test of the week.... 'feeling blue'

so i thought id post my weekly test shoots on here.. .. its a good way of checking out what its like to work in a studio & what we get up to in our free time. im the luckiest stylist in the world because i get to work with my bestie every single day (who also happens 2b the most amazing photographer ever, nicky schuch :)

now, i wont lie.... sometimes shooting for clients gets more than a little ho-hum @ times so cuenca&schuch try to shoot our own stuff as much as possible.... from food to fashion to my trash n treasure :)

here's our latest addition called 'feeling blue'.....

hope you like it :)

kilmore antique & collectable's fair....

ohhhh there's nothing more exciting than waking up early on a saturday morning & heading to a good ol' fashioned antique's fair! i know, i know... i sound like a 70 year old grandma but ive bean fossicking all sorts of beautiful trinket(y) things for years & i get super excited in anticipation of maybe finding something wonderful.... something amazing... something that no1 else has....! yay...!!!

there were so many things i wanted to buy!! i ended up leaving with an old train luggage rack im planning to put on my kitchen wall & fill with all the cookbooks that dont fit anywhere else.... i also bought the most exquisite art noveau tile which im not sure what im going to do with.... maybe a really tight food shot perhaps? or just put it somewhere in the house.... who knows?

i fell in love with this baby little chair & table but i dont have any kidlets yet so couldnt justify buying them *sad face*

on our way back to melbs we managed to stop off & have a little look around some garage sales....
it was really nice 2smell the fresh country air.....
i should do it more often :)

my hipstamatics (some old... some not so old)

i was getting bored with having to wait till next sunday till i had something amazing to cook, shoot & eat 2put in here!! arrghh.... so i thought id add some of my favourite hipstamatic shots & start a new post....

this one is titled: i love pecks! xx

the most beautiful view ever: yamba

 reflective living room....

 

fig & pistachio friands (baked in a muffin tray!!)

i love my sunday's! its my day to cook & bake & do all the things i most enjoy :) its funny that im posting a sweet 1st up as im not really a sweet tooth @ all. im more a salt n vinegar kinda girl but my partner LOVES his sweets & desserts so i thought id spoil him (again ;)

FIG & PISTACHIO FRIANDS (BAKED IN A MUFFIN TRAY!!)

you'll find friands in most kiwi cafes, but this is a favourite @ our place. you'll need a metal, oval-shaped friand tin (which i couldnt find in the clutter of my kitchen drawers) or you could use a small muffin tin instead ;p


ingredients:

140g unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for greasing
100g peeled unsalted pistachios
50g plain flour
150g icing sugar, plus extra for dusting
4 large egg whites

method:

1. preheat the oven to 190C/fan170C. lightly butter the friand tin & place the nuts in the food processor and blitz to fine crumbs.

2. sift the flour and 100g icing sugar into food processor and blitz for a few seconds. add the melted butter to the dry ingredients in the food processor and blitz again to combine. tip the mixture into a cute little mixing bowl.

3. in another bowl, whisk the egg whites with the remaining icing sugar and a pinch of salt until they form soft peaks. mix a third of the egg white into the flour & butter mixture, then add the figs.
the figs will look like this when bought:

 but you will need to cut them into little chunky bits & add to the mixture :)
carefully fold in the remaining two-thirds of the egg whites. spoon the friand mixture into the prepared moulds and bake for 20-22mins, until a skewer instered into the friand comes out barely moist.

4. leave to cool for 10mins before gently tapping out and cooling on a wire rack. serve dusted with icing sugar.

enjoy!! :)

moody times.....

sometimes black is my favourite of all colours... black is the colour at one extreme end of the scale of grays, opposite to white, absorbing all light incident upon it..... perhaps that's why its associated with sadness.... a lack of life..... death.... i like that its described as an "achromatic", hueless, colour... but in reality it has more life and expression than most....

some of my moodier moments......

(shot by nicky schuch :)