Best Face Photo-January (I Heart Faces)

I was going through my photos from this month and this is my hands down favorite. It was from the Engagement Shoot I did for Kaity and Daniel. The shot actually was a little over-exposed but I just love what it did to the colors.

Make sure you stop by iheartfaces.com to see more great faces!!

Engagement Shoot

This is one of my favorite shots of the day the exposure was off and I really thought it would look bad but it looks all dreamy.

Had to do a Princess Bride Moment. It makes me happy!

This is my homage to Princess Bride. Just love how this turned out (especially the alfalfa sprout on Daniel's head).

Just love the look on Daniels face...I think it's his Blue Steel look.

I just love the look on Daniel's face. Such love!


So I'm experimenting with uploading from my phone. Did an engagement shoot with Kaity and Daniel last night so these are the first that I've edited.

I Heart Faces Submission- Innocent Wonder

When I saw this weeks challenge I immediately thought of this picture. This is Owen- my little sister is his nanny and he's just full of wonder about Everything.

 

Make sure you stop by Iheartfaces.com to see more great faces!

Best Face of 2010- I Heart Faces Submission

My little sister while trying on wedding dresses. The salesperson put this veil on her and she wasn't pleased...thus the look. 























Make sure to go to Iheartfaces.com to see more great faces!

Kaity and Daniel

Christmas Day my little sister got engaged. So happy that she found somebody wonderful to spend her life with. I was super busy making dinner so I only got a few shots that are ready to post now. Thought I'd share them...

 

 The happy couple just prior to a toast with the entire family.

 The Ring...pretty and classic- just like Kaity. Daniel did an awesome job. 

I'll try to post more as I have time to edit. 

How To: Roast Coffee at Home

I recently learned to roast my own coffee so I thought I'd share it with you all. I know it's kind of light on actual photos and will be adding more when I find them :-)

 

 

My first stop was at Mr. Green Beans (check them out Here) another great resource for Green Beans is Sweet Maria's. The couple at Mr. Green Beans was super helpful and totally love what they do (plus it's literally a Mom and Pop shop- gotta love supporting local business)...I left feeling like I too could roast my own!

On to the tutorial...

Step One- Assemble your hardware:

 You'll need:

An Air Popper- My favorite is the Poppery II by West End (Mine may possibly be as old as I am!) You'll want to make sure you get a popper with a reservoir that is vented on the sides and not one with mesh on the bottom- the latter doesn't work (blows so hard beans end up EVERYWHERE and it doesn't vortex so the beans are unevenly roasted...total disaster).

A Long Handled Spoon (to stir the beans if they look uneven)

A Colander (or 2...even better)

1/2 Cup Measuring Cup

Either a Paper Bag Cut to fit the chute of the popper or a large bowl of water (to catch the chaff). My favorite is the bowl... it seems to be less mess.

Step 2:

Measure out 1/2 Cup Green Beans and pour them into the Popper (with the popper off :-))

Step 3:
Set a timer for the desired time (I started at 5 minutes)

Step 4: 

Plug in the popper and start the timer. You'll want to keep an eye on it because it's roasting at a very high temp and there's a risk of fire (I've never had it happen yet). 

Step 5: 

Turn off the popper (mine has no on/off switch so I just unplug it) and put on oven mitts.

Step 6:

Pour the beans into a metal colander and shake to cool ( I also place it in the freezer for 5 minutes to cool it really quickly).

Step 7:

After the beans have cooled you can brew your first pot but it's best to let them rest for at least 12 hours place them in a container that is not airtight (they will release CO2 over the next few hours).

Step 8:

Place the roasted beans into an airtight container (after the 12 hours has passed).

Enjoy!!

I Heart Faces Submission- Pet Faces

This week's theme at I Heart Faces is Pet Faces. I was super excited for this week because I take tons of pet photos. The hardest part was figuring out which one to use...so I decided on this one...

Equipment: Nikon D60, 18-55 VR Zoom Lens and  Wide Angle Macro Lens Adapter (love it so much I wanted to share it)


Details: 
Lens at 18mm plus 0.45x Wide angle adapter= 8mm
ISO 100
f 5.6
1/200


I took this on a rare sunny day last weekend. Bear (my sisters 1 year old puppy) was roughhousing with the other dogs and only stood still for a second (and that was because I had a treat in my hand). 

Make sure you stop by iheartfaces.com to see more great pet faces!!