NOURISH | A part of the BECKLEY Blog I have been looking forward to curating for a while, and am exciting to start with some refreshing white wine cocktails. Good for the soul, good for letting good times roll...

I knew there was a jingle that went with this scene, it just took a full 24 hours for it to come to me

Goals for 2017 were pretty simple: learn to say "no"

because every time you say "yes" to something, you're also saying "no" to something else, like family time, personal time, exercising, whatever you need to do to live a balanced life.

Have I been successful at lightening my work load? No

But I've been good about carving out a little time for myself. This week - a whole Monday - Friday - I scheduled zero photo shoots. (I also had a minor procedure and 20 stitches in my head forcing me to avoid sunlight and people, but I did successfully schedule some time to catch up on emails, editing, and rest.)

Back to NOURISH. Lately meeting up with friends and family has done me a world of good in hearing fresh perspectives, caring about what is going on in other people's lives, and remembering that these connections are far more important in the grand scheme of things. A common denominator throughout most of these get-togethers - booze.

Here are three recipes for easy breezy beautiful cocktails - all made with slightly bubbly and sweet Moscato

is my basic showing?

SOME TIPS FOR PRODUCT PHOTOS

+ utilize your camera's focus points - try moving the highlighted dot around so you can play with the composition

+ make sure not to over-expose, especially when there are labels or small details you need to capture - always check your photos as you go

+ think about the colors and story you are creating - like these pinks and oranges pop against the blues and greens

+ for a blurred background, shoot with a low f-stop, but not so low that the product isn't all in focus - somewhere between 2.0-3.0 should do the trick

+ for styling, bring in elements that add height, texture, and depth to the image >> bar tools, multiple classes, marble serving board, bottle of wine, hand models