finding adventure | katelyn ryan

jordan's home today!

It's our weekend! Jordan's home today! It's been a wonderful slow morning. I've been sick all week and Jordan has been working long nights, so it's been a lovely reprieve already. Jordan played with Ruby and I had the morning to sleep in and relax, thanks, Jordan!

haha. i love you, ruby

I hope that you're enjoying your Thursday as well! :)

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, by katelyn

food

how to | coldbrew iced coffee

I'm sorry guys, I have been holding out on you. I took these photos back in May with full intentions of sharing with you the best and easiest way to make coldbrew coffee before it started to get too hot. Well, it's hot. And I hope that you're not drinking hot coffee.
If you're like me and need a cup of coffee in the morning, this is for you. Here's to making summer a little easier and more delicious.

As soon as it started to get a little warm back in April, we got out the Toddy to make iced coffee in the mornings. Making coldbrew is seriously the easiest thing ever. And on top of that once you've made it, it can be stored in the fridge and lasts about a week! Jordan will even occasionally heat his up instead of having it iced.
Since it's so easy, there's really not too much of a how to or recipe. I'll share with you some of my tips for buying coffee, how we make our coldbrew, which is really just using the Toddy, and how I make my iced coffee in the morning.

A couple years ago I got Jordan a Toddy (which I purchased off of Amazon here) for his birthday. It's one of my favorite gifts that I've gotten him, it's probably tied with the hammock. Here's an instagram of us putting the Toddy to use for the first time. And maybe because it has been more of a gift for me. :)

There are many ways to make coldbrew, but I prefer to use the Toddy system because it's really easy and tastes the best. The filter seems to take away the acidity of the coffee, giving it a very smooth and yummy taste.

HOW TO & TIPS

ON MAKING THE BEST COLDBREW

HOW TO PICK OUT COFFEE

Smell the coffee beans. If it smells good to you, you'll probably like it, easy enough? :)

Seriously, this is the best way to find good coffee.

I like to look for a medium roast coffee bean with low acidity for coldbrew.

Get whole beans and have the coffee shop grind it for you, or they often have a coffee grinder at most stores.

Use a coarse grind.

HOW TO USE THE TODDY

Using the Toddy Coldbrew System is very easy. Definitely use the instructions that comes with the coldbrew system.

But, here's what we do:

1. Assemble Toddy system, place the cork and filter in the bottom per instructions.

2. Using a around a 12 oz. bag of course ground coffee, pour in half

3. add water until all coffee is wet

4. Add second half of coffee

5. Fill almost to the top with water (we typically leave about an inch to the top

6. Do not stir, leave alone for at least 12 hours or up to a day

7. Uncork and let coffee mixture drain into glass pitcher

8. Mix concentrated coffee with water or milk (typically about half and half)

and prepare however you like your coffee

9. Cover with lid and place in fridge

10. Clean out system, and store filter in freezer to reuse later!

HOW I LIKE MY ICED COFFEE

What I love most about coldbrew, is that you're left with a concentrated coffee, like espresso.

I typically prefer lattes, so I basically make an iced latte:

half coffee and half milk, and add in either a little creamer or agave nectar.

And that's it, and it's way better than any iced coffee you'll get at starbucks.

Do you use a Toddy or have a favorite way to make iced coffee at home?

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, by katelyn

adventure

Red Rocks | Colorado

Back in March we spend our week vacation in Arizona and Colorado. I shared most of the photos from Arizona and now we're on to Colorado! If you missed those posts, here is our itinerary, which has links to everything.

We were only in Colorado for a couple days, so we didn't have too much time to explore. On top of that, our flight was delayed. We got in very late and Ruby slept terribly, so we had very limited energy for our only full day there. We had big plans to see Garden of the Gods and to do some hiking.

Instead, we slept in, had brunch, and rested. Once recouped and realizing we had limited daylight left, we set off to see what we could of Colorado's beautiful landscape.

Jordan picked to see Red Rocks Amphitheater. It wasn't too far from where we were staying, so it was perfect. It was beautiful and there was a parking lot not too far from these awesome lookouts! :)

We got really lucky again, being here right at golden hour, which is right before sunset. The red rocks really shined in the warm sun which made for lovely photos. I highly suggest a visit here, and look out for a good concert here as well! It's on our list to visit again.