4.12.2012

Inspiration board : Making a bar.

Okay, to be honest, Stone and I are not big drinkers. Of course, I love a glass of wine here and there (not in the past seven months, of course!) and Stone will never turn down a cold beer from a friend. But, do we know much about wine or beer, no. Since moving to California we have definitely learned a lot more about wine from our trips to Sonoma, and the restaurants around these parts are big on specialty drinks, so we have tried lots of great things. Either way, after buying our house we quickly learned that it is only polite to have, at the very least beer, and wine to offer neighbors who are passing by, which seems to happen pretty frequently in our hood. We have to step it up a bit! Good thing our house already has a built in wet bar perfect for some funky trays, bar glasses, copper mugs, and such. Now we just need to learn how to actually make some drinks :)

Green Ice Bucket

4.10.2012

Tuesday tunes : My Girl.


Stone is listening to the classic rock station today while working and it has played a few goodies from My Girl... one of my fav movies! Oh way back in the days when Macaulay Culkin was every girl's crush, then he had to go and ruin it for us all. Anyway, I hope you enjoy these tunes :) Happy Tuesday.

PS This print is by Slim Aarons and is on my wishlist to have in my house one day...

My Girl by Shelby Crandall on Grooveshark

4.09.2012

Food to love : Muffins!


My mom is the ultimate baker... well, really just cook in general... she can do it all! Growing up we would wake up on weekend mornings to the smell of fresh muffins baking in the oven. This was pretty routine too, so she got creative with all of the variations of muffins that she made... my favorite being coffee muffins. The other morning I was having a craving (go figure) and made my very first batch of my mom's coffee muffins. They turned out pretty tasty especially with the crumble on top! Perfect for breakfast, afternoon snack, midnight snack, etc.
Yummmmm!

Batter:

1/2 cup melted butter

2 c brown sugar

3/4 c milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg

2 tb instant coffee

1 3/4 c flour

1 tb baking powder

1/4 tsp salt


Topping:

1 tb sugar, and 2 tb finely chopped pecans, mixed


Preheat oven to 375. Cream butter and sugar, then add the milk, vanilla, egg and coffee, and mix well.

In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the wet ingredients and stir until just mixed, being careful not to over beat. Fill greased muffin tins (or you can use paper baking cups) 1/2- 3/4 full. Before baking, sprinkle a little of the sugar-pecan topping on each muffin.

Cook for 15 minutes or so, depends on oven!

yield: 10-12 muffins


Weekend Wrap Up : Friday a thief, Sunday a King.


Well hello there.

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend. Stone and I spent our weekend finishing up the paint job (it took Stone a full week to complete the task... what a great husband!) on our kitchen cabinets, having game night with friends, taking my large baby belly out on a hike, celebrating Jesus' resurrection at our church, and bbq'ing with friends in the incredible summer weather we have been having lately! Pretty perfect.

My brother in law sent over a pretty great video of one of my favorite Easter songs, I meant to post it yesterday, but forgot. Either way here it is, I hope you enjoy it...


Though the Earth Cried out for blood

Satisfied her hunger was
Her billows calmed on raging seas
for the souls on men she craved

Sun and moon from balcony
Turned their head in disbelief
Their precious Love would taste the sting
disfigured and disdained

On Friday a thief
On Sunday a King
Laid down in grief
But awoke with keys
Of Hell on that day
The first born of the slain
The Man Jesus Christ
Laid death in his grave

So three days in darkness slept
The Morning Sun of righteousness
But rose to shame the throes of death
And over turn his rule

Now daughters and the sons of men
Would pay not their dues again
The debt of blood they owed was rent
When the day rolled a new

On Friday a thief
On Sunday a King
Laid down in grief
But awoke holding keys
To Hell on that day
The first born of the slain
The Man Jesus Christ
Laid death in his grave

On Friday a thief
On Sunday a King
Laid down in grief
But awoke with keys
Of Hell on that day
The first born of the slain
The Man Jesus Christ
Laid death in his grave

He has cheated
Hell and seated
Us above the fall
In desperate places
He paid our wages
One time once and for all

4.02.2012

Weekend wrap up.

Early Saturday morning I flew to Dallas to celebrate our little guy with friends and family! We had a shower and he got a lot of great things that I just cannot wait to see him play with, or wear, or use! Whoever thought I would get so excited about baby things? Surely not me...

Anyway, the most fun part about the weekend was spending time with the cutest babies in the world (I may be biased...), my little niece and nephew (Ruthie and Liam) and their mom, my sister, Lindsay. We ran errands like crazy on Sunday and you would think with two 3 and a half month olds it would be next to impossible to get anything done, but we both strapped those babies on and took them all over the place. They were champs! Even at dinner with my dad at one of our favorite mexican food places, Mi Cocina, they endured not one, but two shockingly loud 'Happy Birthday' songs to the tables on either side of us complete with about 10 waiters and clapping, a nightmare for any mother with sleeping babies at a restaurant, but again, they made it through without tears!
I only pray our baby boy will be as good...


3.30.2012

Inspiration board : Spring!


Spring is here and I could not be more excited! First, because that means we are just one season closer to having our little baby boy here! Two, there are a lot of things I just love about this season...

- it is the marking of things like school coming to an end (even though it does not effect me, I remember how fantastic that feeling was)

- a bountiful of new fruits in the market... my favorite being watermelon, peaches, and perfectly ripe avocados

- BBQs, campfires on the beach, and yard games with friends!

- gardening... we actually have our very own yard that truthfully has not been touched in what looks like years, but Stone and I will get out there sometime soon and give it our best shot :)

- fun patterns and clothes in all of the stores, because I really cannot shop for clothes right now I am loving all of the Spring inspired shoes

- as cheesy as it sounds, the scents of this season make me pretty excited too... whether it be a new wreath for the door, flowers in the yard, or a fresh candle for the house I just love the way it smells around this time!

Hope you are enjoying it as much as I am... xo.

3.29.2012

Baby love : A sneak peek.

Things are beginning to come together in baby boy's nursery! We finally got the fabric in the mail that I ordered from Etsy (bottom left) and it works so well with the bumper and rug we ordered. I am so happy! I am hoping to make a crib skirt out of the fabric and possibly a pillow as well! Oofta, if only I could sew...

Cannot wait to show you the finished product! xo.

3.27.2012

Look of the weekend : Dressing the bump.


This large growth on my belly is only getting bigger by the day... and dressing each morning has definitely been a challenge, things don't quite fit like they used to and some things just don't fit at all! I have to say I used to judge all you pregnant women who went out in public with sweatpants and an oversized t shirt on. Well I was wrong for judging, because the effort to find something suitable to wear is pretty difficult and then when you do it most likely will be uncomfortable... ahhh the joys of pregnancy, right? Well I have found a few staples for my 'bump' wardrobe that I would love to share... and also some things that have been on a wishlist for my third trimester to get me through until the end. I have my first baby shower next weekend and I so wish I had a great dress to throw on... we'll see what I come up with :)

Staples for the momma to be wardrobe:
Cotton T's... lot's of them

On the wishlist :

xo.

Tuesday tunes : Dance.



Ummmm... yes please...

Both Stone and I have a crush on Ben Rector so it is okay for me to publicly talk about my affection... Love this. Go dance with somebody, it is Tuesday after all.

xo.

3.26.2012

Weekend wrap up.



Stone and I spent the weekend shooting a wedding, doing house work, going to the farmer's market and hanging with friends. I feel like our weekends are going to start sounding quite repetitive now that wedding season is full speed ahead! We shot a wedding that was planned by the super talented girls at Before I Do Events and the venue, Darlington House, was absolutely incredible!

Sunday we woke up and decided to have a relaxing afternoon at the Farmer's Market stopping at a few furniture shops along the way. We had not been to the market in a while and indulged ourselves in a lot of yummy foods! Lastly we braved the pouring rain last night and met friends at one of my favorite spots for dinner. All in all it was a happy weekend and I cannot wait to show you photos from the wedding.

By the way... does husband kind of resemble a blonde version of Chris Gaines (aka Garth Brooks) in the color photos above. And, while I am at it, Garth really made a huge mistake trying to change his image by creating his alter ego Chris Gaines... I mean really?

Welcome to the week. xo.

3.21.2012

That's a wrap : An update...


Stone and I have been busy, busy lately! Lot's of incredible weddings and engagement shoots happening around these parts and we could not be more excited to be able to be apart of it all. Yup, we are pretty dang lucky to have the job that we have. First I want to tell you a little about this sweet couple we shot last week... Written by husband...

'Sometimes when Shelby and Ishow up to a shoot it's like a blind date. Usually we meet all of the couples we work with before the actual shoot phase, but sometimes, when distance is a factor, we aren't able to. So we show up there and are basically looking for the people that look about as confused as us. Well, this shoot with Diana and Logan was not only the aforementioned situation, but also a blind date with the location itself. Both Shelby nor I had ever been to this spot, and believe it or not, every photo you see below was shot within thirty feet of each other. Pretty cool (and convenient). So, needless to say, we were stoked on the shoot. Diana and Logan were way cooler than we could have ever imagined and the location forced us to look outside our normal field-of-vision. We loved everything about it. Hope you do too ...'







One good looking couple for sure... they were so fun to hang out with and we cannot even wait for their wedding! See more of their shoot here.

On another note, I recently was asked by a reader to share a little more about how Stone and I decided to work together and how we decided to jump into wedding photography...

Well, first thing first... Stone and I dated for 3 years long distance before he popped the question. Having never really lived in the same location before we were married we were just praying that we would live well together in the same city, let alone the same home! And we did. Stone and I get along really well together, we kind of fill each others weaknesses both in our relationship and in business. But, when we decided to start our company together this was a huge leap of faith. Starting your own small business takes a lot of time and a lot of hard work. We both had full time jobs when we began Stone Crandall Photography. After about a year of juggling a handful of jobs Stone was able to take on the business full time while I continued to work a second job. He is definitely the man behind the lens when it comes to our business. Stone graduated with a degree in Film and after working as a videographer for Warren Miller for a couple of years he decided to go in the photography route. This is where my background as a wedding planner kind of came in and melded harmoniously into what we are today... wedding photographers. He has taught me all he knows about photography and I have taught him all about the ins and outs of the wedding industry. Just this past year I have taken on a full time role with Stone Crandall Photography and I have to say it has been working out pretty well. Of course, you can imagine, with any couple working / living / eating / playing / sleeping under the same roof that we definitely have to find our own balance of space. Separating work and home life can be difficult too. These are just things we have to be mindful of. When we get in an argument we usually will take some time apart then reconvene and talk it through later. Stone and I have found that our clients like the dynamic of working with another couple and we have made so many great friends through work. There are some couples that can work together and some that just can't, that's okay too. It just takes giving it a try and being able to separate work and life for your own sanity :)

I just wrote WAY more than I thought I would... but, I hope I answered your questions! If you have any more feel free to comment. xo.



3.20.2012

Food to love : Roasted Brussels Sprouts.

Spring is here! That means vegetables, fruits, and flowers abound! This season always gets me in the mood to cook and plant, what about you? Last night I tried a few new recipes that my sister sent over and they were all absolutely delicious :) Especially the roasted brussels sprouts. The recipe came from here, but I made a few tweaks of my own...

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

1 lb brussels sprouts
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
a couple of pinches of black pepper

Set Oven to Broil.

Trim the bottoms from the sprouts and cut them in half. Whisk together ingredients above in a small bowl well then pour over the sprouts. Using a wooden spoon toss the sprouts in the oil mixture. While you are doing this, have a skillet sitting on the stove over high heat until water evaporates on contact. Pour the brussels sprouts into the Pan and quickly turn each sprout face down on the pan until they begin to blacken (about 3 minutes). Transfer pan into the top rack of your oven and roast for about 5-7 minutes until they are charred and a bit crispy. Serve immediately.

You may want to turn your kitchen fan on while cooking these in case of smoke! Enjoy and happy spring!

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