On Saturday, we packed up two cars (Sasha’s mom, her friend, my sister and her boyfriend were visiting) and headed to Cortez, Colorado to visit Sutcliffe Vineyards. My parents are friends with the owner, John Sutcliffe, who is definitely the most interesting man alive. Sasha and I met John for the first time a few weeks ago when he came over for dinner, and he invited us to visit the vineyard for a private tasting and we took him up on the offer. The hour and a half drive was over rolling hills, next to spectacular mountains – everywhere you looked, there was a photo opportunity. Unfortunately, Sasha was driving, so we didn’t stop once! The vineyard is centered around a tall, red tower which you’ll see on the wine labels. The fields and fields of grapes are uncharacteristic of the dry, mountainous views next to it. The wine is phenomenal – my favorite is the Petit Verdot, which you can purchase online. Isla was extremely well-behaved during the trip, except for the 5 minutes when she was hungry and refused a bottle that I had pumped earlier! We need to work on that (although I selfishly don’t mind just feeding her myself!). My favorite part of the trip was not the amazing wine, nor the gorgeous scenery, but John’s fascinating stories. The man refuses to not pick up a hitch hiker (plenty of good stories to accompany that), he rattles off detailed accounts of his eccentric Uncle Percy who lived in England and wore WWII soldier apparel around town although he did not go to war, and tells the story about the vineyard’s conception being that his architect told him grape leaves would make for a good view out of his dining room window. I mean, really? If you’re ever in the Telluride or Durango area, I highly recommend visiting Sutcliffe Vineyards and meeting John. You and your taste buds won’t regret it!
Life in Durango & Isla’s Two Month Anniversary
Our first week in Durango was very go-go-go. We’ve gotten into more of a routine by the point, which helps this feel more like home. We’ve established local restaurant favorites – Himalayan Kitchen, Grassburger, Durango Coffee Company, and Cream Bean Berry – and had a schedule for exercise, feeding, sleeping, “working,” etc. Isla is growing by the second – I wish we knew her exact weight, because I feel like she’s doubled in size in the last 8 weeks. She celebrated her two month anniversary on Monday, August 4. I cannot believe it. She is super smiley, gurgles all day long, wants to be “standing” all the time, still spits up everywhere after eating (see bottom photo), does not enjoy tummy time except for the first 1-2 minutes, and is very used to having a camera in her face. Isla’s gassiness is much better now that I’ve cut out all dairy (i.e. become a vegan – ohmygosh I miss cheese!). Her (okay, my) favorite books are Snuggle Puppy and Oh Baby, Go Baby. She is finally getting used to taking a bottle, but I am not a huge fan of pumping! Isla went on her first hike and slept through the entire adventure (typical!). She loves, and I mean loves, sleeping in the BabyBjorn carrier. We are doing CIO (ah!) and had her fall asleep without a peep the last two nights (praying it stays that way!). We’re still learning lots and lots every day. We love her to pieces.
I put together two short videos: here and here
Lastly, the Trumpette giveaway winner is Caron B! Congratulations!
Sasha’s special feeding time // Bloomers by Baby Grace // Happy little Isla
Mesmerized by the sun – I need to get her in some shades quickly
It’s hard to tell, but that onesie was covered in spit up minutes before these photos were taken
Finally taking a bottle – this is a huge accomplishment and relief to me after much resistance
Sleepy girl in my favorite J. Crew onesie // Working on tummy time // Her signature Zoolander look
Our first baby is loving Colorado (perhaps the most!)
After every feeding, Sasha tries to teach Isla to stand – he seems to think this is a requirement at 2 months… crazy man
If Sasha wakes up first, Isla will be wearing her UT onesie
Sasha’s dad drove from Texas (16 hours) for TWO days!
Getting ready for a MAM pacifier giveaway (coming soon!)
I love Baby Gap so much – this dress is one of my favorites
Two months already? How is this happening?
This face is a regular
I couldn’t get enough as you can tell!
Little Miss-chievous Isla
Working hard on that tummy time
Some iPhone snapshots
Braving dinners out on the town with this little unpredictable one – Grassburger is our favorite
Sasha’s hardcore strength training is beginning to work // And that is his repayment // My favorite face in the world
Vegan Black Bean Brownies + The New York Baking Company
Ever since my vegan chocolate beet muffin success, I’ve felt a little braver in the baking department. Rizzi from The New York Baking Company (Facebook page) asked me to review their brightly colored silicone baking cups, which you can buy on Amazon here. After doing some research, I decided to try baking vegan, gluten-free black bean brownies. I found a number of different recipes online, and adapted them to make our own unique blend (mainly adapted from The Minimalist Baker’s recipe here). Sasha and I devored them within minutes – they are that good (and we’ve made them multiple times in the past week!). Did I mention they are flourless and have no dairy products? It’s definitely seems too good to be true. I have included photos and the recipe below – I highly recommend you make these if you’re trying to satisfy a sweet tooth.
The baking cups worked like a charm. They cost $9.95 and are worth every penny. Not only are these colorful cups BPA free, they are easy to clean – just rinse them and pop them into the dishwasher. The cupcakes came right (without any difficulty!) and into our mouths. Delicious! If you enjoy baking but hate peeling cupcakes, brownies, and muffins out of wrappers, I highly recommend you buy these cups.
Ingredients
- 1 can black beans
- 2.5 tablespoons flaxseed meal + 6 tablespoons water to create a flaxseed ‘egg’
- 3 tablespoons of melted coconut oil
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup of Truvia sugar blend
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 bar of vegan, gluten free chocolate (I love this one!)
Steps
- Turn oven to 350 degrees in the bake setting
- Mix 2.5 tablespoons of your flaxseed meal with 6 tablespoons of water and set aside to settle
- Add together all of your dry ingredients (sea salt, cocoa powder, sugar blend, baking powder) and mix
- Add the melted coconut oil and vanilla extract and stir well
- Melt the chocolate in the microwave for 1 minute and add to the bowl
- Add your flax egg – the batter should be icing-like texture at this point
- In a separate bowl, add the drained, clean black beans and grind them until they are a soft, blended texture (you can do this in a blender or food processor, but my parents don’t have one in their house in Durango – it works easily by hand too)
- Add the ground beans to the batter and mix well
- Line your muffin tray with the baking cups and add the batter to each cup – these don’t rise much, so you don’t need to leave space
- I added some almond butter to the batter for the last few muffins for a little extra kick – delicious!
- Allow the brownies to bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the outside is slightly crispy, then wait until they cool off and enjoy!
Et voilà – the final product below!
One happy mouth
Recipe adapted from The Minimalist Baker
Baking cups provided by The New York Baking Company – all opinions are my own
Photos by me!
Highlights of Week One in Durango
We’ve been in Durango for just over a week now, and we are loving it. Sasha said to me yesterday, “You realize the most important and stressful decision we make all day is what we’re going to eat for dinner.” I laughed – but it’s true. We go on about four to five walks a day, as my parents live within 5 minutes of the grocery store, Main Street where all of the restaurants and shops are, Animas River, and mountain trails. My Nike Fuel Band is back in action! I wrote a Durango Travel Guide post last year, but I definitely have to update it after trying many new restaurants, juice bars and ice cream shops. I’ve put together an assortment of photos from our first week – as you can tell, I’ve been very trigger happy as of late.
What are your summer plans?
PS Happy birthday, Mum and Karine!
Isla flew from Houston to Denver to Durango and slept through every second of it (thank you, Lord!)
Walking to Durango Joe’s for morning coffee with the whole Petrovic family
Hiking and biking (while the grandparents were here to babysit!)
I finally found a bow that is semi-appropriately sized for a newborn – and a tutu dress from my sweet co-workers!
Celebrating our one year anniversary — with dinner and on a raft!
My favorite bow romper from Paola (I love Janie and Jack!) and our romantic rooftop anniversary dinner
Staring at that face all day and praying she always wants to hold my hand
Geared up for a day on the water (another Paola gift!) and a wet pup from lots of Animas River swimming
Isla’s new nap place – the BabyBjorn – and a tired tanner in her Baby Gap swimsuit from Erin
Navajo State Park adventures with the whole family (Isla slept through the entire experience)
A sneak peak of Isla’s newborn photos from Taylor Lord and I’ve finally sent all of the birth announcements!
Father-daughter bonding moments that make me heart melt
Hamming it up – and wearing her UT apparel! Girl’s gonna be a Longhorn fan, for sure
Carter’s Footed Onesies
Isla has mixed feelings about bath time. We bathe her around 5:45pm, then feed her from 6-6:45 every night. She’s typically pretty fussy leading up to the bath, but when that diaper comes off, it’s wail time. Once she’s physically in the warm water, she’s happy as can be, but when she leaves the heat and is back in the air conditioned bathroom, she loses her marbles. I’ve learned that the fastest way to soothe her is to put her immediately in a warm, footed onesie – something we didn’t have many of when she was born. Her entire newborn-sized wardrobe went from about 4 onesies to nearly 14 outfits, and is expanding this week by a number of Carter’s “pjs,” as we’ll need them when we head to Durango in a few weeks (still cool at night!). She is growing quickly, and I imagine she won’t be in the newborn clothing for many more weeks, so I ordered some 0-3 month sizes too. I love Carter’s clothing – almost as much as Baby Gap! Her new outfits are below – my favorite is the floral footed onesie on the bottom left. Which do you like the most?