Sneak Peak

A few weeks ago, I traveled to Richmond to photograph my dear friend's adorable wedding. I'll have a lot to share soon, but here's a sneak peak for now.

All the pretty mountains

@Estes park with dad.

Fredericksburg, Iowa

Coot Lake

Walks with Buster

Boulder Balloons

One day I'll ride in one.

Dance Yrself Clean

LCD Soundsystem @ The Boulder Theater

Fall Aspens

Pikes Peak

@Pikes Peak with Heather and Garrett

Eldorado Canyon

The Gold Hill Inn

There's a cute little mountain town, Gold Hill that's just 10 miles from Boulder. We ventured up to see the bluegrass band, Finders and Youngberg at the Gold Hill Inn. The inn was adorable and we had a feet stomping good time.

Beer Mecca: New Belgium Brewing Company

I definitely recommend heading over to Fort Collins, CO for some delicious beer sampling and 90 minutes of brewing history. Make sure to book your tickets in advance, spots fill up fast. Book here.

Happy Movember

My Dad rock'n a stache in '76.

Fall Fishing

We found a little fishing spot and decided to try fishing. We're definitely not experts, but we managed to catch a little guy.  Don't worry, he went safely back into the water.

A Special Gift

There's nothing better than finding a handmade sweater in your mailbox. I saw this pattern by Cirilia Rose on Ravelry and Van's mom was able to bring it to life! It fits beautifully and I love the yarn she chose. It's almost too precious to wear!

Happy Birthday Buster!

My little guy is 3 already!

Tubing in Golden

We headed to Golden, CO this weekend for an adventure tubing down the river. I was definitely nervous as we went down rapids and dodged boulders, but the kids and locals made it look so easy. I got the hang of it towards the end, and we all had a great time. I'm sure we'll be back to Golden soon.

Key Holders

We're getting settled into our new apartment and I'm wading through boxes of stuff. There's still a ton of organizing to do, but I'm already thinking about decorating. There's a perfect spot by the door for a key holder. I found a few options, and now I just have to pick one:

1. Key Hook Rack by Anthropologie

2. Wisconsin Wall Hook by Old New Again

3.  Vintage Key Holder Rack by House About it





















4.Antler Door Rack by The Door Stop

5. Deer Head Wall Hook by The Door Stop

Back in the Day Bakery: Strawberry Cupcakes

 I found the perfect recipe for our freshly picked strawberries, cupcakes by my favorite Savannah bakery! The cupcakes turned out great, adding pureed berries to the batter is a genius idea.

Strawberry Cupcakes with Fresh Strawberry Frosting
from The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook

Makes about 24 cupcakes

Ingredients
Cupcakes:
3 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/3 cups pureed fresh strawberries (from about 2 cups whole strawberries—puree in a blender until smooth)
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp lemon zest
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
4 egg whites

Strawberry frosting:
4 sticks unsalted butter, softened (1 pound)
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp sea salt (original recipe calls for fleur de sel, which you can find at specialty shops)
8 cups powdered sugar (from two 1-lb boxes)
1/2 cup pureed strawberries (about 1 cup whole strawberries)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line or grease 24 cupcake tins.
Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
Whisk together the pureed strawberries, lemon zest, milk and vanilla in another bowl. Also set aside.
Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and egg whites gradually, beating after each, until combined. Alternate between adding the dry ingredients and the wet strawberry ingredients to the butter mixture, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined.
Scoop batter into prepared cupcake tins, filling up 2/3 to 3/4 the way full (depending on the size of your tins…I have really small cupcake tins so I filled mine up all the way). Bake cupcakes for 25 minutes or until golden. Be sure to test using a toothpick to make sure they are completely done in the center. Let cool.
While the cupcakes are cooling, make the frosting! Beat the butter until creamy then add the powdered sugar, lemon juice, sea salt and pureed strawberries. Continue beating (ideally with an electric mixer but you can do this by hand if need be) until very light and fluffy.
Pipe or spread frosting on each cupcake. Enjoy!