Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Little American Girl in Amsterdam: Poppy Twins (Part 2 of 2)


The most exciting part of my trip took place on my last day in Amsterdam. The show ended on the 15th and on the 16th, I got to meet someone very special - my close friend, Anna from Germany!! She arrived in Amsterdam with her sweetheart, Florian, and it was like we had known each other for years.

It's so funny meeting someone in person after only talking on the phone or Skype. We joked that there was a chance we'd meet and be totally weirded out by each other but deep down, I knew it'd be more likely that we'd meet and fall head over heels in best friend love.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves...


Thursday, September 24, 2015

Cody's Salt Encrusted Roast Chicken


Hold up - something savory on this blog? Yes, my friends, yes. But don't get too excited. I'll have you return your attention back to the title, where you shall see that this recipe is not so much as mine as it is Cody's.

Cody enjoys being in the kitchen just as much as I do - savory for him, sweet for me. I'll frost the cupcakes, he'll fry up the fish tacos. I'll roll out dough, he'll sear the steak. I'll whip up cookies, he'll cover a chicken in salt.

You get the idea.

He's the ying to my yang. We balance each other out really well in a lot of ways. I'm an organized freak, he leaves socks to mingle on the floor. I get anxious about new things, he isn't fazed. I come up with a plan, he wings it. See?

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Little American Girl in Amsterdam! (Part 1 of 2)


I'm back from Amsterdam! I also have NO idea where to begin! Wow! It has been such a long, crazy, educational, exciting, fun, and tiresome week! My trip was nearly 9 days long so needless to say, it feels SO good to be back home with Cody again.

Jenn and I arrived in Amsterdam to beautiful Fall-like weather, which felt AMAZING after leaving Boston on the hottest day of the summer (that's a fact, apparently!). I was so done with the humidity and heat so coming to chilly Amsterdam was such a nice break.

I made another new improvement to my booth uniform - an EMC blue petticoat!

Thursday, September 17, 2015

What's Sara Reading? September Edition


I've been a Kindle kinda gal for about a month or two now (this is my first month featuring books ALL read on the Kindle, though!) and I've noticed a few weird things about my reading habits since making the move to the Kindle side.

For one, I constantly forget what I am reading! Not kidding! Without a physical book, I don't look at the book cover constantly - or at all, really! - so now I am constantly forgetting the title of the book I am reading if it's a long one. You wouldn't think a tiny thing like that would be a challenge to remember but alas, it is!

Also, I have NO idea how long any of these books are. Kindles don't give you page numbers on each page like a normal book. It shows the percentage of how much you've read so far along with a location number (but it's NOT a page, it's some weird memory number or something). So if I want to see how many pages there are, I have to check the Amazon listing.

Lastly for now, I have been reading SO FAST! I don't know if it is a coincidence, the font size difference, if I've got more free time on my hands lately, or if I am just super excited to use the Kindle whenever possible, but I noticed I was devouring books faster than I normally do. I mean, look above - I've got 5 books to cover today! What kind of book crack am I on?

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Recipe Redux: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins


September is funny to me. When September hits, the world gets split into two sides - the people who LOVE the fall and winter months and the people who HATE them. The fall people are pumped that it's finally time for cider, changing colors, costumes, and pumpkin treats. The not-so-fall people are clinging to summer, basking in the warm sun as long as they can and dreading the cooler temperatures.

Well, sorry summer people. I LOVE the fall. I love the winter. I love any month that ends in "ber." So I am in my happy place now - making pumpkin everything, counting down the days until I can decorate for Halloween, starting to brainstorm and even shop for Christmas presents, and getting ready to break out the ankle booties and blankets on the couch.

COME AT ME, FALL! I AM WAITING WITH OPEN ARMS!

Thursday, September 10, 2015

Stripes, Flowers, & Long Weekends, Oh My!


While I am currently occupied in Amsterdam (at this moment, I am most likely standing in a very stuffy convention hall with my hair thrown up into a bun, setting up our booth with my planning team - all very glamorous, I assure you!), I thought I'd share with you my second LindyBop score from a recent surprise summer sale.

Whenever I see a sale from LindyBop I always jump at the chance to add to my collection. Their prices are already so affordable compared to most so a sale is just a cherry on top.

I had been eyeing this version of their Audrey dress for some time now. At first I wasn't sure how I felt about the combination of stripes and flowers but then I started to really love the different shades of blue.

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Crab Rangoon Cupcakes


I'm sure you've heard already, but as you are reading this, I am on my way to Amsterdam! Woah! I haven't traveled for a show since spring (remember my crazy back to back trips of Dubai and Vegas x2?) and it has been a nice little break but now I am so excited to be traveling once more!

My co-worker Jenn (who I jokingly call Mom while in the office) is with me on this one and we will be in Amsterdam from now until September 17th! The trade show we're participating in will take place from September 11 - 15 and then I am very excited to have a day or so to see the city as well as meet a very close friend of mine who lives in Germany.

But more on that later! I plan to post all about Amsterdam upon my return. Before that, though, we celebrated Labor Day with my family back home last weekend. Labor Day isn't a big deal generally but my dad has been a big fan of the big summer holidays lately. Memorial Day, 4th of July, and Labor Day have become his favorite holidays and I really don't know why!

Whatever the reason, it is just a known fact that we are all expected to head over to my parents' house for the day. He breaks out the margarita maker we got him for Father's day a couple years ago and grills all kinds of yummy treats. Cody goes for the bottomless margaritas and I go to catch up my two sisters, Mom, and grandmother. You can see where our priorities lie, no?

Friday, September 4, 2015

It's a Girl! (Guest Post on Eccentric Owl!)


Did I scare you a little with that title? Sorry...but not sorry, because even though I have not given birth to any kind of baby, Kristina over at Eccentric Owl sure will be! Kristina and her hubby are awaiting their baby girl's arrival (the poor thing is like 1,000 days over due at this point) and I have the honor of guest blogging during her blog maternity leave today!

Be sure to see my guest post over at Eccentric Owl today, where I am talking about how much fun I'd have if I were to have a baby girl while showing off a recent LindyBop score during one of their surprise summer sales.

And don't forget to leave Kristina lots of love and congratulatory wishes while you're there!

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

The Simoes Family Portraits 2015: Colt State Park, Bristol RI


If this family looks familiar to you, it's because I've been photographing them for 5 years now! Wow! Their family portraits from 2014 were on the blog last fall (see them here!) and now I have the pleasure to bring you this year's session!

Working with this family has always been exciting - I met them when their son was a newborn when I worked in a studio, then I met their brand new daughter and captured her baptism a couple years later, and now I meet them every year to get "at least one good family photo" for their Christmas card. I use the quotes there because every year, little Oliver and Lydia challenge us.

It has become a joke for John, Meera, and I. They joke that their kids are the worst (when in reality, they're not! They're just 2 and 5 and don't want to pose for the camera! What little kid does?) and tell me to just get one! "We just need one, Sara, just one!" Meera laughs as Oliver runs from her side once more.