I wonder who came up with the term comfort food?  It perfectly describes the way food makes you feel.  It warms your belly and makes you feel all cozy.  This stew is comfort food in every sense.  Maybe it has special meaning because a very sweet lady from church made it for us when we had our first baby.  We came home from the hospital in an ice storm and she had a big pot waiting for us on the stove.

Later she gave me the recipe.  It’s unlike any stew I’ve had before.  The ingredients are simple and the flavors are bright.  The beef doesn’t get bogged down with heavy bland flavor.  As we transition to fall, make a big pot of this stew, get yourself a crusty loaf of bread and get cozy!

Beef Cider Stew

(serves 6-8)

from Linda Richardson

2 large onions, diced

3T. butter

2 lbs. beef, cut in small chunks (I used tri-tip)

3T. flour

2t. salt

1/4t. pepper

1t. thyme

2 cups apple cider

1T. ketchup

3 large potatoes, peeled and cut into small chunks

4 medium carrots, peeled and cut into small chunks

1 1/2c. green beans

Brown onions in butter (in a large stock pot).  Set aside and brown meat in the same pan.  Combine flour, salt, pepper and thyme.  Stir gradually into the meat.  Stir in cider and ketchup.  Add potatoes, carrots and green beans.  Simmer for an hour, or until meat is tender.

When people ask me about my business and what it takes to make it (ie. make money at it) as a photographer, there’s no real easy answer.  Where I live, everyone is a photographer.  With so much competition how do you set yourself apart?  Again, so many answers to this question.  Like being yourself, playing to your strengths, communicating your brand effectively.  But, one thing so many people skip over is so elemental, it’s easily missed.

Doing what you say you’re going to do.  And doing it WHEN you say you’ll do it.

I’m a big fan of under-promising and over-delivering.  Which means, I’ll tell my clients they will view about 35 fantastic images after their photo session, the reality is they will view about 50.  If I ever find myself in a situation where the photo session is a challenge, I know FOR SURE that I can get 35 fantastic images.  That’s my bottom-line.  But, I know my average photo session will yield about 50.  It’s a pleasant surprise.

Same thing goes with time-line.  I promise the photos will be delivered in 2 weeks.  That’s if everything in the world goes wrong.  99.9% of the time I have them back in a week.  Again, the client is pleasantly surprised.

These very simple things will do so much for your business.  If you tell someone you will email them the paperwork tomorrow, do it.  If you promise you will call in the morning.  CALL.  IN THE MORNING.  You’ll gain the trust of your clients and you’ll just feel better about yourself, knowing you’re someone who is trustworthy.

Slight change of subject…doesn’t being a parent make this so much easier!?  If we tell our kids we will be going out for dinner tonight, we better make sure that is going to happen.  They won’t forget!  They don’t forget when the friends are coming over or when you promised to play basketball.

This is Jillian and I on a fun girls night out, that I promised we’d do.

Do you feel like wallpaper is everywhere you look?  One on hand, it’s an easy way to update the look of a room.  On the other hand, it’s so…permanent.  I’ve been doing a few things to my tiny living area, like switching out the dining chairs and the light fixtures.  Next on my plan was wallpaper, but now I feel so wishy-washy about it.

I’m weary of graphics that will overwhelm my tiny space.  I’m feeling like subtle is the way to go…

And I want it to feel elegant without being too flowery or stuffy.  This Farrow and Ball is my current favorite at the moment.  I really need to take a trip downtown to look at samples.  What do you guys think…do you have wallpaper, do you you love it, do you feel like it’s just too permanent, do you not worry about these things???