like suggestions a lot!

apprarently, 2 yr old little boys aren't excited about shots where everybody squeezes in on top of them...


some of mom & dad...they make for one good lookin' couple...

now this here is why there's five kiddos...☺

and a few of the littlest people...i've been wanting to get some time with this one for a while...this girl can totally work it in front of the camera...

hard to believe she's just 5 yrs old...

and the baby boy...there's a story behind this hat...i guess sometimes he even likes to sleep in it...but don't you just look at those eyes & think "i need to take him home!"...

thanks guys...it was fun & you all helped me out a ton...

xoxo

~apryl