Philadelphia Weddingbee Meetup at Silk City

When I was planning my wedding I was a BIG time reader of Weddingbee.com, so I was thrilled to hear that a Philly meetup was occurring for all the area readers and Bees. The location was Silk City, a diner that has been around for ages, however, with the addition of the Beer Garden and a snazzy take on traditional diner faves Silk City is one of the best spots in the city for brunch. We lounged outside chatting it up sipping Bloody Marys and mimosas. Though I am 9 months out from my wedding I still occasionally stop over to weddingbee and read the updates and post a comment here and there. For all of you newly engaged gals who haven't discovered weddingbee.com head on over and check it out. I swear that it is super helpful to any bride and also crazy addictive.

flamingred - she came looking so chic and stylish, very SATC

Bee readers will recognize this lady. It's Mrs. Cupcake!

Flamingred's bridesmaid came out too.

Bee reader danadelphia.

PS All photos taken with a 35mm lens, edited in Lightroom, sharpened with Pioneer Woman's action in PSE. If you want to see the other settings go over to my Flickr stream and click the properties link for the photo.

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What's in my camera bag

So I have been asked what lens do I use and so here is what I carry around in my camera bag.

First off I am a Nikon girl. I know there are many in the Canon legions but I chose Nikon. One because it was recommended by a good friend of mine who is a fab photographer and uses Nikon too. Two when I went to choose my first DSLR I did not like the feel of the entry level Canons in my hand. They didn't feel as well made as Nikon.

I have 4 lenses in my current arsenal and I rent lens as needed. Hopefully one day I won't have to that but it takes a while till I can bite the bullet and get some of the big gun lenses that are upwards of $2 grand.Yes that is 2000 DOLLARS - US. Photography is not cheap.

From left to right:

1 - Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5/5.6 - this is the kit lens that came with my D3000. It was my primary lens when I first got my camera but I rarely use it now. I only take it out for when I need to get wide angle shots.

2. Nikon 35mm f/1.8 - I LUUUUUVVVVVVV this lens. It was the best investment of $200 ever. It is sharp and produces great photos like the one below. It is my little workhorse and I use it on every job. In fact I can do whole sessions or events with it. On my D90 and D3000 it more like a 50mm since they are DX (cropped frame sensors). Is the star of my little camera bag and I can't imagine leaving it at home.

3. Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6 - This was the second lens I purchased. I use it occasionally when I need to zoom from far away and I don't want to be obtrusive but I much rather prefer my prime lenses.

4. Nikon 50mm f/1.4 - People wax poetic about the 50mm and while I like it, I don't love it. Behind my 35mm it is my most frequently used lens. Maybe I have not fallen in love with it because I have DX camera and it is more like a 75mm lens on my bodies. When I switch to a FX maybe I will join the legions of adoring fans. But I do love the sharpness and beautiful bokeh it provides and use it as my primary portrait lens.

I am looking to get another lens soon (after promising my husband) no more lenses till the end of the year ;(

I have my eye on the following:

Nikon 20mm f/2.8
Nikon 24 mm f/2.8
Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8

I just need to decide on which one.

If you haven't noticed I love shooting with prime lens. i don't mind having to move and i love the results they give you.

And hopefully if I am a good girl and business is good this year I can get the holy grail  - the Nikon 24-70 f/2.8.

Hope this helps.

Oh and I also have a SB600  external flash that I use on jobs as well, but I try my darndest not to use a flash and I never use one for my casual photgraphy (except today to take this pic - on my poorly lit bookcase). But almost every photo I have posted here on MarthWannabee has been without a flash.

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The Garden has been all abloom

The garden has just been bursting with flowers. My rose bushes all except one have been alive with color, my rhododendrons were bursting with lovely petals of pink, and now my hydrangeas are starting to make their appearance after a poor performance last summer. If the summer continues this way this may be the loveliest year for my garden yet.

Just towards the end of the bloom time for my rhodies.

My one foxglove plant which has now yielded all its flowers.

A new edition to the garden this year. I forget the name.

My hydrangeas are just starting to turn pink. I would love to have white ones.

Not a big fan of daisies but they are hardy and bloom for a long time.

My cactus, which sticks me ever year yields beautiful big yellow flowers. As you can see weeds love to hide out in it since the needless make it hard to weed.

Coreopsis another hardy plant that blooms all summer.

And my mini ivory roses. They are so lovely and are growing over their bed like weeds but I don't mind.

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Pet adoption Day at Northern Liberties Piazza

Did I ever share with you the pics from our outing to Pet Adoption Day in Northern Liberties at the Piazza? Be prepared for some major furry cuteness. We almost came home with a gorgeous pure bred cocker spaniel. However, Roe and I have decide to hold off on another fur baby till we get our new house and have more time to give it all the attention it deserves. Plus my little guy Donnie is getting old and crogegty and I swear he has a touch of AS (is that possible in cats), that I want to be able to focus just on him for now.

The little guy on the left was going to all the cages and spilling out the water bowls. Naughty!

Free dog treats offered by my friend Tara from Avery's Pet Styling Salon and Boutique.

I didn't forget my feline friends.

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Experiments with Apple Pie

It seems like I have not done a food posting in forever. No I am not on strike from cooking its just that I haven't been experimenting with anything new or doing anything that fabulous.

Last week I was inspired out of the blue to make apple pie to go along with our pork chop dinner. Now granted I LUUUVVVVV apple pie but I have never made it before in my life. (Isn't that terrible?) The biggest deterrent has always been that I didn't know a great pie crust recipe, that is until I learned Pioneer Woman's recipe. Only since then have I felt I had a foundation for making good pie. So I decided to take another page out of her recipe book and try her Flat Apple Pie Recipe.

Now I will tell you I had a hard time with this recipe because I did not thoroughly read the directions. It requires  2 pie crusts and I used one. DOOOOHHHH! Which resulted in too much filling, which tore the crust , which made filling spill onto the baking sheet and caused a hot smoky mess in my kitchen.  So my filing could have been a little more caramelly (is that even a word but you know what I mean) but otherwise it was totally tasty. The recipe for the filling yields a filling that is just right in terms of taste - not too sweet not too tart. I only modified it a bit by adding cinnamon. I am definitely going to use the filling in more traditional pies as well.

And next time I will use 2 pie crusts!

As you can see it is extra brown (burnt) around the bottom edges. But it was still really yummy.

Pioneer Woman's Flat Apple Pie

Ingredients

• 5 peeled & sliced Granny Smith apples
• 2 tbsp. flour
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 recipe Perfect Pie Crust
• 6 tbsp. butter
• Cinnamon to taste

Method

1. Preheat oven to 375-degrees.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the apples, flour, lemon juice, granulated sugar, brown sugar and salt. Set aside.
3. Roll out two pie crusts into large circles. Place the circles on large baking sheets.
4. Place half the apple mixture on one crust and other half on the other crust.
5. Fold over the edge of each crust so that it covers 2-3 inches of the apple mixture. No need to be artistic - the more rustic the better.
6. Dot the tops of the pies with chunks of butter.
7. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the filling is golden and bubbly. If the crust appears to brown too quickly, cover the edges with aluminum foil for the remaining baking time.
8. All to cool slightly, then slice into wedges with a pizza cutter.

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Farmer's Market on the Piazza

Roe and I went to SPCA Adoption Day this weekend at the Northern Liberties Piazza. We have been going back and forth about adding a new fur baby to our family. We already have Donnie my faithful feline friend but Roe has his heart set on a dog. We have visited breeders but quite frankly at this point neither one of us has the time to properly raise a dog. So needless to say we came home empty handed but I do have some photos to post of some of the cute cuddly guys we met.

Every weekend on the Piazza there is a farmer's market and me being a foodie could not pass up all the yummy farm fresh goodies. I even was able to stop over at Brown Betty's Cupcake Boutique and indulge in my love of moist cakey goodness.

Roe went crazy with the make your own snack mix and they had toffee covered cashews - OMG a taste of heaven.

Of course I had to get a half a dozen cupcakes (and yes I did share with my husband).

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Planning a Luncheon for Mommy - Invitations

As Deb from Owl and Bunny can attest to a couple of weeks ago I was going back and forth regarding choosing an invitation for my mother's birthday luncheon I am hosting. My mother will be 59 this year and I was holding off doing something special for her until next year when she turns the big 6-0. However, my mother had a series of health scares the past couple of months one of which involved a potential diagnosis of cancer, which thank the Lord it was not, so I thought why wait. This is the perfect time to celebrate her life and show my appreciation to her for being such a wonderful and giving mother. So I decided to do a birthday luncheon at the Philadelphia Park Hyatt Bellevue XIX, one of our favorite restaurants, for her and 5 of her closest friends.

I wanted the invite to be feminine, light, and sophisticated and also keep with my mother's style and taste. I went back and forth as to whether I should make them myself, order print your own through etsy, or go all out and have them custom done. In the process I had a hard time making up my mind and kept waffling back and forth between the three options. I even went as far as drafting up an invite in Photoshop but put the kibosh on it when my mother said that she hates grey and of course the invites I designed were grey and yellow.

Then I decided to go check out Tiny Prints/Wedding Paper Divas. I order my Christmas cards through them every year (I know shame on me for not using etsy) and recall that they had some very pretty party  invites at reasonable prices. There I found a beautiful bridal shower invitation that I was able to customize to my needs. My mother loved it which was a big relief for me.

Now I can focus on florals and menu selection and of course I will keep you updated.

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