Sunday, December 27, 2009

Post-Holiday Contentedness & the Rebel . . .

So, did you survive the big day? I hope so. It's wonderful and all, but I'm kind of glad it's behind us. Not in a bad way or anything, but it's nice to have a few days to relax post-Christmas, don't you think? No fancy meals to worry about preparing, no more packages to wrap, no need to fret about getting all of those special tasks completed in a pressure cooker time-frame. In the holiday's immediate wake, I love having the opportunity to spend some extra time with my husband and kids, as we each wallow contentedly in the thoughtful and fun gifts we've received, with no imperative to rush about.

I must say I was fortunate to be the recipient of some fabulous cookbooks this year. The one that I'd hoped Santa would bestow upon me most of all was Rose Levy Beranbaum's newest tome Rose's Heavenly Cakes; now that's a beautiful cookbook. She must have sold about a million copies of that baby in the last month alone, don't you think? Another one I'd been yearning for was The Craft of Baking by Karen DeMasco (also new this year and jam packed with luscious-looking possibilities), and last but not least The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz, a book that seems to be legitimately de rigeur these days if you're interested in making sensational ice creams and sorbets from scratch.

Probably the most exciting item (for me at least!) that made its way into our household a couple of days before Christmas was a new camera, a DSLR from the Canon Rebel series. Not a present to ourselves exactly, but something that we'd wanted for a while but couldn't justify purchasing until we found it at an unbelievably discounted price. I'm just getting acquainted with the Rebel (I love having a camera that doesn't have a namby-pamby name) and there's a lot to absorb.

I readily admit that I know very little about "real" photography, and I've stumbled along as best I can trying to take pictures that are worth looking at. I'd wager that at least ninety-five percent of the digital photos I've taken since I started this blog were not worth saving let alone putting into a post. Do you suppose it's like that for most amateurs who take pictures regularly? I don't know, but I'm hopeful, in any case, that that percentage will begin to change as I eventually figure out how to take full advantage of this camera's more advanced features. We shall see.

The few photos you see in this post were taken today with my new friend, the Rebel.

Will bake again soon. Talk to you later!

P.S. See the squirrel ornament above? Yeah, that's a squirrel. Can't see his fluffy little tail in this shot. He's very small and he's my husband's favorite ornament. Funny! (The cupcake ornament below is one of my many favorites. I'm a complete sucker for ornaments shaped like baked goods.)


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4 comments:

La Table De Nana said...

You had a very Rebellicious Christmas!! Great photos.. Which one did you buy? I succumbed to the same temptation this year..I went to great lengths:) Truly!Cute post!

Flourchild said...

Yippeee to getting a new camera. Your photos are great! I love that you got some wonderful cookbooks too!
The two ordaments are darling. I love both of them!
Here's to a little RandR and fun with the family!

Jane said...

Hi La Table,
We bought one of the less expensive ones, geared toward beginners I think, called the Canon EOS Rebel XS 1000D. I read that it came out about a year and a half ago, so it's already been superceded by a fancier model. I assume that must be why it was so on sale. I like it a lot, thus far!

Thanks very much,
:) Jane

Hello there Flourchild,

Many thanks for visiting. I'm glad you think the photos are nice. I look forward to improving that way. I should be busy in my sparetime in 2010, what with the camera and the cookbooks!
Warmly,
Jane

Kate at Serendipity said...

Oh, Jane, congratulations on the new camera. You'll love it! I love mine. LOL, I had to buy some books on photography too. THEN some books on photoshop.... What fun!

I love you ornaments. Those little glass ones are always my favorite. I try to find tiny ones and put them on the bows of the gifts I wrap. Or the cookies I wrap. Or just on my tree!