A Mason Jar Salad Party

mason jar salad party 45_3306P I N this to pinterestSo a few weeks ago, I got invited to a Mason Jar Party. And now I am hooked. Lunch for a week in around 20 – 30 minutes? YES. When one of my BFFS invited me, I was seriously excited. Ok, so what is a Mason Jar Party? The host picks a recipe. (This was a recipe from last week – so yum! A salad with zoodles– yes!!!!) Then, she sends out an email with all the ingredients and everyone emails back with what they are going to bring. Sign up Genius would also be great for this, especially since it’s free.


Ours are planned for Monday mornings, which is perfect for having lunch ready for the week. (Sunday evening could also be a good time.) When everyone shows up, they put their ingredients on the kitchen table. Then, you just walk around and fill up your five mason jars (We are using this size+ I also ordered mine from amazon) one by one. Then, you’re done, you can leave + lunch is done for the week. The salads have been SO YUMMY too. Some of the recipes have cheese or grains, so I just leave that out of my jar. The first week someone made a salad dressing with the recipe. This past week there wasn’t one, so I just used my salad dressing at home. I have added some extra protein at lunch time, too. Also, I couldn’t make it last week, so my BFF Brooke took my jars + ingredients and I can sub for her, too. Win-win! These were so yummy, I had to stop myself from trying to eat them for dinner, too! Eeeek!

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Rebecca Keller is a Raleigh Children Family Photographer featured in People Magazine and on several blogs including The Bump and Let the Kids Dress Themselves. Because we chat a lot about our personal lives on the blog, we may receive commissions on affiliate links in articles.

 

 

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Raleigh Wake Forest NC Newborn Photographer

Relay

I was sooooo excited when this sweet Mama told me they were moving back to NC!!!!! (Our session last year when they were visiting) And then, soooo excited that they were having another baby and also a boy! What fun for the girls, and I know this little guy is so spoiled and loved. You could tell he was just as content as can be with all the love surrounding them. (And how did this little one grow so fast? And her newborn portraits here) And this was just so cute in their yard.This is the first of their sessions where Relay, their sweet puppy, was all about being involved. It seemed that everywhere I turned, he was right there, ready for another photo. With four little ones running around, the puppy can be less of a priority for photos, but this little guy made sure we knew he was ready for his photo. Such a sweetheart.Loved seeing them again!!! Can’t wait to see this baby boy grow!

According to Mom..

What was the first thing you thought when you saw your baby for the first time?Wow..you are huge! and how excited I was to meet my baby boy!

What was your favorite part of our session together? My favorite part was watching the girls interact with their baby brother and feeling comfortable in our home without stressing about getting to a location. I always enjoy working with Becky because it is so easy and effortless.

How did you prepare the baby for our photoshoot? We just washed his hair and made sure he was clean. We decided not to dress him in clothes because he hates putting on and taking off clothes! I was happy with that decision.

How was your experience having your newborn photographed? Were you worried or nervous before? The experience was so easy because Becky makes it so fun and enjoyable. She really knows how to work with the kids and put everyone at ease. She will wait for the baby to be ready if she needs to!

What would be your advice to someone getting newborn photographs taken? My advice would be to prepare in advance. I waited too long to pick out everyone’s clothes. I chose some and then had to figure out the rest at the last minute. We were scrambling to finish everything after baby boy was born. We also ended up getting the girls’ haircuts the day before the photo shoot which is not something I would advise! Luckily, it all turned out well. I would have been so relaxed about it if I had been a little more prepared.

Did you have a sentimental item at our session? We had baby boy’s quilt. It was special to us because we spent a lot of time figuring out how to blend a more traditional theme (which ended up patriotic) with the girls’ wish for Mickey Mouse to be involved. The nursery is still a work in progress!

Do you have any other children? How did they react to the baby? I have three girls. They are 9,7, and 4. They love their baby brother so much. Carly sings to him, and Lila thinks he is the cutest baby in the world. Sylvie enjoys holding him and loves her big sister status. The girls like to play doll house, talent show, and various other games together. Lila and Sylvie especially like to dance.

How would you describe your perfect Saturday as a family? Our perfect Saturday would be spending time with any of our friends. We really missed everyone so much during our time away, and we enjoy catching up. We also love having family time since Dan travels a lot during the week.

Any advice to other families picking out wardrobe or planning their session? I would say to pick everything out in advance to minimize stress, and use the stylist if you can! There is no need to stress out about anything. Becky is so good at getting all of the shots you want while keeping in mind time limitations of the kids and their attention spans! She is great with kids of all ages and makes them laugh while also getting them to cooperate. It is just such an easy process because she makes it so comfortable and straightforward. She is willing to wait for feedings or work through fussiness to get the best pictures. She is even great with pets if you want to include them!

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Rebecca Keller is a Raleigh newborn and family photographer featured in People Magazine and on The Bump. Contact Rebecca Keller Photography for more information about travel photography and newborn sessions.

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Holden Beach Coastal Mini

A Little Bit Stormy

When you sign up for a Coastal Session, I do try to let everyone know that the beach can be kind of crazy, especially in the evenings. We got all kinds of weather during our Coastal Minis. This was our first family – and the first two we were able to squeeze in before we had a monsoon and a house fire issue (traffic stopped both ways on the island) that held up the minis for a little bit. So, it was just a little bit windy. These two had no idea it was about to storm and just had so much fun on the beach running + playing. I just love how all of the portraits of the four of them turned out, too. This was a mini, so about 20 minutes. When you come to a mini, it starts and it’s over, and you may feel like what, did we take a photo? I love how we are able to capture so many different memories during a mini in such a short amount of time.

Styled by Little Apple Styles

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Durham NC Newborn Photographer

So Much Joy 

I first photographed this sweet family (one on of the rainiest days ever – see here) for their first little one’s newborn portraits so I was so excited to see them again. And big sister was just sooooo sweet with her baby sister. And everytime she got busy with something else, she’d be right back over near her baby sister. I also love the ones in her room with her Mama, too. Sooo precious! This baby girl is so loved + such a fun session at home!

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As Seen in People Magazine + On The Bump | Rebecca Keller is a Raleigh Durham Newborn and Family Photographer | Contact Rebecca Keller Photography for more information about Newborn Photography + travel sessions.

What I Learned in August 

    August is always a farewell to summer. (sniff, sniff) Though I will admit, I love the cooler temperatures..sweaters, jeans, boots, coffee, all of that. I wish I was more of a fan of vitamin D, but my favorite is to be inside curled up with a book and a warm drink.(I love rainy days, too! Except when I’m supposed to be working outside.) We spent a few days at the beach, just the four of us, right before Owen had to go back to school. I was so super sad to drop him off for another year.

What I Learned in August..

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1.The new library in Wake Forest is awesome. My kids love pouring through the kids section, it is awesome.

2.Reading to my kids is my favorite, and something I want to make more of a priority of in September. Reading has always been big in our house, and we read a lot, but sometimes at night, I just need to work so Michael puts them to bed. It’s my favorite, favorite, time, and something I don’t want to miss. (Check out our what we’re reading posts here)

3.It’s the little things. One day during the first week of school, Owen came home and told me, “My teacher smiled just at me.” How precious is that – something so small can make a child’s day.


4.Since we have a big Minecraft fan in our house, we hear about it daily. Um, who knew you could listen to minecraft parodies on You Tube.

5.I didn’t know this website + their facebook existed until this month. So much organization inspiration. You’re welcome.

6.So one of my goals for August was to read The Mason Jar Cookbook. And then I just happened to get invited to a Mason Jar Party by one of my BFFS (read all about it here) Oh my, I loved it so much. The easiest, healthiest way to do lunch for the week!

We crammed a lot of summer into our last beach trip!

Dixie Grill in Wilmington

Sunset Slush, Beaches-n-Cream, Ocean Boulevard Coffee (chocolate milk) The Filling Station in Shallotte

Putt Putt + go kart

beach raft fun

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Linking up my post with Thinking out Loud Thursdays this month.

Rebecca Keller is a Raleigh Children Family Photographer featured in People Magazine and on several blogs including The Bump and Let the Kids Dress Themselves. Because we chat a lot about our personal lives on the blog, we may receive commissions on affiliate links in articles.