My mother. Another golden ticket

Throughout my life I have been very blessed. Some of the big or significant events that have happened I like to call.... getting the Golden Ticket. The biggest golden ticket I have received is my mother. Any of you that are lucky enough to know my mom would agree that knowing her can't help but give you a new outlook on life.

I've realized recently that my mom and I can be surprisingly different. But that is why I love her so much. She is my main motivator and encourager for me to go beyond what is comfortable or easy, and reach for challenging new things that will help me be the person I need to be.

Mom, you are my strength, my hope, my motivator and my friend. I thank God I was so lucky to have a mom that would sacrifice to help me be all that I can be, a mom who is positive and full of faith. I love you mom.

Utah Wedding Photographer-Justin Hackworth

OH it gets BETTER!

Being an intern to an awesome photographer also includes perks like
getting your picture taken!
Check out this Utah wedding photographer's blog to see more of his awesome work.

MY life as "the intern"

I recently moved to Provo to meet a man, fall in love, and get married! FALSE... I actually moved to Provo to do an internship.

Sometimes in life coincidental things happen, and then when we look back we realize that they weren't coincidental at all. Through a serious of connections and blog stalking I found Justin Hackworth. Before I even contacted him he contacted me and well, to make a long story short... here I am, interning for him and his photography business.

FAQ:

What exactly do you do?

• The typical day includes editing, ordering, and shipping photos. Along with running errands and making phone calls.

Do you just take pictures over his shoulder when he is shooting?

• No, I don't. That would be weird.

Do you like it? Is it fun?

• I LOVE it. And let me tell you why. Justin Hackworth is a fun guy to be around. From his knock knock jokes to jamming on the guitar, the office is pretty chill most of the time. It has been awesome to watch and observe how he does what he does along with discussing his progression as a photographer and how he got to where he is today. I also like being able to give my input and help come up with new ideas to help the business grow. Plus, one of the neatest things has been to meet and see all the different people coming in for shoots.

So, would you care to know more about this Justin Hackworth? ... Check out his blog to see the most recent project we have been working on, 30 strangers. A new stranger everyday along with their mom and their daughter and basically as many generations as we can get there. There are only a few days left so be sure and check it out!

www.justinhackworth.com/blog

Great things in life for a dollar... or for free

MY recent move and the current state of the economy has caused me to be more grateful for what I have and to realize that you can still enjoy life... for really cheap or even FREE.

Great things that cost a dollar

•A song download from i-tunes (an oldie or something new, then listen to it over and over again)
• A movie from redbox... as long as you return it on time.
• JB&C... also known as, Junior Bacon Cheese Burger from Wendy's. A classic, plus it has bacon!
• McDonald's Hot fudge sundae.
• Dollar store trinkets. Who doesn't love those?

ps. tax not included

FREE goodness

• Free online episodes (like the office)
• A FREE walk in the park
• A FREE back massage from a friend... or cute boy
• Or, like the ad I just saw online, apparently you can get a free credit report for a dollar! Someone explain that one to me.

Starry Night Egg

I made one egg this year.

worth the wait... I hope

Alright, so my little sister informs me that you are all waiting for the rest of the bridals! Well I came across this little gem today, (not a bridal) and I decided I would put it up as a little tease. Because, good news! I am going to post those bridals... probably not for a week I just realized but hey... I'm getting there. Thank you Branae for always being such a good little model. I don't know what I am going to do without you all summer. Guess I'll just have to come visit :) love you.

Historical Photo Processes

I just finished up the semester and one of my favorite classes I took was Historical Photo Processes. Basically we took pictures that we had taken and made digital negatives out of them, then we developed and printed them as certain processes. Some of the process we did were Cyano types, Van Dyke Brown, Salted Paper prints, and Platinum prints. It was so fun to learn and experiment with these different process. Above is my final portfolio I made. I covered book board with material and crumpeled brown paper bag and then just wrapped it with linen and jute. Then I made a sweet little tag and downloaded a type writer font. The house was my final project. I took a bunch of pictures of the house from one point and then collaged them together. This is known as the Hockney style. This is just the Photoshop file but I took it and developed it using the Platinum process and then I took seperate pieces and developed them differently. I don't know if that makes any sense. ANYway... maybe I will scan them in someday for you to see.

The Dunn Family

Family... isn't it about time.

My dear friend Alisa asked me to take pictures of her family before her brother left on his mission. I don't think I realized what a big challenge was before me! Ten people, one of them being a baby, is quite the task when it comes to taking pictures. But I had so much fun being with them and watching them interact. Here are a few pictures from the shoot ( I know, they aren't family ones... those are coming). All in all it was a huge learning experience.

lovely lemons

I have been following this blog for quite a while and she has been blogging about lemons and lemon curd quite a bit lately and I just got so curious that I had to make it myself! So I made the lemon curd and then I found a lemon cake recipe that she had posted about as well.
Here was the finished result. I decided to make it into cupcakes instead of baking it in a bread pan like it suggested. One, because I love cupcakes and two because I was too lazy to grease the bread pans. I used the lemon curd instead of the lemon glaze and I made a huckleberry sauce to go on top along with some homemade whipped cream. It was a bit tasty and I am excited to use the leftover curd for crepes. If I made it again I would make it in the bread pans or in a bunt cake.

Hair Affair

I went to Paul Mitchell Hair Academy today to snap some pictures for our latest photographics contest, environmental portraiture (portraits of people in their natural environment). While I was there I ran into my old roommate/business partner, Emily!
This trip made me crave a haircut. I always say that I want a new look but I always come out looking the same when it is all said and done. I am still having daily debates with myself about whether I should chop it or keep the locks growing long.

Boda Bride

Anyone looking for wedding flowers?! My old roommate Emily is starting a floral business out of her home. I designed these business cards for her. Who new I would still like designing stuff after that graphic design class last semester :) She is also going to use some of the shots of Branae with the bouquets she made for her portfolio and website! Go and check it out here.

Smith Island Cake

The long awaited recipe is here! Here is the cake I made for my sister for her birthday a few weeks ago. I got it from Cook's Country magazine that came in the mail. The big secret is baking the layers.... you bake them separate so you don't have to cut the layers. It works like a charm! However the cake is suppose to be eight layers but mine only ended up being six. I'm not sure why that happened but my layers ended up being a little thicker I think (I used the suggested 2/3 cup per layer).

For the yellow cake you can use whatever recipe you like. You'll need about 5 1/3 cups of batter. I looked up the recipe that they used in the magazine and it was delicious. Now for the frosting...

10 ounces of bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 stick unsalted butter, softened

Place chocolate in large bowl. Heat cream, sugar, and salt in a saucepan over medium low heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture dissolves and mixture begins to simmer. Pour hot cream mixture over chocolate and whisk until smooth. Whisk in vanilla and butter until glossy. Cover and refrigerate until icing is firm but still spreadable. About an hour.

After your layers have cooled you can assemble the cake layer by layer with about 1/4 cup of frosting for each layer. Then use the remaining frosting to cover the top and sides of the cake. I found that the longer the frosting sat out the harder it was to work with so work fast. Also for easier spreading on the outside dip your palette or knife in hot water and wipe dry between spreads. For the flowers I made on top I just melted white chocolate chips and put them in a baggie and cut a hole in the corner. I did a lot of it straight on the cake and then made flowers on wax paper to add on top and use for serving each piece after it was cut. Happy Birthday Nae! You are a gem :)

a little teaser

Well Branae and I did a re shoot of her bridals so she could get some she really liked. Here is a sneak peek with more to come! Our old roommate, Emily, is starting a flower business so she hooked us up with some beautiful bouquets and hopefully we got some great shots for her to use. I was pretty excited about how they turned out. Especially with the bad weather and camera troubles we had. I defiantly learn SO much every time I shoot.

Food... and more food

For some reason I can never just have a sandwich for lunch. So I made pasta with some fresh Parmesan cheese and oregano and a cucumber and onion salad. This blog was originally going to be just photography but I have a new years resolution of making a new recipe every week so I have decided I'm going to take my own photos and try to make a cook book by the end of the year. So I hope you don't mind me blogging about food :)
I made Malibu stuffed chicken for dinner on Sunday and saw that we had a few pears so I decided to whip this up last minute. I just sauteed the pears in a little butter and then made a quick chocolate gnash (cuz who doesn't love gnash) and then put a little bit of carmel and toasted pecans. I love baked pears so this was just the quick version. Surprisingly they tasted as good as they look.

My brother

I came up from the basement one morning and what do I pass on my way? My brother Ryley carrying this tray for me! How sweet is that? I guess it is a good reminder that having four brothers isn't all that bad. I did train him well didn't I?

a lil more

Sneak Peek....

Red Red Red.... I found the best red balloon and I have had so much fun preparing for our societies contest.

While I'm blogging...

I made these cupcakes for Super Bowl Sunday (don't worry Cocoa Bean they are not yours :) in hopes that the Cardinals would take it... sadly I was disappointed. At least the cupcakes still turned out! I got the recipe from Food Network online. You can find it here. They are white chocolate filled chocolate cupcakes. The recipe called to pipe the filling in after but I wanted to try baking it in so I did. I made a few alterations to the filling and frosting and I made a white chocolate gnash to go on top (that is the shiny part under the frosting). They turned out quite tasty, especially with a strawberry to top it off.

At your request

At your request.... Some of you (the few that look at my blog) have requested seeing more photos! That is what a blog for after all isn't it?... Anyway here are some old photos. Nothing too special. I have some fun assignments coming up so look for more posts! I am working on being a better blogger :)