So I’m pretty sure when I woke up this morning it was Wednesday. Considering it’s almost 5pm now I’m kind of wondering where the day went! But it is time for a Love It! Hate It! post and since I spent a lot of time at the grocery store today hungry, buying way too much stuff I thought this week we’d talk food! More specifically foods I’d be happy to receive as a gift in the mail (wink wink) and foods you should avoid serving me at a dinner party! Oh and because I’m weird everything on this list starts with the letter C.
Love It!
1. Cake Pops! Okay so these are my latest obsession, they haven’t quite hit the level of cupcakes in my heart but they are pretty awesome! As a wedding photographer there hits a point in the night where the energy is waning and the bartenders have learned my drink order of plain Coca Cola. This usually occurs about the time of cake cutting which is perfect because a sugar buzz totally helps the last hour or so fly by! Some brides are opting to include dessert bars with their cakes and on those bars I’ve discovered the most photographer friendly sugar buzz source, cake pops! My technical description is that they are like bite size pieces of cake dipped in chocolate on a stick like a lollipop! Balancing a camera, cake plate and fork can be a challenge but cake pops rock! Plus instead of being tied to one flavor of cake you can try several!!! Oh the yummyness!!! I had one that was cheesecake the other day and it was soooo delicious!!! So I’m probably slow on the cake pop bandwagon considering I saw Starbucks has them now but if you haven’t had one go find one. You will thank me later! I’m thinking of trying to make some pretty soon but we will see how that goes!
2. Cider! Ah it is fall and now when David has me order his girly pumpkin spice lattes at Starbucks I can add on a Caramel Apple Spice to that order! My relationship with coffee was seriously damaged when I was 7 years old, it involved black cinnamon coffee that I begged to drink bc it smelled so yummy but was in fact nasty. Since then even a hint of coffee bean taste and I have to immediately rinse my mouth out. I’ve tried to repair this relationship with coffee confections that my friends swear don’t even taste like coffee but alas I can still find the coffee taste. So instead I will happily sip my apple cider and be pleased a punch! Ironically I even prefer the alcoholic version of cider to beer. Beer is another relationship that was damaged at a young age, I think I was 15 visiting a friends sister at college. It involved Icehouse and MGD and let’s just say beer was added to my yucky list! BYOB is BYOC for me, bring your own cider! haha get it! Okay I swear I haven’t been drinking while I wrote this column. So if your not a beer fan you should check out hard cider, it is a yummy alternative! Not that I’m trying to advocate drinking but if your over 21 you can make your own decisions!
3. Creamed Corn! Am I weird that I love this? It is yummy! David hates it so I only eat it when he is not around or when he is eating number 1 on the hate it list! So um yeah I can’t really thing of anything else to say about creamed corn so I’m just gonna leave it at that.
Hate It!
1. Collard Greens! I came home one night last week and the house smelled like feet. You know like after you’ve worked out at the gym and taken off your sweaty socks and gym shoes. Yeah those kind of feet. Not pretty. I’ve never been a collard green fan but the smell just pushes me completely in the No camp. David loves them so collard green nights are also creamed corn nights. This way we can enjoy a meal together and not suffer the other’s choices.
Melissa Arlena is an award winning lifestyle newborn photographer in Charlottesville and Richmond, Virginia who has earned her Master Photographer Certification from NAPCP in maternity, newborn and family photography. Her natural and simple work has been featured in magazines and online blogs worldwide. She has been named Best Maternity and Newborn Photographer in Richmond and Charlottesville, VA in 2024.
