the[artful]abode

Saturday Randomness and a Cookie Recipe

theartfulabode — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 01:35:32 +0000

Today has been absolutely GORG. Almost 70 degrees in January!? Usually at this time of year it’s cold, damp, dark and miserable – but today was a wonderful exception. We went for a walk at the park and it was literally shoulder to shoulder with people walking dogs, pushing strollers, riding bikes, and jumping on pogo sticks (no joke). People were out in droves after being cooped up indoors for entirely too long. You could say it was a good day.

The warmer weather gave me a little taste of Spring and pushed me into productive mode. You would think that being locked up indoors when it’s freezing out would give me lots of time to be productive, but instead I typically hibernate and whine about my cold feet. Warm weather = burst of energy. Today we painted the edge banding on our base cabinets to prepare for our finished cabinets doors to be installed on Monday. A much-anticipated blog post (for my parents and in-laws) will be coming your way next week. I went for a run, played tennis with my husband (running to the tennis court wasn’t my best idea), did laundry, deep cleaned the house from all the dust from kitchen renovation madness, and made some homemade cookies.

I’m exhausted even reading that.

I’ve been trying my best to eat a bit healthier recently so when Scott suggested making brownies for dessert, I had to find an alternative. Sure, boxed brownies are incredible, but I’m enjoying finding new recipes on Pinterest that allow us some more healthy (and different) options for food. Have I mentioned how much I love Pinterest? Have you read a post about Pinterest on every blog out there? Yeah, I don’t care – I’ll be redundant. I love Pinterest and I don’t care who knows. :) I found this recipe and it turned out to be the perfect blend of healthier cookie and cake-y brownie. Yumm.

Lower Fat Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon table salt
1/4 cup butter , softened
1/2 cup dark brown sugar , packed
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
2 large egg whites
1/3 cup miniature chocolate chip

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. (Do not pack flour when measuring).
Beat butter and brown sugar with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy; gradually add granulated sugar, beating well. Add cocoa and egg whites, beating well. Gradually beat in flour mixture until blended. Stir in chocolate mini chips.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls (about 3/4-inch balls to get 40 cookies) onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350°F for 10 minutes. Cool on pans 2 minutes or until firm. Remove cookies from pans; cool completely on wire racks.

You can find the original recipe here. Hope you have a warm weekend filled with productive time and cookies – the best kind of weekend there is!

Finally a kitchen update!

theartfulabode — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 02:21:10 +0000

Happy New Year, everyone! Care to see pictures of my Christmas decorations/gift wrapping nine days after Christmas? No? Yeah, that’s what I thought. I had pictures all ready to blog over the break and what did we do? Left the laptop at home. Fast forward to time at home and time with friends in town, and the Christmas blog post just never happened. Ah, such is life.

But what I will tell you is that we have FINALLY decided to paint our kitchen cabinets! To say I’m excited would be a vast understatement. This is what our kitchen currently looks like, in its perpetual state of un-doneness.

With stock, yellow-y maple cabinets a-plenty, our kitchen just isn’t doing it for me. We upgraded the countertops and backsplash a while back (with the intent of keeping the cabinets as is) but the more I live with them, the more they grate on me. Or, I should say, the more clear it is that they just don’t fit with our design aesthetic.

Luckily for us, we have a good friend who is in the wood working/finishing biz and has agreed to help us re-finish our cabinets, the professional way. We considered doing it all ourselves (i.e. rolling the cabinets) but decided to spend a little dough to have the cabinets done correctly (i.e. sprayed with a super fancy paint spray gun). Here are a few ideas I’ve been pinning for inspiration (all images from Pinterest):

Obviously I’m thinking two-tone cabinets, but I’m (of course) second guessing myself. I’d like to find a picture with black appliances to put my mind at ease, but I think I may just have to take a giant leap here and hope for the best. Any thoughts? We’re hoping to paint the cabinets sometime this month, so stay tuned!

Carolina Elizabeth : Newborn Session

theartfulabode — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 01:59:40 +0000

A while back, I spent a chilly afternoon indoors with a sweet family and their newborn baby, Caroline. When I first saw Caroline, I immediately thought “Gerber baby!” and she didn’t disappoint as the day went on. I’ve been fortunate to have great newborn sessions with happy babies, and Caroline was one of the happiest. Enjoy!

’tis the Season

theartfulabode — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 22:56:36 +0000

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here! Or, insert your favorite holiday cliché to accompany this collage.

Is it weird that I feel more festive this season because of my new bangs? Is it strange that somehow I feel more merriment oozing from my being because I cut certain strands of my hair slightly shorter so they hang against my forehead?

I think I answered my own question.

Bangs or no bangs, it’s finally frigid here and we’re finished with our holiday decorations. The mistletoe candle is a’burnin and we’ve busted out the hot chocolate more than once. I love the holidays! Hope your home is warm, cozy and filled with holiday pom pom garland (tutorial to come)!

It’s been a good day

theartfulabode — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 00:45:52 +0000

Ahh, new shoe day. It could possibly be one of the best kind of days.

It’s right up there with haircut day, or new backpack day when you’re in grade school. It’s all about life’s little pleasures, right? I’m feeling particularly thankful this November – not only because of the obvious reasons (good health, job, etc). but for the little ones as well. Super sales on sweaters that look like Marc Jacobs but aren’t. Upgrades to first class for my husband’s work flight. A dog that is infinitely happy. A drama free Monday at work. A quilt that our dry cleaner ruined becoming available again at Target so I can buy it for a second time. Our warm and cozy little home. Having one side of the family’s Christmas shopping done – before Thanksgiving.

Hope everyone is having a lovely Monday filled with life’s little happy moments!

The Gurleys : Family Session

theartfulabode — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 23:55:36 +0000

This may have been my most fun session to date. Let me paint you a little picture: I went back and forth with this family trying to pick the perfect location, and they finally decided on a golf course at a club they’re members at. We hopped on some golf carts and rode around an empty course, filled with beautiful fall leaves and bright sunlight, and took some fun family pictures. You can’t get any better than that can you?

This family is sweet, energetic – and good golly, photogenic! I had a great time exploring a beautiful golf course with them and getting to know them!

One of my favorite things is when children are little mini versions of their parents – and this family is certainly no exception. It makes me excited to see what my (future, not any time soon, don’t get excited, Mom) children will look like!

Hope you enjoyed this session – and hope you’re getting the amazing Fall weather that we are right now!

Norah Elizabeth : Newborn Session

theartfulabode — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 00:39:16 +0000

Remember this sweet maternity session I shot a few months back? Fast forward to today, and sweet little Norah Elizabeth is in the world! I had the opportunity to take some photos of this adorable girl who just so happens to belong to my wonderful co-worker and good friend, Amanda. I had such a great time meeting Miss Norah and I have to say, she just might be the most adorable thing I’ve seen in a good long while.

Amanda is obviously an Interior Designer (as she’s my co-worker) and she did a bang up job on Norah’s nursery. Her brother-in-law upholstered a rocker in pink houndstooth, she re-finished a vintage dresser in a great icy blue, and oh, her husband built an incredible crib. Talk about one lucky baby!

Amanda and her husband are avid readers and found this book idea on Pinterest. The Giving Tree is one of my all time favs.

Ugh, don’t you just wanna eat her little face?! I hope you all enjoy Miss Norah as much as I did!

The Guyers : Family Session

theartfulabode — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 01:32:34 +0000

I told you guys I’ve been busy on the photography front. Bear with me, here – this is a good one. I shot the lovely Guyer family about a year ago, and luckily they came back to me for a second family session! Little Lily is now a year and a half, full of energy, and had a great time running around with her big brother Jacob. This family is so sweet and fun – I had a fun time with them in Uptown this past weekend!

Impromptu dance session? Don’t mind if I do.

This shot was my client’s idea. It’s not my typical style, but I love the way it turned out! I also loved their outfit choices – fun, bright colors that coordinate (not matchy matchy) and fun accessories. Perfect!

Thank you Guyers for a lovely Sunday morning! Hope you enjoy!

Ah, Fall.

theartfulabode — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 20:46:37 +0000

Is anyone out there taking crap from their yard, putting it in glass vases, and calling it Holiday decor?

No? Just me? Ah, well. Happy Fall, y’all!

Ryn Jones: Newborn Session

theartfulabode — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 23:47:41 +0000

Happy Monday everyone! As much as I’d love to share something design related today, I do have another sweet photo session to share with you all. And no, this isn’t turning into a photography blog – I’ve just been busy on that front lately! This sweet little lady is the adorable newborn of some of our good friends, and she was an absolute saint during our session. She hardly cried at all, even after we changed her outfits multiple times and propped her up on pillows and blankets! I’ll let the pictures do the talking for Miss Ryn!

Ryn’s mom found a cute elephant costume (to go along with her themed nursery) on Etsy. I didn’t think I’d like a baby dressed up as an animal, but it was literally the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen. Swoon.

Love this little family moment. The parents were so happy!