a halloween baby announcement

i'm a "mummy" to be!

since this halloween is full of new beginnings for husband & i, we are more than excited to welcome the spooky holiday!

 this is my first halloween here, in texas. we'll be spending the evening trick-or-treating with our friends & their little kiddies. 

>> sans alcoholic bevy's for this chick<<  

for me, halloween always marks the beginning of the holiday season, it's when i start to get really excited for sweater weather & lots of family time. 

i hope everyone has a safe & happy halloween!!

a few of my favorite things

{new halloween hand towels} 

{skull bathroom napkins}

 {chevron pumpkin!!}

{candy corn: my weakness}

simple tricks to a happy marriage

since husband & i have been married for coming up on two years in november, we're still pretty new at this game & i tend to take in all the advice i can on how to have a happy & successful marriage. i'm always humbled by the couples i meet that have made things not just "work" but who have made their relationship fun-loving throughout, the couples who have been married for years & fall more in love with each other every day. 

one of the best pieces of advice that i have ever heard, i heard years before i got married, but it has never left my mind, 'you & your spouse come first, your children come second.' a challenge to uphold, i'm sure, but it seems like a bit of advice that makes the most sense if you can work at it everyday. annnnd... what's life without a little challenge anyway, right?!

the reason for this post is because i read these few simple tricks to a happy marriage on huffington post & wanted to share since i have a lot of friends & family that have been married for a long time, i have a lot of newlywed friends & family, and a lot of friends & family that may need a little relationship inspo! 

1. be nice. "choose kindness whenever you can-- you should be at least as nice to your spouse as you would a stranger or you were when you started dating."

2. enjoy each other's company. "my wife & i are each other's best friend. we like each other's company. we like having fun. we like doing stuff together. we are honest & direct with one another."

3. say "i love you" as much as possible. "overuse 'i love you'. seriously."

4. be honest. "be honest about shit that pisses you off, don't sweat the small stuff, and have good sex."

5. limit outside influences. "out of state in-laws."

6. small tokens of love go a long way. 

7. distance can & will make the heart grow fonder. "have alone time. i believe that it helps if you or your partner go away for a couple of hours, a weekend or maybe a week once in a while."

8. be realistic. "me & my wife constantly acknowledge what we love about one another, but we also never forget about the 80/20 rule. no one person will ever give you a 100 percent of what you need, we estimate that we give each other about 80 percent of what the other person needs in a relationship. recognizing this allows you to see the reality of your partnership and not over romanticize it."

9. cherish each other. "don't forget how important the little things are, like a hug or compliment. don't take each other for granted."

10. be your own person. 

11. build a strong foundation of friendship. "you have to be friends. your husband or wife should be someone that you want to hang out with. of course you have to have the sexual aspect but that's not enough to sustain a relationship. you're going to go through hard times and you need to have someone who you want to spend your time with."

12. know that relationships are a two way street. "be honest about what you want and need and listen to your spouse about what they want & need."

13. lastly, no marriage is perfect-- and that's okay. "understand that nothing is perfect forever. there are going to be disagreements. there will be times when your partner says or does something that hurts you. the happy relationships will talk about it and work through it. the bad relationships will let it stew until it becomes an even bigger problem."

what advice do you have for a healthy & happy marriage or relationship?!

portobello lasagna roll-up

lately, i've been craving ( < more on that later! ) pasta at least once a week. my experience with cooking italian dishes is very limited... it usually consists of lots of vegetables, sauce that i doctor up & whole wheat pasta. pretty simple. i don't like to order italian food at restaurants because i'm really picky about how i like my stuff. weird, i know. 

* all of the above ^ does not include pizza. i love pizza, make it at home, eat it out & am willing to try pizza from almost anywhere! pizza, to me, falls under it's own category, not under my italian food category. 

back on topic...

i was scouring the recipe websites for something different to make at home & came across this portobello lasagna roll-up recipe. 

yes, i felt like martha stewart while i was making them. rolling up stuffed lasagna noodles, are you kidding me?! i felt really good about myself after making this dish. 

you should try it!

please feel free to share any great recipes you have!

{i was able to make 12 roll-ups following the recipe}

apple crisp

happy fall!!

it's been a little while (two months) since i've shared anything on the blog, mostly because we took our sweet time getting internet since we've been back in texas. yep, just got it a few days ago. how did we live without it, you ask...? not sure. but... we have kept ourselves really busy around here. since our week long road trip home from washington we've been to florida to visit my parents, gone to new york for a wedding, cleaned out the house & had a huge garage sale. my favorite part about being home in texas has been catching up with friends & family that we haven't seen in months. 

the weather has been beautiful here the last couple of days, warm afternoons & chilly evenings. the drop in temperature has me excited for fall & in lieu of, i decided to bake a fall favorite.
i followed this recipe & it turned out to be exactly what i wanted.
serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

homemade granola bars

have y'all ever tried making your own granola bars?

i made my first batch recently & they turned out to be the perfect snack!

i got this recipe from @feelgoodfoodie on insta.

no-bake enery bars:

1 cup oats (i used organic rolled oats)

1/3 cup dried tart cherries

1/2 cup all natural peanut butter

3 tbsp honey

1 tsp vanilla extract

mix ingredients together in bowl & then spread mixture in pan & refrigerate for 2 hours. 

slice & enjoy

________________________________________

since i wanted to make these little gems right away i had to use the ingredients that i had at home. here is how i modified & they came out great!

1 cup oats

1/3 cup dark chocolate chips (hey, dark chocolate is good for us!)

1/2 cup natural peanut butter

3 tbsp honey

3 tbsp flax seed

i found that putting the bars in the freezer made them stick together a little bit better. 

enjoy,

LK

words of wisdom

i am a big believer in living a happy life. 

sometimes this means being selfish & living for yourself, but that's okay. 

everyone deserves happiness

do what makes you happy. 

a few of my favorite things

 {homemade blt's}

{mt. rainier showing her beauty}

 {legendary doughnuts}

{early morning sunrise}

sleep is good

sleep is the most important part of recovery.

our body needs a lot of rest & sleep which i am so happy about because i'll gladly sleep as long as i can!

5 benefits of sleep:

- better health

- better sex life

- less pain

- lower risk of injury

- better mood 

lemon water

a few months back, my friend & i decided to try the master cleanse.
it sounded like a wonderful idea while we were reading about it. if you don't know what the master cleanse is, it's a cleanse where you drink a lemon water concoction that includes water, fresh squeezed lemon juice, organic maple syrup & cayenne pepper. while on the cleanse you are allowed to drink h2o & the lemon water- that's it, no food!
 the cleanse typically lasts anywhere from 3-7 days and then there are those people who have great mental control and push for a longer time frame: 10- 30 days << those people are insane! 

so here we come thinking we're all mentally strong & can handle just drinking water for 3 days.
epic fail. 

we lasted a half of a day.
we called each other crying, begging to eat a piece of chicken before we ate our arm off & completely threw in the towel because we felt like we were going to die.
literally, die.

this chick needs food.

what i did end up doing was starting my day with a lemon water to cleanse my system & jump-start my metabolism.

since moving to washington i had gotten out of the habit of drinking lemon water.
lately, i've been feeling kinda blah & my skin has been gross. for the last few days i've made lemon water apart of my morning ritual & have noticed a huge difference. my skin looks better & i feel better.
you should try it!

here is what i do:
8oz water
half of a lemon squeezed
about 2 tbsp grade a or b organic maple syrup or organic raw honey
1 tsp cayenne pepper or cinnamon

it's delish warm or chilled.

eating colors for health

 we all know by now that eating clean & organic is always the way to go when possible. processed foods, fast-food & sugars are just not healthy for us.

what is healthy? 

a moderate amount of lean protein, tons of fruits & veggies, a moderate amount of healthy carbs. 

eating clean tends to make us feel better about our bodies, gives us energy & is good for our skin & beauty. add in some exercise & you're living a healthy lifestyle! 

side note: carbs release serotonin so do not cut carbs out of your diet completely. you'll get very sad. it's a fact. there are studies that prove this. 

 eating colors for health:

{white = immune support}

examples: cauliflower, mushrooms, garlic, onion, potato, beans

{green = detoxification}

examples: edemame, spinach, broccoli, cucumber, peppers, limes, green apples, green onion, green beans

{yellow = beauty}

examples: pineapple, squash, banana, lemons, yellow peppers

{orange = cancer prevention}

examples: oranges, grapefruit, orange pepper, sweet potato, carrot, mango, papaya, cantaloupe, pumpkin

{red = heart health}

examples: strawberries, cherries, red pepper, radish, apple, tomato, berries, beans

a little more than half way

as all-star break approaches [today], we are a little more than half way through the baseball season. most wives & families begin to look forward to the off-season to go home & unwind with family & friends. 

For me, i'm currently reflecting on what has been the best year of my life. if you've read my previous post here you know that this year i left my job, family & home in florida to travel with my husband. hands down, best decision that we have ever made. while i was equally nervous, scared, anxious & excited, i had secretly been waiting for the day when husband would ask me to travel/ live with him year- round. 

i was a little nervous about leaving my home in florida, my first house that i had just finished decorating. i was sad to leave my parents, sister & friends. mostly my parents & sister since we are so close that you basically have to pry us apart. 

i thought i'd get home-sick. i try to act like i love change & am good at it but most of the time i'm not. i take time to get comfortable. 

honestly, i was predicting one of those major breakdowns where i just stood in the shower & cried for no reason & every reason all at the same time. 

here we are three months later: i never got home-sick & i haven't cried once. 

this doesn't mean that i don't miss having dinner with my parents a couple of times every week. this does not mean that i don't miss sleep-overs with my sister. this doesn't mean that i don't miss my florida house. this doesn't mean that i don't miss my friends. this doesn't mean that i don't crave the sand & ocean like it's a drug. 

what this does mean though, is home really is where ever i am with my husband. all along, i thought i was home. this is what home really feels like. i literally live in the moment every day, more than i ever did before. this is home, here, with my husband & our little pup. 

xoxo,

LK

cougar mountain wildland park

for those of us involved in baseball we know that having an off-day, an actual day off, is rare. they come around maybe once a month. when the guys have a day off it's a big deal & most of us take full advantage! 

yesterday, we packed up a lunch & the pup & went hiking in cougar mountain wildland park. we spent 6 hours hiking about 8 miles of trails. we saw a few waterfalls, lots of snails, crossed a few beautiful bridges, gazed up at the tree canopies & worked our booty off hiking through the mountain. we walked through some of the most gorgeous trees i have ever seen. the trees here, in washington, are green & huge!!

 {these little legs lasted all 6 hours!}

 {if fairies exist they have to live here.}

 {he was the trail guide}

 {my boys}

{pretty little berries}

{thank goodness they let us know that there are bears following us!! i was nervous.}

{waterfall} 

{crystal clear, freezing cold water} 

 {crossing bridges}

 {a great big green & quiet place}

happy birthday, rowdy!

happy 1st birthday to the most handsome little guy i know!

rowdy came to us on october 2, 2013- the second best day of my life (first: wedding day).

i seriously cannot imagine life without him. 

this little pup has changed our lives in more ways than one. 

he has the best little personality & is constantly making us laugh. he is so smart which unfortunately keeps us on our toes. 

he loves to play with his toys, all of them, especially the ones that squeak. tennis balls are his absolute favorite. he really enjoys playing soccer but he has to have one toy in his mouth in order to be able to dribble a ball- so weird, but true!! 

he doesn't love his baths but he's learned to cooperate. 

he knows when he hears the row-dy, row-dy, row-dy chant that it's time to eat and he gets super excited!  

he's an athlete and will conquer any walk you take him on. 

 he's a beach-bum at heart. 

he loves running around with any dog that will chase & play with him. 

he always has to take a toy to bed with him and usually spoons it while he sleeps. he sleeps in his own bed most of the time but prefers to sleep in ours. 

i literally tuck him into bed every night & i'm not ashamed to admit that. 

rowdy, mama never knew she could love a puppy as much as she loves you!!

happy birthday, boy!

{the rowdy house- first christmas prezzy from his grandparents}

{rowdy's favorite hangout spot during the holiday's}

{it was his first christmas... i had to!}

{he's always ready for a treat}

{puppy face}

{are you kidding me with that tongue}

{my little snuggle bug}

{o. m. g.}

{rowdy's favorite sunbathing spot in our florida house}

{he's got the biggest stick on the beach!}

{beach days with him are the best days}

{loves his toys}

{likes to spoon}

{my boys.}

{they melt my heart}

{tennis balls make his world go 'round... he loves them!!}