Eye Spy: A Collection of Random Thoughts and Photos

Okay so I'm going with the flow, albeit a random flow for this post.

Yesterday our toilet broke right before I had to head off for my first day at a new job. Now it's been playing up for a few weeks and Samuel believes that he magically learned the art of plumbing simply by being a toilet user for the past 25 years of his life. Can I just say that cellotape does not technically fix a toilet, and maybe just maybe, this is why plumbers don't tend to keep cellotape in their arsenal. Similarly, "moving the tank lid back and forth" (yes these are Samuel's words) to allow the tank to refill also does not successfully resolve the root of our plumbing difficulty. However, we have refrained from enlisting the help of a 'real' plumber because, in Samuel's words, "why pay someone to do something you can do yourself". Fair enough, but can I just repeat the word "cellotape" please. Suffice to say, Samuel and I did have a fairly agitated conversation while he was at work and he came home and sort of fixed it during his lunch hour. The moral of the story...not quite sure, still working on that one, maybe it reaffirms the theory that men never want to ask for directions or ask for help...or perhaps if toilet problems really get me fired up, I should think about getting out more.

On another note I have a shoot planned for Sunday. The shoot is with my cousin's wife who is also an aspiring photographer and she had the genius suggestion of practicing our shooting skills on each other. We've planned to do the shoot in Epping Forest; I've never been there but she assures me it's a beautiful location and I'm very much looking forward to it. Samuel has also been roped in, not sure how he feels about this but as I've mentioned before, he's always the supportive husband. I will hopefully blog the photos next week!

Now onto a tastier thought; there are some great food programs back on the television! Last night we watched "Jamie Does Marrakech". Now I know people have mixed feelings about Jamie Oliver but I happen to love him. I particularly like his no nonsense approach to cooking and I think he is unbelievably creative when it comes to his own style of cooking. I also like his cheeky nature! The way he puts his own spin on dishes, eats with his hands, and leaves his food looking like real grub, warms my heart. His "spicy butternut squash" recipe in one of my earlier posts is eaten almost bi-weekly in our household, so I owe him for many of the recipes in my repertoire. Have a watch of his shows; he really advocates the fact that anyone can cook and I feel he makes yummy recipes accessible to the average population with his easy to find ingredients and straight forward cooking methods. All in all, a guy after my own heart. It's on Channel 4 on Wednesday nights at 9pm.

Samuel has become quite hooked on Sophie Dahl's new cooking show "The Delicious Miss Dahl". Now she's not a chef or even a food writer, in fact she's an ex-model but she has somehow landed a cooking show. I haven't decided exactly what my thoughts are on the show but if I'm honest, I do actually enjoy it. She's most definitely passionate about her cooking and so I can't really knock her for it, especially with my obsessive foodie nature. So last weekend we tried her recipe for "Twice Baked Potatoes" and they were scrumptious. The recipe is included at the end of this post.

As this post is a collection of random thoughts I decided to include some somewhat random photos I took on my last trip home to France. I went for a bit of an "Oldie" feel (if that's a word) on some of them. The purpose of these photos was really to start challenging myself to "see" things all around me (hence the "Eye Spy" title), whether I was successful or not I don't know, but I enjoyed myself in the process!

So here it goes. This first shot is of the thirteenth century village up the road from our home, it's called St. Paul de Vence and well worth it visit. It's where we had our wedding photos taken so I have an extra soft spot for it now. If you're ever there the restaurant "Le Tilleul" is well worth a spot of lunch. You can click on the photos to enlarge.

I liked the features of this gate!

A slightly moody shot!

The walk up to the village has lots of lovely little streets.

An old water wheel near the entrance to the village. 

A father and son playing boules on the boules patch of the village cafe. 

The village has these great statues!

A statue on someone's gate I saw on the walk home.

Here is Sophie Dahl's recipe for the potatoes. I suppose a simpler name for them would be stuffed potato skins, but it doesn't sound as fancy! You can use any kind of cheese; we stuck with her suggestion of soft goat's cheese for one half of the potatoes and cheddar for the other half. Thus we made two mixtures; one with goats cheese and one with cheddar. Both were delicious but I favoured the goat's cheese. We also used low fat creme fraiche which worked really well. We had these with grilled steaks and a tomato and mixed leaf salad. All in all a lovely meal that would be great for a summer BBQ. You can catch Sophie's show "Delicious Miss Dahl" on Tuesdays at 8:30 pm on BBC2.

Here is the link: Double Baked Cheese and Chive Potatoes. Sophie serves them with a tomato soup, which might also be worth a try.

Have a lovely weekend everyone. Feel free to comment by clicking on the Comments link below.

xx

Going Solo: My first proper shoot!

I have just got back from two days of photography training in the Cotswolds with Damien Lovegrove and his picture editor Marko. Not only was this an amazing experience but it was also quite a big challenge going away on my own. Samuel and I have been together for nearly five years and for the last three of those years we have not spent a single night apart except the night before our wedding. However, Samuel and I decided that as soon as I got to the hotel we would go on Skype and spend the evening together cyber style! So as soon as I settled into my room and my room service arrived, Samuel and I sat down and had dinner together over Skype. If you're interested, I had the most delightful lamb shank with pea and potato mash and lovely thick gravy. Following this we watched the Masterchef Semi Final together tucked up in bed with our laptops.

This may sound a bit silly but I suppose over time I have grown very used to always having someone there with me when I get home from uni and it was most strange sleeping alone in bed and not waking up to someone. I realized while I was away how much I depend on my husband to look after me and keep things in order for me....he even texted me during the afternoon I was leaving to remind me to change trains and what time each train was, even though I knew all of this already!

The first day of the course was a camera skills workshop combined with a shoot with teenage models. We started off at Matara (a wedding venue); it was such a stunning place for a shoot with lots of open fields and gorgeous light. One of the main focuses of the shoot was learning how to find the best light for portraits. It's amazing what beautiful light does for a picture! The second day was a 1:1 with Marko to take me through the ins and outs of how to edit and archive my photos. I learned so much and I've included different variations of pictures which I edited so you can see different ways of processing them. 

It was definitely a challenge shooting models with other people around you; the model doesn't know where to look! But I am quite pleased with how they came out and feel that I am armed with new skills for future shoots! One things for sure, I LOVE LOVE taking pictures, and when I get everything right in camera, I feel very proud. 

All of the following photos were taken by me and you can click on them to enlarge, you get a much better view!!. 

I also learned on my course how the profile settings of your photo file effect the way the photos look on different computers. If you don't have a universal colour profile then different browsers degrade the colour. So I have now made the colours universal. Thus I have also re-uploaded the photos in my last three posts so they should look better if you have been viewing in a non-Mac internet broswer. You can have a peek if you fancy. If there's no difference, I did try!

There were two models, this is Emily. I loved her reflection in the glass doors and the light coming from behind her was so lovely. I also learned how to make my own black and whites starting from a simple conversion and then tweaking and hand crafting to get it right so I was quite proud to do this one all on my own! 

Damien opened these doors and showed us how to capture the light that was coming through them and lighting up the model's face. This is Henry and she has the most gorgeous lips!

I saw the wind catching in Henry's hair and was so glad I caught it! This is one of my favourites that I took on the day.

I love her expression in this one. 

Here is a black and white I made of one of the photos above.

Giving us that fierce look!

Henry stood between these two big trees and it made for some interesting pictures!

I love her expression in this one especially through the two trees. Another favourite.

The shapes and lines of the trees was fun for pictures!

Here it is in a moody black and white!

Feel free to leave a comment and I hope you like them. I'm hoping to do another course with Damien Lovegrove soon, one that involves shooting all day long! I thought I'd keep this post about the photos so a recipe will follow in my next post!

xxx

A Model Husband

One of the perks of being married is your other half is obligated to support your hobbies and in my case I take full advantage. I wouldn't say that Samuel likes posing for me but being the loving and supporting husband he is, he does so without complaining. Yesterday afternoon we went into the garden so I could practice some portrait photos. I happen to think my husband looks rather snazzy. Samuel has asked me to inform my readers that all of the poses below were directed by me and he takes no responsibility....I take it as a good sign in our relationship that I still like eyeing up my husband! Random fact: these are my Dad's sunglasses...

I don't think Samuel was intentionally channelling The Terminator here...I blame my Dad's glasses.

Samuel says he looks a bit odd here but I have to say this is one of my favourites. 

Yes Samuel does happen to sit like this everyday...

So I must say a big thank you to my gorgeous husband who supports me in every way imaginable and encourages me to pursue my dreams. I couldn't ask for anything more in a partner and I feel lucky to share my life with him.

As I'm at home with my parents, here is my Mum's recipe for potato salad. We make it with light mayonnaise to maintain the waistline, but of course it would be that much better with the full fat stuff. We also cook the bacon in the oven to crisp it up, as opposed to frying it in oil.

Mum's Potato Salad

Serves 6

1kg peeled potatoes (maris piper would be a good choice) cut into big chunks

5 rashers of smoky bacon

3 big pickled cucumbers from a jar (if your using little ones I would probably triple) finely chopped

1 medium red onion or 2 small ones finely chopped

125ml or 1/4 cup of light Hellman's mayonnaise (you could use more or less according to taste)

Sea salt 

Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius

1. Boil your chunks of potatoes in boiling salted water until cooked but with a bit of bite- approximately 5-7 minutes, but keep an eye on them so they don't turn to mush.

2. Lay the bacon on a baking sheet and cook in the oven at 200 degrees celsius until crispy.

3. Drain the potatoes and allow to cool. Then add the chopped bacon, chopped pickles, chopped onion and mayo. Mix together and add sea salt too taste. Adjust mayo as necessary.

Enjoy! This goes well with hot or cold meat dishes or as part of a salad selection.

Feel free to leave a comment and I hope you enjoy the pictures! I am off on my photography courses next week so wish me luck!

xxx

Our Boy: A Series of Tickly Tales

To say we are a family of dog lovers would be the understatement of the century. In fact if I were to sum my Dad up in any two words, it would be "dog lover". Toffee joined our family on 11th July, 2009 and he has brought us nothing but joy. Well that would be a lie; he has brought us joy and craziness and hard work and drool and many other things, but he has most definitely brought us joy and love, lots of love. This was the first photo I ever saw of him (courtesy of Nissa Bella Farm); the breeder sent it to us before we met Toffee and I just knew he was for us. I think it may have been his cone head or the fact that his ears were sunshine yellow.

These following two photos are courtesy of the breeder.

Toffee has the most beautiful face in the world. So much so that I have "squeeze to death" urges that have to be repressed every time I look at him. His nose is like that of a teddy bear or a dark chocolate button, except his is a much more unique version; it's charcoal black around the edges with a sweet little splash of pink in the middle. His coat is a delicious shade of sunshine and toffee (hence the name of course) and he has a splendid tufty patch of hair on his chest; it's a lovely cross between a beard and a lion's mane. All other photos are by me of course and you can click on them to enlarge!

Here you can see the splash of pink on his nose!

Our handsome boy has the most lovely floppy ears. When he's calm and looking for cuddles, they flop back and when he suddenly hears a sound they perk up in a most assertive manner, followed by a swift tilt of his head and a puzzled look on his face, as if to say 'huh'?

Huh?

I love his paws!

Oh and did I mention he has the longest doggie tongue known to man. It's so long you could probably use it as a leash when walking him. 

Samuel grabbed this shot!

Samuel got this one too!

He has lots of flabby skin around his mouth which tends to collect his ever mounting supply of drool. Often his drool will dangle from the side of his mouth like chewing gum; as he prances around, it tends to sway about in a most amusing fashion. Random fact: Samuel has found that if you push all the loose skin forwards on his face, he resembles a shar pei. 

Toffee likes to smile, especially when you give him a back rub. However, his smile tends to leave him looking somewhat hyena like, see below.

When Toffee first joined the family he had a bit of a doggie poo obsession (refrain from reading if you're squeamish). I remember one day I was inside sitting on the sofa when Toffee charges in from outside to sit next to me for a cuddle. He goes in to kiss me when all of a sudden I am repulsed by a most disgusting waft of doggie poo smell emanating from Toffee's mouth. I realized then and there what he had just been snacking on...suffice to say he got no kisses!

Samuel and Toffee are very close, this picture makes me think of a "Wish You Were Here" postcard.

Toffee once ate a dead bird, whole. We were worried he would be ill until the next day he pooped out the bird, feathers and all (yes really)...

Toffee burps ALL of the time. He drinks then burps, eats then burps, oh and burps for no reason. 

He loves the beach!

My Mum is currently training Toffee with a professional trainer and I have to say, what a genius dog we have. I actually think he could be a Mensa candidate. He knows hand signals and verbal commands for sit, lay down, jump up high, paw, roll over, through your legs, jump on the box, leave, stay, and many more. Did I mention he could be a Mensa candidate? 

Toffee likes to watch TV, but not just any TV, he likes the Dog Whisperer. Yes that's right. (This photo is courtesy of my Mum, thanks!)

This photo is courtesy of my Dad!

Toffee really is the light of our lives; I don't think it's possible to put into words how much we love him. But I can't mention Toffee without remembering our lovely two doggies Brandy and Patch who we lost last year. We loved them dearly. 

As I always leave a recipe at the end of my posts, here is one for dogs! This is a Doggy Cake recipe courtesy of our trainer. It's also suitable for cats. In this case, please don't taste for seasoning...

Yummy Cake for Dogs and Cats

Recipe from Victoria our trainer

450g of Bacon/Tuna/Chicken (make sure there are no bones)

2 eggs

1 whole garlic clove

340g self raising flour

280ml water

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius and using a food processor or blender mix the meat, garlic, and eggs together.

2. Next mix in the flour and then mix in the water.

3. Line a baking tin with butter and grease proof paper and fill the tin with the mixture.

4. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until cooked (I doubt your dog or cat will notice if it's overcooked). Leave cake to cool.

5. Once cooled, slice the cake into cubes and use as treats for training or whenever you want to give your dog a treat.

You can freeze the cake if you have left overs!

Thanks for reading, feel free to share any comments or stories about your pets.

xx