holiday fashions with maryclaire

still in need of some holiday fashion inspiration??? head over to my photography site {jenna bechtholt photography} & check out more of this stunning girl & her cute holiday outfits.

recipes {peppermint bark}

before christmas arrives i wanted to do one last holiday recipe. christmas is the perfect time to eat way too many sweets & feel pretty comfortable doing so. so, in honor of this wonderful season, i would like to introduce you all to a special peppermint bark.

this stuff is addicting. the crunch & saltiness of saltine crackers. a thin layer of chocolate. the slight taste of crushed peppermint candies, oh, & some butter. perfection.

i was introduced to this particular peppermint bark recipe a few years ago from a dear friend of mine, lauren. one night, when we were roommates, she whipped up this super easy but oh.so.delicious chocolatey peppermint bark. and i have been crazy about it ever since.

i really have not had too many different types of bark, but i will be making this stuff every year for the holidays. it is that good, in my opinion. thank you lauren for the great recipe & new family tradition!!

peppermint bark ingredients:
1 stick butter
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 sleeves saltine crackers
1 12 oz. bag of semi sweet chocolate chips
3-4 tbs crushed up candy canes or peppermint candies {you can add as much or as little peppermint to to the top}

line a cookie sheet with foil. lay crackers flat on the surface of the cookie sheet; leaving no spaces, holes & with no crackers over lapping.

melt butter & sugar together. pour evenly over the crackers. carefully spread the mixture over the entire sheet of crackers the best that you can.

preheat oven to 400 degrees. bake for 8-10 minutes. keep an eye on the crackers & remove from the oven if they appear to be getting too dark close to the end of the cooking time.

remove the cookie sheet from the oven. sprinkle the chocolate chips over the hot crackers & allow to melt for 3-5 minutes. using a flat spatula spread the chocolate evenly over all the crackers.

while the chocolate is still warm, sprinkle the crushed peppermints over the chocolate.

refrigerate until the chocolate is firm & chilled. then simply break into pieces. you can make the pieces as big or as little as you desire! i love to do some smaller pieces & some larger chunks.

and there you have it, the perfect christmas treat.

stay hungry, stay foolish

"Overall, just do YOU. At some point, someone will appreciate it, and that someone will turn into someones, and your following and support will go from there, further encouraging you to get better and do more of what you love."

- Chantel Marie Photography  

any creative field is a challenge. photography has been such a fun journey for me thus far & i am beyond excited to see where it will take me. but....there is also a lot of down time without clients lined up that can get me feeling a bit down on myself. am i cut out for this? do people even like my work? is anyone viewing my site? blah blah. that is why i SO loved the quote above by a wonderful photographer in the salt lake area. 

this quote just sums up completely what i am going through & how i am feeling about my current profession. i am in the beginning stages of my business & just like it says, 'at some point, someone will appreciate it...' or at least i am hoping! i know things take time & hard work is required. i just have such big dreams that sometimes i wish it was going faster...but i know things work out the way they are supposed to & never with the timing that you are hoping for or expecting. 

so, with a bit of hard work, passion, drive & some fun, i think i may just make it!

just got to keep pushing through! and being me.

recently i have done a few posts that include all of these IN-YOUR-FACE quotes, but i find them so inspiring & helpful. so i like to add them to give my readers some inspiration of their own & to help you all understand some of my thoughts that i may not necessarily share in my own words. 

i hope you enjoy them & take something of your own away from the simple phrases.

life lately {iphone edition}

we ate & made food, food & some more food, as you can see! we also hit up a christmas party, a wedding, finished our color me mine bowl after 1 year, shared some cuddles, worked hard & had some fun!!

until next time...