Life, Lately

Since coming home from Wyoming, life has been moving at warp speed with little to no breathing room. I feel like it's been a whirlwind of working, managing a household, taking care of a babe, and (not enough) sleep. On a happy note, today is my Thursday since I have a long weekend coming up, and I just. cannot. wait! I have so many recipes and DIYs I want to share with you, and I'm itching to start some holiday decorating and make some paleo peppermint hot chocolate. Yes, you read that right, but let me just repeat... paleo peppermint hot chocolate. 

Here's a little peek into our trip to Wyoming and the last week of craziness. 

{my happy little reindeer! this kid is so awesome, you guys.}

 {my boss brought us bags of apples from the north Georgia apple orchard - score!}

{I could hike all day in the beautiful Wind River Range.}

 {We had the best burgers & sandwiches on gluten-free buns in Jackson.}

xoxo

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Back to Reality

Husband and I spent the last eight days exploring and adventuring in the Chiriquí providence of Panama. Zip lining, waterfall hikes, white water rafting, exploring volcanic islands, incredible food (including the freshest fish possible)... In short, it was amazing. I didn't want to leave. And I probably wouldn't have left if it weren't for things like missing my family and friends. Oh, and those pesky student loans and mortgage payments. 

I have some posts coming up detailing our trip, the hotels and activities. Oh, and some pretty amazing pictures.

xoxo

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Colorado Adventures Part II: Winter Park

After our brief time in Boulder, husband and I and our buddies headed over to Winter Park for a few days of skiing. The drive from Boulder to Winter Park was really quite lovely. I enjoyed watching the landscape change as the snow started to cover more of the mountains, the rocks began to fade and the trees began to grow in tall clusters.

Downhill skiing is one of my favorite things to do with K because we are well matched in our skill level {except I may be just a little bit better, ha.} so we always have a ton of fun. Winter Park was gorgeous, with plenty of good tree skiing, my favorite. I love finding skinny little trails off the sides of the runs that wind through the trees. A few times husband was behind me so I knocked some snow off the branches onto his head. Ha! Mary Jane was our favorite mountain with Edelweiss being our favorite run. It was long and winding with lots of trees and hideaways. We skied at Winter Park two days in a row and spent the entire second day skiing over at Mary Jane.

And although Winter Park was lovely and lots of fun, I didn't think it was necessarily better than the other places we have been. Wolf Creek, our honeymoon spot, was a great, smaller scale local place. And Breckenridge is probably my favorite ski destination in Colorado. We didn't eat out in Winter Park, mostly because nothing really grabbed our attention. Instead we spent our evenings in our condo, making dinner, playing cards and watching movies.

You know the night life is just not for me, 'cause all you really need are a few good friends.

xoxo

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Colorado Adventures Part I: Boulder

Last Friday husband and I packed up and headed out late to visit friends and find adventures in Colorado. We love to ski {we went skiing for our honeymoon!}, hike and basically do anything outdoorsy, so traveling out west is essential for us. Our trip last year was unfortunately cancelled, so we tried our best to fit in as much as possible this time!

We flew into Denver and drove about an hour north to Boulder, where two of our sweetest friends live. {We went to high school with this guy's brother, and honestly feel like a part of their family. K used to spend weekends at the family's cabin in North Georgia when we were in middle and high school.} It was so great to spend time with Joseph and Holly! We haven't been able to just hang out with them since I was in Athens at pharmacy school. They are such cool kids -- so laid back and fun, always up for adventure, and they share our love of delicious food. 

We spent Saturday morning wandering around Pearl Street, stopping for coffee at Ozo, hands down my favorite coffee in Boulder. The gorgeous blue sky and flatirons made a great backdrop for the cold day and hot coffee warming our hands. We bopped into the Patagonia store, where husband bought me what I call a "sleeping bag" jacket. It's just. so. warm.

We lunched at Illegal Pete's, and let me tell you, the chicken pesto burrito is where it's at. After lunch, the snow started and we packed up and headed to Winter Park with plans of skiing the next day. The evening was spent telling stories, eating homemade tacos, and playing spades and taboo. Ha! We love games, especially when we have friends to play them with.

We actually spent another 24 hours in Boulder at the end of our trip. We had dinner at a really neat new restaurant called Under the Sun. Delicious handhelds {sandwhiches} made of lemon rosemary chicken + sun-dried tomato aioli + arugula + mozzerella and pulled pork + bacon + honey mustard + arugula served with kale slaw. Um, yes please. The following morning we brunched at Snooze, which was akin to my favorite Athens spot. Breakfast burritos, egg scramblers with goat cheese, and a homemade hashbrown with each plate. 

Needless to say, I was pretty smitten with Boulder. If only we had family out there, we would move in a heartbeat... but we just can't stand being that far from our loved ones. So we will visit... often.

xoxo 

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Weekend Adventure No. 331: Upper Chattahoochee Campground

Lately husband and I have both been suffering from a bit of wanderlust. Maybe due to the insanely beautiful weather, the long list of upcoming changes in our lives, or just the constant need to feel connected to nature... either way, we needed a little weekend escape. Our original plan was to head back to one of our favorite spots in Tate City, but despite our early morning arrival on Saturday, all of the campsites were taken! After getting over our disappointment and scouring the map for another campground, we decided to head to the Chatahoochee River area. The site where we ended up was just perfect. In fact, it may very well be a new favorite of ours.

The weather was simply gorgeous on Saturday with warm sunshine and a cool breeze. It cooled off a bit after sundown, making the campfire the perfect companion to storytelling and dreaming up ideas for our house.

This was the pup's first camping trip, and suffice to say that he's definitely found the right family with us. He loved the water... After he realized it was okay to get in, he went bounding through the river full force. More than once he caught a wild hair and ran full speed in circles picking up sticks and running into trees {I kid you not}. It's safe to say he enjoyed the adventure.

We are planning a return trip in the future with plans to visit this section of the AT, which is nearby.

xoxo

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Outdoor Spaces

One of the most exciting things about purchasing a home is the potential for creating a really incredible outdoor space. A place for grilling and entertaining, curling up in the sun with a book, planting an herb and vegetable garden, and simply enjoying nature. Lately I've been scouting deck design websites and bookmarking some inspiring spaces that I'd like to emulate. Here are some of my current favorites.

{all can be found here}
xoxo

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Surviving Winter: Workin on My Fitness

Over the past few years, I've noticed that for me {like many others} January and February are the most difficult months to push through. The holiday cheer has long since dissipated, the mornings are dark and the days are cold, and all I can think about is cheerful spring colors and sunshine-filled days. So I've decided to start a series of posts about my secrets to surviving winter. While I do love a rainy afternoon movie marathon, I refuse to let the weather dictate my mood, and after a difficult 2011, I have vowed to try and live my life to the absolute fullest {cliché, I know, but sometimes clichés are just so true}.

One thing that I think is essential to surviving winter is staying active. Whether it's yoga in the morning, lifting a few weights or an evening run, I find that a good workout always boots my mood. And while it's hard to believe, exercise actually gives you more energy, especially when you're tired. It's often hard to motivate myself to get outside in the cold, so I turn to bright colors and warm layers to help beat the winter workout blues.

1. Athleta Malibu Hike Half Zip
2. Merrell Barefoot Running Pace Glove
3. Hurley Under Armor ColdGear leggings

4. Athleta Interval Jacket
5. Buff Multipurpose Scarf
6. Athleta lap shorts
7. Timex Triathlon watch
8. The North Face Sports Bra
9. The North Face Reaxion Shirt

xoxo

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Long Weekend

This Labor Day weekend husband and I spent some much needed time in the north Georgia mountains with some of our favorite friends. We revisited the Nantahala River for a bit of kayaking, grilled burgers on the cabin porch, ate breakfast at a local country store, and laughed and talked with friends. Sunday evening was spent at a pizza-making contest {our pizza won}, followed by homemade peach ice cream and painting on the porch while listening to the rain. On Monday we celebrated two years of marriage with a low-key but delicious homemade dinner, cuban sangria, and chocolate peanut butter almond-flour cupcakes.

If only every weekend were a three-day weekend....

xoxo

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Weekend Adventure No. 26: Kayaking the Nantahala River

Not too long ago I mentioned how I wanted to live life with a fearless attitude. Included in that transformation was beginning to do more things that scare me -- presenting my research to well-established and accomplished professionals, completing a medical mission trip outside of the states, taking more {calculated} risks and experiencing new things, just to name a few. Recently, I was able to get my feet wet {see what I did there?} with this new fearless attitude by maneuvering a kayak through class three rapids {with no prior paddling experience, mind you}... solo.

Husband and I spent last Saturday on the Nantahala River, and while I was more than a bit scared at times, it was well worth the anxiety. In fact, we have a return trip planned for Labor Day weekend!

Happy paddling.
xoxo

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Memorial Day

Husband and I spent this past Memorial Day weekend in the mountains of North Carolina. We camped at Standing Indian campground and enjoyed the gorgeous scenery, complete with a river, morning fog, and one heck of a mountain-top view. It felt so wonderful to be surrounded by so many trees. Also, the hike to the top of Standing Indian is well worth the effort, as the view is simply breathtaking with mountain tops reaching all the way to the horizon.

One of my favorite things about camping is cooking meals outside, and we took full advantage of our percolator and fire pit to make delicious breakfasts and dinners -- strong coffee accompanied by eggs with zucchini and raw cheddar, chicken tacos with red onions and avocado, even paleo biscuits. It was a bittersweet weekend as it's our last trip until cooler weather, but it definitely left me looking forward to the fall.

xoxo

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