I moved!

You can find all my photography info and other creative endeavors for Emily B over at www.emilybcreative.blogspot.com

Foodie: Starbucks Hack - Berry Hibiscus Refresher

Guys summer is here and I'm taking full advantage of sipping on iced beverages of all sorts! 

I've been hooked on Starbucks Refreshers. I really love the berry hibiscus, but I don't love not knowing what all's in there. So here's my attempt at a homemade version.

I think it turned out pretty well. The flavor is very similar. The biggest difference is that I added tonic water, so it's lightly carbonated. It's such a pretty drink too. 

This recipe will make a large portion of the tea part. The nice thing is once you have the prep done, the single serving cups are really easy and quick to put together. Great for those mornings when you gotta get out the door!! 

You'll need:

- 4 hibiscus tea bags (found mine at Target)

- 1 Tazo Blushberry black tea bag

- 1/2 - 1 cup of simple syrup (boil 1 cup water and 1 cup of sugar together, til sugar dissolves)

- 1/2 cup tonic water

- handful of fresh blackberries

- few mint leaf sprigs

- 1 cup of ice (more or less to your liking)

You need 8 cups of water. You could do this several ways. The easiest is to boil all the water in pan or kettle, add Tazo tea bag and the 4 hibiscus bags and let steep for 5 min. Let this cool and add in the simple syrup to your desired sweetness. I actually let my hibiscus tea soak outside in a glass jar to make sun tea and then combined it with the Tazo tea. 

Muddle some of the berries and mint together. Put in a glass full of ice. Once your tea has cooled poor about 1/2 - 3/4 cup over ice. Top the rest of glass with tonic water. About a 1/4 - 1/2 cup. 

Garnish with more berries or mint! 

You can store the rest of the tea and tonic in the fridge. When you want a glass just pour and sip away! 

Meet the models - The class of 2015 Emily B Photography Senior Model Reps | COLUMBUS, OHIO SENIOR PORTRAITS

Friends, can I just say that I am LOVING this new business model - meaning choosing to focus on working with high school senior clients. 

We had the best time last Sunday hanging out at the beautiful new Hilton in downtown Columbus. It was the perfect location to get ready at and be able to shoot in and around the area. Check out all the behind the scenes pics on Instagram. You can search the hash tag #ebpseniors

I truly adore each one of these girls and am so honored that they spent the afternoon with me. Each one of them is uniquely beautiful on the inside and out. Thanks for being 'ma frand' girls!

I'm looking forward to more hang outs with them in the coming months.

We worked with the fabulous Jenni Manson on hair and make up and Kate Hare of Polish and Flair had a consultation with each girl to bring out their personalities through their outfits.

Have you met my models?!

Work it ladies!

NOW BOOKING CLASS OF 2015 SESSIONS!

Early bird specials for sessions booked in May 2014

Fill out the contact inquiry form on the website to book your session!

www.emilybphoto.com

emily@emilybphoto.com

614-563-0192

Buying time - what's in my bag?

Yes - this is a silly post about what's been in my bag lately. I really carry it with me at all times. To be honest it has come in handy on a few shoots recently... but I'm basically posting this fun little pic to hold you over until I get some model rep pics up and some other fun things happening around here!

1. OPI polish in InStyle red - a classic

2. Sunnies! - Cole Haan from TJ Maxx I believe

3.Burt's Bees tinted bees wax - I love Burt's Bees and this has a really pretty pink hue to it. Its Sweet Violet

4. This is a new fav of mine. Its Sugar brand "Fresh" its just a pretty gloss that's actually good for your lips. 5. Ear buds, I'm not a huge fan of the new Apple version, they hurt my ears, but I think I have tiny ears!

6. SHARPIES. Enough said.

7. Tocca hand cream - it smells like heaven.

8. Business cards - never leave home with out em'

9. Stella & Dot pouf in Elephant print - its holds all this and more, just the perfect size.

10. Anyone else obsessed with these cute new hair ties?! Gave my sr. model reps some of these as swag.

11. My fav bracelet - Renegade, also from Stella & Dot.

12. I discovered a new juice place in CBus - Native Cold Pressed Juice. Go there. Get juice.

13. ANOTHER lip product :) Smith's Minted Rose Balm. A true staple for me.

14. Pacifica Hawaiian Ruby Guava roll on perfume. For those times when you have to go somewhere after the gym :)

15. New iPhone 5 and case - can't believe I didn't upgrade sooner. The camera is amazing.

Have a great week loveys!

Baby girl - woodland themed baby shower

As promised - here are a few highlights from my sister's baby shower last weekend. The theme was all her idea and emulates a similar theme she is doing in the baby's room. My mom and I put the details together.

My sister is a wonderfully talented graphic designer. She has an amazing eye for detail and beautiful design. She helped create the signs and game on everyone's plates as well.

It was a lovely few hours spent eating good food and catching up with family and friends.

We are looking forward to meeting baby Indigo or baby Violet (they haven't decided on which name yet!) in June. 

I call her baby purple! Come soon, auntie em wants to kiss your face :)

 That's Alaina's baby daddy and husband in the back there.

 We randomly came across a large tree limb someone was pitching and we snagged it up for the center pieces. The tulips were a nice pop of spring.

Isn't this such a cute idea?!

 Love you dear sister. You will be a wonderful and fun mother. 

Wild

Some times … I can sympathize with animals in captivity.

(Side note – you all should watch Black Fish. It’s a great documentary about Sea World.)

What I mean is that some times I feel caged and trapped. 

Since having entered ‘Corporate America’ almost 6 years ago (I couldn't get a teaching job), it’s been a growing energy that increases with each passing week. While I appreciate my ‘day job’ and all that it gives me (especially the paycheck part), it’s just not my cup of tea. I work for a great company, with even GREATER people and if ‘Corporate America’ is your thing, you should come on over here and work...

... but when your spirit is wild, it’s like a cage. 

(Another side note - I'm really not that wild, just a little non-conformist-free spirit kind of wild...)

The challenge for me is this: to live in the moment. When your ultimate desire is be home with family, running a business wild and free, it can become consuming. 

This year I am trying very hard to focus on being in the moment, no matter where I am. I believe that God has things to show us and teach us in every situation if only we’d listen a little harder.

So as I try to ::patiently:: wait for the day when I’m released from my metaphorical cage, I will also strive to be in the moment. 

For now, the view isn't so bad from my 'cage'.

Weekend recap

Well, I knew the spring would be busy, but I've been mentally, spiritually and physically preparing myself for it. No really I have been. 

Its a whole new blog post to write on - which I'll be doing soon, but knowing the amount of things that I put on my plate I decided over a year ago that being balanced in all these areas would only help me to be more productive and happy. Its been working so far. Like I said, more on that to come, but here's a quick recap of my 'long' (they always to seem to fly by) 3-day weekend. 

Been planning my sister's baby shower since the day she told us she was pregnant. She threw me such a beautiful shower when I was pregnant with Ada, that I was happy to return the favor. The theme was 'woodland' - her idea, I just executed. The rainy cold weather totally sucked, but the love, friends, family, and food inside made up for it. Most of these are images of the shower or prep for it.

Weekend images: Moody quiet Friday morning out running errands | Yummy macrons from Pistacia Vera | Baby shower cake and individual cherry cobblers | Cherry cobbler prep | SEESTERS! | Refueling with Native Cold Pressed Juice (sweet beet) | Pretty tulips for the shower | Baby shower game | Church on Sunday

This week's to-do's:

Final prep for senior model shoot next weekend

Edit recent client shoot and baby shower images
Drink more water
Get all 4 workouts in

Take time to laugh and play

Favorite new things from last week:

Native Cold Pressed Juice

Freckled Fox Blog

DIY wine rack that Jacob made me - like this

Blog plan template

Thoughts:

Wishing I could book a trip to Florida or Arizona

Focusing on strengthening and growing friendships

Can I afford a cleaning lady?

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and I hope you'll stop by later this week for more baby shower pictures!

xo - Em