i remember it clear as day.
my little sister had picked up some wine for me
and had come over to drop it off.
as we were chatting, she teared up -
as she had many times in recent months -
because another month had come and gone without being pregnant.
she had been trying for nearly two years...
she said "we might as well drink this"
and i said to her:
we will drink this wine
AFTER you have that baby.
i stuck the bottle of wine in the wine fridge and there it sat
patiently month after month after month...
three weeks ago - on november 1st,
i met my sister and her husband at the hospital
to witness and photograph the birth of their new baby boy.
we all waited patient{ish}ly 28 hours
before he arrived.
as the doctor laid beautiful baby FINN
on my sister's chest
and tears streamed down the faces
of everyone in the room -
i thought to myself
we can FINALLY drink that bottle of wine!
{kidding}.
i thought to myself
God. is. SO. GREAT.
and His GREATEST, BIGGEST blessings come in itty bitty form...
days after sweet, healthy, perfect baby finn arrived,
i found myself at his home photographing him in his proud mama's arms
(my sis and i each with a super special, long awaited glass of wine on a table nearby)...
is he a sweet little muffin
or what?!!!
crazy about him.
this holiday, and every day -
i feel overwhelmingly lucky to have so many
amazing {little and big} people in my life...
my family
my friends
my clients
bring overwhelming JOY to my heart.
i've been blessed. beyond measure.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.
xoxo,
nikki
"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights"
- James 1:17
ps. - in the spirit of the holidays...
CYBER MONDAY deals from Oliverblue to YOU!
NOW THRU Midnight, Monday December 2nd:
$100 off Oliverblue portrait sessions!
book a session for YOU or purchase a Gift Certificate for a FRIEND
and save $100 off the regular session price!!!
+
sign up to attend my January 11, 2014
and your family/friend can sign up for 50% off!
sign up here.
{hurry! just a few spots left!}
these workshops are awesomely FUN + inspiring! -
the perfect holiday gift to give yourself!!!
start 2014 with CONFIDENCE!
3 ways to get the discount:
when you and your friend sign up seperately for a workshop, you each put your friend’s name in the comment box so we can cross reference your deal. {first+last name.} use the coupon code: cyberfriendday (copy and paste if you’d like!), and you will get your half of the 50% discount! that way you AND your friend both get to split the 50% off between you!
if only one of you is paying - simply register for two spots, put your friend’s name in the comment box, and use the same coupon code: cyberfriendday. this will automatically take 50% off one of your sign ups, and you will both be set!
**if you are wanting to sign up a friend that will attend a different workshop in another city {my fellow teachers from across the country are fabulous!!!}, and get the 50% off for them, email our team at support@merakoh.com. we'll get you and your friend’s registration set up via phone or email.
pps.
i have 2 holiday portrait sessions left!
call me if you've not yet gotten new {super rad} photos
for your holiday cards!!!
lets take advantage of the forecasted sunshine next week!
and speaking of holiday portrait cards -
ALLOW ME to introduce MJ!
i am so excited to be partnering
with the mega talented + creative {and super fun} MJ Phelps
to develop custom photo card templates
exclusively available to Oliverblue Photography clients!
these new templates will be rolled out in the new year!
if you've not yet found your perfect holiday card this year
look no further than {right here!!!} and have
one designed/customized exclusively for YOU!
{MJ is also crazy talented with web/blog/logo/branding design! be sure to contact her if you are thinking about giving your brand a fresh look in the new year!!!}
LASTLY,
leaving you with recipes for my three favorite
easy-peasy turkey day {finger-food approved} appetizers:
1 cup packed fresh parsley
3/4 cup EVOO
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1 1-lb pieces flank steak
1 french baguette, cut into 40 thin slices
Blend parsley, 3/4 cup olive oil, vinegar, oregano, cumin, 1 teaspoon salt, minced garlic, and crushed red pepper in processor until smooth. Place meat in large glass baking dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Brush meat with 2 tablespoons chimichurri sauce. Cover steaks and remaining sauce separately and refrigerate at least 1 hour. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep refrigerated.)
Preheat oven to 450°F. Place bread slices on large baking sheet. Brush with olive oil. Bake until just firm, about 5 minutes. Transfer to large platter.
Preheat broiler. Transfer meat to rimmed baking sheet and broil until cooked to desired doneness, about 4 minutes per side for medium. Transfer to cutting board. Let stand 5 minutes. Cut each steak along grain in half. Cut each half crosswise against grain into 10 slices. Top each bread slice with 1 piece of meat. Spread each with some chimichurri sauce; place on platter. Spoon remaining sauce into small bowl and place in center of platter. Serve warm or let stand up to 2 hours at room temperature.
mozzarella stuffed chicken sausage balls -
2 lbs hot or sweet fresh chicken sausage
1 tub bite size fresh mozzarella
EVOO for liberal drizzling
fresh pepper
simply roll chicken sausage into balls (roughly 2 inches) and stuff with fresh mozzarella. place on foil lined baking sheet about one inch apart. stick a toothpick or skewer in each and drizzle with olive oil. bake at 400 degrees for 16-18 minutes or until cooked through and browned.
delish!
40 baby tomatoes, sliced in 1/21 fresh buffalo mozzarella sliced into 40 cubesfresh basil, larger leaves torn in 1/2sea salt and freshly cracked black pepperextra-virgin olive oilgood aged balsamic vinegar
using a skewer, put 1/2 tomato, cut side up, followed by a piece of mozzarella, basil, and finish with another tomato half. Season skewers with salt, pepper, oil and vinegar.
** i like to add some (cooled) sautéed garlic to the olive oil before drizzling...
shoot WIDE open to draw attention to the object you are shooting, while achieving a blurry, buttery background! i shot this with a nikkor 50 mm, f1.4 lens. settings: shutter 1/320, f 1.4, ISO 125
i love a macro lens when shooting food - to get in super close with a sharp focus! for this shot, i used a nikkor 105 mm, f/2.8 lens. settings: shutter 1/80, f 3.3, ISO 250
enjoy! ;)
No comments:
Post a Comment