{I Heart Faces} Fix It Friday #84

Wow! What a crazy week this has been. Much different than I thought it would be at the beginning of the week. I had hopes of a fun yet productive week ending in my daughter's show this weekend. Instead, since Monday night I've been in bed with the flu overdosing on Food Network shows. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE The Food Network, but I think I reached my limit.

Not to mention the blizzard we had - bad enough that they even closed the schools yesterday. My girls were thrilled to be home but that only meant a noisy apt for me. Not the best when you're trying to sleep all day.

I'm starting to feel a bit better - good enough to write this post!!

Here's my edit for this week's Fix It Friday from IHeartFaces.com

The original shot straight out of the camera (not mine)

My edited version:

Crop, B&W Beauty Action from PW Actions, level & sharpness adjustments.

Check out the others on I Heart Faces.




Have a great weekend!

HONK!

This week is going to be super crazy! Along with my regular stuff (photos, blogging, motherhood) we have some extra added activities.

My older one is in a show this coming weekend. They have been rehearsing on weekends since mid October but the show dates are finally here which means rehearsals every day after school this week. This doesn't sound daunting in itself until you factor in everything else - school pickups, homework, dinner, baths, treats, etc. One little thing effects the whole day. I'm not complaining, just stating a fact.

The show is called HONK! based on the story of The Ugly Duckling It's a musical version that both children and adults will enjoy. Some of the jokes are definitely geared towards the grown=ups!

I'm a little nervous - probably even more nervous than my daughter because this is her first speaking role. Come to think of it, she doesn't seem nervous at all!! UH! I hope she remembers her lines!

If you're in the area and want to check it out, here's the flyer:


I'll try to get some behind the scenes photos this week to show you how it's going so far.

How is your week looking? Hectic? Anything special going on?

{I Heart Faces} Fix It Friday #83

It's hard to believe we're already at the end of the week. Seems like each week goes faster and faster.

Today we woke up to a snowy morning here in NYC and of course the girls were hoping for school to be closed, but fortunately for me, 3 to 4 inches of snow doesn't call for school closings!!

I had a pocket of quiet time this morning so I thought I would get a jump start on this week's Fix It Friday.

Here is the original photo taken straight out of the camera (SOOC) As a reminder, this is not my photo, it's from a contributor over at the I Heart Faces site.

Here are my 2 edits - I cropped them both and lightened the background. I really wanted the focus to be on the boy and the rock I made a color version as well as black & white. I think I like the black & white one better. I usually do :)

To see more of the edits, check out the site by clicking on the link below.




Do you have any fun plans for the weekend?

Brownie Wreck

This past Friday was my husband's birthday. In our family when it's someone's birthday, they get to pick what they want for their birthday dinner and we also discuss what kind of cake they want. This year he wanted Beef Stew for his dinner. I did a combo of a beef stew and a Beef Bourguignon. I have to say it came out really good and I was so happy we had leftovers for the next day!

Now as far as the cake goes, he wasn't really saying what he wanted so as I mentioned Friday, I went over to Arthur Avenue and picked up some Italian pastries and a Cannoli cake.

I felt bad though that I didn't bake something myself. Then it hit me - I knew the perfect thing to make him! - brownies! Not your ordinary brownie, these were going to be "special".

The hubbs knows that I LOVE brownies - the fudgy gooey kind. A few years ago, I developed a really good recipe and got to thinking about other flavors I can make. I made a whole list - PB&J brownies, Mint Choc Chip Brownies, etc. He wanted to join in so he came up with his own flavor. Are you ready for this?? PEPPERONI BROWNIES!!! I know, can you believe?!?

Of course I never took him seriously but for years now he kept mentioning it. Mind you, he doesn't even like pepperoni but he thought it would be such a great seller.

Where?!?

I knew these would bomb.

So, I'm not one to pass up an "I told you so" opportunity (especially to him), so that's what I decided to make for his birthday - pepperoni brownies.

This is what I did - PLEASE DON'T TRY THESE!!!!

I started off with a box mix brownie because there was no way I was going to waste time and ingredients on something I knew would be horrible.

Then instead of the sliced pepperoni, I got the whole one, took the casing off and cut it into smaller chunks.

I put it into a food processor to chop it up.

My thought process was if the pieces were really small and dispersed ti may not be as bad.

I mixed it into the brownie batter,

put it into a pan and into the oven it went.

Normally these brownies take about a half hour to cook but this version took about an hour. The fat from the pepperoni was making the batter moist and wasn't cooking properly.

When they were done, they looked normal.

I warned everyone else ahead of time NOT to try them and then surprised the hubbs with them. Yep, he was surprised alright!!

Now for the taste test...

I told ya so!!!

What was the worst thing you ever made?

{I Heart Faces} Fix It Friday #82

Today is the hubbs' birthday and I've been busy in the kitchen. I am making Beef Bourguinon and I usually make a birthday cake. This year I just couldn't come up with anything. He wasn't really telling me what kind he wanted and my mind was a blank. I took the easy (yet waaaaay delicious) route and headed on over to Arthur Avenue and picked up a Cannoli cake and an assortment of pastries. I think he'll like it. I know I'm excited about it!

I have another dessert surprise for him that I'll share with you guys next week. It is likely to be a bomb!! I'll explain soon. :)

So, since I'm not baking, I had more time to do my Fix It Friday early today so here it is...

SOOC - not my photograph

My edits:

1 - Cropped, adjusted levels and sharpness

2 - cropped, ran PW's B&W Beauty action, made adjustments, brightened the eyes a bit and adjusted the sharpness.

You can check out others on the IHeartFaces.com site.



Do you have anything fun planned for this weekend?

{I Heart Faces} Smiles

This week on I Heart Faces, the challenge is Smiles. I am so excited about this particular one, not just because of the theme itself but because of the guest judge - Jasmine Star!!

Right before the holidays I came across a website called CreativeLive where they have live online workshops and there was one from a photographer named Jasmine Star.I never heard of her (hard to believe) but she is named one of the top 10 Wedding Photographers so I was definitely interested in her story.

I watched the workshop and really loved it! I have no interest in being a wedding photographer - my interest lies more with photographing children but it was definitely fun and informative to watch her work. Since then I have been reading her blog and learning even more. Besides her work, what i really like about her is that she's real - no pretenses at all.

I'm so happy for her that she's become such a huge success! A true inspiration.

Well, here's my entry for the Smiles Challenge.

I caugh this shot when my daughter was playing peek-a-boo after I picked her up from school one day.

If you get a chance pop on over to the I Heart Faces site to check out all of the others.

Snowy Weekend & Cake Recipe

Our weekend started off to a small snowstorm. Don't you just love how snow looks just as it's falling? This time we got the soft powdery kind. It's so nice and peaceful outside when the snow is falling and hasn't been stepped (or peed) in yet.

It makes you think you're living in a black and white world when you look outside your window and only see white with hints of dark branches peaking out.

When I was little I used to look through my mom's old photos and used to think in the "olden days" everything was black and white. Literally - the world was black and white! Funny how a kid's mind works.

I still look through the old photos when I'm at her apartment. She doesn't get it, but I still love to look through them.

Wednesday we're supposed to be hit with another storm - this time even bigger. They're even thinking that schools may be closed. Just what I LOVE to hear!! Guess that means I'll have to go food shopping tomorrow with the rest of the city! Literally down to bare minimum over here in the food department.

So, I need some suggestions. The hubbs' birthday is this Friday and I need to make a cake. He's not into the decorated kind (my favorite part) but more into flavor. Last year I made him a root beer cake. It wasn't a big hit I have to say. He's really into flavors like coffee, chocolate, mocha and butterscotch. We couldn't be more opposite if we tried!

If you have any ideas, let me know. Would love to get the ingredients tomorrow while I'm out stocking up for the storm.

Hope you're having a great start to your week.

FOCUS

I can't believe it's already 6 days into the new year. I hope your year is starting out well.

I know at this time of year it's always popular to make resolutions, but for me, I'm just not going to do it. I mean, how many times can I say "this year I want to be more organized, and I want to exercise at least 3 times a week". Every year I say it and every year it doesn't happen. Why should I set myself up for failure like that??

The truth is, I HATE to exercise! At least the formal type like going to a gym. I've tried classes, machines, nothing gets me going. I've even made it easy on myself because there's a gym where my little one goes to preschool. I'm there twice a day - once for dropoff and once for pickup. How easy would it be for me to just stay after I drop her off? Couldn't be any easier and I STILL don't do it! Now walking around the city for hours, that's another story. I can do that in a heartbeat!

As far as organizing goes, this is something I would still love to do but let's be real, my desk will ALWAYS have piles of paper on it. It's just the way it is.

Now as I've been reading through my favorite blogs these days, one thing I have noticed now is people are picking a word for the year. A word they want to try to live by. I thought about it and I think that's something I can do.

So, my word this year is FOCUS!!

I found myself a little (more like a lot) all over the place this year - my mind going in a million different directions and getting nowhere fast. Does that happen to you?

I have so many things that I'm interested in - photography, cake decorating, party planning, bookmaking, the list could go on and on. So, I decided I need to narrow my focus and see how that goes. I might as well try it out, right? So, this year I decided to focus on photography and blogging. Sure, I'll still dabble in those other things - I can't quite go cold turkey but the other 2 will be on my brain front and center.

It's a funny thing, this focus. As soon as I made that decision, different opportunities started opening up for me. Were they always there and I just hadn't noticed?? I will definitely fill you in as they develop.

What about you? Do you have a "word" this year or any special resolutions? Would love to hear them!

{I Heart Faces} Best Face Photo of 2010

Happy New Year! I wasn't intending on this to be my first post of the new year but there is a photo challenge going on at IHeartFaces.com and I need to get the entry in by Tuesday.

As you can see from the title, they are looking for your best face photo of the year. I really like this one that I took of my daughter. I especially like it in black and white.

This time the challenge is running a bit differently. They are opening up the voting to the public. So, if you want to vote for me, that would be great!! I will let you know when voting begins.

What are you doing to start your new year?