With Minnesota being the center of the sporting world recently, I only thought it would be fitting to have a bit of a sports spin on bits and bites this week.  

Where do I even begin with this weeks edition of bits and bites?  I had a plan after Saturday, and then Sunday came around and shot that out of the water.  We had two client viewings yesterday where a comment got me thinking and then when I got home, I got to watch the Vikings game from the DVR.  Needless to say, my plans changed a bit.


1) Annie's Update - We have had multiple people ask us about how Annie is doing.  We were so delighted to hear from her Mom this morning.  She told us that there is a Caring Bridge journal set up for Annie to let people know her progress.  We are so very happy to report that the past few days have seemed to be going well for Annie and they are hoping that she will be out of ICU in a couple of days.  If you are interested in leaving her a note of encouragement, you can find her journal by going to CaringBridge.org.  Once there, you can visit her website by typing in "annieschurman" in the area that says visit a CaringBridge website.  You will need to create a login somewhere in the process. 

P.S.  If you are a little lost about Annie's story, you can read last week's Bits and Bites.


2) Clients, blogging, and the Staja Experience - Yesterday was a real treat because we had two great client proof screenings.  The day started off with Susan and Ryan's.  It was so much fun to see them again, plus we also shot Susan's sister's wedding.  There is something extra special about doing weddings for families we have already worked with.  In a way it was bitter-sweet, as Susan is the last Mortensen girl to wed....sigh. 

During the viewing, Susan's mother made a comment to me that her daughter Jenny had asked her to tell us.  Long story short, it had to do with how pictures become memories and emotional treasures of the people that are in them.  If the past few months have taught us anything, it is that you never know what life is going to throw at you.  It just helped encapsulate the reason we LOVE what we do.  We are so blessed and honored to be entrusted to capture the people and moments that we do!

Later in the day, we had Aly and Mike's viewing.  I put out the food and was tidying a few things up when Mike's mom asked if Stacey's famous pasta salad was going to be up on Bits and Bites.  I thought it was so cool that Mike's mom was keeping up on the blog and knew so much about some of the posts. 

At the end of the day it was very satisfying to hear so many nice comments.  Comments about the pictures, the way we invite clients and their families to the studio for a "Movie Premiere", the blog, etc.  It just reinforced our belief that Staja Studios is here to create an experience for people, not just images! 


3) Flipping the Script - What a fun weekend for MN football fans!  Starting with the Gophers win over Northwestern on Saturday, and finishing with one of the best plays in recent Vikings history.  In both cases, the MN fans got to celebrate vs. hang their heads in agony. 

The Gophers have had a run of bad luck coming down the stretch in games against Northwestern.  Snake-bitten, jinxed, or just bad play, no matter how you look at it, they have had some rough finishes against the Wildcats lately.  You have to look no further than last year's loss where Northwestern returned an interception for a touchdown with 16 seconds left in the game for the win.  This year it was the Gophers D making a couple big plays to help take the lead and seal the victory. 

As for the Vikings, what can you say.  It looks like the old gunslinger still may have a few bullets left in the chamber.  It wasn't a pretty game by any means, but it sure was a fun one to watch!  It was rather enjoyable to be on the right side of a Favre comeback vs. the other side.  Going into yesterday's game, 8 of Favre's 4th quarter comebacks have come against the Vikings.  For those of you who may have missed it (particularly any Packer fans :), HERE YOU GO!


4) GLEE - Has anyone seen the show GLEE on Fox?  As any good relationship is made up of compromises and doing things you may not always want to do, I reluctantly nestled into the couch to watch this new show with Stacey.  She wanted to watch it and all I could think of was GLEE club, what am I doing!  I get the football game, so I figured if She wanted me to sit and watch a bunch of awkward high school kids sing, what the heck.  Little did I know, that it would actually have some good writing and be overall entertaining.  Just don't let Stacey know I said so :).  I have to say that watching the school's football team preform Beyonce during a game, made for pretty good humor.  Sure it was a bit absurd, but it had to make you chuckle.


5) The Tasty Bite, Octoberfest Stew - Here is a nice little recipe to warm up your fall evenings!

2.5 pounds boneless beef stew meat or roast , cut into approximately 1.5 inch cubes
1/2+ cup of flour
3 teaspoons salt (I prefer Kosher)
1 teaspoon+ black pepper
3 tablespoons butter
2 cups chopped onion
2 cups cubed carrots
4 teaspoons fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
3 teaspoons chopped garlic
3 cups beef stock
2 bottles of your favorite Octoberfest Beer
3 cups cubed red potatoes
8 oz. white button mushrooms halved or quartered
1/4-1/3 cup water

In a large food storage bag, shake beef with 1/4 cup flour, 2 teaspoons salt, and 2/3 teaspoon black pepper.  Melt butter in a large (I like a 5 - 6.5 quart) dutch oven over medium heat.  Brown beef and remove.  Stir in the onion, carrots, thyme, bay leaves, and garlic; saute for about 4 minutes.  Stir back in the beef, beef stock, and the beer.  Reduce the heat and simmer until the beef is really nice and tender (3 - 3.5 hours).  Add in the potatoes and simmer until tender (20 - 25 minutes). 

Combine and stir the remaining 1/4 - 1/3 cup flour and matching amount of water until smooth; slowly pour into the stew, stirring constantly.  Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil.  Boil and stir for 1 minute.  Remove bay leaves and stir in the remaning 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/3 teaspoon+ black pepper 



I personally like to enjoy with a French Baquette and a nice cold glass of Octoberfest.

We hope you enjoyed this installment of Bits and Bites.  Bon Appetit and Enjoy!

Woo Hoo, we are successful in getting around to Bits and Bites two weeks in a row!  Blogging baby steps I guess.

1) Meet Chelsea - Although far from a bit, we would like to introduce Chelsea to everyone.  Some of you have already met Chelsea, but for those of you who haven't, she has been working with us for the summer and we are looking forward her to becoming more involved within the studio.  Starting soon, she will be taking on family portrait sessions (she is particularly great with kids), so inquire about booking soon!  To be clear, this does not mean Stacey will not be available for your portraits, we are just expanding our offerings.  So without further delay, (cue up best Ed McMahon voice) heeeeeeere's Chelsea.  We will let Chelsea formally introduce herself later in the week, but in the meantime, here is a quick preview.




We are so excited to have her with us. It's been a super fun and successful summer so far and we can't wait to see what accomplishments she will achieve behind the camera:)  Please give her a shout out on the blog and make her feel welcome!


2) Vision Awards - Wish us luck this coming Thursday, as we have been nominated for a Vision Award in the category of Planner's Choice - My Favorite Vendor.  The Vision Awards are put on by Meetings: Minnesota's Hospitality Journal and will be taking place at  the Chambers Hotel.


3) The Reason Why - Why are we wedding photographers?  Is it for the late nights editing in front of a computer screen or the waking up in the middle of the night breaking out in a cold sweat because you had another wedding nightmare (we are talking real nightmares of the dream variety, not the stories that sound too wacky to be true).  I'm guessing you are all shaking your head thinking no.  You would be correct!  In a case where a picture truly speaks a thousand words, THIS IS WHY WE ARE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHERS!

If you look closely, you will notice a tear running down Megan's cheek, as her and Derek saw one another for the first time.  Needless to say, we were reminded that it would be hard to find a greater privilege and more rewarding job than to document these special moments in people's lives!
 

4) A Special Request - We are starting to realize that when you are in this business long enough, you see and hear a lot of things that touch you one way or another.  We got a call this past week from the mother of the bride for a wedding we were scheduled to have in a couple of weeks.  She was calling to let us know that unfortunately the wedding wasn't going to take place as planned.  We were disappointed, but our disappointment soon turned to concern, as she explained why.  Our bride, Annie, had just suffered a brain aneurysm and she is only in her early to mid 20's.  The good news is that she made it to the hospital and through the surgery, but is in ICU at this moment.  We were heartbroken to hear this sad news for two families that were so excited about the upcoming wedding.  We ask anyone who is reading this to please keep Annie, her fiance Chad, and both families in your thoughts and prayers as they try to help Annie recover and get back on her feet.  Needless to say, there is nothing we would be happier to capture than Annie walking down the aisle at some point in the very near future!


5) Enjoy Life - If Annie's story doesn't make you pause and think, please do!  Stacey and I have seen and been apart of a lot this summer.  Between my trip to Tanzania, the loss of our dear brother-in-law, and another summer of wonderful couples, we have had life really put into perspective for us!  No one knows how long we will be around, and life can change in the blink of an eye.  We hope you all wake up to people you love surrounding you and look forward to the exciting day ahead.  Life is too short and unpredictable to not enjoy every bit of it!


6) The Tasty Bite - There is a reason that Jimmy Buffett wrote "Cheesburger in Paradise"!  The cheeseburger really is about as simple and satisfying as it gets!  Plus it doesn't get much more classic than the version in his lyrics:

"I like mine with lettuce and tomato
Heinz 57 and french fried potatoes
Big kosher pickle and a cold draft beer
Well good God Almighty which way do I steer"

However, sometimes you may want to put a little twist on this American Classic, and go for a different vibe.  Want a nice glass of red wine with that burger?  If so, give this a try:

Take your burger and season with a little Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper (plenty of pepper).  While your burger is on the grill for about 5-6 minutes each side over medium high heat, cut up some onions and mushrooms and saute them for about three minutes.  Remove the onions and mushrooms and pour some of the wine you will be enjoying into the pan and reduce to about one half to one third of the original amount.  At this point, add a small amount of heavy cream to the wine to help thicken it up and smooth out some of that tang.  Add your onions and mushrooms back to the sauce and keep warm.  Put your burger on a nice steakhouse bun, cover with some of the onions, mushrooms, and wine sauce, and top it off with some bleu cheese!  This tastes great with some sweet potato fries and a nice crisp salad.  If you are not up for cooking, the Burger Bar Americain at Salut Bar Americain in Edina was the original inspiration for today's tasty bite, and I highly recommend giving it a try.

Looking for a flavorful, yet inexpensive wine to pair with this delicious burger?  Consider trying the Columbia Crest Two Vines Cabernet Sauvignon Washington State 2006.  It has plenty of fruit and stands up well to the beef and cheese within the burger.

We hope you enjoyed this installment of Bits and Bites.  Bon Appetit and Enjoy!

* P.S.  The Jimmy Buffett reference was for Stacey, my Parrot Head wife :)
 

Hey everyone, Stacey and I are really going to be trying to make our blog a cooler place to come and visit.  We are hoping to bring a little more of who we are as people not just our images to the forefront.  In this attempt, we are rolling out some new features including (drum-roll please) - Monday's Bits and Bites.  You may be asking what the heck are bits and bites.  Who knows, we will see where it takes us.  However, what we envision is random tid-bits about our weekend, current events, scattered thoughts, and anything else our crazed heads may come up with.  Now for bites, we are going to be dedicating this to the lovely world of food and drink!  Stacey and I both love good food and the accompanying experience that goes with it.  It may be a tasty burger fresh off the grill, or a restaurant that we really enjoyed!  With that said, here we go:

1) WEEKEND RANDOMNESS - This weekend was one of those fun, who knows what's going to happen type of weekends.  We left for a destination wedding weekend in the Minocqua area of Wisconsin.  Our first stop was the Big Bear Hideaway in Boulder Junction for the rehearsal dinner.  Despite a long day of travel, we originally planned on heading to Stacey's parents in Wausau, but the drive didn't sound enticing.  We had a great conversation with the owners of the Big Bear after the dinner was over.  We talked about all kinds of things including ways that they could improve the place for weddings (photographically speaking).  Long story short, we ended up staying at their accompanying place to the Big Bear. Another gorgeous location with a view that knocks your socks off!   Here is the sight we were treated to in the morning.