themed engagement sessions

I love themed engagement sessions! I can't say that enough. Looking around for ideas, I found these amazing photographs of themed engagement sessions. Enjoy!

Candy themed engagement session by photographer, Danielle Aquiline. Love the colours!

A vintage Breakfast at Tiffany's themed engagement session by Axioo Photographers of Indonesia.

A Baseball themed shoot by Jeff Sampson Photography

Love this school themed engagement session from Harrison Long Photography

A cooking themed engagement session from Swoonoverit Photography

Vintage beach themed engagement session by Sara Evans. Beautiful!

Love this vintage inspired shoot. Check out the whole set at Shannon Nicole Smith Photography

Caroline Tran is undoubtedly one of our favourite photographers. Her pictures are just amazing. 

See what I mean?? She's amazing! Love this fishing themed one!

yummy shrimp and tomato pasta

 This recipe is so easy, you'd be eating this yummy pasta by lunch! The ingredients are simple:

1 bag of spaghettini

1 bag of shrimp

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tomato, diced

1/2 cup of chicken broth

2 tablespoons of "I can't believe it's not butter" margarine

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Set aside. 

2. In a medium pan, add the 2 tablespoons of margarine (or butter). I love this particular brand because it tastes like butter, but it's margarine. Haha!

3. Saute the garlic until medium brown. 

4. Add the shrimp and cook until it's brown. Add a little bit of pepper and a tiny dash of salt. 

5. Add the tomatoes. 

6. Add the chicken both to add flavour. Saute until the sauce is thick.

Serve over pasta and enjoy!

easy tuna salad

I learned how to make this Tuna Salad Recipe from my mom. It's great because you can eat it with your favourite greens/veggies and you can also use this on your sandwich as a filling. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

2 cans of tuna

6 tablespoons of light mayonnaise

1 medium carrot, grated

1/2 cup of shredded cheese

2 tablespoons of pickle relish

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Can be served with cucumbers, greens and tomatoes with Asian Salad dressing. You can also add almonds or walnuts for added texture. 

Enjoy!

lemon poppyseed cupcakes with lemon glaze

I love Starbucks' lemon poppyseed loaf and I've been craving for them for awhile now, which led me to find this awesome recipe for lemon poppyseed cupcakes with lemon glaze. Thank you, Joy of Baking!

The Recipe:

I've used the same recipe as stated except that I baked mine in a muffin pan. 

Ingredients:

3 large eggs 1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1/4 cup (60 ml) milk 1 1/2 cups (195 grams) all-purpose flour 3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated white sugar 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (outer yellow skin of the lemon) 3 tablespoons (30 grams) poppy seeds 13 tablespoons (184 grams) unsalted butter, softened For the lemon glaze: 1/4 cup (60 ml) fresh lemon juice 1/3 cup (65 grams) granulated white sugar Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place the oven rack in the center of the oven. Butter and flour (or spray with a non stick vegetable/flour spray) the bottom and sides of a loaf pan (8 x 4 x 2 1/2 inch) (20 x 10 x 7 cm). Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and butter and flour the paper. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla extract, and milk. In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, lemon zest, and poppy seeds until combined. Add the softened butter and half the egg mixture and mix on low speed until moistened. Increase the speed to medium and beat for about one minute. (This aerates and develops the cake's structure.) Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the remaining egg mixture in two batches, beating about 30 seconds after each addition. (This will strengthen the structure of the batter. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 55 to 65 minutes (for cupcakes, bake for 20-22 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. You may have to cover the bread with buttered foil after about 30 minutes if you find the bread over-browning. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, bring the sugar and lemon juice to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Drizzle the glaze over the cupcakes/loaf and refrigerate. You can also use powdered sugar dusted on top, Starbucks style =)

Lulu and Don

Okay. I've been holding back on posting pictures of these two but today, I got the okay, so without futher ado.... Lulu and Don!

Love how easy it is show the love between these two. Their personalities just shine through.

Centreville was in fact the perfect place to shoot their engagement photos. It was so much fun!

And to end, I'm reposting my favourite photo from this set!

Lulu and Don are getting married next weekend =)

hello strangers, want an instax??

Hello strangers. I haven't been here for so long, I can't help but feel oddly detached. Anyway, I hope you're all out there enjoying this glorious summer and doing more interestings than me (than I? I'm sure this is the grammatically correct version. Oh well!). I've been so tired lately trying to get sleep in the middle of window renovations. Working nights does not help at all as I come home attempting to sleep, while workers are banging away without a care in the world. Of course, it's not their fault as they were only doing what they were paid to do. It's just bad timing, unfortunately for me.

Dust and debris and no curtains or blinds have prevented me from cooking anything that resembles a meal. Aside from feeling exposed, I just can't stand the mess at home, the furniture in disarray and everything in utter chaos. I don't know if it's the mess, or the fact that I haven't been so wifely lately, but we've also been fighting an awful lot lately. I shouldn't say fighting, I guess more like bickering. But still. In fact today, we almost broke the "no-fighting-before-bedtime" rule, as I left the house for a night shift without resolution though he knew I will not be seeing him until tomorrow. But of course, knowing how we've always been, he's bbm'd me already with a sorry and a sad face which made me feel guilty because today's debacle was partly my fault and due to my stubborness and incessant need to be right. This said, I know I have some making up to do. Still can't believe sometimes how lucky I am to have such a loving husband.

He used to say, "messy house, messy mind" and I always thought this was bull. I guess he was right.

Anyway, we're taking a photography class together this summer. We haven't been able to go away and do anything due to our work and photography commitments, so it'll be fun to do something different together for a change. I'm also thinking of taking other courses to fill my immeasurable free time. I don't really have that much free time, but it's nice to think of it that way. Hopefully we'll get to do some field work and take some artistic stuff to show you guys. A few more weddings are coming up and soon enough, we'll be busy again trying to catch up. But I do hope I can whip up some cooking/wedding/crafty posts for you next week. We're cleaning these weekend and hopefully get rid of the debris that's been clouding my mind and judgement for a few days now.

Whenever I feel bad about myself, I always feel like I have to do something nice to give back, so here it is. We love this camera so much I want to give someone a chance to win this camera to share the love. All you have to do is send us your favorite summer photo taken by yourself. You can edit it anyway you want it as long as no actualy parts of the photo are altered or changed (like placing the Eiffel Tower in the background to make it seem like you're in Paris). I won't really know if you did something outrageous like that, but I expect you to be honest =) I guess I should have a deadline, otherwise, this giveaway will go on for too long. Let's just say the deadline will be September 30, 2011 to submit your summer photos to adrianandjanaphotography@gmail.com. We will announce the winner on October 20, 2011 to give us time to decide who the deserving winner is. So, what are you waiting for?? Send us your photos soon and win this!

Photo from Photojojo Store

Oh and I'm throwing in instant film with 20 exposures just for fun.

Enjoy your weekend!

summer lovin'

Children have neither past nor future; they enjoy the present, which very few of us do.  

~Jean de la Bruyere

Spent the long weekend visiting my brother and his family in Delaware. Love these photos I've taken of his kids! Back when they were younger, I had the chance to play mommy with his girls and I was so lucky to have had the chance to spend as much time with them the way I did. You can almost feel Janey's happiness in this picture. Love, love, love!

It was a great long weekend spent with my best friend's family as well. It's been awhile since we had a road trip together. If I'm not mistaken, it's been at least a couple of years ago. Rory is such a happy kid. He was hesitant to play with the hippo (the sprinkler) and yet he couldn't hide his happiness in this picture. It was a hot day and this couldn't have been more refreshing. I almost wanted to join and and play in the water with them. 

Some random pictures taken this summer. I guess being a summer baby, I can't hide how much I love summer. 

Sneak Peek!

 We had such a fun day doing this photo shoot at Toronto's Centreville. Love how happy these lovebirds look.

i guess i just miss my friend

"Sometimes it makes me sad, though, Andy being gone. I have to remind myself that some birds aren't meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright and when they fly away, the part of you that knows it was a sin to lock them up does rejoice, but still, the place you live in is that much more drab and empty that they're gone. I guess I just miss my friend."

- Shawshank Redemption

Miss you, Meng.

teaser!

Had so much fun shooting these two! More pictures soon. 

you've got a friend =)

I still hear the voice in my head and I can't help but think, no one has ever called me that in my adult life. Maybe I was harsh, but I still didn't think I deserved that. I guess it's for my own self-preservation that I prefer to think whatever mistakes we've made could simply be cast aside and forgotten. And as I wallow in thought, my best friend, knowing me, posted this on my Facebook page and reminded me of that one particular day in the past shared in the bathroom of a KFC in a rest stop between Toronto and Montreal. I can't remember what we were chatting about then, but I remember the funny dancing in the bathroom. I couldn't help but think, when I'm old and gray, and cannot remember to put on my own teeth, I wish my best friend would still be there to remind me of these great memories. 

Love you, bru. 

jill + ricardo engagement session 2

Here's a sneak peek of Jill and Ricardo's second engagement session. 

I love pinwheels!

Thanks, Jill and Ricardo for an awesome shoot! =)

new gadget for an old soul

There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate's loot on Treasure Island. 

- Walt Disney 

Okay, call me crazy but I love books! Not these books in particular, but books in general. I mean, really, the luxurious covers, that new book smell, the beautiful creamy pages. I just love the idea of books. I told you, I'm an old soul. Anyway, my sister who also love books is upgrading her Kobo e-Reader and has decided to generously give me her old one. It's the coolest, I know! But somehow it makes me feel like I'm betraying my books. But right now, this tiny thing has 144 books. How awesome is that??? I think I felt the same way when I first met our new MacPro switching from PC to Mac. Hesitant, but quite impressed. (Although, I still love you books!!!)

from Google images

I'm currently reading Tina Fey, and I gotta say, she's super awesome (and hilarious! but you know that already!)

Anyway, here are some super awesome fireworks pictures for you guys, from Canada Day. (Hey, it's still July!)

 And we're currently working on Jacky and Luc's photo book who are also super awesome! Love you guys!

instant love!

Meet my new love!

Photo courtesy of Photojojo Store

I'm an old soul. I love that I can print photos instantly and have a tangible reminder of my favourite moments, like these. 

thanks raxxy, for the photos. love love love!

 Instax from my birthday dinner <3

And a random picture of us at Ribfest. Love how happy this picture looks =). Thanks, raxxy!!

- David Icke

 Happy Monday!

The best way of removing negativity is to laugh and be joyous. 

time for a change

Do you ever get that feeling sometimes, almost like you're being spread thin? I've been feeling like that lately. Instead of being out, enjoying the beautiful summer weather, I've been finding myself stuck at home, editing, laying out photobooks, and planning future appointments. It's weird. Even the occasional baking hasn't been enough to lift up my spirits. You gotta know how much harder I try not to post anything depressing or negative. I feel like I owe it to myself to only blog about things that were meaningful and insightful. But I realize now that covering up frustrations is not necessarily healthy either. I guess it's not harmful to allow yourself to wallow and grunt sometimes. It tells me that maybe this is a reason for a change in attitude....for a change in perspective.

I want to tell you how lucky I am for despite all these uncertainties, and I should say minor frustrations. A was exceptionally kind and understanding of me this week. I used to tell him how much growing older depresses me, and he didn't fail to reverse my negativity about this particular day. Instead, he showed me why I should be thankful for having such wonderful friends and family, who love me no matter what. When I was stuck editing and have failed to attend to household chores, he cleaned, did laundry, made dinner and even made sure I was hydrated and fed. To have been blessed with a wonderful husband, I must have done something right.

So maybe this week, we need a change in scenery. We're still editing, but it wouldn't hurt to sit in the park instead of our regular make-shift office table. While at it, I am scheduling some swimming time. Summer will be gone before we know it. I hope you're all well and enjoying your summer. =)

oh happy day!

So today is my birthday! :) Tiramisu care of my thoughtful hubby!

...and flowers!

definitely feeling loved =)

happy long weekend =)

"Throw your dreams into space like a kite, and you do not know what it will bring back, a new life, a new friend, a new love, or a new country."
-Anais Nin

I guess technically I'm a little bit behind in my greetings, since Canada Day has passed, but Happy Fourth of July to y'all our American friends! We've been busy the last couple of days (or weeks! Ha!) with all the editing we've been doing, side by side with our regular day jobs. We've been so busy lately I almost need to remind myself that it's okay to take a break once in a while. So free days off work, like last Saturday night (nevermind I was missing overtime pay) was nice and relaxing. We spent a nice Canada Day lining up at the Centennial Park Ribfest with good friends, a few racks of ribs, mounds of onion rings and fries. It was a great day to watch Canada Day Fireworks as well as catch a glimpse of Shawn Desman and Fefe Dobson. Thanks, Mayor Hazel!

We have tons of fireworks pictures to edit which means, we'd probably be posting them around New Years (haha!) considering we're a little (a lot!) backed up editing wise but we're at least glad we get to take our time but no worries, we'll get there eventually =) We're also thinking of new photobook options (the really nice luxurious, mouth-watering flushmounts) to add to our roster of products. We're currently shopping around for photobook companies and we're very excited about sharing this with you.

Next on our list: setting up our photobooth! We figured we'd be fully operational by September 2011. So excited about these new additions and projects!

My birthday is coming up the next couple of days (a day before my mom's actually =D) and I can't help but feel this almost anxious feeling I always get when this time of the year rolls by. It's almost like a wave of sadness, and not necessarily related to getting older but brought about more by the nagging feeling of having to re-evaluate my life and where it's going. I know. I'm profound like that :P But seriously, do any of you ever feel that? Like you need to review if you have what you've always dreamed of at this stage of your life? When I do feel this wave of emotion, I always try to remind myself how blessed I am and how close we really are to achieving our dreams. So  here it is, thank you all for allowing me to be myself, and most of all, thank you for letting us dream bigger!