Bump Photos with Charlotte Griffiths Photography

One evening a few weeks ago Jeff, Violet, my parents and I squeezed into our little car and made our way to Hirtle's beach. Have you been? The beach is tucked between Rose Bay (wouldn't Anne of Green Gables be tickled by that name?) and Kingsburg, just down the LaHave River from Bridgewater. Though the goal for the evening was a photo shoot, we made a night of it by stopping for supper on the way: mussels and pints all around (don't worry, Violet and I shared a pint...) The beach is a bit of a jaunt from Halifax, but it is one of our favourites and our lovely photographer, Charlotte Griffiths, just happens to live in the near by and equally lovely town of Lunenburg, so she was more than up for the trip.

I had mixed feelings about getting pregnancy photos taken, but we've worked with Charlotte on other occasions and we all love her and I totally trusted her to capture the beauty of my burgeoning belly. I'm so happy we went for it! Not only did we get some gorgeous shots of my belly, we got some pictures of Violet and Jeff and I that I would love, bump or no bump.

If you are looking for someone to take family photos I really can't speak highly enough about Charlotte. She is talented - the way she captures the light takes my breath away, but she is also the sweetest person with the ability to make parents feel at ease and kids feel like taking hundreds of photos is fun. I don't know how that is possible. Violet adores her and frankly, so do Jeff and I.

Check out her awesome work here (or below!): http://www.charlottegriffiths.ca/

xo

Em 

{Nana and Papa even got in a picture - much to both of their chagrin!}

Strawberry Pie (& how is it July already?)

Is it just me or is it all of a sudden summer? Our car is full of sand, our driveway is covered in colourful chalk, strawberries are being sold in roadside trucks and Violet is turning a beautiful shade of caramel (despite being coated in SPF 55, I promise). Oh, and our bedroom is hotter than Hades, but I have vowed never to complain about warm weather, 32 weeks pregnant or not!

Summer and local strawberries go hand in hand and one of Jeff's favourite things in the world is my mum's strawberry pie. It isn't a regular old strawberry pie, oh no, it is an amped up calorie-laden whipped cream and cream cheese love fest coated in strawberry glaze. It really cannot be beaten. The first time Jeff had it he ate precisely half a pie, which may not sound like a lot but trust me, I was impressed. Anyway, I'm not the best wife in the world because I have never made this pie myself. My mum makes it so well and strawberry season is quite short, so the thought has never really crossed my mind. Plus, I basically live in fear of making pastry. I was joking with a friend the other day that I think the dough can sense my stress, probably through hormones I release in my hands, and it gets anxious too! I may be over thinking this, but every time I make pie I end up piecing the crust together and scrapping at least half of it off my counters with a knife.

Does this happen to anyone else?

Anyway, my friend Lisa was telling me her plan to make something fun and red and white for her girls to celebrate the birthday of the true north strong and free and it dawned on me, strawberry pie is the perfect Canada Day dessert. It is red and white and calls for berries than just happen to be in season locally at the beginning of July. Perfect! 

Happily I found a recipe for a strawberry pie very similar to the one my mum makes but with a cookie crust. I can bake cookies. My palms don't get sweaty thinking about baking cookies.

The pie was a big hit. We spent Canada day at the beach with friends followed by a competitive game of bocce ball "Pond v Pond v Pond" style. For supper we had barbecued hot dogs and strawberry pie. Indulgent and delicious. The perfect way to end a perfect Canada Day.

{step one} 

{step two}

{step three}

{enjoy!}

xo

Em

ps -- the recipe I used can be found here: http://www.thelawstudentswife.com/2013/06/strawberry-super-pie/