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Friday, December 17, 2010

Reflections

The original of these photos did not have the reflections.  The reflections were created in Photoshop.  I love the artistic freedom this program allows.  I'm learning new techniques every day. 


Thursday, December 2, 2010

Photo Shoot

Thanks, Beth and Steve, for letting me do this shoot for you.  You have a beautiful family and I am so thankful for you all.  We loved having you here to visit and hope you can come again soon. 













 

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

St. Charles, Missouri

A few photos from historic St. Charles.  This is the cutest historic town I think I've ever visited.  You literally feel like you've stepped into another time.  The streets are lined with beautiful old homes and buildings some still homes and others turned into shops.  During the holidays, Christmas characters roam the streets from Nutcracker characters to civil war Santas to Scrooge.  There are carolers, horse drawn carriage rides, and Dickens-like characters roasting chestnuts over a fire.  It's beautiful with all the lights and decorations.  It's becoming an annual event for us and something I look forward to each year.
 









Trip Back in Time

One of my favorite things to do this time of year is to go visit historic St. Charles, MO.  You feel as if you've stepped back in time and entered into a Charles Dicken's story.




While Beth, Steve, Megan, Nicholas, Ari and Anthony were here visiting for Thanksgiving, we made the drive out to St. Charles.  We met several characters while on our visit and I got lots of pictures with that "box that shoots lightening at you."  Jack Frost was his mean self again this year. 


Some of us had hot chocolate and apple cider and a few tried real fire-roasted chestnuts hot off the firepit. 

We ended the night with dinner at the Trailhead Brewing Co. Restaurant, which turned out to be quite the blessing. 

We checked in early to be sure to get our names on the list seeing that there was a 1 1/2 to 2 hour wait.  One girl put us on the list as another told me to come back in an hour to get our pager because we wanted to go walk the town during the wait.  However, when we returned, because we didn't take a pager, the first girl thought we weren't coming back.  We had been taken off the list.  So, we were told 20 minutes to wait...which really isn't bad seeing how we had expected an 1/2 hour when we returned.  Our 20 minutes turned into 50, when John decided it was time to talk to the manager.  We got seated shortly.  At the end of the meal, the waiter told us our bill had been covered!  There were 9 of us and we didn't pay for one meal.  This was way beyond what we had expected, but they did the job restoring John's faith in the restaurant.  We will go back.



Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Precious Moments

I cannot take credit for this beautiful picture of my friend and her son, but I did some editing on it and wanted to share this priceless moment.  Seeing this little boy love his new mama brings tears to my eyes.  How far they have come since June.  Little E has adapted well with his new family.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Caramel Frappuccino

I know it's almost winter, but Beki and I have been craving these frappuccinos.  So, we've experimented a little and came up with this recipe.  I hope you'll give them a try.  They're quickly becoming a favorite around here.


Caramel Frappuccino

2 shots cold espresso (about 1/2 cup very strong coffee)
1 cup milk
6 Tbsp. caramel sauce (I used World Market's)
4-6 pumps or about 1/4 cup of vanilla syrup  (we like 6...for sweetness)
5 cups ice cubes

Blend all ingredients together in blender until smooth.  Add more ice if not thick enough.  Top with whip cream and caramel sauce.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

....and another

What fun would it be if I couldn't share this with everyone.  This is so much fun. 

Friday, November 5, 2010

Apple Butter Festival

Beki and I were looking forward to some one on one time.  I promised to take her to the Kimmswick Apple Butter Festival.  They were expecting 100,000 people to show up for this 2 day event.  We waited on the highway exit at least through 6 lights to even get off the highway, we parked 2 miles from the historic district and walked in.  The streets were lined with various vendors and crafters.  Beki found a storage box she wanted at one of the shops and she had to carry this thing all the way back to the car.  It's really cute and matches her room...but she had sore arms for 2 days after.  I had her wait for me at the front of the parking lot while I went to get the car and on the way, no more than 10 feet from the car, my apple butter falls through the bottom of the bag and splatters all over!  I picked up Beki and told her.  She decided we had to go get another because, of course, that was the whole reason we came.  So we drive back up toward the town and asked if I could just pull over somewhere so that we didn't have to pay for parking again.  Thankfully, the guy was very nice and let me pull in behind his truck.  And, Beki runs up to buy another!  On the way out, I'm being cheap after having to buy another jar of apple butter, and we stop at a farmer's market to buy a pumpkin...it was Oct 30th already!  I decided the pumpkins were too expensive here and we were going to stop and get one at the Aldi's because I'd heard they were only $1.99.  They were out...Walmart was out...we ended up buying a $5 pumpkin at Dierbergs that I could've gotten at the market for about $8.  Why do I do this to myself?! LOL.  Anyways, it was a good day and we had lots of laughs.  Here are a few snapshots of the town.

This camel at the petting zoo was really enjoying a nap in the sun. 
Making apple butter. 




Pumpkin Spice Latte

For all you latte lovers...here's my version of the Pumpkin Spice Latte.


Combine in large coffee mug...
2 Tbsp. pureed Pumpkin
3-4 pumps vanilla syrup (about 1 shot glass) adjust for taste...I like mine sweet.
about 1/16 tsp. nutmeg, clove, and cinnamon (1/16 tsp. each)
 
Add 2 shots of Espresso or a little more than a 1/2 cup of very strong coffee. 
Add 1 cup of steamed milk.  (lightly microwaved to boiling would probably work for those without an espresso machine) 
Top with whip cream and a sprinkle of nutmeg!  WaaLaa!  Enjoy!

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Homecoming Photo Shoot

Homecoming was the perfect opportunity to sneak in another photo shoot.  Here are two beautiful young women!




Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Photo Shoot

What a wonderful evening it was for a photo shoot.  I sure hope I was able to capture the spirit of this family.  They are good friends and neighbors with two very special twin boys.  We had a good time walking through the Arch Mall and enjoyed a great dinner at Mango's Peruvian Restaurant downtown when we finished photos.







The Gift

  Delivered this week, a gift I never expected arrived in the mail.  This story begins, it seems a lifetime ago, when I worked at Owens Comm...