Lately

February 6, 2015February 6, 2015 / mikeysinmykitchen / 4 Comments

Hey hey hey, party people!

Today I am feeling a little sassy and I like it. So please, don’t kill my vibe.

Mikey and I went to a Ben Howard concert on Wednesday night (it was amaaazinnggg) and so yesterday was a very long and tired day. I was super crabby and couldn’t wait to sit on my couch with some Starburst Jellybeans. BUT, we forced ourselves to go to yoga and sweat out the day. I knew I would be glad that I did. The class was called Shut Up and Flow. Holy crap. It was so hard, and so sweaty.

I went into it with such a bad attitude (I left my phone at work and slipped down our treacherous back stairs) and was close to tears when class started. But, 60 minutes and an empty water bottle later, I had a new look on life. I am thankful to have a healthy body and the opportunity to work out with a community of amazing people!

I drove to work last night to get my phone and instead of being super pissed about it, I just turned up the radio and sang my heart out. I woke up today feeling blessed, loved and so thankful for the faith, friends and family I have in my life. So with that being said….DON’T KILL MY VIBE!

I hope you have survived the week thus far! My girlfriends and I are leaving the boys behind and heading to Lake Geneva for some fun in the…snow? More like fun in the lake house. Hopefully soon we can say fun in the sun! But until then, I’m packing up my layers and prepping to dig our car out of the giant snow bank it is buried into! Have a blessed weekend and don’t let ANYONE kill your vibe!

Speaking of fun in the sun…these cute little jammies would make for some great summer pj’s. Or a last minute Valentine’s Day gift!

OK, so there’s this woman at my yoga studio and she had the cutest gym/yoga bag. I asked her where she got it and she told me about this company out in Portland, Poler Stuff. I searched the interwebs, emailed the company begging them to bring back the bag…no dice. BUT, lucky for them, I fell in love with everything they make and stand for and had to share a couple pieces with you today.

Check out this freaking amazing concept. It’s called the Napsack. It’s like a snuggy/sleeping bag that comes in some pretty fantastic colors and designs. Want to be the hip kid on your next camping weekend? Get yourself into a Napsack! This is the bag that I am eyeing over at Poler Stuff right now. It’s super durable and cute at the same time. All their bags come in super fun colors. You can’t go wrong with anything from this awesome company. We all know I love West Elm. We also know that I have a slight crush on the Mid Century Modern style…which is why I’m sort of obsessed with this Mid-Century ring holder. I mean, it doesn’t get much better than this. Last but certainly not least, I had to throw something sweet and delicious in here. There is something about a fat Chocolate Chip Cookie that makes me want to dance. Especially these super chunky and gooey little numbers. Pass the milk, I’ll have 12 please.

Cheesecake & Pumpkin Pie with Pecan Streusel

February 2, 2015February 2, 2015 / mikeysinmykitchen / 11 Comments

The Superbowl was last night and I am still full of food. I made brisket and pork carnitas tacos plus allllll the fixings and dips and chips and cookies and I ate it all and it was awesome.

I love the Superbowl because it’s an excuse to eat a ton of junk food. Our friends made the trek though an amazing snow storm and everyone had hilarious stories from the journey over.

One of our friends got sprayed by a snow plow. Someone saw a guy lose his shoe in a snowbank. Mikey saw the poor plow guy back into our metal gate and break his bumper. I watched a guy try to dig his car out for an hour while his friends played football in the snow next to him.

It was a SUPERbowl indeed, filled with lots of laughs, food, drinks and stories. Which is making for a pretty tired and boring Monday. SO, I thought I’d brighten it up with this yummy cheesecake and pumpkin pie.

It’s a mixture of graham crust, a layer of cheesecake, a layer of pumpkin pie and then topped with a cinnamon and pecan streusel. Basically all your favorite things!

It is easy to make and really tasty. It is super sweet so you cut thin slices and serve a ton with this pie!

I made a graham crust because that is my favorite, but I think a traditional crust would be better because it would be less sweet. You can try whatever you like best!

Check out how naughty Norman is. He kept swiping his paws up at this pie while I was trying to take pictures. Such a brat! (I guess I can’t blame him though).

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Lately

January 30, 2015January 30, 2015 / mikeysinmykitchen / 4 Comments

I was so sad last Friday when I realized I didn’t have a “Lately” post ready for you! Mikey and I were in Marco Island, FL and for about 1 minute I considered opening up my computer to do a little blogging. Mikey quickly convinced me that I should relax and take a week off…So I took his advice and had a margarita instead.

We are now back in the grey and soggy city and I am missing the warm breeze and fresh salt air. BUT, the best way to cure those winter blue’s is by spending a weekend baking and cooking in the kitchen! Which is exactly what I plan to do.

Sometimes I have a really hard time finding the right inspiration for my blog and other times I have an overabundance of ideas. This is one of the weeks where I had no problem finding a million recipes and links to share with you. I also found some great shopping sites that I will be browsing later tonight with a glass of Prosecco in hand (gotta love those wine-induced purchases!).

I hope you’re all getting through this winter and looking forward to the summer as much as I am! If you’re having a tough time with the cold, I hope these pretty pictures and links brighten your mood! If that doesn’t do it, then I suggest you make a big batch of cookie dough and plop yourself down on the couch to binge watch The Affair (Mikey and I are addicted).

I was planning to share a bunch of delicious Super Bowl recipes and ideas…but I’m still too depressed to think about it (the fact that the Packers didn’t make it). SO, I plan to drown my sorrows in some Stiegl Radler Cocktails and only focus on the commercials and Katy Perry (it’s OK, you can feel sorry for me :p ).

So now, without further ado, I present you the links I love:

Starting with these beautiful Blueberry Buns with Blueberry Icing. So. Pretty!

Next on the list I found this FANTASTIC website, Dogeared, and I want allllllllllll the things. I plan to be that old woman who has giant chunky rings on every finger (starting right now).

We all know I’m a fan of black, white and a little edge. I am looking for some inspiration for our bathrooms and I think wallpaper is going to be the way that we go. This may be in the running for our master bathroom! Domaine Home has all the links, pictures and ideas I need to find inspiration and decorating help.

Here we have a very hearty looking Kale and Wild Rice Casserole. It looks so warm and inviting. like a giant, healthy and rich hug (perhaps similar to a hug from someone like, say, Channing Tatum?).

In middle school I was obsessed with this pair of chunky Roxy clogs. They made me super tall (which only added to my extreme awkwardness) but I didn’t even care. I saved up all my money to buy them and was going to get as much use out of them as I could. I think I finally parted with them in college, which is now one of my biggest life regrets.

They would still be cute (maybe) and were in great shape when I threw them into my, “ew, I can’t keep this, I wore it in middle school” pile. IDIOT.

That being said, I am now in the market for a new pair of clogs (sandal version and close toed) and have been crushing on this Swedish Hasbeens pair for a while. I’m Swedish. I need to own some clogs. I owe it to my ancestors, right?

And finally, I thought this was hilarious since I’m a girl and I love to talk about/share high heel links on the blog. These are some useful “hacks” from Buzzfeed on how to make your shoes more comfortable.

Coconut & Salted Caramel Thumbprints

January 27, 2015 / mikeysinmykitchen / 4 Comments

May I introduce to you all, Mikey’s favorite cookie.

Every Christmas I make about 6-8 different types of cookies to pass out to friends and family. It is a tradition that my Grandma and Mom have passed down to me and I love searching for new recipes to add to the mix each year. This cookie always seems to be one of the favorites and I’m definitely going to keep making it for years to come.

Who doesn’t love salty caramel and coconut?! I guess I didn’t really like coconut up until 3 years ago…but now I’m making up for lost time!

These cookies are really easy and fun to make and they are seriously so delicious. They are surprisingly light. You won’t be able to stop after just one.

The sweet and salty combo mixed in with the toasted and chewy coconut is ridiculous. You may even have all the ingredients to make these in your pantry! (you could always use melted chocolate, candy, jam or Nutella in the center if you don’t have caramel).

Whatever you use, I think you should try making these stat! They make for a perfect breakfast, lunch and dinner :p

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Lately

January 16, 2015January 16, 2015 / mikeysinmykitchen / 3 Comments

My life seems to fly by in a series of “Lately” posts. I can’t believe it’s already Friday!

We had the most amazing weekend last week eating and drinking our way through Chicago as well as attending and watching our fair share of sporting events (the boys were in heaven). The fact that it was already a week ago blow’s my mind! I sometimes wish that this incredible life would slow down so I could take it in and savor every moment! Mikey and I are heading down to Marco Island, FL to enjoy some fun in the sun, but I ‘m going to do my best to share a recipe from the “southern office”.

Speaking of savoring moments…here are a few moments (or blog post’s) I found and wanted to share with you this week.

Lets start out with this outfit. Even though pastels are in for the upcoming/current season…I am still going to stick with my favorite wardrobe color. All black everything. Love everything about this street style from the Just a Pretty Style blog.

Lets switch gears to something equally as pretty, but something I can stuff in my face. Like this absolutely perfect and decadent chocolate cake.

You all know I love decorating with all white and that my dream is to live in a giant house with floor to ceiling white-washed everything. But I also love big accents. And to me, this is the most magnificent front door you could ever have on a building. I need to live in this house, wherever it may be.

I know that by now you sense trends, styles and flavor profiles that I am most attracted to. In fact, I think if I quizzed you you would do pretty darn well in knowing what I like and don’t like. So this next link is not going to surprise you. All you need to know is that it has a few of my favorites. Peanut butter, banana, coffee.

And finally, I had to share this breakfast grilled cheese. Because who even knew that was a thing? I want to open a breakfast place that serves breakfast burritos and grilled breakfast sandwiches. Ugh, I want to open so many restaurants! Who wants to invest? I’ve got an endless supply of restaurant dreams in my head and I think they need to come true :p I can dream…and I think I’ll start by dreaming about this amazing grilled goat cheese and jam sandwich.