Can't Win 'em All

OK, so every graphic designer (and any creative professional, really) goes through this:
Client presents project, designer creates idea, client makes changes until the product no longer is good design...but hey, the client is happy.

This recently happened to me. Nothing major, just a small example. The project was a wedding invitation. I collected all the details: wedding and reception held on a farm, reception in barn, bridesmaids in stone grey color, burlap accents, mason jar centerpieces with wildflowers. Oh, and the groom's father was a well-known surgeon in the area. My mind was putting it all together and I envisioned the invite. The bride was adamant about having the mason jar as the focal point of the invite and provided a sample from Etsy (http://www.etsy.com/listing/98942691/wedding-invitation-handmade-hand-stamped) that she kinda liked, except for the floral paper. It was plain, nothing classy about it, etc. I thought I could incorporate a jar but make it look classy as well. A perfect union. I presented this:

My first attempt

Perfect, right? Mason jar, wildflowers, burlap, and grey!
The response? The mother of the bride (who was my contact for this project primarily) says: I love it, but my daughter wants something more like the sample she provided.

So, I go back to the drawing board and come up with a stripped down version, yet with the country feel I thought the bride would appreciate. Something like this:

Nope. "More like the sample." At this point, I'm thinking: why didn't the bride just order from the Etsy artist and just specify what she didn't like about it?

So what was the final invitation design? THIS.

Yep. Just screams wedding, doesn't it? Plain and simple. Apparently they are printing it on a cream paper and attaching it to paper bag-like paper then tying a ribbon of raffia around it. Wonderful. So glad I could, um, help. To each their own! Can't win 'em all.

So good I have to share

I'm calling your name.

Ok, so every now and then we run across a recipe that blows our hair back. I mean, it's so good we can't believe we've been living life without such deliciousness. Today, I'm actually going to share a recipe with you so that your life can get a little more tasty too.

Garlic bread. I know, not glamorous, but OMG it's good. It's more of a cheesy bread...enough said!

We found the recipe on blogchef.net and have been so happy we did!

Get a pen and paper and include this with one of your meals this week!

Ingredients:
1 loaf French bread (sliced in half lengthwise)*
1/2 cup butter
½ cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons garlic (minced)
¼ teaspoon oregano
¼ teaspoon basil
1/8 teaspoon seasoning salt
½ cup shredded Monterey jack cheese

*We get the really long loaves of French bread, so we cut the recipe in half for a typical meal for four.

Cooking Instructions**:
Step 1: Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl beat butter and mayonnaise until smooth. Beat in parmesan cheese, garlic, oregano, basil and seasoning salt. Stir in Monterey Jack cheese.
Step 2: Spread the mixture over the cut slices of bread. Place on a baking sheet.
Step 3: Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese has melted.
(Makes 10 Servings)

**Here again, we modified it a bit. We use the broil feature on our oven for our bread. We put the bread in plain and broil just for a minute to toast the top. Then we spread on the mixture. Broil again until cheese is bubbly. Enjoy!