*Gluten Free Pumpkin Cheesecake*

Blogging LIVE from the bedroom while the puggle and I suffer through the balmy -10 degree night by hiding under the covers!  If only it were warm enough to walk downstairs and watch The Sound of Music special...

Thanksgivukkah was a roaring success and the Mister and I are still recovering... by starting a new project!  Do you expect any less from us?  Here's a sneak-peek before you get the full, final view:

Don't mind the blurriness or the fact that I'm in my pajamas and slippers... this pic wasn't staged at all...

Back to the real purpose of this post...

Per usual, I tried a new recipe on a night that we had guests over (Thanksgiving) but, luckily, it turned out beautifully!  I couldn't decide between two delectable cheesecake recipes that I found on the internet so, at the last minute and after two trips to separate grocery stores, I decided to combine the two.  Here's the result:

Gluten Free Pumpkin Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust

1 1/2 cups gingersnap crumbs (I used Midel brand)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon sugar

3 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger1
1/2 cups pumpkin puree
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
3 large egg yolks


FOR CRUST: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Wrap outside of a 9-inch diameter springform pan with foil to catch drips. Place ] gingershaps into a 1-gallon plastic freezer bag and crush with a rolling pin. Measure out the 1 1/2 cups and combine them with the butter and sugar in a bowl. Press mixture into bottom and about 2 inches up the sides of the springform pan. Bake crust about 5 minutes until slightly darkened. Set aside. (Adapted from this recipe)


FILLING:
In a large mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer set on low speed, blend together cream cheese, light-brown sugar and granulated sugar until smooth, about - 30 seconds. Mix in flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. Add in pumpkin and vanilla and mix on low speed just until combined. Add in whole eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition just until combine, then add in egg yolks and mix just until combine. Lift and tap mixing bowl against the counter several times to release air bubbles from mixture. Pour mixture into gingersnap crust and bake in preheated oven (325 degrees) for 1 hour, then turn oven off and allow cheesecake to rest in oven 20 - 25 minutes (without opening oven door). Remove from oven and allow to cool 15 minutes, then cover with plastic wrap and chill 5 hours.  (Adapted from this recipe)


Before Serving: I drizzled store-bought caramel sauce, sprinkled with a generous pinch of sea salt, and topped with homemade whipped cream.

DELICIOUS!

Happy FALL!

So much to say, so much undecidedness (is that a word?) about where to start...

August:
I flew to Boston for a business trip and thoroughly enjoyed the old, charming hotel, the harbor ... and the conference room.  A delayed flight, on my birthday no-less, only meant more time to explore the city and enjoy the view.  I <3 Boston.  A birthday flight on Southwest airlines isn't complete without the entire plane singing Happy Birthday and the flight attendants making me a crown out of peanuts and stir sticks.  #truestory

Too bad Pugsley ate my crown the next morning...

The Mister and I then flew off to Minnesoooota to visit his dear Grandma and cousins.  It was so much fun to explore the city where Travis was born and spend time with his family.  We even went to the county fair where I decided that a baby goat would be the perfect playmate for the puggle.  The demolition derby was an experience I'll never forget... or repeat... but the Mister was loving the redneck party!

We ended the month with two fun weddings (where the pic below was taken) and an anniversary trip to a Brazilian steakhouse.  Nothing says love like a vegetarian going to a steakhouse...

September: 
I definitely missed all of this month -- it feels like it never happened!  The Mister was home, trying his best to guard the home(s) from the epic floods that hit CO while I was off exploring Europe.  To sum up the trip, I went to Iceland (airport -- still very cool), London, UK (business), Amsterdam, NL (business), Heidelberg, Germany (fun), Lucerne, Switzerland (beautiful), and Milan, Cinque Terre and Florence, ITALY (amazing!!!).  It was an wonderful adventure that I'll never forget -- though I did miss my little family back home.

Wine tasting in the Chianti region of Tuscany!

October:
It's officially Fall!  I made my first batch of pumpkin cookies tonight -- the jury is still out on whether or not they're actually good -- and the menu prep has started for Thanksgiving.  Craft projects are underway and the fire-pit has now officially been used (for s'mores!).  Bring on the sweater weather!

Time Flies When You're...

... taking a one-week road trip to Texas with the puggle and the FIL.
... going to a perfect Southern wedding in Birmingham, Alabama.
... getting in a car accident that totaled two cars and has us at the chiropractor for months.
... dancing and singing at an amazing Zac Brown Band concert at Red Rocks.
... finally canceling the time suck of cable television.
... spending 10 days on the East Coast playing tourists before a mini college reunion at a wedding in Freedom, New Hampshire.
... celebrating the Mister's birthday -- last year of his twenties.
... adding a beautiful fire pit to the backyard.
... entertaining the Zelinsky family for a week in Colorado.
... helping Puggie recover from a nail-removal situation that had him laid up for days.
... celebrating the birth of several babies born to good friends.

Yeah, it's been an eventful few months.  After discovering a new blog this afternoon, I suddenly felt guilty for leaving this one hanging.  C'mon, Natalie, this is no way to become a famous blogger!

In the spirit of being behind on all things, I finally added 2012 to our family LifeBook (you may remember last year's post).  Here she is!

Photos above include visiting ATX with my brother, la playa con mi madre, "The Year of Travis' Hair", WI for a wedding with friends and our first anniversary at The Book of Mormon.

 Photos above include Paris, Versailles, 14er hiking, Lake Dillon with the whole fam, and, of course, our holiday card.

I guess it's a bad idea to re-start the blogging in the midst of summer but I aim to be ambitious.  If you're lucky, I'll add some pictures from the last few months but also plan to post many pictures from the next few months.

Hope you're all having a great summer!!

Office Wall Stripes

I've been dreaming about this next post for a long time.  Here's the background: I love stripes.  That is all.

My fabulous FIL let us borrow his laser level and we set up shop in our office.  The walls are vaulted so one wall is much taller than the others and that was the designated wall.  We used the same color that is in our living room (Behr Bavarian Cream - love it!) for the other three walls and alternated Bavarian Cream with white for the striped wall.

Before and After:

Frog tape!

 Instagram enhanced.

I am so happy with the way this room turned out.  It looks a million times better than it did prior to the makeover and I love, love, love the stripes!  Daunting, yes, but not terribly hard.  This leaves us with one more bedroom... the MASTER... to remodel.  This is what it currently looks like -- four paint samples later (with no winner):

Oy vey.

Behr is having a paint sale that lasts until tomorrow so I'm giving myself 24 hours to pick a fifth sample and then have a winner.  Wish me luck!

Something Stands Out...

One of these items does not match the others.  Can you spot it?

Yes, this picture is legit and was taken in our rented apartment in Paris.  No, we did not bring it with us.

The Canal Prince of Amsterdam

Following the all-too-short adventure in London, I flew off to Amsterdam for the final leg of the trip.  This time, I had company!  I stayed at the same hotel as a co-worker and there were three more visitors from the Boulder HQ that were in town at the same time.  We spent Sunday strolling the town, shopping at boutiques, making our way through the canal streets and enjoying the sunny weather and gorgeous views.

This was my second time to Amsterdam which allowed me to skip the popular tourist attractions (van Gogh Museum, Anne Frank House, ...) and act like a local instead.  It was a wonderful way to wrap up the EuroTour.

The Canal Prince greeted me upon arrival at my hotel. 

The hotel was ... interesting.

Canals.

We found the Cheese Museum!

Windmills in the Netherlands.

Beautiful, sunny day on the canals.

The Jewish Museum was the one museum I did tour on this trip.

View from the office.  Seems like a big city!

Gorg.

After a wonderful weekend, I worked at the World Trade Center office for four days before making my way back to the 'ol U.S.ofA.  The ride home was much more calm than the ride there.  I even changed seats at the last minute so that I could have the entire row to myself.  I spread out, watched at least 3 movies, ate my snacks and enjoyed the calmness of the flight after an adventure-filled two weeks.

All things considered, it was a wonderful trip and I feel so fortunate that I was given the opportunity to travel and visit with my International co-workers.

The London Bridge is... Disappointing!

I cut out a little early on Friday to drag my luggage to the train station to take the Tube into the big city of London.  I made arrangements with the Mr.'s college roommate, who conveniently lives in London, to meet up and sightsee for 24 hours.  It was a blast!  I only freaked out a little when I arrived at the scheduled meeting place and couldn't find her, didn't have access to make a local call, and was hungry -- you know what happens when I'm hungry!

Tube station in Amersham.  Mind the GAP!

After finally finding each other in the midst of Friday rush-hour action at the station, we dropped my stuff off at her flat to be looked over by her reindeer rug straight from the Nordics.

Gross!

We then embarked on an epic nighttime sightseeing tour of London.

I believe this is the Queen's ship...?

Big BEN!  Up close and in person.

Not the London Bridge.

Westminster Abbey - where my friends Wills and Kate were married.

It's a beauty.

We awoke early the next morning to get some touring in before my early evening flight.  After the world's most amazing hot chocolate, we shopped around at Harrod's and dreamed about future purchases.  Wish I had pics from that fun excursion...

Thank you.

Show me the way! 

Just chillin' at Buckingham Palace.

Quintessential London.

I had to.

When in London...

It was a whirlwind trip in the big city as we ran around all day and saw some amazing things.  My picture-taking was slacking so I guess I'll just have to go back!

Small Town, UK

Back to EuroTrip 2012/3...

Following our blissful week in the City of Love, the Mr. and I parted ways as he headed back to the States and I moved on to the United Kingdom.  This was my first time in the UK and I was looking forward to the familiar sound of English, meals that didn't consist of cheese and bread and a slower pace of travel.

I arrived in London shortly before noon and made my way to the most amazing taxi to begin the 45-minute journey to a small town called Amersham.  Yes, the taxi looked like this:

Amazeballs.

Arriving in Amersham on January 1st wasn't the best idea.  It is a small, quaint, picturesque town lined with boutiques and small restaurants... that are all closed on New Years Day!  I explored the town via the walking path that circles around the old cemetery and was promptly bored in my hotel room by, oh, 3pm.  The hotel was a building that was over 500 years ago and had amazing character!  So much character, in fact, that the heat in my room never started working so I had to move to a new room on night 2!

Main Street in front of my hotel. 

Main Street.

Self-portrait in the cemetery.

It was creepy cool.  Let's just say the graves weren't in great shape.

The town walking path -- heading up.

The town walking path -- looking down into the sun (sorry, poor quality but it was gorg). 

500+ year old church.

My hotel.

Instagram-improved photo.

My cup of tea at the office ;)

Love. 

I spent three nights in Amersham working at the office and resting up from the long week in Paris.  The Indian food was delish and the co-workers were welcoming.  I'm so glad that I was able to see the English countryside but I was ready to move on after those few days!

Coming next... London!