Paquette Family

Sheila has always appreciated the photos I've taken of Holly, Ryan and their kids. It's safe to say that she's one of the biggest cheerleaders I have on Facebook whenever I post photos that I've taken. It's great that I finally got to photograph her and her family who's always been very warm and welcoming towards me and Amado.

The Paquettes - Evan, Sheila, Charlie and Holly

Mars and Sul with their Gigi and Daddio.

See, it's always the girls that's good at being silly and having fun!

Love this one of the Zivalics.

Sully warming up after splashing around with her dad. Yes, Southern California residents were still going to the beach in January.

Coffee

I enjoy and appreciate things more knowing that I put in hard work with anything that I do, like photography and editing. I now apply the same appreciation when making coffee. It started with the coffee mill we got a few months back which turned into countless hours on YouTube watching videos of "how to brew the perfect cup of coffee" followed by adding stuff to my Amazon.com wishlist. Every morning you'll find me in the kitchen grinding coffee with our hand-cranked mill. It's therapeutic and I don't mind it at all.

For one of the Secret Santas I joined this past Christmas, my cousin Tayler heard my not-so-subtle hints about getting a Chemex coffee brewer. I'm talking about the exact dollar amount and a list of stores where it can be purchased from. Let's just say I am in love with it.

But it didn't stop there. The more I learned about the proper way of making coffee, the more I obsessed about getting a gooseneck kettle. Each tutorial was like an informercial and I'm a sucker for infomercials! It really does work though. I had more control pouring the water over the fresh ground coffee through the elongated spout compared to the wide-open kettle we got from Ikea. 

I also picked up a Hario V60 for when I only want to make a cup of coffee. I've had the red plastic pour-over one for years but complained about the plastic taste it add to the coffee. 

Oh, and I also found some reusable filters on Etsy by CoffeeSock Co. For now I'm just tossing my used grounds in a can and might start composting. Emphasize on "might" since I still have to read up on how to actually execute that task. But for now I think I have everything I need. Maybe a scale to weigh the beans and for an even, more precise brewing. If that still doesn't satisfy me then the Bodum Santos Siphon might do the trick. 

The Dill Family

My 2013 ended with the Dill Family. Linda's kids surprised her with getting their family portrait done for the holidays. Getting everyone together took some work (thanks Maima for not getting annoyed of my messages) since some of her kids were from out of town but the holidays never fails in getting everyone together.

Tom and Linda with their grandbabies Jack and Charlie.

You can always count on the aunts, moms and grandmas to get the kids laughing.

The Dill Family