Author Archives: Katie

Grand Tetons & String Lake Loop

by Katie | Leave a comment

This June we’re all about camping! We’ve talked about scoring free campsites on BLM land, 24 hours in Canyonlands NP, camping in Tofino, BC, and what to pack for some good camp meals.

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In my opinion, there’s nothing like this view of the Grand Tetons.

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I camped here for one chilly night about a decade ago, and that view of the mountains rising out of the water stuck with me ever since. Fortunately, these mountains and their reflection are just as majestic as I had remembered. Come along for our quick trip back to the park.  Continue reading …

Summer Books Round-up

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Even with my bedside pile of books overflowing, at the start of summer I’m always on the hunt for a few good reads.

Check out these lists for a few of our favorites. We’re giving you a touch of everything from cookbooks and nature reads to actual beach reads for the kiddos.

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Find Sarah’s favorite nature reads here.

Find Katie’s favorite summer cookbooks here.

Check out some beach reads for kids here. That link includes a few of our favorite books by Chesapeake writers and illustrators. Really there’s nothing better than reading a book on vacation about the places and people you’re visiting!

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These are the books that we go back to again and again when summer arrives. But we’re always looking for more – what are your favorite summer reads?

 

Take a Stand

by Katie | 2 Comments

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Guys, this has gone on long enough and we have to take a stand. We are heartbroken, frustrated, and unbelievably angry about the current practice of separating children from the parents at the border.

So much has already been written about this issue, and honestly we don’t have anything constructive to add to the conversation.

A couple of bloggers that we respect wrote great posts about the issue. Please read their words to learn more about what’s going on and what you can do to voice your outrage and encourage your representations to take action.

And you still want to blame this on previous administrations? Or use a false “history” of separation to justify current actions?  Please get your facts straight.

… what else can we say? xo

24 Hours in Canyonlands

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This past May we did a series of travel posts as both a kick-off to summer and as a bit of inspiration to get out there and explore. This month we’re continuing the travel theme, but with a focus on camping!

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On our most recent road trip, we spent 24 hours in Canyonlands National Park. Here’s the summary in 24 photos! Continue reading …

Large Scale Cross-Stitch

by Katie | 1 Comment

At the beginning of the year, I encouraged our readers to “make with me“. In that post I shared a few of the many benefits that you may get from picking up a hobby, and I gave you a few simple suggestions for how to turn your hobby into a regular habit (that’s good for you!).
If you follow our Instagram feed or have been a long-time reader, it’s no surprise that my primary hobby is knitting. I always have a project (or ten) in the works. While I don’t need the encouragement to knit more, I’m taking this resolution as a nudge to share more of my projects, in their many phases, on the blog. And if you’d like to find me on Ravelry, my username is winterfoliage.

If you like this project, you may want to check out our large-scale cross-stitched pillow.

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Have you ever tried cross-stitch? It’s a relatively simple embroidery technique where you make a picture by sewing a series of x-shaped stitches using colored thread. Today I’m improvising on that basic technique by making everything BIGGER (and bug-ier).  Continue reading …

Camping on BLM Land

by Katie | Leave a comment

This May we’ve been doing a series of travel posts as both a kick-off to summer and as a bit of inspiration to get out there and explore. This June, we’re continuing the travel theme, but with a focus on camping!
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Have you camped on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land? If you’re from the east coast (like us), you may have no clue what I’m talking about. If you’re from the west, this plethora of camping awesomeness may be nothing new to you.  Continue reading …

Gnocchi with Stinging Nettle Pesto

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Potatoes are our ingredient of the season. You can find our full archive of potato posts here. And if you like pesto, give our Arugula Walnut Pesto a spin.

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Potatoes may be our ingredient of the season, but in this post, nettles are definitely stealing the show.

Read on to see my simple tips for involving kids in your gnocchi making… or you could just teach them how to spell gnocchi and send them on a scavenger hunt in the pasta aisle.  Continue reading …

Japanese Potato Salad

by Katie | 1 Comment

Potatoes are our ingredient of the season. You can find our full archive of potato posts here.

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With Memorial Day right around the corner, it’s time to start thinking about summer BBQ food. Today we’re sharing a new-to-us favorite potato salad packed with veggies. So you can feel good eating it for breakfast.  Continue reading …

Lilac Lemon Drop

by Katie | 4 Comments

Potatoes are our ingredient of the season. You can find our full archive of potato posts here.

There’s nothing I love more than the smell of lilacs in spring. Their fragrance is intoxicating.

Holy cow, I wish they would last longer in a vase. I’ve tried all sorts of tricks, but I have to admit that I think their fleeting season is partly to blame for my lilac love.

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Today we’re pairing lilacs with lemons in this simple simply delicious cocktail. But I bet you’re wondering where potatoes come in? Vodka, my friend. Vodka.

Continue reading …

Gift Guide : Kids’ Camping Gear

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This month, in anticipation of summer vacations, we’re doing a few travel-related posts. You can see our full archive of travel posts here. And here are some of our basic tips for camping with young kids.

If you haven’t been following the blog regularly, let’s just throw it out there that we love to go camping. And we’re hoping to instill that same love in our two little guys (ages 5 & 3).

We’ve documented quite a few family trips on the blog. You can see a hike from our most recent spring trip here. Last summer we took a little road trip to Great Sand Dunes and the San Juan Mountains. And one of our most memorable camping trips was the winter weekend in Rocky Mountain National Park.

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While the kids were babies, we packed almost no gear for them. As long as we remembered the carriers for hikes, what else did we need?

Continue reading …