blue ribbon chocolate chip cheesecake dip

The first time I remember winning something was in the second grade. It was a spelling bee, and I correctly declared g-i-r-a-f-f-e, giraffe. I won a magnet.

The second time was at last week's Prairie Hills neighborhood dessert contest, 20 years later. I received a $20 gift card to the local grocery store for my efforts. I'm becoming so domestic in this state of matrimony. Admittedly, I feel a bit guilty by beating out homemade ice cream and gluten free cupcakes. This recipe is ridiculously easy and neither gluten, carb, or sugar free, but it's a real crowd pleaser!

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Dip:

1 8 oz. package of light cream cheese (softened)

1 stick of unsalted butter (softened)

3/4 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Graham Crackers

1. Mix cream cheese and butter until smooth

2. Mix in the powdered sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla

3. Stir in the mini chocolate chips, chill for an hour, and serve with graham crackers

the softer side

Over the past month I've been in the process of moving in to Adam's house. It's an adorable ranch located in one of my favorite suburbs of the city, in an old neighborhood where the houses have a bunch of character yet notoriously lack closet and bathroom space. While the bones of Adam's house were always close to what I desire, his décor was, as expected, lacking a certain soft femininity only a gal can bring to an old house. Now that said gal has moved in, there have been a few improvements made in the texture department while keeping true to the clean lines and neutrality of our home.

scallop pillow / plush throw / mongolian lamb pillow

commitment

I'm back! And it feels so, so good to be here. That was a very long, unplanned break from writing, picture-taking, and documenting.

But I'm back and I'm ready to recommit to this old blog like I committed to the guy who sweeps me off my feet everyday. Maybe not quite like that, but I'm at least going to contribute regularly not only here, but over at the {something} project too.

Soooo. The last 7 months. Where to begin. I'm going to begin at the end. I'm married!!! I moved in with my husband!! We've already had dinner parties! I'm doing my best to fake my way through being a highly domestic wife.  We've only needed to open all the doors and windows to let out the smoke from my cooking attempts once, and we've gone through at least 10 bottles of wine. It's one non-stop celebration over here these days.

Being married is the most fun. The actual wedding planning (that I thought I would thrive at) ended up being not so much fun. A very anti-destination wedding family made things really difficult, which is the main reason behind my blog silence. "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all" and all that. Without getting into too many details, here are a few things I learned along the way. I hope this helps at least one bride-to-be keep her sanity.

1. You will receive a lot of advice. Some is helpful. Most is unsolicited. At least 75% isn't going to be pertinent to your wedding, it will be about the advisee's wedding.

2. People will get their panties in a bunch no matter what decision is made, no matter how large or insignificant. So do what you've dreamed, be respectful, and don't get your feelings hurt over others' opinions. In the end, it's all about you and your future husband and the marriage. Not the wedding.

3. Having a graphic designer friend is heaven-sent.

4. Keep a spreadsheet of all gifts received, from your engagement until after the wedding. Stores with registry systems will tell you they'll keep track for you, but having a backup file is a necessity.

5. Find a workout that you love. Every bride wants toned arms, and it's the best way to clear your mind and let out some steam after a particularly stressful day.

6. Your bridesmaids have one hell of a job. Make sure you take the time to thank them and let them know how much they mean to you whether that be with notes, emails, or little surprise gifts.

7. It will all work out in the end. You get to marry your best friend. So cliché but so true!

november you sneaky month

Um. WHERE did October go?

I barely had time to get out my scarves before November hit and with that, one of my favorite months is gone, leaving way quicker than it came. 

October was filled with lots of ups, including a friend's wedding, a weekend trip to Akron to visit Adam's granny, and even a few Wildcat wins. All of which I took approximately five pictures of. Total.

It was also the month that The {Something} Project, a blog created by a good friend of mine, officially launched. Molly was kind enough to ask me to contribute, although if you've been reading here long enough, you know I am clearly no expert on any topic whatsoever. So hop on over there to check out what's going on in the lives of eight interesting, hilarious, fun-loving gals. And me.

I'll still be posting to finer feelings of course, but what's better than one blog that I can contribute to? 

The answer is two. 

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the skimm



I consistently struggle with two pretty important things in life: geography and current events.

I was a lost cause on the news-front until Adam read me a small article from a spring issue of Vanity Fair. It was about The Skimm, a new email subscription targeted towards young professional women. I am relatively young and only semi-professional, so I hopped on that bandwagon before he could finish the next VF article. (They are so LONG.) Ever since, around 5:30am I get an email with updates on all the largest news stories of the day. I read the entire email every morning while I blow dry my hair.

The Skimm writers recap boring important stories in a way that's easy to understand and entertaining - they have a great sense of humor. #lotsofhashtagsused.

I'm sure many bloggers have written about The Skimm. (First article of business of getting the blog back in action: start writing. Second article of business: get caught up on reading.) But in case you hadn't heard of  The Skimm before, or weren't sure if it was something you'd actually read, I highly recommend subscribing to it. Gone are the days of politely nodding my head and smiling until someone brings up the last episode of Duck Dynasty. I can now have educated conversations with my superiors at the office about Obamacare, the MLB playoffs, and the Twitter IPO with little research and effort. Maybe someone will notice and I'll get paid more next year.....

trip highlights: austin, tx

If you follow me on instagram, you may have noticed I visited Austin, Texas last month. It was my first time to Austin, and while we were only there for 48 short hours, we hit up most of the spots on my must-see list.

The majority of our time was spent on 6th Street. My favorite bar was a dive on the Dirty 6 side called Dizzy Rooster, which I later found out was one of the favorite haunts of the Real World Austin cast.

The entire bar was covered in bottle caps. I loved every filthy, rusted one of them.

6th Street was oddly welcoming to K-Staters. Call it southern hospitality, or a way to get purple people in to your bar to spend a bunch of money. Either way, I liked it.

The weather was insane, and lucky for us we were out early enough to get a prime spot on the roof-top at Shakespeare's. From what I encountered, the tailgating experience is nothing like it is in Manhattan, or most Big 12 campuses for that matter. Instead of SUVs and RVs lined up in fields and parking lots surrounding the stadium, most people hang out at the bars on 6th Street, or went to a banquet hall that I can only describe as where your aunt may have had her wedding reception in the early 1980s. It was so Texas, and it was awesome.

After our loss (boo) and a perfect night's sleep on Saturday, we awoke on Sunday to meet friends at my now FAVORITE brunch place ever: Bess Bistro on Pecan. First off, they serve dollar mimosas, which apparently is a normal occurrence in Austin. This needs to become a thing in KC. Stat. Brunch was all-you-can-eat, so I started off with a mimosa and an order of deconstructed croque monsieur. I've never even had a constructed croque monsieur , so I wasn't really sure what I was ordering. It had just the right amount of truffle oil on the toast, a perfectly crispy-fried poached egg, and spicy blackened ham. After a pass through the delicious buffet line, Adam and I split the most popular order of the day - Fruity Pebble pancakes. Oh My G, I thought about those pancakes for days afterwards.

We had almost a full day before needing to head to the airport, so after eating our weight in breakfast food we bid adieu to our friends and went to Rainey Street. It's a small street where the adorable houses have been transformed into bars with backyard games, garages turned into restrooms, and parking lots filled with food trucks. Such a fun little street with so much character.

ATX - you were fun. I'll be back.

happy wednesday

best friends

I'm finally tackling my inbox, and found this article I had emailed to myself this summer.

Hope those instagrams make you as happy as they made me.

favorite word

Pillow.

Is having a favorite word weird? Because I've always had one. In sixth grade, it was doodle. Sometime around high school, it became pillow.

Whatever the reason, I love that word. It makes me so happy.

During our stay in Austin, we slept on the most amazing pillows I have ever encountered. I can't stop thinking about them. 

via

If only I could justify spending the pretty penny they cost....

quote for friday

via

Just maybe my favorite love quote ever.

just call me magnum

It's a wonder that summer is over. I wish I could say I was busy doing fabulous things to blog about, but the truth of the matter is I didn't do too much.

Three books were read. Three trips to the Ozarks were taken. Many glasses of wine were drank on Blue Eyes' back porch. I moved in with my parents before the big day. I found the dress. The best season of the year has started.

I rode in a helicopter for the first time. 

I missed blogging.

oh hey

I did it. I became “that girl”. You know the one.  She writes semi-regularly and then gets engaged and completely ignores her blog for weeks upon weeks. I’ve seen it happen so many times, and I always swore I would never become her.

Hi. I’m her.

So now it’s that awkward stage where I figure out what to write. Do you want to hear the engagement story? Do you never want to read a thing about the wedding? (Foreshadowing: this is going to be near impossible.) Do I just go about my business telling you about whatever is on my mind like normal? (Mind has become overtaken by wedding.)

I guess I'll just talk wedding.

I hinted at it back here. And I'm finally ready to announce it. We are getting married in Mexico!

Mexico... here we come May 2014!

Save the Dates are ordered. Wedding party has been asked. Next up - dress shopping!

royals

You guys, have you heard this song?

I've played it on repeat over the past few days, and just can't get enough of it.

If you're in the mood for some enlightenment, check out the About section she wrote for this video.
The crazy thing is she's all of 16 years old. Pretty sure I was most worried about what outfit I was wearing on a Friday night when I was her age. Not to mention I think she's already better at applying eyeliner than I am. Girl's got talent in so many ways.

I promise to have some fun wedding stuff up on the blog as soon as some big decisions have been made and finalized. Until then, enjoy this jam!

yes.

That's what I said!

  

Here's to us.

Our future. Our past. Our travels. Our obsession with football. Our love.

Now, let the planning begin!

hot head

 

Hey hey. I hope you all had a great Memorial Day weekend. Mine was incredibly relaxing and I was actually looking forward to getting back into the work routine today.
 

To all of you who curl your hair on a regular basis, talk to me. I need to know what you use to protect your tresses from the heat of your appliances.

For years I was super lazy and would simply blow dry my hair and leave it in its naturally stick straight state. I have recently become a little obsessed with the curling iron (and wand) ever since my friend and hairstylist taught me how to curl properly, giving my hair that wavy, effortless appearance. If only it was effortless. Turns out I like curling my hair so much that I completely fried it over the past six months between hair cuts.

 

I could use what my friend sells at the salon, but am really looking for something budget-friendly - $30 or less. I've mentioned before that I have had great luck with Phyto hair products, so I might try out their Phytokeratine Reparative serum. I am definitely looking for other options though as I research, so if you use a serum and love it, please let me know!

the black keys

For my birthday, Blue Eyes gave me tickets to see a band I've been dying to see since being introduced to them with this video back in 2008. 

It's hard to believe that six years after that video was shot, they're selling out arenas like the Sprint Center. I love these guys from Akron, Ohio and can't wait to see them again. What an amazing show.

time saver

*So I'm just going to jump right in here and pretend I haven't been MIA for 3 weeks* 

I think most of you will agree with me that any tricks or tips to save some time these days is as appreciated as a J. Crew sale on pay day. No?

I bought this tube of Freedom polymer top coat from Julep over a month ago with the hopes it would give me a Shellac-like manicure for a fraction of the cost over time. With wedding season in full swing and making a commitment to tighten my budget, I spent $18 on the Julep top coat hoping my skepticism of its seemingly-radical product description would prove incorrect.

After over 10 at-home manicures, here is what I have found.

The Pros:
1. Dries extremely fast and effectively. Like I can take out laundry from the dryer five minutes after I've finished applying.
2. Gives nails the high-gloss gel look.
3. Comes off easily with regular non-acetone nail polish remover.

The Con:
1. Doesn't last nearly as long as a gel manicure. I get about 4 days before the color starts chipping.

For me, the multiple benefits outweigh the one disappointment I have had with this product.

PS: I was not compensated in any way for this review, just my thoughts and hope it's helpful for you!

spring shoe

It may have been 20 degrees last night in Kansas City. I may have been boycotting my coat closet for the past month against the weatherman's advice. And right now I'm inconveniently obsessing over these shoes from Zara. Aren't they amazing? Best shoes I've seen all season.

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energy bites

Today I'm going to tell you about these delicious energy bites I've become a major fan of lately. I am one of those people who prefer 6 small meals (or constantly grazing) over 3 large ones a day. While I'd love to snack on jalapeno potato chips every afternoon a few hours after lunch, my pencil skirts won't allow for much more waistline to cover. I found this recipe a while ago and have created my own version that I really love. So if you're like me and need a little pick-me-up between meals, try these all-natural, protein-packed energy bites out!

Here are the ingredients I use:

Since this picture, I've started using Natural Jif, and actually like the taste more than the regular Peter Pan. I also use less honey and vanilla than the recipe in the link states because I enjoy the nutty flavors over the sweet. Here are the measurements I have found the most delicious:

1/2 cup natural peanut butter

Less than 1/3 (but more than 1/4) cup honey

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup old fashioned oats

3/4 cup unprocessed wheat bran

1/3 cup unsweetened coconut

1/2 cup slivered almonds, chopped fine

The end result - about 12 of these yummy balls of goodness!

oh so oily

I have been reading tons of articles lately about the benefits of using natural oil as a part of your health and beauty routine. At first I figured these folks must all be nutso granola to the extreme people. Then I started reading Amazon reviews and became truly intrigued. Longer lashes, smooth skin, all natural ingredients? Yes please.

A few weeks ago, as part of my recent job acceptance shopping spree, I bought Josie Maran's argan oil from Sephora. This stuff is amazing. I use it most every night and in the mornings if I know it is going to be cloudy out. (It doesn't have SPF, so if the weather is going to be nice or I'm going to be outside a lot, I use my old faithful Lumene Vitamin C+ lotion.) A little goes a long way with argan oil, and it moisturizes while barely feeling like there is anything on my skin. At first it seemed counterintuitive to be putting oil on my combo skin; oily in the T zone and dryer elsewhere. I can honestly say this oil leaves my face feeling light and hydrated, not oily, and the best part - no break outs!

Another variety I am super interested in getting my hands on is castor oil. I have a minor major obsession with eyelashes - my own and everyone else's. Isn't it every girl's challenge in life to find the perfect mascara? (I'm still looking by the way....) Apparently castor oil is like a natural Latisse. I mean, sounds way too good to be true, am I right? Wikipedia says there is no scientific proof that castor oil promotes hair growth, but it's so darn inexpensive I might as well give it a try. I'll report my findings, of course.

Are there any other kinds of oils you're a big fan of that I should try?

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new beginnings

I have good news and bad news. The bad: There will be a bit of radio silence as I dive into training and become a productive part of my new company as quickly as possible. The good: I'm so happy with the position and company. The days are flying by!

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