For a fleeting moment when I read Julie & Julia, the thought ran through my head that I should do a project like that. Except that I don't enjoy cooking that much and there were a whole lot of gross ingredients in that cookbook. And then I saw the movie and the thought went through my head again. And again, I gave it a miss because I really don't enjoy cooking.

Baking, however, is a different matter. I love to bake. So a few weeks ago when I came across the book All Cakes Considered, I knew I'd found my project.


All Cakes Considered is a recipe book of, you guessed it, cakes - one recipe a week for the year. It starts with an easy recipe and gets progressively more complicated as you work your way through.

I was hooked for a couple of reasons...

1. I take a lot of shortcuts. I know that butter and eggs should be at room temperature before you use them. But putting the butter in the microwave for 20 seconds is almost the same thing, isn't it? And dunking the eggs in warm water for a few minutes works, doesn't it? I'm also not really careful about how exact my measurements are. The instructions in the first recipe are unbelievably detailed. With each step she walks you through exactly what you need to do and for how long.

2. I tend to make the same things. I love to bake but I usually make the same few things (or the same types of things) over and over. So going through the book in order means I'll try lots of recipes I ordinarily would have skipped right by.

So that's my project. On to week 1.....

The recipe: Sour Cream Pound Cake (pictured above)

This cake is pretty simple but it took me twice as long to make it as it usually would - and it was definitely worth it. Taking the time to beat the butter, sugar and eggs for as long as I did made for such a consistent, fluffy batter.

I cooked the cake for the length of time stated in the recipe but I think it was slightly over-cooked which is a little surprising because my oven usually runs a bit cold.

Recipients: My aunt and uncle visiting from the Island. It was a big cake and I wondered what we would do with it all but a close friend was having a really tough week so I wrapped up a big chunk of the cake and put it in with a meal I was taking over for her and her family.

Verdict: Good but super-sweet (and I have a wicked sweet tooth). Next time I'd make it with a bit less sugar. It was also a touch on the dry side from being over-cooked. I think I'll try pulling it out 10 minutes earlier next time.

Up next: Brown Sugar Pound Cake.

My new website is now live! You can check it out here.



New client bookings are now being accepted.

To celebrate the launch of my new site, any session booked within 48 hours of my website launching receives a complimentary 10"x20" storyboard ($225 value). That means you have until Wednesday June 9th at 9AM to book your session and receive this special gift.

The storyboard is mounted and laminated for durability and looks great displayed on a stand or framed and hung on your wall.

Tomorrow's the big day! You guys are going to love the new website.


Reason #5 is for the new and soon-to-be mamas out there.... because you will forget what the first week with a newborn is like.

And because they really do stop looking like newborns after the first few weeks. And because you will be too tired to do it on your own. And because you will want photographs of you with your little one and your partner will also be too tired to do it on their own. And from recent personal experience I will say that this applies doubly the second time around (and I can't even imagine what it would be like the third or fourth time around - my hat goes off to you)!

Check back tomorrow at 9AM for the website reveal. And I promise I'll stop beginning all my sentences with "and". :)

Almost there! Only 2 more days until I launch my new website and open my schedule to new clients.

Now on to reason #4 why you need to have your family photographed this summer....

Because there is a wall in your home just screaming for some art.

And what better way to fill it than with some beautiful images of the people you love most in the world. I'm not talking about a cheesy, everyone-folding-their-hands-in-their-lap, old-school portrait with all of you groomed to within an inch of your life. I'm talking about something beautiful where maybe everyone's not looking at the camera. And where maybe you're all laughing. And where maybe you're gazing down at your little ones with a look of pure joy. That's what I'm talking about.

And if you're looking for reasons 1, 2 and 3, you can find them here, here and here.

Have I mentioned there are only 3 more days until my new website launches and my schedules opens to new clients? :)

Reason #3 why you need to book a family photography session this summer - because there is never going to be a perfect time.

Twenty years from now your kids are not going to care about the extra 10 pounds you wanted to lose before you had a family portrait session Heck, they don't care today. All they really care about it spending time with you. And guaranteed, they think you're beautiful. And you are.

And to continue my list of why you need your family photographed by a professional photographer...

Reason #4 - when was the last time you were all in a photo together?

And I'm not talking about the last time you were at a family wedding and Uncle Steve grabbed your camera and took a quick snapshot of all of you outside the church. I'm talking about a really great family photograph that really shows who you are as a family - how you all laugh together or the way you all cuddle in together.

Of course because I believe family portraits are so important, I have my family photographed by a professional photographer regularly. But I challenged myself to go through my computer and find the last non-professional photograph we were all in together. And I couldn't find one. Not one (mental note: hand over my camera more often). If you took that challenge how would you do?

Just five more days until the launch of my new website and the opportunity for new clients to book a photography session. My oldest is going to give me a hand with the countdown.

I thought starting the countdown at 5 would give me a chance to feature 5 different reasons to book a portrait session with a professional photographer.

Reason #5 - because you need to be in some of your own photographs.

Seriously, are you in any? I know in our family I'm the one who takes all the photographs and my husband is the one who takes all the videos. Which means I'm in next to no photographs and Jim hasn't ever been on the other side of the video camera. I want our kids to look back on our photographs and remember the way I used to hold their hand or give them butterfly kisses while they giggled. What do you want your kids to look back and remember?

To be notified when my new site goes live you can enter your email address in the box next to the "about" section up at the top of the page. You'll receive an email on Monday letting you know about the new site, a 48 hour booking special and the contest I'll be running for the next couple weeks.

Don't worry, your inbox won't be overloaded with messages from me. I'm aiming to write a newsletter every two months.