Win a free pizza at Papa John's!

Totally worth taking the 2 minutes out of your day to potentially win a free pizza at Papa John's!  If you have more than one household family member (in my case, I have my husband), then have them

login and vote 'heads' and you can vote 'tails'.  That way you're guaranteed a free pizza no matter what the end result at the Superbowl; a win-win situation!

Blue Jean Ladies

An ARTICLE I came across & had to share! 

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ASPEN, COLORADO, MAY BE KNOWN AS A WORLD-CLASS SKI DESTINATION, BUT IT'S ALSO THE UNLIKELY HOME BASE OF A FAST-GROWING COMPANY THAT IS REVOLUTIONIZING THE WAY WE BUY DENIM. STEP INSIDE THE MOUNTAIN-TOWN HEADQUARTERS OF THE BLUE JEANS BAR.

{ Fuller's desk boasts breathtaking views of Red and Smuggler mountains  }

                   {  Courtney Sheely, Sydney Prikryl, Sammy and Lady Fuller in The Blues Jean Bar headquarters.  }

{ The Blues Jean Bar-branded packing tape; ski posters, fresh flowers and a cookie jar decorate the office }

When you walk into The Blues Jean Bar offices in the heart of downtown Aspen, Colorado, Sammy is the first one to greet you. The Bernese mountain dog ambles up, tail wagging wildly, and leans his stout body against you in a not-so-subtle plea for attention. This welcoming committee is just one of many only-in-Aspen qualities that sets The Blues Jean Bar apart from the rest of corporate America.

Lady Fuller is the woman behind this denim empire, which now includes 100 employees and 17 stores (none of which are in Aspen). She moved her headquarters from San Francisco to Aspen in 2009 when her husband, Chip, found a job in the area. Fuller’s parents had a second home in the mountain town and she’d always loved it, so she decided to live where she really wanted.

From her desk overlooking the mansion-laden hills of Aspen’s tony Red Mountain, Fuller—a mother of two small children—runs her ever-growing company. In addition to her brick-and-mortar retail shops, she also oversees an online store (thebluesjeanbar.com) and a mobile Blues Jean Bar service that travels to special events, providing the same unique, customized shopping experience as the retail stores do. Her success lies in stores that offer more than 40 denim brands for men and women, complete with “jeantenders” who help customers select the best options for their size, shape and need from behind an actual wooden bar.

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If you haven't had the opportunity to check out The Blue Jean Bar yet, they carry a vast majority of great denim brands. My guess would be, as the year 2013 continues to progress, this brand is going to be seen throughout the country on a more mainstream basis.

xx, 

Colleen 

Valentines Day Shortbread Heart Cookies dipped in Chocolate

Okay, so I'll be the first one to admit, I have somewhat of a 'sweet tooth'.... My husband always jokes by saying that dessert is an actual 'dinner course' in our household and shouldn't be ignored or skipped.  So every evening, it's inevitable that we have a little something 'sweet' after dinner.  These cookies are a 

lighter option when it comes to fat & calorie content averaging 80 calories per cookie but still satisfying your sweet craving with just one cookie. 

The recipe below yields 1.5 dozen cookies; no-one needs that many cookies sitting around the house when you're trying to maintain a healthier lifestyle.  My suggestion, is to get individual plastic baggies (as seen below) and some cute decorative Valentines Day Ribbon (as seen below), wrap up 10 or so cookies, and deliver them to your children's classroom, take them to work to surprise your co-workers, to a dinner party with friends, or drop a few off at each of your neighbor's home!  It'll brighten someone else's day for sure & in the process, not make you & your family feel as guilty for your sweet indulges <3

Happy Baking Friends & Family! 

Colleen

**If anyone cooks the recipe below, be sure to leave a comment/feedback. I would love to hear from you! **

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup sifted confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour, plus more, for dusting
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon canola oil or pure vegetable shortening

Directions

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter, sugar, and vanilla until combined. On slow speed, beat in flour and salt until combined. Wrap dough in plastic wrap; chill until firm, at least 2 hours, or overnight.

2. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough until 1/16-to-1/8 inch thick. Cut out hearts with a 3-inch heart cookie cutter. Transfer cookies to an ungreased baking sheet; chill for 30 minutes.

3. Heat oven to 300 degrees with a rack in the center. Bake until just beginning to brown around the edges, about 18 minutes. (Cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for about 5 days.)

4. In the top of a double boiler or in a heat-proof bowl set over simmering water, melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally. Stir in the oil. Dip half or one third of each cookie into the chocolate mixture. Transfer cookies to a cooling rack to dry, or place them on a piece of parchment paper in the freezer for 10 minutes.

5. Complete by putting into individual plastic baggies (can be purchased at your local craft store), knot with ribbon to make it air-tight.   Enjoy! 

Spicy White Bean Chicken Chili

This soup recipe is a top favorite in my household & your guests are sure to enjoy it as well! It's easy to prepare, satisfying, nutritionally light, & flavorful.  Pair it with a side salad or some corn bread for a complete dinner meal. 

Happy Cooking!

Colleen 

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Ingredients

• 1/2 inch of butter on stick, divided for cooking vegetables  
• 1 full Rotisserie Chicken 
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1 yellow pepper, diced
• 1/2 cup of cherry yellow (heirloom) tomatoes, diced
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 64 ounces of Vegetable Broth (2 - 32 oz containers)
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon cracked black pepper
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 4 cans cannellini white beans, drained
• 1 jalepeno pepper

GARNISH OPTIONS (Do not add for a healthier lighter option): 

~Sour Cream

~Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Directions

Prepare all vegetables and rotisserie chicken.  Remove all skin from the rotisserie chicken and discard. Debone chicken and cut into small cube pieces. In a large stock pot, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add in diced onions, diced bell peppers (tri-color), and jalepeno pepper. Cook until onions become "clear" in color.  

Add the cubes of rottisserie chicken pieces for 5 minutes to the vegetable mix in stock pot. 

Add the chili powder, coriander, cumin, black pepper and the salt. Stir and cook for a few minutes. 

Add the cannellini beans and 64 oz of vegetable broth. Add 1/2 cup of cherry tomatoes (preferably heirloom - yellow tomatoes). Let pot simmer on low-heat for 1 hour to mix all the flavors of the soup. 

Transfer to a serving bowl.  Garnish with Shredded Cheddar cheese and sour cream (if preferred). 

Cold Play

Exercise Outside to Prevent Winter Weight Gain & Seasonal Blues

by Robert Sullivan

It’s completely understandable: When winter comes and the thermometer bottoms out, you run for the gym and lock yourself to the treadmill, a slave to the circling band of rubber till spring. Because who wants to face frigid conditions?

Well, maybe you’d brave the sleet and snow if you found out that running in the cold was actually good for you, for both body and mind. Evolutionary Biology 101 tells us that our metabolism notches down in frosty weather, and really, who doesn’t sometimes have the urge to hibernate in a cave? But exercising outdoors can keep our internal fires burning at a higher level and prevent the dreaded winter fifteen.  

One of the biggest benefits to cold-weather workouts, however, may be psychological. Studies have long shown that exercise is mood-boosting, but research has also found that working out outside may actually help fight seasonal affective disorder (SAD). The combination of the sun’s antidepressant-like powers and the endorphin-high of exercise can trick your body into believing spring is already here. And then there’s the motivational factor. “It’s a lot easier to run an hour outdoors than it is to run an hour on the treadmill,” says Chris Grover, the head coach of the U.S. cross-country ski team. “There’s more to see, more to do.” Grover views battling the elements, nature’s and mankind’s, as a better workout overall. “If you are outside, there’s going to be a physiological benefit—you’re adjusting your stride, adjusting for curbs, dogs. So you should have all that benefit to your musculature.”

And while it may seem counter­intuitive, in comparison to sweltering heat, cooler temperatures can cause less stress on the machine that is your body: Think about how much tougher it is to cool down than it is to warm up, which is why summer marathons are relatively rare. 

Let’s be straight, though. If you are skating laps around the lake on a crisp 20-degree morning, you have to be careful. William Roberts, M.D., a family and sports-medicine physician in St. Paul (where, climate change notwithstanding, it is cold and dark for nearly six months of the year), prescribes small, practical steps. For starters, warm up indoors, with calisthenics or jogging in place, so your body can focus its energy on locomotion rather than shivering (it’s difficult to do both) when it hits the streets or the cross-country trail.

And, of course, pile on layers of gear. Shells and liners ought to have zippers and vents, to manage heat and wick away perspiration. “Give yourself the ability to de-garment,” says Declan Connolly, Ph.D., director of the University of Vermont’s Human Performance Laboratory. The list goes on: Wear running shoes with a tighter weave to block wind and more cushion for frozen ground.  

Tighten & Firm-up with Copper

Vogue recently released it's top 2013 beauty-health items to look out for in the coming year. After reading about one particular product, it has shot straight up to the top of my list as an item to purchase this coming week. 

Skin care's latest star..... Copper. Frequently used to help skin heal post-treatment, it has long been linked to improving elastin—those cross-hatched fibers that give skin its structure and allow it to literally bounce back. 

Thanks to a tiny new molecule in Kiehl’s Powerful Wrinkle Reducing Cream, copper can now penetrate the skin’s layers more deeply, to get the job done faster. Did I mention it’s an antioxidant, too?

This item is a no-brainer for me & my next trip to the mall will include it.  From my great aunts, grandmother, mother, sister, to me, I've been told by multiple family generations to start protecting and treating my skin while I'm young.  It's never too early to start, as I started using Lancome's RENERGIE Anti-Wrinkle Cream in my early 20's and still use it daily.  I think my new found plan, is to continue using my preferred Lancome product (above) in the morning prior to putting on my make-up (like I've done for years) and use the Kiehl's product nightly. 

Benefits from the Kiehl's Website: 

• This skin fortifying anti-wrinkle cream, with a powerful combination of micronutrients, Copper PCA and Calcium PCA
• Significantly reduces wrinkles, smoothes skin texture and minimizes pores
• Clinically shown to improve elasticity by 32%
• High level broad-spectrum UVA/UVB protection. SPF 30.

   

it's the small things.

The weekend has finally approached. Since our move late December, my husband & I have been filling our weekends full of exploring the Denver-Boulder area, stuffing our stomach's full of good cuisine, trying out the plethora of beer breweries in the area (we've moved to the haven of beer-country in the USA), shopping around at all the new boutiques and one-of-a-kind stores, & trying to stay warm in the midst of it all!

This weekend, I'm sure will be no exception. I must admit, I am really looking forward to a relaxed low-key Sunday evening; I plan on baking some cookies & watching the Golden Globes.  

Here are my 'small things' this week that I love & wanted to share. I hope you have a fabulous weekend. 

xx,

Colleen 

{ Last year Yankee Candle introduced a line called Pure Radiance for their large candles. I love the sleek look of the jar & it's made with a custom soy-wax blend for a longer burning time of 140 hrs. They are launching a new Pure Radiance Candle in the next few months that has a wood-crackling wick & I'm super excited to get one as soon as they are launched. As for now, I'll enjoy my new 'grapevine' scent that is roaming throughout the house and giving a refreshing smell. } 

{ My new fun selection of boot socks, I picked up at my local J. Crew. I love that in the midst of winter, once you take off your boots, a fun pop of color & design is hidden underneath. } 

{ Enjoying a beer with my husband at Boulder's local Avery Brewery Tap Room.  Our beers of choice were Ellie's Brown Ale & a Chocolate Mint Stout. }

{ My new J.Crew peach-nude colored bangle }