Busy, Wonderful, Happy Weekend

February 15, 2016February 15, 2016 / ktbuchs87

Today is just a happy recap of my awesome weekend along with a few pictures from the frozen tundra of Chicago!

Adam and I decided to celebrate Valentine’s Day on Saturday and by celebrate I mean we went out to eat a delicious breakfast. Going out to breakfast is kind of our thing. I know most people like to go to fancy dinners but to me, breakfast is where it’s at.

Busy, Wonderful, Happy Weekend | Life Healthfully Lived

Layer of ice on the last step in front of Lake Michigan.

Adam found this really cool little breakfast joint in Uptown called Tweet. They had an awesome gluten-free menu as well as a packed full menu and it wasn’t hard to find something delicious to eat. I had a build your own omelette with mushrooms and peppers, plus fruit, sliced tomatoes, and sauteed tofu. Adam decided to go for a steak breakfast burrito with Chipotle aioli and was pretty much in heaven. If you’re looking for a neat little breakfast joint, you should check them out!

I think this picture of Lake Michigan almost looks like another planet

After eating, we headed over to the McCormick Place to check out the Auto Show. Neither Adam or I are nuts about cars (we have a car that we rarely drive because it’s RIDICULOUSLY expensive to pay for parking in the city) but it was freezing outside and this was an inexpensive activity that was inside. We wandered around for awhile, looked at cars of the future, (hint: they all look the same and robots are going to take over the driving world) and tried to figure out which car models actually knew anything about the car they were standing in front of. Spoiler alert: Not many.

Ice in Belmont Harbor

After we were done with that we headed home to just hang out and relax. Well, our plan was to relax but I decided to ruin that. Recently, I just finished reading The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. It’s an awesome little book and a lot of the advice and methods she uses made a lot of sense. I started to look around our apartment and noticed that we had a lot of stuff. Stuff that we never used, stuff that was just taking up space, and stuff that wasn’t bringing us any joy. I decided enough was enough and I started tackling the clutter.

Soon I sucked Adam into the cleaning spree and over the course of two days we drastically cut down on the amount of junk we had accumulated over the years. I would say about 20-30ish reusable bags were filled with things we didn’t need and that was only from 3 rooms. We still have to go through our closets and our bedroom, but I already feel a lot better and I’ll have pictures when it’s all done!

That was our weekend and even though a large portion of it was cleaning it was wonderful. I got to spend some quality time with my husband, made our apartment cleaner and more comfortable, and ate tasty food. That’s my idea of fun!

How was your weekend? What did you do for Valentine’s Day?

What’s Fun and What’s Not Fun

June 15, 2015June 15, 2015 / ktbuchs87

This weekend can pretty much be broken down into what was fun and what was not fun. Luckily the fun stuff outweighed the not fun stuff and I enjoyed one of my very few free weekends this summer.

What was not fun:

Taking two cats on a 30-minute bus ride to the vet. It was time for Olaf to get his one-year wellness check-up and update his vaccinations and since Dot hadn’t been to the vet since before we moved to Chicago we decided to take her too. Bad choices all around. Since we don’t have our car we had to ride the bus to the vet. Neither cat was pleased with the loud bus and Olaf yowled as loud as possible for the first 15 or so minutes. Cue me freaking out that we’re bothering all the passengers and would get thrown off the bus. When we finally did get to the vet it was time for Dot to freak out. She would not sit on the table, would NOT let the vet tech take her temperature, hid under the chair in the room, and growled/hissed/scratched at everyone that came near her. The vet did manage to give her the vaccinations and Adam has a nice big scratch to prove show for it. Olaf was just fine and barely even noticed that he was getting an exam. As an extra special bonus, the bus ride back home was packed to the brim with Cubs fans because of course we chose a game day to go to the vet. One bright spot of this whole ordeal was that the bus driver on the way back was super nice to us and made sure that our cats were comfortable and safe. Overall, I never want to do that again and I’m pretty sure Dot is still angry at us for subjecting her to all of that.

Olaf has forgiven all and wants to be held. Now

Poor girl is pooped from her trauma

Trying to get good food pictures with minimal space and light. We have two windows in our apartment and because of the way our apartment is situated, we get very little natural light. This makes taking pictures for my blog slightly difficult. At first I thought it was impossible but I’ve gotten creative and learned how to make what I do have work for me. It does lead to some interesting positions though. Good thing I do yoga!

What was fun:

Going to the farmers market. We finally got to go to our favorite farmers market. Because we have been busy pretty much every weekend since the Green City Market opened up, we haven’t gotten a chance to go. This weekend though we finally made it and it was of course awesome. All the fresh fruit and vegetables make me happy and I could wander around the market all morning if I could. Adam was happy to get his first Donut Vault donut of the season and even more excited that they had his favorite, lemon poppyseed. It’s the only way I can get him to come with me!

He’s trying not to stuff the whole thing in his mouth

Purple asparagus. I’ve seen green asparagus and I’ve seen white asparagus, but I had never seen purple asparagus. While we were at the market we saw these and of course I had to get them because they were purple. Best. Decision. Ever. They were so delicious and simple to prepare. All I did was drizzle them with a little olive oil, sprinkle them with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, squeeze a little lemon juice over it all and roast at 400 for 15 minutes. They were a little sweeter than green asparagus and I could have eaten like 5 more bunches. Too bad I discovered them at the end of asapargus season.

I’ll try any purple fruit/vegetable

Fruit crisp. The farmers market pretty much just led to all sorts of good things this weekend. This fruit crisp is proof that you should go to the market more often! I made Adam a strawberry rhubarb crisp with fruit we got from the market. He deemed it delicious and probably would have eaten the whole thing in one sitting. Which is quite the compliment.

Overall, it was a great weekend and I really loved having the free time to do some fun things and spend time with Adam. Here’s to another great week!

What did you do this weekend?

Dance Parties, Blind Superheros, And Other Things I’m Loving

May 11, 2015May 11, 2015 / ktbuchs87 / 2 Comments

Today’s post is gonna be short, sweet, and fun.

I spent most of yesterday at my parent’s house making food and hanging with my momma for Mother’s Day. You guys. My mom? She is the bees knees. I know everyone thinks that about their moms but it’s especially true in my case. She is the most amazing person ever and I am so lucky that I got to be her daughter. Not that I really had any choice in the matter, but you get what I mean. I hope you did something nice for your mom yesterday. I mean she did kind of give birth to you and then put up with you for 18 or so years and you probably still go over there and eat all her food so the least you could do is tell her you love her and maybe get her some flowers or something…. Ok moving on.

Here is a random list of things that are making me happy these days:

Warm weather: It’s still a bit sketchy around here temperature wise, but last week we did have some days that reached the 80’s and it was GLORIOUS. I am waiting for the day when the weatherman says “but cooler along the lakefront”, and it doesn’t mean crying while walking into a 30 mph, 40 degree northwind. Soon….

New shelves/decorations: Adam and I have been upping our apartment decor and I am loving it. We got a new kitchen table, some shelves, a new storage unit for behind our couch, new curtains, and Adam built these awesome yoga mat holders. They were really easy to put together and then I painted them with some chalkboard paint and he mounted them onto the wall. Because our apartment is small it helps to have organization and anything that we can get off the floor helps. We still have a few more things that we would like to get (new lights) but I’m quite pleased with how things are shaping up!

Plantains and tea: For the longest time I was obsessed with my Plantain Porridge. Then one day I was totally done with it. Like didn’t want to look at or eat another plantain at all. Then a few weeks ago I saw them sitting in the grocery store and I picked up a few. They sat on my counter while I thought about what to do with them. On a whim I sliced them up, covered them with a little coconut oil and put them in the waffle maker. They were SO good. Waffle makers are like one of the best appliances because you can make anything in them. I have made eggs, hash browns, sandwiches, waffles (duh), and now maduros (fried sweet plantains). Moral of the story? Make all your meals in a waffle iron. I also found a new tea I’ve been enjoying, Good Earth Tropical Rush. It’s a green tea with all these fruity flavors like mango and lemongrass and it reminds me of summer and makes me happy. Maybe if I drink a lot of it summer will get here faster….

Singing and dancing like a buffoon: This isn’t a new thing for me but I like to have afternoon concerts/dance parties in my apartment. I pretty much turn on Pandora really loud and sing and dance like nobodies business. Except for maybe my neighbors since they have to hear/possibly see me dancing through the window. But they shouldn’t complain because I sing and dance like a pro and they should be thankful for the entertainment. I mean who else is going to blast Barry Manilow’s Somewhere In The Night and dance with their cat? No one that’s who. You’re welcome judgey neighbor across the hall.

Daredevil on Netflix: If you’re not good with violence DO NOT WATCH THIS SHOW. It’s like Game Of Thrones level violence. There were some scenes that I had to close my eyes at but I am really loving this show. My dad is a huge superhero buff and all my life I have grown up watching any and every superhero movie or show and this is one of my favorites. I was a little hesitant at first because it seemed like all it was going to be was fighting porn with no storyline but that changes dramatically in the second half of the series. I think what I love most about it is that the hero and the villain both want the same thing, to improve their city, but they go about it in completely different ways. I like my heroes to have a little bit of a dark side/conflict and Daredevil definitely has that. Plus the dude is blind and kicks serious butt. If you have Netflix go watch it now.

Ok that’s enough rambling from me. What did you do this weekend? What things are making you love life right now?

Have a super Monday!

Hobo Skillet Casserole

April 24, 2015April 24, 2015 / ktbuchs87

Sunday is usually my big chore day. It’s the day that I do all the laundry, clean the bathroom, super clean the kitchen, clean all the floors, and any other cleaning that is needed. I also get my blog ready for the next day and finish up any other odds and ends that need to be taken care of. Sometimes when dinner rolls around, I really don’t want to put a lot of effort into my meal.

This is where a well stocked freezer and pantry come in hand. You can come up with a delicious and healthy meal in a matter of minutes with just a few staples. I made this meal last Sunday and asked you guys if you would be interested in how to make it. I got a fairly good response so here it is! Keep in mind that you can totally customize this dinner with the ingredients you have on hand.

Hobo Skillet Casserole

1 cup pasta (I used gluten free penne but you can use whatever you normally do)
1 potato, cut into cubes
1 cup butternut squash, cubed (can also use any other squash or sweet potatoes)
1 cup frozen spinach, thawed (can use any green you have like chard, collard, or kale)
1/2 cup assorted vegetables (I used a frozen mix of broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots)
1 small onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 8 oz can of tomato sauce
1/2 cup almond milk or any other non-dairy milk
1-2 tsp Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
gluten free breadcrumbs (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Cook pasta according to package, drain, and set aside.
While pasta is cooking, mix tomato sauce, almond milk, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper in a small bowl and set aside for later.
Heat a cast iron skillet over medium high heat. If you do not have a cast iron skillet you can use a regular skillet and transfer the casserole into a casserole dish.
Add a little olive oil to the pan and then saute the onions and potatoes until the potatoes are lightly browned. Transfer the potatoes and onions to a bowl with the pasta.
Add the vegetables and butternut squash to the skillet and cook until slightly brown. Add in the garlic and cook for another minute. Place the vegetables into the bowl with the potatoes and pasta.
Pour the tomato sauce mix into the other bowl and stir everything to combine. Add everything back into your skillet or casserole dish. Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
Remove from oven and top with the bread crumbs if you’re using and bake for another 5 minutes.

This is a great meal to make at the end of the week to use up any food that you have leftover in the fridge. You can use whatever you have on hand. If you don’t want to use pasta you can try brown rice, quinoa, or any beans you have. If want add ground beef or turkey, shredded chicken or pulled pork. Choose your favorite vegetables or whatever is in season. Use different seasonings to change up the flavor or try a different sauce like salsa or hummus or cashew cream.

Meals like this are awesome because they are easy to make and can taste different every time you make it depending on what you use. Get creative and get eating!

Oh and don’t forget I am still hosting a giveaway on my Facebook page. If I get to 100 likes I’ll give away two $10 gift cards of their choice to two of my followers. Make sure you go check out my page and like it!

Have a great Friday and a wonderful weekend!

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.

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

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

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.

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!