Moooo-ved Back Home

Ooops...

2012-01-10T18:51:00.000-08:00

It's been almost a year since I posted on here. I just thought to come here today, and then realized that my background was still appropriate for the upcoming holiday.

Ooops!

I can't promise that I'll remember to post, or even have time for that matter. But hopefully I can post some pictures at the very least.

-K.

Valentine's Day Prizes

2011-02-16T18:02:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of the Valentine's Day cards and wrapped candy bars that I made.

"You Dazzle Me"

Wrapped Candy Bar

"Whoo Loves Ya?"

"Fangs or Fur?" Twilight themed card for my sister

I was pretty happy with how they turned out. :)

Love Always,

Kaitlin

Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T19:36:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Flowers from Nate

And fancy chocolates from Nate
The banner I made to surprise him in the morning
Heart-shaped pizza from Papa Murphy's for dinner

Hope everyone had a love-filled day.

Love Always,

Kaitlin

Yoga 101

2011-02-09T17:16:00.000-08:00

Well, here we go again. I haven't done yoga since my freshman year of college at Hamline. And I had quit for a reason: IT HURT!

But, Groupon had a 5-class pass for the Yoga Eight studio, so I thought I'd give it another shot. I went to the beginner class last night. I was pleasantly surprised! The owner/instructor taught a very good beginner class. I actually felt good afterwards, especially my neck, which for my old lady neck is awesome.

Downward facing dog is still giving me problems, but it'll just have to be a work in progress, as will shavasana. For the life of me, I can't quiet my mind. "Acknowledge your thought and move on," the instructor said. Yeah...sure, I'll work on that. Maybe if I had a mantra to repeat it would help. I felt like Elizabeth in Eat Pray Love, yelling at her mind.

Try again next Tuesday!

O Christmas Tree

2010-12-01T21:00:00.001-08:00

It's December 1st, and I have, therefore, lifted the Christmas music ban.

We put up the tree, and lights on the deck. I subjected the furry children to wearing their sweaters. Insert death stares.

And now it's past my bed time.

Love Always,

Kaitlin

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Recent Project

2010-11-12T21:46:00.000-08:00

Halloween is upon us...

2010-10-02T16:09:00.000-07:00

...and I have new listings on my Etsy site!

Love Always,

Kaitlin

CSA: For the Win!

2010-09-05T15:49:00.000-07:00

I'm going to be a canning fiend tomorrow! I'm making salsa and basil garlic pasta sauce. We got 10 pounds of tomatoes included with our CSA share, so we went to the farm this afternoon and picked them. We also had 4 pounds of tomatoes in our share from Saturday, plus the ones we've gotten in the last couple weeks' shares (I blanched and froze them). There is a ridiculous amount of tomatoes on our counter! I had to buy most of the peppers at the grocery store, but I'll be using a few pepperoncinis, a few serranos, and one jalapeno from our deck plants. For the pasta sauce, I didn't have enough basil, so we had to buy some, but about a third of it is from our deck. This will be my first solo canning experience, so wish me luck!

Love Always,

Kaitlin

Calfed Out

2010-07-11T19:13:00.001-07:00

After a hard day of playing with Jinx

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Jinx & The Nameless Kitty

2010-07-09T19:30:00.001-07:00

So sweet, Jinx is bathing lil kitty.

Or is he tenderizing her?

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Kitteh Love

2010-06-27T18:50:00.001-07:00

I think it's more confusion than love on Jinx's part!

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She's Here!

2010-06-25T21:04:00.000-07:00

And now she needs a name...Suggestions?

On another note, Jinx is not very happy. She just wants to be friends.

I've been doing a lot of crafting these days. A couple gifts, a couple orders for Dragonfly Designs, but I've been slacking on posting pictures. I'll work on that. I promise.

Enough for now, I better go check on little kitty!

Love Always,

Kaitlin

P.S. My new phone, the Droid Incredible, has a better camera on it than my actual camera. Sad.

Slacker

2010-06-12T18:56:00.000-07:00

Yep, that's me. I've seriously been slacking on this whole blogging thing. So, quickly, let's catch up!

1) We're getting a new kitty in the next couple weeks once she's big enough.

2) I've been working on a couple orders for Dragonfly Designs by KRJ.

3) Mexico was AMAZING! See pictures here.

That's all for now!

Love Always,

Kaitlin

2010-04-25T20:00:00.000-07:00

Hi! Just a short post... We're in the process of moving right now to our new home. We'll finish the move this weekend when my parents come down with the truck, so we can move the big things that my CR-V can't handle. Cross your fingers we can move in between the scattered showers on Friday.

Jinx is wiped after a day of spazzing out. He has so much room to run around now that two-thirds of the apartment is moved to the new place. And yes, his mouth is open.
Get a free shelf for the craft room, and the cat claims it as his new perch. Typical.

Love Always,

Kaitlin

In Love

2010-04-18T20:20:00.000-07:00

I'm absolutely in love with our new apartment. We picked up the keys on Friday, I packed up a bunch of stuff Friday night, and we've been moving stuff over ever since. Jinx even got to take a trip over there today. I think he was starting to get used to the new place, but the transfers were tramautic events...oh, the howling. He's now curled up in my lap.

Speaking of Jinx, he is a murderer. I let him out on the upstairs deck to prowl around. He's been just obsessed with the birds. So, I'm downstairs making dinner, and I hear a big thud. Thinking that he fell or something, I run up there to discover that he had himself up on the ledge with a smashed bird egg next to him. The mama bird is giving him the death stare. I don't know how he did it. The bird's nest was quite a leap from the ledge. Our kitty is a murderer of the unborn.

I love the flowers blooming, but I'm really hating this allergy crap. Hopefully these drugs will start working in a couple days like the pharmacist said. This sinus headache sucks. Come on antihistamines!

I'll post pictures of the new place once we get some stuff put away!

Love Always,

Kaitlin

Treadmills are Hard!

2010-03-31T19:53:00.000-07:00

In the words of a friend's wife,"Treadmills are Satan's form of torture." And I fully agree. I think I did a little better tonight than my sad, pathetic attempt on Monday night.

5 minute warm-up, roughly .25 miles
12 minute run, 1 mile
5 minute cool down, roughly .25 miles

I don't think running more than a mile on the treadmill is going to happen. I need to get outside. And somewhere without a lot of hills, 'cuz the area near where our apartment is has too many hills. And a pedometer would be nice too. Oh, and something to hold my iPod.

Must.win.lottery.

Love Always,

Kaitlin

P.S. Jinx, the kitty, is twitterpated. He goes nuts when the patio doors are open.

Go Me!

2010-03-27T20:28:00.001-07:00

I just ran 3.3 miles! I was aiming to run a 5k, but I couldn't remember if it was 3.1 miles or 3.3, so I ran over a 5k. Now I just need to work on how long it took me to do it, 44 minutes. I'd like to do a race this summer. We shall see!

Make sure to check out my business blog and Etsy site in the next couple days for new items!

Love Always,

Kaitlin

Hola!

2010-03-19T20:29:00.000-07:00

I'm watching "How to Make an American Quilt" right now. I don't think I've watched this in probably 10 years. And now I remember why I love it so much. And why I love NetFlix with the XBox. Can we say, instant queue!

It's snowing right now. And I am sooo not happy about this. It's not accumulating, but still. Mother Nature can be rather mean sometimes!

I'm doing a Biggest Loser challenge with some of my girlfriends, and so far so good! I'd like to lose 10lbs by Mexico (May 22nd-28th). At the rate I'm going, I think it's possible. I've been doing the Couch to 5k program, as well. I think I'd like to actually run a 5k race this summer.

Recipe of the Week

2010-03-02T18:23:00.000-08:00

Fettuccine with Lima Beans, Peas, and Leeks

12 oz fettuccine (3/4 box) - I used whole wheat
1-10 oz package frozen lima beans
1 cup frozen peas
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 leeks (white and light green parts), cut into half-moons
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 Tbsp chopped fresh taragon
1/4 cup grated Parmesan - I used a little basil & garlic Asiago as well
A splash of dry white wine
Some toasted walnuts
Next time I'm going to add a clove of minced garlic

Cook the pasta accordigng to the package directions, adding the beans and peas during the last 2 minutes of cooking. Drain.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the leeks and season with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender (but not brown), 8 to 10 minutes. Add the wine, and let boil for a little while. Add the cream and cook until slightly thickened, 3 to 4 minutes. Toast walnuts and add to pan. Melt half of the cheese into the sauce.

Add the pasta and tarragon to the skillet and toss to combine. Sprinkle with cheese before serving.

This is my effort to add more fiber into our diets.

On another kitchen note, I have some shiny new Italian glass storage containers on our counters now. They make me happy :)

Love Always,

Kaitlin

Random Thought

2010-02-17T17:28:00.000-08:00

I have the acrylic stamp and the designer paper that is used in the new background design I downloaded. That is all.

Recipe of the Week

2010-02-17T17:08:00.000-08:00

Homemade Granola Bars
(Energy Bars from the Healthiest Meals on Earth cookbook)

1/4 cup almonds
1 1/2 cups rolled oats (not instant)
1 cup puffed brown rice cereal (there's a brand with koala's on the box in the children's organics that works pretty well)
1 1/2 cups diced dried apricots (I use whatever dry fruit I feel like)
1 1/2 cups raisins
1/2 cup nonfat vanilla protein powder
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
1 cup brown rice syrup
1/2 cup blue agave nectar
1/2 cup peanut butter (I use chunky natural peanut butter)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350F. Chop up the almonds. Spread the oats, cereal, and almonds on a 13x9 nonstick pan lined with parchment paper. Bake, stirring occasionally, until the oats are toasted, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, chop the apricots; transfer to a large bowl. Add the raisins, protein powder, and wheat germ; toss with rubber spatula to mix.

Combine the rice syrup and agave nctar in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and stir in peanut butter, vanilla, and cinnamon. Quickly pour the syrup over the oatmeal mixture and stir well.

With a spatula, immediately spread the warm mixture into a jelly-roll pan. Place another piece of parchment on top of the mixture and press into a thin, even layer. Chill until firm, at least 4 hours. Cut into whatever size bars you wanted and store in an airtight container and refrigerate.

These granola bars are actually really easy to make, and you know exactly what's in them!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-07T17:59:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone.

This year has got to be better than the last!

Too much to do, not enough time.

And I hate the 6 inches of snow we got today.

Love Always,

Kaitlin

Blizzard

2009-12-08T17:51:00.000-08:00

Holy snow storm! With all luck, my office will be closed. It'd be like having a snow day in school again!

Not too much else going on, just crafting like crazy to get Christmas gifts done.

Love Always,

Kaitlin

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-25T19:35:00.001-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I just started preparing my 2nd ever Thanksgiving feast; Nate has to work Thanksgiving again. The turkey is brining, and I'm making a cooking schedule for tomorrow. Because we all know how much I like "To Do" lists and schedules :). For the first time, I'm making an entire turkey. Last year, I just made a turkey breast. See here. I had to have Nate remove the giblets from inside the bird for me. I can't make myself eat the neck or heart, so my giblets have been reduced to the liver. And the only reasons I'm even doing that is because I'm hell bent on recreating my grandma's stuffing. With a little help from my cousin and great aunt, I have the recipe! Apparently it's my Great Grandma Rapp's recipe--I had no idea! I also had no idea that I was eating giblets for almost 20 years.

And a little Thanksgiving humor:

Differences from last year at this time:
1) I didn't just find out 2 weeks prior that I have a brain tumor.
2) I'm not having brain surgery next Tuesday.
3) I won't be getting any needles shoved in me for at least another 2 months.
4) I'm not on steroids and don't look like I'm wearing a fat suit.
5) Since I'm not on steroids, I'm having some wine with dinner!
6) And most importantly, said tumor is almost gone!

Speaking of wine, my new favorite store is World Market. And coincidentally it's right across the street from work in Greenway Station... along with Archiver's and Michael's :D. <= Happy girl! Apparently this wine called Beaujolais Nouveau is "fermented for just a few weeks then officially released for sale on the third Thursday of November." It's a French wine, and it's promoted as a Thanksgiving wine in the U.S. Obviously it's released before Thanksgiving day because I bought it last week. I thought it'd be a nice wine to try for turkey dinner.

This year, I'm thankful for:

1) Nate

2) Family

3) Friends

4) Doctors and Modern Medicine

5) My Job

6) People's Generosity

Well, that is all for now.

Love Always,

Kaitlin

P.S. Jinx is already taking his post-Thanksgiving dinner nap.

Catching Up

2009-10-25T18:45:00.000-07:00

The weekend of the 9th, I flew out to Steamboat for my friends' wedding. Beautiful, and so them! Their vows was my favorite part. "Jim, do you want to marry Steph? Yes! Steph, do you want to marry Jim? Yes!... You are married!" It was perfect for them. And luckily, the weather decided to cooperate since the wedding was at the Botanical Gardens. I stayed with my friend Lisa. It was so great to hang out with her and Shawndra again. We also got to have a Girls' Night on Friday at the Rio and Ghost Ranch. I miss being able to see them so much!

View from Lisa's back porch
View from Lisa's front porch. What an awesome spot!

Steph and Jim, look at him just look at her :) They've been together for 10 years.

Shawndra and Lisa at the reception

Me and Lisa

What a blast! I was sad to leave my friends.

The family was here this weekend. It was great just chillin' with them, doing a little shopping, and playing with Jinx. I think they wore him out; he's been sleeping ever since they left!

Bri and I discovered that my new hair holds dye REALLY well...I was a redhead for a little bit! And after some dark brown over it, it's kinda burgundy. It's alright, it'll fade.

That's all for now.

Love Always,

Kaitlin

The Omnivore's 100

2009-10-03T19:36:00.000-07:00

The Omnivore’s Hundred is an interesting list of 100 items that Andrew Wheeler, co-author of the British food blog Very Good Taste, thinks every omnivore should try at least once in his life. He offered this list with the following instructions:

1. Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2. Bold all the items you’ve eaten
3. Italics any items that you would never consider eating.

Try it out!
The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison - I live in WI, c'mon. ;)
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos Rancheros
4. Steak Tartar
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp - No way!
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras - You don't need to eat every part of the animal.
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese - Again, you do not need to eat every part of the animal.
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters - Too slimey
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl - Don't like clams
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float - I haven't had one in years!
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O - In shot form?
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects - And some things should just not be eaten
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more - Johnny Walker?
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal - I have never eaten a fast food burger, and never will.
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill - The car in front of us hit a pheasant, only one wing was damaged. And it was delicious.
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers - Dandelions count?
89. Horse - That is dog food.
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam - Unfortunately.
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor - One of the best meals I've ever eaten!
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake - Hell No! Snakes are one of my biggest fears.

Meet Jinx!

2009-10-02T15:41:00.000-07:00

The new addition to our apartment is sitting on my lap, purring, as we speak. Nate and I got a tuxedo kitten named Jinx. He's a little devil, but we love him!

Spazzing out

Spazzing out again

Nap time!

Hiding out

On another note, I love fall weather! However, this rainy, cold crap can stop anytime.

Love Always,

Kaitlin

Bark/Missinne Wedding Weekend

2009-09-20T17:46:00.000-07:00

Nate and I spent the weekend in Rice Lake and Spooner for the Bark/Missinne wedding. It was a gorgeous day, and a beautiful wedding. I was so happy to be a part of your day. Congratulations Amy and Eric!

First Dance
Bridesmaids bar hoppin' before the reception

On another note, I start my new job tomorrow at Madison National Life Insurance. I am NERVOUS!

That's all for now.

Love Always,

Kaitlin

Quick Update

2009-08-26T19:24:00.000-07:00

Some quick highlights from the last week.

-Nate and I had a blast at the Fosse wedding last weekend. It was at St. Croix National Golf Course in Somerset, and it was beautiful!

-I went to Duluth last Saturday for Amy's bachelorette party. It was so great to see the girls again and go out in Canal Park.

-I've been working at the Oakbrook Companies as a temp property accountant. I found out today that unless someone quits, I'm just a temp for a couple months.

-I had a really good interview today for a Financial Reporting Accountant at an insurance company. I'm really interested in this job! It's permanent full-time, and they have amazing benefits.

-I really like living with Nate. It's so nice to be able to see him every day.

Nate and I at the wedding

That's all for now.

Love Always,

Kaitlin

P.S. I am determined to finish unpacking and organizing this weekend.

So Thankful

2009-08-12T20:08:00.000-07:00

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who helped and/or came to the benefit on Sunday. Every donation was so greatly appreciated! It was a great success.

I absolutely loved seeing everyone too. There were sooooo many people that I haven't seen in YEARS. It was wonderful to catch up with everyone.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

And the biggest "Thank You" of all to my friend Tiffany. She undertook this idea and organized the benefit. Thank you, sweet girl, for being an amazing friend.

Love Always,

Kaitlin

Another Vacation

2009-08-04T20:18:00.001-07:00

Nate and I got to go on vacation again, July 24th-29th. We went to the Florida Keys with Nate's family.

Highlights:

Limo ride to dinner in South Beach and delicious food Friday night
Beautiful house in Marathon (Side note: the guy who owned the house was the Northwest pilot who invented wheeled luggage)
Key West is a fun place! We explored Duvall Street and all the shops. Nate and I said we'd like to go back there.
Nate's parents rented a boat for a day, so we went snorkeling, saw a bunch of dolphins, and went fishing off Key West. A bunch of firsts for me, I'd never seen dolphins or fished in the ocean before.
It was roasting hot in Key West, but Nate, Nick, and I went parasailing. It was a blast! I stopped being a chicken and just did it.
Despite being stuck in Memphis, we went to Corky's and had some delicious barbeque ribs.

Lowlights:

Wicked thunder storms a lot of the time, but we still had fun!
Nate and I had to spend Wednesday night in Memphis, after missing our flight because of storms in Miami. I will be packing a toothbrush, deodorant, and change of clothes in my carry-on from now on. There's only one flight from Memphis to Madison every day, and it's at 7:00 pm. Nate had to work at 10:00 pm that night. Everything would've been okay except our flight was delayed, and we didn't take off until 9:00 pm. Poor guy was so tired the next morning!

View pictures here:

http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=1918752013/a=123328029_123328029/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

I Made It!

2009-07-23T19:36:00.000-07:00

I got to Madison on Saturday afternoon with Mom and Dad. We got everything moved in, and now I just have to finish unpacking and organizing. It's a little cluttered right now.

I spent a couple days at home. It was so nice to see my cousin and her little guy! I can't believe how much he is talking.

I had two interviews yesterday and today, and I think they both went really well. I got very good feedback from the first interview via the recruiter at the staffing company. I should hear back more info on Monday for both of them. *Fingers crossed*!

Nate and I are heading to Miami tomorrow morning. We're meeting his family there, and then we'll head to Marathon, Florida Keys on Saturday. Yay! :)

That's all for now.

Love Always,

Kaitlin

P.S. I have no idea why it posted twice.

I Made It!

2009-07-23T19:34:00.000-07:00