01
May 2013

studio snaps + food film fest

By

Hello friends! I hope life has been treating you well lately. We have been busy as always, which is wonderful, and also taking time to enjoy spring too.

773169acad1911e2a0d822000a1f9a12_7

Of course, beautiful weather means wedding season is here, so we have been busily sending out invitations and printing up fun day of pieces too, like these welcome kits for this weekend’s bride.

10811516b0ef11e2a19522000a9f126b_7

I know I’ve mentioned before that, for whatever reason, the spark finally came alive and I’ve become really interested in food and cooking. I think now that I know a thing or two (albeit not much), it’s a lot more fun because I feel like I can get creative.

92df59c2a76d11e2813a22000a1fb833_7

I’ve also spent the last three and a half weeks really focusing some energy on health. I have to confess it’s not something I’ve spent much time on before in my life — I am a workaholic, so if there is time to be had, I usually work — but I’m really working on a lifestyle change. Making sure to exercise even just 20 minutes a day has made such a difference in my stress level. So it’s been fun to incorporate that into cooking and learning about food and nutrition and exercise. Wish me luck that I can stick with it :-)

8bfe5688aada11e2a47822000a9f3c30_7

In that same spirit, I’m really excited about the upcoming Food Film Fest!

foodfilmfest

A client of mine is involved in putting it on, so I can’t wait to check it out. Here’s what they have to say about it:

The Food Film Festival – the only film festival in the world where guests get to taste what they see on the screen – will debut in Charleston this spring with two events showcasing more than 15 food films! In Charleston, we will present a “Best of” exhibition of favorite food films from around the globe, along with the world premiere of a film about Lowcountry shrimping from Festival Director and Travel Channel Host George Motz.

Sounds really interesting doesn’t it? I will be sure to share some snaps and thoughts after the event!

In the meantime, though, if you want to check it out and are in Charleston that weekend, they were kind enough to share a coupon code with me that you can use (“MELT10″) to receive 10% off the ticket price. Tickets are on sale here. We hope to see you there!

So that’s all that’s going on around here right now. I’ll try to be better about posting – it’s just hard to find time sometimes between work, exercise, cooking, and play! Tell me what you’ve been up to in the comments…I love to hear from you!

Categories: Charleston, Cooking, dodeline design updates, Events, Invitations
19
Mar 2013

Culinary Adventures

By

Sometime in the last six months or so, I have definitely gained a real appreciation and understanding of how much fun cooking can be. And now that we’ve moved and I am in love with my awesome kitchen (we have a huge island!), it’s all the more fulfilling.

bread

I think the biggest impediment to enjoying cooking for me was feeling uncomfortable and like I didn’t know enough to get creative. Since taking a cooking class last year and experimenting some since, I’m nowhere near an expert, but I do feel a lot better about “winging it” and trying new things.

bread2

One of the biggest difficulties in cooking I think is less about the cooking part and more about the timing. I’ve had a couple pseudo dinner parties in the last couple months and figuring out how you’re going to get everything done at the same time is the hardest part. I really like cooking for other people but there is definitely less stress when it’s just you in the kitchen!

Over the weekend we made challah bread (pictured above) from the recipe found here. I had never made bread before and after failing twice so far at good Southern biscuits, it was nice to have a win in the bread department. It turned out so pretty!

52a598227e0e11e2895222000aaa0568_7

My awesome mixer is possibly my new best friend. I have also failed several times at frosting / whip cream before I had a mixer at all (even a hand one) — it’s almost like cheating with this thing it’s so easy! I have no idea how people ever made stuff like that before appliances came along. I clearly need to work out.

cbee74228e8711e2b8e322000a1f97ed_7

I have tried two different buttercream recipes and I’m not sure I’ve loved either of them yet. Maybe I should switch to another frosting type. Do you have any go to recipes for that? I also tried using the French cocoa we brought back which I actually think made these cupcakes much richer and a lot less sweet. But what do I know? ;-)

01d538d68e8911e28d1822000a1f8cf0_7

I. Love. Bruschetta. I made some over the weekend for dinner with my cousins and I just can’t get enough of it. Some part of me thinks it’s partially because the colors are so vivid and pretty — I have definitely fallen in love with using fresh produce if for nothing other than how beautiful it is.

So, that’s where a lot of my non-blogging non-working time has gone :-) It’s been a lot of fun to experiment and I might start posting the recipes I’ve tried here on the blog if you guys are interested.

What about you — do you enjoy rummaging around in the kitchen trying new things or do you stick to your favorites? What are your favorites?

Categories: Cooking
06
Jun 2012

Tea Towel Love

By

There are some seriously awesome graphic + textile artists out there making tea towels. I am so inspired by the graphic prints, bright colors, and intuitive designs that I kind of want them all. The only trouble is once I get them, they’re almost too pretty to use!

luluandluca

retromenagerie

juliepeach

nellandmary

countercouturedesign

hangtightstudio88

girlscantell

shopamysullivan

do you have a favorite and/or use tea towels in your kitchen?

Categories: Cooking, cool products/vendors, etsy
21
May 2012

Books & Their Covers: Ad Hoc At Home

By

My new culinary venture has opened up another world of books to love and collect: cookbooks. While perusing the bookshelves in Barnes & Noble awhile back, I stumbled onto this beauty and knew I had to have it: Ad Hoc at Home.

Absolutely in love with this book. The fun graphics, cheeky humor, and amazing photography are so inspiring to get into the kitchen and cook something. As for doing that and not just oohing and ahhing over the book, I am slowly working away at some of the recipes. What I like about it is its focus is a bit more on traditional home cooking with a bit of a twist, so it gives me some of the basic info I need to know and some ideas to make it different too.

“for temporary relief from hunger.”

You can find it on Amazon, and these lovely images came from an awesome more cooking related review I found here.

You know me, it was first and foremost about the big pretty book.

How was your weekend friends? It was a bit quiet around here and we enjoyed it. Lots of cleaning, laundry, and organizing got done, so that always makes me feel better going into the week. We also rented a couple movies – The Gray for R and The Vow for me — let me just say unless you like watching people slowly die for 2 hours, I recommend the Vow ;-)

Categories: Cooking, Food, judging books & their covers
29
Mar 2012

A Sarah Can’t Cook Update: This One’s for Marion

By

All the way back before the wedding I posted about my utter lack of cooking ability.

Well, I am proud to say that, although I am by no means good at cooking, I’m significantly less clueless than I was several months ago.

The people closest to me know what a picky eater I am…and when I say picky, I mean, I don’t like cheese. No, I’m not lactose intolerant, I just can’t stand it.

I think learning to cook has done wonders for my picky eating habits. While plain noodles is a delicious meal in my book, that doesn’t seem to be the case for most people. And because of my perfectionistic and overachieving tendencies, I want to be good at cooking, which has made me try a few new things, with mostly positive results. I am particularly impressed with myself for making good salsa, although that was really really easy (hehe).

Last night Robert and I joined efforts and he made some delicious tilapia while I experimented with the veggies I had left from Monday’s dinner adventure. We threw in a spinach salad and we just had to share it with the one and only Marion….would you LOOK at all those VEGGIES?

Yeah, we’re grown-ups now. Time for a jellybean break.

Categories: completely random, Cooking, Food