Steampunk Photoshoot

'Steampunk is an eclectic world of cogs and rivets. It is airships, goggles and steam. It is romance. It is traveling on clouds and diving beneath rugged waves. It is adventure.'- Aether Emporium

We dreamed up this steampunk shoot with this quote in mind. It is such a fantastical concept and we had so much fun.

Damsel: Eliza
Coal Miner: Devyn
Sky Pirate: Aisha
Hair, photography, accessories: Hilary
Makeup, accessories: Tayler

  

 

  

 

 

Freezer Meals: Tips from a Newbie

Hi there!

Today I made my very first batch of freezer meals!! This is something I've wanted to do for a while now, because let's be honest....I DESPISE trying to figure out what to cook for dinner. After a long day at work, the last thing I want to do is come up with something to make!

I've seen so many lists of freezer meals on Pinterest, but I've never found a list that everything on it sounded simple and delicious! But this morning while I was writing my grocery list, and looking for meal inspirations, I found a list of EASY freezer meals! You can find the recipes and shopping list over at Passion for Savings!

The meals I made today are:
White Chicken Enchilada Bake
Baked Ziti Pasta
Cilantro Lime Chicken w/ Corn and Beans Tacos
Slow Cooker Chili
Slow Cooker Beef and Broccoli

A couple of tips before you go shopping!
1. See what ingredients you already have!
2. (This is probably soooo obvious but for some reason it didn't come to mind for me! I just took the list that was on the website and didn't even think of the extras!) The grocery list on that website didn't include the items you'd need for the day you serve each meal, such as taco shells or rice. So make sure you add the items you'll need for sides/items that won't actually be frozen!

Once you're ready to start putting together your meals, lay out everything you'll need to prepare them! (Get out your measuring cups, spoons, knifes, cutting boards and any spices needed!) Cook all of your meat first, and chop all your veggies! Once that's done, you can just start throwing stuff into gallon size ziplock bags, or casserole pans-I used disposable tin foil dishes from Walmart!

Write cooking instructions on your container!

It only took me an hour and a half and cost me $50 for FIVE DINNERS! Woo! And these are good size meals that will serve 4-5 people, or for my house since it's just the two of us, each meal will be enough for 2-3 dinners! Now that these are all in my freezer, I don't have to worry about dinner for about 2 weeks! Just thaw them the night before and throw it in the crock pot, or in the oven! Easy peasy-just the way I like things!

Share your favorite freezer meals in the comments!

xo- Tayler

Book Review: The Nightingale

     

If I have learned anything in this long life of mine, it is this: 

In love we find out who we want to be; in war we find out who we are.

I have to rave about my latest read.I just finished The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. I read it in a couple of days because I absolutely could not put it down. I am so fascinated reading about wars and the different perspectives that each new (to me!) story brings to my eyes. This book is beautiful. It's beautifully written and the story is so captivating. It's centered on two sisters in occupied France during WWII and the different journeys they took during these cruel times.
Here is the iBooks description, which really sold me after I had heard others loving it. 

France, 1939
In the quiet village of Carriveau, Vianne Mauriac says goodbye to her husband, Antoine, as he heads for the front. She doesn't believe that the Nazis will invade France...but invade they do, in droves of marching soldiers, in caravans of trucks and tanks, in planes that fill the skies and drop bombs upon the innocent. When a German captain requisitions Vianne's home, she and her daughter must live with the enemy or lose everything. Without food or money or hope, as danger escalates all around them, she is forced to make one impossible choice after another to keep her family alive.
Vianne's sister, Isabelle, is a rebellious eighteen-year-old girl, searching for purpose with all the reckless passion of youth. While thousands of Parisians march into the unknown terrors or war, she meets Gaetan, a partisan who believes the French can fight the Nazis from within France, and she falls in love as only the young can...completely. But when he betrays her, Isabelle joins the Resistance and never looks back, risking her life time and again to save others.
With courage, grace and powerful insight, bestselling author Kristin Hannah captures the epic panorama of WWII and illuminates an intimate part of history seldom seen: the women's war. The Nightingale tells the stories of two sisters, separated by years and experience, by ideals, passion and circumstance, each embarking on her own dangerous path toward survival, love, and freedom in German-occupied, war-torn France- a heartbreakingly beautiful novel that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and the durability of women. It is a novel for everyone, a novel for a lifetime.

"Asking yourself a question, that's how resistance begins. And then ask that very question to someone else." -Remco Campert

I realize I say this a lot, but this book seriously changed me. 
I am so grateful that the ravages of war have not touched my life, but I appreciate stories of heroines however big or small, fiction or not. 
These women made it through this war with hope, daring, creativity, and the will to see their families and country survive. At one point, Vianne is worrying to her local Mother Superior, who says: "You're not alone, and you're not the one in charge. Ask for help when you need it, and give help when you can. I think that is how we serve God-and each other and ourselves- in times as dark as these." Wow. I love this so much, and I love that I can apply this to almost any part of my life. 

I didn't cry while I read this (let's be real: my eyes were wide open and I was turning pages as fast as I could so who had time to cry??), but when I finished the last page I just had a good, long, ugly cry. I felt so connected to the characters and their struggles to find courage. I am happy for them, sad for them, and proud of them.

This will definitely be a permanent fixture on my favorites list.

-Hilary

Fall Gowns with Janay Marie Designs

"Fall has always been my favorite season. The time when everything bursts with its last beauty, as if nature had been saving up all year for the grand finale." - Lauren DeStefano

We had the great pleasure of working with more of Janay's incredible gowns for this shoot. They were beautiful with the colors of this lush Utah autumn.
There are a million photos in this post because they were all so breathtaking we couldn't narrow it down any more!! Enjoy!

Makeup: Tayler
Hair, floral hairpieces, photography: Hilary
Models: Brooke, Devyn, and Lindsey

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quick and Easy Halloween Treats

This past weekend I made these adorable Mummy Chocolate Covered Oreos for neighbor gifts. They were so easy and took almost no time (which is good because I don't have any to spare!) and they were a hit. I'm always looking for something new to try that won't take up my whole occasional day off. There are various forms all over pinterest, and of course I had to try them and put my own spin on them. Cue cute pictures of my HEART-EYE EMOJI MUMMIES

 Melt your white chocolate chips and dip the Oreos in. I tapped the excess off because I didn't want a pool of chocolate underneath them when they cooled. I put extra melted chocolate in a sandwich bag with the tip trimmed to do the mummy wrappings. I know it would also be easy to drizzle the chocolate over with a fork, but I like the control of the bag and I felt like I didn't drip all over!

Instead of making eyes, I used heart sprinkles to make the heart-eye emoji, Halloween style. For Christmas, I like to make the candy cane version. (Notice a theme here? I like to make quick, cute stuff!) Everyone loves those too, and they were much more indulgent because I used double stuffed cookies!
 

I doubled or quadrupled these up in little cellophane bags, tied them off with cute baker's twine, and ran them around to the neighbors with a little note. Done and done! 

--Hilary