Elfy's Doll a Week 2020

[dargosmydaddy]

I love the way Kit's spread-out skirt looks kind of like an umbrella

[Lejays17]

It’s such a lovely pic - Amelia should be proud of herself with that one.

[werepuppy]

Ahhh, a lovely looking trio.

[neon_jellyfish]

I'd show off such photo, too! It's really beautiful. And the girls are cute!

[Loona]

Wow, at first I thought that photo is an official background on your tablet! It is indeed one to be shown off, great shot! The girls seem to be amused by it too
You must have had so much fun, I wish I had a date to look forward to when I can get near a beach in the future...

[Alliecat]

They look like they're having the sort of photo-judging session my parents, longtime camera-club members, had at our house
"The photographer should've backed up about 10 feet."
"But then they would've fallen off the cliff..."

Cute how in the first pic, the perspective makes the background items like the little globe look like they are the dolls' size.
A beach holiday -- even if short -- sounds lovely.

[Elfy]

Thank you for your comments. The picture was just one of those things. The previous day it was a bit overcast and very windy, so wouldn't have worked for a sunset shot at all, but on the Wednesday, the time and the conditions were right, and also due to the current situation (whilst we're sort of getting back to normal) there were less people than usual, so it was easier to set up for the shot. Amelia was delighted by how well it came out.

[davidd]

"You sit here and you sit there, and revel in the glory of my wonderful beach picture in high-resolution widescreen gloriousness!"

"Is this a movie?"

"No, it's a picture."

"Are there more pictures? Like, a slideshow?"

"Nope, just the one picture! Isn't it glorious?"

"Well... yeah, I guess. But... just one picture?"

"Yup! Just one glorious picture!"

[Elfy]

I apologize for the lack of a photo last week. Was a crazy week, but now I've finished work for the year and am officially on Christmas Hols (as we call it down here), so can catch up a bit.



Finn has had a wonderful time opening the windows on his Funko Pop Mini Marvel Advent calendar. Every day he gets a new figure from the world of Marvel Comics. I'll do a pic of them all at some stage in the future. We've got a Harry Potter one, too.

[Elfy]

So now I've caught up from last week, we get this week. As it's almost Christmas we did our big annual photo shoot with all of our girls and boys, this is an outtake.



Zoe caught in a quiet moment in between shots.

AND because I was slack last week, and it's Christmas there's another shot. Every year I make devilled almonds (I really should include the recipe here one day), and one of the dolls helps.



This year Becky volunteered to help and got all the ingredients together. So we have the blanched almonds, some butter, vegetable oil, salt, pepper and cayenne. They're currently cooling before I put them in a jar, and they are YUM!

[Alliecat]

Hmmm, yes, maybe you should post the recipe. Cayenne....? o.O
I have a lovely candied nuts recipe that I should make more often.
Looking forward to seeing what you get out of the advent calendar, & also your annual photoshoot results. Enjoy your time off!

[Lejays17]

Finn looks like he's been having a ball opening the Advent - does he have a favourite character to feature in an upcoming photoshoot?

Zoey looks so lovely there - I really should take more photos of her (Like a lot of the others, I guess... )

Lucky Becky to help out in the kitchen this year! She did a stellar job on them, reducing the amount of spice so I didn't burn my tongue on an offering later.

[davidd]

Finn never fails to make me laugh! He always looks so bewildered, as though he isn't sure what he's supposed to be doing when you're pointing the camera at him!

Becky is a cutie! I'm sure she distracted helped you quite a lot during your cooking project!

[Elfy]

Seeing as how Allie asked for it, and I have the time, here's the recipe for how to make Elfy's devilled almonds.

Ingredients:
Blanched almonds. The quantity doesn't really matter. I had 400 grams on this occasion, but I've done it with 200 grams other times. Just use less of the other things to suit. There are a couple of ways of getting blanched almonds. You can buy almonds with the skins on, soak them in hot/boiling water and then skin them, but this is tedious and can also result in burned fingers if you're not careful. I buy blanched almonds and soak them in hot water prior to devilling them.
Salt
Pepper
Cayenne
Butter
Vegetable oil (you can also use olive or canola)

Preparation:
Soak the almonds in hot water, then strain them.
In a heated frying pan put some oil and a knob of butter
When the butter has melted add the almonds, use a spatula to keep the almonds moving and fry them until they're lightly browned
Sprinkle salt, pepper and cayenne onto some sheets of greaseproof paper
Transfer the almonds from the pan into a colander so that the oil can drain off and then tip them onto the paper
Wrap the almonds up in the paper and ensure that they get a light, even coating of the salt, pepper and cayenne
Tip them into a bowl to let them cool before putting in a jar for storage.
I personally like to eat a few when they're still hot.

[neon_jellyfish]

That's a fun advent calendar!

We're fond of roasted salty almonds here. I can't wait for your annual army photo!