Never Alone

Sometimes I wish I worked in an office. (This might have something to do with the fact that I’ve recently started watching The Office again on Netflix and I wish Steve Carell was my boss and John Krasinski was my co-worker. I’d totally work at Dunder Mifflin.) I mean, yes, technically I work in an office in my home. So maybe I should rephrase that and say sometimes I wish I worked in a place with other people. I’m an introvert by nature, so most of the time I really don’t mind being alone while I work. But there are definitely times when I feel it… when I wish I had another person to talk to while I ate lunch or someone to laugh with at most recent episode of Modern Family.

Then I remember that I do have three, um, co-workers, if you will. I’ll admit they can be a bit needy, and at times they can even be downright annoying. But they are also more than happy to keep me company while I work, and they smile up at me with tails wagging if I chuckle to myself about Phil’s hilarious phil’s-osophy’s. Sometimes they even get scraps from the table at lunchtime. Ah yes, with these three rascals around, I’m never really alone.

Happy Weekend!

Lauren - November 30, 2012 - 1:37 pm

I have a furry co-worker too and it’s the best!! :)

Computer Woes and Delicious Pie

This post was ACTUALLY supposed to go up last week. But my poor computer had some issues and had to be taken into to Apple. I was only without it for about 4 days, but I felt like a small part of me was missing, not having my work readily available. I should probably be embarrassed by that fact. Maybe it is slightly pathetic how attached I am to my trusty old iMac, but when you run the majority of your business from it, you’re bound to have a bit of affection for the thing you spend so much time with… right? (Don’t answer that.) Anyhow, I’m just thankful to have it back!

Moving on… I made an awesome pie for Thanksgiving this year! No really, I know that’s hard to believe coming from an extremely non-kitchen savvy person such as myself. But I did! (I have witnesses.) And it was EASY, too! (I guess that’s probably a given, though, if I was able to make it.) Thanksgiving may be over, but it’s still holiday time, and this would still be a perfect pie for any holiday gathering :) So in case you’re looking for a delicious pie recipe for your next party, here’s one you can’t go wrong with!

Maple Walnut Pumpkin Pie

Pie Ingredients:

1 Nine inch unbaked pie crust 
1 Fifteen oz. can of pumpkin 
1 Fourteen oz. can of Sweetened Condensed Milk
 2 eggs 
2 teaspoons of maple syrup 
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon 
1/2 teaspoon of salt 
1/4 teaspoon of ginger 
1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
 

Topping Ingredients:

1/3 cup of firmly packed brown sugar 
1/3 cup of all-purpose flour 
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon 
3 tablespoons of butter 
1/2 cup of chopped walnuts
 

Start by preheating the oven to 425 degrees F. Then in a large mixing bowl, combine the pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, cinnamon, maple syrup, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. (Side note: the recipe actually calls for 1 tsp of maple flavoring, not 2 tsp of maple syrup, but I already had maple syrup and I love the flavor of maple, so I figured this substitution would be just fine.) Mix it really well, and then pour it into your pie shell. I used a gluten free pie shell from Whole Foods.

Bake it in the oven at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven heat to 350 degrees F and continue to bake for 30 minutes or until the pie mixture is set. I ended up leaving mine in for about 15 minutes extra at 350 degrees (so 45 minutes total) because the center stilled seemed a bit watery.

Meanwhile in a medium mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour and cinnamon. I used Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose Baking Flour for my gluten free flour. Mix that up, and then cut in the butter until the mixture is crumbly. Lastly, stir in the nuts.

Take the pie out of the oven and evenly top it with the crumbly mixture. Put it back in the oven and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, until topping is golden brown.

Remove it from the oven, let it cool, garnish as desired. And then viola! You have a delicious pumpkin pie that will blow all other pumpkin pies out of the water. Goes excellently with some vanilla bean ice cream and a cup of french pressed coffee :)

 I hope that everyone had a delightful Thanksgiving filled with lots of love and laughter, family and food, and of course, thankfulness :)

Anytime Recap: Lots of Fall Goodness

I’m just gonna lay it out there. I fell behind in blogging this fall. Big time. Particularly when it comes family sessions. Which is sad because I’ve been taking pictures of lots of fun families along with all the incredible weddings I’ve been shooting! So this is me playing catch up… 5 families in one post! I thought it would be appropriate for this week, considering it’s Thanksgiving on Thursday. I mean, I personally think family is one of the biggest thing to be thankful for! That, I’m thankful all of these awesome people wanted to spend some time in front of my camera :) So get ready for a massive post full of family love!

The Miller Family:

This might have been the most fun and laid back family shoot I’ve ever done. The Millers are hilarious! I thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with them and their contagious laughs. Makes my job easy :)

The Herman Family:

What happens when you have four kids and new puppy? Lots of running, laughing, and playing. Which is exactly what I did with the Herman Family! So much fun :)

The Nicholls Family:

I have to admit, I kind of love this family. I’ve known them longer than I’ve been taking their pictures, and not only are Joe and Jess wonderful friends with huge hearts, but seeing how much Braxton and Cadence grow every year  never fails to put a smile on my face. These guys are pretty great :)

The Deeken Family:

Another family I love! This is the third year I’ve done pictures for the Deekens, and every year is more fun than the last! Although I’d be lying if I said I was in control of the shoot… Bodie totally runs the show ;) But Catherine and Todd just love on their son the whole time, which always leads to some pretty great pictures :)

The Huhnke Family:

I was so excited to photograph this precious girl!! Violet is the newest edition to Spencer and Leah’s family, and she is just perfect. They are such a precious family. And I got to hold Violet after the shoot, which was definitely a bonus :)

Happy week of Thanksgiving!

Park City Anytime: (Senior) Emma

Today I’d like you to meet Emma! She’s an awesome senior who will be graduating from Park City High School this Spring. We got together on one of the last warm evenings of fall this year, which just so happened to be Halloween! Fortunately we didn’t run into any zombies while out in the woods… I kid, I kid ;) But really, we did luck out on some incredible sunshine! I LOVED the way her golden hair shone in the buttery light… Not to mention she’s incredibly sweet and fun to be around! Yes, it was a good shoot :) Enjoy some of my favorites!

Emma, thank you so much for spending some of your Halloween with me! You are ever so lovely, and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know you! I hope the rest of your senior year goes smoothly and is filled with nothing but happy memories :) Good luck next year!

Beautiful Emma!

Work it Emma! 

Can you say gorgeous?!

I loved her laugh :)

So lovely…

Love these two.

Oh, and this one :)

I’ll end on her pretty smile!!

Happy Monday!

‘Tis the Season

Today I am thankful for…

the snow softly falling outside.

 a roof over my head.

my husband.

the smell of pumpkin.

good health.

the bond my family shares.

my pair of beaten up running shoes.

gluten-free cinnamon bread.

the company of my favorite four-legged companions.

coffee dates.

genuine friendships.

doing something I love and calling it work.

my Savior.