When planning our meals for our Colorado camping trip, I wanted to keep it simple and do as much as I could before! For one of our meals we just did brats and then I made homemade macaroni and cheese in a foil pie tin before we left, and we warmed it up on the campfire- easy and delicious!

For the 2nd day we did foil dinners! These were SO easy and yummy. All you need is some sort of protein cut up (we went with stew meat) then whatever veggies you want! We added mushrooms, carrots, cut up potatoes, and some peppers. 

Combine your meat and veggies on a piece of foil, and season with a squeeze of lemon and whatever seasoning you would like. I took some Caribbean jerk seasoning from a local spice shop, and also added salt and pepper. 

Once you have added everything, simply wrap the foil up and put it on the grill. I recommend double wrapping the packets just in case there are any tears or spills. We left them on the grill for about 30 minutes, but just adjust your timing based on the protein you pick. 

The best part? No clean up! You can eat right out of the packet then simply toss out your trash! 

Happy camping! 

XOXO, Jenny 

Five-On-Friday

BUSY. That pretty much sums up our life lately, but I've come to terms with that's just how our life is. Busy is our normal, but I guess it beats sitting around, right? We have the next few weekends at home and I couldn't be more excited to slow things down as we head into the holiday season.

Here's a quick five-on-Friday for you!

{ one } Two weekends ago I went down to Branson, MO with my husband's mom, sister, aunt and cousin. We spent the entire weekend Christmas shopping. It's their annual tradition, and my second time participating. I went down so unprepared- I mean it's only October so holiday shopping hadn't even crossed my mind. But, I'm happy to report we are now more than 1/2 way done with Christmas shopping and now I'm counting the days until Christmas!

 {two } Speaking of Christmas- my mind has also started brainstorming for the holiday season. What do you guys want to see on the blog for the holidays? Gift guides? Recipes? Christmas decor home tour? Table decor ideas? Let me know in the comments below!

{ three } When I find something I love, I want to share it with all or you. That was kind of my whole intent/ goal of this blog was to share all of my favorite things. In the spirit of that, I HAVE to tell you about my new favorite dry shampoo. I'm quite certain that I will never find one that works as well as the Living Proof Perfect Hair Day. I'm not kidding. I typically go about every other day with washing my hair, but still feel like on day 2 my hair doesn't look great. The dry shampoos I have used in the past help a little, but it still looks like I need to wash my hair.

I've heard so much rave about this shampoo so I decided to give it a try. Life changing. I went 4 DAYS without washing my hair, and probably could've gone another 2 if I really wanted to. Seriously guys, try it. It also has great fragrance in it which I loved! Oh and don't worry, I still shower everyday- just don't wash my hair :)  

{ four }  Another great find lately has been a product called Head Ease. It is a blend of essential oils: peppermint, lavender, wintergreen, frankincense, marjoram, and rosemary. The blend is specifically designed to reduce inflammation that cause migraines and headaches. I am someone who has suffered from migraines my entire life, and I probably depend on ibuprofen/ excedrin migraine more than I would like to admit. I've been trying to cut back on that and find natural remedies to treat the pain so I ordered this off amazon. The other night I came home from work with a tension headache/ migraine and instead of taking medicine, I rubbed this on my temples and on the back of my neck where the tension was. I was overcome with such  tingly feeling and within 30 minutes my headache has subsided. I was thrilled! I am now ordering like 5 more of these little bottles to stash in my purse, my desk, my car, you get the picture. I highly recommend it if you too suffer from migraines and tension headaches.

{ five } Last weekend Tristan and I went down to Baton Rouge, LA for the LSU VS. Ole Miss game. I've always loved football and have always been intrigued with football in the south. We had the opportunity with Tristan's work to travel down for the game and we were both so excited! The stadium was insane- holds around 100,000 people. The biggest stadium I have ever been to. Everyone was so nice and welcoming and the game was a blast. I can now cross a football game in the south off my bucket list!

What are you all up to this weekend? Hope you all have a great one!

XOXO, Jenny

Fall Wedding

Two of our very best friends got married this past weekend in Kansas City. It was such a beautiful wedding for an even more beautiful couple. You know those friends you have that you can always count on to be there, or can call them up on a whim for a weekend away or impromptu date night? Well they are that for Tristan and I, and we couldn't be more thankful for their friendship.

I knew I wanted to get a new dress for their wedding and all of the festivities, but I didn't feel like breaking the bank. One of my favorite stores in college was Forever 21. I always could find so many cute things at such affordable prices. I hadn't shopped their in awhile but decided to browse online at their dresses. I was stunned, they had SO MANY CHOICES!

I ended up ordering three dresses (oops) and was planning to only keep my favorite for the wedding, and one for the rehearsal. I ended up keeping all three (again, oops!). 

This one was perfect for the rehearsal. I loved that it was flowy and played into the cold shoulder trend with the lace. I have a feeling I will wear this dress time and time again!

For the wedding I was left with two options. Blue navy lace, or black lacy dress. I ended up going with the black lacy dress because I felt like it was more formal. I got SO many compliments on it and people were shocked to find out it was only $28 from Forever 21. When I find such a good deal, I can't help but share it with all of you- so do yourself a favor and go buy this dress! You won't regret it. I am wearing a size small and was happy with how it fit me.

Just please, whatever you do, DO NOT wear white to a wedding. Or any type of wedding event- bridal shower, engagement party, rehearsal dinner- just don't do it :) The only exception is if it is requested by the bride. 

XOXO, Jenny 

Travel Diaries: Camping in Colorado

Traveling is something that both Tristan and I love to do. We are lucky that we both are willing to make sacrifices elsewhere so we can set aside funds to use for traveling. There is something magical about getting away together, exploring new places, and making new memories. I always come back from vacation feeling refreshed and renewed. 

For Tristan's 30th birthday, he decided on camping in Colorado once the Zika virus had pretty much scared us into staying in the US (no, I am not pregnant, but still don't want the virus :) ). We decided we would make it an adventurous trip and bring Moose with us.

Typically I do all of our trip planning, but I let Tristan take the reins on this one. The itinerary we decided on was stay the first night in Colorado Springs, camp 2 nights outside of Salida, then stay our last night in a hotel in the town of Salida.

My responsibility was finding 2 hotels that allowed pets. Not only did they have to allow pets, but there also couldn't be a weight limit. A lot of conversations ended with the 50 lb. weight limit, but I was successful in finding 2 hotels!

We left early after work on Wednesday and made it to Colorado Springs in decent time. Although we were apprehensive, Moose did amazing in the car. He slept most of the time. It was about midnight when we checked in so we pretty much crashed (Moose loved the king size bed).

The next morning we woke up early eager to hit the road and head to our campsite. Tristan knew that the campsite was about 10 miles on a dirt road off one of the main Salida highways so we figured it wouldn't take us too long to get there. WRONG.

As we pulled off the highway, the dirt road started out fine and we were cruising. The further we went, the rockier the road started getting, and the wiggle room between the road and the edge of the mountain was diminishing. I was starting to get a little nervous.... 

Long story short, the road was probably meant for off-roading in Jeeps- luckily we had my 4Runner and made it fine but it took us 2 HOURS to drive 10 miles. We also lost service about halfway there- which I expected but it made me a little apprehensive. The views were definitely worth the drive though, they were beautiful! 

Once we finally made it to the North Fork campground I was in awe of how beautiful it was. We were at about 11,000 Ft elevation and the campsite was right next to a beautiful lake. But, we were the ONLY ones up there. Now, I didn't expect the campsite to be full, but I always imagined a few other campers. I was counting on them if Tristan got attacked by a bear and I had to get us to safety. But, it was just Tristan, Moose, and me.....

Tristan could see that I was starting to get a little nervous but he assured me that we would be perfectly fine, so we committed and set up camp and explored around. As the sun started to set we started a campfire, made dinner, and enjoyed some wine next to the fire. There was something so relaxing (and terrifying) being in the middle of the mountains without cell reception, and without anyone else around. 

(Moose is such a tough pup that we had to get his bed out of the car because he kept circling around and wouldn't lay down...)

Unfortunately mother nature didn't cooperate with us and after a full night and morning of rain and really cool temps, we decided one night of camping was enough. Luckily, the rain stopped long enough to fish and hike around the lake for awhile before we packed up and headed down the mountain.

Again, so tough... 

The drive down the mountain was much more enjoyable since I knew what I was getting into, so I really enjoyed the views and we stopped quite a few times to take pictures. Photography has always been an interest of mine, so I always love opportunities to try improve my skills. 

The last day Tristan biked down Monarch Pass and I explored the town of Salida with Moose. 

The trip went by too fast, as they always do, and I am already wanting to go back. If you haven't been to Colorado in the fall, or to Colorado in general- I highly recommend it. It has always been one of our favorite places to vacation but being there in the fall took my love to another level. 

Now to plan the next trip... 

Thanks for reading- hope you enjoyed the pictures!

XOXO, Jenny