National Chocolate Chip Day

       A few weeks ago I was browsing through a magazine and saw that May 15 was National Chocolate Chip Day. Who doesn't like a random holiday? I knew I wanted to celebrate! There is a holiday for pretty much everything out there. 

      One of the best cookies I've ever tasted was from Levain Bakery in New York City. They're ginormous, moist, rich, and best eaten warm. The recipe makes 1 dozen, 4 oz cookies. I think I just died and went to cookie heaven. Go ahead, try them and let me know what you think.

Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes 1 dozen very large cookies

• 1 cup (2 sticks) cold, unsalted butter
• 2/3 cup light brown sugar
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (my favorite are Guittard)
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Heat the oven to 400 degrees.  Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, add flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, cut in cold butter and mix until mixture resembles crumbs.

Add both sugars and stir well (breaking up any brown sugar clumps), add eggs and mix until dough forms. Stir in chocolate chips (and nuts if desired).

Chill dough for one hour-it makes the cookies tall (and keep chilled while baking first batch).

Put half of the dough, divided into 6 large balls onto cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes, turn cookie sheet around back to front and bake until light golden brown on top, another 5-8 minutes. It's ok if the cookies are slightly gooey in the middle-experiment to see how you like them. Remove from oven and cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes. Then place on wire rack to cool completely. (I like to eat them warm though!)

Repeat previous steps to bake remaining 6 cookies. Enjoy!

Thanks to Melissa at So Festive for the recipe. Check out her site for more ways to celebrate all kinds of holidays. Happy National Chocolate Chip Day!

The Exhibit Project | Adam + Laureana: Together

            Adam and Laureana grew up together and have been friends since they were little. They would run around outside and play by the creeks in their New Mexico hometown. When Laureana was 11 years old she was sleeping outside and was bitten by a mosquito. She acquired West Nile Virus and was ill for 7 years. Her body did not function properly and she was confined to a wheelchair.

         Laureana recalls, "There were days I didn't feel like trying; I didn't want to live any longer. There was one thing that made me want to pull through though: Adam's presence. Whenever Adam was around I felt like a normal kid." 

        Adam always had a crush on Laureana and she held a special place in his heart. Before leaving on a two year church mission he made Laureana promise that she would remain strong and get better. Upon his return, she was walking! Shortly after, Laureana graduated from high school and Adam went off to college. They've been texting, calling, and skype-ing daily ever since. 

       One of their shared passions is Harry Potter and they would pretend to be Harry and Hermoine throughout their youth. A couple years ago during a movie premier, they dressed up as Harry and Hermione to celebrate. That night, Adam proposed to Laureana and she said YES!

They've been married a year and a half and couldn't be happier. They've always been together and they'll be together forever.

Yes, it started snowing on us!!

Exhibit Project part 2: Together. Check out what Reena and Kelsey did for their Together project!

Coast to Coast: Adam+Paige

I'm SUPER excited to share what I've been working on recently!!  I mentioned in an earlier post about my experience with ReStart and how inspiring it was and the opportunity I had to "meet" other photographers from around the globe. Well, a small group of us (35 photographers) decided to keep the momentum going and formed a group that would have monthly themes to photograph and blog about. It's called the Exhibit Project.  For our very first project the theme was BEGINNINGS. 

I knew right off the bat that I wanted to photograph a gorgeous couple on the beach in San Diego during Spring Break-the beginning of something I've always wanted to do. I had some ideas in my mind of what I wanted it to look like and from the moment I met Adam & Paige I knew it was going to be amazing! I had a blast working with them.

Adam and Paige met a few years ago at work in Washington D.C. Paige was the new girl and Adam just had to meet this girl with the gorgeous eyes. One of their favorite dates was their journey to make s'mores. It was a journey because Adam really wanted s'mores, but they didn't have any firewood to build a fire. Adam took Paige to go find some firewood and they drove out in the woods of Virginia carting along a saw or two. They gathered their sticks and ate the most memorable s'mores in history. 

Now, Paige lives near the coast in San Diego and Adam is still in D.C.

Thanks Adam & Paige for letting me hang out with you. It was a memorable experience-especially those of us who were soaked by the waves (I think I want to move to San Diego). 

And Paige, I'm still obsessed with your watch. 

Be sure to check out what Angela and Deanna did for their Beginnings Project.

 

 

Casting Call

A time to restart

Spring is finally here! Who doesn't love this time of the year when

everything is fresh and new? Recently I've been thinking about starting

anew, ok I've been thinking about it a TON. From January to March

I participated in reSTARt-a 3 month webinar from Creative Live hosted by the
amazing photographer Jasmine Star. Thousands of photographers from around the world

watched these webinars and we were immersed (many times I felt like I was drowning) 

with so much good information (Jasmine talks a million miles a minute).

 Of course there were homework assignments too.

 ReSTARt was a time for photographers to do exactly that: restart.

Restart the way we run our business. Restart the way we view ourselves.

 Restart the way we approach clients. Restart marketing strategies.

As photographers we are all Dreamers. Creatives. Professionals. 

We are passionate about what we do and we restarted together. 

 During and almost every day since reSTART my mind has been

exploding with thoughts and ideas, lots of self reflection and contemplation.

The emotional roller coaster was in full force. This was not an easy process.

Every day a pep talk was needed. I'm sometimes a perfectionist...and a quote I

heard hit me like a ton of bricks,

 "The path to perfection leads to procrastination." 

That gave me a whole new perspective about being a photographer 

and about me: Marcelle. 

My current mantra stems from the words of Melissa Kilner a fellow

reSTARt photographer who went through the entire process on stage,

"I wasn't born to be perfect. I was born to be me."

I definitely needed some motivation and direction for my photography. 

Jasmine was very inspiring and it seemed she was always talking to me-

answering my specific questions. On top of that, the community of 

photographers reaching out to each other constantly has been 

more valuable than I could ever imagine. 

Even though the 3 sessions of reSTARt are over, it won't ever be over. 

It's just the beginning! I'm excited for what lies ahead 

and I can't wait to share it with you.  Stay tuned!

The Lawyer & The Artist

Meet Naeha. 

We've been friends since 6th grade. 

Over the years...

Matching plaid skirts and navy knee-highs

Skiing

Shopping

Quesadillas

The Rain in Spain Stays Mainly in the Plain

French

Naeha: photo class-me: her model

Orchestra concerts

High school graduation

Hanging out

Birthday cards

Making food

Postcards

Phone calls

Jewelry (I always loved whatever she brought me from India)

Traveling the world

Living in different places around the country

Reunions

Dreaming. Living our dreams.

Friends for life.

Scottsdale March 2013

Twilight at the gardens

The Tucson Botanical Gardens is definitely a gem in the middle of the desert. 

So many unique plants with gorgeous details. Hidden pathways and quaint sitting alcoves. 

 An impressive wedding venue.

By day...

...and by night