Pincushions

Flowers - not the sewing kind.

My hubbie bought them for me at the farmer's market in Little Italy this morning.  Aren't they gorgeous?

San Diego Sicilian Festival

Last weekend a friend and I went to Little Italy in San Diego for the annual Sicilian Festival. We had a great time, and although it was more of a typical American street fair (as opposed to the festivals I went to in Sicily) it was a lot of fun.  It was great to hear a few people walking down the street speaking Italian, and be able to eat a few of my favorite Sicilian foods.

Calamari Fritti

Cannolo - YUM!

I'll definitely go again next year!  Until then, Little Italy is close by and I know I can always go and get a cannolo to satisfy at least one of my Sicilian cravings! (In case you are wondering I get my cannoli at Cafe Zucchero - fantastico!)

Wildflower Hunting

This week's Photo of the Week (hosted by Jessica Rogers Photography) is from a trip my mom & I took awhile back to hunt for wildflowers.  It was still a bit early in the season but we found some gorgeous lupines and poppies.

Busy Bee

I had a great time playing with my mom's macro lens...would love to have my own...one of these days... :) Anyhow, I'm not usually one for bugs, not my favorite creatures at all, until I had a macro lens on my camera! I was crawling around on the ground, dodging cow patties, all for a great shot of a flower with a bee.  I lucked out with the photo above. I was taking photos of this poppy and the bee just happened to land in my shot!!

Here are a few of the other lovely fiori (flowers in Italian) that I found that day:

Have a lovely long weekend!!

Wine Tasting in Paso Robles

Not long ago I had the pleasure of going wine tasting with my cousin, her husband, and my mom at Justin Winery in Paso Robles.  I took several photos that day, but its taken me a bit of time to to get around to editing & sharing.

Today's Photo of the Week (a feature hosted by Jessica Rogers Photography) was taken in the wine caves at Justin:

In the Cave

A few other shots from that day:

And two of my favorites:

That is Dexter - my cousin's Pekingese puppy.  He likes wine :)

Have a wonderful weekend!

Cruising Morro Bay

In addition to taking photos of my beautiful family on Mother's Day I also took a few shots of gorgeous Morro Bay.  Each time I visit this town I find myself falling more and more in love with it.  It still has the quaint California beach town feel without being too overrun with tourists or too uppity like many of the Southern California beach towns.

Just a bit eccentric: notice the old military jeep, the tractor bucket...

I hope you enjoy this glimpse at Morro Bay through my lens.  It really is a neat town.  If you find yourself heading up California's Highway 1 take a bit of time to check it out.

Artist Signed Photo Note Cards

Signed Photo Note Cards are now available through my website!

Show how much you care by sending friends and loved ones a signed piece of art in the form of a greeting card. Photo Note Cards are only $5 each and if you purchase five or more you get a 20% discount using the coupon code notecard20.

Each hand-assembled card is approximately 5x7 inches with a 4x6 print. The photo of your choice is printed on professional photo paper and mounted on high-quality textured card stock (white or ivory, whichever the artist feels best suites the photo) and then signed by the artist. Every card is carefully packaged in a clear sleeve for protection and comes with a coordinating envelope. The inside of the card is blank allowing you to customize it for your occasion.

To order Artist Signed Photo Note Cards from Angela Andrieux Photography visit:

http://www.angelaandrieux.com.

Choose the photo(s) you like and move your mouse over the upper left corner of the photo. Select the shopping cart icon labeled "BUY."

At the bottom of the product list you will see the option for "Artist Signed Photo Notecard." Select the quantity you wish to purchase and add them to your cart.  Please note that the photo shown is just a product example.  Your finished order will include the photos you selected.

Thank you for your support of my photography!  I'm excited that I'm able to offer you these lovely cards.  Previously I've only had them available at Art and Craft Fairs, but now my entire blog audience can enjoy them! Currently I have the website set up to offer shipping to the United States via the US Postal Service.  If you life elsewhere in the world please contact me at anglouise@gmail.com and I will look into adding shipping for your country.

Honoring Mom

Everything happens for a reason.  I was originally supposed to come up to SLO last week for some photography work but it was postponed and I ended up coming up this weekend, which just happened to be Mother's Day.  I'm so glad I got to spend this day and weekend with my mom!

We spent the morning on a brunch cruise on Morro Bay - absolutely lovely!  The weather was gorgeous and we had a nice big group of family to celebrate with.  I just wanted to take a few moments to share pictures from this morning...

My Beautiful Mom

My Grandma & Auntie

My Awesome Brother

My Daddy and Grandma

Happy Mother's Day to all of the beautiful, amazing moms out there! I hope your day was special.

I love you, mom!

Limoni - Part 2

Today the beautiful lemons that were sitting on my table began their journey toward limoncello! Limoncello only requires using the zest so I decided to juice the lemons and make Basil Lemonade - a perfect, refreshing treat for a warm Sunday afternoon.

Doesn't it look delicious? I can assure you that it is! :) Just the perfect hint of basil, but not overpowering.  If you'd like to make this wonderful beverage I have two recipes for you. First:


Best Ever Lemonade
adapted from Allrecipes.com

• 1 3/4 c sugar
• 8 c water
• 1 1/2 c lemon juice

In a small saucepan combine sugar and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil and stir to dissolve sugar. Allow to cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate until chilled.

Remove seeds from lemon juice, but leave pulp. In a pitcher, stir together chilled syrup, lemon juice and remaining 7 cups water.

Basil Lemonade
adapted from RealSimple.com

• 1 c sugar
• 1 c fresh basil leaves, plus springs for garnishing
• 8 c lemonade

In a saucepan, over medium heat, bring the sugar and 1 1/2 cold water to a simmer. Cook, without stirring, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture thickens slightly, about 5 minutes.

Remove from heat, add the basil, and let cool to room temperature. Strain the syrup into a resealable container and discard the solids.

Pour 2-3 teaspoons of the basil syrup into each of 8 ice-filled glasses, then fill with lemonade. Garnish with a sprig of basil.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend! Cheers!