Home for the Holidays

This was our first Christmas in our new home, and we couldn't have been happier! This year was a little bit more calm than last year, as we traveled to North Carolina the week before Christmas to spend time with Mr. K's family, which was so much needed, and so wonderful. It was so great going for a day or two more than we usually do, because we didn't feel as rushed as we normally do, trying to do a million things and see everyone we love in such a short time. We got to spend time with great family and friends and even find time to see a movie and relax.

We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with my family here, as my parents hosted my father's side of the family for Christmas Eve. I loved it! It was great seeing family we only see so often. I love how all of the cousins have grown up and grown together. Christmas Day was as lovely as always with my mom's side of the family. Again, cousins growing up and growing together and it's so much fun.

We did our own gifts after breakfast on Christmas Day. We're seeking out our own traditions, and although we haven't quite found them, we will over time! It was fun decorating our house for the first time, and funny to see the different decorations we've acquired over the year, thanks to good sales and my mom's great finds!

Somehow, a cat always makes a cameo in our photos

I'm not writing about 2015 Resolutions

I promised (myself) that I would write about what I was going to do better in 2015 because "everyone else" does it. But when it come down to it, writing it down helps keep you accountable, right? Right. So here we are.

I read a really great article on Entrepreneur about 8 daily habits that will make 2015 "explosive." So far, I'm buying it. I wouldn't call these things "resolutions" though. Because sometimes I consider those good for a year, even if I've said I would start to think positively more, or work out more. Again, it's the beginning of the year and we have the best of intentions. But, turning those "resolutions" into gosh-darn habits is what's really going to make them work.

New Year means the start of something good, forever... 

Today I'm going to share with you the first half of the daily habits. They're so good that I don't want to overcrowd one post with all of them. Try these on for size the next few days/week and see how it goes. Then, come back and read the next four and we'll see how we can all get better at those. 

Here are four of the eight daily habits: 

1. Get up early

This is actually something I decided to do after New Years, not as a resolution, but to start making a habit out of it. So far I've last 4 days getting up at 6:30 and I'm really liking it. Before I think I was getting too much sleep, sometimes waking up anywhere between  6:45 and 7:10. 6:30 isn't too bad anymore, especially when I know it's coming about 10-15 minutes after Mr. K leaves the room.

So how would I rate this on a scale of 1-10, me liking this idea: 10/10. It's working, and I'm excited to continue it. 

2. Read

Doesn't matter what, but read 20-30 minutes a day. For me, this includes the Express newspaper for the first 20 minutes on the metro ride in, and then the book I've downloaded on my Kindle Fire for the rest of the ride to and from work. I've got both the global intellectual read down and the "let me let my mind wonder for the next hour" down pat. 

Rating: 8/10

3. Exercise

Ahhhhh. This one. Gets me every time. I'm trying... so hard! I just bought a yoga Groupon yesterday in hopes of really getting my blood pumping. I tried starting Insanity a couple weeks ago, but got so discouraged because I just couldn't keep up. I'm not used to it being so hard. But that's what I get when I don't work out in 7+ months. What's wrong with me? I'm hoping yoga will bring me back and motivate me to at least do the recommended 30 minutes a day. SOMETHING at least. Stay tuned on this one. So far, my likeness score is 2/10, but my desire score is an 11/10. 

4. Practice Gratitude

Man, this can be a hard one sometimes, can't it? I've tried to do this a lot more recently, and when I catch myself doing the opposite, I bring myself back. But that's the beauty of this journey. Practicing gratitude is just that... practice. It's not going to become ingrained in you over one night. or even a week. You have to constantly be conscious of yourself and your thoughts. 

One thing that has started to work for me, or rather two things at that: one, try writing down one thing each night that you're thankful for before you go to bed. If it's one of those days and you're in a funk and you can't think of anything else except "I'm thankful that I didn't forget my winter hat this morning," than write it. 

Secondly, instead of asking your significant other, your parents, your children, "how was your day?" Ask them "what made you happy today?" or "what are you grateful for that happened today?" This stimulates more conversation, BETTER conversation, and a deeper sense of thought. Don't forget to ask yourself the same question though... what AM I grateful for today? 

Oh, WMATA...

So, if you're in DC, you've likely heard or and/or been a part of one of Metro's delays (many delays for that matter). Usually, I'm one of those disgruntled passengers, but each time it happens, I learn to just let it be and let go. What am I going to do? I have a few alternate routes I can take to work which I'm lucky about, I also tend to bring my laptop home with me almost every night, so if it's really bad, I will just work from home in the comfort of my own PJs...with the fire on, and most likely a cat in my lap or beside me. But anyways, not to make you jealous or anything.

This morning seemed especially bad all around the DMV on the metro. Red line trains were breaking down left and right, Orange line track cracked. Something happened with the Silver Line. Doors were frozen shut, causing people to offload. Who knows what else was going on.

By the time I got on the train at let's say 7:40am, the operator said a couple minutes later, "passengers, we will be holding here until further notice. there are major delays on the redline." Now, usually the actual operator won't use the word "major." But this morning's commute called for it.

Honestly though, it only took me about 15 more minutes to get to work than it usually does. We were moving fairly normal, considering. But what make me smile and laugh about the ride is the operator of the train. He was awesome! So funny. I wish I had taken down the train/car number, because he really made light of the situation and made people "literally" laugh out loud. Here a few of my faves, that you can also see here on my Twitter.

"We have major delays on the red line. Trains have a bad attitude when it's cold, and they don't like to work." 

As we were approaching the first downtown station.... "We aren't getting there as fast as we normally would, but we're getting there." 

One that got the loudest and most amount of laughs... "I can see a train in front of us, and a train behind us. It's a sandwich, everyone. Just have a to pick what kind you want to be." 

Now, I'll be the first to say that all operators aren't this good, lighthearted and funny, but that makes me appreciate the ones who enjoy it. Anyways, be bad if you choose. There are definitely days that I am, for sure. And I certainly don't enjoy having to pay the ridiculous prices to be running late on average once a week. But hey, look on the bright side... they'll HAVE to have this fixed if DC hosts the 2024 Olympics ;)

Thanksgiving Breakfast: Pumpkin Donuts

So I know this title is bringing us all back to 2014, but it's so worth it. I promise.

Back in September, I decided to make pumpkin donuts for a ladies' brunch we were having in the neighborhood. My "Sunday Morning" Pinterest board, aka breakfast/brunch, is full of recipes, only maybe a handful that I've actually gotten around to trying. So, since it was the beginning of the Fall season, I thought I'd give anything pumpkin a recipe. Since then I've made them one or two more times, finding that I've used different recipes almost every time.

I decided I'd bring them to a Thanksgiving breakfast we've been going to for a few years now in my parents' neighborhood. The night before though was an interesting use of trial and error, to say the least. I followed a recipe for a blog, however it only made 12 donuts, and I needed at least 18-24. Doubling the recipe didn't work, and I wasn't a big fan of how the blog combined all of the ingredients. So, I went with another recipe that I thought was better and made much more sense. 

I ordered my Wilton Nonstick 6-Cavity Donut Pan from Amazon for less than $8, and it was such a great (and yummy) investment!

Yield: 18 donuts 

Temperature of Oven: 350
Baking Time: 15-18 minutes

Ingredients: 
1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree (canned pumpkin)
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin spice (I made my own, and I've included that mix below)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 3/4 cups (+2 tablespoons) all-purpose flour

Pumpkin Spice: 
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

 Directions: 
1. Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl except the flour. Beat ingredients until smooth. I use my Kitchen Aid with the baker's attachment.
2. Add in the flour slowly while mixing. Mix until just smooth.
3. Lightly grease the donut pan (if you have two, that's even better. It will make the process go a lot faster).
4. Fill the wells about 3/4 full
5. Bake for about 15-18 minutes, or until your tester is clear. (Just stick a fork or toothpick in it, and if it comes out dry/clear, then it's ready)
6. Let them sit for about 5 minutes and then empty onto a cooling rack.

Now, I've done this a few times now, and usually toss the donuts in a gallon ziploc bag of ground cinnamon and sugar. I usually just eye the amount I put in there, but for ingredient sake, here's my guess! Place in a ziploc bag, put a donut in there, zip it up and toss it around
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon

This recipe never gets old, and it's definitely going to become a staple in this house during the Fall! Enjoy! 

Shepherd's Pie Winter Night Dinner

It was my turn to cook dinner and since I was working from home today, it was the perfect time to come up with something fun, different and warming since it's freezing outside this week! Let's be honest though for a second, I don't cook very much. Not because I don't like to, but because Mr. K is just so darn good at it! Seriously though, he loves to cook and he's great at it. Great at coming up with meals on the fly, while I always need to follow a recipe. But that's ok because I enjoy following a recipe and trying new things (to a certain extent).

Anyways, tonight I made Shepherd's Pie. I was going to make a bunch of mini pies, but decided to just make two and then make the rest in a big pan. I followed a couple of different recipes, so I've combined those here. Mr. K is usually the mashed potato maker in the house, but he said that I may have taken over that duty. I was pretty impressed, if I do say so myself ;)

I have to admit though, the only photos I took are over the mini-Shepherds pies I made. I forgot to take a picture of the big one. BUT it looked just like this, only in an 8x8 ceramic dish.

Yields: 4-6 Servings
Temperature: 450 degrees
Cook Time: 15 minutes

Mashed Potatoes: 
3 large potatoes, peel and cubed
1/2 C. Sour Cream
1/4 C. Milk
1 tb butter

Filling:
1 3/4 lb. ground beef
salt and pepper
1 carrot, peeled and chopped (I had a bag of baby carrots in the fridge so I just chopped about 10-15 of those)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 C. chopped mushrooms (about 4 large mushrooms)
1/2 C. Frozen peas
1 tsp paprika
2 tb butter
2 tb flour
1 C. beef broth
2 tsp Worcestershire
1/2 C. shredded cheddar cheese (I actually forgot to use this, and it turned out just fine!)
2 tb chopped fresh parsley leaves

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

1. Boil potatoes in salted water until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes 
2. While potatoes are boiling, heat skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground beef to pan and season with salt and pepper. 
3. Brown meat - toss in carrots, mushrooms, onions and garlic 
4. Cover and cook this mixture for 5 minutes, stirring frequently 
5. Stir in peas, parsley and paprika 
6. In a second, smaller pan, heat butter and flour for about 2 minutes (make sure not to burn the butter!). Add in the Worcestershire and beef broth. Whisk until thick, about 1-2 minutes. Add the gravy to meat pan. 
7. Drain potatoes, put into a bowl (I just put them back into the pot I boiled them in), mix in sour cream, butter and milk, mash until smooth 
8. Pour meat mixture into casserole dish, and top with mashed potatoes. Top potatoes with cheese. 
9. Cook until potatoes are browned on top 
10. Let cool and enjoy! 

Mudroom Makeover

Happy Fall!!! Tis the season for boots, sneakers and winter jackets galore.  We found ourselves having a pile of our shoes in the mudroom (the small area when coming in from the garage), my purse, and our work bags on the island chairs, and our keys strewn about the kitchen. We had this bench in our basement being unused, so we measured it and decided that it would fit perfectly in the mudroom. With this, we have a place to put our shoes and our work bags when we come right in the door.

Here's the transformation!

Before:

Ha! Don't mind Mia, she's taking the opportunity to sneak into the garage. 

After:

The chalkboard frame is also from Home Goods. Our favorite!  

Hopefully in the next few weeks I'll have completed my DIY cushion for this bench. I had an unproductive trip to G Street Fabrics last weekend for a pattern I like, so hopefully I'll find something on my next trip. I want to continue the blues and yellows into here too, and I'm thinking an indoor/outdoor fabric will be the best because I see this getting a lot of wear and tear over time. I'm thinking something in this realm of patterns:

Credit: Savvy Design

Credit: Seawater Style

Credit: Home Design Handbook

Butler's Pantry Makeover

We wanted to continue the living room color scheme - blues and yellows - into the kitchen and butler's pantry. This was the second piece of wall decor we hung (behind the mudroom chalkboard frame you'll see in another post), so we thought this would be a good spot to try to it out and see if we like the colors and everything. So far, we love it!

The biggest obstacle we came across while hanging this one was that the hole that we were going to be drilling was right over an outlet, which according to my pre-drywall photos was very, very close to electrical wires. We debated just hanging the piece with Command velcro strips I picked up at Home Depot, but there's too much glass underneath,  so if it ever fell, we'd lose a lot of liquor.... I mean, we'd have a lot of glass to clean up ;) And no one wants that.

It's really amazing how wall art can really start making a room feel more homey. And for the record, we love Home Goods, and that's where we got this piece, the chalkboard frame you'll see next week, and a few other things for the powder room. For right now, the price can't be beat until we're ready to settle on something really expensive, which we're not ready for.

Here's the transformation!

Before:

After: