February 10, 2010 by Tamara Kenyon
Some of you have been waiting for these to post. They’re finally here! I had a lot of fun with this couple and cannot wait until the little guys arrive. Here are some of my favorites from the session.
These guys had this fun texture on the outside of their pantry door in their house. I thought it would be a nice backdrop to stand next to for a classic belly shot.
This one is probably one of my favorites from the whole session. I love the colors and the flowers and everything.
Oh how I love backlit photos. They’re especially my favorite for maternity.
Jasper is quite the athlete!
Another big favorite from the session.
Okay again another favorite. That’s why I picked them. This one is awesome because they have a daylight basement (I think that’s what they’re called) so they have the blocked up wall with easy access. Perfect for photos!
This was just a fun one to show that they have 2 on the way!
Posted in Maternity, Newborns | Tagged Boise Idaho Maternity Photographer, Boise Idaho Maternity Photography, Boise Idaho Newborn Photographer, Boise Idaho Newborn Photography | Leave a Comment »
February 9, 2010 by Tamara Kenyon
This isn’t really a food blog but I like to occasionally share some fun (alternative and more healthy) recipes that we eat at our house. This recipe is super easy and quick.
Homemade Mac & Cheese
16 oz penne pasta (I always use whole wheat pasta)
Clove of garlic (optional)
3 Cups of shredded cheddar cheese (1 cup of it will be used later, so separate that out)
2 tablespoons of butter
3 tablespoons of flour
2 cups of milk
Preheat oven to 350.
Boil a pot of salt water and toss in the pasta. I like to put the garlic in with the pasta as they boil. Adds some flavor.
To make the sauce, in a separate pot, melt the butter. Add flour and stir for 2 minutes. Add milk and stir until thick. Stir in 2 cups of the cheese and stir until melted.
Mix the pasta and sauce into a casserole dish. Add the last cup of cheese to the top. I like to add a little salt and pepper as well, but it’s up to you. Your whole house will smell delicious at this point.
Here’s my before shot:
Leave it in the oven until all the cheese is melted and it starts to brown a little bit. Usually takes 15-20 minutes.
The great thing about this recipe is that it’s SUPER simple. You can add whatever you want and spice it up a little bit. Sometimes I’ll add paprika and cheyenne pepper to it. My mom used to put peas and tuna in it as well.
It’s also a nice substitute for that terrible boxed mac & cheese you buy in the stores. By using whole wheat pasta, real cheese, and real butter you actually can benefit from eating it. The large portions are what will damage in this case 
Anyway, here’s an after photo.
We could have possibly left it in the oven a little longer but I was tired of waiting. Enjoy!
Posted in Fun Photos | Tagged Homemade Mac & Cheese | 2 Comments »
February 8, 2010 by Tamara Kenyon
I’m not a huge football fan. Okay, I can admit it, the last NFL game I watched was LAST year’s Super Bowl. However, I love a good get together.
This year our friend decided to host a Super Bowl party at his house. He cooked delicious jambalaya as well as red beans and rice. New Orleans themed if you couldn’t tell. So decided that it would be fun to bring a Mississippi Mud Pie for dessert.
I got it all ready and just had to add the cream to the top and we were ready to go. While putting the cream on this happened:
Yep, I knocked it off of the counter as I was spreading the cream off. So I reached down, dipped my fingers in it and licked it off.
We were literally getting ready to walk out the door when this happened. So we picked up the pie and put the lid on. Anything that didn’t bounce out of the crust stayed and went with us to the party. All the stuff on the ground went in the trash.
People still ate it and we didn’t make it home with any leftovers. Catastrophe avoided.
Posted in Blogging, Fun Photos | Tagged Boise Idaho Photographer | 1 Comment »
February 7, 2010 by Tamara Kenyon
I was supposed to announce the winner yesterday but it didn’t end up happening. SORRY!
Anyway.
The winner is…..
Kiley!
I’m loving the Green turquoise glass earrings with a drop at the end. They are so unique, and would be great for any occasion. Not to mention.. that’s the main color in my wardwrobe. They’re fabulous
Congrats and I’ll get ahold of you to get these lovely earrings to you.
Posted in Contests | 1 Comment »
February 7, 2010 by Tamara Kenyon
Image source: http://xkcd.com
So my husband and I don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day. Why? Because that also falls on my birthday and that’s annoying.
Okay so the real reason is that I’ve always thought that Valentine’s Day is a commercial holiday (however, my view could slightly be skewed because it is my birthday) and if we decide to do anything , it is something that is hand-made.
The other day I found these on one of my favorites DIY blogs, How About Orange.
I’m a fan of hand-making fun cards and gifts where possible. These two cards are a fun and cheap way of celebrating V-Day without spending a lot of cash. It’s also a way to put your own little touch into it.
Posted in Blogging | Tagged DIY Valentine's Day Cards | 1 Comment »
February 6, 2010 by Tamara Kenyon
Monday was quite the blur. I made cupcakes for a Lost Season Premiere Party we’re going to on Tuesday and remembered why I never bake. Chocolate was on my clothes, in between my fingers, and on the bottom of my feet. Yes – it was everywhere.
Needless to say, my husband and I will keep our kitchen jobs as they were. He is the dessert baker and the breakfast man. I am the lunch/dinner and everything in between maker.
Tuesday : 
That’s all I have to say about that.
Wednesday I enjoyed awesome dutch oven cooking at the IWA Annual Dutch Oven Cook Off. The winning dishes were, by far, my favorites. Also made me excited for rafting/camping season.
Thursday I decided to relax. I can tell when my body is on the verge of sickness when I come home and am completely exhausted. It’s not the normal “I had a long week” exhaustion but “I barely can get out of bed the next day” kind of exhaustion. It always happens before I get any symptoms of sickness. It is basically my body’s way of saying “Slow down chicka or I’m going to make you slow down”. How’s “that ” for ” quotations”?
Friday I actually took pride in my appearance. It sounds strange but I rarely wear makeup and put on something other than jeans. Today, however, I decided to wear cover up and wear a fun little outfit.
I’d love to say I planned it, but honestly all of my jeans are dirty and I need to do laundry 
As for the makeup, my face is in need of a little TLC and isn’t as smooth as normal.
Posted in Blogging | Tagged Randoms of the week, Tamara Kenyon Randoms | 2 Comments »
February 5, 2010 by Tamara Kenyon
Here is a fun family. I might be a little biased because I’m related to them This is my uncle’s family. Also known as my mom’s brother. I took some photos in their house a while back and had a lot of fun. Their house a perfect setup for in-home photography. Here are my favorites.
See all this lovely hair? Days later she donated it all to Locks of Love.
As you can tell, this is a family full of musicians. Eli also plays the trombone.
This one of Savannah is probably one of my favorites from the whole session. She’s such a funny girl.
Posted in Children, Families | Tagged Boise Idaho Children Photographer, Boise Idaho Children Photography, Boise Idaho Family Photographer, Boise Idaho Family Photography | 4 Comments »
February 4, 2010 by Tamara Kenyon
I’ve spent the last couple years trying to perfect my logo. I didn’t quite know what feeling I wanted my brand to have. I believe that this is a working process unless you have gobs of money to spend on a marketing consulting company.
Since I redesigned my website, I started figuring it out. I wanted my brand to portray who I am and what my work stands for. I’m an earthy, natural type of girl and my photo sessions are more like hanging out with a new friend.
One day it just hit me and I figured it out. With some help from my Facebook Fans, I was able to perfect it.
Here is my finished new logo. I’ve been testing it out on a couple images on the last two photo blogs. Here’s the full color version. I’ll be incorporating it into my website soon, but for now it’ll be on my images.
What do you think?
Posted in Blogging | Tagged Boise Idaho Photographer, Boise Idaho Photography | 6 Comments »
February 3, 2010 by Tamara Kenyon
A while back I was searching for my very favorite earrings and was so sad to realize that I had lost one of them. After digging and digging, I lost hope and faced the fact that I really had lost one of them. Over the next couple days I’d decided that I needed more dangly earrings. I went on a little earring spending spree and bought a bunch of new pairs.
During the search I had found these on Etsy.com and fell in love with them.
During the shipping process something happened to the package and it never arrived. I contacted the Etsy Seller and she was so quick to take care of me and send me a pair of earrings (that literally showed up a couple days later). During that conversation, Heather (the Etsy Seller) and I decided it might be fun to giveaway a pair of these here on the blog. Yeah! Score one for you guys.
So, we are giving a pair of these to one lucky reader. This can be for you or even a fun gift for V-Day. I will mail it in time to get there in time. Here’s what you’ll win:
Rules:
Browse Heather’s Etsy Store.
Come back here and leave a comment about something in her store you liked. That comment is your entry. Make sure that your email address is in the comment section where it asks for it. Otherwise I won’t know who you are and you won’t be able to claim your prize.
One comment per entry, but you have other opportunities to get extra entries.
To get an extra entry:
Blog about the giveaway, come back and post the link to your blog entry.
Use your status on Facebook to tell everyone about it, come back here and post that you did it.
Tweet about the giveaway by posting this: “Win a Pair of Earrings made by @HeatherAn_Arts hosted by @TamaraKenyon http://bit.ly/bDVgtL ” After you tweeted it, come back and post that you did it.
Contest will close on Friday February 5th at midnight. Winner will be announced on Saturday.
Stay tuned in, I have some more fun stuff coming in the future. Good Luck!
Posted in Contests | Tagged Earring Giveaway, Free Stuff, HeatherAn_Arts | 7 Comments »
February 2, 2010 by Tamara Kenyon
So far so good on my blogging challenge. Since I’ve started, I’ve been able to blog every single day. It’s quite liberating actually. I will be the first to admit that it’s not been an easy task. My brain is always thinking of things that I can blog about. Sometimes I’ll have lots of ideas, other times I will be racking my brain for ideas.
Along with that theme, I found an article from Digital Photography School on how to stay inspired every day.
Here are the basics of how to stay inspired. You’ll have to head over to the article to read the details of it.
1. Keep a notebook.
2. Take your camera with you wherever you go.
3. Read biographies of artists that you admire.
4. Experiment
5. Start a personal project (ie: 365 project).
6. Visit art galleries.
7. Learn something everyday, every week, every year.
8. Visit new places.
9. Look after yourself.
You can find the full article HERE.
Posted in Blogging | Tagged Boise Idaho Photography, Boise Idaho Photographer, How to Stay Inspired, 365 Photo Project | 2 Comments »
