Life's Road Maps

 

Life's journey seems to come with multiple road maps.  Each one has multiple paths with different endings and others you can pick up and find new beginnings.  With every new path ahead of us, we find ourselves faced with a new route and a choice to make a change or stay the course.  

I've always believed and been taught it is always important to choose a path and see it through.  Even if it's not the right one for you to stay on forever, it's always good to finish what you started and the experiences you gain along the way will always be souvenirs from your life travels.  

Along my journey so far I have ventured down a few unique paths, each one shaping my next route options.  I don't always choose the best rest stop, I've picked up and dropped off some passengers along the way, and I've found new treasures at each destination.  I am grateful for each path I've chosen or been led down and have grown from each experience.  In life we realize we need to make choices for ourselves that no one else can do for us, no matter how hard it is to do all on our own.  

So whether you are ready to make a bigger life change in a job or relationship, travel the world, buy or sell a home or a smaller change to eat a healthier lunch, run an extra mile, treat yourself to that new fall purse or extra funnel cake at the fair, remember each choice is yours and will shape your forever evolving path.  Travel each path with a conscious mind and an open heart and prepare yourself for travel.  After all, life is continuously a journey, and I plan to enjoy each new destination.

Xo, 
Laura

Fall Favorites

Now that it's September (I know it's only the second day), I am busting out all things fall.  Fall is the season I live for, really.  Obviously that statement is quite passionate, but I truly feel complete in the fall.  The weather is a perfect combination of cool and crisp with lots of sunshine,  the colors are so vibrant, and anything with the word apple, pumpkin, cinnamon, spice, or caramel in it makes me happy.  

I recently went through some of my fall decorations and wanted to share some essentials of mine to hopefully make your fall season even more festive.  And for those of you who aren't a big fan of fall, you may get sick of me these next few months, but those of you who share my intense joy of this season will be finding plenty of fall recipes, decor, and fashion flooding the blog.  Please continue to share your fall favorites with me as well, I am always excited to come across new fall items!

Tea: Harney and Sons |Insulated mug: Tervis | Candle: Yankee Candle | Hat: Adora | Bread mixes and Dish: Williams-Sonoma | Slippers: Ugg | Boots: Hunter | Clothes: Piperlime | Blanket: Pendleton

Xo,
Laura 

Labor Day Style

Before the "no white after Labor Day" rule sets in, I wanted to let my white jeans have their last hurrah.  The weather has been beautiful, but a little cool in the evenings so I found pairing my white jeans with a light long sleeve shirt allows me to feel warm, but still looking like summer. Add a pair of your favorite wedges and a pop of red to complete your holiday weekend wardrobe.

An added bonus-these white jeans are on sale and the shirt is a perfect summer to fall transition shirt.

Jeans: J Brand | Shirt: Rails | Wedges: Stuart Weitzman, no longer available ( similar style ) | Bag: Louis Vuitton , vintage

Xo,
Laura

Red, White, and Blue Cool Down

This week has been filled with sunshine, cloudless skies, and promises of summer still lingering for days to come.  It also means I am really hot and need something to keep me cool.

All you need is some strawberries and blueberries, Vita Coco coconut water, and the Zoku popsicle mold.  With these few ingredients and time to freeze overnight, you will have a delicious and refreshing, low-calorie summer treat.  

I have been wanting to make popsicles all summer, and I finally purchased the Zoku popsicle mold a few weeks ago.  It's inexpensive and can be purchased here, and I will be continuing to experiment with popsicle treats for the rest of the summer into fall (carmel apple popsicles sound great to me!)  

So enjoy this weekend holiday coming up with something festive, tasty, and fun!


Red, White, and Blue Popsicles
~Serves 6

• 1 cup of chopped strawberries
• 1 cup of fresh blueberries
• 1 large bottle of Vita Coco coconut water
• Zoku popsicle mold

~Add strawberries to the base of the mold-I used about 4 to 5 strawberry pieces

~Fill the mold half way with coconut water

~Add blueberries-I used about 10 blueberries per popsicle

~Fill the rest of the mold with coconut water

~Allow to freeze overnight 

Enjoy!

Xo,

Laura

Holiday Weekend Style

I love incorporating clothes I already have into specific holiday styles. For this holiday weekend I wanted to take my last chance of the year to wear red, white, and blue.  Although it's not overly patriotic, I still wanted to have each color represented in my Labor Day wardrobe.  For this holiday I will be keeping it casual, spending time with my family and friends at the lake for one last summer celebration.

This is my first fashion post and clearly it is obvious I am no fashion model.  But hopefully you will appreciate the clothes and setting more than the one who is wearing them and feel inspired to style your own holiday outfit this weekend! Doing these photos makes me laugh a little, feel very vulnerable and totally goofy.  Have fun with your clothes and be true to your own style.  

Natural wind machines are hard to control ;)

Shorts: 7 for All Mankind | Top: Adrianna Papell, Tj Maxx find ( similar style ) | Shoes: Stuart Weitzman, no longer available ( similar style ) | Bag: Bottega Veneta

Xo,
Laura

Fig, Brie, and Kale Pizza

I've always wanted to experiment with figs, but never seemed to remember to buy them or find them in the store.  This past weekend I hit the fig jackpot at my local grocery store and decided to make my favorite food with them, pizza.

I found a lot of recipes online for fig, goat cheese, prosciutto, and arugula pizza, but since I don't eat meat and I really don't like arugula, I decided to alter this concept and make my own version.  I love all kinds of cheese, but I was in the mood for a good, buttery brie cheese. I am also part of the kale craze and can't get enough. And sticking with simplicity, I added just a little bit of extra virgin olive oil and voila (well almost, I was one minute away from burning the whole pizza and starting over).  

The end result of this pizza was savory, salty, crunchy, with a hint of sweet. I don't want to give myself a pat on the back, but I truly enjoyed this new pizza with figs. I made this pizza for my husband and gram and she kept insisting she really didn't like figs. Well let's just say she ate two pieces of pizza with a smile on her face.  

So for anyone looking to experiment with figs, give figs another chance, or just love pizza as much as I do, give this recipe a try. It takes about 10 minutes to prepare, about 10 minutes to cook, and probably one minute to eat. Pair this with a buttery chardonnay of your choice and enjoy! 

Fig Pizza
~Serves 2-3
~Prep time: 10 minutes
~Cook time: 10-14 minutes

• 4 figs
• 1 packaged of Brie cheese
• 1/2 cup of kale
• 1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil (Colavita is the best!)
• 1 whole wheat pizza crust (I took a short-cut and bought the Boboli whole wheat thin crust)

~Preheat oven to 450 degrees (425 if you don't want your pizza as crispy as mine)

~Scoop pieces of brie cheese and flatten with hands to place on crust

~Cut fig stems off and then cut thin slices and place on crust 

~Break off small pieces of kale and add to crust

~Drizzle olive oil on top of pizza

~Bake for at least 10 minutes on oven rack. I cooked mine for 14 minutes and it made it just crispy enough, right before it probably would have burnt 

~Allow to cool for a few minutes, slice into pieces, and bon appetit!

Xo,

Laura

Summer Slipping Away...

I know I'm not the only one who feels this summer is passing by way too quickly and feels they are still waiting to get their summer tan.  It seems this idea is true-every year you get older, time goes by faster and faster.

Maybe you've been caught up at work, stuck inside due to irritating summer rain, or maybe (for me) your every day life seems to take up your whole day and by the time you get your bathing suit and sunglasses on it's nine o'clock at night and dark out.

And just as easy as it is for me to pout and wear my sunglasses in the dark complaining I haven't had enough sun or made it to the beach, I am going to choose a different mind set.  I will choose to be grateful for having another summer and take advantage of what is left to come this season.  

Evenings on your patio with a glass of wine and good company, taking an hour lunch break to sit outside and breath, or going for an afternoon walk with your dogs are all summer activities to appreciate.  So even if you do have to sit outside at nine at night in your bathing suit and read your summer reading list with a head lamp instead of sunglasses, remember to be thankful for a summer evening-and just don't look at the clock!

Xo,
Laura