Wedding Crafts : Bunting!

June 10, 2015June 10, 2015 by Katie | 2 Comments

Hey there! We can’t believe it, but four years ago in June, Calder and I got married! It was such a fun day, and whenever the topic of our wedding comes up, we always look back on it with fond memories. Just the other day we were telling new friends about our “meat and greet” line, where Calder grilled the steak and salmon and got to say hello to every guest as he served them their main course. While we can’t offer you a fillet of salmon, we thought it would be fun to look back at our wedding and share some of the other homemade elements that we incorporated into the big day.

{I had to include the photo above, because when do you ever get to use the wedding outtakes?!… and sometimes they’re so cute.}

We had the wedding at my parents’ farm in central PA, and being the hands-on, crafters that we are, everyone in my family was excited to help personalize the wedding. My brother designed and printed our invitations, my mom made the cakes and hand-beaded the sash for my wedding dress, my sisters helped with homemade signage, and styling the dancing barn that our dad had just finished rebuilding, and the list goes on.

Cannon Beach & Haystack Rock – Oregon

June 9, 2015March 27, 2016 by Sarah | 2 Comments

In honor of World Oceans Day (which was celebrated yesterday, but let’s pretend it’s a 365 days a year affair), I wanted to highlight a quaint little coastal town in Oregon known as Cannon Beach. I had the opportunity to visit Cannon Beach and Haystack Rock in 2013 during a cross-country road trip. Even though I only spent a few hours milling about in the shallow tide pools, Cannon Beach was one of my favorite pit stops of the seven week trip. From the town overlooking Cannon Beach, everything appears to be a shade of gray, but once your feet hit the sand you start noticing little pops of colorful sea life all around.

5 Tips For Taking Better Kid Candids

June 8, 2015March 24, 2016 by Sarah | Leave a comment

Taking great kid candids is an important skill to have. Give any parent a stellar photo of their son or daughter and you’ll be invited over for dinner often. Throw all those kid candids in a photo album and BOOM you have the best mother’s day present ever, one that will never be duplicated or lost. If you need more dinner dates or a great father’s day present (it’s already June!) than read on my friends, read on and charge those camera batteries because today’s post includes 5 Tips For Taking Better Kid Candids.

Happy Saturday June Bugs!

June 6, 2015June 9, 2015 by Sarah | Leave a comment

Wowza. Can’t believe it’s already the first Saturday in June. Summer is here! I mean, not officially, but feel that sun, drink that iced coffee, am I right?! I woke up feeling a little bit bummed this morning and I realized it’s because I would rather be at the beach! I don’t want to be home. I don’t want to be doing work. I don’t want to be cleaning my house. I WANT TO BE AT THE BEACH! After pouring myself a large iced coffee and talking myself off my I don’t wanna do this, I don’t wanna do that ledge, I decided to put on my new bathing suit and do a little bit of daydreaming down memory lane.

Lemon Bars

June 4, 2015January 29, 2016 by Sarah | 4 Comments

Every season we like to pick one ingredient and find a variety of ways to love it and use it. This summer it’s lemons! You can find our complete ingredient archive here.

Lemon bars! Leeeemon Bars!! These are not for the sugar-free, but they’re oh so tasty. I love the tangy flavor and the soft texture of these lemon bars made with fresh lemon juice. Lemon bars are my new go-to party treat because a tiny square can go a long way. I actually halved this recipe because it’s waaaay too much for two people and even a lot for a family of four.

Lemon Bars

Ingredients

Crust:
1 stick of butter at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
Filling:
3 extra-large eggs at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoons grated lemon zest (4 to 6 lemons)
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup flour
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Instructions

Grease a 9x13x2 inch baking sheet.
Mix the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light.
Combine the flour and salt and add to the butter until just mixed. It might seem a bit crumbly, but that is normal.
Gather the dough into a ball inside the bowl.
With floured hands, press the dough into a 9x13x2 inch baking sheet, building up a 1/4-1/2 inch edge on all sides.
Chill in the fridge for at least thirty minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350° and bake the crust for 15 minutes or until very lightly browned.
While the crust is baking, whisk together the lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar, eggs and flour. Pour the mixture over the crust and bake for 30 minutes, until the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature.
Cut into squares and dust with confectioners' sugar and top with berries if desired.
*If you're making lemon bars for a crowd (six or more people) then double the recipe!

https://liveseasoned.com/lemon-bars/

Whaddya say? Lemon bars for dessert this weekend?!

Welcome June

June 3, 2015June 11, 2015 by Katie | Leave a comment

On the first Wednesday of each month we like to pause and take a look at what’s going on in the world around us, with a particular focus on animal activity, farmers’ fields, and environmental holidays.

We finally made it to our favorite season! To be fair, we love them all, but there’s just something special about summer with its ~~warm~~ hot days, bbqs, miles of fresh veggies and fruit (particularly the ripe watermelons), and long nights on the deck. Last week was still a bit chilly up in the mountains, but I’m happy to report that summer has finally arrived! We’re planning our first camping trip as a family of four this weekend, and I’ve gone a little crazy making some homemade bug spray and sunscreen this week, but more on that in another post.

It’s the Season

In researching animal activity for the month of June, this is what we’ve discovered : it’s time to get it on… and if you’re successful in that arena, it’s time to care for those young! We caught these ladybugs in the act last week, and it was around this time last year that we were keeping our eye on the osprey nest with freshly hatched chicks! By now, most migrating animals are in their summer homes (winter if you’re in the southern hemisphere); if they need a nest or den, they’ve built it, and now they’re just looking for a mate and raising the next generation. Want to hear more?

Ingredient of the Season : Lemons!

June 2, 2015June 1, 2015 by Katie | 2 Comments

Every season we like to pick one ingredient and find a variety of ways to love it and use it. You can find our complete ingredient archive here.

When we think of summer, one of our absolute favorite ingredients is lemons. Think of that first refreshing sip from a tall glass of lemonade. And there’s something so perfect about the tart bite from a lemon bar or a slice of lemon meringue pie at the end of a long summer day. While we like to work with ingredients that are in season, and we know that the primary season for citrus harvests in the US is during the winter, as you’ll see below, lemons sort of break that rule. So we thought they were ripe (haha) to be this season’s featured ingredient!

Seasoned View: Vol. 15

June 1, 2015July 5, 2015 by Sarah | 1 Comment

Each month we share our Seasoned View. Snapshots of nature and daily life taken by the Seasoned sisters. Find last month’s past months’ here.

Merry Monday to everyone 🙂 Hope your weekend was whatever you wanted it to be. Mine was the perfect mix of work, rest and play. I saw Mad Max last night in theaters and I was blown away! So good; nonstop action, but not the repetitive kind. My week is shaping up the same way 😉 Have a good one!

You know the deal, simply click on the download link below each photo and save the image. You can upload one or all of these photos to use as your desktop background or as phone and tablet wallpapers. Enjoy!

Best of the Season : Spring 2015

May 29, 2015June 2, 2015 by Katie | Leave a comment

At the end of each season, we take a look back and highlight our favorite posts. See previous Seasonal Bests here.

Wow, spring felt like such a long season for us. We think it’s because it was a season filled with so many special events for us, most importantly the birth of Luc. We’re each hoping to fill the next three months with enough special moments that summer feels never-ending too. Wish us luck! In the meantime, we hope you enjoy clicking back through our favorite posts of winter. If you had a fave we didn’t mention, we would love to hear in the comments!

Notes about Macarons

May 28, 2015January 29, 2016 by Katie | Leave a comment

Nuts are our ingredient of the season. We’ve been using them for sweets, drinks, snack bars and savory condiments!

We decided to end our season of nuts with the fanciest and fussiest of all nutty desserts, the macaron. We’re talking French macarons here, the kind made with egg whites and ground almonds, not the double-o macaroons made with coconut. But a funny thing about this food post : we don’t include a recipe! As the title suggests, we’re sharing our baking notes about this fickle treat, because while they may cause us to get flustered while baking, we’re not going to stop trying to perfect our technique any time soon!

I have to admit, I don’t remember where I had my first macaron, but what I do remember is the perfectly light and delicious almond flavor and the cookie’s combination of crunchy exterior and soft and chewy interior. Something I’ve been trying to recreate ever since.