Engagement Photos Sneaky-Peak!

If you live in the Northern Iowa/Southern Minnesota region (or if you want to pay extra in travel cost), I would definitely suggest that you look into getting Bradley from Bradley Jensen Photography for your wedding or even just your engagement session.  He is so personable and has a great eye for photography.  Just during our engagement shoot, he asked us questions about our relationship and our own personal background.  We both became at ease with him within the first half hour of shooting and after 3.5 hours, we all were cracking jokes amongst each other.  I've been waiting for our wedding since the day after the engagement but it wasn't till now hen we were taking photos, Aaron said that he was finally getting excited for the wedding.  He must love posing with me and getting his picture taken too ;)

 

Just a few of my favorite black and white shots for now.
I hope you like these photos and I plan on sharing a lot more!

~ Kellie Anne

In a world of black, be the rainbow of colors!

Most people think that as a bridal consultant my daily wardrobe would consist of black clothing. It's the color of professionals and looks sleek & strong. I don't know who came up with that rule, but I don't like it. Yes, I do wear black on busy Saturdays wear I need to look sharp and to Market, to show that I'm serious about bridal fashion.

But you see,  I love color! Wheather it's in a solid or a print (preferably a plaid print, which is my all time love), I can't get enough of wearing something colorful. The shade of the color doesn't make a difference to me either; pastel, neon or jewel tone..I'll rock them all!

Now thankfully, I work in a small-town bridal shop that allows me to express my own personality in my clothing. My boss (who is in her 50's) has great fashion sense and I envy quite a bit of things that are in her closet. We actually have very similar taste and more than once a week we will end wearing the same color to work or outfits that look like they were planned to be worn together. We always have a good laugh at that, because it's always by coincidence.

With that being said, I felt like expressing my love for color and the latest maxi trend all in one outfit today. I paired a green maxi shirt that I got at a local boutique in a neighboring town (that my boss introduced me to) with a simple white v-neck tee. It was a bit chilly out this morning when I left for work today and so I needed something on my arms.  I got this great knit, royal blue cardigan from Maurices a few months back and it did just the trick but there was something missing. I tried multiple necklaces but it just wasn't working; I needed that perfect piece to bring it all together. So, I dug deep into my scarf drawer and found one of my older scarfs that I haven't worn in years. It was perfect! It had a fun plaid print with lots of different colors in it, lightweight material which is great for indoors at work, and the fringe around the edge was just enough detail. I looped it around my neck and smiled as I scurried out the door for work.

The beauty of this look was that it has some versatility.  When I first arrived to the shop, the heat doesn't kick on right away, so it's good to have sleeves when it's only 60° inside.  I was able to take the sweater off when I was busy pressing a wedding gown and still keep a good, work appropriate look going on. Oh and a added bonus, super comfy and maybe my long Tuesday at work not seem so bad!  ;)

Well, I hope you like my outfit and can maybe create your own look that is similar to it from clothes in your wardrobe. And believe me, it's not too hard or expensive to do so.

Night!

~Kellie Anne

P.S - I'm still working on taking mirror selfies w/o having my giant phone show,  so please be patient with me.

'Cinco By Myself-o'

I had everything all planned out to have a fiesta at home tonight. Ribeyes on the grill, peppers & onions sautéed and warm tortillas.  I even thought about whipping up some margaritas in the blender. Olé,  right?!

However, I forgot to accommodate that is spring and after about a week of straight rain, it's time to get in the fields planting. I had informed Aaron about the my meal plans and he said he would try and make it work.  Well, let's just say that the fajitas didn't happen and it's now going on 8:15 and Aaron is still not home.

So, I popped some mini-tacos in the oven and turned the tube to some 'Say Yes to the Dress'. No celebrating tonight at our house (though it's really not that big of a deal cause its not a real important holiday in my book, just a fun one).

Happy Cinco De Mayo everyone!

~Kellie Anne

Two Great Recipes in One Post

Here are two very easy and simple recipes that can either be made separately or done together.  The first is a basic & easy way to cook chicken breast in the crock-pot.  I used my small 1.5 quart sized crock-pot which was perfect for the size of chicken breast I was cooking (just enough for Aaron and I). The chicken will be really moist and somewhat healthy, since it was cooked in it's own natural juices. 

You could actually just make "Ranchy Chicken" at anytime when you have a different recipe that calls for cooked shredded chicken.  Make it ahead in batches and throw it in the fridge or freezer till your ready for your next meal. Than pull it out, let it thaw out (if you froze it) and bam...you just skipped a few steps and your chicken will have an extra bit of flavor (than if you were to use plain chicken breast).

RANCHY CHICKEN:
1# chicken breast (boneless and thawed)
Dry ranch package

Rub chicken breast in about half of the dry mix, making sure to coat both sides. Let set for several hours, remember the longer you let set, the fuller the flavor.  [Mine set in the fridge for 2 hours.]

Cook in crock-pot with no other ingredients for 3 hours on LOW (or until fully cooked).  Let cool for 30 minutes in it's own broth before shredding the chicken with a knife.  [Mine literally fell apart without really cutting into it.]

Now the simple way to turn the "Ranchy Chicken" into "Buffalo Ranch Chicken" is by adding two little but very powerful ingredients:

1/2 cup Hot Wing sauce
1/4 cup Ranch dressing

Mix together with chicken until evenly coated, place back into crock-pot and cook on LOW for approx. 2-3 hours (depending on how intense you want the flavor to be; the longer it's cook, the bolder the flavor).

Serve as pulled chicken sandwiches, in tortilla or pita roll-ups, as a pizza toppings, mix in with mac 'n cheese, etc....the list of ways to eat this is ENDLESS!


REVIEW:
Now this is just my own personal way of cooking and making Buffalo Chicken, on a weekday for Aaron and I.  According to Aaron he said, "It's got just enough spice, which is nice"; meaning it's not too spicy and is really creamy with the addition of the ranch being added in.  If you prefer more kick from the hot wing sauce, add more of it or if you like less spice, add more ranch dressing.  This recipe is all about what your preferences are and when your cooking for yourself and one other person, you have more freedom to do that.  This is why this is sort of the ideal cooking for 2 recipe and depending on how you serve the shredded chicken, you may have enough for leftovers later in the week.  Try it as something different when you eat the second time and you'll never run out of recipes!

Enjoy!!

~ Kellie Anne











P.S - this recipe is the first of many that will be shot with my new DSL camera that Aaron got me for Christmas.  It took me a while (with the help of my sister), to figure out the settings on the camera and now I can't wait to shoot all my blog photos with it.  I just think it make the food turn out better and look more appetizing than when I took shots with my camera phone.