Photos with the Carr family

I just had to blog about this adorable little family I had the pleasure of shooting back in February.  I've known the Carrs for quite a while now, even going back to before Josh met Nicole!  I've been fortunate enough to witness not only their wedding, but even photographed both of their beautiful childen after they were born and have done some family sessions in between.  The photos below are the latest and greatest of this beautiful family.

They even had their cousins join them near the end.  As you can see for yourself, this whole family is cuteness overload!  If it wasn't so cold, I could have taken their pictures ALL afternoon.  Thankfully they were all such great sports, because after all... it was early February in Oregon!  We were just lucky it wasn't raining.

 Location: Kennedy School - Portland OR

Hope the Carr family enjoys their pictures as much as I did taking them!

I finally did it!

I'm so excited to say... that I finally did it.  I've been dying to have a jewelry website up for years (that you could purchase off of) and it finally has happened!
Funny thing is, if I launched this weekend, you would have seen a completely different site.  Somehow late Sunday night (the night before I was planning on my site going live) I completely changed the layout.  Inlcuding fonts, template... everything about my website!  Why?  I have no clue.  But all I can say is that it was the right thing to do.  I liked my site before, but I LOVE it now.  And for me, that's a big deal.  I'm proud of it and want to show everyone!  

I got a super cute email from my mom tonight, saying that she showed my dad and he was so impressed and they both thought it was wonderful.  What is it about a compliment from your parents that means so much?!  I guess I still love to make them proud 
I'm happy to announce the "NEW" Monili Bella!
http://www.monilibella.com/

Take a look, and make yourself at home!

Amazing Chicken Tortilla Soup

Whats for dinner?  For me, it's leftover Chicken Tortilla Soup I made last night and I'm quite excited about it!!  I tried a recipe I found, modified a few little things and it turned out amazing!!  So i'm going to share the recipe with you!  And just a heads up... this makes a TON.   Of course you will want it as leftovers, but be prepared to freeze some as well.

Chicken Tortilla Soup
• 10-12 corn tortillas, divided  • 3 tablespoons olive oil • 1 rotisserie chicken, meat torn into chunky shreds (about 4 cups) • 1 large onion, chopped • 4 cloves garlic, chopped (or minced) • 2 teaspoons ground cumin • 1 teaspoon salt • 1 teaspoon chipotle chile powder • 8 cups chicken stock, divided • 1 can (15 ounces) diced tomatoes (I use fire roasted) • 1 can (15-16 ounces) black beans, drained and rinsed • 1 can (4 ounces) whole green chiles, diced • 1 cup corn • 2 cups red salsa • 1 package (8 ounce) cream cheese, softened and cut into chunks (I've also substitued for greek yogurt, which was just as good) • 4 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro • 1-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (depending on how many you're serving) • 1-2 avocados sliced
Instructions
1. Tear 6-8 tortillas into chunky, bite-sized pieces. (or if your lazy, you can cut them into small pieces) Set aside.
2. Heat an 8-quart Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat, then add the 3 tablespoons olive oil. Add chicken, onion, garlic, torn tortillas, cumin, salt, and chipotle chile powder. Saute until onion is translucent, stirring as needed. Be careful to not burn.
3. Add 6 cups chicken stock, tomatoes (with juice), black beans, green chiles, corn, and salsa to pot. Bring to a simmer over medium high heat.
4. Pour the remaining two cups of chicken stock into a blender. Add the softened cream cheese and blitz until smooth. Pour the broth and cream cheese slurry into the soup pot. Cook, stirring as needed, until the soup has thickened. (The torn tortillas will thicken the soup as they soften and disperse into the liquid cooking liquid.) *If you're using greek yogurt, you can skip the blender and add straight to the pot.
5. While the soup is cooking, preheat the oven to 375-degrees. Cut the remaining tortillas into approximately 1/4-inch wide strips. Slice the longer strips in half.
6. Place the tortilla strips on a baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the strips are crispy; tossing once or twice during baking so that the strips will bake evenly. Serve as a garnish on the soup.
7. Just before serving, stir in the cilantro, top with sliced avocado, cheddar cheese and the tortilla strips.

Enjoy!!

Things are happening!

I know this is only my 2nd post... so if you don't know me, stick around for some fun things to come!  If you do know me, you'll know that getting a working jewelry website up and running has been a goal of mine for a long time!  I actually had to invest in an e-commerce site so I could have a shopping cart I didn't have to worry about.  So good news is, I did most of the background work a while back, so all I really need to do now is get images posted with descriptions and pricing.  
Sounds easy enough right?  Wrong... images have been a thorn in my side.  And funny enough, I'm also a photographer, so you'd think that would have been the easy part!  But I guess pickiness came into play.  What should the background be? Where is the best place to take the pictures in my house?  Should I use a light box or natural light? etc... etc.. so this weekend I just said enough questions, lets get something done.  So I set up a little makeshift studio set up for my jewelry. Natural light won obviously... natural light is always the best choice in my opinion.  Here's a pic to give you an idea of!

Kinda funny, but it actually worked great!!  And thank goodness for my reflector, I couldn't have done this without it! This is how the images are turning out...  I'm pretty happy with them!

So, for me... this is a huge accomplishment!  And I think I'm on a role now.  I'm hoping to have my website up and running within a month or two!  And I can't wait to share with everyone.  
Hope everyone had a great weekend.  Here's to getting things done in the new year!!! 

Hello & welcome!

Hi there!
So blogs are not a new thing... in fact, they are quite common these days.  I've had a blog for years, but haven't posted anything because I was ready for a change.  Change in template, change in content, and even a change in the name!
I decided that along with my new website that I'll be rolling out in the next few months, it would be a good time to get my new blog going as well.
Whether there's just one person or 50 people (or even just me) reading this, it's my chance to speak my mind and share my life. (Lucky you!)
Hope you'll sit back, relax and enjoy!