Stuffed Mushroom Deliciousness [Recipe Share] ~ Tucson Family Photographer

Hi, everyone! I think you can see a pattern here. My assistant, Callie, has the best recipes, and I am living vicariously through her blog posts :)  Here's another fun recipe share from the Hobeck Family favorites list. Warning - these are completely, totally, yummy!

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As many of you know, we’re a military family.  My husband is currently overseas…again.  While I should really be exercising and eating healthy while he’s gone in an attempt to lose this extra “baby weight” (can you still call it that when your “baby” is 18 months?!?!).  However, I find comfort foods are much more appealing right now.  Thus, this blog post!  One of these days, I promise to write a post about something healthy…just not today.

One of the great things about being a military family is all the people you get to meet along the way.  About a year after I moved down here to Tucson, I met a lady who just happened to be pregnant the same time I was pregnant with our first son.  We instantly hit it off and have been fast friends since…despite the fact that she left us to go to Colorado (how dare her husband get re-stationed!).  During this time, she would always bring the most delicious appetizers to all of our functions…stuffed mushrooms!  They were always the hit of the party!

So, with the weekend at hand and lots of holiday fun on the horizon, I present to you…

Bonnie’s Stuffed Mushrooms

16 oz whole white mushrooms (take out stem, but save)

4 oz cream cheese (at room temperature)

8 oz sausage (I use, the regular Jimmy Dean sausage, but any sausage will do)

¼ cup beef broth

Brown the sausage and drain excess grease.  Chop the stems of the mushrooms.  Mix sausage and chopped mushroom stems together with the cream cheese and 1/8 cup broth.  Spoon the mixture into the mushroom caps. Place filled mushroom caps into a 9x13 baking dish.  Add another 1/8 cup broth to the bottom of pan.  Bake at 375 for 15 minutes. 

Note:  The filling is delicious!  I often will double the recipe for the filling and then use it as the filling in an omelets.  I’ve been known to eat it as a type of dip on tortilla chips too. Yum!

These are a perfect appetizer to make for this year’s holiday party.  You may want to make two trays of them, though, because they go fast! 

Enjoy!
Callie

What to Wear for Family Photos ~ Tucson Family Photographer, Oro Vally Family Photographer

Yep, it’s that time again…another What to Wear with Callie.

It is a busy time of year here at Stephanie Newbold Photography! Stephanie is COMPLETELY booked for 2011 as far as Family Portrait Sessions go, and I know that there are lots of families on the schedule who just might be pondering the ol' "what to wear" question.

 Well, first off, congratulations on booking your session!!  I know how hard it is to coordinate everyone's schedules and find the time to get your family photos done. The next step is figuring out your family’s wardrobe.  You are probably staring into your closet, your husband’s closet, your kids’ closets and wondering, “What the heck are we going to wear?”  Before your eyes glaze over and you give up and head to Starbucks, please take a deep breath and finish reading this blog post!  I promise, we’ll get you looking AMAZING and put together for your big photo session!

Remember, we have a new addition to our team over here.  When you book a session with Stephanie, you get a free consultation with our stylist Allie.  Don’t let her age fool you, she’s AMAZING at finding just the right outfits to "fit" each person's personality. She will have you and your family looking fabulous, whether you go shopping for new outfits, or whether we're working with what you already have!  Yep, she’s THAT good!  So don’t stress.  This should be fun. 

As you are thinking about your wardrobe, though, keep a few things in mind…layers, textures, and accessories.  Adding a few simple things can take your "I've worn it a hundred times" favorite outfit and make it feel new! Take a look at these fun Fall combinations…

This is such a fun look for any family. And the color pallette works for just about everyone - the warm, rich browns of fall with the pop of pink? How fun!  Notice the way the layers are incorporated with a jacket over Dad and Sister’s outfits?  And how about the fun color of Mom’stop?  The ruffles here and also on Sister's jacket add just the right amount of texture to add that something "extra" to their outfits without going overboard. And those adorable boots?  All these bring a special interest to the outfit and will leave you looking polished and put together, without looking and feeling overdressed.

Remember, above all, keep it simple and comfortable.  You want the clothes to compliment you…not overpower you.   You want to wear something that is flattering to your body type and something that you are comfortable in.  If you aren’t comfortable in your clothes, that will come across in the photos.  So have fun with it and if you get stuck, give us a call and we’ll get you looking picture perfect in no time!

Happy Wardrobe Shopping!
Callie

Little Rock Stars ~ Tucson Photographer, Tucson Child/Family Photographer, Fun Photo Sessions in Tucson, AZ

I wanna be a rockstar. And I think I want a mohawk. Okay, well, the 5 inch mohawk probably isn't the look for me, but hello - just look at these adorable rock n' roll cuties!! 

This has to be one of my most favorite session ever. I know I've said it a gazillion times, but I love that shooting on location gives me sooooo many options to personalize each client’s photo session and allows me to find the perfect natural backdrop. Seriously, doing family and children's photography sessions in Tucson is so much fun! And I love it when my clients indulge my nuttiness just a little and think out of the box with me regarding location. Location can completely change the mood of the photographs and add an extra special little somethin' somethin'. 

Check out this brother and sister duo, Kelly and Rebel! When I first met these two little cuties, I knew without a doubt, they NEEDED a fun and funky urban location.   First of all, I have to confess that I love shooting urban photography sessions.  They are some of my absolute favorite shoots because they are edgy, fun, and modern.  (side note:  an urban setting can be perfect for your class of 2012 Tucson senior pictures, too!) Anyway, I was hoping Kelly and Rebel's momma wouldn't run the other way when I said I wanted to shoot this session in an alley in downtown Tucson.  But she was all for it, and I just love how the session played out!


And seriously, how can you resist this cuteness ?!? I absolutely adore this brother-sister moment!!

And check out Kelly's mohawk!  He’s really rockin’ it!  Not many people can pull it off, but he definitely can!  I LOVE it!

And this is Kelly's "punk face" :) I think he's got the moody, sulky, teenager face down pat already!

And here's Kelly's little sister, Rebel.  Look at Miss Sassy Pants - I just love her little rock star attitude!

Okay, just one more picture!  Probably one of my favorite everrrrrrr. I have to admit, including the dumpster was all their mama’s idea…brilliant!  Pure genius!

Thank you sooo much Rachael, for being so willing to get down and dirty for our session. It was hot, humid and a little bit stinky in that alley. Your little cuties are complete rockstars in my book! 

xoxox,
steph.  

We'll Always Have Our Pictures ~ Tucson Family, Baby, and Children's Photographer

Meet my friend, Jodi...

Isn't she gorgeous?? I just love love love her family – down to the very tip of my toes. From our very first meeting, our very first photography session here in Tucson, we've just kindof clicked. In addition to being my client and my friend, Jodi was my SpokesMama last year, and honestly, she's just about been my biggest cheerleader as my business has grown...always supportive, always postive, always encouraging me, pointing out new opportunities for me. She's always willing to try new props, new locations, new ideas.  I have truly loved every family photo session we’ve had, every shared Starbucks coffee, every bit of chit chat.

Jodi and her husband, Kash, came to me almost two years ago for a maternity session. I liked them immediately, and had such fun sharing in their excitement, and capturing such a special time for them. And then along came sweet baby Harry, who was a precious newborn and grew so quickly into a funny, sweet, charming toddler with big blue eyes, dimples and the most engaging grin! Over the past almost two years, I’ve been truly blessed to capture Harry’s journey, and to call Jodi and Kash “friends”.  Some of my all time favorite photos capture this family, and they’ve totally captured my heart.

This is such a bittersweet blog post for me today – as much I love sharing these latest photos of Jodi and her sweet family, it makes me a little blue, too. They’re moving away today, on to another adventure. I am so happy, and so excited for them!  And I am so thankful to have been able to journal baby Harry’s first 18 months with many fun family sessions that involved lots of laughs, lots of Starbucks, and lots of sweet, beautiful photographs.  Jodi was kind enough to squeeze in my request for a last session before they left, and here are a few photos from what was truly  more like a play date – a warm, sunny visit with friends. 

Jodi and Kash – safe travels and good wishes! I’ll miss you terribly, but hey – I can always look back on our photographs, and you'll be.right.here. , right? Yep, we'll always have our pictures!

xoxox,

steph

Pieces of Me ~ Tucson Senior Photographer, Tucson Senior Pictures, Tucson Family Photographer

Do you remember dropping your baby off at Kindergarten? How excited and nervous you both were?  How you picked her outfit so carefully, and how you over-packed her lunch box with all of her favorite things because you wanted to be sure she ate SOMEthing? And how when she skipped off to the play ground to meet her new friends, a tiny little piece of your heart skipped off with her?   If you’re like me, you cried aaaall the way to work , big ol’ puddles of tears, complete with raccoon mascara eyes and a red, runny nose. Pretty picture, huh?

Well, my baby started high school last year, and that first day of school?? SAME THING.  Only she didn’t skip off to the playground, she literally jumped out of the car and ran off to find her friends, with a great big grin as she waved goodbye.  But you guessed it – I still boo-hoo’d all the way to work, remembering that shy little kindergartener with the PowerPuff Girls t-shirt.

Kelsey is a sophomore this year – a 4.0 student at University High School (one of the top 20 college prep high schools in the country). She’s a busy girl, keeping up with homework in several AP classes (yeah, AP Chemistry starts at 7:00 a.m.), and swimming for both her high school team and her club team (Tucson Ford Dealers Aquatics). Our schedules are so busy these days, it’s amazing that we can all sit down to dinner together every night (but we do).  In fact, life is so busy that I just realized that I pretty much have zero pictures of Kelsey or her brother, Chase. So I vowed to rectify that this year (hello, it’s September already!!!), and when the planets aligned so that we both had an hour or so free, I grabbed the camera and we headed out.

And as luck would have it, 10 minutes after we got to our location, big, fat, black storm clouds rolled in and it started sprinkling. The clouds were so dark that it all but ended our natural light, and we only managed to get a few shots.  But I love what we did manage to get – a couple of super cute pictures of my grown-up girl, and about 30 minutes of time just for the two of us.

PS – styling Kelsey’s mini session was kind of fun, and a bit of a challenge. See, she’s a t-shirt, shorts, and flip-flops kinda girl – always has been. But she wanted to “step it up a notch” (her words) but still look like herself. I love what we came up with. It’s super cute and totally Kelsey! And we didn’t spend a gazillion dollars! Kelsey already had the denim skirt in her closet and she borrowed the necklace from me. The rest we picked up at Old Navy and Forever 21.

Vest – Old Navy, $12.99

Ruffle Neck Tee – Old Navy, $14.99

Boots – Forever 21, $19.99

Bracelets – Forever 21, +/- $5

Steffie G ~ Tucson Teen Photographer, Tucson Family Photographer

Ever have a session that you go home giddy about?  Not necessarily because you have amazing images that will land you on the cover of a magazine (hello, still waiting for that ship to come in), but because it just felt good? I absolutely LOVED this fun mini session with fabulous Stefani. Stefani’s a beautiful young lady, and niece to my friends Andrea and Karrie. Just when I thought I’d met all the gorgeous girls in the Garzelloni family, Karrie introduced me to her niece Stefani. Stef is a cheerleader at Fickett Middle School and she is just as pretty on the inside as she is on the outside. 

Stefani was our model for my camera basics mentor session with Karrie, and she was a complete natural in front of the camera! She was oh so patient as I asked her to tilt her head, cross her feet, relax her arm, smile, don’t smile, relax, sit up straight, lean in, lean back… and hold that pose while I worked with Karrie on her camera settings, and explaining the whats and whys of what we were doing.  Stef's sweet, quiet style was such a perfect fit for a mentor session - and her self confidence was awesome! I love love love working with young ladies who aren't afraid of being  in front of the camera.

I also love teaching camera basics - spending one-on-one time with my clients to show them the ins and outs of their cameras, how take control of their settings, and ultimately how to be a Mamarazzi Extraordinaire.  So many times, I have the privilege of showing them how to use their beautiful expensive cameras for the very first time, and to see that spark ignite when they realize they can create great, everyday, photos of their kids!  How amazing is that?  AND, selfish moment here - I get to take pictures of gorgeous people at the same time.  It really doesn’t get much better!

I loved every minute of photographing Stefani – and I think I can now say that I’ve photographed all of those stunning Garzelloni girls – unless you have another stashed away, Karrie and Andrea??

Steffie G, you rocked it!  Thanks so much, sugar - you made my job super easy!

xoxox,

steph.

PS - Karrie emailed me the other day to tell me she just bought a new camera...yep, she definitely caught the (shutter)bug!

Sweet Little Miss Claire ~ Tucson Family Photographer, Oro Valley Photographer, Tucson Child Photographer

As a family photographer, I naturally spend my time around kids. Alot of kids.  Photographing kids is always so unpredictable, which is just one of the many reasons I LOVE my job.  There is never a dull moment and they keep me on my toes.  Some of my kiddos are sassy, some are silly and some have biiiig personalities for little people. Occasionallly, some of my little clients get a case of the grumps for our photo session, and hey, I totally get it. Not gonna lie...I don't love having my photo taken ;)  

Meet little miss Claire.  Claire just turned one and was absolutely the happiest baby ever! She was all giggles and grins during our session, clapping and waving. She had me completely smitten from click number one, and managed to capture the hearts of passers-by.“What an adorable baby” seemed to be the comment of the day, and I couldn’t agree more!   I can’t even count the number of people who stopped to smile and wave at Claire during our session. In fact, on a couple of occasions, I shamelessly enlisted their help, asking them to stand just over my shoulder and wave at Claire, so I could draw her attention in my direction. 

David and Emily (better known as Claire’s Mommy and Daddy)  were hoping for a location with some local Tucson color for their session, as well as little bit of nice green grass for their peanut to crawl on. They were hoping to find a spot where I could, as Emily put it, "capture the sweet family moments with their girl".  Luckily, one of my favorite locations provides just that, and I love how we managed to combine both in one session.

It was super overcast and dark,  and sooo muggy and sticky outside (seriously, can we please be DONE with the heat?!?), but you’d never guess by the beautiful, bright smiles we captured. This sweet family was such a joy to work with - I just love photographing happy people!

We had a nice stroll downtown, played in the cool grass, and even managed to capture a shot just as sweet Miss Claire toddled a step or two on her own for the first time. YAY! I love being able to capture these little milestones!

David and  Emily, thank you so much for sharing your sweet girl with me -- it was so fun to meet you!!

xoxox,

steph.