babycakes

I love cookbooks. I read cookbooks. In fact the other night grant caught me reading every word, page by page out of my newest favorite, babycakes.

vegan, gluten free and mostly sugar free recipes. who doesn't want to have her cake and eat it too? lets get real, I am 30+ and this body is starting to need more tending to. I need to help it any way I can. a "mostly" sugar free life can't hurt. MOSTLY being the key word.

I am all about moderation, but these recipes make me feel like I'm splurging! we made the zucchini muffins and were in love! so dense and moist and wholesome tasting. made with spelt flour, flax meal, agave nectar etc... I will totally be making these again.

last night we made a peach and berry cobbler recipe from this same book, and were not as much in love. didn't really work for us. I think I just need to tweak it a little. I should probably just fly myself to nyc for a taste test at the babycakes bakery. that seems like the logical thing to do.

anyway, BUY it. then you'll have an excuse to shop at whole foods and by things like coconut flour and red food coloring made from veggies and fruits.

(I bought mine courtesy of uncle costco)

old school

this summer on one of many trips out to utah, we stopped by provo to visit some old haunts. number one provo haunt on my list is always wasatch elementary school. this is where my public school education started (imagine me as a 5yr old).
this is the front lawn where we would hold on to the edge of parachute and watch in 80's splendor at the colored fabric being tossed to and fro. I think I might have been wearing parachute pants as I did this.
I kind of miss the old playground set...all steal and bars. this place was rampant with 1st grade kissing tag (why did the boy with warts always chase me?! why?!).
somewhere on this batch of cement I decided my imaginary play name would be "crystal".
this is the hallway and doorway I entered for my 1st day of kindergarten.
this is the door I slammed my finger in during a third grade classroom break in. long story. still have a cuticle in the shape of a triangle to prove it.
best school in the WHOLE land.
I think his name was principal allred...far right.
husband in front of wife's elementary school.
all growned up
this was my family's first house when we moved from fairbanks alaska to provo. It was awesome. indoor pool and racquetball court. views of the provo valley. kate and scott were born when we lived there. we also bought our first nintendo while we lived there. mario brothers, ghosts and goblins and duck hunt.
this is the neighbors house where I would jump on the tramp. my nine yr old self ran over there all dramatic and jumped for what seemed like forever when I found out we were moving sandy. tears were streaming down my face.
my friend annie and I planned to runaway one summers night....another long story. I didn't show but she went through with the plan. we had to have a neighborhood search to find her. she was curled in a blanket in this field behind my house and had pee'd her pants. I felt so bad I bought her a box of twinkies the next day.
sometimes there are random deer in my parents backyard in sandy.

thanks for joining me in a trip down memory lane. happy wednesday!

the one and only


this may be a really weird thing to post about, but I was at office max late last night buying some last minute office necessities, and looked for my all time favorite pen. NOT TO BE FOUND. I'm sure I will be able to find them somewhere else, but it really got be thinking....what would my life be like without these?

It has to be medium point bic and NOT the clear ones, WHITE body (is it called a body?...I don't really want to call it a shaft) and must be blue ink. black ink pens make me kind of sad, UNLESS it's a black sharpie, which makes me happy.

I just really love them, and have for years.

oh, and I am also obsessed with canned air. I have four cans of it sitting on my desk at this very moment.

what office supplies can you not live without? I need to know what else to had to my list.

sound of music sing-a-long

with friends we bought tickets for this ages ago and the day before I lost my voice bossing people around at a wedding. NOT COOL! sing-a-long? SING?! Even though I wasn't feeling my best grant and I made our way to the hollywood bowl. It was so fun! One of my all time favorite movies and everyone was singing along and cheering and hissing. It was magical. kind of reminded me of the same feeling I get when I am in a cycling class...everyone in it together. teamwork. mutual love. I think that's why I like group exercise so much. I love the feeling of a shared cause.

I tried shreaching out the first few songs and then my poor voice said no thank you. we only stayed till intermission, but it was worth every minute.

I must go to austria and dance around on that hilltop, voice intact.

(found this clip on youtube..not the best quality but you get the idea)

homegrown

we have been growing and eating these little beauties. very delish.

we also planted strawberries with our meyer lemon tree. I was going to photograph our first ripe strawberry for the blog... but ate it instead.

oc tanner grand opening






















big thanks to oc tanner for having me out to shoot the amazing opening of their new store in salt lake city. oc tanner is an utah original and has stood out as utah's finest jewelery retailer for as long as I can remember.

I was super excited to shoot the grand opening of this new store because it was in the renovated hansen planetarium, which holds dear childhood memories for me. I never felt thinner than when I discovered how much I weighed on the moon...and who can forget all the blind dates to the laser shows. the building is different now, but beautiful.

I love shooting architecture and details...and there were some special guests that I was able to photograph and meet. truly once in a lifetime.

thank you to all the amazing people I worked with. It was an honor.

she said yes!

my sister kate is marrying jake!! engagement official and wedding date set for december. I am pretty excited. I can't stop daydreaming about the perfect photo shoot locations for their engagements and her bridals.....they must be perfect!...but I have my concerns that no photo will do her beauty justice. from the lines of "sound of music", " how do you hold a moonbeam in your hand"? not easy, but I will try.

kate+jake= great


more photos from that one awesome night at classic skating...








stoker family



































another day shooting in a family's home and I always love the results...crazy, comfortable and fancy free.

I have a slight obsession with this little family. their house is awesome and their yard, even better. janet has done all of the gardening and it is seriously beautiful. We talked about some of my most favorite subjects, photography, food, tomatoes, cooking, travel, family relationships,parenting etc.....

I really wished grant and I lived closer so we could try to copy everything they do and say.

major family crush. love you guys!

birthday surprise

husband came home from work one day this week and presented me with his laptop. I clicked through the powerpoint presentation and saw these....














best early birthday surprise ever!!!!!

I have recently become ever increasingly obsessed with getting back to my island, somehow with someone (I know I went to hawaii 3 times last year, but to be fair, only once to kauai).

It's true I am in charge of travel...online forms just give the mr too much trouble. so, this week in between editing I have been planning and daydreaming. I booked the tickets today and november is the month!

I know it seems like we travel a lot, and we do, but most of it is for work and although those trips can be relaxing at times it's not the same as planning REAL r&r . also, some of you may be thinking "you've been to kauai how many times? don't you want to spend your time and money vactioning someplace else?" for those with any similar questions, I'm guessing you haven't spent much time on the garden isle. it just doesn't get old.

(is my husband a dreamboat or what?)

romney family


















the eyes on those kids....fantastic.

loved spending early evening in the park with your family. great light, great weather, great company.

I can't believe you have 5 kids...beautiful, well behaved AND extremely happy. I could tell they were all really happy.

here's to happy families!

yosemite- labor day weekend

ansel adams isn't the only one who can take yosemite landscapes. so can YOU!
lil' banan joined us for family fun. she was lovin sharing a tent with the newlyweds. I had no choice but to sleep smashed in the middle...but guess who was toasty and warm?

brilliant food tent. bye bye bugs.

sometimes grant carries a lot of electronics.
I didn't take very many photos this trip becuase unfortuantly I wasn't feeling too well. allergic reaction on my lip, upset stomach and motion sickness. wristbands as proof.
happy baby.
did you know they can catch bears in this contraption? makes me kind of sad to think about it. oh, also there were signs everywhere that said, "driving slowly saves bears"....true... but what about, "people beware! a bear might eat you!" I want to protect the bears but I also want to protect myself.

swimming hole. icy water...but we were brave and dipped in.


my fish, mountain river or ocean.

love this one of half dome. want to backpack it and maybe sleep in a hammock off the side of a cliff.

took a short STEEP hike to vernal falls. ate lunch on top of a rock.
"wingapo"



nanny goat bought anna her own raft but the water level was so low we didn't use it. she was very sad not to use her special boat for special people.

I think I was wearing 5 layers at this point. I should have taken measurements.
(ps. thanks to anna for taking photos of me so I can remember how ridiculous I looked)

one of the best things about camping, cooking over a fire. tinfoil dinner night.


on the way home stopped at a little food fair. had these aweseme smoked pulled pork nachos with bbque sauce, ranch and a coleslaw salad on top. SO delicious.
we also tried a navajo taco. ok, but not the best. the bread was too fluffy.
of course we had to get the baby boy a hand dipped corn dog. when you look this good in your 30's you can afford a little grease.

thanks hugh and nancy for inviting us. we had a great time. next time more photos and more star time. next time winter at the ahwahnee?

lisa & rodney- reception- san clemente, ca


























































wedding days are happy and fun (for the most part) and this one was no exception. there's a party, good food, people crying, people laughing, me making people kiss.....but really what I enjoy most about photographing weddings is the intimate look I am allowed into relationships.

I get to spend more time with a new husband and wife on their first day of being married, probably more than anyone else. I get to see them calm each others nerves and look at each other with "new" eyes. I am there to witness a mother and fathers emotion as they kiss their grown child and watch them embark into yet another unknown. I don't really just consider myself a photographer on a wedding day, because I do think that part of my job is to help create a positive environment for everyone I am working with and around. I'm not afraid to give a pep talk or fix hair or yell at the kitchen when it's obvious the bride needs help. I love my role. I love bonding with people in a raw, intimate way. high emotions= being real= no room or time for superficial. ideal situation for ol' rachel.

I think lisa and rodney are great. I loved the bonding that lisa and I did. I am an astute observer (by profession) and I can sense a very happy life for these two. huzzah!

smoke signals

(photo taken by grant m. porter)


my really talented husband took this photo with his iphone. he has been transfixed on the smoke clouds formed by the fires near our home.

he showed me this photo today and I thought it was poignant considering the anniversary of 9/11. two towers, smoke...blue skies.

It's hard to imagine that a day that knew so much tragedy also shares it date with babies being born, people falling in love and someone inevitably laughing somewhere, somehow.

how can extreme tragedy and joy exist together, sharing space and time?...It's painful to think about.

part of my heart will always be in new york city.

today my heart feels quiet for the pains that all of us experience. my heart feels quiet for the lives lost that tragic day.

glacier point-yosemite national park


believe it or not BOTH of these photos were taken at night.

the moon in the first image looks as bright as the sun...but if you look closely you can see stars in the dark blue sky.

...and that second photo...lets just say I have a major star crush. I could lay and stare forever.

we spent labor day weekend in yosemite. it was very pretty indeed. after camping, I flew straightway to utah for work. I make my way back home today...excited this week to work on a wedding, some family documentaries, pretty jewel photos..and really excited to lay on the hammock and continue crushing on the the sky from my own backyard.

happy thursday.

UCLA engagements





o



















these two science love birds have decided to tie the knot. since they both attended UCLA is was an ideal location for their engagements. I was embarrassed to admit I hadn't spent much time on campus. I live SO close..but I think I got a good feel for the place even if it was a summer ghost town.

we had a great time getting to know you both and are so excited for a traditional chinese
buffet!!!....oh and we're also excited to shoot your wedding day. small, intimate weddings are the best.