The Sophisticated Twists Hair Tutorial

Way way back, I posted this and got a lot of compliments on my hair and people asking me to do a tutorial on it.  I thought it might be fun to do a tutorial on the hairstyle but time passed, and I forgot about the tutorial and the hairstyle, until I was looking on my "hair" board on Pinterest.  I had pinned the picture of my hair from the post a while ago and came across it last week.  I was thinking to myself, "Oh, yeah, I really liked that hairstyle, why haven't I done it lately?"  I tried it, added a braid, and I've been wearing my hair like this a lot lately.  It is so easy and fast, but looks nice and like you spend a lot of time on your hair (even though you really didn't).  This hair style is also really versatile,  it could look great messier to give it a little bit more of a casual look, or you can make the twists tighter to give it a more structured and dressier look.  When I asked one of my sisters what she thought of my hairstyle, she said it looked "romantic"...  That's not what I was really going for, but I'll take it...  (If you have any questions, please ask them in the comment section below!)

You will need:
bobby pins
plastic hair tie

Section off your bangs from the rest of you hair, twist, and loosely bobby pin them back.  Randomly take chunks of your hair and loosely twist and bobby pin them back and in place.  When you reach to your ears, stop twisting on one side, but continue to make a couple more twists on the other side to bring the rest of your hair to one side.  Loosely braid the rest of the hair and secure with a plastic hair tie.

You can see my last hair tutorial here.

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Warm Almond Creamer recipe

Ever since I made coffee (and tried it) for the first time, I loved it... and I still do.  I love the deep flavor that coffee has and all of the possible flavors that it can take on.  A couple of weeks ago, I made creamer for the first time.  It is so incredibly easy to make and great to use when you're in a rush, all you have to do is brew some coffee and pour some of this homemade creamer in, and bam, you have yourself one awesome cup of coffee. 

Warm Almond Creamer

2 cups cream

1/2 tsp. all-spice

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

2 cinnamon sticks (mine were about 3" long)

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

2 1/2 tsp. almond extract

Cook (don't boil) the cream, all-spice, nutmeg, cinnamon sticks, and brown sugar over lowest heat for 10 minutes.  Take the mixture off the heat and add in the almond extract.  Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.  Make sure you shake the creamer before you use it, because the ingredients will separate. It can last up to a week. 

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Grilled Seasoned Chicken recipe

Chicken and the grill just go to together, like two peas in a pod.  Chicken can be very flavorless on its own, but with a little help from spices and the grill, it can become something decedent and special.  To be honest, when I was making this recipe, I was a little worried about all of these spices and herbs that I was combining.  They were all very different, but together, they formed a whole new and beautiful  flavor.  Ah, and the grill.  I seriously love the grill, call me weird if you must, but I do love the grill.  Grilling the chicken enhanced all of the flavors from the spice rub, and then added some.  Overall, this is the perfect summertime meat for any occasion; family get together, picnic... you name it!  

Grilled Seasoned Chicken

brine

1 chicken cut into pieces

1/2 cup salt

water

spice rub

1 tsp. All-spice

2 Tbsp. paprika

1 1/2 tsp. fresh rosemary

11/2 tsp. fresh oregano 

sauce

2 tsp. fresh chives

2 tsp.  fresh oregano

3 Tbsp. honey

6 Tbsp. worcestershire sauce

4 Tbsp. butter

Cut a chicken into pieces and set in a large bowl.  Fill the bowl with water until it covers the chicken and pour in the salt.  The brine helps the meat become tender and juicy.  Let the chicken/water/salt mixture sit for 2-3 hours.  Combine your all-spice, paprika, rosemary, and oregano in  a small bowl.  Drain the salt water off of the chicken and pour your seasonings over top of the chicken. Get your hand in there and make sure that all of the chicken is coated with the spice rub.  Put the chicken in a bag or put plastic rap over the bowl and put it in the fridge for about an hour.  At the end of that hour, turn on your grill and prepare the sauce.  Take the chicken out and put it on a hot grill.  Let it cook for 5-7 minutes on medium heat.  Don't go too far away from the grill while the chicken is cooking because the chicken can catch on fire.  So check the chicken often and always have a glass of water on hand.  After the 5-7 minutes, turn the chicken pieces over and cook for an other 5-7 minutes.  After the chicken is done on the grill, place it in a casserole that has a lid and pour the prepared sauce on top.  Put the lid on and place the casserole in a preheated 325 degree oven.  Cook for 1 1/2 hours.  Serve as is and enjoy!  I would love to hear from you if you make this!  

P.S.  I doubled this recipe, that is why it looks like there's a ton of chicken.

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Iced Sun Tea recipe

I don't know about you and your family, but me and my family drink iced tea like southerns (except for a curtain sister-in-law of mine, who refuses to like tea)... ;) In the summer time, it is very unusual not to see a gallon jug of tea in the fridge or soaking up the sun on the sidewalk.  Seriously, if you want to know where I live, just look for some tea sitting out in the sun.  Iced sun tea is defiantly a staple for us in the summer, especially during hay bailing time.  A couple weeks ago (while I was making sun tea, of course), I realized that it was high-time that I shared the recipe with you.  Have you ever had sun tea? Iced sun tea holds such a deeper and richer flavor than just regular iced tea, which makes it so special and yummy. 

Iced Sun Tea recipe

3 large Lipton tea bags 

1 gallon glass jug

1 cup sugar

Fill your gallon glass jug full of cold water and add your tea bags.  You can put in a few mint leaves to add a little more flavor if you like.  Set the tea out in the direct sunlight and let it ferment for a couple of hours, until it is a nice rich color.  Take out the tea bags (and mint leaves if you used any) and stir in the sugar with a wooden spoon.  Note: use a wooden spoon, not a medal one.  We have had way to many experiences where the jug breaks by using medal spoons to stir in the sugar.  Yes, not fun.  Pour in a cup full of ice and enjoy! 

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Looking back at May and June

Where do I even begin?  I haven't updated about life since, well, I don't even know when.  This summer has been a total whirlwind, from May to present.  Time has gone by so quickly and when I look back, so much has happened.

May-  My brother, Isaac, graduated from High school, which seemed weird, especially since I still picture him as the crazy 10 year old... In May I was still working at a greenhouse, and since May is their busiest month, I was working a lot.  I also bought my 50mm 1.4 lens in May, and I am so happy with it.  I haven't taken it off my camera yet!  At the end of May I created a Facebook page for my photography, Joanna Christine Photography.  I was so excited to start it, and am hopeful to start shooting some people soon... now that sounds weird, doesn't it?  Anyway, on to June...

June-  June was by far the craziest month of the year so far.  I was still working at the greenhouse a lot into the middle of June, but am finished for the year.  There was also a lot of moving happening in this month.  My brother, Noah, and his wife and baby, moved out of our apartment that we have, into a house that they bought in town.  Then the day after they moved out, my sister, Mary, and her husband and two kids moved into the apartment for the summer before they leave for Germany in August.  Those were defiantly a crazy couple of days...  The first two weekends we had weddings to go to as well, one a family friend, and the other a cousin.  The Saturday of my cousin's wedding was thrilling/hectic/amazing/crazy because my sister and I photographed it.  I was a little nervous about the whole thing, but mostly I was nervous that I wouldn't like photographing a wedding, why, I have no idea.  Anyway, the day went by fast but smoothly and I absolutely loved every minute of it.  I think it is safe to say that I love everything about photography...

Now that July is here, I think things will start slowing down and that our summer will continue...   

Cody and I being weird as usual...

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I hope you have an adventurous weekend to start off the summer!

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Decadent Iced Latte recipe

So, do you know what my new favorite drink is?  Iced coffee.  It is purely amazing.  This was my first time making it, and actually trying it.  Terrible right? Well, I new that this summer I just had to make and try iced coffee.  Today was hot and just seemed like the perfect day for a nice cool treat, so I got to work at figuring out my flavors and writing down the recipe as I went along.

...

and oh my gosh, this iced coffee turned out amazing.

The sweet whipped cream made an awesome film on top and balanced out the bitter coffee to make a lovely combo. Oh, and you can't forget the chocolate on top! This made the iced coffee even more decedent than it already was... and made it look pretty. Defiantly going to be making this iced coffee more this summer for my coffee loving siblings.    

Iced Coffee  serves two

3 cups brewed coffee

1 cup cream

4 Tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp cocoa powder

1 Tbsp real maple syrup

2 Tbsp chocolate syrup

Fill 8 icecube molds of a tray and put in the freezer.  It will take roughly 2 hours for the coffee cubes to freeze, so try to be patient (I know, I know, it's very hard).  Put the rest of the coffee in the fridge.

After the coffee cubes are almost ready, you can start to had the cream, brown sugar, cocoa powder, and maple syrup in a bowl.  Whisk the mixture very vigorously for two minutes (your arm might get a little tired, but it's good for you).  The mixture should be frothy and light.  Divide the coffee cubes between two glasses, pour the coffee overtop, then the cream mixture on top of that.  Now watch, some of the cream mixture will sink to the bottom, this is my favorite part...  Now, for the finishing touches, drizzle the chocolate syrup and sprinkle some brown sugar on top.  There you have it, a decedent treat for the heat.   

P.S. My frequent coffee taste tester/sister-in-law, Jordan, commented on how much the whipped cream tasted like Starbucks.  I'll take that. *smile*

P.P.S.  I made a Facebook page for my photography!  Please check it out!  Joanna Christine Photography 

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