a little video from our 5th anniversary weekend in nyc

time is flying by and i'm really not sure how we are in the middle of september already!  we had such a great time celebrating our 5th anniversary in nyc back in august.  we shot a little video while we were there, and i just finally got around to editing it.  so, although it's over a month late, here is a little video from our 5th anniversary weekend in nyc.  (the music is "never wanna grow up" by katrina stone.)

ps: you can see photos from our trip here, here, here, and here.

have a wonderful weekend!
love, laurie

easy homemade caramel sauce (just 3 ingredients)

i have an odd relationship with caramel.  for years i told myself i didn't like caramel and wouldn't go near it.  most store-bought caramel candies and sauces that i had tasted tended to be sickening sweet, and although i enjoy desserts, i'm not a fan of things that are overly sweet.  store-bought caramel candies and caramel sauces often have a laundry list of ingredients that i don't want to consume too.  i always enjoy a caramel apple once a year in the fall, but other than that, i had an aversion to anything that involved caramel.

then we made homemade caramel a few years ago for a homemade twix bar recipe and again for a homemade caramel popcorn recipe, and my opinion changed.  recently we tried our hands at caramel again and made a homemade caramel sauce.  now i have a different outlook on caramel.

this caramel sauce is easy to make and only involves a few simple ingredients.  there's no butter, corn syrup, or condensed milk in this recipe, only water, sugar, and cream.

you could do anything you want with this caramel sauce.  you could put it in your coffee, drizzle it on top of ice cream, mix it into your favorite frosting recipe, dip fruit or other snacks into it . . . the options are endless.

you just need to have a little bit of patience to stand over a hot stove until the caramel is just right, which isn't easy but it is worth it for the end result!

caramel sauce
prep time: 5 minutes
cooking time: 5-10 minutes
yields: approximately 1 cup

ingredients:
5 tablespoons water
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2/3 cup heavy cream

directions:
combine the water and the sugar in a saucepan over low heat.  stir until all of the sugar has dissolved.  increase the heat to high and periodically use the handle of the pot to swirl the mixture to keep it moving, but do not stir the mixture.  the mixture will start to bubble, then after a few minutes the mixture will turn to a light amber color.  as soon as the mixture turns to a dark amber color, turn off the heat and add the cream.  whisk to combine.  set the mixture aside to allow it to cool.  store the caramel sauce in the refrigerator until ready to use.

enjoy!

love, laurie

snapshots of life lately, according to my iphone pictures

follow along with us on instagram

love, laurie

four years old!

this month leko turns four years old!  we sure love our sweet fur baby and it's so hard to believe that he is four already.  he has grown so much since we first brought him home and we are so incredibly grateful that he is ours.  i snapped this picture of leko the other day and it perfectly sums up his personality right now.  this has been his favorite pose all summer long.  that fluffy tummy of his is so luscious!  as soon as i came over to him with the camera, he picked up his head to see what i was up to . . . what a cutie!  we'll be celebrating this guy's birthday all week long (with lots of tuna of course)!

love, laurie

. . . 

ps: when leko turned one, two , and three

pumpkin spice french toast

ryan woke up the other day with an idea . . . he rolled over in bed and said: "have we ever made pumpkin french toast?"  after thinking for a minute, i replied: "surprisingly, no."

thus, off to the kitchen we went to conquer the pumpkin french toast.  luckily we had a loaf of bread in the fridge and a can of pumpkin puree in the pantry.

it's september.  tis the season to pumpkinify anything and everything!

that husband of mine gets some ideas from time to time, and this one was genius.  why hadn't we thought of this before?

it's dangerous how easy this is to throw together.  you can totally do it while you are still half asleep on a lazy weekend morning . . . and perhaps while you are trying to not trip over an orange kitten who weaves his body in and out of your feet, while you attempt your best balancing act in an effort not to trip and drop 4 large eggs on the kitchen floor . . . maybe that's just at our house.  it's only 2 adults and 1 feline, but it is a circus some times.

you could use any bread that tickles your fancy for this french toast.  we had a loaf of our favorite multigrain bread in the fridge.  it's packed with oats and seeds which give it some great crunch.

this french toast is gorgeous and golden.  the pumpkin coats the bread and makes it super delicious.  the spices make you feel like you are taking a bite right into fall.  dust it with powdered sugar and drizzle it with maple syrup and it will be heavenly!

pumpkin spice french toast
prep time: 5 minutes
cooking time 10-15 minutes
yields: 3-4 servings

ingredients:
1/2 cup pure pumpkin puree
4 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
10 slices of bread

directions:
warm an electric griddle or a large frying pan on medium heat.  in a shallow and wide bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, eggs, milk, vanilla, sugar, and spices.  melt butter on the griddle.  dip each slice of bread into the mixture, then place each slice on the griddle.  cook about 5-7 minutes on each side until brown and cooked throughout.  serve hot, dusted with powdered sugar and with maple syrup.

enjoy!

love, laurie

patriot day

we had the opportunity to visit ground zero two years ago in september, just after the 12th anniversary of 9/11 and it was a moving experience.  the waterfalls and the reflecting pools that sit within the footprints of where the twin towers once stood are a lovely tribute, and the freedom tower is quite a site to behold.  our thoughts and prayers go out to anyone who lost a loved one on this day 14 years ago.

love, laurie

pam's pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting

over labor day weekend, we spent the day visiting ryan's parents on saturday.  while we were there, ryan's mom had made a pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting for dessert.

our family absolutely loves pumpkin desserts, especially during the fall months, and this cake was the perfect treat to kick off the fall season.

this cake is absolutely divine!  the cake itself is light and fluffy, and it has just the right amount of spice from the cinnamon without being overpowering.  it is a gorgeous orange color too.

the cake by itself isn't too sweet which makes it a perfect compliment to the sweet cream cheese frosting.  the cream cheese frosting is rich and sinful, and so smooth and velvety.

ryan's mom sent us home with leftover cake and we were super grateful for that.  we have been savoring it all week for dessert after dinner.  yum!

pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting
prep time: 15 minutes
baking time: 25-30 minutes
yields: 18-20 servings
recipe source: taste of home

cake ingredients:
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup canola oil
1 (15 oz.) can pure pumpkin puree
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

frosting ingredients:
6 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup salted butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoons milk

directions:
preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  to make the cake: in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the eggs, sugar, oil, and pumpkin.  beat until well blended.  in a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.  gradually add the sifted dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture.  mix well to combine.  pour the batter into an ungreased 15 x 10 x 1-inch baking pan.  bake for 25-30 minutes, until set and a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean.  allow the cake to cool completely before frosting.

to make the frosting: in a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, combine the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla.  mix to combine.  add milk gradually to achieve desired consistency and thickness.  spread the frosting over the cooled cake and store the cake in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

enjoy!

love, laurie

la festa italiana 2015

if you stuck me on a deserted island and told me i could only eat one genre of food for the rest of my life, without thought or hesitation i would say italian.  i'm proud of my italian heritage and i like to think i have marinara sauce running through my veins (which i inherited from my italian great grandmother).  italian food is my happy place.

one of my favorite traditions that we have is going to the italian festival each year on labor day weekend.  the reason it is so special is because it was where we went on our very first date, and we always look forward to going back each year.  this year marked the 12th year that we have gone to the festival together.

we headed down to the festival with my parents on friday night to walk around and of course eat, then we went down again on sunday night to watch the fireworks.  there's just something magical about that place.

let the countdown to next year's italian festival begin!

love, laurie

. . . 

previous trips to the italian festival: 2012, 2013, and 2014

labor day weekend biking

the weather was incredible this weekend, and it felt like the middle of summer instead of the beginning of fall.  we took advantage of the nice weather over labor day weekend and got in some good biking.  we biked a new-to-us trail on sunday and then we biked an old favorite trail on monday.  it was too hot to lug the camera around with us on the bike trails, but we did manage to snap a few pictures on ryan's phone.  in between biking we spent some quality time visiting with our families and relaxing too.  it was a nice labor day weekend!

love, laurie

happy labor day!

to me, labor day is the unofficial end of summer.  i'm never ready to say goodbye to summer, especially this year since it went by way too fast.  however, it's labor day and we have the day off from work today so we plan on enjoying it!

have a great monday!

love, laurie