things i love // let me entertain you

Happy Super Bowl Sunday! All of my guys are big football fans, but my oldest is also a huge Patrick Mahomes + Chiefs fan (sorry, Broncos!) and my littlest is writing a biography about Mahomie at school, so they are PUMPED. My husband is rooting for Brady as a fellow “old” guy and just to spice things up because my boys are seriously down on the GOAT. I’m making Killer Chicken Thighs (aka Everyone’s Favorite Chicken” in our house - if you make it I recommend cooking it at 425 for about an hour and fifteen unless you have some very petite thighs) and Mushroom Cauliflower Rice, probs with a side of gooey nachos just because. I always love the Super Bowl commercials, of course, and am pretty excited to see The Weeknd perform. Though in my true heart, I desperately wish we could host our friends for our annual(ish) Super Bowl Party. You’ll notice in my selections this week that I’m pining for spring and just dying to entertain friends and family, it’s one of my favorite things to do. But alas, we’ll have to keep our family-only party going for a bit longer (thank GOODNESS I love our family-only party). Whatever you have on the roster today, enjoy it. I’d love to hear what kind of awesome [slash gross] things you make for the big game. I’m glad to have you all on my team, lovelies. xo

Hygge Life in the Vail Valley is everything you’d dream of in a space designed to celebrate warmth, coziness, togetherness and gorgeous Scandinavian design. It’s serious beautiful eye candy and I would basically like one or two of everything they have. But in particular, my eyes keep coming back to these stunning Danish Brass Twinkle Candleholders. Each teeny tiny hole is hammered by hand to create a magical twinkling effect that would be so pretty on a dining table. They have 3 different sizes that could be mixed up into a gorgeous little cluster. I also love these Swedish cast-iron candleholders that have 2 concentric circles that can hold 3 different sized candles depending on your mood or the ambiance you’re trying to create. Or these gorgeous tall solid brass Dome Candleholders that would be super dramatic and beautiful. Um, can you tell that I’m dreaming about entertaining someone in our house besides my cutie boys?!

If you’re ever in the Vail Valley, Hygge Life is def worth taking the small detour to find (it’s tucked away in an industrial strip mall off the frontage road). They also have a truly lovely cafe with coffee and sweets, so you can take a break and thoroughly enjoy the hygge.
// DANISH BRASS TWINKLE CANDLEHOLDERS $44.95 //

In addition to my passion for entertaining, I am also a bonafide cheese lover. And since there’s no better way to get a party started than with a heaping plate of cheese, I am now also a lover of Marissa Mullen and her brilliant cheese-plate-building method. She has developed a sort of paint-by-numbers way to build incredible, overflowing boards of cheese, meat, fruit, veggies, spreads, dips, nuts, herbs… you hungry yet? They’re dreamy and so appealing, but also totally accessible and something you could actually make with her streamlined method. She offers virtual classes + recipes on her site and some of her most popular plate builds to get you started. She even shares some of her favorite serving pieces for inspiration (spoiler alert: they’re super reasonable and not fancy).

That Cheese Plate Will Change Your Life is Marissa’s drool-worthy book and it’s just fun to look at her dreamy photographs even if you only ever end up creating a mini plate for yourself (aka what I would *like* to eat for lunch EVERY darn day). So, if you love a cheese-lover or a hostess [or host] with the mostess, think about gifting them one of Marissa’s classes or books. It just might change their life. And when we can have piles of kiddos over again, I’m dying to make one of these char”treat”erie plates. Just fun goodness.
// THAT CHEESE PLATE WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE $28 //

I LOVE a cup of hot tea (or two or three) in the afternoon. It feels so good to warm up your body from the inside out and to just take a minute to breathe. I crave it and start looking forward to my little after-school ritual by about mid morning. But I stopped drinking caffeine regularly like 12 years ago when I got pregnant with my first babe and even the mildly caffeinated green tea that I love is starting to mess with my sleep (sigh, getting older). I also have a seriously fussy constitution, so I skip out on some of the more popular herbs like mint and ginger. SO I’ve been on a really dedicated mission to find a tea that I can drink to my heart’s content without upsetting any of my *delicate* little systems. Well, shout it from the South African mountain tops, I have found my true love!

Honeybush is a super delicate, slightly sweet tea that is naturally decaffeinated and is delicious as a single-ingredient brew. It comes from a shrub in a specific area of South Africa and its yellow flowers smell a bit like honey, hence its name. As a happy added bonus, it also has several incredibly beneficial health properties, including polyphenols that help combat heart disease and inflammation. It has been used in South Africa for centuries for everything from coughs to menopause to a digestive aid and I can’t get enough of it (my little adores it too, it’s super mild and has no tannins, so no bitterness). I’ve been really enjoying the Numi Organic Honeybush that I picked up at Vitamin Cottage, and I’m going try this Smith Teamaker version, too, just to mix it up (I know I’m getting super wild over here). If you love a good cuppa, give it a try, it’s divine.
// SMITH TEAMAKERS HONEYBUSH HERBAL INFUSION $12 //

To know me is to know my loving dedication to Baggu Reusable Bags (and to find a least one long strand of my hair in all the food I serve you. Sorry.). I think they’re the bees knees for so many reasons and they’ve just dropped some springy new prints that are so breezy and sunny, I might need to add a few more to my already, um…‘impressive’ collection. In fairness, I do share and before you judge, indulge me for just a sec… For starters, Baggus are hands down the cutest reusable bags you’ll find. So, right there, they’ve got me. I’m such a sucker for a great print + color combo and they continuously just nail it. I get so many compliments when I pull them out and the grocery baggers always pop a big smile (one asked me once if I owned the company because I had so many, which was *slightly* embarrassing, so…maybe do judge).

They’re also the most durable reusable bags around. I’ve had some for like 7 years and they look brand new. They can be machine washed and hung to dry, which I’ve done literally 100 times in the last 12 months, and there’s nary a tear or pull in a single one of them. Also they hold SO MUCH stuff and pack down tiny for travel. They make awesome gifts all by themselves (hello teachers, yoga instructors, galentines therapists…) or as the fabulous and eco-friendly wrapping for another gift. And maybe best of all, I use them all the time when I deliver meals to friends in need. It always makes them feel extra special to find their dinner wrapped up in a bright, happy bag that they can use when they’re feeling better (especially the Yellow Happy print).

See, not crazy, right?! They also have a ton of other awesome goods (I’m eyeing the Puffy Earbud Case and Laptop Sleeve) that would make excellent gifts. So, check out their new prints and you’ll feel just a little warm glimmer of the sunshine coming our way.
// BAGGU REUSABLE BAGS from $10 //

While we’re on the subject of springtime, among all of the other refreshing virtues of the season comes the promise of new outdoor adventures (yay!). VSSL is a very cool outdoor survival kit company with a unique product and they’ve just released their newest must-have gear piece to the lineup.

VSSL kits pack tiny canisters of essential outdoor gear inside a top-of-the-line flashlight and compass unit, creating a sort of Swiss Army Knife of survival necessities. You can either choose from one of their already well-though out versions, like First Aid or Camp or Flask (obvs a necessity for some), or you can customize your own with the tools that are most relevant to your particular adventure. It’s brilliant. I gifted a Camp Supplies kit to my husband for Christmas and he keeps it in the truck for all of the ‘just in case’ scenarios that run through your mind when you’re adventuring WAY out in the boonies. It has things like Fire Starter, Rope + Razor, a Fishing Kit, a mini First Aid kit and tons more that just give you a little peace of mind and are actually useful. It easily moves from truck into daypack and is super lightweight so you’ll never know it’s there until you need it. VSSL kits are waterproof, virtually indestructible and can be restocked so you can reuse it forever.

And now, they can solve all of your pressing (get it?!) coffee emergencies, too. With the new VSSL Java Coffee Grinder, your die-hard, adventure-loving coffee nerd can have freshly ground beans even 15 miles deep on a backpacking trip. It’s a burr grinder with 50 unique settings to get everything just right for your brew. It’s incredibly durable (made with aircraft grade aluminum) and also super lightweight. Pair it with the compact Aeropress GO and a Miir Tumbler and you are set up for a great morning, either in the far reaches of the wild or your backyard. If you’re still looking for a Valentine’s gift for your sweetheart, this could be a fantastic answer.
// VSSL JAVA COFFEE GRINDER $150 //