snapshots from the weekend

we kicked off the weekend on friday night by going to a local high school's production of "mamma mia" and it was great.  on saturday, we got together for brunch with my parents at one of our favorite local restaurants.  then on sunday, our families got together to celebrate ryan's mom's birthday which is tomorrow.  we finished off the weekend on sunday night by curling up on the couch with leko to get some much-needed rest.

happy monday!
love, laurie

have a great weekend!

it's finally friday, and this week was a bit of a crazy one.  i'm very much looking forward to the weekend and actually having the next two days off with ryan!  sunday is st. patty's day.  we're not irish, but i think ryan has the "luck of the irish" in him because he has such a knack for finding four-leaf clovers.  i heard on the news this week that 1 in every 5,000 clovers has four leaves.  he has found several over the years, and i have kept most of the ones that he found (by pressing them between two pieces of wax paper and letting them dry out.)

love, laurie

pi(e) day!

today is pi day (3/14), or pie day!  if you're looking for some pie inspiration for today, here are some of our favorites: banoffee pie, classic apple pie, deep dish apple pie, strawberry pie, rhubarb macaroon pie, roasted strawberry mousse pie, pumpkin pie, lemon clementine pie, peaches and cream pie, and ice cream pie.  you can really get in the pie spirit and even watch a movie about pie or see the broadway musical too!

enjoy!

love, laurie

kitty watch

i'm on kitty watch while ryan's parents are away and these two cuties are so lovable!  they're always so happy to see me when i walk in the door (i'm sure it's because they know i'm about to feed them)!

love, laurie

pancake day!

today is national pancake day at ihop!  to celebrate, ihop will be giving away free pancakes all day.  if you're like us and you don't live near an ihop, you can celebrate at home with your own pancakes.  it's no secret that ryan and i are huge pancake fans.  here are some of our favorite pancake recipes . . .

pancakes:
- almond poppy seed pancakes
- apple cider doughnut pancakes
- apple cinnamon pancakes
- apple pancake rings
- banana bread pancakes
- banana pancakes
- buckwheat, banana, and oatmeal pancakes with dark chocolate
- carrot walnut pancakes
- chocolate pancakes
- cinnamon bun pancakes
- cinnamon swirl pancakes with coffee maple syrup
- coconut pancakes
- coffee pancakes
- cornmeal pancakes with rhubarb sauce
- cranberry brown butter pancakes
- greek yogurt pancakes
- honey and oat pancakes
- hot cross carrot cake pancakes
- key lime pie pancakes
- oatmeal yogurt chocolate chip pancakes
- old fashioned pancakes
- orange chocolate chip pancakes
- peach cornmeal pancakes
- peanut butter pancakes
- poppy seed pancakes
- pumpkin spice pancakes
- raspberry oat pancakes with toasted hazelnuts
- sweet summer corn pancakes
- whole grain buckwheat pancakes
- zucchini bread pancakes

dutch babies / puffed pancakes:
- dutch baby with fresh berries
- german apple puffed pancake
- gingerbread puffed pancake
- nectarine dutch baby
- spiced apple puffed skillet pancake

crepes:
- lemon poppy seed crepes with lemon blueberry cream cheese filling
- strawberry crepes

you can even make your own chocolate chip pancake mix to keep for yourself or to give as a give to a friend to celebrate national pancake day too!

happy pancake eating!

love, laurie

it's becoming a thing . . .

. . . that leko doesn't want to get out of bed in the morning and i don't blame him at all.  it's making it very hard to convince myself to get up to go to work for a very early monday morning meeting when he's so cute and cuddly!

love, laurie

thanks, ryan!

i know it doesn't look like much, but ryan saved the day at the theater by building a little system to store all of the power cords for our microphone receivers off the floor.  thanks, ryan!

love, laurie

way to go!

this is a really horrible picture because of the angle it was taken at . . . but nonetheless, it signifies the successful completion of my friend's doctoral dissertation.  i served as a committee member for his dissertation and was proud to see him successfully defend his work last week.  way to go!

love, laurie

i want to stay in bed!

when you wake up, and it's cold outside, and you find this guy in bed with you . . . it's extremely hard to convince yourself that you have to get up and go to work.

i want a day to stay home in bed with this cute cuddler all day!

love, laurie

happy mardi gras!

happy mardi gras / happy fat tuesday / happy fasnacht day!  no matter what you call it, it's a great excuse to eat a doughnut today.

here are some of my favorite homemade doughnut recipes from over the years:
- baked mocha cake doughnuts with coffee cream cheese glaze
- baked strawberry cake doughnuts with strawberry glaze
- baked pumpkin doughnuts with brown butter and apple cider glaze topped with pecans
- baked apple cider doughnuts

i also like these doughnut-inspired recipes too:
- apple cider doughnut pancakes
- gingerbread doughnut muffins

love, laurie