Suzanne McGrath Photography

Renee Kelly's at Caenen Castle Wedding....{Kansas City Wedding Photographer}

There I was, sitting at my desk one day when we started emailing back and forth.  We do this every couple months - it's our way of catching up.  Of staying in touch with each over the past 10 years.  Darcy asked innocently, "You don't happen to know of any single, emotionally available men?"  On the one hand, she was joking.  Her dating life had it's share of ups and downs.  On the other hand, what did she have to lose?  

Chris immediately jumped into my head.  It was a conversation we had a couple months earlier that made me realize he might be a good fit.  I immediately responded to her and said, "Yes, actually I do." On the one hand, I meant it.  On the other hand, I thought she'd laugh me off and say she was done with blind dates.  But no, she shocked me and asked me to set her up.  She was game.  I was slightly stunned. After all, Chris WORKED for me.  As in, I was his boss.  As in "Not here.  Not ever."  How was I going to broach this subject without offending him?  But I couldn't let down my dear friend...

So I walked over to his cube, sat down, and the rest is history.  They met, hit it off immediately, and were married a year and a half later.  And I was able to capture their wedding.  Does it get any more perfect than that?  I think not...

 

Darcy and Chris opted for a First Look.  Her expression below is just priceless.

 

This is Chris's face during the First Look.  I just love his grin - like he's saying, "Yep.  Did ya see that?  She kinda likes me."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Darcy, you were such a gorgeous, happy bride!

 

Doesn't this make a stunning entrance?  

 

The venue is really beautiful.

 

Dinner was served downstairs in "The Cellar".  It's a really cool room and it was just the perfect size for their families.

 

I loved, loved, loved the flowers.  After all, I do so love pink!

Darcy and Chris, I am just over-the-moon happy for you two!

Six on Sunday...the make up edition

OK.  I'm back on Sunday.  I'll try to make this one longer to catch you all up with our life.

1.  We had a fabulous Memorial weekend.  It was so nice to just stay home and hang out.  There was no agenda - just whatever sounded good to us.  No softball games, no soccer games, minimal swim practices.  Sweet.

2.  I did manage to squeeze in shooting my wedding.  Of course it rained.  That's twice in a row.  I feel like I'm a jinx.  Seriously.  What's up with the rain?  Of course we managed to work around the rain and a full wedding post is coming up.  But I have about a bajilion images to edit first - so it may take a little while longer than normal!  For now, here is your sneak peak.  Hint:  Darcy's flowers were GORGEOUS!

3.  The last two weekends have been filled with this:

It's been great.  This weekend both the grandparents ended up being in town on the same night.  The hubby's folks were traveling through KC on their way home from Hilton Head and my folks were traveling through KC on their way to vacation in Arkansas.  We decided to join forces and we had a FABULOUS evening at the pool and back at my sister's homestead eating pizza.  Yesterday was a day that definitely filled my bucket.

4.  I've managed to squeeze in long runs the past two weekends.  I really like getting my run in early Saturday morning.  It just sets such a great tone to my weekend.  Last weekend I suckered the hubby into 8 with me and this weekend I suckered my friend, Carmen, into 6 with me.  (I may have run a few more miles afterward.)  All in all, I just love it.  I'm not training for anything but I still enjoy the long runs.

5.  #1 and #2 both had their last day of school.  I think I was just as excited as they were because the last day of school means SUMMER has arrived!

6.  I've tried out new recipes in the last few weeks and they have both been SUCCESSES!  The first was a family favorite.  In a family of six people it's difficult - if not impossible - to come up with something new that all six of us enjoy.  This was one of those meals.  I found this somewhere on the internet but I can't remember exactly where.  Therefore, I do not take credit for this DELICIOUSNESS.

Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce (serves 4 or six if there are four kids!)

For the Tzatziki Sauce:

16 oz. plain greek yogurt, drained

1 cucumber, peeled and seeded

2-3 large garlic cloves, crushed with a garlic press

1 tsp white wine vinegar

salt and pepper

juice of 1 lemon (about 2 Tbsp)

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

For the chicken:

4 cloves garlic, crushed with a garlic press

juice of 1 lemon

2 tsp red wine vinegar

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 heaping Tbsp plain yogurt

1 Tbsp oregano

salt and pepper

1 1/4 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast, trimmed and butterflied

To assemble:

Pita bread or Mediterranean flatbread

Fresh tomatoes, diced or sliced

Cucumbers, thinly sliced

Red onion, thinly sliced

Romaine lettuce, shredded

Feta, crumbled

Prepare Chicken:

1.  In a shallow baking dish, combine all ingredients except chicken, mix well

2.  Spread seasoning mixture evenly over chicken, cover entire dish and refrigerate for an hour

Prepare tzatziki sauce:

1.  In a food processor or blender on the pulse setting, chop cucumber until finely chopped.  Squeeze excess liquid from the chopped cuke with paper towels (there is a LOT of extra liquid) - you want to remove as much of the water as possible.

2.  Add all other tzatziki ingredients to the food processor and pulse until well combined.

3.  Transfer to a bowl, cover and refrigerate for an hour or more to let the flavors meld.

Grill Chicken:

1.  Grill chicken on medium heat or cook under a broiler until cooked through.

Assemble Gyros:

Spread tzatziki sauce on half of one pita, add chicken, lettuce, cucumbers, red onion, tomatoes, and crumbled feta.  Top with more tzatziki if desired.

Chow down!

The hubby and I also tried out a steak recipe that we LOVED.  The chimichurri sauce is so good that you can even dip your broccoli into.  Does it get any more perfect than that?  I think not.

Grilled Flank Steak with Chimichurri

12 oz flank, skirt, or sirloin steak

1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley

1 bunch scallions

3 Tbsp red wine vinegar

2 Tbsp water

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp dried red-pepper flakes

1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

1/4 cup olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

How to Make it:

1. To make the chimichurri sauce, mix the vinegar, water, garlic, salt, pepper flakes, and black pepper.  Whisk in the olive oil.  When everything's blended, whisk in the parsley

2.  Preheat a grill or grill pan on high.  Season the steak with salt and pepper and place it on the hot grill.  For medium rare, cook it for 3-4 minutes on each side.  Trim the roots from the scallions and add the entire bunch to the grill just after you've flipped the steak.  Cook the scallions until they're lightly charred, about 4 - 5 minutes.  

3.  Drizzle the steak wit the chimichurri sauce and serve it with the grilled scallions.

I tore this recipe out of the hubby's Men's Health two years ago.  I don't know why it took me two years to try this - it was great and super easy!

7.  Last weekend we took a family bike ride to Einstein Brothers for bagels and then on to Deanna Rose.  The girls had a great time.  And it feels wonderful to be able to get out on bikes - all six of us!  Mind you, we get quite a few stares.  (I think we may resemble a circus act.)  But it was totally worth it.

Here are the girls at bagels.

These were all shot at Deanna Rose.  Love that place.

8.  I started to refinish my mid-century dresser.  It really wasn't terribly difficult to sand all the drawers.  They are now waiting in the garage for their first coat of stain.  I can't wait.  I think they are going to look terrific when I'm done.  Of course I'll post it on here!

9.  Today was #1's last soccer game.  It was a beautiful morning for a soccer game.  If only her team would have come out victorious.

10.  I've mentioned it before, but #4 is finally talking.  She's still a little hard to understand, but we get most of it.  For example, she has to have her to bunny when she takes a nap or goes to bed.  She always asks for her "wunny".  She adores her flip-flops and always tells us "ee-dops" when she puts them on. (Her sisters had to translate that one for me!)  She calls each of them by name, but of course none of them sound completely accurate.  I don't care.  I just love how much she is talking!

And there you have it.  I gave you 10 on Sunday to make up for my lackluster posting last week.  Have a good one! 

 

 

 

 

Becca and Rob's Wedding - the "Official" Post

I have been promising this post for awhile now.  I realize I've been slow on the draw...  

I have to admit, I had NO idea what I was getting myself into by photographing a wedding - even a very small, intimate one.  You see, I use Photoshop to edit my images which means I edit each and every image by hand. I don't have Lightroom which allows a user to "batch" edit images.  Well, a wedding results in a LOT of images which means a LOT of time behind the computer.  Ahhhhhhh, I'm finally done.

Here are a few details I captured; as well as a few more of the bride and groom.  

Isn't her ring gorgeous?  I wanted to take it home with me...just sneak it in my camera bag:)

And one more of the happy couple...

Good luck in Australia!

Six on Sunday...a busy week

Wow!  Where did the week go?  It feels like Valentine's day was months ago.

1.  We had a very laid-back V-Day.  All four girls had parties at school.  The hubby was able to hit #3's party and then she went with him to pick up #1 and #2 from school.  A nice treat for all of them.  

We had a "special" dinner of heart-shaped pizza courtesy of Papa Murphy's.  Now that's my kind of dinner!

After dinner, the littles started playing around.  They are hilarious.  #3 thinks hiding under the desk is pure genius and that we can't POSSIBLY find her.  And #4 just wants to do whatever #3 is doing at that moment.  I had my camera handy but the speedlight wasn't attached.  This is what I grabbed.  I don't care.  It's so funny - makes me laugh every time I see it.

2.  I waited until the last minute to put together my baskets for the two auctions I mentioned last week. I think they turned out pretty cute, if I do say so myself!  And word on the street says my item made more than $5 last night.  WooHoo.  Success:)

(Note:  These two pictures were taken on the "dead mouse craigslist table" mentioned here.  Not too shabby, huh?  And I haven't even fixed her up, yet.)

3.  The projects continue...this weekend was a light one, however,  I managed to move a small shelf unit from #1's room to #4's room.  #1 decided it was too babyish for her.  And #4's room is going to undergo a change to big girl room soon - so it was perfect timing.  Since we took down shelves that had hooks, we hung up some cool, modern hooks (two sets) on #1's wall.  I'll post a picture once we get her decal headboard completed.  I really think it looks cool!

We also managed to get a SWIM sign hung in her bathroom along with a flip flop hook for her robe.  She has now decided she will shower in there.  Can I get a WOOHOO?!  I'm going to get my bathroom back someday.

We're this close finishing up #2's pinboard.  I talked about it earlier - but we're going for this, in case you don't remember or are a new reader.  For a mere $40 (with lots of leftover MDF) it sure beats Pottery Barn's price.  And more than that, I get such a feeling of satisfaction of doing it myself!

4.  One of my New Year's goals was/is to spend more meaningful one-on-one time with my girls.  So today was the day for #2.  We went to church together.  And to celebrate, we stopped at Duncan Donuts for a treat.  We were able to just hang out and talk - the two of us.  It was really nice.  And we capped our date off with a trip to Target to get her some new running shoes.

5.  Why did we get new running shoes?  We started running today!  #1 and #2 went out with me and we ran/walked about 2.5 miles.  We ran for 60 seconds and walked for 90 seconds.  They were such troopers.  I know they were tired but they didn't complain.  And they both still want to run a 5k with me with me in a couple weeks.  I was so proud of them.  

6.  I saved the best for last.  My friend, Becca, got married last night!  I was able to photograph the wedding for her.  As in, she HIRED me to photograph the wedding.  I was so nervous I had a bad dream on Friday night.  I dreamt I went to the wedding but sat and watched it and forgot to photograph it.  It was terrible.  Thank goodness it was just a dream!

The wedding itself was the shortest I've ever witnessed.  The Bishop was awesome, though.  He was really funny and put everyone at ease.  I think the ceremony lasted 5 or 7 minutes.  They held the wedding at their house and it was just friends and family.  It was lovely and intimate and casual.

We were only able to run outside for portraits for about 3 minutes - seriously.  It started raining on us and we had to run inside.  I was able to capture a couple, though.  Here they are.  I'll post more detail shots once the wedding is edited.

Congratulations, Becca and Rob.  Enjoy your honeymoon!