I was able to sneak outside early this morning before church to capture the beautiful fall frost.  This is my favorite time of the year, when the sun sparkles off the early morning frost, creating beauty in the quiet early morning hours.  I am a morning person anyway, and someday I hope to be able to head out every morning to shoot, enjoying God’s creation by immersing myself in it.

This is a quick and easy apple cake recipe that works great if you need something fast and easy.  Enjoy!

Caramel Apple Bundt Cake:

1 pkg yellow cake mix

1 pkg instant vanilla pudding

1 c. water

4 eggs

1/3 c. oil

1 T cinnamon

3 apples, peeled and chopped (I used honeycrisp)

1 can caramel topping

grease bundt pan.  mix all but apples with a beater, mixing well.  gently stir in apples.  pour into greased bundt pan.  bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.  drizzle with caramel just before serving.  mmmm…

This was the first year that almost all my boys would put their hands into the pumpkins to gut them.  Only Jordan refused again this year, saying it was too yucky.  But Justin and Brendan jumped right in.  We had lots of fun carving, with Justin doing all his own carving this year.  Good job boys!

I found this really easy recipe the other day and thought I’d try it out on my church small group.  I actually rolled out the rolls and sliced them the night before and placed them back into the refrigerator to bake the next day.  The rolls did not rise as much as I thought they would and I don’t know if I had done it all in one day if that might have helped.  But they tasted great and were so very easy to throw together.  Enjoy!

Mini Cinnamon Rolls:

1 loaf frozen white bread dough

4 T melted butter

2/3 c brown sugar

2 T cinnamon

1/2 c whipping cream

chopped pecans (optional)

milk and powdered sugar

Thaw loaf of bread dough.  Roll out into a large rectangle.  Brush with melted butter.  Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon on top.  Starting on the longer edge, start rolling the dough until completely rolled up.  Slice into 1″-2″ pieces.  Places into a greased pan.  Put in a warm spot and let rise for about 1 hour.  Drizzle with cream.  Sprinkle on pecans if desired.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes.  Invert onto a plate.  Mix milk and powdered sugar into a frosting, pour over warm cinnamon rolls.  Enjoy!

I’m such a bad daughter!  I had every intention of posting this on my mom’s birthday last week Thursday, and the week just got away from me.  But better late than never I say.   Happy belated birthday to the best mom a girl could ever ask for.  I consider my mom one of my best friends and love her for everything she has taught me, all her help that she gives selflessly, her great Sunday lunches after church and so much more.  I love you mom, happy birthday!

So, I’ve been a very bad blogger lately.  I’ve had weddings every weekend for the past month (which is great), but that does not leave much time during the week to experiment with new recipes.  Today my twins asked for grilled cheese.  Now, I love a good grilled cheese as much as the next person, but I just wasn’t feeling it today.  So I scrounged through my cupboards and came up with this quick, throw together pizza and ate half of it myself for lunch.  It was quite delicious.  Try it when you need something in a hurry, you won’t regret it.

Apple, Gorgonzola and Artichoke Pizza

1 Boboli thin pizza crust

1 T olive oil

1 large apple peeled and thinly sliced (I like something tart, but it’s completely up to you)

1 cup Gorgonzola cheese crumbles

1 small can mushrooms

1 can artichoke hearts

1/4 cup pine nuts (candied pecans would be better, but I didn’t have those)

1 T honey

3 t lemon juice

3 t Dijon mustard

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Place crust on baking sheet.  Spread oil over crust.  Arrange apple slices on crust.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Sprinkle mushrooms, artichoke hearts and pine nuts on next.  Bake for 8-11 minutes.  I cooked mine for 8 and it could have used another 4-5 minutes, but that’s just my oven.  While cooking,  combine honey, lemon juice and mustard and whisk together.  Set aside.  Remove pizza from oven and drizzle with honey mixture.  Cut into wedges and enjoy!  Mmmm….

I couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day to celebrate Amy & Mike’s wedding last Saturday. The weather was a photographer’s dream and the location was beautiful. With family from all over Michigan, they decided to celebrate the day somewhere in the middle. They chose Cadillac, having their reception at the beautiful Caberfae Ski Resort. The colors were awesome and love was in the air. I hope you’re enjoying your honeymoon in Jamaica!  And may God bless you both as you begin your lives together!

Hair and Makeup:  Posh Salon, Cadillac

Flowers:  Hagstrom’s Flowers, Cadillac

DJ:  Eagle Entertainment, Josh Rheaume

Reception Location:  Caberfae Ski Resort

To see their beautiful slideshow from the wedding day, click here.

I had a great family session earlier this week on Monday with a fabulous family from my church.  Mom asked if we could do it right in their backyard because it is so pretty this time of year, and of course I said yes.  I love shooting at a person’s home, it makes the pictures so much more personal and everyone in the family is usually much more comfortable.  The two girls remind me of me and my sister when we were younger, they were so much fun to take pictures of.  Dad has a new job where he doesn’t get to see his family for several days at a time, so Mom wanted new family pics on the walls so the girls would have constant reminders of Dad and not miss him as much.  Thanks again for letting me and my boys come over to play and take pictures.  These are some of my favorite family pis I’ve ever done!

Sara and I took the kids to Robinette’s to run off a little steam today.  The kids had fun and we were able to enjoy some beautiful October weather.

It was such a beautiful day for a wedding this past Saturday. And I was lucky enough to share it with two awesome families. Sarah and Justin, I’m so glad I was able to work with you and pray for blessings in your marriage as you become a family. Thanks again for a special day! And it was great to see two other couples that I photographed not so long ago.  The brother of the bride and his wife, with their new baby and the brother of the groom and his wife.  I hope you’re enjoying Traverse City.  To see the slideshow from this beautiful October wedding, click here.