Homemade Garlic Hummus - {Recipe}

While declaring my undying love for hummus the other night on Twitter, I jokingly made a comment about loving it so much I wanted to dedicate a blog to it. After receiving several tweets back saying "DO IT!!" or "Give me that recipe!" and others like that - I decided to go ahead and give you guys the super easy, delicious recipe for homemade garlic hummus.

Your tummy will thank you and love you forever if you make it!

Here are the ingredients.

1 can of Chick Peas (Garbanzo beans)

1-2 tsp of minced garlic (personal preference as to how much)

4 T lemon juice

2 T olive oil

a few dashes of cumin

dash of salt

Step one:

Drain the can of chick peas & shake off excess water.

Step 2:

Put garlic & chick peas in a blender or handy chopper & chop them up until they are paste-like.

Step 3:

Add in lemon juice, olive oil, salt & cumin. Blend it all together until it is a nice, creamy consistency.

At this point, I always taste it & see if it needs any extra garlic or cumin.

Step 4:

Put a few extra dashes of cumin on the top, if so desired.

Step 5:

Eat, eat, eat! 

Some of my favorite ways to have hummus are with slices of bell pepper, baby carrots, pita chips, naan, and triscuits!

And this is for those among us who hate having a huge mess to clean up...

These are the only dirty dishes I had from making the hummus!

I'd love to hear if you try it!

................

Krystal

Portrait Display - {Example of How to Display Your Portraits}

When it comes time to order your precious portraits, I've had many gasp when I suggest they go bigger for wall hangings. So many order 8x10's or 11x14's to go up on the wall all alone. And nearly every time as I have followed up, the main thing I hear is "I should've gone bigger". To be honest, I don't hang photos in my home smaller than 16x20 unless they are going up as a part of a collage. I know what you're thinking, "16x20?? Is she crazy? That's HUGE!!". But when you are hanging things - you really have to think about how big that wall actually is. And I'm at the point now where 16x20/16x24 doesn't seem big enough for me! And nearly every single 16x20 or 16x24 in my home is surrounded by other photos in the form of a collage. 

Here is a great example for you. And I will even show you just how small those HUUUUGE 8x10's are that you are ordering! While talking to Sam's Mommy about what she wanted to order,we started out by discussing where it would be going. She wants it to be in the living room on a fairly large wall, most likely over a sofa. After talking, we decided on a 16x32. 16x32?! *gasp* Sounds huge, right??

Here is the 16x32 over my lovely sofa.

Not so huge, huh?

It looks fairly tiny all by itself on that huge wall. Of course now that I have it, I'm thinking "Gosh, we should've gone bigger!". But there is still a way to make it pop by adding in other portraits.

Most think of large prints as being 8x10's, but as you can see in the photo below - those tiny little portraits surrounding the large one are all 8x10's. See what I mean about how small they look when they are on the wall? Imagine what it would look like if that's all you had up there!

Even the large photo would look completely overwhelmed and out of place if it weren't for the collage format and the decoration on the wall. So - the next time you want to order portraits remember - Go Bigger! You won't regret it!!


..............
Krystal

Little R - {18 months} - Sneak Peek!

It has been so much fun watching this little guy grow up. Every time I see him, there are so many new things he is doing, saying, etc. He is turning in to quite the adventurous little guy (and I'm sure his mommy would testify to this!). And during this session, he kept me on my toes! 

Photographing 18 month old kiddos is always an adventure, but it is also fun for me. This little man kept me running around the entire time! He was exploring every inch of ground. The only time he would stop was if he heard a plane, which he then had to point out to me. And let me just say that my heart melted when I saw that he had a flight suit to match his daddy who is in the Air Force! Pretty sure I even squealed... out loud. But seriously - it is SO cute! See for yourself!

...............

Krystal

Baby "A" - {Newborn} - Sneak Peek!

If you are a regular reader of my blog, then you know how much I loooove newborn babies. I could squeeze them, hold them, cuddle them and photograph them all. day. long. This baby girl holds an even more special place in my heart because this is my niece! 

I know what you are thinking - it's my family, so they have to hire me. But that is anything but the truth! They don't even live in the same state as me and it would be much easier for them to use someone there. Lucky for me, they always ask me to do all of their family photos!! :)

Sweet baby A slept through the ENTIRE session. She let me fold her, bend her, change outfits 247 times (okay, maybe not that many), change headbands and move her  - all without waking up once. And even if I am biased, I think she is such a beautiful baby! Her parents and older brother are certainly showering her with love and I can't wait to get my hands (and camera) on her again!

Here are just a few of my favorites from her session!

I am in love with her cute, pouty lips!

Congrats again on your new baby girl!!

.............

Krystal

Rebranding - {Design Process}

Over the past few months, I have been working on giving my website, blog & print materials a cohesive look. I want my brand to be the complete package & am working hard to get it there. As a way to get the creative juices flowing, it was suggested that I go through and find things that I like. Things that inspire me. Things that make me smile. Things that I can draw from to complete my brand image. I'm even hoping to include a lot of these products in my office when all is said and done! So here are some of the things found during that ongoing search! Can you guess what colors my final branding package will be??

And links to all of the fabulous products!

Paper Bird; Gray Chair ; Silver Vases; Tree Paper; Moss Decor; Tic-Tac-Toe; Vases; Shoes; Pillow

...............
Krystal

Zoey - {One Year & Cake Smash} - Sneak Peek

Last week I got to spend time with Zoey at her one year old & cake smash session! The last time I saw her was for her 9 month session and seriously - she just keeps getting cuter & cuter! It is so much fun being able to watch as little ones grow & see their unique personalities really shining through. Zoey has an outgoing, sweet personality & is a complete ham. Her outfits were adorable (as always) and the cake her mommy got her was SO cute. 

Here are just a few from her session!! 

She decided that the wall needed a little color added to it. Hah!

And she even made sure to leave her mark on the ground. ;)

Happy 1st Birthday, Zoey!!

Isn't she so cute?!
....................
Krystal

From a Mother's Point of View - {Birth Photography}

I have had a few people ask me what the real experience of birth photography was like and how it worked when the big day came along. Explaining it from my point of view was really easy, but I wanted to be able to give an answer based on the mom's point of view! So I asked Sam's mommy if she would mind writing up a little something that I could share with other mom's who were thinking of having me photograph their baby's arrival into this world. When she emailed me back, I was floored (and bawled like a baby). I never imagined she would elaborate so far & say such kind words! Her words touched me so deeply that I wanted to share them with you.

"Before we ever even got pregnant with Sam, we knew that he would be our last baby. I adore being pregnant, so I wanted to cherish every single moment of it. After all of the joys of finding out what gender Baby was and the things like decorating his room we started focusing on the delivery and how we could make that special time not only more special, but save a bit of the excitement.

With our other kids, my husband had dutifully stood over my shoulder and recorded the moment our kids came into the world. While it is an awesome token of a wonderful time, its not really something you throw up on facebook, or send to your brother in law.

I started thinking how wonderful it would be to be able to see what my husbands face looked like the first moment he saw Sam.

 Or the look on my face when I finally got to hold him! 

My line of thinking was much the same as a wedding. I wanted all of his wonderful newborn firsts frozen in time.

We've used Krystal numerous times for family portraits. She has such a way of capturing wonderful little details, and the best part is you never notice while she's taking the pictures. When you get the proofs back its amazing to see what she manages to capture.  Its like she can capture the essence of your child.

I started talking with Krystal and forming ideas about what we wanted. It took a little while to sell everyone on it, but I finally got her and my husband to agree on letting her in the delivery room.

I'm a very private person, but I wanted those images. I wasn't sure how I would handle having someone who wasn't my husband in the room with us. However, I have to say that I never once even thought of Krystal being in there during delivery. She was so quiet and so unobtrusive. She stood at the very front of the room, past the head of the bed and most moments I forgot she was even there.

Every time I look at the pictures she took, I get so choked up. There are so many moments that in the rush of everything I forgot. I think my favorite part of her photographing his birth is that each moment can be shared exactly how I want to share it. There are some photos she took that will always just be private photos, for Aaron and me. Other pictures are just so beautifully expressive I want to share them with everyone. And best of all, for the rest of Sams life I have wonderful memories that can be shared with him and the generations that come after."

Thank you for such kind words and for asking me to be a part of such an amazing day!
xoxo
................
Krystal

James' 1st Birthday - {Event Photography} - Sneak Peek!

I previously had the privilege of photographing baby James and was thrilled when his mom asked me to capture his first birthday party. I told his story before, but it is so amazing that it deserves a re-visit!

James was born at 22 weeks and 6 days gestation. In other words, little to no chance of survival. Had the hospital known we was 22.6 weeks and not 23, they would not have done any life saving measures. It wasn't until after they had him on a ventilator that they discovered the doctor had mistakenly put he was 23 weeks gestation. He weighed 15 ounces at birth and was only 10.5 inches long. But he is a little fighter & quite the miracle! He spent the first 5 months of his life in the NICU before he finally got to go home for the first time. Now - one year later - he is thriving, growing & happy as can be!

Just being around the family is an amazing feeling. There is so much love for this little guy and I am so lucky that I get to be a tiny part of his life! 

Here are few of my favorite photos of his 1st birthday!

They had photos on display of some of his time in the NICU.

Amazing.

I love how excited he is over the tissue paper!

Happy 1st Birthday, James!!
I can't wait to watch you grow up. :)
.........................
Krystal