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Thursday, January 14, 2016

make yourself comfortable, kitten!


it has been an odd winter so far here in northeastern pennsylvania.  we made it through october, november, december, and half of january without any snow.  that has to be some sort of record.  this week we finally saw the white stuff for the first time.  just enough to coat the trees and the grass, but not enough to get us a snow day from work.  :-(

even though we haven't had a lot of snow yet this winter, the last few days have been super chilly, and we're not the only ones who want to cuddle up when it gets cold.  leko loves cuddling close, and of course we don't mind it one bit.  a few nights ago, ryan and i sat in bed to watch a few shows that we had recorded on the dvr.  within seconds, leko was right up on ryan's lap.  he was so excited to cuddle, he didn't even wait for ryan to get the blankets over him.  leko sprawled out and fell right asleep.  as we were watching the tv, leko kept stretching out longer and longer, and created a little nest for himself.  we just couldn't resist how cute he was sleeping there.  i had to grab my phone to snap a picture before he woke up and moved.  he sure knows how to make himself comfortable!

love, laurie

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

snapshots of life lately, according to my iphone pictures


a few photos of . . . leko on ryan's lap with a princess wand that i found while cleaning out a closet over christmas break, dinner at a mongolian grill with my parents to kick off the new year, leading the 2nd grade tap class, and leko curled up in bed to stay warm.

follow along with us on instagram
love, laurie

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

the ultimate chocolate hazelnut cake

over the weekend our families got together to celebrate my birthday.  of course there was birthday cake involved.  this year i was in the mood for a chocolate hazelnut combination, so ryan and i got to work creating the ultimate chocolate hazelnut cake.

if you are a fan of chocolate and hazelnut, look no further.  i'm calling this "the ultimate" chocolate hazelnut cake recipe because if nutella and ferrero rocher got together and had a baby that was a cake, it would be this cake.

here's the break down . . . two layers of chocolate cake with a layer of nutella fudge in between, all covered with whipped nutella buttercream frosting, and decorated with chopped hazelnuts, chocolate chips, and ferrero rocher candy.

the chocolate cake has a wonderfully deep flavor thanks to the addition of coffee in the cake batter.  the cake itself isn't sweet which is great to balance out the nutella fudge layer which is a bit on the sweeter side.  the frosting is part buttercream, part whipped cream, which means it is light and fluffy.  the nutella beaten into the frosting really punches that chocolate hazelnut flavor all the way.

i'm only a little embarrassed to say that there is an entire jar of nutella in this cake recipe!  go big or go home, am i right?  ;-)




the ultimate chocolate hazelnut cake
prep time:45 minutes
baking time: 30-35 minutes
yields: one two layer 9-inch round cake (16-18 servings)
cake and frosting adapted from the candid appetite
nutella fudge layer adapted from sprinkle bakes

cake ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup granulated white sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup hot coffee
1 teaspoon espresso powder

fudge layer ingredients:
3 cups powdered sugar
1 cup nutella
1/4 cup butter, melted
3-4 tablespoons heavy cream

frosting ingredients:
5 tablespoons salted butter, softened
3/4 cup nutella
1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup heavy cream
3 cups powdered sugar

directions:
to make the cake: preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  grease and flour the sides of two 9-inch round cake pans and line the bottom of the pans with parchment paper.  in the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and baking soda together.  add the sugar, buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla.  beat together until combined.  stir the espresso powder into the coffee.  with the mixer on low, slowly stream in the coffee.  evenly divide the batter between the prepared pans.  bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.  once baked, allow the cakes to cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing the cakes from the pans and allowing them to cool completely on a wire cooling rack.

to make the nutella fudge layer: line one 9-inch round cake pan with plastic wrap.  in the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the powdered sugar, nutella, and melted butter.  the mixture will be crumbly.  add 3-4 tablespoons of cream gradually, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the mixture becomes a workable dough.  turn the mixture out onto a solid surface and kneed together into a dough.  (it should not be too sticky or too crumbly.)  press the dough evenly into the plastic-lined cake pan.  cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

to make the frosting: in an electric stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, combine the butter, nutella, and vanilla.  beat to combine.  gradually add the powdered sugar, alternating with the cream to achieve desired consistency and thickness.

to assemble the cake: place one layer of the chocolate cake on a cake stand.  spread a thin layer of frosting on the cake.  remove the fudge layer from the plastic wrap and place on top of the frosted first layer of cake.  spread a thin layer of frosting on top of the fudge layer, then place the second layer of cake on top.  evenly cover the entire cake with the remaining frosting.  decorate with chopped hazelnuts, chocolate chips, and/or ferrero rocher candy.

enjoy!
love, laurie

Monday, January 11, 2016

my birthday celebration!


on saturday, our parents came up to our house to celebrate my birthday!  for lunch, we had salad, a roasted veggie cornbread panzanella, and a build-your-own baked potato bar with a bunch of toppings, followed by a chocolate hazelnut birthday cake and presents.  the best present was getting to celebrate with the ones i love.  i had a really great time on saturday!


love, laurie

Friday, January 8, 2016

four years with leko


january 4th marked four years since we adopted leko.  it's hard to believe that four years have passed since our fur baby became part of our family.  we absolutely love him and can't imagine life without him.  we are proud kitty parents!  above are some of our favorite photos of leko from this past year.

if you are in the market for a pet, we highly recommend adopting/rescuing an animal from a shelter.  there are so many amazing animals out there in need of a good home.  adopting leko was one of the best decisions we have ever made.  he certainly has changed our lives for the better!

ps: we were in a restaurant recently and we saw a woman with a sweatshirt on from an animal shelter which read, "you can't buy love but you can rescue it."  we both loved that saying because it is so true and made us think of our leko.

love, laurie

. . . 

Thursday, January 7, 2016

celebrating 31!


i really enjoyed my birthday yesterday!  (i still can't believe i'm 31!)  in the morning, a sweet co-worker surprised me with cupcakes at work.  after work, i treated myself to a much-needed massage, and it was absolutely heavenly for this dancer's aching body.  it was the perfect way to relax on my birthday after a day at work.  happy birthday to me!

after the massage, ryan and i went out to dinner, then we came back home to enjoy some birthday cake and i opened my birthday presents from ryan (with a good deal of help from leko too)!

we'll be in birthday mode all week at our house and we're continuing the birthday celebrations straight through the weekend.  we're looking forward to getting together with our families this weekend to celebrate!

^we went out to dinner at tiffany's which is a cozy little restaurant near us decorated with pretty tiffany lamps.  for dinner i had penne pasta with artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms, spinach, roma tomatoes, roasted red peppers, and pine nuts, all tossed in a pecorino romano sauce.  it was really good and i will definitely need to make it at home!  ryan had veal topped with prosciutto, mozzarella, and a roasted red pepper cream sauce.^
^when we came home after dinner we enjoyed birthday cake!  for christmas, ryan's parents bought me the dessert for two cookbook and i just couldn't wait to try it out.  since all of the recipes are miniature sized it was perfect for my birthday because i wanted cake but i didn't want to make a whole ginormous cake.  we made a six-inch chocolate cake with peppermint frosting and decorated it with chopped up chocolate chips and crushed candy canes.  it was so cute and was the perfect size for our mini cake stand.  the combination of the chocolate and the peppermint was so good!  it reminded me of the cake version of a york peppermint patty.^
^after cake i opened presents from ryan.  he surprised me with a new cardigan that i have had my eye on for months, and a gorgeous black suit jacket for work.  he also got me a uv lens filter and two lens hoods for one of my camera lenses!  he did good!^
^how cute is that wrapping paper?!  the little red and blue bikes were so cute, especially since we both love biking so much.  leko was pretty excited about the paper too.  he kept pouncing on it!^

i'm looking forward to continuing the birthday celebrations this weekend with our families!

love, laurie

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

it's my birthday! (and 31 things you might not know about me)


there's yours truly as a toddler in a stock pot on the kitchen counter.  totally normal.  (who needs a bumbo when you have a stock pot, right?)  today's my birthday and somehow i'm now 31.  this photo seems like it was taken a lifetime ago.  it blows my mind to think it's over three decades old.

for fun today, i thought i'd share 31 random things about me.  ready?  here goes  . . .

1. when i was little, i was in a commercial with my mom for a local cooking supply store.  (the store just went out of business a few weeks ago.)

2. as soon as i was old enough to sit up on my own, my mom sat me on the kitchen counter and taught me how to cook, so being in the kitchen is second nature to me.

3. i learned math by helping my mom in the kitchen and at the grocery store.  recipes are a great way to teach kids about fractions and coupons/discounts are a great way to learn percentages.

4. i am really good at mental math.  i'm always the one at the store calculating discounts and coupons in my head (and i'm usually spot on)!

5. i have never lived in a state other than pennsylvania.

6. if i had to choose another state to live in other than pennsylvania, it would be california (even though i have never been there).

7. i have never owned a dog, and i have no desire to (mainly because i would not want to walk a dog every day).  i'm a cat person all the way.

8. my family calls me the cat whisperer because i absolutely love cats and they seem to gravitate to me.  i find them all the time when we are out walking or biking.

9. my dream job would be to own a place where i could care for cats and keep them safe until they are adopted.

10. i have never been into sports, i always preferred the arts

11. as i kid, i dreamed of being an olympic figure skater.  (i did take figure skating lessons for several years.)

12. my favorite place i have ever traveled was hawaii in 2013.  it was a dream come true to travel there, and to date it was the best vacation i have ever taken.

13. i have not consumed any caffeine in over 11 years and i am one of the most alert people i know (proving that you don't need a cup of coffee to be wide awake).

14. my drink of choice is water with lemon.  it's my absolute favorite thing to drink.

15. i love organizing things.

16. i have never actually been camping.  (the closest i have ever been was in a sleeping bag in a tent on our back deck when i was little.)

17. i love almost all types of cheese, but i positively hate goat cheese.  (to me it smells and tastes like a dirty goat.)

18. i'm not a reader.  i love reading magazines/blogs, but i hate reading books.  i'm much more of a visual person instead of a reader.

19.  i learned how to write from my dad and i pride myself in having proper grammar because of him.

20. i still haven't found my celebrity doppelganger, although jodie foster and saoirse ronan do come close.  (if you have any ideas, let me know!)

21. as a child, i never had an imaginary friend.  the concept always seemed odd to me.

22. for most of my life i had incredibly long hair that went past my waist.  it wasn't until grad school that i cut it.  (now i love it short because it is so much easier to maintain.)

23. dancing is in my blood because my mom danced up until she was 8 months pregnant with me.

24. i had a dance minor in college and i have been trained in every single type of dance (yes, even flamenco) but my absolute favorite is classical ballet/pointe.

25. when ryan and i got married, i legally changed my maiden name to be my second middle name. (i really wanted to keep my maiden name, but i didn't want a hyphenated last name.)

26. ryan and i are exactly 4 months and 23 days apart in age (he's older).  coincidentally, 4 and 23 are my two lucky numbers.

27. i don't have any tattoos, but if i ever got a tattoo i know exactly what i would get - the word "love" very small, written in all lowercase script letters in my brother's handwriting, on the inside of my wrist.  i have been sure of this for about 10 years, but i have never been able to commit to a tattoo.

28. i don't have an accent.  i was taught to be non-dialectical when i majored in theatre in college.

29. my favorite colors are orange and purple.

30. i consider myself to be very spiritual, but not religious.

31. i have been cutting ryan's hair for as long as we have been together.  he has not had his hair cut by anyone but me in 11 years.  i estimate that we have saved approximately $3,500 to $4,000 over the past 11 years by doing this!

love, laurie

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

goals for the new year


overall, 2015 was pretty good to us.  this past year saw a lot of changes, some good, some not so good, but i did (mostly) stick to the goals that i set for myself last year.  i'm really not one for "resolutions," however, i do like to set a loosely-structured list of goals for myself each year.  here are a few things that i want to be conscious of moving forward in 2016 . . .

1. drink more water
2. do yoga more often
3. be kinder to myself
4. take better care of my body
5. be flexible
6. be nicer to my husband
7. leave work stress at work
8. take time to "unplug" from the cyber world
9. keep a positive outlook
10. have fun

what are your goals for 2016?
love, laurie

. . . 

ps: this sunflower picture is one of my favorite photos that i took in 2015.  click here to download it as background wallpaper for your computer, tablet, or phone.

Monday, January 4, 2016

ringing in the new year


we celebrated new year's eve with my parents at our house.  we kicked off the evening with crab appetizers, then for dinner my mom made fondue 1970s style.  we had bread, shrimp, beef, and veggies to dip in the cheese.  it was all so good.  we capped off the night with poached pears and mini cheesecakes for dessert while we curled up on the couch to watch a movie.  at the end of the night we watched the times square ball drop on tv.  it was a great way to bid farewell to 2015!


on new year's day, we went down to my parents' house for our traditional pork and sauerkraut dinner, and we spent time with our family and friends.  we enjoyed my mom's chocolate silk pie and key lime pie for dessert too.  it was a great way to kick off 2016!

we really enjoyed ringing in the new year with our family.  here's to a happy and a healthy new year!

happy 2016!
love, laurie

Friday, January 1, 2016

happy new year!


wishing everyone a happy and healthy new year!

love, laurie