A new year is upon us and it is time for a detox!

Our Christmas and New Years celebrations were filled to the BRIM with friends, family, food and drinks. So many cookies and rich desserts, copious bottles of Prossecco and Hot Toddy’s…I woke up New Years day ready for a detox.

I’m not doing an actual cleanse (yet) but, along with everyone else in the world, we did load up on colorful veggies and the first thing I made was this AMAZING cauliflower and kale salad. It has kale, cauliflower, parsley, basil, pepitas, hemp seeds, a lemon and tahini dressing. You can feel the healthy nutrients taking over with every bite!

Mikey and I are so grateful for all our friends, family and, of course, the blog community who made last year the amazing year that it was. We had some amazing milestones like, buying our first house, welcoming many new babies, surpassing production and goals at our company and health of our families. We thank God for all the blessings he poured over us in 2014.

We had our ups and downs as well; my seamlessly never ending list of injuries, friends and family who suffered heartache and loss as well as the stresses of big decisions that at times left us heartbroken. But, through all that, we were able to focus on the love of those around us and the faithfulness we can look up to.

Cheers to 2015! I can’t wait to see where this incredible life takes me. I’m super glad you are all along for the ride! Here’s to an attempt to eat healthy (for now), be active and live life to the fullest in this new year to come!

Xoxo,
Bethany (and Mikey & Norman)

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I am back from my end of the year/Holiday hiatus!

And would like to wish you A HAPPY NEW YEAR! See you later 2014, you were good, but I’m glad to see you go! I’m ready for 2015 and all the amazing things it is going to bring!

I’m not one for new years resolutions, but I think my goal this year is going to be to focus more on my blog/social media/aspects that go into making Mikey’s In My Kitchen the best it can be. Wish me luck, I’ll need it. But I am excited to tackle some fun new recipes, make some great new blogging friends and hopefully give my website a face-lift!

I hope you had a great time with family and friends over the holidays and that your detoxing and dieting is going well so far 😉 mine starts today…(hopefully)

Here are some things I’m obsessing over in the new year.

Since we are all trying to be a bit healthier this time of year, I thought this Broccoli Fennel Soup looked like a great recipe to try!  I have been in search of the perfect pouf or ottoman for our back room and I’m thinking this West Elm woven wool pouf is the perfect addition.  This Mascarpone with Figs and Rosemary Honey looks too pretty to eat…but that has never stopped me before and trust me, there is nothing that could stop me from diving head first into this pile of deliciousness!  I love the simplicity in the design of this room. The basic bleached wood with an industrial feel.  And lastly, I thought I would look towards warmer weather and dreams of sun and the beach and thought this was the cutest little beach outfit ever. The Sabo Skirt website is filled with adorable and fun warm weather clothes that I can’t wait to try! 

GUYSSSSSSSSSS!!! Only 6 more days until Christmas!! It’s actually more like 5 though because Christmas Eve counts as the beginning of the festivities and I plan on eating and drinking my way through the entire day (and helping my Mom prepare dinner too I guess).

I can’t believe how fast the month of December has gone by. I am feeling the pressure to finish up all my last minute shopping and baking this weekend. I know I said the same thing last weekend (but ended up hanging out with friends and family instead of checking things off my list).

The problem is that I have a serious case of FOMO (fear of missing out) and I can’t say no. No matter how tired I am on any given day…chances are if you call me to do dinner, drinks, brunch…I will convince myself it is a WAY better idea to hang out than to clean my house, catch up on sleep, or bake cookies.

Mikey is way better at saying no to things. I’m trying to learn from his example.

I used to make fun of my Mom and give her a legitimate hard time for always being SO busy and then getting stressed. I would tell her it was her fault for always telling everyone she would come to their party, or bake them 200 cookies for a party. Well looky looky here…I am the spittin’ image of my Mom. But you know what? I’ll take it. Because my Mom is the most amazing human I know and if I can be HALF as generous, or stretch myself half as thin (while keeping a joyful heart) as her…I like to think I can make the world a little bit better. [Thanks, Mom :)].

I hope you are feeling wonderful this Friday! We woke up to the teeniest dusting of snow and it made me super excited! Here is a little Friday inspiration to help get you through the day 🙂

I saw these Vans suede hi-tops and knew they had to be mine. A santa gift to myself for all my hard work thus far. So I went to the Madewell website only to discover that they are SOLD OUT. It’s definitely for the better. Our December credit card bill can’t handle another transaction…Crossing my fingers these babies will be back in stock in January!!!

[Santa, if you’re out there reading this, I’m a size 8! xoxo]

I told a story in my last Cinnamon Roll post about our Christmas morning tradition of Monkey Bread for breakfast, only to realize that I haven’t posted my recipe for it yet! So here is a temporary fix for you in case you want to make your own this Holiday season. I promise to share my recipe (super similar to this recipe from Freutcake if not the same) in the new year!
By now you are well aware of my love for all things bubbly. This Winter Champagne Cocktail from Style Within Reach looks like a beautiful addition to any Holiday celebration!
I love a good crop top and want to just take a moment to bow down to Alicia Silverstone. The movie Clueless was my number 1 obsession for a good 4 years of adolescence and I am now in the market for a fuzzy, pink cropped sweater…thank you Rookie Mag for helping me reminisce. What would a “lately” post be without something about a cat? This is hilarious and would make people laugh (maybe at you). If you are a cat lover (or have a weird cat person in your life) this seems like a necessary addition to the wardrobe!

When it comes to indulging during the Holidays, breakfast pastries are one of my favorite splurges.

Aside from Monkey Bread, these cinnamon rolls are my favorite excuse to basically eat dessert for breakfast.

I have been meaning to make and share my favorite cinnamon roll recipe for a couple years and finally had the time to make them when Mikey was away one weekend (which resulted in me eating them for every meal). They are a bit time consuming, but if you have other things to do during some of the waiting periods they’re totally manageable (and worth it). Any time I see a cinnamon roll on a menu I am tempted to get it. The smell of Cinnabon at the mall gets me every. single. time. There is something about that cream cheese frosting melting into the doughy cinnamon and sugar that I literally can’t say no to! As I write this I am having a super hard time telling myself not to go get a cinnamon roll for lunch!

We are huge traditionalist’s and all around Holiday cheer people in my family…I blame my Mom for my obsession with all things festive and jolly. One of my favorite things is waking up on Christmas morning at my parents house to the smell of coffee and Monkey Bread…and sometimes, when I’m lucky, cinnamon rolls!

As kids, we always woke up super early and started screaming at my parents to wake up. The rule was no opening or shaking anything until they came out of their room. My favorite story (I have many, I was a very naughty/sneaky child) was the year my brother and I bought each other Giga Pets. I was horrible at keeping secrets and told him right away that I had gotten him a frog and forced him to tell me what he got me.

We were so excited to open them but my parents were still in their room, so I told my brother to follow my lead and start tearing up computer paper right outside their door. I started screaming, “YAYYYYYY THE DALMATIAN GIGA PET!!!!”, and my brother repeated the same about his frog…it worked.

My Mom came running out of her room in a flurry yelling that we had to wait…Got her! She then laughed and told us we could open our stockings even though we were brats 😉

We were always up so early so we would always eat breakfast after presents…but that has shifted now and my Mom is always up before us, turning on all the Christmas lights, lighting the candles and prepping the food (which now has lots of eggs since Mikey does not do sweets for breakfast. Travesty.).

I am so excited to head up to the beautiful Northwoods this year with my family and sit around, eat cookies and reminisce about the funny Christmases from the past. And I guarantee my Mom will say the same thing she says every year when she is ready for bed, “Ok kids, time to go to bed so Santa can come”.

If you don’t have a Christmas breakfast tradition I highly recommend you add these cinnamon rolls to your list!!! They are SO gooey and delicious!

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Happy Friday!!!!

I am so glad it’s the weekend and that it’s a Holiday weekend at that! That means Christmas parties, baking Christmas cookies and blasting as much Wham “Last Christmas” as possible!

I have a few links of fun Christmas recipes as well as a couple last minute gift ideas for the cat lover or makeup fanatic in the family.

Hope you are finding time to focus on the reason we celebrate this time of year and reducing the stress that can often come with the busyness of parties, gifts and prep. Mikey and I plan on seeing some friends this weekend and then I promised myself I would buckle down and tackle my long list of Christmas cookies! I’m hoping to add a couple new recipes this year, and promise to post the keepers with you!

Have a blessed day and weekend, I hope you enjoy what I’ve been crushing on lately 🙂

[Look at this beautiful, raw and vegan Eggnog…what?! Raw and vegan…does that make it healthy? Not sure if “fun uncle” would love this eggnog…but you could try and trick your guests with this healthy spin on one of my Holiday favorites]

Even though I am about ready to ninja chop our cat, Norman, for constantly trying to climb our tree or play with ornaments…I think this modern cat couch is the best thing I’ve seen for cat’s this year! it goes so well with our modern style couch and I’m pretty sure he would love it…last minute Christmas gift for the little cookie nabbing, tree climbing menace??? He’s just so cute when he’s sleeping!

If you have not tried these Too Faced Melted lipsticks yet I am begging you to get one for a friend and three for yourself. I am pretty sure they were made for people like me who are too lazy to reapply lipstick and always afraid it’s smudging across my face. This long-wear lipstick comes in shades that flatter every skin tone and stay on through those holiday appetizers and cocktails. Any girlfriend or family member would be obsessed with one of these for Christmas! You have my word! [and if they hate it you can just send the lipstick my way 😉 ].

Who doesn’t love Apres Ski?

My favorite part about snowboarding in the mountains is the time of the day when everyone heads down the hill and grabs a refreshing mountain beer. I swear it tastes so much better after a day on the slopes. You’re tired from that crisp air and a day of shredding (I sound like a pro, right?) and you can sit and relax all while watching people who are coming in waaayyy too hot and have to bail so they don’t crash into anyone. Or watch people as they struggle to get their skis off and either tip over or lay down for a rest…can you tell I love to people watch? People watching would be even better in this cute Apres Ski top from Nordstrom. Last minute gift idea for the mountain girl in your family!

Naomi over at Bakers Royale is always stunning me with her beautiful desserts. She is a doctor with two kids, yet she has the most delicious sweets and best pictures and I am pretty sure she is a super human for making time to manage a blog as well as live her life. She’s amazing. And I think this Peppermint