11.3.14

{Halloween 2014}

First off, is it really November already?!  I swear I think time flies even faster when you are watching little ones grow before your eyes.  And if you didn't know already, Christmas is only 51 days away! You're welcome! ;)

This Halloween was our second one with Norah but our first to actually get out of the house since she was only a month old at this time last year.  A local church held a Spirit Fest at our city park with games, trunk or treat, live music, food, etc so that is where we spent a bit of our Halloween evening and then ended it with dinner at good ole Chick Fil A. 

A few weeks before Halloween I was searching for a costume idea for Norah.  A few days later Willow Crowns happened to post a pair of cat ears she had recently added to her shop, and I knew I wanted Norah to dress up as a black cat so I ordered the ears.  I kept it simple by putting her in a black leotard, black skirt, black shoes and a few whiskers.  I love how her costume turned out and I know I'm biased but I think she made a pretty cute cat!

 

 

 

I hope you all had a wonderful Halloween with your precious families!

xo
-Katie

11.4.14

{Pumpkin Chocolate Muffins}

It seems like as soon as Fall comes around everyone goes pumpkin crazy!  I have to be honest though and say that I'm only one foot on the pumpkin bandwagon... I just am not crazy about pumpkin.  Come on, I can't be the only one! :)

So why am I sharing a recipe with pumpkin in it?!  Because my husband has been begging me to make them!  Also, it's a super easy, healthier, four ingredient, yummy dessert.  So I thought I'd share!


[Ingredients]

chocolate cake mix
chocolate chips
1 can 100% pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 serving of apple sauce

Combine all of the ingredients except chocolate chips into a large bowl and mix together.  Be sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl so you get all of the dry cake mix.  Add in chocolate chips and mix.  You can use a fourth of the bag, half of the bag, I usually use the entire bag.  

*note: the mixture will be thicker than your normal batter

 

Once everything is mixed together, spoon into foil cupcake liners.

Cook at 325 degrees for about 20 minutes.  I cook them until a knife or toothpick comes out clean.

Enjoy! 

 

xo,

-Katie

{find me on instagram: @mrskatieree}

10.30.14

{Macadamia Deep Repair Masque}

I wanted to quickly share a shopping deal I've recently come across.  I started using this hair treatment a couple months ago and I have been so happy with the results and would really like to continue to use it!  The only thing is that it retails for about $30 and if you know me you know that I am a bargain shopper.

When I first decided to try this product out I was searching online for coupons and had no luck but noticed that Target had it listed for almost half the price on their website.  So off to Target I went, knowing they do price matching, I found the product and marched my booty up to the customer service where they adjusted the price for me to $15.99 versus $29.99.  I went home, used it, loved it, then started thinking about what I'm going to do when it runs out because there was no way I was going to spend thirty bucks on a hair product. 

A few days ago I realized I was almost out so I checked Target's website again and found that it was listed for almost half of the price so I immediately went and purchased another one.  Since I've had luck with this deal twice now, I just had to share because I know so many that use this amazing product.  Spending $15 on a conditioner is kind of pricey to me still but it lasted me almost two months since I try to only wash my hair two to three times a week so I don't damage my hair, thank you dry shampoo!! :)

Let me know if you use this deal and if you try out the product!

xo
-Katie

10.29.14

{recipe} "Cleaned Up" Jambalaya

For some reason, the other day I was craving soup but I just couldn't make myself cook some because it still feels like summer here! (Hopefully that is changing in a few days.) Anyways, after thinking about yummy warm soups, Jambalaya popped in my head and since we have way too much deer sausage from last hunting season I thought it would be perfect.

After doing whole30 we pay much more attention to what we eat, especially during the week.  The weekends and holidays are when I indulge and am more lenient on what I eat, in moderation. I kind of winged the recipe but I think it turned out SO GOOD! & my husband did too! 

 *I cooked 1 1/2 cups of quinoa (instead of rice)

*sauteed two bell peppers and one onion in avocado oil

*cubed, seasoned with garlic powder, salt & pepper and roasted three yellow potatoes in the oven

*cooked a link of the deer sausage in the oven

Once everything was cooked, I just piled all the ingredients and chopped sausage in a bowl and topped with some cheese and pickled jalapenos for extra spice.  Next time I think I'll add in steamed or roasted carrots.  Thanks for visiting and I hope you have a wonderful Halloween!

xo
-Katie

10.8.14

Broccoli & Quinoa Bites {recipe}

Quinoa is one of my favorite foods to eat because it is a "super food" packed full of great things and it's very versatile, you can make it taste like anything! I wanted to find a recipe to make with it for us but also that Norah could safely eat as well.  After searching online and finding several recipes on Pinterest I sort of combined them all and ended up with something very yummy! At least we think so!

Ingredients
1 cup cooked quinoa
1 cup of cheese (I normally use cheddar)
2 eggs
1 cup of finely chopped broccoli
seasonings to taste (I use pepper, pink salt, garlic powder & ground mustard)

First, cook your quinoa according to instructions on the box.  It's usually one cup of uncooked quinoa to two cups water, bring to boil, cover and simmer until water is absorbed.  While it's cooking, wash and finely chop the broccoli leaving out stems.

Next, combine cooked quinoa, chopped broccoli, cheese, eggs & seasonings.  Stir very well to make sure the egg and seasonings are mixed with all the other ingredients. 

Coat a mini muffin tin with cooking spray, I like to use a coconut oil spray.  Fill the cups up with the mixture and cook on 350 for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. 

 

..and Voila! :) Norah scarfs these down and they are so easy to throw in a container for on the go.  This recipe makes two dozen mini muffins.  Let me know what you think if you make them! Even if you don't like them! :)

<3 Katie

10.1.2014

{Norah turns ONE}

Hi friends! So it's been over a year since I last blogged and while I'm not completely sure what my plans are for this blog (you can read more in my about section) I do know that I have a huge fear of losing my photos.  You may think I'm crazy but I seriously think about it all. the. time.  Photos are really important to me because they capture moments and memories to have forever & I feel like they freeze time for just a bit!  Needless to say, I'm obsessed and love taking them and probably take way too many.  I save them to my computer as well as an external hard drive but I still am always worried I will lose them so I thought this space would be another place I could upload them to try and keep them safe... starting with Norah turning ONE! ONE? Yes, one!! I can't believe it either.

Friday the 26th was Norah's actual birthday so we celebrated just the three of us.  She had birthday pancakes, lunch at Chick Fil A and then a cupcake later in the day. The pancakes were the three ingredient pancakes I'm sure you have seen floating all over the internet.  They are made with bananas, eggs & we added one of Norah's favorites, blueberries.

We LOVE Chick Fil A!

Later that day we let Norah enjoy a strawberry cupcake and she LOVED it! I had plans to make her first cake, like the one you see all over pinterest...obviously that didnt happen! ;)  We lit the candle at first but then quickly had to blow it because she kept trying to grab at it which is why she is so upset! As soon as we started singing she started to smile.

Did you say cake?!

Saturday was the big celebration at our home with friends and family.  I tried not to worry too much about the weather but obviously I did a little but was thankful for clouds and temps in the 80's.  I think everyone had a great time and I have to be honest, afterwards, I felt like I had just had a wedding...exhausted!! I planned here and there for a couple of months and diy'ed most of the decor.  My favorite project was her monthly banner I made with her monthly stickers and photos. I had the used stickers laminated and cut out and then clothespinned them to jute along with the photos we had taken each month. Here are some snapshots from the party.

Opening presents...

"Happy Birthday to you..."

My whole heart.

You can see more photos on my Instragram, link for that is in the top right corner.  Thanks for hanging out with me for a bit! I plan on sharing the gifts we got Norah and some favorites very soon!

<3 Katie

8.14.13

{Beauty Favorites}

I know I haven't blogged in a couple of weeks since we've been busy with baby showers and getting ready for baby N's arrival but I really wanted to share some of my recent purchases that have become some of my favorites!

Garnier BB Cream for Combination to Oily Skin:   I've always been a powder foundation girl and I've never worn a liquid foundation.  I would say my skin is combination to oily and more on the sensitive side.  I've tried several BB Creams since the BB Cream craze started and they either broke me out or were too heavy.  This product is the perfect amount of coverage, very light on the skin, easy to blend, and more importantly doesn't break me out!  I use this daily as my moisturizer and foundation and I buff it in with the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush. It also has SPF 20 which is a plus since protecting my skin from the sun is a priority.  Since it's also moisturizing its easy to build up on certain spots or blemishes without looking cakey.

Maybelline Falsies Big Eyes Mascara:  When Maybelline first came out with the Falsies Mascara I was a huge fan because it gave my lashes both length and volume!  The Falsies Big Eyes also gives length & volume but more importantly it has two wands, one for the top lashes which tapers at the end to get into those small corners and another for your bottom lashes that is super tiny which makes it easy to cover each bottom lash to give the "Big Eyes" effect.

Loreal Total Repair 5 Shampoo:  I bought this shampoo after reading reviews online and I have been loving it & the smell is amazing!  It's supposed to "instantly and over time repair the five visible signs of damaged hair - split ends, weakness, roughness, dullness, and dehydration - without weighing hair down."  I believe every word!  The first time I used this my hair felt so much healthier, was shinier, and felt so light!  I've used it for about two weeks and I can definitely say my hair feels stronger and this is with just using the shampoo, I will be purchasing the conditioner very soon!

Have you tried any of these products or do you have any favorite beauty products that you are loving right now?!

<3 Katie