If you want to dine at a delicious, quaint, unique, garage-turned-bistro, 

you should check out Genessee Royale in KC. 

Stephanie and I ventured here today for brunch and loved it.

whimsical wednesday

"Today...I used a dinner role to wipe butter off my face, and then I ate the bread roll. 

So essentially I used my face as a butter knife."

5 more weeks of this

 :(

Heavenly Pear Salad

Katie at the Kitchen Door beautifully blogs this scrumptious salad.

Make it how you like it, with:

Spinach

Arugula

Pomegranate seeds (or dried cranberries)

Orange zest

walnuts

blush wine vinaigrette or fresh squeezed orange juice

Olive oil

pears



"Happiness is a crowded dinner table." 
- Ian Smith

Flawless Face with Minimal Makeup

1. Prep your skin by washing with a gentle cleanser and exfoliating to slough off dead skin and buff away dryness

2. Apply vitamin E oil after showering and top it with a light SPF face moisturizer to even skin tone and leave skin soft

3. Use a light-colored concealer under the eyes and on imperfections

4. Buff a barely-there nude mineral powder (Bare Escentuals)

5. Add a light blush to your cheeks

6. Light shimmery eye shadow on the lids only

7. Curl lashes and add mascara, no eyeliner!

8. Amp up your lips with a just-bitten lip stain or Burts Bees pomegranate lip balm

As I get older, I am learning and respecting the idea that less is more. I believe this minimalist concept holds true in most facets of life. The key to these looks is to highlight only one feature (in this case, the lips), and let your eyes be natural and free. I think that wearing only mascara makes your eyes look much bigger.
I love these natural, effortless looks

Source 1
Source 2
Source 3

I feel my best when I'm wearing comfortable clothes, such as jeans or yoga pants and usually a white or black tshirt, loose hair, and barely-there makeup.
When do you feel your best?

minimalist

introspective Tuesday.

PB & Banana Smoothie with Almond Milk & Flax

This is one of my favorite protein-packed smoothies that I can make quickly for on-the-go mornings.

 (I cut up and freeze my banana the night before) 

Ingredients:

1 nearly ripe banana

1 tablespoon all natural peanut butter

1 teaspoon honey

1 1/2 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk

1 tablespoon whole flax seeds (Trader Joe's has the best nutty flavor!) 

100% vegan, dairy-free, 15g protein, vitamin E, potassium, 5g fiber

>>> recipes for health
>>> BakedBree

I love March

Sometimes I find it useful to shrink my goals into small increments, making them much easier to obtain. This week I'm focusing on a few things. Forget looking far into the future, because we never know where we will end up. Short term goals are less daunting, and way more fun if you ask me.

This week, I will:

Stretch my body every day, even if I don't make it to the gym

Open my curtains to let the natural light in before work 

Drink green tea each day

Go for a walk at night with my dog for half an hour

Listen to new music

Leave my hair curly, no hot tools

Contact my relatives to say hi

Think more, talk less

Spend more time outside, weather permitting

Cook my meals ahead of time and eat them throughout the week

Read the news

Complete my to-do list

Go to the dog park

See a friend for dinner

Relax

photo // Etsy

end quote: 

"It's important to tell the people you love that you love them while they can hear you"

recipe box

 My recipe for rotini noodles with lentils, parmesan, and great northern beans:

photo cred


This is a super-charged lunch which is easy to make ahead of time, very inexpensive, and delicious!

Ingredients:
2 cups Smart Taste or whole grain rotini pasta
2 cups Trader Joe's whole green lentils (raw)
1 can Trader Joe's great northern beans (strained)
2 tbs olive oil
basil seasoning (to taste)
Shaved parmesan cheese (to taste)

Prepare:
1. Lightly simmer lentils in water for 40 minutes - drain and set aside
2. Boil noodles for 8 to 10 minutes - drain and set aside

Once finished cooking, in a large class bowl, mix together noodles, lentils, beans, olive oil, seasoning, and top with shaved parmesan. It couldn't be easier. Each 1-cup serving has 17g fiber (insane!), and 20g protein- enjoy! You can add spinach or other greens for color, flavor, and other added nutrients.

I don't know what TJ's does to this coffee, but it's delightfully palatable.

After a dozen samples and many trips to the coffee counter, 

I ended up buying it.

Good purchase of the week.

//coffee notes & details 

cozy

also, I am learning a lot from my 17-year old self.

Happy Friday

remember to smile

photo credit to Robin

you're the yellow bird that i've been waiting for.

sanguine

Is it just me or is 2013 flying by already? Our final snow has fallen (I think) and springtime is almost here. There are a few things I'm looking forward to short-term and long-term for this year:

Date night with Stephanie and Britni! at Chiusano's! Stephanie and I try to meet up once a month for a girl's night, sometimes we cook a meal and have wine, meet up for coffee to chat, or go out to dinner.

Our house is for sale, and I'm very sad about that but I want to get the moving process overwith. New beginnings and a fresh start. Bittersweet.

I'm (almost embarrassingly) excited to decorate my new place for the summer...everything will be crisp white! I'm inspired by this design:

Oddly enough, I'm looking forward to going to the Capital building for political-social work advocacy day Mar 14th with Mehgan. Not so much looking forward to the reaction paper that goes with it...and maybe I'm a little intimidated by the bigwigs. 

Spring break! Ah, the joy of working in a school and getting this week off. This year I'm praying for good weather because the ladies and I are going on a scenic day trip (hiking and campground included)! The outdoors will be a fantastic escape.

I'm excited to begin my practicum next fall for my social work degree. Hopefully I learn a lot and get to work with some great people. 

Everyone who knows me knows that I live for fall and winter. But lately I'm getting the springtime itch. I can't wait to wear light-breezy clothes, fedora hats, t-shirts and jeans, and no socks!

p.s. discovered Luigi's in downtown Leavenworth a few weeks ago. I'm perturbed that I didn't eat at this gem sooner, because it is amazing. GO THERE!

le`mon!

I recommend these four ingredient white chocolate lemon truffles!

recipe here! key ingredient

Meyer Lemon Bombolini

Recipe here: beyond the plate

I haven't tried this particular recipe yet, but they look delicious

what do Sundays mean to you?

1. 2. 3. 4.

cohabitation conundrum

How to Eat Healthy When Other's Don't:

According to Fitsugar, Mayo Clinic and WebMd, there are ways to stay on track when your live-in partner eats a different variety of meals (of a less healthy variety). These ways will assure you two can still enjoy eating together while not having to cook two completely separate meals.

1. Similar ingredients, different dish: If a couple is making a pasta dish, perhaps one parter will opt for the heavy-cream based fettuccine sauce with a load of noodles - the other might opt for a salad first, the same noodles prior to being pulverized by the sauce, add just olive oil, fresh basil, and parmesan cheese. This option is an easy swap and you don't have to cook something completely different.

2. Substitute side dishes: So you and your husband are cooking steak. Great, but while he has loaded mashed potatoes and buttery brussel sprouts on the side with a beer, you are left with a huge dilemma. Have the steak in a small portion (if you're eating red meat), bake brussel sprouts in olive oil with sea salt before the butter attack, and have whole grain rice with fresh herbs instead of potatoes. A small glass of red wine or sparkling lemon water instead of that beer. You'll be glad you did.

3. Remember you are doing this for you, and everyone else is still entitled to his or her own food preferences: and remember you don't have to play copy-cat when dining with other people. Individuality is important in this regard, because every "body" metabolizes at different rates and not all figures are created equally. Don't condemn others for their food choices, but just remember why YOU are eating healthy. 

4. Have you ever noticed that you tend to be more conscious of food when eating with someone who is a health-nut? While we all need to respect the choices of others, perhaps someone will look up to YOUR food habits and adopt a healthier lifestyle. Be a food-role-model!

Easy, Healthy food swaps that make a big impact:

Sprinkle chopped walnuts - instead of croutons

Plain greek yogurt - instead of sour cream

Extra virgin olive oil or vitamin E oil - instead of canola or vegetable oil

Applesauce - instead of sugar while baking

Avocado - instead of mayonnaise on a sandwich

Red wine - instead of cocktails

Lemon juice and olive oil - instead of ranch dressing or light oil-based salad dressings

Quinoa - instead of rice (especially white rice)

Popcorn - instead of tortilla chips

Frozen fruit - instead of ice cream

Portobello mushroom - instead of pizza crust

Spinach - instead of 1/2 serving of pasta

Sparkling water with lemon or lime - instead of soda

Cocoa nibs - instead of chocolate chips 

Oatmeal with nuts & fruit - instead of cereal

Dark greens - instead of iceburg lettuce

Natural almond butter - instead of processed peanut butter

Honey - instead of artificial sweeteners or sugar

Half and Half or Soy- instead of oil-based coffee creamer

also...have the damn brownie. but only have ONE.

Things to think about:

are we there yet?

via/ let's go > > >