Erie, Pennsylvania Baby Photographer Lisa Russo | Erie Newborn Photographer | Erie Children's Photographer | Erie Family Photographer bio picture
  • Lisa Russo Photography is currently on hiatus during our relocation from Atlanta, Georgia to Erie, Pennsylvania. Stay tuned to the blog for move updates, posts about Lisa's other loves (cooking, gardening, books, iPhone apps, reading....), and notice of when we're all set up and ready to start photographing babies, children and families in the Erie, PA area.

the best chicken marinade *ever*

Ken’s Steak House Balsamic and Basil Vinaigrette. Trust me. This stuff adds *so* much delicious flavor. For dinner, I’ll marinade and grill boneless breasts and serve them hot with a vegetable – and every time, my kids go “Yum! What is this??” I usually make a batch on Monday to cut up and have with my daily lunchtime salad.

Recipe(ish): Put 3-5 skinless, boneless chicken breasts into a large ziploc bag. Pour in the dressing – enough to cover them, maybe 1/2-3/4 cup? Then use a mallet to pound the chicken to an even thickness. Let them sit as long as you can – an hour or overnight (better) – squeezing and turning occasionally. Grill and enjoy.

Then send me an e-mail thanking me for my culinary expertise. Or something like that.;)

K. Marciante - Can’t wait to try it!!

Amy Nabors - Thanks for sharing! I’m always on the lookout for a new marinade for chicken.

jen - My husband and I discovered it this spring as well. It is the best and it is also great on porkchops and veggies on the grill as well!

Taz - mmm I do something similar with Newman’s Balsamic Vinaigrette and this twist with the basil sounds yummy! Will have to give it a whirl.

elizabeth - I make your famous meatloaf often and everyone loves it.
I have been bored with my chicken lately. I will try this. thanks

berta - I wanted to try this and my Safeway had every “Kens” dressing but this one!

the hallmark of a type A (+) personality

I am reorganizing my house…to make it easier to reorganize when I unpack the mover’s boxes at our destination.

berta - You are more than welcome to come organize my house any time :) I am definitly not a type A personality :)

kelly - I understand. Completely. :) Enjoy the process, friend. :)

Sharla Graber - I just had to tell you that the other day while saying something about “my favorite” photographer, my 12yr. old son interrupts with, “Lisa Russo”…I”m telling you, you’d think you were family! Wish I coulda met you while you lived “close” in Atlanta, it felt close, I’m in SC about 2 hrs away…=)

under contract.

We found a house. I will tell you, househunting in Erie is *not* like househunting in Atlanta. In Atlanta, there might be 10 houses for sale in every neighborhood. In Erie? There might be 10 houses for sale in the whole township. Apparently the people who live there really like it – so they stay put. Imagine that!

It’s in a gorgeous neighborhood, full of winding streets, nice people (I know, I stopped to talk to a couple of them), hardwood trees that will be stunning in the fall, and is surrounded by a golf course (I guess the neighborhood was so nice, they decided it might be a good place for golfing.

It has 2 stories, 4 bedrooms, 2.2 baths. A 3 car garage (that Vic’s truck will fit into – phew), and a 1/2 acre yard. With real grass. I’m sorry, but bermuda is pretty and all, but there’s nothing like running barefoot through a gorgeous lawn of fescue.

It has a full basement with sliding doors – 1/2 finished and (barely) enough unfinished for Vic’s workshop. It’ll do.

I don’t know how long we’ll be there. But for however long we call it home, it will be a fine place to call “home.”

I’ll have more pictures to share once it’s ours. We close on August 11th.

Jana - So gorgeous! Love how green it all is! I wish you many happy, healthy, happy years there.

jessie - Congratulations! It looks lovely. :)

Dennis Bullock - Congrats Lisa!

Ashley Madsen - STUNNING!!! Oh I am such an east coast girl at heart! None of this AZ desert… yuck. This is gorgeous. I wish you and your family well with starting a new home. Hope it goes well for you.

sidney - Wishing you and your family the best of everything in your new home! Erie, Pa is so lucky to have a photographer of your talent moving to the area.

Your home looks lovely!

Heather M. - It’s beautiful, Lisa! That yard is HUGE! WOW!

gavin

It was only fitting that the last little fellow I photograph in the studio be the grandson of a family friend. Isn’t he precious?

Dennis B. - That first one is so great. Love his expression.

berta - They are all great! The bottom two look like he is about to tell you a great story :)

berta - They%20are%20all%20great!%20The%20bottom%20two%20look%20like%20he%20is%20about%20to%20tell%20you%20a%20great%20story%20%3A)

Sharla Graber - That first one took my breath away! Stunning!

lengthy absences & new hometowns

I apologize for the lack of posting – turns out that getting a house ready to sell, finding a house to buy, keeping my two children from killing each other happy and entertained, and wrapping up client orders takes up a LOT of time.

Since my business will be on hiatus for awhile, I thought I would use ye olde blog to keep family and friends (and anyone else along for the ride) updated on our big move to Erie.

First off, it turns out Vic wasn’t comfortable selecting a house all by his lonesome, so the kiddos and I flew up last week for a househunting trip. And may I just say right here: Thank GOD for iTouches, iPhones, and children who are old enough to be entertained by them for hours on end. May we all share in a Hallelujah?!?

As negotiations are underway, I won’t say more about the househunting, but hopefully I’ll have some news soon. If it doesn’t work out, I found a nice suites hotel that allows pets. And may I say right here: Thank GOD I’m not moving with a baby this time. Much, much easier.

We did have one nasty hitch during our trip: The lovely staff at the Hilton Garden Inn on Peach St. decided to empty the kids’ room (we had adjoining rooms) the day BEFORE we were leaving. Imagine their surprise to come back to find their clothes, toothbrushes, swimsuits, Ava’s rolling bag, and – most offensively – her stuffed horse Toby were missing. Umm….excuse me? That much stuff in the room and you don’t think to CHECK?? Unfortunately, the only thing that was found was Ava’s bag – now emptied of her Leapster Game system. Needless to say, that was NOT a good day.

As for Erie – LOVED it. The town where we plan to live – Millcreek – is glorious. Mind you, it isn’t November (so don’t hold me to my accolades), but the rolling hills, hardwood trees, gardens, farm markets, flowers, fescue grass, and SOFT SERVE stands so remind me of my hometown. It seriously was like going back. An added benefit is how nice everyone is. No offense to the folks in the North, but being from there myself – y’all know that sometimes “nice” isn’t a word used to describe us. But the Erie folks – everywhere we went we encountered nothing but friendly people – including the sweet older gentleman who sat next to us at WEGMANS and chatted us up for about an hour.

Wait – did somebody say WEGMANS?!?! Oh my goodness gracious – have you ever been in a Wegmans??? The kids and I walked in the door, and we all just stopped and went “Woooooooowwwwwww……” Seriously? The most gorgeous grocery store I’ve ever been in. Can’t wait to shop there all the time.:)

The highlight of our trip had to be taking the kids out to see Lake Erie via Presque Isle. You see, to my kids, a lake is something small and treed, and you can yell to the person on the other side. So the thought of living on Lake Erie didn’t thrill them so much. But when they got out of the car, crossed the berm and saw it in person? Shock doesn’t quite describe it. They then spent about an hour skipping rocks and begging to go back the next day.

More soon…and since no post is complete without a picture, here’s a quickie from my little Canon point-and-shoot of the kids playing at the lake.:)

kelly - Sounds like it’s all going to work out… :)
YAY! :)

Marjorie - Unbelievable…how can a hotel do that.
You sound so happy so I’ll be happy for you and your family too. *smiles* I’m glad that everything seems to be falling into place. Keep us posted.

Sarah - Good luck with the move, Lisa…and Wegman’s truly is as incredible as it seems…and not only to its customers, but to its employees. love it!

Deena Hopkins - Wegman’s will become your second home. You will vacation in the cheese section. I love that place.

Good luck on your move and welcome to PA! I’m only sorry that I’m on the other side of the state…too far away!

berta - I hope you find the perfect house in Erie! Or at least one you and Vic can make into the perfect house! I have never been that close to a great lake! Impressive! So sad about the kids room! I hope you were compensated!!! Big time! Too bad nothing can replace a favorite toy like Ava’s Toby :(

Amanda - You will just LOVE Wegmans!!! We are there several times a week and people think we are nuts. Oh and you will also adore the fall…just wait for all those beautiful colors! Enjoy Erie!!!

Steph H - Okay, I’m confused. Are you saying Wegmans is better than PUBLIX?? Where shopping is a pleasure??? Because as a southern girl transplanted to a Publix-free midwest city, I just can’t wrap my brain around the idea of anything being better than Publix!

Sharla Graber - Although I was “keeping” up on FB it was fun to read this post…I feel like I’m a stalker or something! Lol I can’t wait for you to get all settled and start taking your pictures again. I REALLY miss those beautiful baby posts of yours! Happy packing!

Keri - Watch out! You can loose a salary or two in just one trip to Wegmans! I sure do hope those Erie folks prove to be a-typical Northerners. We miss you in Atlanta already. Best wishes.