All In The Family

April 13, 2015April 13, 2015 / ktbuchs87

One of the biggest things that has helped me as I’ve started this blog and continued with my healthy lifestyle is the support of my family. My husband, Adam, has been one of the biggest driving forces. He has pushed me to do more, think bigger, and to truly believe in myself and this blog. I wouldn’t have tried some of things or expanded this blog without his support.

ubuntusoulphoto@gmail.com

Photo courtesy of Jodie Buchanan

My parents have also given me a lot of support. They ask me for tips, try my recipes, share my blog posts, and again believe in me to do more than I think I can. They have always been this way with whatever endeavors I pursue.

ubuntusoulphoto@gmail.com

Photo courtesy of Jodie Buchanan

The other person who is without a doubt one of my biggest supporters is my little sister, Jodie. I can honestly say that from the time she was born she has always been behind whatever I do 100%. At times, I ignored that support (stupidly) and didn’t realize how much it meant to me and what I do. As I have gotten older I have learned how valuable she is to what I do. I know that no matter what I have her there by me urging me to do more and be better and helping me when I fall. She is amazing and I am blessed to have her as my sister.

ubuntusoulphoto@gmail.com

Photo courtesy of Jodie Buchanan

That’s why I am thrilled to support her in her dreams and goals.

ubuntusoulphoto@gmail.com

Photo courtesy of Jodie Buchanan

Today I wanted to share one of her new pursuits and urge you to take advantage of her amazing talents. Besides being an awesome social worker, Jo has always been interested in photography. She has always liked to take pictures and stage photoshoots, even as a kid. She’s done a few amateur photoshoots like engagement pictures and family photos, and she is looking to expand and start doing more photography.

ubuntusoulphoto@gmail.com

Photo courtesy of Jodie Buchanan

Last week she came out to Sycamore and took some pictures of me prepping and cooking as well as some headshots. They are awesome and I will be using these on the blog and my other social media sites. She is just starting out, but she does great work and is eager to learn more. If you are interested in getting some photos taken, for graduation, engagements, professional headshots, family portraits, or anything else and are looking for a great price and a fun person to work with, contact Jodie. You can email her at ubuntusoulphoto@gmail.com for more information and to set up a shoot.

ubuntusoulphoto@gmail.com

Photo courtesy of Jodie Buchanan

Support is one of the most important things when you are starting something new. Whether that is becoming healthier, starting a new business, or diving into a new goal. Having people behind you to push you forward, pick you up, and keep you going can make all the difference. If you have amazing support, make sure that you are paying it forward and supporting the people in your life. You never know when you might be the only one keeping that person going.

Who is your biggest supporter?

ubuntusoulphoto@gmail.com

Photo courtesy of Jodie Buchanan

Transforming The Creature Of Habit

April 6, 2015 / ktbuchs87 / 1 Comment

The idea of routines has been on my mind this week. You know from previous posts that I am a creature of habit. I like having a routine and doing certain things at certain times. I feel more in control of my day when I have a set out plan for what is going to happen. It also keeps me organized and on track to have a schedule to adhere to.

This past week I have been nowhere near my normal routine and you know what? I haven’t fallen apart. The days have moved on as they always do and time has gone by just like normal and I am still here and haven’t gone to pieces. In fact I have doing some great and inspired work. It might not seem like a huge thing to you, but to a control freak like me this is nothing short of a miracle.

There have been times where things have not gone according to my “plan” and I have completely lost it. Adam can attest to my horrible attitude when something out of the blue comes my way. I almost turn into a small child having a temper tantrum. I would always marvel at my husband’s ability to take everything that comes at him in stride. He knows that there are certain things that he can’t change and rather than let it ruin his whole day and turn him into a moody teenager, he works around it and figures out a new plan.

And I think that attitude is starting to rub off on me.

As time goes on I am learning that I am in no way in control of the things around me. Sure, I can have a routine and some semblance of order, but there will always be curve balls. Life in general is one big curveball. Letting my life come to a screeching halt whenever something goes awry is no way to live. In fact it isn’t living at all. I want to be able to say that I enjoyed life, that I was able to adapt and deal with any hardships that came my way. I don’t want to look back and see that I pouted my life away or flew to pieces because something happened that I had no control over in the first place.

In light of this revelation (that only took 27 years for me to even begin to figure out) I want to try and step out of my comfort zone a little more. I want to try things that aren’t in my routine. Let my schedule be more of a loose guideline than a strict plan I have to follow or lose all hope. I’m betting that amazing things will come my way and I will be able to seize them much better than if I had stuck to my rigid plan.

What about you? Are there things in your life that you can let go of? Are there changes you can make to your routine that might allow you to experience something new and amazing? If something has been holding you back or you have been waiting for a nudge, consider this it. Try something new, step out of your comfort zone, forget the plan for a little while.

I promise you that you won’t fall apart and you might even grow just a little bit.

Weekend Fun and “Country” Livin

April 1, 2015 / ktbuchs87

Whew! What a difference a good night’s sleep makes! Monday I felt like I was a zombie. I told Adam that it felt like I had never adulted before. Yup, grammar went out the window after running on like 5 hours of sleep. But it was such a good weekend that lack of sleep was quite alright. Let’s get to this past weekend shall we?

Adam’s mom and stepdad came into Chicago for the weekend. They hadn’t seen our apartment yet and they wanted to spend some time with us in the city. On Saturday we met them downtown and took them to the Maggie Daley Park and Millenium Park so they could see the bean.

We then walked down to Columbia College to look at a photography exhibit featuring photos from local high school students. I love looking at photography mostly because I wish I could take pictures as well as some of those artists! I’ll just keep practicing. We then hopped on the red line for a quick trip to Chinatown so Adam’s mom could get some green tea.

Then we took them to Eataly. I love Eataly and like taking people there so they can see the awesomeness. If you don’t know what Eataly is, then come to Chicago and I will take you there! It is a store/grocery store/restaurants/gelato/beer/nutella bar that was started by an Italian business man, Oscar Farinetti, and is more popularly owned in New York by chef Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich. It’s kind of like a grocery store with tasting tables. Each part of the store is broken up into sections like cheese, meat, fish, pasta, bread, etc. At each spot you can by those things but also order food to eat from those sections. After walking around the boys got some sandwiches and declared them the best turkey sandwiches they had eaten. Eataly was definitely a hit because food is awesome.

We then headed over to Old Town because we were going to a show at Second City and we wanted to take them to our spice shop before hand. The Spice House is another place that I love and I have talked about them before. We heard about them a few years ago on Alton Brown’s podcast and that is now where I go to get the majority of our spices. Karyn had a hard time picking out which spices she wanted to buy but managed to find a handful she wanted, and now I get to bring her both fresh bread from Eataly and spices when I go visit!

After a brief rest at Starbucks we headed to the theater and saw the Best of Second City. It was a great show and this improv troupe were on top of their game. Anyone who can write a jazz song about a stethoscope on the fly gets major points in my book. After the show we went to the Italian restaurant, Topo Gigio, for dinner. Again the food won the day and everyone loved their meals. I had a really good salad with walnuts, raisins, olives, cucumbers, and tomatoes. It was drizzled lightly with olive oil and was delightful. After dinner everyone went home to rest after our big day.

A rare picture where I look like a weirdo and Adam is normal. Ok not so rare.

A rare picture where I look like a weirdo and Adam is normal. Ok not so rare.

Sunday we took them to one of our favorite local breakfast places, Ann Sathers Bakery. Surprise, surprise they loved it. It really is true, people who like food are the best people. Later that day Adam and the rest of them were going to go see Blue Man Group, but I was off to Sycamore.

My view for the next few weeks

My view for the next few weeks

That’s right, I’m coming to you from our former home town these next few weeks. I’m currently house/dog sitting for the family I used to nanny for while they are on vacation. It’s kind of nice being back out here and going to all the places I used to go when we lived here. Plus I get to play in a HUGE kitchen and I get to use their Vitamix.

My buddy here in Sycamore

My buddy here in Sycamore

Yes people, I get to pretend I have a fancy high powered blender for the next two weeks. It really doesn’t take much to get me excited. Just a $500 blender.

Do you see the clouds parting and hear the angels singing? I do.

Do you see the clouds parting and hear the angels singing? I do.

So that was my weekend. It was fun and awesome and I’m glad I’m back into a semi normal routine! I will be bringing you some awesome new spring recipes plus whatever I decide to blend in the Vitamix, which let’s be real is going to be everything.

Have a great Wednesday and I’ll see you Friday!

A Few Tidbits

March 30, 2015 / ktbuchs87

This weekend has been an awesome whirlwind. Adam’s parents came into town and we spent the weekend with them giving them a little taste of Chicago. It was great.

I’m also coming to you from a “remote” location for the next few weeks. No, I’m not on some wonderfully tropical island sipping mai tai’s, but I am enjoying a massive kitchen so it’s pretty much the same thing.

This post has been super short on purpose. I have been awake since 1 am this morning and I don’t think that I will be nearly as productive today as I had hoped. Oh well, sometimes you just have to give in to multiple naps. I’m cool with that.

I will fill you in on all the details of my weekend and what’s going on these next few days in my Wednesday post. For now I will leave you with these funny memes and go sleep for a few hours…..

Not Moving and Spring Cleaning

March 23, 2015March 23, 2015 / ktbuchs87

While it might officially be spring, I am currently watching the snow fall out my window as I write this. Ah spring in Chicago: Where you’re more likely to have a white Easter than a white Christmas. Oh well, I will just pretend that it is warm and sunny out there and soon I will be sweltering in the Midwest summer.

I had the realization the other day that for the first time in about five years Adam and I are NOT looking for a new apartment and NOT moving. This might not seem that significant, but to me it’s huge. Every single year since I graduated from college I have moved to a new apartment. I have written quite a few times about our moving endeavors so if you have been with me for awhile you know how much I hate moving. It’s just the worst to sit there and pack up all your stuff, schlepp it all to a new place, and then unpack all your stuff. I am really enjoying this time that I am not searching for a new place, then visiting those new places, and then moving to a new place. It’s just the best.

I will move physically but I ain't moving apartments

I will move physically but I ain’t moving apartments

There is one good thing that came from us moving so frequently. Because I didn’t want to pack and move junk that I wasn’t using we always went through all our stuff and got rid of anything that we didn’t need or use. We would fill big black bags full of clothes to donate and load up are car with stuff that we hadn’t used in years and drive off to Goodwill to give it all away. It always made me feel lighter and happier to unburden our house with unnecessary things.

Even though we aren’t moving, this weekend I decided to go through all of our things and do some spring cleaning. It’s amazing how many things you accrue over a year and stash into closets and cabinets and then promptly forget. Even though we haven’t been in our place for a full year yet, there was still a pile of clothes and things that we no longer needed. Again it felt great to get rid of the weight of that clutter.

Get it? Clean up your food, but not with actual cleaners. Cheesy, I know

Get it? Clean up your food, but not with actual cleaners. Cheesy, I know

Spring is a great time to not only clear out the clutter of your life but clean up your health as well. It’s time to get tough and look critically at the food you eat. Are you eating more sugar than normal? Are you snacking on junk food rather than fresh food? Are your portions way too big? Are you eating mindlessly instead of really enjoying your food? Take a look at what you do for exercise. Are you really pushing yourself to the best of your ability? Has your routine become boring so you’re just phoning it in? Are moving in some way each day? Do you enjoy the exercise you’re doing?

Ask yourself these questions and make sure the choices you’re making are serving your goal and helping you lead a healthier life. It’s a good idea to spring clean your life every once in awhile to increase your happiness and success.

Get to cleaning out that closet as well as that fridge today! Have a great Monday!