TheOneCubed

1st Annual Christmas Card

Jason — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 03:12:18 +0000

With this being our first Christmas as a married couple, LaBranda and I are even more excited that ever to send out our first Christmas card! We did a lot of searching from various sites but ultimately have decided on a Christmas card from Shutterfly. There are two reasons for this decision.

First, they simply had some of the best looking cards out there.

Good designs with options for photos that made it super easy to use. Secondly, I’ve had great success with Shutterfly products in the past. Several Christmases ago I ordered a photo book for my grandmother. In the process of ordering, I mistyped the zipcode so UPS was trying to deliver the book in Raleigh but I needed it to go to my parents’ house in Denver, NC. I realized it in enough time and the folks at Shutterfly actually reprinted the book and sent me another copy, delivered to the correct address, just in time for Christmas!

If you are in the market for Christmas photo cards, non-photo christmas cards, or other holiday cards, you should take a look at some of the various options Shutterfly has.

Rebel Freshman

Jason — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 20:06:56 +0000

The past few weeks I’ve been extremely busy working on the web presence for a new ministry of Providence College Ministry called Rebel Freshman. The purpose of the study is to show students that spending hours partying, having self-centered religion, and rebelling against your parents isn’t exactly rebellion but rather conformity to what the world says you should be doing. The study goes on to show that to follow Christ is true rebellion and that by losing our life, we actually gain new life.

It was a great privilege and opportunity to work with the folks at my church to make this site a reality. They have some creative guys making the videos and several of the graphic elements – I’m gad I could just bring it all together for them. Go check out rebelfreshman.com and I’ve included one of my favorite videos from the project below.

My 28th Birthday

Jason — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 21:24:33 +0000

I turned 28 back in July and LaBranda had a few friends over a few days later to celebrate my birthday. We had some good desserts and played some fun games. I’m very thankful for my friends who really are more like family than just “friends”.

Phil & Sybil Get Engaged!

Jason — Wed, 26 May 2010 18:17:56 +0000

A couple of Saturdays ago, LaBranda and I, along with another friend Julie, helped Phil pull off an awesome proposal to his now fiancée Sybil. Julie and LaBranda setup the picknick tables with tons of candles, had a bowl of ice and diet coke, and a cooler with ice cream from Coldstone – Sybil’s favorite. Phil’s task for me – hide in the bushes and take photos of the whole event.

Once he texted to let us know he was getting close I hid in some bushes over in the corner of this nice little park area to take covert photos. I kept ducking and trying to avoid being seen.

In the photo above you should note the classic “cover the face” pose of Sybil. This was a sign she was totally excited!

Yeah she’s totally checking out her diamond!

Now she’s asking who helped him pull all of this off?

This is definitely the “Holy Crap We’re Getting Married!” face.

Congratulations Phil & Sybil! We’re so excited for you guys!

Branson’s 1st Birthday

Jason — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 15:07:50 +0000

A couple of weekends ago we celebrated my nephew Branson’s 1st birthday. Here are a few of my favorite photos. Enjoy!

Cherry Lemon Heaven

Jason — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 03:22:18 +0000

Cherry Lemon Sundrop + Frozen Cherry Lemon Sundrop Ice + NC State Glass == Absolutely AMAZING!!!!

Kitchen Loot

Jason — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:24:23 +0000

LaBranda and I have been holding on to some gift cards and money that were gifts from our wedding. With $100 to spend at Williams-Sonoma, we decided to hit up the store and at a minimum purchase a Cuisinart 16 cup Food Processor. When we arrived at the store, we found out that Williams-Sonoma had increased their professional discount that they extend to chef’s to 20% off. We ended up buying more than the food processor (as you can see below). You know you have spent a lot of money in the store when they give you a giant reusable bag to carry your purchases. We haven’t used the food processor yet, but we did use our new All-Clad Copper Core 3-qt Saute & Simmer Pan last night. You know it is an amazing pan when you can cook on low heat and keep the contents amazingly hot!

Pasta Primavera

Jason — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 19:15:47 +0000

[donotprint]LaBranda and I made Pasta Primavera last night that was inspired by a recipe from Simply Recipes as well as one from the Food Network. We kind of combined the two, made our own touches and here is what we came up with.[/donotprint]

Pasta Primavera

Ingredients

3 carrots, cut into 2″ x 1/2″ strips
2 zucchini, cut into 1/4″ discs
1 yellow squash, cut into 1/4″ discs
1 yellow pepper, cut into thin strips
1 yellow onion, cut into thin strips
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1.5 tablespoons olive oil
1 – 15 oz. can tomato sauce
1 pound Campanelle
3 teaspoons Italian seasoning
Salt and fresh ground pepper
Parmesan Cheese, optional

Instructions

Bring a large pot of water, 1 tsp. of Italian seasoning, and 2 tbs. of salt to a boil (for your pasta).
Heat oil in a large skillet on medium high heat. Lightly saute the garlic then add the vegetables, remaining 2 tsp. of Italian seasoning, 1 tsp. salt, and 2 tsp. pepper to skillet. Cook for 10 – 15 minutes or until vegetables are slightly tender.
While cooking the vegetables, add the dry pasta to the boiling water and follow the cooking instructions for the pasta. You want to time it so that the pasta is done soon after the vegetables.
Add the tomato sauce to the vegetables and bring to a simmer. Add the cherry tomatoes and simmer for another 3 minutes.
Once the pasta is ready – cooked but still firm, or al denté – drain the pasta and put directly into the skillet with the vegetables. Toss everything together and adjust seasoning to taste.

Quick Notes

You can use any shape or style of pasta that you like. We wanted to try the Campanelle and we ended up liking it quite nicely. Other recommendations would be Farfalle or Penne.

Top with Parmesan cheese, if you like.

Number of servings (yield): 6

Culinary tradition: Italian

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Kitchen Upgrades

Jason — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 20:59:00 +0000

Much of mine and LaBranda’s gift registry consisted of things for guest bedroom, bathrooms, artwork, but predominately things for the kitchen. With LaBranda being a chef and I very much falling into the foodie category, it only stands to reason that we take great pride in our kitchen and the utensils in which we use.

One problem we’ve had is that we were quickly running out of cabinet space. To help with that we purchased a pot rack and with my dad’s help last weekend (thanks Dad!) we got it installed and freed up most of one of our larger cabinets. Hopefully this will give us the room we need!

Raleigh Auto Expo and Photo Fun

Jason — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 23:56:51 +0000

A few of my friends recently purchased new DSLR cameras and were looking for some help in learning their equipment. While I don’t consider myself a photography expert another photographer friend and I decided we should arrange a group photo shoot day to just go and photograph something and have fun. There was a big auto expo in Raleigh Valentine’s Day weekend so we thought it’d make a good Saturday morning excursion. I think everyone had a lot of fun and we got to see some really cool cars!