st. thomas, u.s. virgin islands

the first port of call on our caribbean cruise was st. thomas in the u.s. virgin islands.  our cruise ship docked in st. thomas' historic capital city of charlotte amalie, which is one of the busiest and most developed ports in all of the west indies.

while we were docked in st. thomas, another cruise ship (the norwegian dawn) docked behind us in port.  it was neat to see another ship so close.  

when we got off our cruise ship, we explored the area and visited a botanical garden.  the flowers and plants were so pretty, and we even saw few little lizards in the gardens too!

after we walked around the botanical gardens, we took a tour of st. thomas.  we drove around the entire island, stoping at a few lookout points along the way to admire the amazing views of the island.  then we drove to magens bay, which is recognized by national geographic as one of the top ten most beautiful beaches in the world.  we spent some time swimming in the pristine turquoise water and we walked the entire length of the gorgeous mile-long white sand beach.  it was absolutely paradise!

we took a ridiculous number of photos while we were on our cruise.  it's so hard to pick which ones to share.  here are a few of the many, many photos that we took in st. thomas . . .

^the view from one of the lookout points of our ship (the carnival valor) 

and the other cruise ship (the norwegian dawn) docked in port^

^the amazing view of magens bay from above^

love, laurie

caribbean cruise

the past few months have been crazy busy.  we have been juggling so many different things at once, and we have been totally worn out and exhausted.  needless to say, we were in need of a good vacation.

so . . . last week we used our vacation days from work and we went on a caribbean cruise!

we flew down to san juan, puerto rico, and then set sail aboard the carnival valor cruise ship.  we cruised to st. thomas, barbados, st. lucia, st. kitts, and st. maarten.  all of the caribbean islands that we visited were so beautiful.

we just got back from our vacation late last night, and we had an absolutely amazing time!  the whole trip was so much fun.

of course, we took a ton of photos while we were on our cruise.  so, this week i will be sharing some of the many, many pictures that we took.  get ready!

love, laurie

happy mother's day!

happy mother's day to our wonderful mothers!

we love you both so very much!

fun links

the spring time is prime bird/squirrel watching season at our house.  leko just loves sitting on the back screen porch and intently watching what goes on in our yard.  he likes to know what is going on in his kingdom at all times.  :-)

happy friday!  here are a few fun links that i found around the internet recently:

my kind of smoothie!

this braided bun hairstyle looks awesome.  i can't wait to try it.

i need to remind myself of this.

this pencil drawing by a sixteen year old is mind blowing.

i absolutely love this print.  it's my life motto.

i'm super excited for this collaboration!

have a great weekend!

love, laurie

seven hundred posts!

when i logged onto my blogger dashboard, i realized that today's post is my 700th blog post.  seven hundred!  that's nuts.  whether you have been around for all 700 posts, or just a few, i appreciate that you are here reading our virtual scrapbook.  i love looking back at our pictures, re-reading our stories, and remembering our adventures that we have documented here in our little corner of the internet.  this blog is so special to me.

here's to seven hundred more!

love, laurie

chocolate pancakes

growing up, on occasion my mom would make chocolate waffles.  they were always such a special treat.  my mom had a tiny little square waffle cookbook that was filled with the most delicious waffle recipes.  the pages were well worn and had bits of waffle batter splattered on them from years of love.  on a weekend morning, we would gather around the kitchen counter to make the chocolate waffle batter, still half asleep, and then watch as the waffles cooked in her trusty heart-shaped waffle iron.  when the waffles were done, the waffle iron would let out the loudest beeping noise.  we would try to quiet it any way that we could so that it didn't wake my dad who was still asleep upstairs.  let me tell you, that heart-shaped waffle iron sure got a workout over the years.  i miss that waffle maker, and i miss those weekend mornings.

so, moral of the story . . . if chocolate waffles are mom approved, why not chocolate pancakes?

chocolate for breakfast?!  i know what you're thinking, but listen, this recipe is essentially just a basic pancake recipe with 2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder added to it.  it's amazing what 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder can do to pancakes.  the chocolate flavor is subtle, yet gives these pancakes a wonderful depth.  such a nice twist on traditional pancakes.  so, go ahead and have yourself some chocolate for breakfast!

chocolate pancakes
prep time: 5 minutes
cooking time: 5 minutes
yields: 2 servings

ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 tablespoon salted butter, melted

directions:
in a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, and sugar.  in a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, vanilla, egg, and melted butter.  add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk until no lumps remain.

heat a lightly buttered griddle or frying pan on medium heat.  pour 3 tablespoons of batter onto the griddle for medium pancakes.  cook for 3 minutes, until small bubbles begin to form.  flip the pancakes when they start to bubble, then cook for 2 minutes, until they are cooked throughout.

once cooked, transfer the pancakes to a baking sheet and place in a preheated 200 degree F oven to keep warm while you cook the remaining pancake batter.  serve warm with maple syrup.

enjoy!

love, laurie

kitchen basics: how to make brown sugar

next in our kitchen basics series, we're taking a look at brown sugar.  brown sugar is a staple in our kitchen.  it has a sweet bitterness and it adds such depth to recipes.  there are two types of brown sugar sold in grocery stores: light brown sugar and dark brown sugar.  brown sugar is nothing more than white granulated sugar and molasses.  it's easy to make your own brown sugar at home.  you only need two ingredients: white granulated sugar and molasses.

to make light brown sugar, mix 1 cup of white granulated sugar with 1 tablespoon of unsulfured molasses.  stir the mixture with a fork until it is light and fluffy.

to make dark brown sugar, mix 1 cup of white granulated sugar with 2 tablespoons of unsulfured molasses.  stir the mixture with a fork until it is light and fluffy.

. . .

are there any kitchen tips/tricks that you would like to learn?  leave a comment or send me an email to let me know what you would like to see next in the kitchen basics series.

happy cooking!

love, laurie

5 minute 5 ingredient vegetarian tacos

happy cinco de mayo!  in honor of cinco de mayo today, i thought i'd share a recipe for quick and easy vegetarian tacos.

the other day, we were pressed for time and we needed to quickly throw together something to eat for dinner.  we grabbed a few ingredients that we had on hand and made vegetarian tacos in less than 5 minutes.  even though there were only a few simple ingredients in them, we could not get over how good they were!

soft flour tortillas, sour cream, salsa, cheese, and black beans.  super simple and super delicious!

5 ingredients + 5 minutes = yummy tacos.  i like that kind of math :-)

honestly, this can hardly be called a recipe.  all you have to do is just throw a few things together and you have yummy tacos in less than 5 minutes.

so convenient if you are on the run or need to whip up a quick dinner or snack.

by the way did you notice that the date today is 5/5 and we are making tacos in 5 minutes with 5 ingredients?  that's a lot of 5s.  maybe someone should play 5 today on the lottery!

speaking of tacos . . . make your own taco seasoning and crock pot chicken tacos.

5 minute 5 ingredient vegetarian tacos
total time: 5 minutes
yields: 8 tacos

ingredients:
8 6-inch soft flour tortillas
8 teaspoons sour cream
1 (16 oz.) jar organic salsa
1 cup shredded mexican cheese (we used a combination of cheddar, monterey jack, and asadero)
1 (16 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed

directions:
place the tortillas in a pan or on a griddle over medium-low heat.  allow the tortillas to warm (about 1 minute for each side).  lay the tortillas on a plate.  spread approximately 1 teaspoon of sour cream and approximately 1 tablespoon of salsa evenly on each tortilla.  arrange the shredded cheese in a line down the center of each tortilla.  put the black beans in a bowl and microwave them for 1 minute.  evenly distribute the beans between each tortilla, arranging them on top of the cheese.  

enjoy!

love, laurie

little letters

dear ryan,
aka mr. fix it.  last night after one trip to lowe's and one trip to home depot, you fixed two broken water pipes like a champ.  your plumbing skills amaze me.

dear mom and dad,
the hanging basket of purple flowers that you gave me is absolutely beautiful.  it is so full and colorful.  thank you so much.  we have been enjoying it on our back porch, and we can't wait to move it outside when it gets a bit warmer.

dear leko,
it's cute how much you love to sit on the back screen porch to watch the squirrels and the birds in the yard.  i'm glad that the weather is finally starting to warm up a bit so that you can enjoy the porch.

dear flowers in our yard,
i'm so grateful to see you starting to pop up around the yard.  ryan thought i killed you for sure last fall when i trimmed you back at the end of the season.  thanks for proving him wrong.

dear ryan,
ha!  i told you i didn't kill the plants!  :-)

love, laurie

goodbye, april. hello, may!

goodbye, april showers.  hello, may flowers.

goodbye, easter.  hello, mother's day.

goodbye, crazy theatre rehearsal schedule.  hello, extra free time.

goodbye, students.  hello, no teaching for the summer.

goodbye, shoes.  hello, sandals.

goodbye, exhaustion.  hello, vacation.

goodbye, april.  hello, may.

love, laurie