Photography Advice from Photography Novice

Boy that title really drew you in, didn't it?

Seriously, why would you want to take advice from someone who is, by her own admission, a novice?

Well, sometimes, when I'm new at something, I like getting the advice of someone who is equally new (or maybe just a few steps ahead of me) in the same process.  Somehow it's less intimidating:  I know that person won't judge my lack of experience, silly questions, or all around cluelessness.

So I'm here today to tell you about a recent discovery that (I think) has taken my blog photography to a new level.

Now I'm not claiming that my blog photos are anything great, but they sure have come a long way since I first began.  (Feel free to check out my archives if you don't believe me.)

Given that most of my posts are about crafts and recipes, I often find myself taking close-ups of small items.  I personally love the look of a nice blurry background when I take such pictures and, after reading up on the topic, decided to get myself a fixed 55mm lens to do the job.

Now I must reiterate here that I am no photography expert, but I think the pictures that I have taken with this lens speak for themselves.  Here are just a few shots I've taken since making my purchase.  Some have been cropped, and maybe one or two were edited slightly, but the time I spent on any one picture was probably less than five seconds.

Lavender at the farmer's market in Santa Barbara

Pickles the fish.  Read more about him HERE.

Succulents in thrifted milk glass.  Read more HERE.

Flowers at my sister-in-law's house

Jam at the Santa Barbara farmer's market

Swiss Chard at the market

Gerberas

Brussel sprouts.

Aren't those nice?  I'm taking the pictures just as I usually do (mostly on manual) but I find the pictures to be crisp (where I want them crisp) and colorful.

Writing this post is kind of risky.  I imagine more experienced photographers might be tempted to pick these images apart and tell me a million things that are wrong with them.

In the end, however, I find them really appealing and I know that some other folks do too.

So, if you fall into that latter category, you can check out my new fixed portrait lens HERE.  And if you don't?  Well, feel free to move along.  Nothing to see here...

Goat Cheese Stuffed Peppadews with Balsamic Glaze

A few weeks ago my daughters and I ventured into a Macaroni Grill.  We had never been there before and I have to say we were pleasantly surprised.  

Especially surprising was a tasty little appetizer that all three of us loved: goat cheese stuffed Peppadew peppers topped with a balsamic reduction.  

A few weeks later, while shopping for Christmas dinner, I noticed that Whole Foods had Peppadews in their olive bar.  (I've also seen them at Fresh & Easy.)

I filed that tid-bit of info away and bought some Peppadews on a more recent Whole Foods excursion.

I also bought some goat cheese.

When I got home I dug out my bottle of balsamic glaze (which is a tasty little condiment if you've never tried it).

Then, I did what I assume the people at the Macaroni Grill do*:  I filled those babies up with tasty goat cheese!

(*Mind you, I have no idea what the MG people really do to make their peppers, but I will say that mine were equally tasty.)

After stuffing the peppers I stuck them in the oven.

I cooked them for 12 minutes on 375°.  The only reason I picked that amount of time and that temperature is because they were sharing oven space with a take-and-bake pizza.  That's right, I continue to keep things classy around here.  

When the peppers came out, I drizzled on the glaze.

It's worth repeating that they were delicious: the warm goat cheese is the perfect complement to the spicy-sweet peppers (and even sweeter glaze).

And of course they go great with a take-and-bake pizza!  ;)

Healthy Recipe Collection on LooksiBite

I have a confession to make.

In my entire life, I have only kept one New Year's Resolution.

(The rest all bit the dust somewhere around the second week of January.)

The one that I kept?  Well that was when I resolved to start a blog in 2012.  That's right, `a casarella is now two years old.  Who would have thought?

For those of you who made food-related resolutions for 2014 (especially those of you who are poised to ditch those resolutions) I'd like to offer up some support:  In an effort to make your lives a little easier, I scoured the internet for some of the tastiest, healthiest (and sometimes prettiest) fare I could find.  Whether your resolution is to eat lighter, eat more protein, eat less (or no) meat, or just to eat more "real" food, there's a little something for everyone in my Healthy Recipe Collection going up on LooksiBite today.

Enjoy!

Sharing:

http://shabbynest.blogspot.com/2014/01/frugal-friday_23.html

Trader Joe's Three Ingredient Lentil Dip

Happy New Year, everyone!

For my first post of the new year I'm sharing my latest obsession:  this ridiculously easy, incredibly delicious lentil dip made from three simple ingredients.   I first tasted it at a neighborhood potluck.  One of my neighbors brought it to share and everyone was raving.  (She had been given the recipe by another neighbor--because that's the type of recipe this is: the kind that goes "viral" at a neighborhood potluck.)

As soon as I tasted it, I knew I would be making it again soon and wouldn't you know that I made it about four times over the holiday break.

And each and every time I did, people raved.  

And then they went off to make their own.  

And wow their friends.

(Who then made their own... you see where this is going, right?)

With all of this sharing and raving and wowing there was no way I wasn't going to blog about it.  After doing a little research I determined that the recipe originated with the people at Trader Joe's.  It's one of those recipes they make in the store and give out as a sample.  I figured they wouldn't  mind my sharing it given the fact that you will need to go to TJ's to buy the ingredients.  (Seriously, get the car keys right now.)

Speaking of the ingredients, there they are pictured below.  

Yup, that's it:  a pack of refrigerated lentils, a container of Bruschetta sauce, and a container of crumbled Feta.

There's no cooking involved.  (Heck, there's barely any thinking involved.)

Just open your lentils and dump them in a bowl.

Then add the Bruschetta...

Stir to combine...

Add Feta (to taste--you can use the whole container or less depending on how Feta-y you like things).

Combine the Feta with the other ingredients and you're done.

(Seriously!)

And the best part is that it is delicious.

It's like crack.

(But with more fiber!)

Which reminds me, you can serve it with any type of cracker you'd like.  I've used pita chips, rosemary crisps... pretty much anything that gets the dip from the bowl into your mouth will work.

(You can even eat it straight out of the bowl with a fork... not that I've done that or anything.  I've just heard people talk about it.)

Okay, so you can go to Trader Joe's now.  But when you get back and try the dip you need to leave me a comment and let me know what you think.

Homemade Limoncello

As some of you might remember, I have an extraordinarily prolific lemon tree in my backyard.

So just for kicks I decided to try out a little something I had pinned awhile back: homemade Limoncello.

A friend of mine (who also has a prolific lemon tree) had pinned/made the same recipe, and after she told me how easy it was I decided to give it a go.

The end result is below.  I gave them out as Christmas gifts to a few close friends.   If I ever make it again I think I'll bottle it in a container that makes it look a little less like a urine sample ;)

It was super-easy to do.  Now I'm just waiting to hear if my friends liked it since I myself don't drink.

If you'd like to make your own, you can find the recipe HERE.  I didn't use 160 proof vodka so perhaps mine was a bit wishy-washy.  I'll let you know once I get some feedback.  

Unique Ideas for Holiday Gift Wrap

Last week I hosted my second annual gift wrapping party (read about last year's party HERE) and I swear it has changed the way I think about wrapping gifts.

What was once a miserable (and lonely) chore has now become an opportunity to create something beautiful in the company of good friends.

But it also means that I need to step up my game.  In order to ensure that my party doesn't become stale I need to bring fresh ideas to the table with each new season.

Thank goodness there are bloggers-galore who are more than willing to share their gift wrapping ideas with the world.

Today I am thrilled to be sharing sixteen of these great ideas over at Looksi with my newest curated collection.

Click HERE to get to the collection.  All relevant entries are labeled:

{Elena's Holiday Gift Wrap Collection}

Looking for additional holiday posts?  Click on the links below:

Holiday Baking

Christmas Card Photo Props

Bottle Brush Snow Globes

Holiday Popcorn Buckets

DIY Present Toppers

Mason Jar Gift Card Holders

Paint Chip Gift Tags

DIY Ornament Storage

Organize Your Gift Wrap Supplies

Holiday Popcorn Buckets

When my older daughter was attending preschool in Chicago, she went to school with a little girl whose mother was a well-known event planner.

And while I was certainly aware of what she did, I never really gave it a lot of thought.  To me she was simply a fellow mom engaging in the same joys and struggles that I was experiencing.

There was, however, one time when I got a teensy glimpse into her world.

It was very pretty.

And very fun.

You see, on this particular occasion she was involved in planning the preschool's holiday fair.  In her world this was probably just tiny blip on the radar, but to me it was incredibly inspiring.

One of the many little details that intrigued me was a table filled with holiday buckets containing a mixture of candy & popcorn.  It was such a simple idea, but executed so brilliantly that I've kept it in the back of my mind all of these years.

She simply bought up a bunch of metal Christmas buckets in Target's Dollar Section.  (They have them there every year.)  Then she mixed red and green candies with popcorn and served them up in the buckets.

It was festive and simple--the perfect idea for a holiday gathering.

Well, being the hoarder, um, savvy shopper that I am, I quickly realized that these buckets go on sale after the holidays.  Every year I scoop a bunch up, usually at about 75% off.  (That's right, for about twenty-five cents apiece.)

This year the girls and I decided to use them for their holiday gift offerings.  (Read about last year's gifts HERE.)

 I'm not going to lie.  I shamelessly stole my friend's entire idea. And it was so darned easy, and turned out so stinking cute, that I'm now I'm going to share it with you:

1. Buy a big bag (or two) of Kettle Corn.  (I got mine at Whole Foods.)
2. Buy some red and green candy.  (I used mint M&M's, dark chocolate M&M's and red hots.  We wanted Jelly Bellies but couldn't find them in red and green.)  
3. Mix candy and popcorn in a big bowl.
4. Scoop into bread bag-lined buckets.  (<-- I used bread bags because I had them and didn't want the mixture falling out of the buckets as we transported them to school.)
5. Tie with baker's twine.
6. Label.  (I used my Silhouette, but you could also just attach cute gift tags.)

The whole process took about an-hour-and-a-half and cost under $25.  That's not bad when you consider that we now have 21 gifts to hand out to the girls' friends on the last day of school.

Feel free to jump in on this action--but just be sure to leave a few buckets for me at Target's after Christmas sale.  I think I'm going to need to restock!