Malina Photography»blog

April 30, 2013

julka and musings

house projects are hard…you think you planned them oh so well, but unexpected little things start to creep up on you the very day you get your first estimate. From then on you are stuck…there is either some stranger in the house poking your walls and probing the wiring, or you are just waiting for said stranger to come , and start, and finish and go…go already. And since we started lots of house projects back in February I’m exhausted of waiting, calling, waiting, nagging, firing and hiring, and endless trips to hardware stores, and paint chips and decisions…I want it done , now …I need my home back because I too have projects, of my own…brewing and brewing but not able come into fruition…I need peace and quiet…I need to shoot again…but in the meantime some pictures way overdue:

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April 19, 2013

Raksha Bandhan

To be a part of an event like this was truly inspiring – a tradition I had never encountered before and probably will never have another chance to photograph. It was a beautiful, love and joy filled event, something that I’ll remember always. Raksha Bandhan – a Hindu festival celebrating a special bond between brothers and sisters. The sister ties a rakhi (holy thread) on her brother’s wrist and he in return presents her with a gift and vows to forever protect her. Then they feed each other sweets. What a wonderful tradition and one that I would, without any hesitance, impose on my kids right away. At least that is what I thought I should do, since my kids are at the age when it seems the only feelings they have for each other are anger and hatred, and maybe just some annoyance on a better day. What a great reminder the memory would be of love and affection they once had for each other. Hope one day it will return to normal i.e. healthy/loving siblings’ relationship.

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Jessica Klaus - LOVE these!

April 15, 2013

cherry blossoms pink

It was a long winter. It looked like it was never going to end.
All of a sudden the blossoms burst open and the leaves soon followed and now it looked like we’d skipped a season to a hot, muggy summer – something else to complain about.

Our vegetable and herb garden, abandoned since last October hasn’t even get a chance of a new life yet…but I still have hope to be able to plant my favourites …or is it too late?

Today feels wintery again, not freezing cold but a gloomy kind of day. The dampness gets right to your bones, and all you feel like doing is sipping hot tea…but something is missing. And this something is tasty, and fresh and fruity and cherry blossoms pink…cheesy and chocolatey too….mmmm…it’s official – it’s spring!

Time for a white chocolate and raspberry cake (gluten free! ):

Recipe:

300 g white chocolate
1 cup (250 ml) heavy cream
5 eggs
60 g sugar
250 g mascarpone
1 cup ground almonds
1 tbsp vanilla extract
300 g raspberries frozen are good;

Melt the chocolate in heavy cream on a stove. Whisk egg yolks with half the sugar until they are light in color and fluffy. Add mascarpone, vanilla, almonds and melted chocolate and mix till smooth. Beat the egg whites with the rest of the sugar till stiff and fold them gently into the mixture. Pour in a 9 inch springform lined with paper and put raspberries on top. Bake in a 350F oven for 60 minutes, covered with tin foil. Leave for several hours in the open oven to cool down and keep in the fridge of at least 4 hours afterwards.

Now it’s time for topping:

1 cup of heavy whipping cream
1 tbsp of powdered sugar
100 g raspberries
1 packet of gelatin ( this is optional – my cake had to travel so I wanted the cream to be stiffer and hold its shape);

Whip the cream with sugar and raspberries and put on top of the cake.
if you added gelatin put it back in the fridge so it sets.

Now it’s time to use your machinetta. It’s coffee and cake time.

Enjoy.

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April 9, 2013

julka

little Julka is growing bigger and bigger every day. She is growing her hair, outgrowing her pants and staying ever so cute while doing it. I, in the meantime, am doing the same except for the cute part.

Here are some pictures for a proof; from February:

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Connie Cantin - Charlie too? What an adorable little girl!

Malina Stanczak - Thank you! and what an adorable fluffy dog

Agnieszka Simmons - Thank you Malina:) It’s great to have some awesome pictures of her! We are very grateful for all that time u spend with us:)

Malina Stanczak - @[100000059815821:2048:Agnieszka] -any time. Will send you the rest soon… xoxo

April 4, 2013

i’m back

I read recently, and shamefully it was probably on Facebook, that if you haven’t posted to your blog for several months, you should just go ahead and close it. Wow, that was harsh… to me at least. Firstly – I’m not a “black or white” kind of person. There is plenty of shades of grey, or other colors in between those two extremes. Secondly – it struck a cord…hard. I’ve been neglecting my blog, despite promises to myself and you, that I’ll try to post more often this time – and yes, it was last year! And here I find myself again, in a rut, not only with words, but images, ideas – the blog. Confused and distracted. I’ve been calling it midlife crisis for too long already so maybe now it is finally the time to dig myself out of this hole. And no, it is not about being lazy and unproductive. I’ve been working on many project of my own, photographic and others, and the big excuse of having no time for the blog is not going to cut it this time… I know, I know. The truth is, the blog writings got sidetracked because all the other projects, yes, but also because of my very underdeveloped decision making skills. I simply didn’t know what I should share on my blog and if it should just be photography related, and all the other stuff, life including, was so distracting that it led to procrastination squared. Not a proud moment – if one can call half a year a moment.

I was thinking and I decided that no amount of thinking is going to solve this problem. Duh! I just need to start writing and hitting that publish button. Out with a rut, in with ideas, new and old, some never seen work, new and old projects. There will still be pictures of clients, their families, and babies, and kids of course, but there will be plenty of room for sharing on new successes – hopefully, and failures – unavoidable. With a healthy dose (yeah, right!) of anxiety and fear of contributing to digital clutter, I’m starting today. See you soon. Malina

P.S. For those of you , who like me can’t wait for spring this year, here is something to cheer you up – it’s coming, 70F on Sunday, and a picture from last year: