Snickerdoodles and Milk::February 7

Matt (my 12 year old son) made the cookies last night and saved me a few. This morning, as I was driving home from taking them to school, I decided to have one. I had totally expected them to be yummy, but I was surprised at how pretty they were... so of course, since I'm working on photographing food right now, they became my subject of the day :)

When I showed Steve the pic, he wondered about the strong red background when the the china cup and saucer were so delicate. I directed him to the following link: Feng Shui for Restaurants

Color: Four basic colors are associated with food and restaurant d¨¦cor: white, yellow, red and green. White is the most balanced color, representing balanced emotions and associated with cleanliness. The basic color for the restaurant should be white, cream or beige. Yellow is associated with appetite; in Five Element theory, it is the color of the Earth element, associated with the stomach. The color red brings excitement; red is associated with the Fire element, and associated with the heart¡¯s desire. This is why people like deep fried foods and roasted meats. It is not surprising that successful fast food restaurants, such as MacDonald¡¯s and Burger King, have a logo that uses red and yellow. (Another similar chain only uses red in the logo, and their business does not seem to be as good.) Green is associated with nature and freshness. As people become more and more conscious of healthy diets, green is coming more into the picture. Taco Del Mar uses a good color scheme of yellow, brown and red in its d¨¦cor. Avoid the color blue; blue is the color of the Wood element, which suppresses the Earth element (appetite). In Northwest of United States, Ivar¡¯s Chowder House has wonderful clam chowder, but uses blue as its logo and theme color, mistakenly using its association with seafood and the ocean.

So, I hope that the red background wasn't too much. Feel free to leave your opinion, too.

Compositionwise, the rule of thirds is being applied, and I turned the plate of cookies around and around and looked from all angles, including rearranging the cookies several times to get it looking just so.

This was the original straight out of the camera shot:

From here, I cropped it to be perfect on the rule of thirds and then I added a little more saturation to give it a little boost.

And here is the finished pic again:

Now I'm hungry for cookies and milk..... ;)

Have a great day!

Kisses and Smiles::Monday, February 6

Amber came over yesterday to hang out with us. Aiden loves Amber, and they played a game where one of them says, "Sad" and the other one comes over and kisses them. On Aiden's turn, I got a great shot of the two of them.



Michael was pulled into the drama, and sat and watched them. I sat and watched him.



He thought it was way more of a comedy than drama, though. ;)
Such cuteness!

this moment::February 3

{this moment} - Inspired by SouleMama (but adapted to my needs by me :) A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Perhaps not quite this week, but close enough, and definitely something I want to remember:



On my birthday, Amber called and apologized for not being able to decorate the house for me nor being able to make me breakfast. When she got here that evening, she'd brought with her a Happy Birthday banner and streamers and immediately set to work to remedy the situation. Over a week later, I still have them up, reminding me of the love that was shown to me on my birthday (by all. The decorations are the memento of the day :).

I like to savor loving memories. They feel just as good a week, two weeks, or even years from when they were originally given. In fact, I found a large manilla envelope in my drawer the day before the party that had many little love notes my children have given me through the years. There are many more, scattered throughout the many drawers in my dresser. Notes and cards from my mom are in there. Cards and letters from family and old friends, and even old love notes from past boyfriends are in there, along with love notes from my current boyfriend (who is also my lover and husband :).

There is just something about surrounding yourself with loving gestures that make you remember that you are loved, even when you're just not feeling it that day or are just feeling pretty darn unlovable. Thank heavens for memories that can be sipped and savored for years, long after the moment has passed.

Happy memories to you too,