chocolate chunk cookies

As I pulled out a cookbook from its shelf and turned the well worn pages, my eyes fell on a recipe for chocolate cookies. Ideas danced and swirled in my head like fireflies on a warm June night.

Out came the butter, sugar, eggs, and flour and I began the familiar rhythm of mixing, stirring, and combining ingredients together. Once I'd finished the dough, I strayed from the recipe listed on the page. A little of this, a sprinkle of that, a dash of something else until I was satisfied.

Sliding the baking stones into the oven, the timer was set and I waited none too patiently to discover the outcome. After forcing myself to allow the cookies to cool, I carefully broke off a piece. Instantly, pure bliss exploded in my mouth. Rich chocolate, subtle hints of espresso, and perfectly melted chocolate chunks combined together in a symphony of flavors. I ran quickly to scribble down my recipe on a scrap of paper, lest I forgot how to recreate the delectable cookie.

Y'all, these cookies are amazing. These will most definitely be made again. And again. And again.

chocolate chunk cookies
(adapted from this recipe)

– half a pound of butter (two sticks), room temperature
– one cup light brown sugar, packed
– one cup granulated sugar
– two teaspoons pure vanilla extract
– two eggs
– two cups unbleached flour
– one teaspoon baking soda
– a pinch of salt
– 2/3 cup cocoa powder
– one cup chocolate chunks (or chips)
– four to five tablespoons cold brewed coffee
– walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Cream the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the vanilla, then the eggs, one at a time, and mix well. Add the cocoa and mix again. Add the flour, baking soda, salt with the mixer on low speed until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks and walnuts.

Drop the dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (important!) a rounded tablespoon. Dampen your hands and flatten the dough slightly. Bake for exactly 15 minutes (the cookies will seem underdone). Remove from the oven and let cool slightly on the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

What dish are you currently swooning over?


-carlotta

PS I'm guest posting over here today! Feel free to take a look :)

awkward and awesome thursday.

awkward

– Tripping up the stairs. While people are watching you. Thank goodness for handrails.


– Looking at food blogs while ravenous. Pure torture.


– Finding the perfect pair of oxford pumps, the ones I've been searching for months, only to discover the sizes left were an eight and a half and a seven and a half. I wear a size eight. Why must I have the most common shoe size in the country? 

– Being an inch apart at eye level with a rattlesnake at the zoo, watching it in terrified awe (let's just say that I'm not exactly a snake lover). And then, two seconds after moving to another animal, hearing it strike your brother. Of course it was behind glass, but still...shudder.


– Rude anonymous commenters. Why do those people feel to need to put others down like that? It makes me so sad.


– Missing your mouth while eating, the food instead falling into your lap. Awkward.

awesome

– Dark chocolate. The darker, the better.


– Cookies that turn out perfectly. There's nothing more aggravating than a failed batch.

{via}

– These knitted monsters. I die. And I now know what my next knitting project will be.


– Laying in bed, looking around at my bedroom, bathed in soft grey early morning light, thinking and praying.


– Finally getting around to redoing a wall of art in my room. 

left: before, right: after

center: my great grandmother with frank sinatra (she was a reporter in hollywood), top and bottom: prints by me.

– Watching Food Revolution. It's absolutely fantastic. Food is something that I've been paying a lot of attention to  – where things like fruits, vegetables, and meat come from to if/how the food is processed to unhealthy additives that may be in it. I most definitely recommend watching the show on Hulu!


– This quote: "Which of my photographs is my favorite? The one I'm going to take tomorrow." –Imogen Cunningham. Love.

– The strawberries and sage growing in our garden.  For the past month or so, all our salads have lettuce from the garden Homegrown food = delicious.


Any awkward or awesome moments for you this week? Do tell!

-carlotta

scenes from easter.

necklace: gift // dress: target // belt: thrifted // shoes: thrifted (keds)

Easter was a rather quiet, cozy affair this year.

Amid the crash of thunder and pitter-patter of rain on the church roof, we celebrated the resurrection of Christ with joyous acclamations and festive hymns of praise. MeMe, along with five others, proudly received her first communion and new frocks were put on for the occasion. Mirthful shrieks filled the air during the Easter egg hunt and the brightly colored plastic shells where quickly discarded in favor of the candy that laid within.

We curled up for naps in the afternoon, lulled by the grey skies still gushing water. Then? The perfect day was ended by friends over for dinner.

And now it's Monday, and it's back to real life. The ethereal week has come to a bittersweet close, leaving me only to reminisce.

Yes, Easter and the spring break that came along with it was beautiful. 

How was your Easter?

-carlotta

easter.

"How deep the Father's love for us,

how vast beyond all measure!

That He should give His only Son,

to make a wretch His treasure."

Easter. The two syllables paint pictures of pastel color, delicious food, and perfect weather, and when those things are put all together, it equals one of my favorite holidays.

It's of laughter and celebration, time with loved ones and tables laden with sweet treats. It's newborn rabbits, fawns, and newly hatched chicks. It's spring cleaning, working in a frenzy to arrange and rearrange until it's just right.

{linking up}

It's dye-stained fingers and the promise of jewel-toned candy. It's scrubbing skin until it glows pink and donning new dresses picked out especially for the day.

But these things that Easter brings to mind are so incredibly materialistic. Easter has been coated with so much commercialism that chipping away the layers has become difficult. The true meaning has been obscured to the point of near discouragement.

Because Easter isn't about worldly frippery.

Instead, it's the utter selflessness of Christ and His extreme love for us, His creatures.
It's Jesus standing before Pontius Pilate, innocent, with the knowledge He was going to be condemned to the cruelest death possible.
It's the lashings, the ridicule, the prickly crown of thorns pressed onto His head.
It's His bruised, battered, bloody body hanging on a cross, a cross that should have been for us.
It's His rising again from the dead on the third day after a triumphant defeat of Satan.
It's the story of our redemption from eternal damnation and the One who took our place.

(palm sunday service at our church)

That's the Easter that's been covered up, the Easter stripped free of earthly pleasures.

Happy Easter, y'all.

-carlotta

miscellaneous ramblings.

first off, the photo challenge finalists and winner.

My gosh, it's taken long enough, hasn't it? I apologize.

The finalists are Jaymi, Abbey, Lindsay, and Tara.

The winner is...

Abbey! Congratulations! Your photo drew me in from the very beginning. I love the soft focus and the water droplets in the background. It perfectly encompasses a rainy spring day.

when life gives you lemons, take photographs?

Lemons are a fruit I've always had a fondness for. Who can resist their sunny yellow color or sour, pucker-inducing juice? And when summer comes, a glass of chilled homemade lemonade is perfection. 


because eleanor says it best.

"A woman is like a teabag – you never know how strong she is until you put her in hot water." –Eleanor Roosevelt 
Yes. Just...yes.

i like thrifting.

Going thrifting is like looking for nuggets of gold. There's nothing like the rewarding feeling after searching through rack after rack until finding the perfect piece. Upon walking into a thrift store, I spied a "the lace jar", which was filled with beautiful old lace. Thirty five cents later, I left with a yard of lace. Do I know what I'm going to do with my newly acquired lace? Of course not. I'm just a lover of pretty things is all. 

noodles.

We had noodles for lunch today, the perfectly creamy, cheesy, tri-colored kind. They were delicious and made me nostalgic for the days of eating boxed macaroni and cheese at the kitchen table.

exactly why do they feel the need to?

Mothers of teenage daughters that dress just like them, that is. I don't mean to offend, but I could really do without seeing those moms in tight shirts matching their daughters' and skinny jeans.


a side fishtail braid tutorial.

(excuse my embarrassing faces, please...)

Due to popular request, here's a little how-to on the fishtail braid. 

Instructions (in case you couldn't decipher the photos ;))

Move all your hair to one side and separate into two parts (photos one and two). Take a small section from the back of the rear part and bring it over to the front part (photo three). Take a small section from the front part and bring it over to the rear section (photo four). Repeat (photos five, six, seven, and eight) until finished.

(The smaller sections you take from each part, the more defined your plait will be) It takes some practice to hold everything properly, but don't worry, you'll get it.

love.

{via}

Could I just take the whole series home with me, please? Swoon.

a request.

To close, I have a request. I've rather over-listened all my current songs and I need some new ones. Any suggestions? What music do you have on replay at the moment? 


Happy Thursday!


-carlotta

the lake.

Note: Somehow this got accidentally published last night before it was finished...sorry about that! This is the (new and improved) correct version.

The dreaded daily routine: begrudgingly getting out of bed. Eat a little breakfast. Classes. Homework. Lunch. More classes, and consequently, more homework. Taking a few photographs. Dinner. Squeeze a little blogging and email-answering in. Finishing up a few odds and ends. Bed. Repeat.

Routines easily become monotonous. No matter what tasks you have, it's almost inevitable to be bored with them after awhile. After months of completing the same things, day in and day out, it's only natural to want a break. By the time spring break rolled around this week, I was eager for a reprieve, a break from the daily routine.

So what did we do? We went of a day trip, of course. While folding, packing, and stuffing the car with things that are essential to a day away, everyone was anticipating the mini vacation. After a slightly rock start (let's just say that not eating enough breakfast + uncooperative hair + not being able to find the shirt = a rather cross me), we were off to the lake.

Following some frolicking on the beach, we found a picnic table that was deemed perfect by MeMe and Lilly. We admired the birds while eating, relishing that special taste of the food that can only be achieved by eating outdoors.

We explored, laughed, hiked (and I chastised myself over my poor shoe choice), and splashed. While the others were occupied at the playground, I slipped away to investigate the marina. We breathed in the fresh, wind-whipped air and marveled the beauty surrounding us. Discovering the perfect beach, rock skipping contests were held and I meandered through the cool water. Walking around the lake, we listened to the gentle lapping onto the shore and gazed at the rippling body of water dancing and glistening in the sunlight. 

After getting everything repacked and resituated in the car, we drove home complacently, our hearts full. Over dinner, MeMe, Lilly, and Jeremiah excitedly reiterated our adventures to my father and clamors of "I can't wait to go back" punctuated their detailed descriptions.

Yes, a break from routine is good. So quickly can we fall into our little worlds that we forget that there exists a life outside of our planners. There's spontaneity. Adventure. Freedom. And coming back refreshed and rejuvenated? Oh yes, that's good too.

Where is your favorite place to go when you need some time away?

-carlotta

black and white.

currently listening to skinny love // bon iver 

Black and white photographs arouse emotions like no other. When I peer at old images, looking into intimate details of past life, I feel such a strong bond to the subjects staring back at the camera. Everything seems so clear. There are no shades of color to decipher, only raw emotion and special moments captured.

Today was black and white. There were no mixed feelings, just plain happiness. And relief. I had a piano competition this morning. We were running late that morning (or rather, I forgot exactly what time I was supposed to play, ahem) and my nervous, panicked emotions went into overdrive. Upon entering the room to play my first song, my heart was pounding at an alarming rate and my legs were shaking so badly I could hardly control the pedal. After finally making it through the piece, I walked out on shaky legs. My second song was a bit stronger, but in the end, I was just elated I'd completed all that needed to be completed.

For the better part of the afternoon, I laid out on a blanket in the lush grass, engrossed in a book. A few hours later, my piano teacher called. She informed me that I was the overall winner for both of my divisions on the competition. "No way," I told her on the phone. Me? An overall winner? For both pieces? It seemed almost too good too be true. But it was. Oh, it was.

The rest of the day was spent in a blissful black and white euphoria. My room (which was recently featured on PBteen...hello, amazing!) received a freshing up, my nose was again burrowed into my book, I admired happy coral colored toes, I was judge for my sibling's disagreements in their game of "town" and I was elated.

Today was a good, very good day.

How was yours?

-carlotta

april showers bring may flowers.

She awoke with a start, listening to the rustling of the wind outside her window, the steady drum of rain on the roof, the rumble of distant thunder. Although she could not see them, she knew that the ominous black clouds were moving closer. Smiling, she leaned back, for she loved storms such as these. Turned onto her side, she was content to just listen to the steady rhythm of the raindrops. Her bedroom was bathed in bright flashes of light, and the roil of thunder soon grew louder. Nestled deep into her sheets, her eyelids began to droop complacently until she fell back into slumber. 

the rain, carlotta cisternas

From the time I was a toddler, thunderstorms have been one of my favorite things. They were a frequent occurrence in south east Texas. When the humidity clung like a wet cloth, when it pressed down until it was nearly unbearable, the skies opened up and freshened up the earth. With the lightening flashing, the thunder rolling, and the rain steadily drumming, I've always found thunderstorms so very cozy.

Unfortunately, living in the plains of Oklahoma translates into having very little of my beloved storms. Instead, the air is dry and the wind is ever blowing.

Upon watching the clouds steadily darken and hearing the distant rumbling of thunder, I knew that it would be the perfect way to herald in a perfect spring break. Curled up in a cushy chair at the library, magazine in hand, I waited in eager anticipation for the rain to arrive. After discovering that we were under a tornado warning – another favorite, as long as we're not in direct danger – we picked MeMe up from ballet. 

The rain began falling, a slow, methodical drizzle at first, which gradually increased in intensity until it came down in sheets. Not long afterwards, the tornado sirens began to wail. Snatching my camera and a book, we all headed down to the basement. With Lilly, who was frightened half to death, nestled next to me, we read books and listened to the cacophony of thunder, lightning, and the frenzied beat of fat raindrops. 

Soon the storm lulled. Armed only with my camera while a soft drizzle was still falling, I entered the magical, vibrant, dripping wet world. The water droplets sparkled and shimmered like prisms in the sunlight. It seemed that everything was greener, the colors more saturated, after sucking up the much needed water. 




Between spinning around in the wet grass with my arms wide open, the gentle mist on my face, I photographed and photographed some more. I was in heaven.

These April showers? I'll keep them, please.

Do you like thunderstorms?

-carlotta

confessions.

confession: I've been craving homemade doughnuts recently. That can't be healthy, can it?

confession: I'm currently studying the book of Revelation and I'm utterly fascinated. It's a book that I've always been a bit frightened of, but once you understand how to interpret it, it's a whole other story.

confession: until today, I've never been able to capture a butterfly with my camera. But now, I finally, finally have.

confession: procrastination is an ongoing battle. Even when all the tasks I need to complete are all neatly written out in my planner, I still leave things until the last minute. Sigh.

confession: when I find a hair style I love, I'll wear it every single day until I tire of it. Hence, the many sidebraid/fishtail braids and high buns. Actually, this is true with nearly everything, from music to clothing to colors...oh dear.

confession: flying is not exactly my favorite...but seeing this video makes me want to love it more. Stunning.

confession: speaking of flying, one of my biggest irrational fears is the plane I'm on crashing in the middle of the ocean, with me being the only survivor. Shudder. I breathe a sigh of relief every time we've safely flown across the ocean.

confession: I really don't like Lord of the Rings. Or Star Wars. Or Narnia. I know.

confession: dinner out on the patio makes me incredibly happy.

confession: I've been requested a lot recently to put up a tutorial on how I do my makeup. While I appreciate that y'all like how I do it, I struggle with how egocentric it would be. And makeup isn't the only thing...outfit posts are incredibly narcissistic. While I most certainly love fashion and creating outfits, by posting so many  outfit pictures, I'm just drawing attention to myself. Basically, I just don't feel comfortable doing a makeup tutorial and outfit posts will be far less. I hope you understand!

confession: she makes me laugh. The end.

Do you have any confessions?

-carlotta