Pink Cows

I can't say I understand the creative force that leads people to paint animal sculptures outlandish colors and put those sculptures in odd locations, but they almost always make me smile, no matter how bizarre they are.  Today's examples are no exception: these bright pink bovine specimens were casually "grazing" in and near Napa Valley vineyards.  A great contrast to the somewhat stuffy attitude of wine country.  I hope they make you smile, too!

California Missions - Part 1

You may have read in my last post that I decided to take on photographing each of the California Missions as a personal project.  I love capturing history with my lens and the Missions seemed like the best place to start. Only a few miles from my home is Mission San Diego de Alcala, where I began my photographic journey of the Misisons.

Mission San Diego de Alcala was first of the 21 California Missions, founded on July 16, 1769, and blessed by Junipero Serra. It was the birthplace of Christianity in the west and the first church in California. The church as it stands today is the fifth to occupy the site, being rebuilt in 1931 to mirror how the church looked in 1813. (Click here for more in-depth history of Mission San Diego de Alcala)

I enjoyed exploring the Mission grounds earlier this week with my camera. I took several photos, one of which I submitted for Jessica Rogers' Photo of the Week:

My Photo of the Week submission

Inside the Church

I hope you enjoyed visiting Mission San Diego de Alcala, though my lens. I will be traveling north soon, and hope to visit at least another Mission or two along the way.

Personal Project

I listen to a lot of photography podcasts and read a lot of photography blogs. One thing that repeatedly comes up as an exercise to boost creativity is a personal project. For some this may take the form of a 365 project (taking and perhaps posting online a photo every day for a year), and for others it can be using a specific piece of equipment, or photographing a certain subject - really, the sky is the limit.

I've had it in my head for quite some time now that I need to do a personal project. I've had several ideas, but one that keeps coming back to me is the California Missions.  I'm a history buff in my own special way.  I can't recite too many pieces of random information like who was born when and what year certain events took place, but I love love love seeing history coming alive in front of me, being in a place where I can imagine the stories of the people who lived there long before me.

I know this is one of the reasons I loved living in Italy, history was absolutely everywhere! It was so easy to go out and photograph the details around me because I knew they were historically significant. Now that I'm back in the States I've found it difficult to find the same kind of photographic inspiration I had in Europe. We, as a country, simply don't have as much history.

Once I recognized this about myself, and why I like to take certain pictures it occurred to me that California is rich in history! It may not be as old as the Colosseum in Rome, but it is the history of where I live, where I am from - it is MY history.

One of the significant aspects of California's history is the Missions, and El Camino Real. I've visited several of the missions during my life, but many not since childhood. I decided that taking on photographing every one of the 21 California Missions would be my personal project.  I don't have a particular timeline involved, but in the next year (or years) I would like to visit and photograph every Mission in California.

I started my journey today at Mission San Diego de Alcala. I will share photos and a bit of history of this site later this week, but for now I will leave you with a photo of one of the many gorgeous flowers gracing the Mission grounds.

I hope you enjoy taking this journey with me. I think I will learn a lot about California, and will hopefully in the process become a better, more creative photographer.

Signs of Spring

For this week's Photo of the Week submission I chose to take a quick walk in my neighborhood to photograph the blossoms on the trees that line my street.

Signs of Spring

While it may not be officially Spring quite yet, the warm weather, green hills, and abundant wildflowers around San Diego certainly say Spring is here!

Here are a few more shots from that day:

If you are interested in participating in Jessica Rogers Photo of the Week please check out her website!

Have a wonderful weekend!

And for those of you who are interested I use OnOne Software's PhotoFrame 4.5 Free to create the edging on my many of my photos.  Its a fun Photoshop plug-in. Check it out!

My Mom is AWESOME!

She sent me cookies :)

Not just any cookies, Brown Butter Sea Salt Cookies!!

I savored a couple of them today with my afternoon cappuccino...YUM!

Thank you, Mommy!!

If you'd like to get your hands on some of these awesome cookies visit the Brown Butter Cookie Company website or find them on Facebook.  Seriously, they are worth the effort!

Daddy's Truck

For the past few years my dad has been working on restoring a 1968 Ford F100.  It is a gorgeous truck!  Last weekend when I was visiting my family on the Central Coast I spent a bit of time in my dad's shop taking photos.

I love how they turned out!  Most of them have been processed as HDR. I love the extra detail and texture this process reveals. I also decdied to submit one of my truck photos for Jessica Rogers' Photo of the Week. Here is the one I chose:

Daddy's Truck (1968 Ford F100)

I had a hard time choosing which one of my photos to submit for Photo of the Week.  Here are the other contenders:

What do you think? Which is your favorite?  Let me know in the comments!!

A glimpse at last weekend's photo shoot

This past weekend I had the honor of photographing a family. Not just any family, but part of my family!  This beautiful group of four is about to become 5 and I had great time capturing images that will hopefully be enjoyed for generations.

I shot over 500 frames and still have a lot of editing to do, but here is a quick sneak peek of what is to come:

Enjoy! More are on the way...

Photo of the Week

Time to get my creative juices flowing again!  Since our move I've been stuck in a bit of a creative rut. I haven't taken my camera out nearly often enough and that needs to change.  To kick my butt into gear I decided to join Jessica Rodgers' Photo of the Week challenge.  Jessica is a friend of mine from college and a brilliant photographer! Each week she publishes a feature on her blog called Photo of the Week. Anyone can enter - it is an exercise in staying creative - exactly what I need!

My submission this week was taken at Mission Trails Park in San Diego.  Les & I went on a four mile walk/hike last weekend and enjoyed the crisp winter weather, gorgeous scenery, and a bit of rain.

Bluebird

Here are a couple of other shots from that day:

I'm looking forward to having a reason to shoot each week. Thanks, Jessica!  Hopefully I can find the time and motivation to join more challenges, but for now I'll start with one and see where it goes.  If you'd like to join Jessica's Photo of the Week challenge check out the guidelines for participation.

A walk in the park

Last weekend a friend and I took her kids to Balboa Park.  We had a great time enjoying being out in the sunshine and watching the koi (and a turtle) in the reflecting pools near the botanical gardens. I brought my camera with me and captured a few great shots of the kiddos.

Love those kids!  Their mom is pretty awesome, too! :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Two dozen roses from my hubbie - I'm a lucky girl!

World Nutella Day!!

Are you ready for some yummy goodness?  Pull out your Nutella and a spoon because today is World Nutella Day!!

My contribution to World Nutella Day this year is a Nutella Cookie - yes, you read that right Nutella yumminess in a cookie!!  I actually found the recipe a little while back from the blog Culinary Concoctions by Peabody and was planning to take it for a test run before the big day but life has gotten in the way so today I tried the recipe for the first time.  I think they are a hit!

Nutella Cookies
Adapted from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody

½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
½ cup Nutella or other hazelnut chocolate spread
1 egg
½ tsp. vanilla
1 ½ cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F.

Cream butter and sugars in a mixer on high speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl often. Beat for about 3 minutes, until light and fluffy.

With the mixer on low, add the egg and vanilla. Then add the Nutella and mix well.

Add the flour, baking soda, and salt and mix on low speed until all the ingredients are incorporated. Increase the speed to medium and mix just until the dough is smooth. Fold in chocolate chips.

Using a small ice cream scoop (or a teaspoon) form the dough into balls and place on greased cookie sheet.

Bake 8-10 minutes. Let cookies cool about 5 minutes and transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Enjoy with a tall glass of cold milk!

If you'd like to participate in World Nutella Day visit their website for instructions.  A big thanks to Ms Adventures in Italy, Bleeding Espresso, and World Nutella Day for a great excuse to try a new recipe, and of course eat Nutella!

Date Night at Bleu Boheme

For date night this past Friday we decided to share our time with friends - a double date with another couple who we met while we lived in Sicily.  We had a great time reconnecting and eating fantastic food at a restaurant that has become one of my favorites - Bleu Boheme.

My friend and I stumbled across this charming little French restaurant last week and stopped in for lunch.  We were blown away by the fantastic food and decided we had to take our hubbies back.  We lucked out on Friday night to find out that the restaurant was doing "part deux" of Restaurant Week so there was pre-fixe menu where for $30 we got an hors d'oeuvre, entree, and dessert!

The Basil Martini - sounds strange, but it is fantastic!

 For my hors d'oeuvre I choose the mussels - local and very fresh!

During dinner we sipped the Noble Merlot

For my entree I chose the Steak Frites

An after dinner caffe

And, of course, chocolate mousse for dessert!

Our meal was spectacular! To top it off the chef/owner, Ken Irvine, even came out to say hello and make sure we enjoyed our meal.  I will definitely be going back again (and again).  If you'd like to visit Bleu Boheme you can find them at:

Bleu Boheme
4090 Adams Avenue
San Diego, CA 092116
619-255-4167

Oh, and if you decide to go on the weekend I'd recommend a reservation.  We were fortunate to get a table outside on Friday evening. They were booked indoors.  Luckily they had heaters on the patio, but if that isn't up your alley then you'll want a reservation.

Sunset Point Picnic

Sunset Point on Mission Bay

This was the view from my dinner table last night.  Not bad, eh? :) Hubs took me on a picnic for date night and we had a great time!

The hunt is on!

Ever since my visit to Napoli I've been obsessed with Margherita Pizza. Not just a plain ol' cheese pizza, but one with delightfully simple sauce, scrumptious crust, and mozzarella di buffala. A few leaves of fresh basil don't hurt, either. Pizza in Sicily was always delicious, but the pizza in Naples blew my mind!

Now that we are back in the States good pizza, or rather good Italian pizza, is hard to come by.  I decided to make it my personal goal to find the best Italian pizza in San Diego, and started today with Pizzeria Bruno - highly recommended by my hair stylist.

Yummies @ Pizzeria Bruno

In Italy pizza is probably the most economical meal you can buy.  I don't think I ever paid more than 10 euro for a pizza and that was in the city center of Rome where everything is overpriced.  In Sicily pizza usually cost us around 6 euro per pie, and in Naples the best Margherita pizza I had cost me a whopping 3 euro!  I was in for another dose of culture shock when I looked at the menu in Pizzeria Bruno - a Margherita pizza with mozzarella di buffala cost $17!!  I guess I shouldn't have been suprised - mozzarella di buffala is expensive here, but wow...

Anyhow, enough about the prices, because it was totally worth it!  My pizza was outstanding!  The sauce, made with San Marzano tomatoes was perfectly simple and delicious, the crust had just the right combination crisp and soft that can only come from a wood oven, and the mozzarella was to die for!  Pizzeria Bruno is definitely a repeat!

After pizza I had to try a cannolo.  I had high hopes after my fantastic pizza. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite what I expected. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't authentic either. On one end of the cannolo there were chocolate chips, the other pistachios - salted pistachios.  Strange.  The ricotta tasted more like lightly sweetened whipped cream, but it did have the texture of ricotta, except more fluffy. It wasn't the dense, sweet treat that I became accustomed to in Sicily. Still, it was tasty - just not as expected.

Overall Pizzeria Bruno exceeded my expectations.  I went hoping for a Napoletano style Pizza Margharita and that is exactly what I found. It isn't Naples, but Pizzeria Bruno will keep me satisfied until I can visit Italy again.

Visit Pizzeria Bruno at:

4207 Park Blvd
San Diego, CA 92103
619-260-1311

 Buon appetito!

San Luis Obispo Art Museum - Art About Town

I've been a participant in the San Luis Obispo Art Museum's Art About Town program for nearly a year.  Every four months the artwork of participating artists rotates through local businesses.  I was honored to be asked to participate and blessed to have a mom who was willing to manage my artwork while I was overseas.  Now that I'm back and getting into the swing of things I decided to come up to SLO for a few days and start managing my own artwork (with mom's help).

For the past four months my photography has been on display at Creekside Brewing Company in downtown San Luis Obispo. This week is transition week - today I took my photos down at Creekside Brewing and tomorrow they go up in City Hall!!  My photos will be on display near the City Attorney's office for four months if you feel like stopping by to see them.

My photography on the walls of Creekside Brewing Company

 Support businesses that support local artists! Visit Creekside Brewing Company at:

1040 Broad Street
San Luis Obispo, CA
(805) 542-9804

Balboa Park, HDR at night

As promised here are a couple of my HDR shots from Balboa Park the other night.

Botanical Building and Lily Pond

Spreckels Organ Pavilion

I had so much fun setting up my tripod, playing with my camera settings, and capturing moments that would be impossible without a tripod.

A Winter Night in Balboa Park

One of my favorite places in San Diego is Balboa Park.  I had intended to go walk & shoot earlier in the day but time got away from me so Les & I set out at dusk, tripod in hand to see what we could come up with.  I took a lot of photos and had a great time!  Several are bracketed shots for HDR that will require some time in post processing, but for now I wanted to share at least one photo with you.

Balboa Park @ Night

I hope you like it!  More photos, coming soon!

World Nutella Day - February 5, 2011

World Nutella Day is almost here!!  Mark your calendars for February 5, 2011! Are you going to participate? I know I am!  Check out the World Nutella Day website for details on how to participate.

To get you started, I found a recipe on the web that I'm going to have to try: Nutella Cookies by Culinary Concoctions by Peabody.  If you make these let me know how they are.  I need to add Nutella to my grocery list and then I'll be able to let you know if they are any good (uh, yeah, how could they not be!?).