Recipe Wednesday

If you read other blogs you might have noticed that they generally have one day of the week dedicated to a specific type of blog post.

Some examples would be: Thirfty Thursday, Wardrobe Wednesday, Trendy Tuesday, etc.

Well, thanks to the advice of my mother, starting today I will be having Recipe Wednesdays.

This week will be a trial period and I would like to see the feedback I get on this idea to decide if I would like to continue each week.

I decided to start off with something quite simple for the first recipe:

Greek Salad

Ingredients

• 3 vine ripe tomatoes, cut into chunks
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 European seedless cucumber, cut into bite-size chunks (or 2 regular cucumbers seeded)
• 1 small red bell pepper, seeded and chunked
• 1 small green bell pepper, seeded and chunked
• 1 cup Kalamata black olives
• Several sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley, about 1/2 cup
• 1 package sliced imported Greek feta
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• Coarse salt and black pepper

Directions

Combine vegetables, olives, and parsley in a large bowl. Rest sliced feta on the top of salad. Combine oil, vinegar, and oregano in a small plastic container with a lid. Shake vigorously to combine oil and vinegar and pour over salad and cheese. Season with salt and pepper and let the salad marinate until ready to serve. Best if sits for at least 30 minutes. Enjoy!

recipe credit: Rachel Ray, Food Network

Here are some pictures from my try at it:

(I apologize for the poor lighting my kitchen gives off!)

ENJOY! :)

Ps: Be sure to leave some feedback on what you think! Like/didn't like, etc?

The end is near..

..and I don't mean the end of the world!

I'm talking about the end of the semester!

All that is standing in the way of winter break is two papers and a couple of classes.

What that means is.. MORE TIME!

I am happy to announce that starting next week until January 14th I will be available for winter sessions, so book soon before time runs out once again!

 (It's still not late to schedule Christmas photos!)

Contact:

e-mail: heroulea@mtu.edu

phone: (906) 369-3285

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lbellephotography

(Rates available upon request)

I hope to hear from you soon!

& GOOD LUCK to all with finals!

(Fun with Christmas tree lights!)

My Dream House

Lately I've been on the hunt for a new apartment, looking all over in the newspaper, in bulletin boards and online.
Every posting that I look at I try to picture what I would do with each room and I realize that I've been unintentionally designing my dream home.
Someday when I have my degree and a steady income I can hopefully put my dreams into reality. 
Here are some things I would like in my home:

• An office: that way I can keep the business side of my photography organized and each day I can wake up, close my office door and complete the things I need to do for the day and close up shop at the end.
• A studio: how perfect would this be? I would have great big windows on one wall from floor to ceiling to let all the perfect natural light in, have beautiful backgroups, lights, props, etc.
• A patio/deck: no matter what city or state I end up in, it will be necessary to have a place to sit outside and enjoy some coffee on a summer morning, or dinner at sunset.
• A walk-in closet: I mean what girl wouldn't want this??!
• A mud room: perfect place to keep dirty shoes and random exercise equipment so that its easy enough to access every day! (This is basically an additional walk in closet but for workout items!)
• A library: okay well maybe this is always going to be just a dream but how awesome would it be to have a room full of books right in your own house?!
• A master bathroom: Imagine a big whirlpool tub and an awesome glass shower!

So maybe some of these things are a little extravagant and won't actually happen but there's no reason to keep me from dreaming about it!

Have a happy weekend all! :)

Image Source: http://to-infinityyyy-and-beyondddd.tumblr.com/post/36525288500

Honey

Did you know that honey can help diminish seasonal allergies? 

Well neither did I until a couple weeks ago!

If you're like me, you probably experience the sniffles or a scratchy throat quite often due to allergies.

Here's a solution: Pure Honey. That's it! The only catch is that it has to be from your area or else it won't have the same effect.

If you venture to one of the local craft shows, chances are you will find some pure honey just like I did.

You can take a spoonful straight up or you can add it to tea (or anything really) for a better taste! Since it's pure honey it lacks sugar and the flavor of the kind you would buy at a grocery store which is why you might want to add it to something for more of a taste!

Even if you don't have seasonal allergies you can still take it when you have a cold or just to start each day to keep you feeling rejuvenated!

December Goals

It's a typical me thing to create a "December Goals" post when it's already the 5th of December.
Did I just say that.. is it really the 5th of December already?? 2012 has surely flew by.
I suppose it's better late than never to create goals!
Here are this months goals to better my photography, business, & personal life:

• Blog at least every other day (This is one thing I have been slacking on & need to improve!)
• Create a better schedule (With time management I will be able to designate enough time for school, work, and my photography, + free time!)
• Start (& finish!) Christmas shopping (This needs to be completed soon before I run out of time!)
• Eat healthier/Exercise each day (Of course it's easier to snag a bag a chips after work than actually making something to eat but in the long run I will feel a lot better about myself if I stick to this)
• Take more pictures! (Sadly this is something I have been slacking on lately with school & my job at Applebee's I feel so drained on my days off that all I want to do is sleep. But I vow to make this month different!)
• Finish off this fall semester strong! (2 more weeks left to make the Dean's List!)

Even though I could write numerous more goals for myself this month, I will try to be realistic. It will be more likely for me to complete just these few goals than overwhelming myself with multiple tasks to complete over the month.

Photo Source: http://to-infinityyyy-and-beyondddd.tumblr.com/post/36848566619

Its been awhile..

As I sat down to drink my coffee this morning I realized that other than when I'm sleeping it was the first chance I had to sit down and relax for more than 5 minutes.

Between being a full-time college student and juggling two jobs, I don't get much time to sit around and do nothing.

This is exactly why my blog has been looking so glum lately.

Some good news is that Thanksgiving break is next week and I will have much more time to relax and focus on photography.
The one downside of that is as soon as the week is over I will be right back into the swing of things at school trying to get everything completed before the end of the semester.

Considering this is such a busy time for me, I apologize if I don't keep everything up-to-date but I promise when the holidays are around I will have much more time and energy to devote to my work!

In the meantime here is what I've been doing lately:

Couple: Mandy & CJ

Mandy has been one of my closest friends since she came to Hancock in middle school.

Even though Mandy and CJ went to High School together, they began dating while at Finlandia.

They are both studying business and are oh so cute!

CJ plays baseball for Finlandia University so I thought it would be fitting to take pictures at the baseball field.

We weren't adventerous enough to walk all the way down to the creek so we just took pictures on the trail instead:

Thanks for letting me take pictures of you guys!