Kansas City Wedding Photography | Allison Marie Photography

Chris & Megan’s Album Design

Allison Marie — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:05:09 +0000

I had so much fun designing Chris & Megan’s album because I love the cohesiveness of their wedding colors throughout the day! These are full two-page spreads, so 16×8″ total.

Tasty Tuesday

Allison Marie — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 04:04:49 +0000

Hello friends! I am beginning this new series for a number of reasons.

1. When it’s non-wedding season, I crave routine in my life. Although it’s so wonderful to have time to plan and dream up new things for my business, work on taxes, and get re-energized for my upcoming weddings, I have been hungry (yep, pun intended!) for some routine posts on this blog!

2. I love to cook.

3. I have happened upon a large handful of “wow! this is the tastiest meal I’ve ever eaten!” sort of recipes lately, and I am so eager to share them!

4. Cooking meals that are healthy gets me super excited!

5. Since last October, my amazing husband has been on a very low-carb journey (inspired by the book “Why We Get Fat”, and incredible book about the science behind how and why our bodies store fat), and after four months of eating this way, we love it so much that it’s become our normal way of life! Learning how to cook delicious meals with low carbs was challenging at first, but I’ve discovered some incredible meals and treats I would love to share!

Ok, so let’s begin. I stumbled upon this tasty dish in a random chicken cookbook, and it was a HUGE hit!!

Chicken and Shiitake Mushroom Pizza

Ingredient List:

Crust:

1 1/4 c flour

1 egg

2/3 c milk

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp cloves

Toppings:

3 Tbs oil

1 lb boneless chicken breast, cut into thin strips

3-4 green onions

1 red pepper, cut into thin strips

1 c fresh shiitake mushrooms, wiped and sliced

3-4 Tbs fresh cilantro

5 oz mozzarella cheese

various spices

For the crust, simply mix together the crust ingredients and your favorite spices to add flavor. I used parsley & rosemary. Spread onto a lightly greased pizza pan or cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes, until it is cooked but still light in color.

While the crust is cooking, heat 2 Tbs of oil in a large skillet. Add the chicken, green onion, red pepper, mushrooms and spices. (I don’t measure my spices, something I have learned from Grant. I add whatever sounds good in that particular dish! For this one, I added salt, pepper, garlic, parsley, basil, and a hint of ginger & cayenne pepper. Stir-fry until the chicken is firm but still slightly pink in the middle.

Add the chopped cilantro.

Spoon the chicken mixture to the pre-baked crust and top with fresh cilantro & cheese, and bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, or until crisp and golden.And there you have an amazingly simple main dish that is PACKED with flavor. Add a salad of greens and various fruit/nuts and you’ve got a winning combo!We LOVE dipping our Chicken & Shiitake Mushroom Pizza in peanut sauce & ranch dressing!

I’m dreaming in colors…

Allison Marie — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 21:45:12 +0000

We signed the papers in agreement of the house we have been bidding on! We are absolutely thrilled and cannot wait to move in! It’s hard to believe this is actually happening, as it feels like we have hunted for the right house forever. These next few weeks will be filled with dreaming, planning and packing as we prepare for our closing date! I’m pretty sure I’ve spent more time on Pinterest in the last week than I ever have, because I’ve been dreaming about colors and themes for our new rooms! It’s so easy to pin the most gorgeous, extravagant room ideas…interiors that we will never have in our home. I’ve been instead focusing on realistic ideas like color schemes, DIY ideas, curtains, rugs, etc.

Here are some of my inspirations so far…

Dining Room: If you’ve followed my blog for over a year now, you’ll know my love for my painted walls in the office of my old home. I’ve always said that I will do something similar once we own our own place, and here’s what I’m thinking. Similar color scheme (grays and neutrals) but an all-over stencil pattern rather than tackling the free hand painting again!

Another painting idea, but this time it’s striped walls for the guest bedroom! I love the idea of the sweet little country-ish chair with items a guest would enjoy Kitchen: we will have a pretty modest kitchen to work with, so little things like paint colors and curtains will go a long way! One of the walls is completely empty – no cabinets or anything, just a window. So I’ve been thinking how fun these skinny shelves could be, with pretty jars and kitchen-ey things. No idea if this is possible, but I’m just dreaming In the photos below, I love the blue curtains but not the deep blue walls. just fyi The living room will need some major sprucing-up. I’m loving the light grey walls and tan curtains.Master bedro0m: For some reason, I am crazy about these yellow and grey details!! And I am digging the DIY rustic wood headboard!
And for a few other lovely do-able details… Links to all of these pretty images can be found on my pinterest boards here.

tears of joy.

Allison Marie — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:20:37 +0000

Today is the day Jesus welcomed my 99-year-old great grandmother with outstretched arms into heaven. Tears of joy and of course sadness filled my eyes as I received the news. She was a remarkable woman in every way. Quite a few months ago, her health began declining rapidly and she decided that she should be moved into hospice. It was a sorrowful time, because we knew this meant her days were numbered. To the amazement of the nurses, doctors and her family, her health soon increased and she was doing well again, something that hardly ever happens to elderly in hospice care. She was the joy and delight of all her nurses; she brightened everyone’s day with her wit and optimism. She was even thrown a big birthday bash when she turned 99! I remember my mom telling me that she was so frustrated that she didn’t have her own money, because it saddened her to not be able to give gifts! What an extraordinary woman! Despite her declining health, her mind was occupied with her desire to give!

I will always be amazed at the health she was blessed with for her 99 years, and so grateful to be able to call this amazing woman my great grandmother.

Praise God that this earth is not our final home, that those of us who believe Him have an eternity awaiting us that far exceeds anything we could ever imagine or dream up!