January 15, 2019

Sugar and Sass, Champagne and Class… That’s What 40 Is Made Of

VALERIE

Age: 480 Months

Height: 61 3/4″

Weight: Fabulous

 

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Every girl, everywhere, listen up.

Take a page from the book of Valerie and celebrate age with enthusiasm, youthfulness and excitement.

Like fine wine, we get BETTER with age.

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By 40 we’ve been through a lot, learned a lot, mourned losses, and celebrated wins.  We’ve redefined boundaries, established meaningful relationships, and evolved into our best selves.

 

And we are wise enough to know that we will continue to evolve and redefine who we are, what we stand for, and what we believe in.

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We take life seriously…

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But we know how to let loose, make fun of ourselves, be eccentric, and LIVE our life for us.  And only us.

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We get ONE life, and darling… 40 is another chapter in our book.  A chapter WE get to write ourselves.

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Valerie, my friend.   I am not sure in what chapter we became acquainted, but I am ever so thankful we did.  Your spontaneity, humor, EXTRA AF attitude is everything.

EVERYTHING

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May you never lose your light, your sparkle or your youthfulness.

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Forty

(well, near 40 since you started celebrating exactly 35 days early)

looks SO good on you.

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Cheers to your teens, twenties and thirties.

Forties? 

Watch it… She’s coming for ya.

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CHEERS!

 

January 14, 2019

Snow {Love} Birds

Nebraska’s most recent snow storm created the most beautiful backdrop for a Sunday morning shoot at Zorinsky lake.  Add in the warmth these two lovebirds share and we barely noticed the 28 degree temperature.

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Cole’s MILLION dollar smile, Tyree’s natural beauty, and the love and affection these two share gave way to an easy, natural and relaxed morning.  My goal was to simply capture the respect and admiration these two share for one another.

 

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Between walking through the snow capped trees and wading through ankle deep fields, we made sure to have fun and enjoy the moment in nature, which is definitely their element.

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And can we just take a moment on this next one.

Simply. Stunning.

 

Thanks for the fun, Tyree and Cole!

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Cheers to July 4th in Colorado!

October 29, 2018

National Cat Day!

It’s no secret that I am a crazy cat lady.  What I don’t think you understand is what level of crazy I exist on.  I’ve got the shirts, the kitchen towels, the hat, the socks… let’s not forget the things I have for the cats.  Towers, tunnels, outdoor tent and toys on toys.

Let’s just say I need to add to my shirt collection with one that says

“I work hard so my cats can live a better life”.

Harley came along first in July of 2016.  SHE found Clint, is how he describes their meeting.  A stranded little baby lost in the cornfield out by the shop.  He adopted her and kept her “hired” as the shop cat until that November when he decided it was much too cold for a pretty girl to be left in a shop, so he brought her home.

And that is what started their daily travels back and forth between home and the shop for a few months.  Guys, what would you do if you rolled up next to a dude in a big ol work truck and saw this:

Harley and I did a few road trips of our own and she was the QUEEN of kisses on those travels.  I don’t know if it was her way of saying THANK YOU THIS IS AWESOME… or HOW MANY KISSES DO YOU NEED TO PROVE I LOVE YOU and PLEASE TAKE ME HOME!

 

Harley was our ornery cat who provided us our own “cat versus Christmas tree” scenarios in our very own living room.

Harley loved attention.  From snuggles:

 

to light paws on the face to divert your attention back to her:

or just a quick chat after a long hard day of napping…

 

She was the cat that got us over our heartbreak of losing Champ and Sasha.  We were dog peeps up until this crazy little nugget.

And then came Grimmy.

Named after a Gremlin… cute and cuddly and oh so sweet… but with one drop of water, that little bug turns into a lunatic and will attack the rubber-band on your arm while you sleep.

But, how can you not love that little bug when she curls up with you so sweetly?

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We aquired Grimmy from my in-laws.  A stray at their house, they adopted her and brought her into their family of all dogs, but my FIL, being allergic to cats, started looking for a new home for her.  Of course I couldn’t resist and said “let’s give it a try”.

It took a while for Harley to warm up to Grimmy, which broke my heart for Harley because she was crazy pissed at us (there went the snuggles) BUT in return I got a LOT of snuggles in those early days from Grimmy.  If she could be in my arms, she was.  It was awesome.

And sometimes suffocating…

To say we are straight up obsessed with these fur balls is an understatement.  I won’t even tell you how many photos I have of them.   Trust me.  I know. There’s an album…

HAPPY NATIONAL CAT DAY!

And remember: Adopt, don’t shop.

October 5, 2018

Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

 

I made this dessert earlier this summer and OHMYGOSH you guys.  It was insane.

Or… so I was told.  I made it for a work meeting.  All I know is it was licked clean within an hour time span.

Thanks to Vera over at Oh My Goodness Chocolate Desserts for the easy to follow instructions and recipe.  Springforms and I have a history of disasters, but this little raspberry crumble number redeemed our friendship.

Enjoy!

PS. You should click on her link above for legitimate photos of the dessert.  Much more pleasing then my kitchen lighting + iPhone snaps.  Lazy at best when capturing food shots.  Whatevs.

Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

 

Ingredients

FOR THE FILLING:
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 8 oz. cream cheese-softened
  • 1 egg white
  • 1 cup raspberries-washed and well drained
FOR THE CAKE:
  • 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 5.5 Tablespoons unsalted butter- softened
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 egg + 1 egg yolk
  • 3/4 cup sour cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
FOR THE STREUSEL TOPPING:
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 3 tablespoons butter-chilled and cubed
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease 8 or 9 inch springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.
  2. Filling instructions: Mix the cream cheese and sugar together on medium-low speed until creamy. Add egg white and mix on low until combined. Set aside.
  3. Cake batter instructions: Stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl, set aside.
  4. With an electric mixer cream together the butter and sugar on medium-low speed. Add egg, egg yolk and vanilla. Slowly mix in the flour mixture alternating with the sour cream. Transfer the batter into the prepared pan and smooth with a spatula. Spread the cream cheese filling on top. Place raspberries on top of cream cheese filling.
  5. Topping instructions: Combine sugar, flour and chilled cubed butter in a bowl. Stir with a fork or pastry blender until the mixture is crumbly and sprinkle on top of raspberries.
  6. Bake for 40-45 minutes until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack, run a thin knife around the cake and loose ring of springform pan.
  7. Store in the fridge.