enJOY it

our favorite waffle recipe.

September 4, 2014
I was recently contacted by Got Milk? to see if I was interested in partnering with them for a blog post.

Considering that milk was such a huge staple of my childhood (like a totally normal person, I collected Got Milk? mustache magazine ads in a binder) and because every member of my family drinks milk every day, this was a no-brainer for me. I was raised on glasses of milk. From age 1 to 18, my brother and I had milk with our dinner every single time my family sat down at the table (so six of seven nights a week). When I go to Sacramento to visit my parents, they pour my glass of milk without asking. (And I drink it without compliant.)

"Drink you milk" was part of the chorus I heard growing up. (Along with "do your best," "take the laundry upstairs" and the Full House theme song.) If I do my job right, it will be part of Ellerie's as well. (Along with "finish your Harry Potter," "bring in the backyard tomato harvest" and "do you want to go craft supply shopping?")

Anyway, I'm excited to share one of our favorite whole wheat waffle recipes with you today. We eat cereal and milk for breakfast most mornings, but on weekends, we get a little more exciting (you can see our pancake recipe here) and sometimes that includes waffles (made with milk, of course).

This recipe makes three dense (and delicious) waffles, feel free to increase it to fit your needs.
- 1 egg
- 3/4 C wheat flour
- 1/4 C white flour
- 2 Tbsp wheat germ
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 C milk (we used whole milk)
- 1 Tbsp honey
- 2 Tbsp butter (melted)
Separate the egg. Set aside the yolk (to be used later) and beat the whites with a hand mixer until stiff.

Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Combine the wet ingredients. I like to beat the egg yolk then mix with the melted butter and honey before adding the milk.

Mix the wet into the dry and stir just until you can't see dry ingredients anymore (do not over mix).

Add in your strawberries (or other fruit choice).

Fold in your egg whites. This is what will keep the waffle more on the light and fluffy side (again, take care not to over mix).

Pour the mixture into your waffle iron (we have this one). This is a thick batter and you can sort of scoop it into place. Follow the cooking directions according to your waffle iron.

Serve right away…ideally with whipped cream and more fruit! Since I had the hand-mixer out for the egg whites anyway, I decided to make up some whipped cream. I combined 1/2 C cream, a dash of vanilla and 1tsp sugar and whipped until it was the right consistency.

So good. And as far as sweet breakfasts go, these are pretty healthy and properly filling (we're not all starving again at 10am). All three of us are fans (though Ellerie perfers that hers is broken into bite-sized pieces).

This post is sponsored by Got Milk? As always, opinions, post concept and text are all my own.
wait for it.

September 3, 2014

After Ellerie was born I started having a lot more fun taking photos. Don't get me wrong. I have always LOVED taking photos. But I am learning that, for me, it's more fun when my subject moves. And it's more fun when my subject grows. (No offense, potted plants and cups of coffee.)

I also now take A LOT more photos. (Again with the moving and the growing.) I've gotten a few questions on Instagram about how I get "good" photos of Ellerie and while I have shared technique tips here and cropping tips here I thought I'd share another secret.

I wait for it.

Generally I know the shot is possible – the light is right, Ellerie's in a good mood, the background is decent – so I get my phone ready. Then I set the shot, which for me means lining things up, either by crouching to Ellerie's level or by setting my phone on the ground.

And then I start snapping. Over and over and over. I don't say anything to her, I just let her move around naturally. I usually know when I've got it and, no joke, my breath catches in my throat. The one perfect photo. It's there, caught in the 8 to 12 other decent shots that aren't quite the shot.

As you can see in these "outtakes" the camera doesn't really move. I keep things lined up and just let Ellerie do her thing within the frame. The key for me is to keep the camera out long enough. Usually the best photo comes a few snaps in (though not always).

I like to share stuff like this to keep the mystery out of my photography. It's just about getting things squared up and then…waiting for it.

all of these were taken on my iPhone 5s and the final images were processed with the VSCO app and shared on Instagram (along with photos of my coffee, projects and plants).

Today on ELISE GETS CRAFTY I am chatting with Kathleen Shannon of Braid Creative about all sorts of small busines things including her killer weekly newsletter. Click here to subscribe or stream the episode from your computer here.
yep.

September 2, 2014

At the beginning of June I was all about the upcoming summer. And for good reason. We had some really spectacular stuff planned for the past three months. We kicked it off with a trip to Palm Springs and ended in Santa Cruz for a wedding (more photos in the coming weeks). In between, I went to Salt Lake City, Portland and Austin for some work, but mostly for some play.

I really do love the summer months. I love the extra daylight hours. I love that shorts and a tee shirt make an outfit. I love freckled cheeks and sandal tans. I love popping out to the garden five times a day (until everything but the tomato plants die). But the heat. Man, the heat did a number on me this year. It's harder to handle the heat with a baby, right? It was a summer for the books, for sure. But it was also a hot one.

And so, despite a forecast of 90 degree days this week, I'm so happy we're at the start of September. It's going to be a great autumn, I can tell this for sure. I have a baby that's turning into a little girl. I have lists to cross off. I have a house to "complete." I have MAKE29 to work on. I have a bunch of fun DIY project posts planned. I have a new venture in the works that I really think is my career gamechanger.

It's going to be a good one. Let's dive deep.

But first, coffee.

ps. my sandals are Seychelles and I love them so much. I found the gold ones still for sale here.
weekend links / 33.

August 29, 2014

Taking off early for the holiday weekend. Cheers!

As part of my word WHOLE this year, I want celebrate the work of others by sharing links to my friends, possible friends and complete strangers who are doing great things on the Internet. This is some of the rad stuff I recently saw online…

work in progress…literally.

7 things you should never say while brainstorming.

5 creative toddler activities.

and here's a set of window crayons if you're as excited as I was to try them out.

when a small idea goes big (wow!).

prettiest bookshelves I have ever seen.

gorgeous floral paintings.

hot new careers for creatives.

love this california tee.

very inspiring (and gorgeously photographed) post about…mac & cheese.

yep, totally obsessed with the capsule wardrobe concept. (Thanks Kelsey!)

congrats to Elsie & Emma on their book launch this week!

such a fun print.
project life 2014 : august.

August 28, 2014

As mentioned seven times this year already, I am taking a less traditional approach to Project Life in 2014. Often that means not many layouts, just one or two a month. I've said this seven times too, but it's a busy season (year?) for me and so I'm doing what I can.

click to enlarge

And with that said, I LOVE this layout for August that I made using the Studio Calico's Poet Society Project Life kit. This is the sort of spread that makes me remember why I like to document like this.

I took most of the text from this blog post about Ellerie at 14 months and handwrote it on journaling cards from the kit.

I love how "full" a page looks when it's covered in handwriting. That one photo of E I took on her actual 14 month birthday and it's probably one of my favorites yet.

The opposide page is just nine square photos of Ellerie that accompanied the journaling in that post.

It's simple, for sure, but I'm loving it this month. Thank you so much for following along. See my title page for this album here and 2014 album progress here.

Supplies : Studio Calico Poet Society kit, Project Life Design A pocket page, We R Memory Keepers 9 pocket page, zig Millennium pen, gray AC slickwriter.
thoughts on the podcast so far.

August 27, 2014

I've been throwing up weekly podcast episodes for five months now and I am really enjoying this new-to-me medium. Today I wanted to share some observations and a bit of background about running the show. If you're curious how to actually launch a podcast, check out this post.

Why podcasting?

I started a podcast for the same reason I started a blog: I thought I had something interesting to share. (I think this needs to be reason #1. If you don't think you have something to add to the conversation, probably no one else will either.)

Podcasting is (for me) so much easier than blogging. It's much faster to just talk than write. No edits. No over-thinking. No photos. No comments. On many business topics I also find it easier to get my point across speaking vs. writing.

What does this mean?

Nothing really. I see the podcast as a compliment to what I do with my blog and my shop. Podcasting will not "replace" the blog on any level. If anything, podcasting has helped me develop more interesting business-related blog posts to share here.

What is the podcast contributing to my business?

Financially, nothing just yet. I don't make a dime directly from the podcast. (I actually spend $15/month to host it.) I have not yet seen increased traffic on my blog or increased sales from the shop. Right now my focus is on creating something that YOU want to listen to and that I want to spend my time on. Developing solid content is key and by far the most important step of an early venture. Eventually I may get sponsors for the episodes which will no doubt annoy some listeners but will also make sense to most listeners. I also may never get sponsors and just use the platform as a way to promote what I do and ideally lead to more opportunities (like speaking at events and writing a book).

What is the plan for the future?

Right now, I don't foresee any real changes. I like the once a week format and plan to continue with it. I like bringing on interesting guests to share interesting stories. I like having just one guest per episode vs. a bunch because I think the dialogue is easier to follow. I plan to run more "just Elise" episodes (this recent one on focus got a lot of great feedback) because sometimes I have something I want to share that works better in a lecture format vs. conversation format. The best part of having my own show is I get to do exactly what I want.

How long does it take?

I spend about two hours a week on the podcast. That includes reaching out to guests, communicating timelines/expectations, sending reminder emails, recording the actual episode, brief editing, uploading the recording and promoting.

How do I get guests?

I reach out to my guests (who are not paid) via email.

If I "know" them (meaning we are both familiar with eachothers' work and have corresponded via social media channels) the email is brief:

hey, want to come on my podcast and talk about ___________?

If I don't "know" them (meaning I have seen what they are doing online but they probably have never heard of me) then I sell it a bit more:

hey, I admire what you're doing with ______. I host a weekly podcast and think you'd be an excellent guest talking about _______. Would you be interested in joining me for a short 25-30 minute conversation? I'd love for the episode to run on ______ which would be a great opportunity for you to promote ________.

When I think it might help (which is always), I also include (brief) stats to legitimize who I am and what I do (like blog traffic, social media following and data about podcast downloads).

As with all email correspondence (and especially necessary when asking for a favor), I keep it short and to the point. Nobody has time for paragraphs of text and everyone just wants to know what you want from them.

What is my goal for each episode?

My goal is to keep things centered around a single (interesting) topic. I come up with the episode theme in advance and then send the guest a list of questions and jumping off points for them to think about before we record. While I want the episodes to feel personal, I don't like a lot of "fluff" conversation. Sometimes episodes veer way off topic and they turn out much better than planned. Sometimes we don't really get to the meat of the discussion and that's always my fault. If I do my job right, a listener will never finish an episode and think "why did I just listen to that?"

What's been the most interesting?

I love having an opportunity to speak to some really cool and successful people. I now have an excuse to email perfect strangers (whom I admire) and then make them answer my questions. 😉 That's been fun and a bit surreal. I'm so excited about the guests I have lined up for this fall. It's an assortment of true experts and inspiring game-changers.

It's also been so cool to hear feedback from listeners. The most frequent comment I get is something like "I don't have a business so I didn't think I would like your show, but I listened anyway and I really do!" This is flattering and always makes me smile because…well…yeah! I don't ever plan on making a movie, but I'll watch hours of bonus footage at the end of a DVD about the "making of." I don't want to be a chef, but behind the scenes of a successful restaurant? I'll totally watch that. Look at the success of reality TV: we LOVE to see how things happen, how things get made and learn about stuff we don't do. When it's presented well, it's entertainment. Seeing that click for people has been fun.

What's the biggest take-away so far?

Just start. When I began this venture I had no idea how to get episodes online. I didn't know how I would record guests. When I published my first few episodes there was no lead-in or lead-out music. I had no shownotes pages. Five months in, I have developed these skills and enhanced the program (though obviously it's far from perfect). It doesn't matter that it wasn't polished or professional on day one. What matters is that I got the ball rolling. Every episode I do adds to my body of work and legitimizes the show (and my brand) a fraction more.

This venture has been a great reminder to just go for it. Try something new for the sake of trying something new.

And speaking of podcasting, today on ELISE GETS CRAFTY I am chatting with Natalie Freeman about being a life-long learner (and gardening). Click here to subscribe or stream the episode from your computer here.
august : currently.

August 26, 2014

loving having a little walker in the house.

finding soft-soled baby shoes too cute to pass up.

getting plant stands out the door.

needing a haircut.

thinking big for 2015.

allowing myself to dream a bit.

eating so much avocado on toast.

prepping the family to head up north for a wedding this weekend.

considering a wardrobe remix in September.

using TimerCam as often as possible.

listening to Taylor on repeat. (#makersgonnamake)

revisiting my 10k a day fitbit goal.

connecting a TV antenna for football season!

embracing this next season.

feeling good.
thrift store art to framed family photo.

August 25, 2014

I'm currently collecting frames from various thrift shops to try and achieve something awesome on the walls of our bathroom. While on the hunt, I spotted a giant frame (for $5.99) at Goodwill. It was not with the normal frames but in the "art" section. (I always take peek there too to see what I can re-purpose.)

The art in it (shown above) was not my taste. But the huge size? The light wood? The killer square mat? I loved ALL of those things.

Enough that I didn't mind that the top of the frame was scratched (again, may I remind you: $5.99).

I bought it promptly and on the way home decided I'd use an engineer print to get a cheap photo that would be large enough to fill the square space. With the maroon mat removed, it's about 17.5×17.5.

Picking a photo was easy. I knew I wanted a current one of the three of us. When I frame photos, I am always looking for something more non-traditional. Us, in our life, doing our thing is so much more interesting to me than the "posed" stuff. This photo was taken with my iPhone (into a very smudged mirror) and processed with VSCO app to make it black and white.

prepping photos to become engineer prints from elise blaha on Vimeo.

I recorded a VERY short video that shows how I prepped the photo to order my engineer print (you can watch it above). This particular engineer print was $1.79 and I ordered it here.

The important thing to note from the video is that you must make your photo canvas 300 dpi and then enlarge your photo to fit that size. This is going to give you a better image than just trying to print a small photo in large size (without first resizing it up). The method I share will not work for high-quality printing – if this was a real photo it would look totally grainy, but for a low-quality engineer print, it works pretty well.

I picked up my print in store. Engineer prints only come in black and white and are printed on what feels like normal computer paper. Mine was rolled and Ellerie may have grabbed it, causing a few dents. (No big deal.)

Once I had the print, I got to work opening up my frame. Since this piece had been professionally framed it was a bit more work to replace the art (I had to rip the paper backing and then pull up a bunch of staples) but not that big of a deal (again, $5.99).

Then I dropped my photo into place (I didn't even have to trim it because the mat is so huge) and sealed it back up. (Then I noticed there was a lot of dust in it and had to open it up again.) But…

TA-DA! AN EIGHT DOLLAR (FUN) STATEMENT FOR OUR BEDROOM.

p.s. I totally get that repeating a similar project like this means finding a huge frame for cheap at a thrift store in the first place. So that's annoying. BUT, if you're already headed there on occasion, take a spin through the art section. You many find something great and if you do, now you have a fun way to re-purpose it (for cheap).
weekend links / 32.

August 23, 2014

As part of my word WHOLE this year, I want celebrate the work of others by sharing links to my friends, possible friends and complete strangers who are doing great things on the Internet. This is some of the rad stuff I recently saw online…

blogging lessons (LOVED this, via Joy the Baker)

congrats on the new adventure, Ali! The site looks amazing.

how to fold a fitted sheet.

this is for the Pacey Witter fans.

and, btw, doesn't this guitar player look like Dawson?!

I'm so late to this story, but I heard on the radio yesterday about Rollasole vending machines and I thought the idea was genius.

pink is for girls, blue is for boys. #oofta

believe in your selfie tee.

love these custom photo puzzles.

a beautiful post on maternity leave.

recently picked up this dress for an upcoming wedding.

this zillow commerical hits close to home (pun intended).

I imagine you've already seen this sunscreen promo, but in case not…wow.

and from me…plant stands! and print packs! and posters! and flamingos! 😉
around here.

August 22, 2014

Cheers, Friday.

I'm excited to get the plant stands listed today at 8AM, thank you for your excitement around them this week. I agree, sharing the behind the scenes can be a valuable addition to a project and it's something I would love to do more of moving forward.

I have been thinking about the second half of MAKE29 often this week. I am pretty sure I have September nailed down. I have the beginnings of a plan for October. November I'm cautiously optimistic about. And December is going to be brilliant, I just have to make sure I can make it work. I'm seriously considering an edition of 2900 of December. Which is absurd, but mostly exciting because I just want this product into as many hands as possible. We'll see. There are a lot of working parts.

And speaking of big goals and crafting adventures, I recorded a great podcast episode this week with Chris Guillebeau about his upcoming book The Happiness of Pursuit. Fun fact, I am IN the book. Like in the index and everything which feels a bit surreal and definitely cool. My chapter is called "The Love of the Craft" which is pretty rad. It's a good episode and I can't wait to share it (and many other fun ones) with you this September.

Something is in the air. Something good. I can feel it. Let's roll, Friday.

ps. next week I'm sharing a video tutorial for how to make that big black and white engineered print photo.