Christmas Cards

I was hoping to have taken family photos this year for the Christmas cards I was hoping to send out earlier this month, but it seems we just never had the time... I did, however, get the opportunity to take some photos of Colette in her Christmas dress and all of which you can see here. It's also looking like I'm not even going to have time to send out the card I've thrown together at the last minute it being so close to Christmas now. But I will, at least, get to include it with all of the Christmas cookies we will start to distribute Friday night. Here's what I've come up with for those of you who are curious to see.

And should we not have the opportunity to say so later on... HAVE A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE! AND, A HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

Christmas Cookies Broadcast

So... no, no photos. Sorry. BUT, we do have an event. Yup, an event! Every year, around this time of year, we broadcast ourselves making Christmas cookies. It's become a strange kind of Mahler Christmas tradition, although I can't promise that it will be especially entertaining for those watching. At least, I can't promise that it will be anything like most of the Food Network's programming. But, it is something to watch in case you are interested. And for those of you who enjoy baked goods of every assortment, it'll be guaranteed to whet your appetite. I, myself, will be baking all week, although I don't believe we plan on broadcasting all of that time. At least, I hope not...

Here's what I'll be making for this year's batch of cookies (truffles, bars, and brownies):

1. Peanut Blossoms


2. Chocolate Crinkles


3. Coconut Macaroons


4. Candy Cane Cookies


5. Peanut Butter Balls


6. Peppermint Meringues


7. Magic Cookie Bars


8. Apple Brownies


9. Chocolate Truffles

And because I have so much to do (between both of our large families and friends), I have made up a schedule for myself to keep things organized. Here's what it's looking like so far (see below photo):

Monday (12/19):

•  Prepare / bake Peppermint Meringues

Tuesday (12/20):

• Prepare Peanut Butter Balls
• Prepare Chocolate Truffles

Wednesday (12/21):

• Prepare Candy Cane Cookies
• Prepare / bake Magic Cookie Bars
• Finish Peanut Butter Balls
• Finish Chocolate Truffles

Thursday (12/22):

• Prepare Chocolate Crinkles
• Prepare Coconut Macaroons
• Prepare Peanut Blossoms
• Bake Candy Cane Cookies

Friday (Main Broadcasting) (12/23):

• Bake Chocolate Crinkles
• Bake Peanut Blossoms
• Bake Coconut Macaroons
• Bake Apple Brownies

This pretty much means I will be in the kitchen the majority of the week... For those of you in the area, stop by and say hi! Be a part of the process! I mean that both literally and figuratively, of course... 

Happy Holidays, everyone! And, be sure to keep an eye on our Twitter to see when we'll be broadcasting!

New Photos Posted: Victus Creus

When our friend Amy described for me what she had in mind for this particular series of photos, I started to get excited. Not that I don't get excited every time I get to do photos for someone - I consider it a privilege more than a job really - but this was something different...

We met up downtown near an ol' favorite venue of mine and Eric's - Kilby Court. Kilby had been the place where I had seen Carissa's Weird, Nika, The Microphones. It was the place where I would first see Eric perform on the drums w/ The Annuals (later to be called Band of Annuals) before he decided to leave the band to live a life of spousal (and later parental) responsibility (hahahahahaha.... oh, wait).

Anyway, the area was perfect. The concept was perfect. The group was perfect.

Victus Creus is their name, and they are "a clothing and and art company working to empower everyone through artistic expression of all kinds." In other words, they are a unique group of people - Ned, Chris, Brin, and Amy - working to promote just the sort of thing we offer you here... art without boundaries, without exclusivity. Art that is not mass-produced or commercialized. Art that will lend itself as much to the artist as it does to the viewer.

And thanks to this awesome group of individuals, we are able to offer you a glimpse of just some of the art we produced that day! Here are some of my favorites: 

         

And, one more thing: a big THANKS to Mason for making our day! 

New Photos Posted: David and Samarah, Maternity Session

Last I knew, this lovely couple - my sister's brother-in-law and his wife - still hadn't had their little boy yet, but I do know that it should be any day now. We took these photos toward the end of August in a kind of strange location. Promenade Wetlands Park in Sandy... sounds like it might be like the Jordan River Parkway, but no. It was actually located in the middle of South Towne Mall. Just a small, humble park with a boardwalk circumferencing it. It had been a wild card, me not being too familiarized with parks in the Sandy area. Still worked out though. That's the beauty of being able to manipulate your shots. You can transform something otherwise mundane and neglected into a thing of beauty.

After we finished up at the Promenade Wetlands locale, we went to Lone Peak Park where we had done some maternity shots for my sister the year before. There, we got some of my favorite shots from the shoot while the sun was going down. 

It's nice to be able to do maternity photos for other women and make them feel beautiful in their skin. I remember feeling ugly and unnatural when I was pregnant with Colette. I didn't want anyone taking my picture, and, as a consequence, I have very few to document the occasion. I think I would feel differently now, though I would have to have very specific kinds of photos done. I would want the photos to express more of a feeling than of a specific look. Then again, that's how I usually prefer my photos to be. If you can somehow capture the way you felt in a specific moment, then that is more important to me than simply documenting the occasion.

Anyway, as always, these photos come to you courtesy of the couple themselves. Many congratulations to the couple when their joyous day finally arrives! It is truly a transformative experience, and it is like to never make for a dull moment ever again. There will be good days, and there will be bad. But, ultimately, it will be one of the best experiences of your life.