After we made our and ate our yummy gumbo for our fun family photo shoot with Whitney, we made cookies!

These are my kids’ favorite sugar cookies! And we made them in the shape of our favorite state!

Arkansas sugar cookies with Razorback red icing! Yum!

I can remember when the kids were really little, I would let them sit up on the counter and dump the ingredients in a bowl for cookies.  Then as they got a little older, they got to measure the flour and sugar themselves.  Soon, they also learned how to break the eggs and mix the dough.

Now, for the most part, they can make a batch of cookies start to finish all by themselves. Baking together with my family is one of my most treasured memories from my own childhood, and I still love to be gathered with the women in my family for a big baking day for pies or treats around the holidays.

I have loved passing this tradition on to my kiddos, and I know that however big they get, they will still be lured back to the kitchen by the smell of something yummy baking in the oven.

Or by the chance to frost their own sugar cookie.

This icing is a powdered sugar glaze made with corn syrup that hardens really well so I use it for sugar cookies that have to travel.  The recipe is below, so you can make some treats with your family this weekend!  What was your favorite baked treat from childhood?

Arkansas Sugar Cookies with Powdered Sugar Glaze

Glaze:

Ingredients:

1 pound powdered sugar

4 tablespoons milk

2 tablespoons corn syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla

red food coloring (or whatever color you like)

Mix all ingredients together in the bowl of a stand or hand mixer.  Use immediately, as it begins to harden quickly. Spread with an offset spatula.

Makes enough to ice about 24 large cookies.

Enjoy!

The post Family Photos: In the Kitchen + Arkansas Sugar Cookies appeared first on Alison Chino.

I mentioned this week that I LOVE that when Whitney Loibner takes our pictures, she takes some of just us. (Taido and me) And some of just them. (The Kids)

True story: Before Whitney started taking our pictures, I never liked photos of myself.  I also had exactly ZERO framed pictures of Taido and me in our house.

Now I have them all over our room.  If you walked into our bedroom, you might feel like it is a shrine to our life as a couple.  It might even be a little weird.

But here’s the thing:

It is good for me.  When I get mad, walk upstairs and slam the door (hypothetically), and there’s a picture of us together or one of Taido looking at me like he kind of likes me, it is hard to stay mad.

Sometimes, on rainy days (in weather and in life), I might tell myself that we aren’t happy.  But these pictures remind me that deep down, we are.  Of course you can fake a picture, but still, I know the truth when I look at these.

I know that we have been in love for a long, long time.

And we have years to go yet.  Adventures to live and hardships to overcome. Together.

I also love my pictures of just the kids.

Though they fight like tiger cubs a lot of time, when I see these images, I think,

These guys can be a team when they want to be. 

One day, when they grow up and live apart, I hope that they will come back to hold each others’ hands and encourage one another.  I pray that they will cheer each other on in life.

I know they will be siblings for their whole lives, but I also hope that they will be forever friends.

Whitney Loibner is a local Little Rock photographer, who also LOVES to travel.  She specializes in shooting families, newborns, kids, couples, weddings and individual portraits.  I especially love her ideas for styled couple shoots.  See her most recent one here.  She also recently guest blogged at the Chino House on What to Wear for Your Family Photos.

The post Us + Them appeared first on Alison Chino.

This year we went to Argenta Market for our family photos.

Argenta is the Main Street District of our town and has been undergoing some revitalization for a number of years.  One of the most fun developments was the addition of this darling local market.

We pass this market every day on our way to and from school.  It is a favorite stop for a treat in the afternoons or for a lunch date in the cafe.  They carry tons of local Arkansas products, which makes it easy to support our local farms and businesses.

Also, it is super cutie!

Which made it so fun to do pictures there.

I love this case of drinks.  All the darling bottles.  My kids run straight for these sodas every time!

We used these soda bottle pictures in our Christmas cards.  I love how different they are!

Also, I love that Whitney always takes the time to get some pictures of just Taido and me.  Sometimes we forget that our family started with just us.

Argenta Market has a wonderful cafe in the back and they also do catering.  In December, Whitney and I got to attend a tasting of some of their menu items and since then I keep going back for their yummy sandwiches.  I loved hearing the chef talk about food, because I totally share his passion for cooking!  If you go, try the Croque Monsieur!

Here’s a shot of Simon scanning some Petit Jean Sausage for our Gumbo.  So cutie!

It was a little chaotic as we were all checking out, but I love that Whitney captured all this.  Our photo shoot lasted all evening as she watched us also cook dinner and eat together.

I love how these pictures capture an evening of this season of our life together.

You can also enjoy your lunch at these front windows while you watch the Main Street life in front of you.  From April to October, a farmer’s market happens just across the street and these stools are always full of locals drinking coffee who are enjoying the market on Saturday mornings.

I am so glad this little market is in our town and I am super thankful to Argenta Market for letting us invade and take our family photos in such a fun setting!

Every year we look for something new to do for family photos.

Where would you love to take family photos?  I would love to hear!

Whitney Loibner is a local Little Rock photographer.  She specializes in shooting families, newborns, kids, couples, weddings and individual portraits.  I especially love her ideas for styled couple shoots.  See her most recent one here.  She also recently guest blogged at the Chino House on What to Wear for Your Family Photos.

The post Family Photos in Argenta Market appeared first on Alison Chino.

This year we took our pictures in the fall in a very fun setting, a local market.

I am going to share lots of them next week, but today for a special edition of What I Wore Wednesday, I asked Whitney to talk a little bit about choosing clothes for your family pictures.

Whitney has great style and we always confer about clothes before we head out on a photo shoot.

8 Guidelines For What to Wear for Family Photos

Guest Post by Whitney Loibner

I am often asked for rules for what to wear when being photographed. I don’t like to think about these as rules, so I’m calling them guidelines. Or suggestions. Everyone has different opinions when it comes to clothes, so these are just my thoughts.

1. Talk to your photographer.

Together you should have an idea of the feel you are going for in your pictures. Are you looking for urban or country?  Do you want to be in your home or in a field?  Do you want your pictures to feel dressy or casual? Alison and I usually pick a location first.  However,  occasionally the vision for a shoot has all started with one outfit, something adorable MP has or a crazy beautiful vintage dress that Alison found.  In those cases, the location and everyone else’s clothing grows from that. Your location should, at least in a small way, play into what you are wearing. This year we were really doing a day in the life of the Chinos, so we went super relaxed to be at the market and in their home.

2. Be yourself.

Just like in life, what you wear should reflect who you are. Don’t wear something that you would never wear in real life. Maybe you are going for your Friday night or Sunday morning best self, but it’s still you.

3. Think head to toe.

Think about how your whole body will be photographed. Fix your hair and wear cute shoes.  Cute shoes go a long way in a picture.  Actually, any accessories do. Also, make sure that you can move. Chances are you will be asked to be in different positions, both sitting and standing.

4. Do what fits your family.

It’s not cheesy to think about what fits you and your family. Photographing in a market or at the fair or with a guitar might not fit every family, but if it fits yours, don’t be afraid to go with it.  Ask me if you can bring your picnic basket or your kids’ skateboards.  I love the challenge.

5. Match without being matchy.

In family photos, you should all go together, but don’t worry about matching. I think it is important to make sense together as a family and for the tones and patterns to complement one another, but you don’t have to be matchy.  One year for Alison’s family, Mary Polly had a cute pair of striped tights with lots of colors, so the boys all wore solid shirts that went with the colors in the tights.  This was super cute without everyone having to wear the exact same shirt.

6. Avoid stark white or all black.

This is not a hard and fast rule, and weddings are exceptions, but generally it is best to try to have a little color.  Choose your favorite color or one that goes with your eyes and skin tone.  Also along these same lines, text on clothing can be hard to work with.  You can see we had some of that in these photos, but it is kept to a minimum.

7. Try your clothes on before the day of the shoot.

At the very least, lay out all the clothes together to be sure you like the way everything goes.  I am always open to questions and texts of pictures with clothes from clients asking for opinions.  Getting everything out together helps you have a vision, but also it shows you if something is missing.  It became very apparent that one Chino was going to have to borrow or buy new shoes for the shoot once we got all everything put together.  Sometimes an item like that will be overlooked if you don’t pull everything together ahead of time.

8. Have fun!

As a mom I know how stressful it can be to get everyone together and keep them unwrinkled or stain free.  Take a deep breathe and try to enjoy it.  Even if you have everything perfectly planned, people in your family might not cooperate.  On the day of these pictures, Alison’s oldest son, Cole, was very late to the shoot (it might have slipped his mind) and everyone was so frustrated by the time he arrived that it could have ruined the whole evening.  I went ahead and shot some individuals of the younger three kids while Taido and Alison tracked him down, took deep breaths and decided to laugh about it.

You just have to relax and remember that you’re trying to capture a season in the life of your family.  So you forget the big fight you had about which headband your daughter wants to wear.  I recommend having a glass of wine or a little snack before a photo shoot. And of course, I love to try new things that make the whole experience more fun for everyone involved.

Whitney Loibner is a local Little Rock photographer.  She specializes in shooting families, newborns, kids, couples, weddings and individual portraits.  I especially love her ideas for styled couple shoots.  See her most recent one here.  Thanks so much Whitney for your advice on choosing clothes!  And for our family pictures, which I always treasure!

We’re linking up with Lindsey at The Pleated Poppy for WIWW.

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