Design Eat Play

Kate + Max

Crissie McDowell — Fri, 10 May 2013 05:52:23 +0000

I die. One of my top, favorite people to ever grace this earth. Katie. Kathleen. Kate. And Max. Max loves Katie so much. These pictures make everything in me smile. Sure she’s the most stunning person ever made…but look at how he looks at her. I melt. I die. I couldn’t be happier.

Coolest. Family. Ever.

Crissie McDowell — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 19:50:56 +0000

I was so honored when Trish accepted my plea to come into her home and shoot her amazing family. I begged. They have kind and beautiful hearts and they’re so fun and creative. I wanted to shoot a family that inspired me and made me happy. Thank you so much for sharing your amazing family, Easter Sunday and a beer. And of course, a ride in that PIMP Lincoln.

A fabulous family

Crissie McDowell — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 01:32:02 +0000

Here are just a few shots I captured today of a rrrrreally fantastic family. I haven’t even downloaded the entire session yet. If Game of Thrones wasn’t starting this whole day would be edited shortly.

Our Easter Bunny

Crissie McDowell — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 19:39:46 +0000

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She colors!!!

Crissie McDowell — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 02:31:05 +0000

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Romantic Wedding Invite Pretties

Crissie McDowell — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 02:01:01 +0000

Tis the season for paper pretties. As a wedding photographer, nothing makes me happier than having the privilege to be a part of the entire wedding planning process. I love it when my brides trust me with doing their wedding jewelry or invitation suite design. It helps me get immersed in the feeling and design of the day before I’m there shooting.

I’m so beyond excited to shoot Ashley and Joe’s wedding this Sprunger (that’s a Spring/Summer hybrid). It’s going to be a gorgeous, romantic sparkly day. Ashley has a really solid vision of what her big day will be like which made it really easy to design her wedding suite. Ashley is my boss’s daughter at Stoltz Marketing Group so the pressure was on to make these gorgeous for her. I couldn’t be more pleased with how they came out. They SCREAM Ashley. Glitter and lace baby.

Printing: HiTech Color
Embossing: Bindery Services
Calligraphy: Stephanie Inman

Hey Ashley, speed that wedding up. I can’t WAIT!

Rachel + Mike // Foggy Spokane Engagement Session

Crissie McDowell — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 23:14:48 +0000

BAH! Heart heart heart heart. These two are really, really special. Two of the sweetest people you will ever meet. Michael (Mookie) is the younger brother of my dear friend, Katie. You might remember Katie from such episodes as she got married. He’s crazy creative, just like big sissy. I was so excited when I heard that he proposed to his gorgeous, lovely, Rachel over the holidays with 80 handmade cranes strung across an old chapel. No. Big. Deal. Yeah.

It was a chilly day in Spokane with no sun in sight. We started our session playing around in quite possibly the most amazing store on the planet, Artemis. (Run there now). Rachel and Mike finally had to drag me out of there. Then we just mosied the streets for a bit before heading out to Rachel’s mom’s house on the Spokane river. On the way there we stopped to shoot in a field. All of the sudden a herd of buffalo ran across up to the fence. GO GO GO. Hurry. To the fence. Um I die. Are you kidding me? Most amazing happenstance ever perhaps? We got to use some of the cranes that he proposed with. While we were hanging them I realized they were made from love notes that these two crazy cats had written one another through the course of their relationship. How are these two real?

You two make me melt inside. I adore you both and can’t wait for your special day this summer!

A really, really, really, REALLY great man

Crissie McDowell — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 05:00:26 +0000

My amazing Grandpa Bill at his new home in Tucson. Cheers gpa! The desert suits you!

xoxoxo

Chewy Granola Bars

Crissie McDowell — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 20:47:16 +0000

Last week I decided I was going to crave chewy granola bars. I set out to find the perfect recipe. Or at least I eventually would have. I’m lazy. Low and behold, 2 friends (Thanks Jen and Brittany) were posting about them on the grand ol FB. Swizzle. Zero effort and the recipe comes to me. These are absolutely delish and make a great afternoon energy pick-me-up.

I modified the recipe below. To see the original masterpiece (energy bites) click here.

1 cup oatmeal

1/2 cup peanut butter (or other nut butter)

1/2 cup honey

1 cup coconut flakes

1/2 cup ground flaxseed

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
2/3 cup of craisins
1/2 cup crushed pistachios
1 cup sliced almonds
3/4 cup blended prunes
1/4 cup protein powder (I used Body by Vi – so good)

1 tsp vanilla

Pour everything into a large bowl and mix. In the end I just used my hands. They are good little tools.

Pour onto cookie sheet and press down. I sprinkled the top with salt because I think everything sweet needs a little salt. Refrigerate for 30 min and then cut, wrap with parchment and store in the fridge or freezer.

Now naturally I doubled this recipe because, well, I like excess. I have 3 bags full in my freezer.

**Now, these aren’t low-cal snacks mind you. So don’t eat the entire bowl in one sitting. At least stretch it out over a day or two.

Katie Sham, thanks for you know what! Wink.

Crème Brûlée Pie

Crissie McDowell — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 20:04:23 +0000

Over the break my husband’s cousin brought over the MOST AMAZING PIE to Christmas Dinner. I seriously ate the leftovers all week. I craved it from the time I got up in the morning. I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what the obsession was about. And then finally…agh. It reminded me of my fav dessert ever, crème brûlée. Alright, so why not brûlée this puppy and marry to very happy things? Thanks Dawn for sharing your yummy recipe!

Preheat oven to 350.

FILLING
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup flour2 eggs yolks (I added these in because my pie wasn’t setting up)
1 tsp vanilla
Whip ingredients together and let sit for 3 minutes.
Pour into a 9″ deep dish uncooked pie crust.
Cover crust edges with foil.
Bake at 350 until light brown and bubbly. (It took mine about 1.5 hrs, but watch yours carefully from 45 min).

BRULEE
Completely cover your cooked pie with a thin later of sugar. I used my torch to melt the sugar but you can use the broiler in your oven as well. Just be sure to cover your crust with foil and WATCH CAREFULLY. It won’t take long at all.

Serve with fresh whipped cream.