Kitchen Fun: The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever.

I know - that is a pretty ambitious statement. Believe me though, these are my tried and tested best chocolate chip cookies. Ever. I have to give credit to my wonderful friend, Gina, for giving me this recipe way back in Jr. High. I have tried other ones and they just never measure up.

Okay, enough talking these babies up. Here we go.

There is a special ingredient.....vanilla pudding mix. Oh yes, prepare to be amazed.


You will need:
- 1 cup margarine
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1 package instant vanilla pudding
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- chocolate chips

Ingredients, check. Cute - yet slightly wrinkled - apron, check.



First, cream the margarine and sugars together. I use my wonderful Kitchen Aid mixer - my second favourite kitchen appliance.

My first favourite is my Tassimo Brewer, just in case you were wondering ;)

Then add in the eggs and vanilla.



Next, add in the special ingredient - the vanilla pudding!



In a separate bowl, mix the flour and baking soda together. Feel free to sift if you are the sifting type of baker. Then slowly add the flour mixture to the wet mixture, a little at a time until everything is all mixed together nicely.



Lastly, add in as many or as little chocolate chips as you want. I like them quite chocolately and usually use about half a bag. This time I used mini ones but regular size ones work just as good.

Now for the all important taste test. Whichever method suits your fancy - the finger swipe or possibly the beater lick. Or both.



Then spoon onto a non greased or lined cookie sheet. We use the two spoon method around our house.



*Thanks Scott for your help and doing such a great job demonstrating the two spoon method! Big hugs and kisses to you!*

Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. DO NOT OVER BAKE. Take them out when the edges are just barely golden and the tops look almost moist, and then just leave them to cool on the sheet and it bakes just a little more.

A quick before and after baking shot.



And there you have it! The best chocolate chip cookies ever.



Is your mouth watering yet?

The Other Side....

.... of the camera is a scary place to be for photographers.

I am so much more comfortable behind the lens and in control of the photo. However, it is definitely a great experience to have my photo taken because it helps me understand what other go through in front of my lens! It gave me motivation to be better and make others more comfortable when I am the one snapping the photo's.

Scott and I went out the other night for a 'Just Because' photo shoot with the wonderful Mallorey of Maxx Photography , she might look familiar from our shoot together a few weeks ago. We had such a fun night filled with a lot of laughter - I love the images Mallorey captured, they represent our love perfectly.

Mallorey, you are talented my friend. Keep rocking it out.











The photo on the left makes my heart swoon, the look Scott is giving me is all love.

Backyard Beauty

One of my photography goals has been to improve my understanding of camera settings in manual mode so that I can take a great photo in camera and have to do barely any editing. One reason is to cut down on the time I spend sitting at my computer editing photos; but, probably a more important reason is that I want my photos to have a consistent look - a look that is natural, bright, vibrant, and unprocessed.

Last night, I went out to practice. I am so excited that these images are all pretty much straight out of camera - with only a little sharpening for the blog.

Also, all of these were taken in my backyard. I love the idea of looking at your everyday surroundings a little differently and taking a little time to notice the beauty in the details of your life.

Appreciation List

A friend of mine posted an 'Appreciation List' on her blog. I absolutely love this idea. Life is so busy & how often do we take the time to write out the things/people we appreciate and are so thankful for? I think you see where this is going....

My List of Appreciation.

- for my wonderful fiance, Scott. He is truly my rock. My soul is happy because of him. I could write a whole list just on him. But I won't, well not right now anyways.

- for a roof over my head. I complain of its problems a lot. But, I love having this cute, old, little house to call our own.

- for a great, if not slightly odd, family. You might remember them from this post.

- for a great soon-to-be-inlaw family. I am so truly blessed to be welcomed into this amazing family & extended family.

- for the ability to take photo's. This alone brings so much joy to my life, I would be lost without it.

- for everyone who puts up with all of my wedding talk. Seriously, I don't know how you all can stand it.

- for prayer. Because He never tires of listening to me.

- for books.

- for the Friend's seasons on DVD. We do not have cable this summer, so I watch a lot of Friends, like a lot.

- for the internet. Again, no cable. This is how I keep my sanity.

- for Ten Spa. I just went this past weekend. Best. Massage. Ever.

And for so many other things. But I'll keep it to that for now. I'll post another list when I am in need of a reminder of how lucky and blessed I am for living the life I do.



Photo's from the wonderful Genevieve Renee.

How To: Glitterize Your Shoes.

And yes, glitterize is a word. If my iMac can learn this new word - so can you :)

Today I will be showing you how to glitterize your shoes. This can work on any type of shoe in any material. Lots of the tutorials I found said to use patent leather, but the shoes I used were satin and it worked just fine.

First, you gather your materials. You will need: Mod Podge, painters tape, a spongy brush, the all important glitter, & design master shine clear gloss spray.



Cover the bottoms of your chosen shoes with tape - as well as any other part you do not want to get glitter on. Next, mix your Mod Podge and glitter. I suggest using a couple tablespoons of Mod Podge and a lot of glitter. Then, take your spongy brush and spread the glitter mixture in a thin layer all over your shoes. Don't freak out when your first layer looks like this:



It dries clear, I promise. Once the first layer is dry to the touch (30-45 minutes), repeat with a second & third layer, and if you really want - a fourth. Really, can there ever be too much glitter?

Once you have the desired amount of glitter on your shoes, let it dry overnight. The next day, stuff the insides with paper towel and spray the outsides with a clear coat or two to protect the shoes.



And voila! Beautiful, glitterized shoes! Mod Podge is seriously amazing - it dries clear, keeps all the glitter on the shoes, and is still flexible so you could totally do this to flats!





You just might be seeing these beauties on a special day this November ;)

Now go! Glitterize your boring footwear!!

PS. This project does not have to get glitter everywhere in your house - just be a little more careful than I was or do it outside :)

Random Pineapples.

My mind has been quite scattered and filled with random thoughts lately. And what could be more random than a photo of a pineapple?



I actually really dislike the taste of pineapples, but love the way they look. So it's a good thing that Scott likes them so it can sit on my table and make me smile with it's goofy spiky top and bumpy sides :)

Instead of making sense of the randomness going on in my head right now, I'm just going to point form it. Here we go.

- Last Friday was exactly 3 months until our wedding. 3 months is a very short period of time.

- The feeling is starting to come back into my pointer finger. Spray paint incident, wedding related.

- I have been feeling like I talk to much in conversations but I can't seem to stop. It's like a flood gate. Sometimes, I even annoy myself.

- I want to do a closet purge and slim down my wardrobe even more.

- Did I mention it's less than 3 months until the wedding??

- I have lots of ideas for blog posts but can't seem to pull them out of all this randomness. Expect some good things in the hopefully near future.

- There is glitter everywhere in the house right now. More on that tomorrow.

Family Photo's

While on our family vacation to Manitou Beach this year, I insisted on doing a family photo.

This, is my family.



Now - all families have their quirks. Right? Well, my families is the inability to take just one normal family photo. I actually had to bribe them to take a 'nice one' with the promise of silly ones to follow. Oh, and we don't just do the 'funny faces' one. We have a wide array of varying family poses to whip out at a moment's notice.

Our go to face - Blue Steel.



Asian tourists.



The 'mom' pose. (my wonderful mother stands like this a lot, and stares off into the distant. We, of course, mock her)



HUGE super excited over the top smiles.



And, the newest addition to our arsenal, the creep. Watch this to understand.




I wish I could say that I am way above my families antics, or at least too mature to participate. But, clearly, I am not.

Just Because: Darren & Mallorey.

Just Because.

Just because they love each other. Just because she loves photography. Just because their puppy is super cute.

Do you need more reasons than that to do a photo shoot? I sure don't think so.

Darren, Mallorey, their dog Thor, & I went out last week for this wonderful Just Because session. The light was fantastic - the perfect summer's eve.

You two are so great - you are both such genuine people and I am so glad I got the opportunity to meet you both this summer and spend time with you. Plus, I kinda have a soft spot for couples with pretty big height differences. Being one such couple myself ;)

Enjoy these beautiful photo's....













My personal favourite...





Seriously, how gorgeous are those eyes!?!

I Realized...

.... a dream that I did not know I had - to one day own a coffee shop. More specifically, this coffee shop.



I found, what can only be described, as the perfect coffee shop. Vintage 50's tables, wood floors, overlooking a lake, antiques & gorgeous glassware for sale, and good coffee to boot. *Sigh*







This was easily my favourite place at Manitou Beach, it made my heart very happy.



Oh and I brought these two little guys home with me. The rooster is Scott, and the hen is me :) Apparently having a rooster in your kitchen is good luck?