Colorful Colorado

We just returned from a week-long vacation to Colorado where we enjoyed cool weather, beautiful mountains, and wonderful friends. So, prepare yourself for the longest blog post ever. With such an amazing backdrop, every photo turned out looking like a postcard and I had a hard time narrowing them down!

Summer Vacation in Aspen, Colorado First, we spent a couple days exploring the Aspen area. Before we left home, I bid on hotels through Priceline and, because we were there during off-season, we luckily scored an amazing deal on a room at the swanky Viceroy Resort in Snowmass. Our first night there, we had dinner in Snowmass Village overlooking the ski slopes. We dined outside and it was chilly enough that they had the fire pits going! The next morning we woke up early to hike the Rim Trail. When we got to the top of this trail, we discovered an awesome marble yoga circle with stunning 360° views of the surrounding peaks. Of course, I insisted that we spend some time there practicing yoga poses! (Fortunately, Jason was a good sport about it and humored me for a while.) After we hiked back down the mountain, we had lunch in downtown Aspen and spent the rest of the afternoon exploring. Oh, Aspen, how you charm me with your beautiful scenery and quaint small town vibe, yet you know I can not afford you. You really think you are something special with your multi-million dollar home prices! I'm sure living among rich and beautiful movie stars is overrated, anyway. (On a side note, Jason swears he saw Connie Britton, who played Tami Taylor in Friday Night Lights, riding a bicycle through downtown Aspen. Tami, if you are reading this please confirm whether or not it was really you. Also, Texas forever!)

Summer Vacation in Vail, Colorado After leaving Aspen, we stopped in Vail for a couple hours to look around and get dinner. I'd never been to Vail before and my first impression was that it felt a bit like Disney World. Most of the streets in the village area are pedestrian-only and there were gorgeous flowers everywhere we looked. I can imagine that during ski season the whole village turns into a Winter Wonderland.

Summer Vacation in Boulder, Colorado We had never been to Boulder either and spent a day just exploring the town. It reminded us in many ways of a mini Austin, except with mountain views! We enjoyed breakfast at a cafe on Pearl Street while doing some serious people-watching! (It was move-in weekend for Colorado University, so the whole town was swarming with excited college students and nervous parents....oh, and smelly hippies, although I think we were the only ones that noticed.) One of my favorite places in Boulder was the Chautauqua National Historic Landmark at the base of the Flatiron Mountains.

Summer Vacation in Ft. Collins, Colorado After leaving Boulder, we continued on to Fort Collins to visit our dear friends Christian and Max who recently moved there from Austin. Apparently we were so excited to see them that we forgot to take any pictures of Fort Collins itself. I just have a couple pictures from our morning of rock climbing at Horsetooth Reservoir. Now I wish I'd taken some pictures of Fort Collins' cute downtown, but at the time we were too busy chowing down on yummy Mexican food and cupcakes!

Summer Vacation in Estes Park, Colorado Christian and Max were the perfect hosts and tour guides! They took us to Estes Park, which is only a 30 minute drive from Fort Collins. We hiked around Bear Lake, Nymph Lake and Dream Lake on our way up to Emerald Lake where we enjoyed a picnic lunch with incredible views of Hallett Peak. There was still some snow up there and we actually saw a marmot, too!

Summer Vacation in Winter Park, Colorado Jason and I spent a couple hours strolling around Winter Park. The wildflowers were absolutely gorgeous there! It was in Winter Park that we ate one of the most delightful things we've ever tasted – a Nutella Crepe from Goodys. Let me tell you, that crepe was heaven. on. earth. The scenery was just the cherry on top!

Summer Vacation in Denver, ColoradoThere are a ton of neat things to do in Denver – we explored downtown and the 16th Street Mall, cheered on the Rockies at a baseball game, made a pilgrimage to the amazing REI flagship store, strolled through City Park, hiked around Red Rocks, and ate frozen yogurt for more meals than I care to mention. The highlight of our time in Denver was meeting up with our friend Ashley for breakfast. We all went to high school together and it had been a while since we'd seen each other, so it was great to catch up! It was really hard stepping off the plane in Tulsa into triple-digit temperatures. We immediately started planning another Colorado trip! What are some places we should visit on our next mountain adventure?
Published:
August 27, 2011 – 2:54 pm
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By Shayla
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Homemade Toothpaste

Well, friends – I've been at it again here in the design finch laboratory, this time experimenting with a recipe for homemade toothpaste. Why am I making toothpaste, you ask? When I started reading about the toxins (think rat poison and engine degreaser) contained in most conventional toothpastes, we made the decision to switch to natural toothpaste. We were using Tom's of Maine for a while, but never really liked the flavor, plus it is a little more expensive. So I was intrigued when I found Simple Mom's recipe for homemade toothpaste.

Homemade Toothpaste Ingredients You only need a few ingredients to make your own toothpaste:
  • baking soda
  • coconut oil
  • Stevia natural sweetner
  • pure peppermint extract
  • lidded container
I found everything at Whole Foods, with the exception of the container (which, in full disclosure, is just a Nutella jar I dug out of our recycling bin). My first batch of toothpaste turned out too watery when I followed the recipe, so now instead of precisely measuring out the ingredients I just mix things together until it resembles toothpaste.

Making Homemade Toothpaste I start by filling the container about half full of baking soda, then slowly mixing in coconut oil a little at a time until its the same consistency as toothpaste. Finally, I add about a teaspoon of Stevia and a few drops of peppermint extract to achieve that minty fresh taste.

Homemade Toothpaste We use a little spoon to scoop the toothpaste out of the jar onto our toothbrushes. I have to admit that its an acquired taste and, at first, it seems a little weird to brush your teeth with anything other than Crest. However, now that we've perfected the recipe for making our own natural toothpaste, we actually prefer it over the store-bought stuff. I'm not certain if 9 out of 10 dentists endorse this method, but I'm sure it's totally fine. I mean, nothing says dental hygiene like brushing your teeth with homemade toothpaste straight from an old Nutella jar. It seems like a better choice than rat poison.
Published:
August 20, 2011 – 7:00 am
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By Shayla
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On-the-Go Breakfast

We've all heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but I have to admit I've never been much of a breakfast eater (most likely because I'm not a morning person!). However, I know that when I skip breakfast it affects my energy level for the rest of the day. Over time I've learned that the key to starting the day off right is to keep a few healthy grab-and-go breakfast options on hand.

Most mornings I whip up a fruit smoothie as I'm running out the door because, not only is it delicious and nutritious, it's also incredibly simple to make thanks to my rocket blender that doubles as a to-go cup. I've also discovered that I can make breakfast tacos in large batches to freeze and then quickly reheat one in the microwave to eat in the car. The same freeze-and-zap method applies to muffins and breakfast pizza, too.

With school starting back again and the morning chaos that inevitably ensues, I thought now would be a perfect time to share a few nutritious breakfast recipes you can eat with one hand while sprinting out the door.

Healthy On-the-Go Breakfast RecipesClockwise from top: Frozen Fruit Smoothies, Green Monster Smoothie,
Fruit, Cheese & Walnuts, Yogurt Parfait

Nutritious On-the-Go Breakfast RecipesClockwise from top: Breakfast Pizza, French Toast Kebabs,
Bacon, Egg & Toast Cups, Proscuitto-Wrapped Mini Frittata Muffins,
Greek Omelette in a Pita, Breakfast Tacos

 Have a great breakfast recipe you'd like to share? Please link it up below!


Published:
August 7, 2011 – 4:39 pm
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By Shayla
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Sunday Planning

I recently read a statistic that said every minute invested in planning will save you ten minutes down the road. I can personally attest that not only does a little planning ahead help with time management, but it also saves money and reduces stress. Don't we all want more help in those areas? Um, I sure do! No matter how busy I am, I try to set aside about an hour on Sunday afternoons to prepare for the week ahead. Since today is Sunday and I'm in the process of doing my weekly planning, I felt inspired to share the tasks that keep me organized.
  • Check calendar for appointments.
  • Make a "to do" list.
  • Jot down a plan for dinners.
  • Create a shopping list.
  • Take items out of the freezer to defrost.
  • Check the weather forecast.
  • Iron work clothes for the week.
When I don't take the time to do these things on Sunday, I feel like I spend the rest of the week playing catch-up. Do you know the feeling? While my iPhone has certainly simplified things, I still find it helpful to make lists the old-fashioned way because I find great pleasure in checking things off! Plus, there are so many cute and FREE printables online that make it easier than ever to get organized. Here is a roundup of some of my favorites:

Free Weekly Planner PrintablesDownload Printables Here: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9

Free Printable Weekly Menu PlannersDownload Printables Here: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5

Free Printable Weekly Cleaning SchedulesDownload Printables Here: 1 / 2 / 3

Free Printable Weekly Blog PlannersDownload Printables Here: 1 / 2 / 3

If you don't already do this, I encourage you to give it a try this week and let me know how it goes. Happy planning!

Published:
July 31, 2011 – 4:04 pm
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By Shayla
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Dreaming Up My Dream House

I have a pretty vivid picture in my head of what my dream house looks like. It's an old Craftsman-style bungalow that has been lovingly restored and decorated with an eclectic mixture of modern and classic furnishings. While I've never seen this house in real life, I know it exists out there somewhere. Today I thought it would be fun to try and piece together my dream house in pictures by gathering some of the design ideas I've collected via Pinterest that capture my personal decorating style. So, here goes: My Style: Exterior   My Style: Living Area   My Style: Kitchen   My Style: Master Bed & Bath   My Style: Guest Bed & Bath   My Style: Kids' Rooms   My Style: Mudroom   My Style: Backyard I must say, these pictures are pretty darn close to what my dream house looks in my imagination. Now I just need to hunt it down and make it mine! What about your dream house? Have you found it, or does it just exist in your head?
Published:
July 24, 2011 – 6:07 pm
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By Shayla
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Homemade Laundry Detergent

A few months ago I began a personal mission to replace the commercial cleaning products in our home with natural alternatives that are both gentler on the environment and easier on the ol' wallet. After a couple months of cleaning exclusively with my homebrew, I'm happy to report that I haven't missed the store-bought stuff at all. In fact, now I actually enjoy the process of making my own natural cleaners. (Notice I did not say that I enjoy the process of cleaning – please let me know if you discover a magic potion for that!) Anyway, one of my most successful experiments has been the recipe I found for homemade powdered laundry detergent. It's simple to make, cleans really well, and smells absolutely AMAZING! Since this particular recipe doesn't produce suds, it is also safe to use in front-loading machines.

Ingredients for Homemade Laundry Detergent
Powdered Laundry Detergent
  • 1 cup Fels Naptha Soap, grated
  • 1/2 cup Washing Soda
  • 1/2 cup Borax
  • A few drops of Essential Oil (optional)
Wal-Mart and many grocery stores carry Fels Naptha Soap, Washing Soda, and Borax (usually found on the laundry aisle). I bought the Essential Oil locally at Akin's Natural Foods and it can be ordered online, too.

Making Natural Laundry Detergent To make homemade detergent, first grate the soap using a fine grater or food processor. It will look like shredded cheese when you're done, but try to resist the temptation to make nachos.

DIY Eco-Friendly Laundry Soap Combine all ingredients and store in a sealed container. For a light load, use 1 tablespoon of detergent. Use 2 tablespoons for a full or heavily soiled load. A little bit of this detergent goes a LONG way! I haven't crunched the numbers myself, but Savvy Chic estimates that this homemade detergent only costs around 3¢ per load. That's a bargain, especially compared to other commercial eco-friendly detergents that, on average, cost about five times more per load! Margarita BucketI store my homemade laundry detergent in a recycled margarita bucket. What, is that weird? Well, I just wanted to throw that out there because I'm keepin' it real here (and also so the Laundry Fairy will know where to find it in the event that she makes a surprise visit to my house).
Published:
July 17, 2011 – 9:56 pm
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By Shayla
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Cocoon Cutie

We were recently blessed with another beautiful niece! Little Miss Fia made her debut on June 24 – 6 lbs, 11 oz of pure sweetness sent straight from heaven. We've loved her to pieces from the moment we met her!

Fia's Cuddle Cocoon She is already the best little snuggle bug! I knitted this cozy sleep sack for her from the Laurel Love Cocoon pattern (except I used Malabrigo Rasta yarn and size 15 circular needles). Because Rasta is a super chunky yarn, it knit up quickly and only took one skein. Judging by the peaceful expression on Fia's face, I'd say she likes napping in her cocoon. Kinda makes me want one in my size!
Published:
July 9, 2011 – 9:17 am
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By Shayla
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Charleston’s Window Boxes

One of the first things I noticed while strolling around Charleston was that almost all of the historic homes have beautiful window boxes overflowing with flowers. Few of the homes in the historic district have yards since they are built so close together, therefore planters are pretty much all the gardening space Charlestonians have available. Talk about my kind of landscaping!

Window Boxes of Charleston While there are window boxes everywhere you look, I found it rather odd that we never saw anyone outside watering them during our entire stay in Charleston, especially since planters tend to dry out really quickly. Finally, I noticed that most of the window boxes have a drip-irrigation system (which you can see in some of the photos if you look closely). Again, totally my type of gardening!

Charleston Planters At one point, Jason commented that the locals must have read my blog post about choosing plants that are thrillers, spillers, and fillers to create interesting planters. Well, of course they did....and then took it up a notch! I noted which plants seemed to be thriving happily in Charleston window boxes in late June despite the steamy summer temps:

Charleston Flowers In the fall, Charlestonians replant their window boxes with cool-weather flowers in preparation for spring. If you visit Charleston during these months, you can expect to see the following: No matter the time of year, something is always in bloom. I promise it's worth a visit to Charleston just to see the window boxes!
Published:
July 2, 2011 – 1:29 pm
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By Shayla
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Charmed by Charleston

In my last post I mentioned that we were planning a little getaway to celebrate our sixth wedding anniversary. Every year we try to visit someplace we've never been and kept hearing wonderful things about Charleston, South Carolina, so we decided it was time to check it out for ourselves. I'm so glad we did! No place serves up Southern charm quite like Charleston!

Charleston, South Carolina History is everywhere you look in Charleston. We enjoyed walking around the historic downtown while admiring the gorgeous architecture, window shopping along King Street, strolling through Battery Park, and touring Historic Charleston Foundation's house museums (Nathaniel Russell House and Aiken-Rhett House).

Cemeteries in Charleston, SC Almost every old church in Charleston has its own graveyard and we found them so fascinating because most of the headstones date back to the 1800's and some are even as old as the 1700's. I could have spent our entire trip just strolling through the cemeteries reading the markers! A couple of the more interesting graveyards we stumbled across were at the Unitarian Church and Circular Congregational Church. Jason wishes we would have gone on a ghost tour to hear the spooky stories behind some of the graves!

Bike Tour of Charleston, SC After an entire day of walking all over downtown, we finally got smart and rented bicycles the next day! This was by far the best money we spent. My favorite memory of the trip was cruising up and down the cobblestone streets of the historic neighborhoods on our bikes while gawking at the beautiful old mansions, then stopping on the waterfront for a picnic lunch in Battery Park where we watched a wedding going on in the gazebo.

Isle of Palms near Charleston, SC One day we explored a couple of the beaches near Charleston. Folly Beach has a laid-back beach town vibe, but it was super crowded the day we were there so we didn't enjoy it as much. Isle of Palms seems much quieter and cleaner. There are beautiful vacation homes lining the beach and a small village center with a few restaurants. We picked up a pizza from the local pizzeria and walked down to the beach to enjoy the sunset one evening.

Middleton Place Plantation – Charleston, SC Middleton Place Plantation was another Charleston favorite. The plantation home, built in 1755, sits in the middle of the oldest landscaped gardens in America. This National Historic Landmark tells the story of the Middleton Family and the African American slaves who lived and worked on the rice plantation for four generations. There is something magical about the Spanish moss hanging from the massive live oak trees that transports you back in time....and makes you start tawkin' reeel Suthern. Or maybe that's just me?   Dining in Charleston, SC Of course, the primary objective on any vacation is to eat as much as humanly possible. We had a lot of good food (and sweet iced tea!) on this trip, but the meals at FIG and Pearlz Oyster Bar really put a taste of the South in my mouth! We also sipped overpriced cocktails at the Pavilion Bar, where it's really more about the great rooftop view than the drinks. Oh, and I can't forget the coconut cake for dessert at Peninsula Grill...it really did live up to all the hype! Another highlight was meeting up with a long-lost friend for coffee! Emmanuel was a foreign exchange student at our high school and he and his beautiful wife now live in Charleston. We really enjoyed catching up with him and meeting Ashley for the first time. We hope to go back to Charleston one year during the Preservation Society's famous Fall Tour of Homes and Gardens. Spring would also be a beautiful time to visit when the azaleas are in bloom at Middleton Place. Anyone want to join us?  
Published:
June 26, 2011 – 1:36 pm
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By Shayla
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Have Love, Will Travel

This weekend marks six years of holy matrimony for us! Instead of exchanging gifts, we have a tradition of celebrating our wedding anniversary by taking a trip to a place we've never been. Some years we go on a big adventure to a faraway destination; other years our vacation is not quite as exotic. Nonetheless, we always look forward to this time away to relax, recharge, and make new discoveries together. We fully plan on continuing this tradition 'til death do us part!

Honeymoon – June 2005 Honeymoon in Italy – June 2005 Our honeymoon was absolutely incredible! We spent two weeks in Italy enjoying the food, culture, art, and architecture. The majority of our time was spent in Venice, Florence, and Cinque Terre, although we also ate our way through some of the smaller villages scattered throughout Tuscany. It was truly an amazing trip and we can't wait to go back and explore more of Italy.

First Anniversary – June 2006 Our New Home in Austin, Texas – June 2006 We had a big vacation to the Dominican Republic planned for our first anniversary, but then we put an offer in on a house just as we were finalizing the trip. There went our travel fund! We closed on our new home on June 9, 2006....just two days before our first anniversary. We celebrated the big day by stripping off wallpaper. Romantic. But we still plan to take that trip to the Dominican Republic one of these days!

Second Anniversary – June 2007 Anniversary in Big Bend – June 2007 This was one of our low-budget excursions (note home purchase above!) but we had so much fun exploring Far West Texas together. We camped three nights in Big Bend National Park, then spent time in Terlingua, Marfa, Alpine, and Ft. Davis. One of the highlights of this trip was attending a Star Party at McDonald Observatory. We love this part of Texas so much that we keep hounding our family to go back with us! (Come on y'all...it'll be SO fun!)

Third Anniversary – June 2008 Anniversary in Washington D.C. – June 2008 We celebrated year #3 in Washington, D.C. I had been to D.C. with my family as a teenager, but Jason had never been (and he was a Political Science major, for crying out loud!). So we toured the sites, visited the museums, and brushed up on our U.S. history. Oh, and almost got arrested for unknowingly trespassing on the White House lawn. God bless America.

Fourth Anniversary – June 2009 Anniversary in Siesta Key, Florida – June 2009 We toasted four years of marriage on the sugary white sand beaches of Siesta Key, Florida. While we were mostly beach bums on this trip, we still managed to squeeze in a little sightseeing around Lido Key, Longboat Key, and Anna Maria Island. We were pleasantly surprised by how clean and pristine all the beaches were in this part of Florida!

Fifth Anniversary – June 2010 Anniversary in Los Cabos, Mexico – June 2010 Our fifth anniversary took us to Los Cabos, Mexico where we spent five glorious days at Cabo Azul Resort. We walked along the beach, relaxed by the pool, indulged in massages at the spa, and dined on incredibly fresh seafood. So many times over the past year we've wished that we were right back there in Paradise!

Sixth Anniversary – June 2011 So, where are we celebrating year #6? Stay tuned!
Published:
June 12, 2011 – 2:03 am
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By Shayla
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