quick small batch no-rise cinnamon rolls

sunday morning was one of those rare occasions when we had nowhere to be and could stay in our pajamas lounging around the house.  days like that call for fun breakfasts eaten leisurely, and cinnamon rolls sounded perfect to us.  we love traditional cinnamon rolls made with yeast, but we just didn't feel like waiting for yeast to rise.  it was a lazy sunday morning after all.  instead of waiting, we made quick cinnamon rolls.  without the yeast there is no rise time which means you get to shove a warm gooey cinnamon bun in your mouth that much faster.  perfect for those of us who are lazy and impatient.

this recipe comes together so quickly and bakes in a matter of minutes.  it's dangerous how easy it is to make these cinnamon rolls.  it's probably a good thing then that this recipe only makes 4 cinnamon rolls, perfect to serve 2 people.

i guarantee you won't miss the yeast.  the baking power and baking soda do their job to make these cinnamon rolls puff up and they are so light and fluffy.  no rock hard hockey pucks here, my friends.  of course you can't have a cinnamon roll without covering it in cream cheese glaze.  it just wouldn't be right to leave that part out.  so, we covered them in cream cheese glaze, sat in our pajamas and enjoyed them alongside some scrambled eggs and coffee.

quick small batch no-rise cinnamon rolls
prep time: 10-15 minutes
baking time: 15-18 minutes
yields: 4 cinnamon rolls
adapted from dessert for two

ingredients:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon granulated white sugar
4 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons salted butter, melted (divided)
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon cream

directions:
preheat your oven to 375 degrees F and grease 4 cups in a muffin pan.  in a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and granulated sugar.  in a separate bowl whisk together the milk and vinegar.  combine the milk with the dry ingredients and stir.  add 2 tablespoons of the melted butter and stir until a soft dough forms.  turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and add flour to the dough as needed so that it is not too sticky.  (note: the dough will be very soft.)  roll the dough out into a rectangle (approximately 8x10 inches).  brush the dough with the remaining 1 tablespoon of melted butter.  evenly sprinkle the brown sugar and the cinnamon over the dough, making sure the dough is well covered.  cut the dough into four evenly sized long strips.  roll each strip up and pinch each seam shut.  place each roll in each greased cup in the muffin pan.  bake for 15-18 minutes.

meanwhile, beat together the softened cream cheese and the powered sugar.  add cream as needed to reach the desired glaze consistency.  frost the cinnamon rolls as soon as they come out of the oven.  serve hot.

enjoy!

love, laurie

quiet valley living historical farm - part 2

you can see part one of our trip to quiet valley here

love, laurie

quiet valley living historical farm - part 1

on saturday, we took a trip to quiet valley living historical farm with our families for the farm's annual fall frolic celebration.  it was an absolutely beautiful day!  we enjoyed walking around the farm, sampling different foods, and seeing all of the animals.

whenever i'm at quiet valley, i feel like i have taken a step right back in time.  the farm is so peaceful and quaint.  the bright sun, crisp air, colorful leaves, and campfire smell really made it the perfect fall day.

love, laurie

. . . 

previous trips to quiet valley: 2011, 2012, and 2014

highlights from the past week worth sharing

leko playing copilot on a car ride in ryan's old car (march 2013) 

and a photo from our anniversary weekend in nyc last summer (august 2014)

. . . 

grab a cup of coffee/tea and make yourself comfortable because this one's a long one.

back in february of this year, ryan and i traded in our SUV for a newer one.  we were extremely sad to let it go, but it was time to upgrade to something a bit more reliable (and 11 model years newer).  a few weeks after we traded it in, we realized that we still had the crossbars for the roof rack stored up in the rafters in our garage.  we visited the salesman at the dealership, thinking that he would want them for when he sold our old car.  however, he told us that he had already sold the car, and as it turns out it went to a student who attends the university where we both work!

we thought it was pretty funny that it "stayed in the family" so to speak, and it would still be on campus.  ever since then, i have been on the hunt for our old car and for the student who bought it.  i found it parked in parking lots several times as i walked across campus to teach classes or to go to meetings.  i asked a few students if they knew who owned it, but i got nowhere.  i contemplated asking our university security department to do a reverse look up on the computer system to find the name via the parking permit number, but decided not to because they would think i'm crazy for sure (not to mention i would probably get in trouble for trying to hunt down a 19 year old male student).  i finally decided that i would just leave a little note on the windshield and hope that the new owner got back to me.  that was my plan this week, until fate stepped in.

as i was walking out of a building after teaching class on wednesday, i saw the car drive right past me.  i quickly hightailed it down the sidewalk hoping to catch up with the driver in the parking lot.  luckily, i did.  i hesitantly approached the car after it parked and knocked on the window to get the student's attention, hoping that i didn't scare him.  (seriously, do you think i'm crazy yet?  ryan does for sure.  he said i'm lucky i didn't get tasered or pepper sprayed for running after a student.)  anyway, i explained who i was and what on earth i was doing, and it turns out that the student is just the nicest and sweetest kid ever.  it's scary just how much he is like ryan.  (he reminds me so much of a younger version of ryan from back in college.)  he said that the salesman at the dealership told him that we work at the university, and he had been trying to figure out how to find us to meet us!

he couldn't have been nicer if he tired and we ended up talking in the parking lot for a while.  we made plans to meet up the next day at my office, which we did, and i gave him the crossbars and the pieces to attach them to the roof rack.  as a thank you he brought us gifts from his farm!  (what?  oh yes, this awesome kid lives on a farm in the same town were we adopted leko, and he raises pigs and cows!!!)  i could not contain myself.

the whole thing totally made my week!  it's so nice to know that our beloved car went to an awesome student at our university (who, by the way, really is so much like ryan it's crazy)!  it's funny how things work out sometimes.

in other news, i was contacted by some great folks at the university of new mexico asking if they could use a photo i took of the wall street and water street sign in nyc for the financial section of one of their print publications.  i got the check this week, and it was the very first time i have ever been paid for my photography.  how cool!

have a glorious weekend!

love, laurie

sunflower wallpaper {free download}

i have always loved sunflowers.  my mom's kitchen is sunflower themed and my bedroom at my parents' house growing up was sunflower themed too.  there is just something so happy and cheerful about sunflowers, especially when they are set against a beautiful bright blue sky.

we found a gorgeous crop of sunflowers when we were at ritter's cider mill last weekend.  i took a few pictures, which i shared on the blog, and i used one of them as my desktop wallpaper on my computer at work.  since then, so many people at work have been commenting on my sunflower desktop wallpaper, so i wanted to share a few free downloads to decorate your electronic devices.

i hope you enjoy this wallpaper as much as i do!  to download, click on your device below:

desktop / iPad / iPhone 4 / iPhone 5 / iPhone 6

enjoy!

love, laurie

. . . 

*please do not embed or upload these images to your website or social media accounts without crediting love, laurie and linking back to this blog post.  images copyright 2015 love, laurie.

tabouli salad

from a young age, my parents exposed me to a wide range of foods.  i had the opportunity to try a variety of ethnic foods and grew to have a love of all different types of cuisine.  growing up, my parents had a good friend who owned a lebanese restaurant.  he made great authentic lebanese recipes (including killer lamb gyros that had an amazing garlic flavor)!

luckily, ryan shares my love of lebanses food.  a recent visit to a lebanese restaurant inspired us to make our own tabouli salad right at home.

tabouli salad (also known as tabbouleh salad) is an authentic lebanese dish traditionally served as an appetizer or as a small side dish.  it has a unique flavor from the combination of parsley, mint, bulgur wheat, tomato, onion, garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil.

tabouli salad is so incredibly easy to make (and it's vegan too)!  it has a fresh taste and i always feel so healthy when i eat it.  my favorite way to enjoy tabouli salad is alongside humus or baba ganoush with some warm pita bread!

tabouli salad
prep time: 10 minutes
cooking time: 10-15 minutes
yields: 6 large servings

ingredients:
1/2 cup bulgur wheat
1 cup water
1 bunch italian parsley
1 bunch curley parsley
1 handful fresh mint
1 large tomato
1 small white onion
1 lemon, juiced
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
salt and pepper to taste

directions:
rinse the bulgur wheat, then place in a sauce pan with water over medium heat.  cook for 10-15 minutes until all of the water is absorbed and the bulgur wheat is soft.  stir to avoid the bulgur wheat sticking to the bottom of the pan.  set aside to cool completely.

wash and finely chop the parsley and mint.  finely dice the tomato and onion and combine with the parsley and mint in a large bowl.  in a separate bowl whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, and minced garlic.  pour the dressing over the parsley mixture.  add the cooled bulgar wheat and toss well to combine.  season with salt and pepper to taste.  refrigerate until ready to use.

enjoy!

love, laurie

happy birthday, little blog!

today this little blog of mine turns 4 years old!  i started this blog back in 2011 as a way to share snapshots of our lives with our family and friends.  this blog is so special to me, and it is so neat to see how it has grown over the last 4 years.  i'm still humbled by the fact that anyone other than my immediate family reads my posts, and i love reading all of the comments and emails that i receive from all of you.

on this blogiversary, i wanted to take a moment to say thank you for reading, thank you for your feedback, and thank you for your support!  it really means so much and i absolutely love being able to share tidbits of our lives here in this space.

happy birthday, little blog!

love, laurie

. . . 

blogiversaries through the years: year one, year two, and year three

autumn biking

it's no secret that we love biking.  we try to fit in as many bike rides as we can through the spring, summer, and fall, because we miss it so much during the winter.  every single day this past week was cold, overcast, dreary, and rainy.  the weather was not conducive for biking at all.  so, when sunday came around this weekend and the weather was glorious and sunny we wasted no time loading the bikes up on the car and heading for our favorite local bike trail.

we have so many great bike trails in the area where we live.  our very favorite trail has been getting a bit of a make over the past few weeks, as crews have been working to widen it and to pave it.  we heard that the work was done, and we couldn't wait to go check it out.  they did a great job and it's even better than it was before!  they also added several cute little wooden bird houses along the trail and built a brand new deck overlook that extends over the river!

it was so nice to be able to bike in the crisp autumn air on sunday, seeing the leaves on the trees changing colors, and hearing the crunch of the fallen leaves under our bike tires!

love, laurie

have a wonderful weekend!

we had such nice weather last weekend, but this entire past week has been really gross.  the weather turned cold (it was 40 degrees this morning!) and it has been overcast, dreary, and rainy lately.  yuck!  the forecast for the weekend doesn't look much better, but regardless of the weather we are still looking forward to the weekend after such an exhausting week.

have a lovely weekend!

love, laurie

hello, october!

we love decorating our house for the fall season.  recently, we had some indian corn and two pumpkins sitting on the table on our screen porch before we placed them around the house.  ryan walked out on the screen porch and stopped in the doorway, motioning for me to come over.  i looked out and found this cutie sitting on the table among the fall decorations.  of course i had to take a picture.  i guess he's all ready for fall!

happy october!

love, laurie