Sweets and Treats

I (Katelyn) decided to try to go the whole month of May without eating any dessert-type food.  I've really never jumped full fledge onto any dieting bandwagon, but I realized that my relationship with sweet food was more of an addiction than it should've been.  If there was ice cream in the freezer, I would visit multiple times a day until it was gone.  I NEEDED a taste of sweet after every meal, and upon getting home from work every day I would pillage the house for any kind of treat.  I really thought that I could enjoy sweets in moderation, but I realized that there was no moderating going on, so I wanted to get it out of my system and free myself from it's grasp. 

I have seen some people cutting out ALL processed sugars... friends, I will not do that anytime in the near future.  What constituted as a "sweet" in my preverbal book mean anything dessert-related, sweet pastries, soda (especially dark), and lattes.  

The first week was tough, but I honestly don't really remember what that struggle felt like.  I had begun eating a lot more fruit and vanilla soy milk, and while those things didn't fulfill my addictive cravings, I could convince myself that they were just as sweet. :)  The second week it wasn't as hard to say no, but I was craving naturally fatty food like nothing else.  Eggs and avocados are all I wanted.  Guacamole became our Friday treat, and it was heaven.  I'm sure that there's some kind of correlation here of the artificial sweets we eat and our body actually wanting natural fats, but I am not an expert on that and will not explore that here. 

My dear husband (who continued to eat sweets but was kind enough to tell me they were gross while he was eating... seriously, I needed that for a time) brought home maple bacon ice cream last night to celebrate the move and the end of my sweets-free month.  Holy moly, it was better than I had remembered it being.  Because I hadn't eaten ice cream in a month, it tasted SO sweet and rich.  Every bite was an experience, and for the first time in a while I didn't eat the whole bowl in 5 seconds.

And then, about an hour later, a gnarly headache set in... and I still have the remnants of it this morning.  Hello sugar hangover. 

In looking back over this month, instances of saying yes to food when I should have said no immediately come to mind.  But then I realized how many things I did say no to, and it's all worth it. 

I don't know where mine and sugar's relationship will go from this point.  I know that I never want it to return to what it was.  Grapefruit has officially become my go-to sweet and it doesn't kick me in the head or the stomach - it makes me want to get outside and move!

-K

Shrimp and Pilates

Kylie and I have been going to the gym together a couple times a week.  It's a good time.  And after taking lifeguarding class together, I feel like nothing can be more awkward and terrifying than what that experience was.  About half of the time our gym dates result in double dates with the our husbands.  This past time we all gathered here for this Cajun Shrimp dish.  It was a pretty good recipe - I turned down the spice a wee bit, but it was super flavorful!  We mixed the leftovers with rice, which I would highly recommend.

However, the shrimp prepping was sort of an unexpected nightmare.  Unbeknownst to me, you have to pull their legs and shells of, and THEN take out their intestine! Blech. Blech blech. Maybe this is why my mom didn't make shrimp often when I was growing up.

(If you can't tell, that's my super grossed-out face.)

Thanks, Ky, for hanging in there.  Next time you have a nasty task needing to be done for any sort of food prep, give me a call. :)

-K&M

Portland Cravings

 We are planning to go to Portland next month which means...

Stumptown Coffee

And Voodoo Doughnuts.

If you like an assortment of delicious food and drink, Portland is the city for you.

-K&M

February Happenings

February has been an exciting month, but I am glad that it is soon coming to a close... because after February comes spring, right? Unless you're in Spokane, then it's more like after April comes spring. :)

Some of this month's happenings have included:

Celebrating our first married Valentine's Day.  It was a relaxing evening at home with a yummy dinner  and Netflix - exactly what we needed in the midst of yet another busy semester.  I love that Valentine more and more every day. 

Experiencing a natural birth!  A friend of ours was kind enough to let me accompany her and her husband for the birth of their 4th child - it was such a privilege to get to be there.  She was AMAZING - I was blown away by her strength and bravery.  While it was a very real process (definitely different than just watching "The Business of Being Born"), it was incredibly more beautiful to experience it firsthand.  (I had asked if I could be there because I am considering becoming a Doula... perhaps a post on that soon!)

Cooking gnocchi.  I made this dish for Valentine's Day - it was SO yummy and easy.  Michael and I have gotten hooked on gnocchi thanks to Olive Garden's Chicken and Gnocchi soup - they are these perfect little dumplings that aren't too big or squishy.  I'm making this gnocchi dish tomorrow - I'll let you know how it goes!

Baking sugar cookie bars.  I was needing a dessert to make for work that could feed 60 people, and I found this little gem of a recipe.  Not only did it only take an hour to make 3 pans, but they were a big hit.  Plus, it has the best homemade icing recipe included - so easy and delicious!

Listening to Mark Driscoll's series Who Do You Think You Are?.  I had stopped listening to sermons online while I was in school, so I'm excited to be making this a part of life again.  It makes doing the dishes a little more interesting. :)

(I've also been listening to Beyonce while writing this post. So. Much. Talent.) 

Wearing mom shoes. I did it. I bought these bad boys.  I've decided to try to stop buying large quantities of cute, cheap shoes, and invest in less pairs of shoes, but shoes that last and are good for me.  (Mom - I have you to thank for this, since you were always prophesying about future foot problems when I wore flats and heels) :)  And hey, Danskos were recently spotted on The Sartorialist, so that's saying something, right?

Hope you all had a wonderful February month, and are not snowed in for too long, wherever you might be in the country!

-K&M

Queen of Sheba

M and a few friends planned a surprise birthday dinner at Queen of Sheba, an Ethiopian restaurant.

This stuff is so good.

Afterwards, we went to the Lahr's to eat cake and watch a movie.

Between Michael's Gooey-Butter cake, and Taylor's German Chocolate, this was the birthday of delicious cakes.

We love our Spokane friends... 

and ethnic food adventures.

-K&M

Birthday Dinner

Last night, we went to the Steam Plant Grill downtown.  I loved everything about it.  The food was delicious, obviously (beer cheese soup pictured below), but the restaurant was in an old steam plant, so we got to walk around and explore the old architecture.  Dream come true!! (The bottom right photo was taken standing in the bottom of a smoke/steam stack... kind of creepy).

As much as we loved the food, we only at half of it so that we would have room for ice cream on the way home.

Priorities, people.

Here's to eating well and learning some of your city's history!

-K&M

"It's the Little Things"

I have found myself saying this all too often lately, but it's usually over little things that I can't seem to master (like burning myself while cooking, tripping over things, spilling... you know).  However, I'm realizing that there are also lots of little things that we really enjoy... funnies, simple things, things you would otherwise take for granted (unless you're looking for opportunities to learn your new camera!!).  This post will hopefully be the beginning of a series of little things that we find worth sharing... we'll see how long we keep up with it!

Today's Little Things Are...

Spokane Sunsets (and trying to take pictures of them while in the car) 

Our neighbor kitty Max... he's the sweetest, although he looks a little ferocious in this picture

Party cups that match our kitchen dishes/decor

My FIRST flat-rolled pizza dough (thanks to the rolling pin from Michael's mom)

This is the Garbage Bread that the dough was used for... Michael thought it looked like a fish, hence the coffee bean and lots of giggles..

Sandwich Sprinkle from Wisconsin, delivered to us in Spokane by a Wisconsinite friend!

Safeway thinking that my name is Kateryn for the past 3 years.

What little things have you noticed lately?

-K&M

Casper Fry

While I am somewhat embarrassed that my introduction to this blog regards food, I'm going to have to suck it up.

Casper fry has been serving Spokane since 2011 and can be found in the South Perry District on the South Hill.  Only the freshest locally grown foods are served at this establishment and I was surprised at the quality of the American fare I was served.  While the plates are not overflowing with food, as seems to be the case with most American restaurants, Casper Fry still managed to fill us up with great tasting food!

Katelyn enjoyed their Altamont sandwich, which was essentially a delicious burger topped with a mix of cheese, spices, and an egg.  I went with a half chicken that came with a side of delicious vegetables. The food was delightful, the staff was friendly as well as and efficient, and the feel of the restaurant overall was a relaxing blend of both modern and vintage.

If you live in the great city of Spokane I have to encourage you to check it out!  If not, you'll have to settle for these pictures until you come visit!

-M&K

Simple, one page menu

The restaurant filled up quickly after this photo was taken

Altamont Sandwich + egg - $12

Roasted half chicken - $14.50

Dinner?

Last night I made this salad to go with dinner... it looked like an interesting adventure, and healthy for the most part!  After Michael took a few bites of it he said, "this is a good salad... but maybe not for boys."  Thank you, husband, for your gentle way of telling me that it was chick food. :)  I am fortunate to have married a man that does enjoy bruschetta and other such delicacies, but the chick peas and tomatoes did him over.

Living in an age of pinterest and food blogs, it seems that the inspiration for the dinner table is endless.  Both of our moms, as well as other friends and family, also well equipped me with many tried and true recipes as wedding gifts.  We are still adjusting into the swing of things, but soon I should be back to cooking multiple times a week instead of chipolte-ing multiple times a week.  Somehow I was more diligent with cooking for the 2 of us before we got married.

I'll be sure to share any successful recipes I stumble upon here on the blog!  And Michael will share recipes that he finds as well. ;)

Here is the picture for the day.  We will post more of our Portland trip shortly. :)

Multnomah Falls outside of Portland

-K(&M)

Coffee with an Extra Shot of Caramel

Welp, we've discovered what happens when you order a Starbucks Frappuccino with extra carmel.

  

And now we are off to write thank you notes.  I am still in awe of people's generosity towards us as we begin life together.

-K&M

Weekend

While we didn't take pictures of the things we did this weekend (swimming in beautiful CdA), we did take pictures of what we consumed. We should be ashamed for what we have to show for ourselves, but instead we will share it with you. :)

Bacon Maple bars from Donut Parade

Personalized blend from Coeur (using Stumptown coffee!)

Aaaaand more doughnuts... just trying to live up to our name :)

Yay for sunshine and sugar!

-K&M