wishing you and yours a safe and happy holiday season.
Archive | December, 2016
{senior portraits | meet mister M}
14 Deci had a truly wonderful time working with mister M and his family last month.
senior portraits are by far my most favourite images to capture. there’s something about working with a graduating teen who is just full of hope and promise and excitement. i love talking with them about their experiences, goals, and ambitions. it make me both nostalgic and inspired.
during this shoot, i also had the opportunity to fotograph the entire family, which was fun. but my main focus was on mister M and he was such a natural! as it turns out, his aunt is also a fotographer and so he was used to having a camera in his face… which made it so effortless for me.
here are a few of my favourite shots from the session.
good luck, mister M! and if you ever need a custom trumpet made, i’ll direct you to the perfect person! 🙂
{farmers market ginger root}
12 Dec
i love finding produce in its most natural state – like this cool ginger root with the actual root still attached. the shape looks like some kind of animal or something, no?! i found it at the farmer’s market {of course} and i bought it mostly because it looked cool, but also because i just like to keep ginger around to nibble on. a lot of times i’ll make it into a tea with some lemon or just shave off a little bit and eat it after meals to accompany the digestion process.
ginger nutritional fun facts :
ginger is great for stomach ailments such as nausea or diarrhea and can be great for helping keep motion sickness at bay. boiled as a tea, it has tremendous healing properties for common cold symptoms. ginger is also {surprisingly} high in b-vitamins. furthermore, ginger has wonderful anti-inflammatory properties, making it a fantastic support for healthy joints.
{homemade cherry-vanilla granola with chia seeds}
9 Deci made some super yummy granola recently. i just kind of threw it together with some stuff i had in the kitchen. it turned out pretty delicious, so i thought i would share the recipe. i like to buy things like granola in bulk, and make different things like vegan thumbprint cookies or sweet and savory oatmeal. this was the first time i tried making my own granola.
homemade cherry-almond granola with chia seeds :
•gluten-free oats
•dehydrated apples
•dried tart cherries
•chopped almonds
•chia seeds
•madagascar vanilla
•coconut oil {liquified}
simply combine all ingredients. i like to toss mine in a bag to ensure the oil gets evenly distributed.
toast in a 300 degree oven for approximately 10-15 minutes, or until oats are desired golden colour. remove and let cool. add to yogurt {i used vanilla flavour} and mix in fresh fruit – like cherries or strawberries.
{what real strawberries look like}
6 Decsomething i need to write about is how i spent my summer vacation… even though it’s long passed now.
one of the things that took up the majority of my free time this summer was participating in a community garden. it was basically one of the best things i’ve ever done for myself. growing your own food is truly one of the most rewarding things one can do! i would constantly remark, “all i did was put a seed in the ground – and this happened!” because i was constantly blown away at how cool nature is! my cucumber plants literally took over and my neighbours were calling it “the cucumber farm” 😉
the reason i bring this up is because i inherited a small strawberry plant in my summer garden plot. many of my neighbours had strawberry plants and i was fortunate to have one reseed itself in my plot. i didn’t get a lot of strawberries from it, but the few i did harvest looked like these strawberries. they were more cone-shaped than heart-shaped. and i’m telling you – the flavour in these things is just out of this world! SO sweet and SO juicy and SO delicious! better than any store-bought strawberry i’ve ever had!
do you ever compare conventional produce to farmer’s market produce?! the differences kind of blow my mind! the last time i was at the grocery store looking at apples, they were bigger than a softball! that’s just not normal. or fruit so waxy i could use it as a candle?! yikes.
for me, i like things to be as close to their natural state as possible. food, soil, water, me, and everything in between.
and that got me thinking about these strawberries i picked up at the farmer’s market last week. i was looking at them and decided to snap a couple fotos because i was thinking to myself, “i bet there are lots of people out there who don’t even know what REAL strawberries look like.”
these strawberries were SO full of flavour, too! something else that lacks in conventional produce. maybe it’s got something to do with mass producing them and lack of nutrient-rich soil.
anyway, i love that i can still find strawberries this time of year – as north carolina has a year-round farmer’s market and excellent long growing season. i hope to find some more when i go back this week!
i am audrey michelle
i am a minimalist
i am a ritualist
f&f on your boards
food & foto 