Your Photo- My Edit

I had an “open call” for photos a few weeks ago, and you guys sent me some fun ones!  A few of the photos were perfect as is, while others needed a lot of love (Ha!).  I chose this picture from Jess because it was right smack in the middle.  I also chose this one to show you that, with a little tweaking, you can salvage a photo and bring it a little more life with the “unsharp mask” tool.

 Edited Version:

 

Original Below:

I am not a fan of overly Photoshopped edits.  I wanted to keep this picture close to the original, yet give it some pop.  These are the steps I took to clean up this adorable photo:

1.  Imported picture into Photoshop Elements 7

2.  Duplicated the layer in layers palette.  Edited with soft light at 20% to add contrast

3.  Selected only the irises of the eyes with lasso tool and upped the contrast to +7… then with the eyes already selected, I chose “unsharp mask” to sharpen the eyes (Doesn’t it seem weird to select “unsharp” when you need to sharpen?  I’ll never get it).

4.  Enhanced lashes with the “burn” tool (lashes are always my favorite part).

5.  Cropped the picture just a little

6.  Used the lasso tool on the left to select each face, then used “unsharp mask” (under “Enhance” at the top of the screen) to help get rid of some of the “fog” in the picture

Here’s a screen shot so you can see what this step looks like:

 

Total time spent was only about 10 minutes, maybe less if I didn’t have my two year old “helper” in my lap. 

Sigh.

These girls just make me smile.

 

Encourage one another,

My Dirty Little Secret

 

It’s something I’ve tried to hide for a long time.  I’ve been known to bring out the smoke and mirrors from time to time.  It’s my dirty little secret.

I’m …

 

a bad cook.

 

There. 

I said it. 

I’m a bad cook. 

Bad cook.  Bad cook.  Bad cook.

 

But I want to be better.  Sure, I do cook for my family most nights and offer them organic fruits and veggies, but when it comes right down to being creative in the kitchen- I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer. 

I know someone who is.  She’s my neighbor.  She’s got the gift, plus a cool kitchen and great pots and pans that make me giddy.  She is so sweet to invite me over and teach me.  I just follow everything she does and try very hard not to embarrass myself.

With our two year olds playing at our feet and tearing up the house, my friend decided I needed to learn this new recipe:  Sweet Sausage and Bowtie Pasta.  My first job was to grate fresh parmesan, chop onions and prepare the sausage.  I was a sweaty mess.

 

She chopped the garlic…

 

…then poured boiling water over the tomatoes so they could be easily peeled. 

Huh! 

Who knew!

 

Yep, they’re done!

 

I peeled, seeded and chopped the tomatoes.

(This is real life here, friends.  No Photoshop today… overly ripe banana, old sippy cup, and random potato.  It’s how we roll.)

 

Then she got out her bad boy cast iron cookware, and I began to drool.

 

She calls them Le Creuset. 

They are very expensive she tells me. 

I tell her I’m considering selling a kidney.  Do I even need two?

----------------------------------------------------

I learned an important cooking tip today.  One I will use for a long time.  If I have no idea what to make for dinner and my husband is just about to walk in the door, I should throw some onions and olive oil in a pot and start cooking.  The aroma will confuse my husband and make him think I have something great planned for dinner.  You should try it!

 

Next, we added the diced tomatoes to the onion and sausage mixture, along with the rest of the ingredients.  Then my friend went out to her garden and got fresh parsley to add to our meal… and stopped to feed her chickens, too.

She is just like Pioneer Woman, except without a cookbook.

 

So by 10:30 am we both had dinner ready for our families that evening.  All we had to do was heat and serve. 

Here’s the recipe, if you’re interested…

but just don’t tell anyone my dirty little secret.

 

Sweet Sausage Bowties

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound sweet Italian sausages, casings removed
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1 cup chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes with added puree
1/2 cup whipping cream (I used half and half)
1 pound farfalle (bow-tie pasta)
1/2 cup (packed) chopped fresh basil (I used fresh parsley)
Freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese

     Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage and crushed red pepper. Sauté until sausage is no longer pink, breaking up with back of fork, about 5 minutes. Add onion and garlic; sauté until onion is tender and sausage is browned, about 3 minutes longer. Add tomatoes and cream (or half and half). Reduce heat to low and simmer until sausage mixture thickens, about 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
     Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid. Return pasta to same pot. Add sausage mixture and toss over medium-low heat until sauce coats pasta, adding reserved cooking liquid by 1/4 cupfuls if mixture is dry. Transfer pasta to serving dish Sprinkle with basil (or parsley). Don’t forget to serve with freshly grated parmesan!

 

So tell me…

What’s cookin’ at your house?  If you would, please tell me what you’re loving to cook right now or a link to one of your own recipe blog posts.  I need ideas!

Encourage one another,

I’m Not a Wedding Photographer. I Just Play One On My Blog.

So my sister in law wanted a very casual wedding on the beach.  She didn’t want to hire a photographer, so she asked me to do her a favor and take some pictures.  I said yes.  Then, later I panicked when I realized that I have no earthly clue how to properly photograph a wedding.  My only reference being my own wedding photos… my big hair… and those wacky teal satin bridesmaid dresses that I swore those girls would wear again.

The night before the wedding, I went to Flickr for some beach wedding photography inspiration.  It gave me some good ideas, and some not so good ideas on how to pose a couple.  I memorized everything I saw.

So below are a few of the pictures from the day… for better or for worse.

 

 

I kind of like how the picture below turned out.  Their heads and the point at the bottom of her skirt form a heart.  This photo is what I call a “happy accident”.  Hey, If I ever start a photography business that’s what I’ll call it… Happy Accidents! 

Kidding!

 

I love the bride’s wedding shoes.  I couldn’t resist.

 

The cake tasted as good as it looked!  I’m a sucker for a beach theme.

 

I discovered I could have used an assistant to help with the flower girls.  They were over it!

I should have brought along a rodeo clown.

Next time.

 

And one last picture of the bride and groom walking off into the sunset/slash/fog. 

Congratulations, L and J!  Enjoy your honeymoon!

Man, I need a vacation!

Favorite Foto Friday

This week I'm joining in on the fun at Me-Me and Monkey’s Big Adventure, and I'm posting some favorite photos from the week. The theme is “orange”, and I just happen to have a few pictures left from our trip to the pumpkin patch. In this picture, Beach Bunny is holding her favorite pumpkin. For some reason she’s in love with that little gourd! She begs to sleep with it in her crib. Is that normal to bond with a pumpkin? She may need therapy come December.

I tried and tried to get a good shot of the two of them. No luck, but I like this one of Goofy Foot. I’m not too proud to bribe my children. Let’s call it an “investment”. This shot cost me a pack of gum.

Have you tried organic apples this season? They’re insane! I just can’t get enough. Oh, I just can’t get enough.

One more trip down memory lane…

To see more Favorite Fotos, click the button at the top of this post. Thanks, Hannah! You’re the hostess with the most-est!

Farm Fresh

Edited to add: I am super honored to have one of my past “Your Photo- My Edit” photos featured on Pioneer Woman’s blog today (She's like the Martha Stewart of mom bloggers if you don't know who she is). If you’d like to take a peek, clickety HERE to go right to the post. It’s the 5th picture (girl with cowboy hat). Cheri is the very talented photographer who sent the photo to me. This is so fun! Also thanks, Hannah, for letting me know about this! Not in my wildest dreams!

Monday we took a trip to the farm and pumpkin patch.

I always put my big kids to work when they are around. Slave labor is cheap these days.

Don’t you just love this season? Puts me in a good mood.

I told Goofy Foot I would give him 50 bucks if he could lift that pumpkin.

I’m a mean mom.

Pumpkins are heavier than they look.

Beach Bunny was so proud of herself when she found her first ever “perfect pumpkin”. It was probably the smallest pumpkin in the whole patch, but it was perfect to her. She kept telling me, “Yook (look), Mama, my punkin. Not hebee (heavy)!”

Do dark clouds know that bright orange pumpkins chase the rain away?

Baking pumpkin seeds is an October tradition at our house. I’m eating them right now, in fact, so I thought I’d share the recipe with you.

Pumpkin Seed Recipe:

Clean and rinse pumpkin seeds.

Place in small pot of water.

Bring to a boil and boil for 10 minutes.

Drain seeds and place on baking sheet.

Season with olive oil, salt and garlic powder.

Bake at 400 degrees for 12 minutes.

What do you love baking this time of year?

“Your Photo- My Edit” – Open Call

Edited to add: I am closing off comments for this post so I can get to editing your photos. You guys emailed me the cutest pictures, by the way!

If you want to send me a photo but didn’t get the chance, I will do another open call in the near future. Promise! :)

Do you have one of those photos that you just love, but it’s just a little dark or you wish you could give it some pop?

Maybe I can help.

I’m hosting an open call for “Your Photo- My Edit”. All you have to do is follow two easy steps:

1. Leave me a comment on this post- any old comment will do, but play nice. Ha!

2. Email ONE (family friendly) picture to me at . In the email, let me know if I can post your photo on my blog- with a link to you, of course!

I will choose one photo at random for an upcoming “Your Photo- My Edit” post, and save the rest for future posts.

Here is one of my favorite before and afters that I did for Kelly at http://www.kellyskornerblog.com/. She’s got the edited version in the rotating header of her blog, which makes me so happy!

Before:

After:

Ok, I’m off to the pumpkin patch with 2/3 of my kids. I love the fall!

I like It Like That

 

Saturday means “soccer” for our family in the fall.  I really love this sport.  I enjoyed playing when I was a kid and even played a few games for fun while in college.  It’s funny when I play now with the kids  because my mind remembers how it “used to be”, but my poor body can’t get it going like the good ol’ days. 

Can I get an ‘amen’ up in here?

 

So I thought I’d overwhelm your senses with a picture overload from Goofy Foot’s most recent game.  Let me tell you right now… our team is all heart and extra enthusiasm, hold the talent.  Shh!  Don’t tell the guys… but we haven’t won a single game yet.  But that’s cool… we have a rockin’ team banner and great after game snacks.  And everybody knows that’s what it’s all about… at least that’s what our team thinks anyway.

I love at the end of the game everyone from the sidelines forms a tunnel and the kids run through as we cheer them on.  It’s kinda funny, but the boys get a kick out of it.   No one really cares who wins.  I like it like that.

Here’s a picture of Goofy Foot playing goalie.  Oh, the pressure… especially when your defenders are M.I.A.  Goofy Foot was up for the challenge. 

And he takes one for the team… fearlessly defending the goal with his body, or something like that.

Here are a couple of action shots…

 

Team meeting after the game…

Don’t they look like they are talking strategy, or how to be a fierce competitor, maybe secret plays?  I kid you not, the coach was reminding them to say thank you to the snack mom. 

That would be me.

I think I love this team!

He Took a Sick Day

Big Surf, who is a seventh grader, took a sick day from school today. I think he was more sick of studying for his history test than actually physically sick. Ancient Rome will just have to hold on another day or two.

It was so nice to spend the day with my biggest boy.

We went for a walk together. It was such a beautiful fall day… the kind of day that makes me want to cook soup and go buy a fuzzy scarf.

Beach Bunny loves to ride on her big brother’s shoulders. It’s a fun and wild ride sometimes! These two are buds, and I love to watch my super tough Jr. Higher obediently follow his sometimes bossy two-year-old baby sister’s every command.

I love “sick” days!