Making PushCakes with Meringue Bake Shop

This past weekend we had a chance to help out our friends Kristin and Lyle from Meringue Bake Shop with a large PushCake order.  We don't have much experience with baking, so we helped with the assembling of the PushCakes, while Lyle and Kristin provided the materials.  Also helping out were Steph from Hearts and Laserbeams and Michelle from Life With Dylan.  We were huge fans of their Push Cakes even before we became friends with Kristin and Lyle, and getting to actually make them was a huge treat for us.  The highlight of the day was definitely using left over cake and buttercream to make our own "snacks" ;-)

In the following picture, we decided to use the leftovers to make our own variation of the PushCake.  It wasn't pretty, but still was delicious!

Indy Baptized at St. Denis Church

Indy was baptized today at St. Denis Church in Diamond Bar.  It was a small family only gathering, but as you can see there were still a lot of us.  Indy is 6 months old here, 3 months younger than Riley when he was baptized many years ago.

The God Parents...

The Naked And Famous @ The Observatory, Santa Ana

Yesterday we went to The Observatory in Santa Ana to see The Naked And Famous.  We're actually huge fans of the first opening band Now Now, but we are also fans of TNAF's music so we were ecstatic to have both perform in the same show.  I wanted to bring a DSLR into the venue, and from past experiences most do not allow the use of them unless you have a press pass.  Oddly enough, venue's usually allow point-and-shoot cameras.  This was a perfect opportunity to bring my Sony NEX3 coupled with the Fotasy 35mm f1.7 lens.  This is what it looks like:

Pretty small huh?  And amazingly enough it has the same sensor size as a Canon 60D or a Nikon D7000, but in a tiny package.  This combo is extremely lightweight and will not attract attention, as security let us in without issue.

We got pretty close in on the mid level left side, which was the perfect point of view for a wide array of shots all standing in one spot.  I processed the below images with VSCO using various film stock presets.  I just LOVE the way film looks, and VSCO does an amazing job emulating film.

The first band was Now Now, who we originally came for in the first place.  Their set was short but sweet.

The second band, Vacationer, was a unknown to us.  But when they came out I immediately recognized the lead singer.  It was Kenny Vasoli from The Starting Line.  We've been huge huge fans of theirs, and have seen them perform as well.  We had no idea Kenny had a side project.  Their music is a big departure from The Starting Line, as it is tropical and dancy.  We enjoyed them and look forward to their first album!

We waited a while for The Naked And Famous to come out, but they finally did...

The light show for their set was spectaculor and made the whole thing a very special experience.  Here is Thom Powers doing his thing...

Alisa was often in the shadows despite her being a main vocalist, but watching her perform was awesome.  She is pretty much in her own world when she sings...

A big thanks to all three bands and The Observatory.  Loved the venue.  Loved the bands.  A great night out for us.

-Desi

Big Thunder Mountain + Riley + Sony NEX3

A few shots from a ride on Big Thunder Mountain at Disneyland, shot with a Sony NEX3, processed with VSCO.

Dim Sum With The Family @ New Capital Seafood Restaurant

Today we had brunch at New Capital Seafood Restaurant in Rowland Heights.  We go here with family on special occasions, or just when we feel like having Dim Sum.  It's always super busy, so we try to get their early before the rush.  It's the best Dim Sum without having to drive all the way to Monterey Park.

All shots were with a Sony NEX3 and the 18-55mm kit lens, processed with VSCO Film.  This camera is so small, we just love carrying it around with us when we don't feel like lugging around our Canon gear.  Image quality is defintely on par with any crop-sensor Canon DSLR with a comparable kit lens, but with half the size and weight.