a walk around the lake

over the weekend, ryan's parents came up to visit.  while they were here, we took a 3.5 mile walk on the trail that goes around lake scranton.  lake scranton is owned by the local water company, and supplies all of the water for the city of scranton.  boats are not allowed on the lake, so the water always looks so peaceful and still.  even though it was overcast for most of our walk, it was still so nice to look out and see the beautiful views of the lake along the trail.

hope everyone had a great weekend!

love, laurie

snapshots of life lately, according to my iphone pictures

. . . and ryan's iphone too.

{iphone pictures via the instagram app}

happy 91st birthday!

today is ryan's grandmother's 91st birthday!

over the weekend, our families got together to celebrate by going out to lunch.  after lunch, we all went back to ryan's parent's house for dessert and presents.  for this special occasion, ryan and i made a three layer marble cake with cannoli filling, covered in fluffy whipped cream.  we topped it off with a fun banner that we made too.

we are so very blessed to have ryan's grandmother in our lives because she is such an incredible woman, and we are grateful for the time that we are able to spend with her.

happy birthday, mom-mom!  

love, laurie and ryan

a little biking video

{music: here comes the sun by the beatles}

we made this video when we went biking over the weekend.
(it was my first attempt shooting video with my digital slr camera!)

. . .

happy wednesday!

love, laurie

grilled bbq chicken pizza

it's no secret that we love pizza at our house, but in the summer we never feel like standing in front of a hot oven.  so, grilling pizza is a great alternative to baking pizza.  it's super easy to grill pizza, and of course the topping options are endless.

we topped our pizza with bbq sauce, grilled bbq chicken, turkey bacon, onions, red peppers, green peppers, cheddar cheese, and mozzarella cheese.  the pizza was absolutely delicious, and it was the perfect dinner for a summer evening!

grilled bbq chicken pizza
prep time: 10-15 minutes
grilling time: 15-20 minutes
yields: 1 12-inch pizza (6-8 servings)

ingredients:
pizza dough (our go to pizza dough recipe can be found here)
3-4 chicken tenders, grilled and diced
4-5 pieces of cooked turkey bacon, diced
1/2 cup onion, diced
1/2 red pepper, sliced
1/2 green pepper, sliced
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
5-6 tablespoons bbq sauce
olive oil (for the grill grates)

directions:
preheat the grill to a medium heat.  on a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to a 12-inch circle.  lightly brush the grill grates with olive oil.  place the pizza dough on the grill grates, and cover the grill lid.  allow the pizza dough to grill for 4-5 minutes, or until the bottom has grill marks.  flip the pizza dough over.  spread the bbq sauce on the pizza, and top with chicken, bacon, onion, pepper, and cheese.  cover the grill lid and allow the pizza dough to grill for 10-12 minutes.  once the cheese is melted, remove the pizza from the grill, and allow the pizza to sit for 3-5 minutes before cutting.  

enjoy!

love, laurie

biking around our local state parks

our bikes sure have been getting a good deal of use lately.  on saturday, we spent most of our day biking around two local state parks in our area.  first we went to gouldsboro state park, then we went to tobyhanna state park.

we had such a good time finding new biking trails, spending time together, and enjoying the outdoors.  some sections of the trails were nice and easy, but most of the sections gave us a good workout.  in total we biked 15.8 miles!  all of the hard work was worth it though when we came across several amazing views and a few butterflies too!

{at one point we came across this sign.  uhhh, explosives . . . what?!}

. . .

hope everyone enjoyed their weekend!

love, laurie 

bits of happiness {summer edition}

here are . . . 

ten things currently making me happy: 

10. wearing sun dresses on hot summer days

9. cooling off in the pool after work

8. orange tiger lilies in bloom in our yard

7. brightly colored nail polish on my toes

6. spontaneous ice cream dates

5. spending time on our back porch 

4. long walks around our neighborhood in the evenings

3. sleeping with the windows open at night

2. riding our bikes all over the place

1. finding kitten hiding out in our swimming bag

. . . 

what is currently making you happy?

love, laurie

kelly's kitchen

our friend kelly recently had her kitchen remodeled.  so, a few days ago after work, in order to officially break in her new kitchen, ryan and i headed on over to kelly's house with homemade pita bread, several bags full of ingredients, and our food processor.

the three of us made homemade falafels with tzatziki sauce for dinner (our recipe can be found here) and to drink kelly made awesome tazo iced passion tea with fresh berries in it.  for dessert, we had angel food cake topped with fresh strawberries.

we were absolutely stuffed after eating so much, but we had such a good evening spent with such a good friend.  thanks kelly!  we love your new kitchen!

{homemade pita bread}

{falafel patties cooking on the stove}

{the master chef in his element}

{kelly's yummy iced tea}

{pretty flowers and iced tea in a mason jar}

{angel food cake with fresh strawberries}

{a very happy kelly}

{kelly's kitchen "pet" terrarium}

{kelly's other kitchen pet hoping for a few bites of tomato}

{working hard to keep the dishes nice and clean}