Today I wanted to share with you how I edit the photos that appear on Espresso and Cream. It goes without saying that it is much easier to take a good photo with favorable light rather than try to correct the photo later in Photoshop or another photo editing software. However, sometimes I find that my photos need a little help to appear as vibrant and tasty as they do in real life. I hesitate to share this with you, … Read More

Do you ever find yourself doubting your instincts? I’ll confess that I do more often that I’d like to admit. I’ll get a hair cut and think it looks great, but find myself seeking the affirmation of others before I truly feel good about it. Or I’ll say something opinionated, only to worry that perhaps I shouldn’t have been so outspoken. I’ve never been one to follow the mantra of “If it feels good, do it,” but I think that … Read More

Happy Wednesday, friends! We are settling into life in Minneapolis as best we can despite the fact that the weather is absolutely freezing. We’re talking -10°F, which of course makes me want to hibernate and eat cookies rather than run errands and exercise. I’ve been through winter in the Midwest for almost two decades, but it still never gets any easier during the months of January and February. I have no idea where I am going with all this other … Read More

Happy Monday, Friends! Thank you so much for your kind words about our big news! I’m planning on going through each of your comments and responding to each one today. I’m so excited that there are so many E&C readers in Minnesota. Maybe we all need to get together for brunch sometime? Joe and I just returned last night from a trip to Idaho where we spent a couple wonderful days with my family before starting new jobs in the … Read More

Our boxes are packed. Our cars are as full as they can be. And it’s finally time to make it blog official… We are moving to Minneapolis!!! Those of you who following me on Twitter or Instagram have most likely already heard about our big move (I’m not very good at keeping a secret for too long) but seeing as that we are moving to Minnesota today, I thought it high time to let the cat out of the bag … Read More

Over the past couple weeks I’ve been trying to get back on track with clean eating. Although I don’t feel like I indulged all that much during the holiday season, I found that with the craziness of the season I really slacked on my fruit and veggie consumption. Honest confession time: When things get busy, I frequently find myself eating oatmeal with peanut butter or almond butter for dinner instead of an actual meal. Sad but true. So, rather than … Read More

One of my absolute favorite things about blogging is the fact that I have developed so many friendships over the past couple years. Some of these friendships are just via e-mail, tweets and blog comments, but I’ve also had the opportunity to go on a lot of “blogger dates” with some of my favorite people online. Joe is notoriously skeptical, since he is of the (logical) frame of mind that you can become whoever you want to be on the … Read More

Over the last couple weeks, Joe and I have been watching a lot of football. Between the bowl games over the holiday season and the NFL Playoffs, we’ve spent more time on the couch than I care to admit. Seeing as that we are going to have to go eight months before football season gears up again in the fall, I have justified my lazy behavior as absolutely necessary. Most of the time we simply sit down and watch the … Read More

One of the things that Joe and I have appreciated most about living in small-town Iowa has been our church family. We decided to live where we do because it was central to where Joe would work (east of Grinnell) and where I would work (west of Grinnell). Since neither of us work in the community in which we live, I was initially worried about how we would make friends and build a sense of community. Fortunately, it didn’t take … Read More