A Monday List pt. 3

1. Is everyone else so ready for Fall? Not just for the temperatures but for Saturdays at home watching football, eating tons of yummy food and for pumpkin decor. I'm not as excited for Fall this year since all the cute Fall outfits I want to wear are just a wee bit too small right now. Sarcasm on the "wee".

2. I really love this platter from Etsy! What a cute gift for someone...or yourself!

via

3. Another pro for Fall? You can make tons of sweets and claim them as "football food". These Salted Nut Bars will definitely be pawned off as football food but really I just want to eat them.

4. Good news- Charlotte (the sweet thing making me eat ice cream, have back pain and buy every cute pink outfit I can) was breeched and at the doctor's appointment last week, I found out she had flipped! I guess a few times of lying upside down on a propped up ironing board with hot and cold presses on my stomach did the trick. Oh home remedies.

5. Colorado earned about 50 brownie points last week when I was in Oklahoma and the temperature was around 118 daily. Plus humidity. I had never been happier to NOT live there. And that says a lot because I love Oklahoma.

Thanks for reading the randomness!

Laura

Broiled Peaches

A huge pro of Colorado is that it is home to Palisade which grows some of the most delicious peaches I've ever had! They are at all the farmer's markets and grocery stores this time of year and for the cheap price, you can't afford to load up and eat juicy peaches to your hearts content!

This is our favorite way to eat them at the Ellison household.

Warm, juicy and topped with Greek yogurt and balsamic vinegar.

Broiled Peaches

Yield: 2 servings

Prep Time: 5 min. Total Time: 10 min.

Ingredients:

One peach, sliced in half (this recipe can easily be doubled, tripled, etc!)

Granulated Sugar

Greek Yogurt

Balsamic Vinegar

Directions:

-Turn the oven on to broil on high. Line a cookie sheet with foil and lay halved peaches skin side down (so the inside of the peach is up) and sprinkle generously with sugar.

-Place under the broiler for 3-5 minutes or until sugar is bubbling and light brown. Watch closely as they can burn quickly!

-Remove from oven and top each peach half with a spoonful of Greek yogurt and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

To kick it up a notch, I use Vanilla Balsamic Vinegar from my favorite local store, the EVOO Marketplace. But even mixing in a little bit of vanilla extract with your balsamic would be delicious!

Enjoy!

Laura



EVOO Marketplace

One of my favorite stores in Denver is the EVOO Marketplace. I took my parents and grandparents there last weekend and was reminded again how amazing this place is!



It's a local company that infuses their own oils and vinegars into amazing, unique flavors and then blends different ones together to make you want about 15 bottles to mix up.

It's perfect for salad dressings, marinades, sauces, dipping oils, etc. and the bottles are ideal for unique gifts! Especially for any moms that love to cook! I know my mom is hooked! And my grandma now, too.

My mom loves to mix the Lemon and Blueberry for a summery salad dressing.

We poured the Vanilla Balsamic over broiled peaches with Greek yogurt for a healthy, warm weather dessert.

We macerated peaches and blackberries overnight with a little sugar and the Vanilla Balsamic for an out of this world french toast topping.

They email recipes out weekly using their different products and we've never had a bad one!

images via

With flavors like Serrano Honey, Herbs De Provence, Roasted Almond, Red Apple, Blackberry-Ginger, Champagne, and Dark Chocolate, you really can't go wrong.

Check out their online store here for all the flavors and to place an order to enjoy at home!

If you're local, they have locations off of Larimer Square, Downtown Littleton and are at the Cherry Creek Farmer's Market on Saturdays.

I'm making myself hungry...
Laura

Friday Funny

Surely y'all have seen this but just in case you haven't, it is my duty to introduce you to Neature Walk. Hilarity and so quotable. The perfect combination!

Happy Friday!
Laura

{Belated} Mother's Day

I realized that Mother's Day came and went and I didn't even brag about recognize my own mom! Well, I did when I saw her...just not on the blog.

My mom (hi, mom!) is creative, helpful and reliable.

She works hard at everything she does and is dedicated to people and the activities she helps! She spends the majority of her week leading Bible Study Fellowship, organizing the groups and making sure it all runs smoothly. Add in taking care of the house, cooking wonderful meals for my dad and she also squeezes in time for yoga and manicures to take care of herself, too.

She has taught me many valuable skills and lessons but the most prevalent in my life right now is how to be a loyal and supportive wife and the importance of caring for others while still taking care, and not forgetting about, myself.



Every time we have moved (and every time my brother has moved, as well), my mom doesn't think twice about coming to wherever we are living, packing us up, moving us, painting, decorating, cleaning and being supportive about the situation, even if we are moving from Dallas (a 4 hour trip from home) to Denver (a 10 hour drive).

Happy {blog-belated} Mother's Day to my mom and best friend!



Better late than never,
Laura

Closing Day

Today is the day!

We close on our first house today!



I have an amused/confused relationship with that freestanding light in the front yard...

It's hard to not be consumed by paint colors, carpet samples, furniture ideas and planting flowers but we are trying to take it one step at a time so we are able to enjoy this process!

Any words of wisdom, favorite furniture stores or paint colors to share? I will take all the free advice I can get! It's the only thing that is free in this process...

Off to sign my life away!
Laura

PW Rosemary Rolls

Who doesn't love bread? Not me. Combine warm bread with butter, rosemary and salt? Even better.

The Pioneer Woman's Rosemary Rolls are a go-to, simple recipe for this household. It takes some advanced planning (really, you just have to pull the Rhode's White Dinner Rolls out of the freezer a few hours ahead of time) but it is so very worth it!

In Oklahoma and Texas, the rolls took about 3 hours to rise. In Colorado, with the altitude change, they take about 5 hours, so take that into consideration. Also, it is hard to just eat one and so you might want to plan a trip to the gym while they are rising to make yourself feel better about eating the whole pan one.

Here is a link to the original recipe: Buttered Rosemary Rolls. I promise you won't be disappointed!

I won't tell you how many I ate...

Laura

P.S. You know what goes great with warm bread? Warm soup. Check back tomorrow for that...

Now Playing

I have to share the new-to-me artist that I can't stop listening to! His name is Jadon Lavik and he has the most beautiful voice and renditions of old hymns and some new, original songs.

I have the album Roots Run Deep and, although I love every song, the version of Come Thou Fount is addicting. If you've driven by  me on my way to work the past few weeks and wondered what I was belting out, this is it.



Click here to listen to the album (and his other albums, as well) and you can buy them on iTunes!

Hope you enjoy!

Any other good music suggestions to keep me singing on my drive?

I may or may not be singing this right now,
Laura

Simple Math

My students were giving animal presentations and one boy, while presenting his facts about a tarantula, said, "Tarantulas have eight legs but sometimes they can lose their legs."

I was attempting to prompt him about how they can lose their legs but they grow back and I asked, "Well, what happens if they lose a leg?"

His immediate response, "Well, then they have seven legs!" :)

Maybe I should have been a little more specific in my questioning...

It's simple math Mrs. Ellison!

Gotta love it,
Laura

I really love my...{face lotion}

Another post in the I really love my... series!

I really love my Eltamd UV Clear lotion!

Just like my face wash, this was recommended to me by a dermatologist a few years ago and I haven't looked back! It is gentle enough on my sensitive skin yet is strong enough to keep away breakouts without drying out my skin. I use it once daily, in the mornings after washing my face. I also love that it has SPF 46 so I don't have to worry about putting on sunscreen throughout the day while I am out hiking, running and just being so Colorado-ish.

I order mine a few at a time through either Amazon.com or Derm Store.

Still keeping that skin smooth,

Laura

The Chimpantie Breed

After discussing Jane Goodall and chimpanzees in kindergarten this week, we did a journal entry about what we know about the topic. At the end of the writing time, we were sharing what we had written and one sweet friend says,

"Chimpanties make and use tools."

I wasn't sure if you all were aware of the rare breed of Chimpanzees called the Chimpantie!

Made me smile,
Laura

I really love my...{face wash}

Another post in the I really love my... series!

I really love my Skinceuticals Clarifying Cleanser!

This was recommended to me by a dermatologist about two years ago and I haven't looked back since. It's gentle enough on my sensitive skin yet the salicylic acid is powerful enough to keep away breakouts! I love the tiny micro beads that are great to keep my skin exfoliated especially in the dry, Colorado winter.

I use it once a day with my Clarisonic and it lasts quite a while! Although it was recommended by a dermatologist, I order mine online, either from Amazon.com or Dermstore.

Keeping that skin smooth,

Laura

Cookie Dough Dip

The taste of raw cookie dough without the fear factor of uncooked eggs? Genius. 

I saw this idea for Cookie Dough Dip floating around Pinterest and, after drooling over the different recipes, took a little from each to create this version!

I've made it twice now and it has been a HIT! Not to mention, how much my co-workers love the leftovers the next day!

Cookie Dough Dip

Yield: A lot...not sure of the actual amount.

Prep Time: 5 min. Total Time: 5 min.



Ingredients:

8 oz. fat free cream cheese, softened

1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened

1 c. powdered sugar

2 tbsp. brown sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 c. mini chocolate chips (regular works, too!)

1. Cream together the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.

2. Add in the powdered sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract and stir to combine.

3. Stir in the chocolate chips.

This can be made and chilled for a few hours for easy party prep! I like it best with cinnamon graham crackers and thinly sliced apples...or even just a large spoon would work!

We had already started digging into it when I took this picture- it's irresistible!

Enjoy!

Laura

Canvas and Cocktails

My mom was in town a few weeks ago (hi, mom!) and we went took our second trip to Canvas and Cocktails. Canvas and Cocktails is a fun, creative, painting class...that includes wine, which makes you think your painting is incredible! They play upbeat music and the instructors are so happy and lively! You can check out the calendar to choose which painting you want to make and sign up online.

I love seeing how different every one's paintings turn out, even with the same instructions! I love seeing how creative people are and how they adapt things to fit in their homes and with their decor.

It is such a fun idea for mother/daughter, friend, bachelorettes and birthday nights out!

First, you start with a blank canvas...

And step by step...

Add more sections to your painting!

The instructors are very hands-on, they show you in simple detail how to create your painting and walk around to help.

Ta-Da!



This was my third outing to Canvas and Cocktails and I highly recommend it if you are in the Denver area!

Just your resident Van Gogh,

Laura

An Excellent Brain

I couldn't help but smile when I was going over my student's homework and I saw this...

(the parents write down how their child got the answer)

"He had 8 hamburgers and three buns and I know he needs 5 more because I have an excellent brain."

I love that the dad added "He really said that."

He's adorable,
Laura



100's Day Can Drive

100's day is one of my favorite things that we celebrate in Kindergarten! Besides dressing up like we are 100 years old (hysterical!), we also hold a can drive to try and collect 100 cans for the 100 days!

We ended up collecting over 250 cans and when I delivered it to the Food Bank of the Rockies, it weighed in at 327 pounds!

I love this project because it is a simple, inexpensive project for the families and a fun activity for the kids to watch the can pile grow larger and larger each day!

Love my job,

Laura



Happy Valentine's Day!

Wishing you a day filled with the ones you love...

{besties}

{family}

{the hubster}

I love love,

Laura

P.S. Interested in the history of Valentine's Day? Click here...

Strawberry Hot Springs

Steamboat Springs is easily one of my favorite, if not my absolute favorite, place in Colorado.

About twenty minutes outside of Steamboat is an amazing little wonderland, Strawberry Hot Springs.

We have been there in the summer and winter and both times the scenery was breathtaking, the atmosphere serene and the water was so relaxing!

I love how the snow and steam from the hot springs makes the trees look!

Check it out!

Everything is more fun when your best friend comes too,

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

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