It’s mid-March and snowing and I’m dreaming of warmer days. To bring a little sunshine your way I thought I would post a favorite shoot of mine from last summer. Two little ladies, a surf board, a boston terrier, and a trip to the beach.

It’s that time of year again when we head to the West Coast to visit with family for the boy’s Spring Break. We will be in Los Angeles and Laguna for the last week of March and I’m hoping to book one shoot while out west. Crystal Cove, Malibu, Venice, Santa Monica, Laguna… you name the location and I’ll be there. Contact me for further details.

Dates: March 26th – March 30th

Two hour shoot at the location of your choice

50-75 images presented in an online gallery and in a set of 4×6 proofs

small print package: 1 8×10, 1 5×7 and 1 4×6

I woke up after the holidays, as many of us do, feeling fat and pretty grossed out with myself after eating everything I could fit into my pie hole over the last 6 weeks. I accidentally got a look at myself naked in the mirror (yikes!), and dragged myself to the gym while thinking about what I needed to do to get back on track. First priority was to buy a juicer. I’ve been longing for one for awhile but didn’t want to spend the money. Luckily my in-laws bought me one for my birthday in January, and I have juiced everyday since. I feel like the juicer had a domino effect. It kick-started my health/diet/food/whatever you want to call it, makeover.

WORKOUT ROUTINE

I decided my goal was to work out five days a week. Let me preface this with, that is my goal, not to be confused with what actually happens. I have always worked out but when I get busy with work, my work-out routine suffers. It’s now the time of year when my work is slower so it’s easier for me get to the gym in the morning. I take classes with a handful of girlfriends, which highly motivates me. I have selected classes that are cardio and weights together, and separately, and all of which have good music, since that’s another huge motivator for me to put on my gym clothes and schlep to the gym in 20 degree weather. Good music is a must. I run outside about once a week but for the most part classes are what I enjoy and see the best results from. You will never find me running aimlessly on a treadmill or on an elliptical. I’ve also borrowed the Insanity videos from a friend so I have something to do at home on days when I can’t make it to the gym. Let’s face it, we are busy and the gym isn’t always possible. Running outside is a good back-up as well.

DIET

For the most part we eat pretty healthy, but I decided to take a closer look at what we are eating as a family, and really dissect it. The boys’ dinner most often consisted of Bell and Evans chicken fingers, Dr. Praegers fish sticks or an Applegate hot dog with Amy’s organic mac and cheese (or if I’m feeling adventurous, some frozen squash) with a side of fruit and/or avocado. Some nights I would make meatloaf or pasta and meatballs, but for the most part I felt like too much of what they were eating was coming out of a box, either from the freezer or pantry. Not awful, but I felt like we could do better. Not only was I feeling guilty for not making more of an effort but I was tired of making two, sometimes three, meals every night.

Early February I went to a Cookbook club at the Stone Barns Farm which featured Dinner, A Love Story by Jenny Rosenstrach, and a huge door was opened. She had so many wonderful tips for cooking for, and eating with your children every night. Something she has built her life around. Since then, I’ve stopped asking what my boys want for dinner and have started making one meal that I think we will all enjoy. Sometimes I have to make adjustments to their meal (by adding or deleting something from ours) but for the most part, we are all eating the same thing most nights. And some nights the boys love dinner, and some nights they don’t. Don’t be misled, there are still nights when I open up the freezer and pull out a box of something or another for the boys, it’s just happens a lot less than it used to. I also threw out all of the processed food we had in our house. Anything that had unrecognizable items on the label, or was too high in sugar, went in the garbage. Jenny has alot of wonderful tips on her blog today for dissecting labels and how to avoid the junk at the grocery store. My favorite tip – “It’s wise to stick to the perimeter of the store — produce, dairy, meat — where the fresh products are sold. Interior aisles are filled, floor-to-ceiling, with processed foods.” There was also a fascinating article in the NY Times Magazine this weekend by Michael Moss. Definitely worth a read.

homemade pizza, something we make often as a family

MEAL PLANNING

This all began with a conversation I had with my friend Christina, and was put into real motion after reading Dinner, A Love Story. Christina mentioned she was planning out their meals every two weeks and ordering all the ingredients from Fresh Direct. Hmmm… I was going to grocery store almost every day, stressing out about what I was going to make, spending too much money, and wasting too much food. I wasn’t paying much attention to the menu line-up either. It was time for a change. I decided to attempt meal planning. Every weekend I plan out the week’s meals and typically order from Fresh Direct or go to Trader Joes. I cook at least 5 nights a week, choosing healthy ingredients for homemade meals. We now have a wall painted in chalkboard paint in our kitchen where I write out the menu on Sundays. Planning out our meals allows me to choose our meals wisely, and make better use of leftovers. Since I work from home, I try to make things that will work well for my next day’s lunch as well.

EAT MORE VEGGIES

The last effort I’ve made was to enroll in a CSA, Community Supported Agriculture, which starts this summer. All of our fruits and vegetables will come from a local farm, Roxbury Farms, from June – November. I love the idea of not knowing what we’ll get in our box every week, and the challenge of creating meals using what has been provided. I think it will be a great example for the boys, even if they don’t love everything we get.

To follow my food journey you can follow me on Instagram, where all of the above photos were shared. Request to follow and I will gladly accept you. Please note, these changes didn’t happen overnight and it wasn’t easy at first, but now were in a good routine. By no means is it perfect everyday, but this is what we strive for. For added support we all take the Juice Plus vitamins. I highly recommend.

Here are a few of my favorite images of Conner and Tyler from 2012, in no particular order. It was an active and energetic ride, filled with alot of joy and laughter. The boys have mastered being silly and wearing costumes, serious moments in our household are few and far between.

A beautiful family in a beautiful home. What more can you ask for?

I’ve photographed this family for years now and I love everything about them. Their friendship, their warmth, their style, their loyalty, their ease in front of my camera. They make me look good. And thank god for the high line. I’m not sure how we managed with out it.

It’s been awhile since I’ve blogged, almost 3 months to be exact. Yikes! What can I say… fall is a busy time around here and well, blogging went to the wayside. But here we are in a new year, 2013. I plan to post quite a few shoots over the next several weeks. To kick things off here are a few of my favorites from the 2nd half of 2012.

About once a season Lisa and I join forces to photograph some of  her amazing creations. The summer menu included a summer garden salad and a peach and blackberry galette.

I have written about Lisa and her services here and here. For anyone looking for cooking classes (think holiday prep.) or a private chef around the holidays, she is your lady.

Although we are in the midst of fall I still have another shoot or two from the summer to share with you. One of them being this shoot which took place at one of my favorite spots out east, Montauk’s Lighthouse. Something about the rolling hills and being on top of that hill that makes everyone smile.

I love this family, not only because we have become friends over the last 7 years of shoots, but because mom greets me with a glass of rose when I arrive to photograph them. The next few hours were full of giggles, chickens and a glass or two more of rose. It was one of those laid back summer evenings I am missing now. Even their grandfather was there to join us. Such a treat.