Whew, this has been a big goal of mine since I decided to pursue photography on my own. Lane Baldwin Photography officially has a pretty 8-page pricing guide (with help from Sarah Q Design)! Here's a little preview:
I'm currently booking 2012 and 2013 weddings, so please send me an e-mail if you're interested in seeing my full pricing guide: info@lanebaldwinphotography.com.
White cake with chocolate icing. That's the only birthday cake Nathan ever wants, despite seven years of me trying to convince him to "get creative." This year, even though he still wanted his white cake with chocolate icing, I decided I was going to make him a second cake whether he liked it or not (let's be real, who wouldn't want two cakes?!). Enter s'mores cake in a jar. Yeah, I know. The name alone makes you want to do a happy dance, right? Well, it's just as good as it sounds. If you like s'mores, cake and mason jars, you have to make this right now. Even if you already have one dessert in the oven.
S’mores Cake in a Jar (from How Sweet it Is) Makes 4 16-ounce mason jar cakes
Crust (I have a huge sweet tooth and this crust wasn't sweet enough for me. If I make it again, I would make the crust from the back of the graham cracker crumb box):
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs 1/2 stick butter pinch of salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Melt butter and mix in graham crumbs and salt. Mix until moistened. Spray 4 mason jars with non-stick spray and press graham crust into jars. I began by adding a tablespoon to each, and repeating until graham crumbs were gone. They don’t need to look perfect. I pressed the crumbs down firmly with the flat bottom of a clean screwdriver.
Cake:
1 1/8 cups all purpose flour 1/4 cup dark cocoa powder 1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup brown sugar 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 cup milk 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon heavy cream 1/2 cup butter, melted 2 tablespoons sour cream
Topping:
1 bag of large marshmallows
In a bowl, whisk egg and sugar until smooth and no lumps remain. Add milk, cream, butter and vanilla, and mix until combined. Stir in sour cream. Sift dry ingredients together and add to wet mixture. Mix until batter is smooth. Using a 1/4 cup measure, add batter to mason jars one scoop at a time. You only want to fill them up about half way, and the batter should work evenly for four jars. Again, don’t worry if it is perfect. Place mason jars in a baking dish and add about 1 1/2 cups of water to the bottom. Bake for 30 minutes, or until cake is set.
Remove cake from the oven and press large marshmallows down on top, being careful not to burn yourself. There is no set number of marshmallows to use; I pressed down as many as I could, about 4-5 each. Heat the broiler on your oven and watching carefully, brown marshmallows for about 1-2 minutes, or until golden brown. Do not take your eyes off them! Serve immediately.
One word: DELISH! :)
When we left Melt after dinner a week ago, we all agreed that we should be rolled home. Why? Oh, because we COULDN'T MOVE after eating a pile of fries and the following: Nathan: A FRIED ham, turkey, and cheese sandwich with mixed berry preserves Nathan's sister, Brandi: A lasagna grilled cheese sandwich (like the lasagna ON the sandwich) Nathan's mom, Leesa: A grilled cheese sandwich with bacon and tomato Me: A barbeque chicken grilled cheese sandwich with grilled onions
Sensing a trend? Yep, Melt serves tons of varieties of grilled cheese sandwiches. You might have to wait an hour any time you go, but these sandwiches will be the most unique, delicious grilled cheese sandwiches you've ever eaten. Plus, if you get a Melt tattoo, you get 25% off for life. And people do it! Because it's that good!
For all you foodies, you should know Melt. It's been featured on Man vs. Food (13 different cheeses, five pounds of food ... enough said?) and Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. It's a Cleveland icon, and I had to go, even if it meant being rolled home.
Brandi had to take pictures at the restaurant because I was TOO! EXCITED!
There's that infamous lasagna sandwich.
And my sandwich the next day in some better light. Deliciousness in a recyclable to-go container. :)
For the longest time when we were dating, Nathan and I tried to figure out what our "thing" was. You know, some couples play tennis together, some like to cook together, and some run marathons side by side (OK, I don't know anyone who does that, but I'm sure they exist). We decided that our "thing" was exploring our city. I know, it doesn't sound like a thing, but hear me out. When I lived in Cincinnati and Nathan would come visit, we were always on the go--trying new restaurants, using our Groupons, visiting museums, etc., etc. We really like to get to know a place and are always up for trying something new.
So, when some Cleveland friends told us the West Side Market was "their favorite thing about Cleveland," we knew it had to be one of the first places we checked out in our new city. And, we have to agree, it's pretty awesome. The best part is that it caters to so many people--I like the fruit and vegetable arcade, Nathan loves the desserts (of course), my mom goes right to the cheeses and my dad loves to look at the fish and seafood.
And that leads me to ANOTHER 101 in 1001 post (oh you just get ready, I have lots coming!). Non-Clevelanders, meet the West Side Market!
