autumn in stillwater { frost on flower }

I checked in with my little friend Sophie again earlier today. She is now 9 months old. Like I mentioned last time, it's been fun to watch her grow. She's now almost 10 months old.

Last fall I did a maternity session with her mama - we were able to enjoy ourselves outside in the crisp yet comfortable air. This year was quite different - not only was Sophie present Earth side today but the temperature was significantly cooler.

We attempted photos at a pumpkin patch near their home and had to keep hoping back into the car to warm up. Soon we headed back to their house for lunch and our services trade (massages for our anniversary!) and went back out again for more photos.

Here are a few of my favorites:

no bake pumpkin coconut bars. gluten & sugar free.

I repinned a recipe for coconut bars a while back. We've been low on interesting snack these days so I wanted to give them a try. All I needed to buy was shredded coconut, so that was easy. As I was gathering what I needed I decided to take it a step further and do a little experimenting with the great season of fall in mind.

You'll need:
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/8 cup maple syrup
1/8 cup agave syrup (you could do 1/4 of one, or use water and stevia, but I like this combo this best)
3 tablespoons virgin coconut oil
2 tablespoons canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients in a food processor until blended and smooth (the coconut will still be a little chunky)

If you want to make it thin, more like a holiday bark, and make a lot of pieces:
Plop it down on a piece of parchment paper, smooth it out until it's between 1/4 and 1/2 inches thick with your hands, cool in the refrigerator for at least an hour and then cut with a pizza cutter into whatever shape you desire.

If you want fewer but thicker bars:
Plop it into a square or rectangular container - a baking pan or a food storage container works, smooth it out, cool in the refrigerator for at least an hour and then cut with a knife into whatever shape you desire.

The bars cannot be left out of the refrigerator for too long, especially in warmer climates or homes. The ingredients are held together by the coconut oil which hardens when cooled. Thus the bars become a little squishy when warmed up.

forty chore friday update.

Here are the results of today's Forty Chore Friday:




I have to finish moving the boxes that were on the stairs. I may steam mop tonight after Olive goes to bed and while Honey is outside. I didn't print the CSA photos but I might do that later. And I didn't mark the hallway shelves for cutting.

I started with 40 things. I didn't do 4 things. I added 7 things. I might do 3/4 of the things left.

So today was 43-46 Chore Friday. :)

forty chore friday.

Have you noticed a lot of people doing twenty chore Tuesday posts? On their blogs and on Instagram? Or mentioning it on twitter?

Tuesdays don't work for me. I typically go grocery shopping on Tuesdays which cuts out about half the day.

Fridays work much better for me. Why? Maybe you've noticed this phenomenon as well. Stay at home parents seem to have a difficult time on the weekends when the other parent is home. Maybe that sounds weird, and I don't mean it in an offensive way, but things get thrown off. You relax (or try to). Children act differently. There are more dirty dishes, more things to put away. And an addition human being, and ADULT human being, to interact with.

Starting today I'm doing forty chore Friday. Because forty is way better than twenty. And also because its kind of my finial push to prepare for the weekend. Get things extra organized, prepare for an activities we may be doing, whatever. Just get ready for the different than is the weekend.

Here is my list:





Let me know if you would like to participate too!

And don't forget.. No one will die if you don't cross everything off of your list. ;)

dilemma of independent contracting.

I'm going back and forth with myself on a recent decision I made and I thought I'd let you all in on my thoughts and maybe you could tell me what you think.

As you know, I am a self employed photographer, and recently I've been much more successful than I anticipated. I have also recently become an independent contractor for a company who links together clients and photographers.

The upside to working as an independent contractor in this way is that I don't have to do any marketing for it whatsoever. Marketing takes time and should probably cost you money. I do little marketing that costs save for having a website and business cards. I assume I'd be even more successful if I invested in marketing. I can easily fill holes in my schedule by being an independent contractor. I also get business cards for free.

The downside to working as an independent contractor via a placement company is that I get paid significantly less than I would otherwise.

I threw some numbers together to give you an idea of the differences. This company, who shall remain nameless, actually has four companies under their larger umbrella. A value service, a middle of the line, a fancy service, and an even fancier service (that I left out because I'm not part of that one right now). The middle of the line and fancy services let you choose your photographer, the value line photographer is chosen for you. The fancier service comes with a face to face consultation. Just like I do, engagement sessions can be added on for an additional fee. For the sake of comparison I did that with the quotes below. Tax and shipping also apply, but don't for me.

Value:
8 hour coverage - 895
engagement add on - 295
rights to photos - 0
consultation - no
total (before tax) - $1190
(I get paid $425)

Middle:
8 hour coverage - 995
engagement add on - 295
rights to photos - 0
consultation - no
20 bonus prints
total (before tax) - $1290
(I get paid $425)

High end:
8 hour coverage - 1595
engagement add on - 295
rights to photos - 0
consultation - yes
bonus photo book
total (before tax) - $1890
(I get paid $675)

Frost on Flower:
8 hour coverage - 1000
engagement add on - 100
rights to photos - 50 (unless you purchase a photo package for 75, 130, or 170)
consultation - yes
total - $1150
(I get paid $1150)

So, as you can see... the cheapest option is me. The option that pays me the most is also me.

So what is the point of the middle man? That's what I'm trying to figure out. Why should this company get paid 765, 865, 1215 while the photographer is paid 425, 425, 675, respectively? Is the marketing and the "brand" really worth that much?

As an independent self employed photographer I do not like the idea of these big companies marketing themselves as a professional database of photographers when they found their photographers completely randomly, don't give them any additional education, tips, or bonuses. I don't like to think that people are more attracted to a company like this because it seems "safer" or more "professional". Really it seems unfair. When I photographer engagement photos for them honestly I feel bad - They pay $145 more than they would have if they booked with me and I get paid $25 less than I would have if they booked with me.

So my question is... Should I encourage this type of thing by being part of it? I don't do much work with them right now because I've already been booked enough on my own. But something about it just makes me feel icky. But what are your thoughts? As a potential consumer of photography services how does this make you feel?

#nononsense tights & leggings: style made easy!

This post brought to you by No nonsense. All opinions are 100% mine.

 

If you know me in person you may have noticed that I often wear dresses.  As cooler weather approaches, as it is now, I add another piece to my wardrobe - tights.  I also like to wear tights rather than have bare legs when I'm photographing a wedding or event while wearing a dress or skirt.  I wear a lot of solid colors and a lot of black and grey and it's really nice to have bright colored tights and/or a sweater for color.

I received a pair each of No nonsense tights and leggings.  This is what I did with them:

I'll start with the leggings.  Unfortunately I didn't love them and Tyler didn't either.  They're really comfortable and I'll certainly wear them around the house but they don't pass for cords well enough… I would rather just buy corduroy pants.  The horizontal corduroy pattern is actually rather subtle so when you're far away from someone wearing them you can't really tell, they appear to be more like velour pants from 2001 and that is certainly not at all what I'm going for.  They're also a little loose on me but that isn't surprising given the sizing recommendation:  S (4-6) M (8-10) L (12-14) XL (16-18).  So I'd say if you're smaller than a 4 probably avoid these.  I would also suggest a different color.. there is something strangely iridescent about this fabric and color that adds to the velour-ness.  But, like I said, they are super comfortable.  I think I prefer them as around the house pants a lot more than regular leggings as they appear more pant-like.  So if people pop over unannounced I don't feel as… exposed.

The tights are great.  They fit well and seem really really durable, which is important to me - I'm either on the floor and have a child climbing on me or I'm on the floor and climbing around while photographing something.  The tights didn't get stretched out or form any pills.The sizing for tights goes by heigh and weight.  I typically don't fit a size for tights as my weight is usually "small" and my height is "medium" but these worked.  I typically find myself pulling tights up so the crotch isn't saggy or walking around with my tights flapping in the wind.  Not cool.  The sizing recommendations are as follows: S (4'11"-5'8" 100-150lbs) M (5'3"-6' 120-170lbs) L (5'2"-6' 165-200lbs) XL (5'2"-6' 205-250lbs) XXL (5'2"-6' 255-300lbs).

I always remember No nonsense as being the kind of weird brand that would save me in high school when I suddenly needed nylons for something or mine had a hole.  They were always available at basically any food/drug store as well as larger stores so it was always easy to find some if needed.  The great thing is they've updated themselves and offer this neat colors and leggings and are still available in the same convenient locations.  

And just as they were a great and affordable option for frazzled high school me.. they still are an easy to find and affordable option for frazzled mom me.

No nonsense has teamed up with Jill Martin to share style ideas and tips to consumers.  She is stylish and modern and can relate to a lady like myself.  She will be featured in vignettes online that will showcase No nonsense colored tights and leggings along with tips on how to incorporate them into the latest style trends.  I'd be interested to see what she could do with these khaki corduroy leggings.  I could totally just be missing something.

Don't forget to check out No nonsense on Facebook and follow them via Twitter!

 

 

 

[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/49024245 w=500&h=281]

 

open streets harvest festival { frost on flower }

Over the weekend I had the pleasure of showing my photos that were on display earlier this year at the FLOW Northside Arts Crawl in conjuction with McKinley CSA's set up at the Urban Agriculture hub at the Open Streets Harvest Festival on Lowry Ave in north Minneapolis.

(there is so much information in that sentence!)

For the bulk of the event I stayed in my tent or the CSA's tent next door but had a chance to do some exploring when Tyler and Olive came to visit for lunch, a treat, and to take advantage of some of the activities for children.

Here are a few photos from the day:



 

I offered $5 on the spot portraits in or near my tent.



 

I ran next door because I was super thirsty from biking with all of my things. After being inside for a few minutes and looking in about 20 different coolers I came out with a Vitamin Water - I could find regular water. After telling a few people that this crazy place doesn't sell water Dana went in and managed to find some... very hidden... and a very small amount.



An example share.



 

The same mobile bike powered stage that was used at FLOW. Being towed to the other side of the festival in this photo.

 





 

Dana and Bill made a solar food dryer. It's basically like a dehydrator but uses the sun's heat. It also has a light in case the sun disappears on a cloudy day or at nighttime.





 

The EcoVillage and McKinley CSA has a frisbee golf course set up around the pocket farm sites.



 

A live demo using mushrooms that can be purchased as an add on to CSA shares.





 

Some of my booth set up.  Twine & clothespins again.  :)



 

There was a great solar oven demo. This guy had four types of solar ovens.









 

Here is showing me where the focal point is more than 2000* - the stick instantly start smoking. Soup is being cooked in that pot. Dana and I enjoyed some blistering hot soup on a hot day a few hours later.





 

Jim showed up in a perfect shirt.





 

Olive kept telling us this was hot.



 

The West Indie food truck was parked across Lowry Ave from us. I waited nearly half the day for Tyler and Olive to show up so we could enjoy some jerk chicken and curry chicken together.





 

My set up was in one of the white tents to the right.



 

There were numerous stops for kids to take part in art activities up and down the avenue.





 

The festival took up a huge stretch of Lowry Ave N.  When I first heard about the festival it seemed too long.. who would travel the whole thing?  Throughout the day I noticed that there were huge gaps in hubs and quite a few people didn't show up so there were open lots and tents like this.  Overall the event was really great but I do think it should have been more condensed.



 

Rejoicing in the open street.







 

Not the best quality photo but I love how it expresses her determination.



Oh, these two.