Give It Away, Give It Away, Give It Away Now

Stuff.
Everywhere.
Do you ever feel overwhelmed by all our "stuff"?

The hubster and I set up this "donation station" in our closet that has really made me feel organized about all that extra stuff!

We keep this box out in our closet and whenever we are getting ready and find some clothes that don't fit or we just don't wear anymore (side note: aren't we blessed to have clothes that we just don't wear anymore?!) we toss them in the box!

This goes for any place in the house- old books, movies, etc. - it all goes to the donation station. Once it is full, like it just was in this picture, I bag it up and take it to our local Goodwill!

It is so nice to purge through things slowly and as we are thinking about each item versus a giant, weekend long cleaning!

Try it out and let me know how it goes!

Organization Lover,
Laura

I really love my...{mini colander}

This is the second post in the "I really love my..." series! The first post in this series was last week- my Clarisonic!

I really love my mini colander. My mom got me the 1 1/2 qt. size from Williams-Sonoma for Christmas and I don't know how I survived in the kitchen without it!

It is perfect for berries, rinsing small pasta shells and beans and numerous other odd jobs in the kitchen! I had no idea I would use it as much as I already have. It is currently holding blueberries in the fridge! I have found that my berries are lasting much longer when they are able to have some air circulation (versus being in the plastic container they came in) and it is so simple to grab a handful of fresh fruit for a snack! 

Laura + Mini Colander = True Luv 4ever

Williams-Sonoma Addict,

Laura

Wise Words

I love this.

via

Keep Telling Myself I'm a Genius,

Laura

Cowgirl

A teaching funny...

My sweet friend came up to me this week and whispers, "Were you a cowgirl in Texas?" And I smiled and said, "Oh, yes" (I couldn't help myself!) and he whispers, "That's what I thought!" and walks away.

And I immediately grabbed a post-it note and wrote that down.

Happy Friday!

Your resident cowgirl,
Laura

Antique-ing

I heart antique shopping. I love the treasure hunt aspect of the whole experience and prefer a house filled with other people's old stuff...doesn't sound as appealing when phrased that way, huh? But either way, it makes me happy.

The Brass Armadillo, in Denver, is one of the best antique stores I've seen. (Upon searching for their website, I learned they have multiple locations around the country! Check it out.) I enjoy perusing the store frequently for new additions that have come in and that's just what my friend and I did last week.

What is it about cake stands? I can't get enough. Love the square blue.

Maybe it's the teacher in me but I cannot wait when I finally have a space in my house for an old school desk. So many great ideas for this future piece.



Pinterest makes me want to buy all these boxes.

This is my favorite booth at the 'dillo (as I lovingly call it). The colors are amazing and when done well, vintage kitchen pieces can look great in a home.

The booth above is also full of pie birds- which I always talk about collecting. So unique and can be hard to find! Love the colors in this little beaut. 

Oh, hello again lovers. This was the low point of my day. When these adorable heels did not fit. $24 and I am obsessed. I wear a 6 1/2 so if you have smaller feet than that, fly to Denver and go buy these shoes. Please.

Are people still collecting salt and pepper shakers? And if so, surely their collection is not complete without this little salty dog. There are so many hilarious things about this pup. Can't even start.



A great way to spend an afternoon! Ironically enough, I only ended up purchasing a $10 pink ski onesie straight from the 80's. I'd say that made it a successful trip!

I'm Salt,

Laura

The Perfect Salsa

Do you know of anyone that doesn't like salsa? If so, I don't know if we could be friends.

My hubster is a huge fan of salsa and we go through so much of it that, a few years ago, I decided to try to find a recipe that we both liked that we could keep around as something fresh and healthy as a go-to snack! Now, we always have a batch of fresh, homemade salsa in the fridge (such a domestic goddess, I know).

This is a recipe from a fellow Oklahoman, The Pioneer Woman. Her blog is a plethora of gorgeous photos, yummy recipes and hilarious dialogue. Her Restaurant Style Salsa is a crowd favorite, makes a huge batch, has the perfect flavors and right amount of spice! We love it!

Check out her website for complete instructions but here is a brief overview...

Gather your ingredients....then remind me to add sugar to my grocery list.

 One can whole tomatoes, two cans Ro-Tel, 1/2 chopped onion, 1 diced jalapeno, lime juice, 1 minced garlic clove, a lot of cilantro and 1/4 tsp. each of sugar, salt and cumin.

To easily mince my cilantro, I rely on my OXO herb mincer. This tool is priceless! It minces herbs so quickly and efficiently and the best part? It's dishwasher safe. Score.

Throw all the ingredients into the blender (or food processor if you have one large enough) and chop/mix for about 15 seconds! The first time I made this, I used my 10 cup food processor. There was WAY too much liquid and within seconds, our counters and floor were covered in tomato juice and cilantro. Our blender is the perfect fit for this and, as you can see, this makes a large amount of salsa- for only a few dollars!



Serve with chips, guacamole and a Corona!

Here is a link to the recipe details on PW's site:

Restaurant Style Salsa

Enjoy!

Denver Needs A Good Mexican Restaurant,

Laura

Just Not The Same Guy Anymore

A teaching funny...

We were making a chart about Teeth and what we already know about them, what we want to know about them and then after our unit we fill in a third column about what we learned (a KWL chart in teacher lingo!). We were on the "W" column and my smart, little friend who had just lost a tooth that morning said, "How come when you lose a tooth, you just don't feel like the same guy anymore?"

I never realized losing a tooth could warrant such a dramatic change in one's life! Hope this made ya smile today!

I love my job,
Laura

I really love my...{clarisonic}

This is the first post in a new series here on the blog called "I really love my..."

I absolutely love any new beauty/kitchen/home/style products and tend to buy new items based on people's recommendations. This series will feature products that I love that I want to share with you!

I love my Clarisonic Classic Sonic Skin Cleansing System (whew, that's a mouthful). I have had my Clarisonic for about 3 years now and it has made such a difference in my skin. I have very sensitive skin and can easily get breakouts. The Clarisonic keeps my skin feeling soft, smooth and keeps my breakouts to a minimum! It takes off more make-up than you even know you had on and is super easy to use and clean. It also comes with a body brush for troublesome breakouts on your back or chest.

According to the Clarisonic website...
"The Clarisonic Skin Cleansing System uses a patented sonic frequency of more than 300 movements per second to clean, soften and smooth skin. In just 60 seconds, the micro-massage action removes 6X more makeup and 2X more dirt and oil than cleansing with your hands alone. Removing more dirt and oil from your pores also helps products work more effectively."

Fancy!

I keep my Clarisonic in our medicine cabinet, on the charging dock and have the cord reach out through the cabinet and stay plugged in there. I grab it before I hop in the shower and use it in there with my normal face wash. I love that it is completely waterproof and is safe in the shower! A major plus. My mom keeps hers in her shower until the battery starts blinking and then charges it. She says the charge will hold up to a month!

To use, put face wash on your face and then press the large button in the middle. It spins for 20 seconds for you to scrub your forehead, then a beep, then 20 more seconds to scrub down your nose and chin area, another beep, 10 seconds for one cheek, another beep and 10 seconds for the other cheek. Then rinse and violá- one minute to smoother skin and smaller pores! Completely worth an extra minute in the shower!

There is also a smaller, more travel-friendly version called the Mia. It is a little more wallet-friendly in price and comes in fun colors like garnet red (my sister-in-law got this color for Christmas!), fuschia and turquoise. The Mia is comparable to the Classic system, except it does not come with a body body or the beep feature while spinning, which is all personal preference!

Overall, I really love my Clarisonic and HIGHLY recommend it to you!

Loving my smooth skin,
Laura

They say it's your birthday...

Today is such a special day for me. Happy 30th Birthday to my sweet hubster! (I'd also like to use this time to note that I am much younger than him. I am nowhere near turning 30. Just FYI...)

My other half.

The one that spurs on all our adventures. (And plans them, too, which I am so grateful for!)

How cute of a kiddo was he?!

I love him despite his love for OU.

Before we were dating and I only swooned for him from a far, this was (and still is) one of my favorite pictures of him with his sisters. So handsome.

Thank you for having a best friend that could fall in love with my best friend so we can hang out with our best friends at the same time.

Thank you for loving me and making me laugh.

 Thank you for being a Godly example in our marriage.

I love you!

Happy Birthday!

30 sounds old,

Laura

Ice Castles

We spend most of our weekends in the mountains- snow-shoeing, skiing and visiting ice castles, of course.

Silverthorne, Colorado has made an incomparable display of ice that I highly recommend checking out! The entire castle area is made completely of ice with no support underneath. There is an icicle "farm" there, as well, where the icicles are "grown" on nets and then taken into the castle at night to be joined to the existing structures.

We talked with one of the men after our visit that goes in at night to climb the structures and attach icicles vertically and then horizontally the next night. When we were there, the castles were about 30 feet tall and they will be open until March, when they hope they will be 50 feet tall!

At night, the ice is lit up and it really is a humbling and beautiful sight! The $10 admission price is a little steep for a short visit but a small price to pay for a unique experience!

On a side note, drinks are not allowed in the ice castle so, hypothetically, if you and your friends went out of the way to go to Starbucks and buy grande warm drinks to slowly sip while you perused the ice castles and then after paying your admission cost they told you that you couldn't take drinks in...you'd have to chug them and burn your tongue. Hypothetical, of course.

Check it out!

Still bitter about chugging my hot chocolate,
Laura

Pinning!

(said in a way reminiscent of Charlie Sheen's infamous "winning" comment...)

Hi, my name is Laura and I am addicted to Pinterest.

What is it about that site that makes it feel like I can accomplish absolutely anything in the kitchen, decorate my house to look like Pottery Barn, dress like a supermodel...and be as fit as one, too?!

Well, when I saw these while perusing Pinterest one day, I knew I had to make them. You see, my sweet parents gave us some beautiful, large, red pots for the porch and trees to go in them for our anniversary, which is in June. Well, come August and those gorgeous firs were dead. No beating around the bush (ha! pun actually not intended), completely brown, pine needles falling all over the porch, dead. These were not the first plants I had killed, mind you. I am still working on my green thumb, to say the least. So when I saw a tree that looked amazing and would NEVER die, I was sold! A forever tree, as we call them!

Here is what I did:
I took myself down to the Home Depot to buy 2 tomato cages which are only a couple of dollars each. Make sure to get the galvanized steel variety and to measure your pot first to make sure it is a good fit.

I then went to Michael's (any craft store would work...personally, I am a fan of the Hob Lob) and bought extra glue sticks for my glue gun, green wire (found in the floral department) and a lot of plain, unlit garland. I chose to go with unlit to make it look more realistic and so I had the option to add lights if I wanted. I like to be in control here. Just when you think you have bought enough 9 ft. strands of garland, add 10 more to your cart. This takes a LOT of garland. I ended up using 8 on one tree and 9 on the other...no idea how that worked out like that.

Now for the fun part. I did this on the porch because the garland tends to shed a little while you are working with it so it was a much easier clean up. Grab your hot glue gun and some good tunes because you will be there a while.

First, flip your tomato cage upside down and use the green wire to wrap the open part of the cage closed.

Next, take one end of your garland and hot glue it to the top, over the wire. Now you just start wrapping and gluing...and repeat 392 times. I found it was helpful to straighten my garland out, put hot glue on the steel frame and then push the garland on and hold for a few seconds while drying.

This is such a forgiving project. Because the garland has wire "branches" that come off of it, you can glue the entire strand of garland on and then fluff it out to look more realistic. Keep gluing the garland onto the steel frame and once you reach the end of the garland strand, there is a little hook that I reached up from the inside to hook around part of the frame and glue to the branch above. You do not need to go to the very bottom of the tomato cage- if you don't keep the cage in the pot while you are working on it, I recommend you mark where the top of the pot meets the cage to stop there.

Half way through:

This project does take about 2 hours per tree...so it is very time consuming but guess what- your tree will never die! And, to me, that is worth every minute.

(Pardon the garland wrappers...and the one strand of garland missing on the right...I was just so excited to view my handiwork!)

A recommendation would be to weigh it down from the inside because on windy days, I have found one of the trees in the neighbors yard! At Home Depot they sell screws that work in dirt or even hot glue the bottom rim of the cage to your pot.

And there you have it- forever trees!

Y'all come back,
Laura

Let's Start At The Very Beginning

Born and raised in Oklahoma, a brief stint in Texas and now I'm here. In the Rocky Mountains. Skiing, snow-shoeing, shoveling snow off my driveway (and counting it as a workout, obvi.) and wearing snow boots even when they don't match my outfit.

I moved from the land of "y'all", pop, teasing combs, drive-thru liquor stores and bright lipstick to the land of "you all" (don't you realize how much longer that takes to say?!), soda, chaco shoes and bruises from slipping on ice.

I am determined to single handedly bring big hair and a courtesy wave when changing lanes to Colorado.

Follow me (literally, you can follow me on the right here...) for yummy recipes, sweet desserts, funny kindergarten student comments and joyful experiences.
Here goes nothin'!

Y'all come back...
laura