I Scream for Maggie Moo's Red Velvet Ice Cream

My obsession began a couple weeks ago on one of those lazy Sunday afternoons. I was watching Food Network, specifically it was an episode of Unwrapped. I swear, that show always makes me crave whatever they are featuring. They're good! During this episode good ole' Marc Summers featured an ice cream shop called Maggie Moo's. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw this because one just opened up near my house a little while ago, I've just never tried it. It's right next to a Jamba Juice so I always end up opting for that. Well, that's not the case anymore, my friend.

On that episode, they featured Maggie Moo's red velvet ice cream! Well, let me back up just a bit. If you're not familiar with this place, it's very similar to Cold Stone where they have various flavors of ice cream and you choose your mix-ins. Well, unlike Cold Stone, they have more unique flavors such as buttered popcorn, very yellow marshmallow, cinnamoo bun (hehe), and red velvet! I just couldn't get that out of my mind (I love ice cream!), so a week later, I drag my nieces with me to get some. Janelle got vanilla with oreos and Caitlin got chocolate with gummy bears. Of course, I absolutely had to get their red velvet fresh escape, which is red velvet ice cream with brownies, pecans, and fudge mixed in. YUMMO! I swear to you, this is the creamiest ice cream I've tasted! It's sooo good! If you get an opportunity to try it, I highly suggest you do!

If you live in the Bay Area, then you have two options, there is one in Hayward and one in Richmond. I've since been back twice and am still as amazed as the first time. Here's a picture of the dee-lish treat taken by my handy dandy Blackberry (please excuse the blurriness).

Joyce's Mommy-to-Be Shower

Remember I mentioned shooting for my first event as a photographer, but I couldn't give too much details about it? Well, it's time to spill! I was asked to shoot for one of my sisters' best friends surprise Mommy-to-Be shower. I admit, I was kind of nervous. I don't really know why because I've known most of them practically all my life. Maybe that was the reason..haha.

Joyce, the mommy-to-be, was surprised with an afternoon mani/pedi party at Twinkle Toe Nail Bar. The day was full of laughter, gossip, and colorful toes! She was glowing and such an adorable preggy. You may be wondering if she's having a girl or boy...well so are we! The parents-to-be are saving that surprise for D-Day! Ahh...I can't wait to find out!

These were such cute favors! And I got to keep one, which was a major plus. What was inside? Why, mini nail polish, of course!

Can't be a spa day without spa water! Cucumber and lemon water is truly more refreshing than plain water...

Don't try to eat this cake! The diaper cake was such a cute idea. And it was even better with the added cupcakes along the bottom. Those were edible and deee-lish! Thank you Sibby's Cupkakery, I'll be contacting you for some yummy treats soon!

Here she is, the Mommy-t0-Be!


Told you there was laughing. This was taken right after I caught Sharon talking to the baby giraffe on the cake. Heh...silly girl.

Gotta have the belly shot!

Thanks for having me, ladies!

Introducing my Muses

You've seen them time and time again, but I thought I'd give them a proper introduction, especially since they are the two people who are always willing to strike a pose. Anytime I want to test lighting or different settings on my camera, they are always ready and smiling. I seriously think we turned them into camera-hogs, I've caught them many of times with my digital camera taking pictures of themselves. And if I didn't catch them in the act, I'll find out later on when I upload pictures and there are mysterious pictures of their eye or forehead (they are totally into taking self portraits of themselves...just like their auntie!!! ha!).

Well, without further ado, I'd like to properly introduce my nieces, (dun da da dun!) Janelle and Caitlin!As a 'thank you' for putting up with me, I took them out for a Day-O-Fun! They're still young, so hanging out with me is still considered cool. And this Day-O-Fun would not be complete without an impromptu photo session. Of course, right? Here are some highlights from that day.

This is Janelle, the older of the two. She's a total girly-girl and I absolutely love that! On the day of this session, she had a fit about wearing an Elmo and Cookie Monster shirt out because she said it was a pajama shirt. If you know her, then you can imagine how stressed out she was! And she gave me specific instructions on how to braid her hair, including the matching green hair ties.




And this is Caitlin, aka Tates. She is probably the total opposite of Janelle. Tates is a dare-devil, tomboy, and messy. Don't get me wrong, they have their similarities, I mean, they are both goofballs, but that just runs in our blood. Her instructions for her hair that day was basically not to braid it (because it takes too long) and she just wanted one ponytail (so it's out of her face). If she ultimately had it her way, she would skip the ponytail altogether and just leave the house lookin' a mess! Haha...



We completed our day with an ice cream run to Maggie Moo's. And you better believe that Tates' nice, clean white shirt was covered in chocolate by the time we got home.

Im waiting, anticipating for you baby....

Heh...don't let the title of this blog fool you. I'm not waiting or anticipating the way Mike Jones' Next to You song explains it.

I'm pretty excited because I've been asked to shoot pictures at this upcoming event. I can't go into too much detail but in about a week, you'll know why. Without revealing too much, this is kind of the first event where I'm invited as a photographer and not as a guest! It's something small, but still, I'm stoked!

I'm not getting paid, nor did I expect to. I'm just excited to practice and take pictures of people other than my neices or inanimate objects. So wish me luck and I hope I don't disappoint.

Happy Monday!

Fix It Friday: Sweet Boy

Happy Friday! I thought this week was never going to end. Oh the stresses of being a grown-up...blah! heh... One of the highlights of my week was finding this fab candy store! It's called Powell's Sweet Shoppe and the one I went to was in Burlingame, CA. OMG...when we walked in, I just couldn't help but smile. They had new and old brands of candy! And a few odd ones like gummy bacon, ick. I definatley need to hit up that store again, soon! And if I don't speak about food enough (heh...I love food), I am absolutely excited for dinner tonight (which I should be getting ready for right now...ohhh man, they're going to kill me if I'm late).

Well, onward to Fix It Fridays! Here's my take on the photo this week. I did similar edits as the Southern Belle. I just am really diggin' that look right now. I hope you all have a great weekend!

Summer....what's that?

Summer used to mean sleeping until noon. It used to mean getting Jamba Juice in the middle of the day and chatting with friends for hours (well...I guess that still happens every now and then). It used to mean weeks of doing absolutely unproductive and time-wasting activities. That is, until this thing called "work" entered my life. *sigh....

When iHeartFaces posted that Week 30 would be their bye week for contests, and in its place would be a photo sharing week about summer, I thought, "Oh...should I share photos of my cubicle, because that's where I'm spending my summer."(I actually may do that one day!)

This has been in the back of my thoughts for a few days now, and finally thought of the perfect summer post!

Every year, for the past couple years, me and my sissy try to hit up different festivals during the summer. I mean, that's one of the great things about the Bay Area; we're so diverse! There seems to be an Arts and Wine festival in every city, there was the (unsuccessful) Great American Food and Music Festival, and I can't leave out the famous Gilroy's Garlic Festival. But the one that I want to focus on today, is the Aloha Festival at the Presidio.

I look forward to this festival every year! What more can a girl ask for? If I can't go to Hawaii, this may be the next best thing. Live music and dancing, great food, and shopping!

We took our nieces this year. They were a little cranky that day, and it might have been due to the fact that they were out late the night before (no really....they go out! haha)

Ahh...the food. It's probably the main reason we go. Lomi Lomi, Laulau, Poke, Malasadas, and of course Spam Musubi. (and did I mention Hurricane Popcorn?!?!?.....it's heaven)
Here are the girls with two of the performers. Aren't they adorable!?
I still have a few more weeks of summer and I'm going to end it with a bang. I've got a few mini-vacays up my sleeve, so keep an eye out for those posts!