While I do miss my sister since her move across country to Colorado to be with her husband currently stationed there with the Army, it sure was a great excuse to get out there! As an Appalachian girl only knowing and loving my Blue Ridges throughout my life, being in the presence of the Rockies was awe inspiring, breath taking, moving.

One of the most visually exciting parts of the trip was when Mom and I took the cog rail train up to the top of Pike’s Peak.

We were so high up that, aside from having the shakes from altitude, we could see 3 or 4 different states from the top and just about kiss the sky. Everything there is so BIG. So big and so new, compared to our ancient side of the country’s landscape.

Another extremely impressive display of the Earth’s natural beauty is Garden of the Gods. A (free!) public park maintained beautifully with walking and driving paths along with ample rock climbing opportunities. Seriously stunning rock formations and all the beauty a desert type environment can bring.

And what’s a lovely afternoon without a furry friend!

If I don’t get another opportunity to get out there again before they leave, I sure am glad I got the chance to visit now. :)

xo

 
Asian Cabbage Mango Slaw (adapted slightly from SkinnyTaste:)

• 2 cups shredded cabbage
• 1/2 cup shredded carrots
• 1 mango, not fully ripe
• 3 medium scallions, chopped
• 3 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• 1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (or tamari for gluten free)
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp black and white sesame seeds
• 1/4 tsp dried ginger
• pinch of white sugar

 

Directions:
Julienne the mango (cut into strips). Combine with the cabbage, carrots, scallions and toss together in a large bowl.
Prepare the dressing by whisking together the rice vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, sugar and lime juice; slowly whisk in the oil.
Pour the dressing over the cabbage mixture and toss to coat. Let it sit at least 15-20 minutes to let the dressing soak in.
Serve sprinkled with sesame seeds. Makes about 3 cups.
 

 
Peking Seitan Wraps (Adapted from here):

• 1/3 cup brown rice
• 1 1/2 tsp dark sesame oil
• 3 scallions, sliced
• 2/3 cup sweet peas
• 3/4 cup finely shredded red cabbage
• 3/4 cup shredded carrot
• 2 Tbsp unseasoned rice vinegar
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• splash of lime juice
• 4 whole wheat tortillas
• 4 Tbsp hoisin sauce
• 1 package chicken style seitan, cooked until crispy (can be substituted with 1 large cooked, shredded chicken breast)

 
Directions:
Cook the rice according to the package directions. Set aside.
Meanwhile, in a medium nonstick skillet, coat surface with spray oil (I used my Misto) and heat on medium-high. Add the scallions and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute, or until wilted. Stir into the rice.
Microwave the peas for about 30 seconds on high. In a medium bowl, combine the peas, cabbage, carrot, rice vinegar, sesame oil and ginger.
To assemble the wraps, lay the tortillas on a work surface. Spread each with 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce. Place one-sixth of the chicken in a strip along the bottom of each tortilla, 1″ from the edges.
Top with the rice and vegetable mixtures. Fold over the bottom edge of each tortilla to cover the filling. Fold the sides in and continue to roll up tightly, burrito style. Cut each in half crosswise with a serrated knife to serve.
 

Serve together, and enjoy!

xo

In keeping with tradition of featuring some of my favorite artists and Etsians on their birthdays, I am thrilled to bring you the super talented April Murphy of AprilAlayne (who also happens to be one of my closest friends!)

From her stunning pen-and-ink work to her mixed media with watercolors, her talent speaks for itself. It’s rare to find someone who has this type of skill with line-work and shading that lends itself to realism, yet still grounded in surrealism.

(I am very proud and lucky to have the original of this gorgeous painting, “Ginger Wren” [prints are still available here.])

She also offers functional pieces with her artwork such as these iPhone cases and sells beautiful jewelry at shows and occasionally online.

 
Another wonderful thing about April is her excitement to share new projects in the works. It’s not uncommon to see photos of works in progress or behind-the-scenes pictures of her many shows each year. Great places to follow for these insider looks are her facebook page, twitter, website, and instagram.

Aside from her incredible talent in Art, April also has a passion for fashion (and skill for sewing) in her other shop ThreadOverHeels; a clothing haven for the curvy girls. There you can find her collection of vintage treasures, the occasional upcycled garment, and her adorable collection of Slumber Jacks – the huggable lumberjack and friends pillowcases.

And with it being her birthday, she’s having a Buy One Get One special in her shop! Add any print to your cart, then mention in the “message to seller” one other print of equal or lesser value that you would like for free. Proceed to checkout, and you’ll get 2 prints for the price of one! Yay :)

xo

 April was an adventurous month for me with our trip to New England, a lot of which was excitedly documented on my Instagram. Here’s a look back on our trip last month!

Getting home, things were quiet and rainy. Back to work, back to reality, back to pictures of our Scotties ;)

Are you on instagram? Let’s follow each other!

xo

Mexico Tile Coasters by succulentjungle.etsy.com

Ahhh, Cinco de Mayo – the day we all celebrate our southern sibling and the rich, colorful, delicious culture they have brought to our planet. Etsy has a slew of great items for this holiday; whether you’re looking for a cute new outfit, party inspiration, tasty treasts, or a new gift for the kiddos, you’re bound to find something. Here are a few of my favorites as we get ready for the festive holiday this weekend!

Beaded and Stitched Necklace with Turquoise by sprout1world.etsy.com

Fiesta Garland by paperaltar.etsy.com

Mustache Piñata by yeahyoudidshop.etsy.com

Red Sombrero Hair Fascinator by bluemickeyllc.etsy.com

Mexican Style Poncho by astralboutique.etsy.com

Vintage Tooled Leather Sandals from luvstonedvintage.etsy.com

Colorful Piñata Plushie by henandchick.etsy.com

Margarita Cake Pops by bellaroca.etsy.com

Girl’s Vintage Aztek Dress by aiseirigh.etsy.com

So how do you take your margarita? Frozen or on ice? Sugar or salt rim? Flavored or the classic lime?  My favorite – frozen mango with a sugar rim. Cheers!

xo

]]> http://laurenbeacham.com/blog/2013/05/03/etsy-finds-cinco-de-mayo/feed/ 0 http://laurenbeacham.com/blog/2013/04/30/emdashpaperco-giveaway-winner/ http://laurenbeacham.com/blog/2013/04/30/emdashpaperco-giveaway-winner/#comments Tue, 30 Apr 2013 16:33:51 +0000 Lauren http://laurenbeacham.com/blog/?p=1841  

 
And the winner is…

Sarah Hennessey!

Congratulations!! Please email your address to lauren@laurenbeacham.com and Emily will ship your cards to you :) Thanks everyone for playing!

xo

Mother’s Day is right around the corner! And today is the last day to order any personalized gifts from my shop with shipping in the US with the hopes that they will arrive in time. Don’t want to deal with the hassle of customized items? No worries, I have plenty of great options to choose from that are in-stock!

Visit my shop for lots of other great gift ideas for everyone! And of course if you ever have any questions at all, don’t hesitate to contact me. 

xo

In honor of Earth Day, I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate than by featuring the beautiful organically inspired shop, StudioBotanica.  The shop owner, Cristy, was also born on Earth Day so it’s no wonder she has a keen eye and natural pull to all things our planet has to offer.

In her shop you’ll find beautiful accessories and gifts, including hand-stamped moleskine journals and stationery, lavender sachets, and a plethora of nature inspired jewelry (including bridal party sets!)

While best known for her lovely jewelry, she’s also an incredible visual artist with a new collection of beautiful pen and ink drawings of florals, herbs, and all things botanical.

Those poppies make me swoon. Just adore her organic line work and the deceiving simplicity since they are so very detailed.

Are you in love yet? Good! Because in celebration of her birthday Cristy is offering 30% off all orders over $20! And that won’t be hard since her shop is chock full of goodness.

Use the coupon code EARTHDAYBIRTHDAY30 in StudioBotanica.Etsy.Com at checkout!

xo

One of my birthday gifts from Tyler was a LivingSocial deal to stay at a place on coastal Maine. Seeing as how we’ve been dying to do a tour of New England, we saw it as an opportunity to make it a road trip!

We had a gorgeous drive through upstate New York and thoroughly enjoyed the Adirondacks (a place I’m anxious to explore more in the future.)  After 8 or 9 hours on the road, we landed in Burlington, VT. A gorgeous and amazingly fun college town with great restaurants, shopping, and views of the mountains on Lake Champlain.

And the restaurants. Again. Did I mention the restaurants? Oy. So amazing.

We did the chef’s sampler at Leunigs. MIND BLOWINGLY good.

And went to the legendary American Flatbreads and shared the best flatbread pizza we’ve ever had. Ever. With local beer and cider, of course.  After 2 nights in Burlington, we wanted to stop by some businesses in the area we love from afar.

The Woodchuck Cidery was definitely one! They aren’t set up for tours but were kind enough to show us around a bit anyway. On top of it, they gave us a couple of branded pilsner glasses, a shirt, bottle opener, chapstick, and some great recommendations of ciders we hadn’t tried yet.

After a (admittedly terrifying) trip over a mountain, we ended up at the Liz Lovely Bakery. Again, not usually one for tours, they were so happy we came and were generous enough to show us around. After a thorough tour (we even got to see how they hand-drizzle chocolate on each cookie) we got a peek at Liz’s flavor test kitchen they just built and left with another pile of goodies. Best vegan and gluten free cookies in the world, easy.

 
After multiple recommendations, we found ourselves at The Alchemist – a tiny little brewery that only brews their one and only beer, the double IPA, hoppy as hell, Heady Topper.  Voted best beer in the world by Beer Advocate, it didn’t disappoint. Even for Tyler and I who are not fans of hoppy beers at all, it was quite tasty.

 
Last up for the day was the Ben & Jerry’s tour. Fun and delish, pretty self explanatory. After all of that, we headed to New Hampshire to visit with some old family friends.

Good night sleep in a cozy bed in the woods, then headed off to Maine. With, of course, a pit stop for a lobster roll on the way (not a fan of the lobster salad style shown here, but we did get the classic lobster roll with just the lobster meat drizzled with butter on a bun in Camden and it was epic.)

We started in Camden and stayed at The Lodge at Camden Hills. The innkeeper was so sweet and recommended dinner at the farm-to-table restaurant Francine’s. A great experience and super good food. The other place we attempted, Long Grain, a Thai restaurant in the area with a great reputation, was a bummer. After a rude (un)welcome introduction to the place and terrible (lack of) service, we ended up walking out very disappointed and very hungry.  It didn’t sour our stay, though. Camden is a super cute sleepy town on the water with very nice people, lots of bookstores, good restaurants and shops, and stunning views of the coast!

 
We spent 2 nights in Camden, enjoying lots of downtime in front of the fireplace in our room (where I comfortably finished The Marriage Plot.)

After our brief stay in Camden, we headed down to Portland. Sad to say it was one of my least favorite places we stopped on the trip, but I think I would like to revisit when it isn’t the off-season. It was somewhat chilly and some of the places we wanted to go were closed. I will say, though, that the Allagash and Shipyard Brewery tours were wonderful (and tasty!)

The trip ended on a high note with what has become an annual trip to NYC to congregate with our group to celebrate our friend’s birthday. Got to spend some quality time with some of my best friends, eat good food, drink good beer, walk the city in spring, and shop at my favorite Flea Market/Craft Show in Brooklyn.

On Sunday morning we took the long drive to get home at last to start enjoying the haul we dragged back from the many many tours and enjoyable afternoons we spent.

I cannot wait to go back up north in the summer or fall and enjoy more of the outdoor activities we didn’t get to partake in due to “mud season.” I’m looking at you, summer 2014.

xo

]]> http://laurenbeacham.com/blog/2013/04/18/new-england-road-trip/feed/ 1 http://laurenbeacham.com/blog/2013/04/15/artist-feature-emdashpaperco-giveaway/ http://laurenbeacham.com/blog/2013/04/15/artist-feature-emdashpaperco-giveaway/#comments Mon, 15 Apr 2013 13:55:35 +0000 Lauren http://laurenbeacham.com/blog/?p=1723

Allow me to introduce a talented lady who, well, needs no introduction! Meet Emily – the amazing calligrapher from EmDashPaperCo. A whimsical shop full of hand-lettered stationery, adorable stickers, cute stamps, beautiful journals, postcards, and more.

Some of you may recognize her stunning lettering from our new jewelry and accessories collaboration we launched a few weeks ago. Whether you’re looking to celebrate a special occasion, drop a casual note, send a postcard whilst traveling, or searching for that perfect finishing touch to your wedding, Emily’s the lady to look up. She did some gorgeous calligraphy on our wedding guestbook posters and the cards I gave to my husband and parents.

And on the note of weddings, how amazing are these monogram stamps? They would be PERFECT to celebrate a name change on your thank you notes.

One of Emily’s resolutions this year was to push her handwriting limits and celebrate her love of music and literature with these very fun weekly designed limited edition prints.

Madly in love yet? Good! Because she’s giving away a set of hand-lettered and hand-painted watercolor birthday cards. Because (did I mention?) today is her birthday! :)

Want to win? Simple! Here’s how.
+1 entry : “Like” EmDashPaperCo on Facebook, return here and comment below that you did so. (required)
+1 entry : “Like” Jerseymaids on Facebook, return here and comment below that you did so. (optional)

Winner will be drawn on Tuesday April 30th. Best of luck! :)

xo