Kim

When you see her she always looks so put together. Beautiful and petite, porcelain skin, and silk hair just like her sweet boys. But then you get a little closer and you see the big smile or the furrowed brow.  She’s happy to tell you when it’s been a really good day and doesn’t mind one bit sharing the latest drama that has happened in their house or the reason why her heart is heavy that morning. Kim & I met about a year before having the first of our three sons.  You usually don’t know at the start of a friendship where it will go and years into it it’s hard to look back and decide exactly when “it” happened. That’s how ours is. There was a playgroup that dissolved as the kids got older, a bible study that turned into a dinner club as we had less time to study and  a friendship that grew from the experiences we had together and the conversations that knit our hearts.

Kim turned 33 in July so Jen & I wanted to throw her a party like she deserved (we did the best we could…she actually deserved better). It happened over a month ago but it was too significant for me not to document. I have learned over the past few years that while I love planning and throwing a party, the food piece stresses me out.  That said, it was a dream working with Jen because I could say without any guilt, “you do all the food and I’ll do all the decorations, ok?”…and I knew she’d be alright with that…or she’d tell me if she wasn’t.

There were just eight of us so we could focus on the details more than we could with a larger crowd. The menu included Jen’s famous artichoke spinach dip with toasted pita wedges, peel and eat shrimp with individual butters and cocktail sauces for dipping, mozzarella stuffed crimini mushroom caps, caprese salad, artisan bread with seasoned dipping oil and lettuce wraps (from PF Changs). For dessert Jen made these adorable cupcakes with fondant “K” toppers (made by Tricia at Something Sweet), symphony brownies, strawberry lemon granita, coconut macaroons and in the favor boxes we included delicious little cake truffles also made by Tricia.

It was 200 degrees that day so preparing the yard for the guests was a hot experience but well worth every drop of sweat. We used several strings of small white lantern lights and hung turquoise lanterns of different sizes from the trees. White votives lit the table and accented the large arrangement of white spider mums and baby green kermits. We decided that a round table would be best for conversation. We used white table cloths, deep turquoise napkins and lime-green ruffle chargers.

Except for a little pre-party mania that comes with the Sarah Pay planning package, the night went off without a hitch. The food was great and the atmosphere was perfect (because of the pleasant company) but the best part of the night was having the chance to tell Kim how much we love her and how special she is to each one of us. Inside the envelope on top of each box was a card with a list of partial statements (Kim makes me feel…I wish Kim knew she was…When I think of Kim she is wearing…I hope that one day Kim will…If Kim was not in my life…) that were a joy to complete and to share with the guest of honor.

The next day was Saturday and it rained…hard…all evening.  So glad we decided to throw the party on Friday!

A friendly reminder…

That we only have one more week to wear white pants and shoes. I apologize in advance if you see me wearing white everyday.  I have a few things I’ve yet to wear this season and if I don’t wear them now I’ll have to get rid of them.  (I try to keep the rule that if I don’t wear it for a year it has to go.)

Happy white wearing.

And if you have time, here’s an interesting read.

A new blog: sarah pay design

sarahpaydesign.wordpress.com

After years of doing freelance design work, I’ve finally found the time to create a design blog. It’s one of those things I’ve wanted to do for a long time, knowing that it would make my job much easier.  Instead of answering countless emails and phone calls with detail upon detail I can now direct people to this blog…a place that has all the details. My hope is that it will expedite the design and ordering process for me and my clients.

If you scroll down on the home page of the new blog you’ll see my most current projects.  Additionally, you can search for products by category (logos, stationery, invitations, business cards, stickers, address labels, birth announcements), design elements (colors, style, fonts), or project name. There are also pages that describe the design process, list design rates, product specifications and prices, fonts and colors.

I probably should have posted more projects before making the blog public but hopefully by the time Christmas card season rolls around I’ll have my ducks in a row and be ready to start receiving orders for holiday gifts and cards.

Also, if you see or read anything that doesn’t make sense or needs clarification, I’d love for you to let me know.  Any feedback is welcome and I’d love for my fellow bloggers to add a link to sarahpaydesign.wordpress.com to their blogroll.

What we do for love.

I love Bennett and Bennett loves Thomas so I don’t mind lending my living room to Thomas and friends for Bennett’s delight.

Salted Caramel Brownies

That’s right. It’s not a mistake…SALTED caramel brownies. I’m not much of a recipe follower. If it’s not in the cupboard or the refrigerator I just don’t make it. I have my staples and they work well for me so I’m not likely to run out and buy specific ingredients for a recipe, even if it looks amazing.  This, however, was the exception. I had heard of these before and always wanted to try them so when I visited Amelie’s French Bakery in NoDa these salted caramel brownies were the first things I popped in my mouth. Crack. Cocaine. Facebook. Sex. Shopping.  Whatever your addition, these things are better and more addictive.

I did have to run out and buy some random ingredients like baker’s chocolate, gelatin, heavy whipping cream, and random for me, white sugar and white flour.

A few things to remember before getting started:

1. Be sure to use foil that has been buttered or oiled to line your pan.  This way you can lift the entire sheet of brownies out of the pan and easily peel away the foil. Place them on a cutting board to make clean cuts and prettier brownies.

2. Do not overbake. I baked the brownies for 25 minutes and they came out just right.

3. For the caramel part, be sure to watch the water and sugar mixture when boiling. It starts turning light brown after 5 minutes or so, and turns amber quickly after that.

4. Chill the brownies in the fridge to set the caramel.

(recipe obtained via Charlotte Magazine and supplied by Amelie’s so it’s the real thing)

Salted Caramel Brownies

Yields 24 brownies

Ingredients
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup unsalted butter, cubed
2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cup salted caramel glaze (see below; prepare glaze when brownies are cool)

Directions
Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 9-by-13-inch pan with foil and then butter well.

In the top of a double boiler over medium heat, melt chocolate and butter, being sure the water in the bottom of the double boiler does not touch the top pan. Stir chocolate and butter until completely melted. Then stir in sugar. Blend well. Remove from heat.

In a separate bowl, lightly whisk eggs. Stir eggs into chocolate mixture. Then add flour, stirring until completely blended. Spread batter into prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Completely cool brownies in pan. Pour caramel glaze over brownies and cool in fridge until caramel sets. Slice into bars, about 2 inches square.

Salted Caramel Glaze

Ingredients
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup unsalted butter, cubed
2 teaspoons fine sea salt
2 tablespoons powdered gelatin, combined with 1/4 cup cold water

Directions
In a small saucepan over low heat, warm heavy cream until hot, but not boiling. In a separate tall saucepan, combine sugar and water. Place over medium-high heat. Do not stir as sugar dissolves and mixture reaches a dark amber stage. Add cream, butter, and salt. Stir gently until mixture is smooth and well combined. Remove from heat and add gelatin, stirring to combine. Use immediately.

I’m not much of a baker or dessert maker so this felt really labor intensive.  It was definitely worth it but it will be a while before I try my hand at something like this again.

I cut my brownies into smaller squares than they do at the bakery because they are SO rich. Do what you like but I recommend having them with a cup of coffee and a tall glass of water to wash down the 4 cups of sugar.  Now that I think about it, I might be better off using crack than eating these…I’ll need a serious detox this weekend.

Also, adding a new category to the blog: food.

Are you a hipster?

My Dad sent me this article the other day. Really a great read. The Perils of ‘Wannabe Cool’ Christianity Right on if you ask me. (not that anyone did). I so enjoyed it because he perfectly articulates something we all see. I think that’s why comedy is so therapeutic…it expresses what we think but don’t say for one reason or another.

The author, Brett McCracken’s Blog, The Search has some interesting posts. Check it out if you have time and while you’re at it, check out  www.hipsterchristianity.com for more information on his book, to explore a few common types of “Christian hipster,” (I know at least a hand full of each type) or to determine whether or not you are one. Be sure to scroll over the different parts of each image (on his website, not mine) to learn more about each hipster. I don’t laugh out loud very often but this has me rolling.  And hey…maybe we can all identify a little more closely with one type of hipster than the others but it’s always good to laugh at ourselves. Right?

Beach trip: take 2.

Just got home from Ocean Isle, our last vacation of the summer.  Boohoo.  We still have a few weeks before play school begins but it’s starting to feel like summer is over.  If only the dreadful heat and humidity would go away.  Overall it was a bad summer but I think it could have been better if I had started the getting up in the morning thing earlier, been more proactive with my planning and had a different attitude. The vacations, visits, trips, events and VBS made it bearable but I sort of regret that an entire summer has passed and I didn’t make the most of it.  It has, however, prompted me to be more thoughtful and careful about our planning for the fall. While we were at the beach this week I had a few brief moments to reflect on the summer and some things that I learned (or remembered).  I think implementing some of those things, along with a good routine, will make us all enjoy each other more this fall.

Bradley hasn’t been too eager to learn to swim but he was crazy about boogie boarding.  Must be the California in his blood.  We were so proud of him and at one point Joe called him over to tell him what a great job he was doing and Bradley said, “Thanks Daddy but I don’t have time to talk. I need to surf.”

Bennett and Dexter enjoyed the ocean as well but were not so independent in the waves (thankfully).  They really enjoyed playing with the dump trucks and digging in the sand.

Bennett thought the sea-foam was bubble bath. When it came into the tide pools he would swish the water around vigorously with hopes that he could make more bubble appear.

I wish that we had taken pictures of all the hermit crabs we caught n the tide pools…at least 20. We kept them overnight and it was fascinating to watch them switch in and out of different shells. We did get a picture of this cool fish that some guy caught fishing from the pier.

While we were on the pier we saw this guy kayaking. The boys were completely convinced he was Spiderman.

Tried for that picture of all three smiling again. Oh well.

This one was sweet. And rare since I’m in it.

We took a trip to Southport one afternoon. It was ok. I can see the appeal but it’s not for me. There were some great rocks on the shore though, so if I had to live there I could hunt for unique rocks and sea glass. And we won’t be dining out again with all three boys for quite some time.

On the last night we went out late to look for crabs.

And we caught one.

They crawl faster than this little guy.

Which leads me to my last point.  My baby isn’t a baby anymore.  How do I cope with that?  Never thought it would be so hard to say goodbye to each little stage. Sure the next stages are new and exciting but I’m really grieving the passing of Dexter’s infancy. I’m sad. Really sad. I need some perspective here. Any insight?

Helvetica

I think I need to add a new category to my blog: documentaries. I’ve only posted about Food Inc. but I’ve seen several that I must call attention to.  Since we only have basic cable, we decided to spend an extra eight dollars a month on Netflix, so we could watch movies on occasion.  I think I have a mild obsession with documentaries and surely it’s connected to my knowledge idol.  I’ve never known as much as I’d like to know, or pretend to know, so it’s a great way to beef up on trivial facts and it certainly boosts my know-it-all ego.

I don’t watch just anything, however. I do select films that are of interest to me on some level. So far, most of the ones I’ve seen have been food, environment, or design related…and if you ask me they are connected in that order.

Helvetica caught my eye like a good graphic would.  Typography has always been a love of mine, even before I went to design school or called myself a designer, and I guess it’s led to my font fixation. My grandfather, who once worked as a sign painter, taught me about typeface, line length, point size, leading, tracking and kerning…and while he didn’t use those words, he equiped me with skills that would serve me well as a graphic artist and compositor. Even today I prefer typographic logos and designs over illustrated ones. They are always purposeful and to me that’s prime in all good design.

Helvetica, the most popular sans-serif font of all time, originated in Switzerland but has been an international typeface classic since 1960. It is clearly a favorite of graphic designers because of its modern appeal, simple yet bold construction and how easily it is read both in print and on screen.

In addition to it’s focus on typography & graphic design, the film also discusses global visual culture as it takes a look into the proliferation of Helvetica as part of a larger conversation about the way type affects our lives. It’s an exploration of urban spaces in major metropolitan areas and the type that inhabits them. Definitely worth the 80 minutes if you ask me.

Look around you. How many logos do you see that use Helvetica? You’d be surprised.  If ever you’re bored (or a dork like me) take a day and just take notice. Here are a few I’ve noticed today:

Target, American Airlines, Crate & Barrel, Staples, American Apparel, Jeep, Nestle, BMW, Post-It, Toyota, Sears, The North Face.

So if you were a font which one would you be? Take the Quiz. I’m Times New Roman but surely it’s just because Century Gothic wasn’t an option.

By the way, Helvetica is now available as a digital download for USA iTunes users.  Just sayin’.

The Bear Cabin

I mentioned in my lat post that we had taken a trip to Grandfather Mountain with my parents.  We left several days before they did. My mom wrote this sweet poem in her sadness that we were gone.

And so now the cabin is quiet

Where once charming children’s voices

Were breakfast for our ears.

The Lazy Susan no more

A merry-go-round, nor the marbles,

True treasures, new-found.

The dog un-called, his “leaf-bed” undone!

No blond boys to dote on him so —

And the single tall fir

Stands sentinel to stars

Reminding us that once it had been —

At Christmas a tree

In a house of small boys

Who have long ago grown up and gone.

God bless them and keep them

And teach them and love them

And let our hearts fondly remain —

In gratitude great for the blessings so small

That make life

Most worthy of all.

So behind.

I am SO very behind on my “happenings” posts and I’ve been writing this one for a week.  There are certain events that feel too important for me to pass up posting on, so I figured better late than never.

Where to begin… I guess where I left off. After Anna’s wedding and our vacation to Georgia we did some family pictures the night before Paul, Cindy and the kids returned to Germany. It was disgustingly hot & humid but it was the only chance we had the entire time they were here. The main goal was to get some good pictures of Baby Chase.

Which we did.

But we also got some good ones of our boys,

and a few of the whole family.

Hope, thanks for sticking with us through the heat.

When we got home from Georgia my parents moved out of their home in Pinehurst.  It was actually pretty crazy because they did it all by themselves with a little help from my cousin and Joe.  They have lived there for a long time so they had lots and lots of stuff that had to be placed somewhere. Some of it went into storage, some of it went to my Aunt, some of it went to my Grandfather, some of it went to the Charlotte condo and most of it went to my sister’s new house. It all happened so fast and even though it was an insane week, the timing was pretty perfect.  Dexter found lots of good play places and hiding places with furniture moving all over the place.

After the move I took the boys to Grandfather Mountain with my parents.  It’s too hard to get the car seats out of the back of my car (it really is about a two-hour ordeal for some reason) so we followed them up.  I was nervous about doing a long trip with the three of them by myself.  I knew it would be rough but I was surprised how rough.  Dexter fell asleep immediately (which thrilled and surprised me all at the same time) but he woke up 20 minutes into the trip and cried pretty hysterically for the remainder of the time while the other two fought over everything from hot wheels, to raisins and toothbrushes while the Wonder Pets DVD kept skipping.  About an hour and a half into the trip we were going around hairpin turns somewhere in the mountains of NC and wouldn’t you know Bradley announces he has to go pee.  Only problem is I have no cell phone reception so I can’t call my Dad (who I’m following) to stop. Even if I could there was no where TO stop and if we did I would have no idea where to go from there since I don’t have a GPS or any sense of direction.  I opened the window and emptied the first sippy cup I could reach and held it behind me for Bradley to pee in while he’s still in his car seat.  Meanwhile, we’re still going around crazy turns, Dexter is still crying and now Bennett chimes in because he’s so upset that the Wonderpets DVD is still skipping.  Just then we go over a bump in the road and the pee splashes up in Bradley’s face and he totally freaks out.  It was kind of the culmination of the hard times I’ve had with them over the summer. Since then we’ve had our days but overall we are in a good spell. Once Joe arrived everything was better. The cabin we stayed in was super cute and the weather was divine (it was actually cool at night).

While we were there we went to see the bears and other animals at the Grandfather Mountain wildlife habitats and attended the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games.  Very interesting. I could write a book on our adventures that week but while many of them were frustrating the way the boys enjoyed the  3 Bears’ cabin (that’s what they called our cabin) and the neighborhood dogs made it all worth it.

One day they spent about an hour making a bed for the dogs out of leaves and branches.  It was so sweet and made me feel guilty that I’m not an animal lover.  And of course I’m a sucker for pictures of them with my grandfather.

Since then things have been a little slower.  We’ve taken some trips to the pool, we went to camp for a few days, we’ve had a handful of playdates and we enjoyed a visit from my good friend Katie (from college).

Last week Joe participated in the 24 hours of  Booty. He rode on the HOPE for Sydney team. Sydney is a close friend from church who was diagnosed with a significant brain tumor in December of 2008. She has had an incredible journey and we were honored to be a part of her team in practice and in presence (the boys & I did lots of cheering).

This week Bradley is participating in our church’s inaugural Vacation Bible School program, High Seas Expedition. They are doing a fabulous job and I’m so excited that he’s enjoying it.

Next week we’re off to the beach with my family and when we come home the Whites will be home from camp. Woohoo!

By the way…mornings are going really well but I am toast in the evenings.  It sucks for me and my productivity idol but I know we’re all happier during the day. I think my kids are getting more of Mommy and I’m certainly enjoying them more….and that’s a greater desire of my heart than getting things done.