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S o, it's Friday. In December. And I woke up with absolutely no umph. Like someone stole my mojo. I can tell it's going to be long day. I thought about writing a really cool blog post about something really cool with cool people and a bunch of coolness, but I have writer's block. In a may-jah way. I speak Victoria Beckham.
In light of the weekend, let's have a Friday Randomness post!
*I Dyed My Hair. By Myself.
Should I get into how awful this decision was? I'll save you the drama and sum it up as: Maroon! OH MY GOD! Get me some toner!
*I Want To See It Snow.
Since I live in Southern California, the chances are slim to none. JD bought me a snowglobe. Then I made out with him. With tongue. |
*I Am Done With Christmas Shopping.
Oh yeah. Just went THERE. Please don't hate me. If you had seen me running through the mall last year like a crazed, three-legged buffalo you'd appreciate this.
*Polo.
He's stealing ornaments from the tree, tears them to shreds, and leaves the evidence under the couch.
*College Station, Texas.
I'll be speaking at Brazos Valley Professional Photographers Association on Monday, January 24, 2011 in College Station, Texas. You can register for the event HERE. If you wear cowboy boots, you'll get bonus cool points in my book!
*I Went Ice Skating. With A Cute Boy.
I've had a childhood fascination with ice skating. Particularly, with a boy. I've always dreamed of getting all sweaty-palmed as we skated--backwards--to an R&B song. I'm happy to share that my dream came true. Last night, minus the R&B song. But the best part? I got to GO HOME WITH THAT BOY. |
'Tis The Season
I'm going to try to use 'Tis as many times as I can between now and Christmas. 'Tis cool. Trust me.
Happy Friday! |
    
A couple weeks ago JD and I were driving home and I asked him what he wanted. It was a random question, but it just popped into my head. And since I don't have a filter, I usually ask whatever comes to mind. This has led to awkward situations, but let's keep that for a different post. When I asked JD, he turned to me and said, I'd like for you to make a homecooked meal.
And then I was all, Dude, I was trying to be deep and stuff. Why you gotta go THERE?
In the days that have passed, I've bought kitchen items (a julian peeler, quiche tins, a pirate-shaped spatula), but have yet to produce a meal. I actually like the art of eating, but cooking kinda throws a kink in my plans. When my friend Amy offered to teach me how to make an apple pie, I took her up because I wanted to make JD's wildest dreams come true. And I wanted to buy a pie dish.
In case you'd like to make a pie as well, feel free to join me on this journey...
You should start with seven medium sized apples, peeled and cut into 1/16 pieces. We used Honeycrisp apples and they were perrrrrfect. |
Part of Amy's secret is mixing white and brown sugar. I guess I just gave away her secret. Sorry, Amy! ;)
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/8 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Cup of Flour |
Amy then asked me to add 1 Teaspoon of Cinnamon.
I opened the top of seasoning container and Amy yelped before I made the pour. Jasmine, that's CARDAMOM!
You see?! This is why I should be banished from every kitchen.
But, really, is it not a mistake ANYONE COULD MAKE?!? |
Once you've added everything to the apples, lightly mix.
Now onto the crust!
In a medium bowl, mix two cups of flour and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Add 2/3 cup of shortening (plus two more tablespoons...Amy says that's another tip!) and mix with a fork. |
| You want the mixture to take the appearance of peas. Slowly mix in 4-5 tablespoons of water, on slowly added intervals. Now here's another secret! Make sure the water is ice water. Amy gets a few ice cubes into a cup and adds water, then spoons it out accordingly. You should then get a pastry ball that looks like this: |
Once you have the pastry ball, cut in half. Better yet...if you can cut it at a 55/45 ratio, you're in good shape. You need a little more for pie crust, than the top.
Amy usually rolls her pie crust on cheese cloth, but since I'm ghetto fab, I simply handed her a new dish towel and insisted it'd be fine. And guess what? IT WAS.
Roll the slightly larger half of dough into a circle (mine was more oblong, but it's neither here nor there), then roll it onto the pin so you can then unfold it into the pie dish. It's much easier than trying to place the dough into the dish by hand.
You should probably preheat your oven to 425 right about now. |
Now for another of Amy's secrets...yes, she's gonna LOVE me for sharing them! ;)
Slice about two tablespoons of butter into five slices. Place the butter slices on top of the pie. This is just meant for an extra dose of awesomeness. And lead to an early cardiac arrest, but it's worth it. Trust me.
Roll out the second piece of dough and place it on top of the apple mixture...like so... |
Once the pie is sealed, trim extra crust from the edges then use your fingers to create a fancy edge. You know, anything that makes it look like you can win an award.
Cut 4-5 slits in the top of the pie (this will help prevent bubbling and allow steam to escape). The slits also make you look fancy when the pie is removed from the oven and steam fills the air. So Betty Crocker. |
Bake for 40-50 minutes or until crust is golden brown.
This is my very first homemade pie. TAH-DAH!
Sure, it's a little crispy at the edges, but I say that's personality! We let the pie cool over dinner then served it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
And then convinced myself calories don't count on Tuesdays. Ever. |
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Detouring to Niagara Falls
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I t was a 20 minute detour, if they wanted to see it. They debated for a few minutes, then David changed his course while driving back home to Grand Rapids with his wife, Amy. They always wanted to see Niagara Falls and since it was just twenty minutes away from where they were driving, they decided to simply exit. And explore. They sprinted to the Falls to catch sight of everything before night fell. They later slowly walked back to their car, enjoying the experience and sounds. Of being together.
They later shared a meal at Hard Rock Cafe.
This experience has now become what Amy and David refer to as Niagara Fall moments. Essentially, choosing the detour. And living life. Some might remember, but in May 2009 David was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and his life has been flipped upside down, inside out. And yet. And yet he's living, breathing and detouring in beautiful ways.
Amy and David are visiting Orange County and we spent most the day in Laguna Beach. We spent hours wading in the water, laughing, and dreaming. While we walked along the water's edge, I stepped on a bee. Okay, so who knew bees liked water so much?! Being somewhat dramatic I was all, Hey, guys, my foot really hurts....no, I'm being serious. When JD pulled the stinger from my foot, I felt like I had EVERY REASON TO BE DRAMATIC, OKAY?
As I laid on the beach blanket--with my foot properly elevated--David sat next to me. The sky was a thousand shades of blue. When conversation lapsed, I heard his breathing in between the crashing waves. I promised myself to create Niagara Falls moments. Not for me, but for love of Amy and David Wenzel. |
M aybe it's the sights of Christmas, or the sounds of Bing Crosby singing carols, or the fact that I'm attempting to make an apple pie today (not without professional help, of course), but I'm feeling all warm and fuzzy. I spent yesterday reviewing behind-the-scene photos of JD and me shooting. Every year we amass photos of us working and--either because we're sadistic or cruel, or both--laugh at each other. We've done this since the inception of our business and collect around 400 each year...only to reveal them at the end of each wedding season.
I'm not gonna lie, I love it. I look truly heinous when I'm working and I'm amazed at the lengths I make my face contort when I speak. My facial nerves? They're in tip top shape. And JD's dance moves? They're what dreams are made of.
This is JD's mating dance. And then I was all, Not heeeere, babe...we're, umm, working! |
| Sometimes I try to show JD up by dancing with my grooms... |
| But I don't like to make my brides jealous, so I hold their hands. Then make weird faces to show that I think deep thoughts. |
| Dear JD, this is proof of just how funny I am... |
| What you don't see is JD standing on ONE FOOT to take the picture. He likes to showoff. |
| I worry people laugh at me...not with me... |
| Look at Billy. That's the look of a groom who's all, like, HELLLLLLLLLLLLLP ME. |
| JD is a parttime daredevil. And likes to impress our clients by rock climbing. |
| Okay...I promise I won't dance with you anymore... |
Okay. One second. Why on God's great earth would any bride trust me to fix her hair AFTER SEEING MINE?!?
I look like I was given a noogie.
By every guest at the wedding. |
| The Father/Daughter/JD dance... |
| This is the look of a girl who just realized she was in the photo when she wasn't supposed to be... |
| Sometimes JD gets jealous when a bride wants to hold her bouquet, so he'll try to wrestle it away from her... |
| I may or may not have said something inappropriate. |
| This was the day I swore his tie wasn't too short. I can now admit I was wrong. |
| This is his Justin Bieber Who? pose |
| I'm a little on the short side, so I take all the help I can get. |
| In addition to getting JD as a wedding second shooter, he's also a great bridesmaids' purse carrier. At no extra charge. |
| JD sometimes practices clogging while he shoots... |
| Oh, what? You have to take an important call? No worries, this is what I call, CROPPING YOU OUT OF THE PHOTO. |
| JD said if I made this face, he'd walk upstairs and get me a Shirley Temple. I, apparently, hate stairs. |
| Oh, me? No, don't worry. Just trying to shoot. No, go right ahead...stand in my way. You're head is way hot. |
| The truest sign a client is the best fit for you? If she makes the same Dancing Face, then it's a match made in Top 40 heaven. |
| JD. He stands heads and shoulders above the rest. |
| Remember this outfit? It needs no comment. The ruffle says it all. |
| If you can go the entire day without getting a single grain of sand on the bag, we get to make out at the end of the night... |
| Why am I holding her hand? I have no idea. Maybe I'm just, like, extra touchy feely, okay?! |
| I call this my I'm A Fun Bride Pose. Laura does it way better than me. |
To see more behind the scenes photos of us at work, CLICK HERE for a slideshow.
A huge, heartfelt thank you must go to my business partner, husband, and best friend, JD. This year wouldn't have been possible without him by my side every step of the way. For the glasses of water on hot days, for schlepping the bag for endless hours, for laughing at my jokes, for pushing, challenging, and encouraging me, for reminding me to get the safe shot, for daring me to get the creative shot, for ignoring the bad and focusing on the good...I appreciate him. |
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Wedding Highlights : 2010
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© Jasmine Star. This post cannot be republished without permission. Stealing makes me sad. |
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I t's what we repeated to each other when things got stressful. December...December...Decem... We knew in December we planned to take some time to just be. Still. I had initially planned to take the entire month off, but that might have been uttered in a drunken Nyquil stupor. The reality is that I'm working shorter days and turning off my computer. Completely. And a mere six days into our December, I'm happy to say it's done more for us than sugary carbs, a midday nap, and a therapy session. Combined. It's our favorite time of the year.
At the end of the year I sit and think about from where we've come and where we are headed. What does this have to do with favorites? I don't know. I think that was a tangent. I'll be speaking about my 2011 goals in another blog post, but I decided to revisit my 2010 weddings and pull out 25 highlighted images (how's THAT for bringing things back around?!). They're not necessarily the best--or my favorite--images, but they represent my aesthetic and I'm proud to have worked with so many amazing clients who allow us to do what we love...
Kristin and Brandon's Orange County Nature Center Wedding |
| I know it's cliche to say, but I'm just gonna say it anyway: I'm incredibly blessed to work the world's best brides, do what I love, and work with an amazing partner. Picking highlighted images were a nearly impossible task, but I'm indebted to an inordinate amount of grace, kindness, and trust on behalf of all my brides. To see all 2010 weddings, you can do so HERE, and for those who been around the blog for the past year, thank you. Your support does not go unnoticed and I cherish your kind words greatly. |
2013
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2010
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