fall is in the air

i snapped this picture this past weekend when we were at ritter's cider mill and i love all of the pumpkins lined up ready to be sold with the little red shed in the background.

now that we're a week into october, it really feels like fall is in full swing.  we have been eating ourselves silly with apples, trying to use up the apples that i picked a few weeks ago.  they're still going strong!

i'm craving some outdoor fall activities, so i'm really hoping that the weather holds out and that we are done with the gloomy skies and rain for awhile.  fingers crossed for some fall fun this weekend!  i really want to soak up every minute of it before the leaves fall and autumn disappears.  

i'm thrilled that it's friday and i'm looking forward to the weekend.  having two days off from work sounds glorious after a very hectic week!

have a good one!

love, laurie

happy birthday, little blog!

today this little blog of mine turns 5 years old!  wow, i can't believe it has been 5 whole years since i started this blog back in 2011 and i can't believe how it has grown.  this little corner of the vast internet is so special to me, and i'm still humbled each and every day by the fact that so many people take the time to read my posts.

on this 5 year milestone, i wanted to take a moment to say thank you!  i'm so glad to have this space and to be able to share snapshots of our lives here.

here's to you, little blog!  happy birthday!

love, laurie

. . . 

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

ritter's cider mill

two weeks ago, my parents and i visited ritter's cider mill to see the farm animals and to pick up some apple cider.  this past saturday, ryan's parents came up to see a show in our area.  before the show, we headed to ritter's for some fall fun.  the weather was gross (as it has been lately), but we didn't let the overcast skies, cold temperatures, and drizzles stop us.  we walked through the mini corn maze, saw the animals, admired the pumpkins, got some apples and apple cider, and sampled a warm apple cider doughnut too.

so far our fall weather has been really awful.  it hasn't looked or felt much like fall at all.  i'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that we will have some pretty fall weather soon.  i'm super sick of overcast skies!  there's still a lot left on my fall bucket list and i'm hoping for some nice traditional fall weather for those activities!

love, laurie

happy world ballet day!

today is world ballet day and to celebrate there is a 20-hour livestream of 5 of the world's leading ballet companies here.  how cool is that?!  i'm happy to be celebrating world ballet day tonight after work with my own ballet class!

happy dancing!

love, laurie

a fun sunday date together!

the past few weeks have been crazy, busy, and stressful.  even though ryan and i see each other all the time (work, home, commuting, etc.) we haven't had any free time to actually spend quality time together, and there certainly hasn't been any time available to go on a date of any kind.

this weekend, we woke up on sunday morning with nothing to do and nowhere to go.  it was like the planets aligned for our schedules to actually be free!  the weather was iffy (overcast all day with on-and-off showers) but we didn't care.  we decided to make the most of our free time and enjoy the day together, just the two of us.

a local fire house was holding a breakfast fundraiser event so we kicked off our sunday morning bright and early by heading over to the fire house for breakfast.  it was so nice and we really enjoyed it, especially since it was for a good cause and since we haven't been able to go out to breakfast together in months.

after fueling up with a big breakfast, we hit the road and drove 90 minutes to the woodbury common outlets in new york.  we really don't consider ourselves shoppers and we hate outlet mall crowds, but ryan was desperately in need of a new pair of dress shoes for work and i was desperately in need of a new pair of sneakers.  we also had been wanting to visit a few of the stores that are there which we can't find anywhere else.  we've visited woodbury commons twice before, but it was over a year ago since we were there last.  it has been on our list of places to go back to for a while, but it really requires a whole day free, so sunday was perfect.

our trip was a success.  we both found new shoes (with really great sales and coupons too)!  while we were walking around (that place really is humongous) ryan noticed that they added a shake shack since the last time we were there.  we were starving, so we popped in for a bite to eat.  i loved shake shack before i was a vegetarian, but haven't been back to a shake shack for several years because they never used to have any meatless options, other than fries.  so, i was thrilled to see that they now have a portobello mushroom burger on their menu.  thanks, shake shake, for making me one very happy vegetarian yesterday!  

as we were getting ready to leave, we noticed a lot of folks walking around with magnolia bakery bags.  we had no idea that woodbury commons added a magnolia bakery too since the last time we were there, so we popped in and picked up a pumpkin spice cupcake to take home with us as a treat.  we had to laugh because people kept walking in while we were waiting in line wondering why it was so crowded, why the line was so long, and what all the fuss was about.  ryan looked over at me and said, "clearly these people have never been to any of the magolias in nyc before!"  it's true, this was the largest magnolia we have seen by far and the most organized (and we've been to many locations)!

we were also pleasantly surprised to find that they added a le pain quotidien at the outlets.  ryan and i each had coupons on our le pain apps for free coffees and we were assuming that they were going to go to waste since they were expiring in 2 days and we knew we wouldn't be in nyc, so we were really excited to see that we could use them!  we picked up our free coffees for the ride home.

overall, we had a great sunday.  our little day trip to upstate new york turned out to feel like a mini trip to nyc because we found 3 of our favorite nyc spots right there at woodbury commons!  it was such a nice surprise.  we got a lot of exercise too because we ended up walking around the outlets for 6.5 hours!!!  we actually had no intention of being there that long, but that place really is huge, you kind of get lost.  believe it or not, even after all that time we only went in a small percentage of the stores that are there.  mainly, sunday was so great because we were able to spend time together and to be able to enjoy each other's company (especially 3 hours round trip in the car).  we get so busy that it's so important to remember to take a little time together to unplug from everything else and recharge together.

love, laurie

tales from the campaign trail

since tuesday when i announced that leko decided to run for president, we have received so much positive feedback, it has been crazy.  everyone is in full support of our furry five year old running the country.  so far we have 14 votes (9 human and 5 feline).  i have to say, i'm a very proud mama!

ryan's aunt sandy and uncle ed even printed out leko's campaign sign, laminated it, and posted it in their front yard!!!  i just about fell off my chair when i opened the email from them with this picture that they took of the sign in their front yard.  literally, i was laughing so hard i started crying.  by far this was the best thing i saw all week . . .

we told leko all about it when we got home that night.  his response you ask?  better to show you than to tell you . . .

he told me that life on the campaign trail is hard and he needs all of the beauty sleep he can get so that he looks gorgeous on tv.  he started by curling up on ryan's lap and passing out for a long slumber as ryan was sitting on the couch watching tv.  i mean, just look at that face.  that right there is the face of the next president of this country.  currently, he is deciding on which dollar bill his face would look best.  he's thinking that the 1 million dollar bill would be best suited for him.

oh, this kitten sure keeps us laughing!  he has recruited sandy and ed's cat "miss kitty" to help run his campaign.  he has also recruited 4 local kitties who live in our neighborhood to help spread the word as well.  thank goodness it's friday, it sure has been an exhausting week!

have a fabulous weekend (and vote for leko)!

love, laurie

national coffee day

if you see folks buzzing around today on caffeine highs, it's because today is national coffee day.  to celebrate, krispy kreme is offering a free 12 oz. coffee and a free glazed doughnut to anyone who walks through their doors!  wawa is also getting in on the action by offering a free coffee of any size.  dunkin donuts is cutting the price of a medium coffee to 66 cents today (to celebrate their 66th anniversary), sheetz is offering free coffee to members who have a sheetz rewards card, and mcdonald's is offering free coffee with a coupon.

you can celebrate national coffee day at home too.  here are some of our favorite recipes that incorporate coffee . . .
- baked mocha cake doughnuts with coffee cream cheese glaze
- coffee pancakes
- cinnamon swirl pancakes with coffee maple syrup
- mocha cookies
- cappuccino ice cream pie
- tiramisu
- tiramisu smoothie
- mocha peanut butter banana smoothie
- our favorite chocolate cake recipe which incorporates hot coffee into the batter

have a delicous day!

love, laurie

dip healthy this fall with chobani meze dips

fall is here, and that means it's prime time for after-school treats, on-the-go snacks, football tailgates, and more.  for me, the dance season has started back up again, and i'm always looking for snacks between dance classes, the gym, yoga, errands, work, etc.

when you're reaching for snacks or looking for something to put out for guests, it's easy to fall into a rut with the same old "chips and dip" plate.  in our house we're all about finding healthy substitutions, so we're teaming up with chobani today to offer some simple ways to dip healthier when it comes to snack time and party time this fall.

we were thrilled when chobani introduced their savory meze dips this summer.  we just love that they feature real veggies, herbs, and spices blended with creamy chobani greek yogurt.  what's more is that they are made with only natural, non-GMO ingredients which makes us feel good about enjoying them!

chobani's savory meze dips come in four flavors (roasted red pepper, three pepper salsa, chili lime, and smoked onion & parmesan) and we've tried all of them.  ryan and i agree that the smoked onion & parmesan is our favorite.

go ahead and change up the classic "chips and dip" plate and dip healthy this fall.  substitute a meze dip for a traditional dip, and get dipping with some healthy alternatives to chips, pretzels, and crackers.  here are some ideas to get you started . . .

happy dipping!

love, laurie

leko for president

last night we sat down to watch dancing with the stars which is one of our favorite shows (and leko's favorite show too).  we were upset to hear that dwts was cut an hour short last night because of the presidential debate.

i don't get involved in politics at all, and i certainly don't watch things like presidential debates.  in fact i'm the least political person i know, mainly because i think it is all a bunch of nonsense.  i had no intention of watching the debate, but ryan was interested for the "entertainment value" so we left it on after dwts ended.  i have to say that after watching most of that craziness, i am convinced our country is doomed.  i can't believe that there are over 324 million people in the united states and we've narrowed it down to these 2 people.  it's just sad.

after watching last night, we decided that leko is running for president.  his platform is simple: "tuna fish for all!"  sounds a lot better than the crap i heard last night.  he has my vote!

love, laurie

update your fall style with firmoo

the weather was glorious this weekend!  it was the first official weekend of fall, and autumn was certainly in the air.  now that it's officially fall, a great way to update your style this season is with a new pair of glasses!

i'm a huge fan of firmoo's glasses and sunglasses.  one of the things that i love best about their glasses is that they are so light weight and comfortable.  i have several pairs and it's fun to switch them out depending on my mood/style.

this week you can update your look for fall with a new pair of glasses.  firmoo is offering 100% off any frames from this page now through september 28th with the code "flashfree" (shipping and handling fees are extra).

happy fall!

love, laurie