Alli McWhinney Photography

I cannot believe it is Labor Day Weekend!  I mean, where did the time go?  I guess it just shows us that sometimes we need to slow down and live life instead of always looking forward to the the next thing.  So here is to enjoying the weekend, celebrating the end of summer, and of course, looking forward to fall and what’s to come!

Here’s another edition of Ten on Tuesday!

1. What does your car say about you? If you don’t have a car, what kind of car would be your daily driver? Hmmm, I think my car says that I am reliable.  I drive a car that is known for being safe, getting good mileage, and lasting a long time.  That says reliable to me.

2. If you were celebrating your 30th anniversary, where would you want to go? I would want to go back to Key West, FL, to the same resort and the same beach we got married on 30 years earlier and renew our vows.

3. If you could trade places with any person for any amount of time, who would it be? I would trade places with a professional athlete…a good one though.  I would love to see their behind the scenes training regimen and then feel the glory of victory!

4. What is your favorite kind of cake? If you don’t like cake, what is it about it that you don’t like? My favorite kind of cake is called opera cake.  I have only seen it at one bakery and that is in my hometown in MA.  It basically is a chocolate cake but is infused with coffee (using real coffee beans) and is just delicious!  The coffee taste just adds a little something and ensures that the cake is nice and moist.

5. Would you have wanted to live in your parents’, grandparents’ or great-grandparents’ generation or only your own? I am fully content living in this generation.  I love the internet and social media and have no clue what I would do without it!

6. Do you have any home remedies for illnesses, cleaning or otherwise? Not that I can think of???

7. What is your ideal weather situation? My ideal weather is low 70’s and sunny everyday!  Isn’t that what it is like in San Diego?  Maybe that is where I should be living!

8. What is your best attribute (physical or personal)? I think my best attribute is my smile.  Not the smile itself but the fact that I do it a lot.  I even smile at strangers

9. Do you text or surf while driving? No way!  Not only is it against the law here in Michigan (and I am a rule follower!) but it is so dangerous.  There are enough distractions on the road and no text can possibly be that important that it couldn’t wait until I arrive at my destination.

10. How long have you known your best friend? I have know my best friend for about 24 years!  We played on our first soccer team together when we were 5 years old.  Crazy…now I feel really old!

Hope you all have a great day!

The most common question I get from people when I tell them I am a photographer is “I thought you were a lawyer?”  Yes, that is true, technically I am a lawyer.  I graduated from law school and took and passed the bar exam in both Massachusetts and Michigan.  However, I do not consider myself a lawyer, I consider myself a photographer.  Let me back up and explain how I got into law in the first place.

I was in my senior year of college, and was graduating with a degree in business administration and marketing.  I though, hmmm, what am I going to do when I graduate?  Now, I know there are plenty of business and marketing jobs out there, but I guess I just wasn’t ready to join the workforce at that time.  I thought well, I guess I will go to law school, I will get a good education and being a lawyer might be fun, right?  Wrong.  Law was not the right fit for me.  After working at law firms and in law related jobs for 6 years I was bored, uninspired, and constantly trying to find my passion and direction in life.  Then, I got engaged and that changed everything.

As I started my wedding planning process I was spending hours on wedding blogs, planning websites and the like.  It was then I realized that although I was looking at the lovely things in the photos, I was spending more time wondering how they captured those images.  I began reading photography related books, blogs, and manuals to learn everything I could about photography.  Then it hit me.  I love photography.  I have always loved photography.  My high school job was working in a photography studio.  My friends call me the paparazzi for heaven’s sake!  How could I not have seen this sooner?

So here I am.  A photographer, not a lawyer, a photographer.  It is still weird for me to say it, but I like the sound of it.  I now have the ability to follow my dreams and pursue my passion.  Honestly, how many people get to do that?

Sometimes at night my husband (Joe) and I will both be home working on our computers in different parts of the same room.  I am usually the one doing the talking and trying to get him to listen to me.  However, that all changed the other night when I was fully engrossed in what I was doing as Joe was talking to me.  I was periodically nodding my head so he knew I was listening and to encourage him to keep talking.  I had myself convinced that I was being an excellent multi-tasker and was actually listening to what he was saying.  Finally, I heard him say something about a monkey and a mango.  What???  I stopped…what did he just say?  I turned to him and said “monkey with a what?!”  “Monkey stole a mango” he repeated with a smile. He laughed, and I laughed because I knew I was caught.

Hope you all have a wonderful Thursday!

This was on the gift table at a recent wedding.  I stopped to look at it and try to figure out what it was but after a few seconds of having no clue I decided to take a photo of it.  Does it describe you?

Happy Wednesday!

1.  Turbo Kick:  I have been certified in Turbo Kick for over a year now, but just started teaching 2 months ago…and I LOVE it!  It is definitely the best cardio workout ever, and get this…it is FUN!  I leave class so energized (and tired at the same time) and cannot wait for next week!

2.  Michele Watches:  These watches are amazing.  The absolute best part is that you can interchange the bands with two clicks.  You options for colors and style are endless.  I wearing my white band now, before summer ends because you know, no white after labor day…which is rapidly approaching.

3.  Girl Talk- Knight Rid(d)er:  This is the best running cd ever.  It is a non stop 42 minute mix of old and new songs.  Girl Talk is such a funny name for an artist…but this music rocks, it even makes me want to go running!

4.  Date Night:  This movie is hysterical.  I literally laughed through the entire thing.  My favorite line in the movie is “zip your face!”   hahaha, I laugh just thinking about it

5.  Seth Godin’s Blog:  I cannot express how much I love this blog.  It is a daily dose of straight up, honest business advice.  Sometimes it is just what I need to kick start my day.

Well, those are the flavors for this week…until next time, see you on the flip side!

I saw this idea on Gail Werner’s blog and also on Roots and Rings and thought it was such a fun blogging idea.  This is where I give 10 random answers to 10 random questions…here goes!

1. How do you take your coffee on an average day? How do you like your coffee if you’re splurging? I don’t drink coffee everyday, but if I did I would have skim milk and one Splenda.  Usually I order a skinny vanilla latte…hot or cold, depends on my mood.

2. What is your genre of books to read? Definitely mystery.  I am reading The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest now, and it is quite suspenseful!

3. Where do you want to retire, if you could go anywhere? I would love to retire in California, although it is way too far from my family…so I think I will retire in Florida.

4. The 17-year-old you is told to write a 10-minute speech. What topic would you have picked? I would have written a speech about soccer and how it shaped my life up until that point.  When I was 17, I lived, breathed and bled soccer!

5. What word describes you best? Happy!

6. What is the next “event” that you are looking forward to? (ex.: vacation, moving, date, job change, etc) I am looking forward to visiting my brother and his fiance in DC.  I can’t wait to see their new place and the city, as well as enjoy a Jimmy Buffett concert while we are there!

7. Do you like to discuss controversial topics or do you prefer to avoid those types of conversations? Most certainly avoid those conversations!  I like to keep a light and positive mood…always!

8. Would you rather add 4 free hours to each day, or add 1 extra day to the week? I think I would add an extra day to the week…but a weekend day of course

9. If you could only use wine for one purpose for the rest of your life, which would you choose? To cook with or to drink? Drink for sure!  I don’t know how to cook so I definitely would not waste perfectly good wine in my food!

10. If you had to be a teacher, what subject would you teach? Well, I do teach group exercises classes at the gym, that counts as a subject, right?

Thanks for tuning in…how would you have answered the above questions?!

First let me start by saying this is the easiest sangria recipe I have ever come across.  Usually I don’t make sangria because of all the elements involved in it but when my best friend told me about this recipe, I had to make it myself.   I could not believe how easy it was to make and how good it tasted.  Also, you can use either white wine or red wine…I am using white but it is up to you!

Here is what you will need:

1- Lime

1- Peach

1- Orange

1- Container of strawberries

1- Bottle white wine

1- Bottle Sprite Zero

1/2 Cup Peach Schnapps

First, cut up all the fruit:

Then combine the fruit with 1/2 cup of peach schnapps and store in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.  After the 2 hours grab your largest pitcher and pour the fruit and peach schnapps into it.  Add the bottle of wine and the bottle of Sprite Zero and there you have it!

Stir and serve in a glass over ice!  (Never put the ice in the pitcher itself, you don’t want to water down the whole batch of sangria!)

Enjoy and happy Friday!