A few months ago, I went to the Golden Nugget Antique Market off Route 29 in Lambertville, NJ with my neighbor Katrina. We didn’t necessarily need anything but I wanted to see if I could find some old cameras along with a few items for our photo shoot with Bernadette. I love that the Golden Nugget is open year round and people are willing to bargain with you if you know how to do it right. I came home with two cameras, one being a Yashica twin-lens reflex. I haven’t bought film for it yet but one day soon I will get out to shoot with it. And who knows, one day I may shoot an entire session with it!
Once again I got to photograph a red-headed little girl. Mallory is completely full of spunk like every other red-head I’ve photographed. I love that she is the middle child, that she’s the only girl, that she can climb a tree better than most boys around here, and that she’s the light of her parents eyes (and probably her grandparents, aunts, uncles, and the rest of the family too!). Though I’m not a middle child, I am the only girl in the family. I get Mallory!
I love that this little seminary community brings people into our lives from all over and that they appreciate photography. This family hasn’t had a non-screaming family photo ever (there’s a classic one on Ebb’s facebook that cracks me up every time I think of it!) – I made it painless for them. Maybe a little bribery went into this but all three kids totally rocked it out on this blistery February afternoon.
I found this recipe at One Good Thing a few months ago. I knew I had to try it since I already had all the ingredients on hand. Super simple. It involves dishwashing liquid – she says Dawn, I use Ecover Dishwashing Liquid + hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide can be found at any pharmacy or most grocery store for less than $3. Most may know hydrogen peroxide as the bubbly liquid used on cuts to reduce infection. I have personally found that it doesn’t need to be fresh or full of the awesomeness you want for cleaning a cut, mine is really flat and STILL works! You can also add baking soda if the stain is bad enough, I did not need it on this white shirt in particular. Now I did need baking soda for a huge mess Anthony made on a nice shirt involving red hot sauce (and if it can get that out I promise it will treat so many stains for you!!)
Proportions don’t need to be exact! I use a small glass bowl with approx. 1/4 cup hydrogen peroxide + less than a 1/4 teaspoon dishwashing liquid. Stir to combine. I use a toothbrush since we have plenty on hand (we use an electric toothbrush but the dental hygienists continue to insist on giving us the regular ones!) but you can use any kind of brush. Work the concoction into the garment and allow to sit for however long it needs. For this example, the stains were gone within 5 minutes on this shirt. I washed normally with my whites and then air-dried it in our bedroom. For Anthony’s shirt I mentioned above, it needed to sit much longer. I believe it was closer to 30 minutes.
This recipe can be used for all sorts of stains, not just armpit stains. It will remove grease, hot sauce, dirt, chocolate, etc. You really must try it out!
See, IT WORKED!!!
It is simple simple simple and doesn’t take any more time than it would to throw Shout + Wash or ghastly bleach on your clothes. The best part is that it hydrogen peroxide does not break down the fibers on your clothes like bleach does. In other words, your clothes will last longer and you are saving yourself so much money with these cheap ingredients!
Great post!! If one cloth diapers, they probably have *BLUE* Dawn liquid on hand. For some reason, the blue Dawn liquid is the key for many things, like stripping diapers, so I always have a bottle. That is really cool trick, thank you!
This is fantastic! I can’t tell you how many of my hubby’s white shirts I’ve thrown away because of the pit stains. I am definitely trying this. Thank you, thank you!!
1. It’s February – eek!!! Supposedly this is the month we are to move from our late 1950s garden-style (needed to be condemned 10 years ago) apartment to a brand new one! This one has a huge kitchen and top-of-the-line stacking front loader washer/dryers. I’ve been fortunate to go through the space from the moment they broke ground in 2009 to take photos for the seminary. The anticipation that we all have felt has been mounting and now that half the community has moved into the first building, the rest of us are even more anxious to get over!!
2. Do you take tons of photos with your iPhone, iPad, or iPod and never know what to do with them? Simply Postcards is filling that gap! The app has been on my phone for ages and I finally printed my first postcard from a photo from New Orleans. It arrived and I LOVE it. It’s a full 5×7 print – you write a message for the back, and they mail it for you! For all my readers who may want to try it out, use the code KS23B to get 2 free postcards!!
3. I cannot wait to share the photo wall from our session with Bernadette when we move into the new place. Currently they are spread throughout, because I didn’t really want to rearrange too many things on the wall. For now it’s a combination of canvases, art mounts, and prints but I’m sure I’ll continue to add with other items too.
4. I have put out a challenge on goodreads that I will read 75 books in 2012. I’m not sure I’ll reach it, considering the pace I’ve been going as of late! I was between books (just finished reading 1Q84 which is over 900 pages and wasn’t sure what to read next), so I got out my HUGE stack of magazines to finish them. I had a few from 2010 in there -oops! I read them all and they are now safely in the recycling bin! I’m not sure why I don’t just read them when they arrive but I’m caught up for a short amount of time!
5. This past week, I’ve been working on getting passport information gathered, photos taken, copies of marriage certificate, etc. to send our stuff in. I have a passport, it expires next year + it still has my maiden name. I thought I’d get a little break, but truthfully I am saving myself $20ish verse getting a brand new one for Anthony. This summer we will be heading up to Niagara on the Lake, since Anthony’s dissertation topic centered around that little town in the late 1800s. And maybe one day we will be able to add all sorts of countries to our passports!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Just got a code for 2 free postcards from Simply Postcards for all my readers!! Use KS23B
WOW! Your new place looks AAAAAAMAZING! I am SO happy for you guys!
We truly lucked out on the weather on Saturday in downtown Princeton for this maternity session. It’s a far cry from last January when the ground was covered with multiple inches of snow and we couldn’t take off our coats!
Christine + Dan are expecting their first child and it’s a surprise! Christine is absolutely glowing, and you wouldn’t even guess that she had a cold! I am looking forward to meeting their little bambino/bambina in April.
Simply beautiful!
Awww! Such great pics! What a beautiful couple. 🙂
What a gorgeous session! Love your style on these, Kim! Just perfect!
It is slowly becoming an annual tradition to get photos of the three brothers together at Christmas. Though I only shared one last year, I thought it fitting to include a few more this year. We did a bit of hiking on one of their grandmother’s properties to reach the abandoned blue car. Scarastically speaking, it worked very well for a photo of these three preps! Poor Anthony, he is the oldest and shortest of the bunch.
Trying to get serious.
As serious as they can get, seconds later!
Lovin the new blog format! Love you! -Allison
Are they a serious bunch of guys… I don’t think they look like serious guys. What a handsome bunch of men. They are lucky to have a lady like you around!
And… the blog is beautiful!!!
Thanks ladies on the blog!
Robin – they are far from serious, hence why they had to “get ready” for that pose! 🙂
They are a beautiful family! Love all the images – great work!
What a wonderful job of a gorgeous, course being the grandma may seem to prejudice me, but I think it simply allows me to see their beauty more frequently!
What a great looking family! I love them all, but that last shot is awesome!