Merry Christmas...have some eggnog!

Merry Christmas everyone!  Want to try something yummy?  :)

I'm a little sensitive to sugar and dairy products right now, so coconut milk has become one of my new best friends.  This month I went on the hunt for a dairy-free, sugar-free recipe for eggnog...because without eggnog, Christmas just isn't the same!

This one is GOOD.  I've served it to family and guests these last couple weeks and it's been a hit!  And it's healthy too—full of protein, enzymes, and good fats, and the coconut milk gives it anti-viral/anti-bacterial properties too.  Not bad, hm?

Dairy-Free Eggnog

2 eggs (free-range organic eggs taste best and are the best for you!)
2 c. coconut milk (I made my own but you can use fresh/canned—just make sure it doesn't have sweeteners or preservatives)
1-2 t. vanilla
2 T. maple syrup, honey, sucanat; or a few drops of stevia; or whatever sweetener you like, to taste
1/4 t. each nutmeg and cinnamon
pinch allspice

Blend all ingredients till very smooth (I use my Vitamix).  Put in a small saucepan and cook SLOWLY over low heat, stirring frequently.  Be careful not to let it boil or it will curdle and taste "eggy".  When it just starts to thicken, remove from heat and chill for several hours or overnight.  Serve with a sprinkling of nutmeg on top.

Enjoy!  :)  And may God delight your heart with special blessings today!


- Kelsey

Discovering beauty... 

Kelsey Schweickert  |  San Francisco Bay Area wedding photographer

Visit my website  |  Email me  |  Follow me on Twitter  |  Like my photography on Facebook

Amy + Kevin's engagement session - sneak peek

All I can say is: FUN.  These two love each other, and love having fun with each other.  And that makes an engagement shoot more fun than anything else!

Amy and I both said "Oooooh!" when we saw this grass.  So we spent quite a while there. :)

 

 

 

Look at the happy eyes here...these two are going to have an awesome marriage.

More to come later, but this week is the Christmas deadline for wedding albums...which has resulted in many hours of delightful designing at the expense of sleep...but the books are going to be stunning and make a whole lot of people VERY happy, so I'm OK with that.  :)  Later!

- Kelsey

Discovering beauty... 

Kelsey Schweickert  |  San Francisco Bay Area wedding photographer

Visit my website  |  Email me  |  Follow me on Twitter  |  Like my photography on Facebook

Oktoberfest

There's nothing like celebrating the Oktoberfest with Germans!

Last Friday I put on my best German face (not too hard with a name like Schweickert) and photographed an Oktoberfest party hosted by e.ventures, a company in San Francisco.  I've done corporate portraits for these wonderful people before, and it was great to spend the evening photographing them and their guests.

The park at the Transamerica building felt quite Bavarian, with German accents in abundance (as well as many others!), and many of the guests in dirndles or liederhosen.  A German rock band provided music for dancing, and of course there was plenty of German food and beer!

The Oktoberfest version of the corporate portrait...

 

 

Well, look who made it into a photo...even without a dirndle... ;)

 

 

My friend Mareike (on the right) did a great job coordinating the event!

 
Next up: getting ready to go take engagement photos of Kevin and Amy this afternoon!  I'll share soon.  :)
  
- Kelsey

Discovering beauty... 

Kelsey Schweickert  |  San Francisco Bay Area wedding photographer

Visit my website  |  Email me  |  Follow me on Twitter  |  Like my photography on Facebook

Happy autumn!

Just a little bit of autumn happiness for your day.  :)

- Kelsey

Discovering beauty... 

Kelsey Schweickert  |  San Francisco Bay Area wedding photographer

Visit my website  |  Email me  |  Follow me on Twitter  |  Like my photography on Facebook

Another "moonlight magic" photo - Tyler and Missy

So after the photo in this post, there was still more awesomeness to come...Missy's uncle, Jeff Roeder, brought his well-loved 1956 Chevy.  I love this photo of the newlyweds in the moonlight.

 

- Kelsey

Discovering beauty... 

Kelsey Schweickert  |  San Francisco Bay Area wedding photographer

Visit my website  |  Email me  |  Follow me on Twitter  |  Like my photography on Facebook

Last night I finished an editing project, so I let myself go have some fun with some garden photos before diving into the next big project.  :)  Enjoy...

- Kelsey

Discovering beauty... 

Kelsey Schweickert  |  San Francisco Bay Area wedding photographer

Visit my website  |  Email me  |  Follow me on Twitter  |  Like my photography on Facebook

Tyler and Missy - "blue hour" magic

Nighttime has a way of making all things magical...or maybe it's just enhancing the magic that's already there... :)

 
- Kelsey

Discovering beauty... 

Kelsey Schweickert  |  San Francisco Bay Area wedding photographer

Visit my website  |  Email me  |  Follow me on Twitter  |  Like my photography on Facebook

NorCal Tough Mudder 2012 - Northstar at Tahoe

Last Saturday, the Tough Mudders converged on Northstar-at-Tahoe for a 10-mile mud run!  Some of last year's team members ran again -- my dad, my brother, uncle Mitch, and our friend Dennis.  New this year were several cousins, who came through with flying colors!  (And lots of mud!)


I'll post more on Facebook, but here are some highlights...

 

Almost at the end of the course...my parents were glad to see each other :)

 

Getting ready to run up the Everest obstacle

 

Jason and Chris...haha, they made it look so easy...

 

Ready to help the rest of the team up

 

My dad and Bekah

 

Group shot before the final obstacle (just in case we lost a few to the electroshocks!)

 

The final obstacle: Electroshock Therapy.  Of course Chris went through airplane style for maximum shocks.  :P

 

Dennis

 

Bekah

 

Last obstacle down!  Muddy and very happy!

 

 

Getting their official orange headbands after crossing the finish line

 

Tough Mudder style: mohawk (well, faux hawk) and the turtleneck headband (prevents sunburn).

Dennis is one of the strongest guys I know...after running ten miles and climbing 20 obstacles, he still had energy for this...

 

 

Joan (Dennis' wife) and my cute mom!

One of the shoe donation piles

Very proud of all these tough folks!  :)
 

- Kelsey

Discovering beauty... 

Kelsey Schweickert  |  San Francisco Bay Area wedding photographer

Visit my website  |  Email me  |  Follow me on Twitter  |  Like my photography on Facebook

Carla and Kevin were married on Saturday!  It was last fall when we got together for their engagement session at UC Davis, and now the big day has finally come...I've been looking forward to photographing this wedding for quite a while!

I've been sitting here trying to narrow down a huge collection of photos from this wonderful day, and it's really hard!  So here's just a sneak peek to begin with, and a more complete blog post will be on its way in a couple days.  Enjoy!

Kevin and Carla's "First Look" on their wedding day.  Love the anticipation on his face!

 

And on her face...

 

It's wonderful to see my cousin so happy. And my new cousin, her husband!

 

Then we went to the Capitol grounds and spent a while there...I can't think of many better places to photograph a wedding party!!  Green grass, flowers, filtered sunlight, and trees of all shapes and sizes.  Can't wait to share more of these.

 

More later!

- Kelsey

Discovering beauty... 

Kelsey Schweickert  |  San Francisco Bay Area wedding photographer

Visit my website  |  Email me  |  Follow me on Twitter  |  Like my photography on Facebook