Doughnuts anyone?

I found a little secret today while stumbling through the internet and my jar dropped. I may be a little late to figure this out, but did you know that you can make doughnuts with just a can of Pillsbury Grand Biscuits? Say what girlfriend?!  Yeah you heard me, simplest thing ever! So seeing as I had the whole afternoon off and a girls spa night planned tonight, I thought "why not make doughnuts to devour while i'm getting a facial?" Brilliant idea, I know, no applause needed. I thought I would share this brilliant idea with you lovely people, so here you go!

Ingredients needed:

1 or more can of Pillsbury Biscuits (use anything other than the flaky layers)

1/2 inch of vegie oil in a pan for frying

Cinnamon and sugar mixed together in a bowl

4-5 Tbl. of melted butter in a bowl

1. Cut holes into the middle of the biscuits to make the doughnut shape. Save the middles to make doughnut holes later. 

2. Wait for the oil to heat up. Helpful hint: flick some cold water onto the oil. If it starts to crack and bubble, it's ready! The more bubbles, the hotter the oil. 

3. Place the doughnuts in the oil and wait for one side to get golden brown then flip over and do the same to the other side. Set aside and let cool. Repeat this step until all doughnuts are fried. Let the oil heat back up in between each refill.

I was making my batch for a bake sale at work, that's why I have so many!

4. Take the doughnuts and cover both sides with butter, drip off the excess and cover in the sugar mixture.

5. Eat and enjoy.  

Happy weekend everyone!

xo, k

BBQ Crusted Chicken and Parmesan Knots

I visited Chris a few weekends ago for an early Valentine's Day and I tried out a new recipe to make up a nice dinner for him. After having a nice meal, we went to an awesome hockey game and just bummed all weekend. You can check it out here. I told you guys that I would give you the recipe for the chicken and the parmesan knots that I made, so today I'm finally getting around to it and givin' out the goodies.

 I want to mention how difficult and interesting it was to bake something in Chris' oven. He and his friend live in an apartment and they must have gotten the one place with the million year old oven, because that thing just deserves to be in the dump. When you turn it on, the heat just keeps rising and rising and never stops. So while making the chicken, I had to sit there for 30 minutes waiting for it to reach 375 degrees and then shut it off until it went back down to 350 degrees, then turn it on again. The chicken turned out great, but I still have a huge hatred towards that oven.

Barbecue Crusted Chicken

(this is by far the easiest chicken recipe I know of)

Ingredients:

2/3 cup Dijon-mayo blend

6 cups barbecue potato chips

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts 

1. (and the only step) Cover the chicken in the mayo blend first then in the chips, making sure to evenly cover. Throw in the oven at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes. 

 Parmesan Knots

I got this recipe through Pinterest and it's another amazing delicious and easy things to make (which I'm a huge fan of!) 

Ingredients:
1 tube Pillsbury bread sticks
1/4 cup canola oil
3 Tbl. Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried parsley flakes

1. Tie each bread stick into a knot and tuck the ends under.

2. Bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

3. Combine the remaining ingredients and brush the warm knots with the mixture. 

yeah, nothing ever looks like it does on Pinterest. But it still tasted just as good!

Happy Thursday everyone,

hang in there, it's almost the weekend!

xo, k

i feel so pretty, oh so pretty.

Like all afternoons after I'm done with class, I make my way up to my room and pull out my computer. And after several minutes of checking everything that needs to be checked, I find myself wondering what to do next. So out pops the webcam and a photo shoot is born. 

Today's photo shoot was inspired by Elle Fanning's portrait collage. I'm a HUGE fan of the Fanning girls, they are so freaking adorable and I have loved them since they were teeny tiny toddlers (woooo anyone for the alliteration on that one!?). 

Here goes my version....

I'm loving my hair today. There's nothing better than having a good hair day. I forget how much I'm thankful for my long golden locks and how beautiful they make me feel. Thanks mom and dad for the good hair genes. 

and here's one last one with the little kitty

Happy Wednesday ya little beauts!

xo, k

happiness is...

Update: big improvement on my health from yesterday. I actually got up and went to class today. I finally have energy to do something, still hackin' up a lung though. Hopefully tomorrow I'm 100% better. 

So today's post is all about happy things. In one of my English classes back in my freshman or sophomore year of high school we were asked to write a poem that begin with Happiness is... and we were to write single sentences on things that made us smile, laugh, or just plain happy. I was thinking about that poem today and how it's still shoved somewhere in the crevices of my closet and thought I would write another one on the things that I think are happiness today. 

Happiness is...

shuffling to a song on Itunes that you forgot about.

coming home from a hard day and cuddling with your sleepy kitty.

sleeping in and waking up without an alarm.

the smell of firewood.

the weather turning into Spring time. 

a good long laugh with your best friend.

making dinner for someone you love.

 dancing alone in your room.

smiling at a stranger.

being with someone who gives you butterflies.

getting lost in a good television series (Supernatural!). :)

being called beautiful.

Happiness is the simple things in life. 

xo, k

I feel like complete S@#!

And the winter bug got me. :( I was doing so good with not getting sick this winter and staying healthy! Last week I started to get a horrible cough and it just progressed from there. I worked all weekend and it was horrible. I came equipped with my Kleenex box and hand sanitizer, so I at least made it through. 

Now it's Monday morning and I woke up at 5am blowing my nose and hackin' up my lungs. Wonderful start to my day, let's just say. Sadly my man isn't here to take care of me, but I got my other man (Patches) to cuddle up with and watch movies all day. Oh yes, I'm breaking out Planet Earth and Harry Potter today. So other then me wasting away slowly in my bed, I'll at least be able to enjoy my last hours with elephant chases and wizard duels. 

True story.

Have a great Monday everyone,

I'll be back soon.

xo, k 

and the room is complete!

So the upstairs (including my bedroom) to my house has been under construction since last year. My mom has been tearing down walls, ripping up floors, and putting new windows in for the longest time. As of yesterday, the work came to an end and the upstairs is finally complete. The whole upstairs got new wood floors, a fresh coat of paint, and all new windows put in. It is so nice to be in a bedroom that is complete and finally has nice flooring (my bedroom hasn't had a good floor since we moved in almost ten years ago!) 

I've been switching back and forth from my room to our spare room (which is a whole lot smaller than my bedroom). I'm so happy to be back in my bedroom knowing that I won't have to pack all my stuff up again and move it (for a while, at least).

 Here's where I was staying for a weeks at a time, now I warn you, I have a lot of crap and this room is very tiny. It was oh so very crowded. 

I snapped a few photos to show my room under construction. None of the woodwork or flooring as been put in yet. It's so naked!

The floors were put in along with all the woodwork! Great time for a photo shoot with the kitty. :)

And now, for the moment you've all been waiting for! Well, I've been waiting for it...

After a good four hours of carrying all the boxes out of the orange room and into my room and putting everything where it needed it be, I give you my wonderful purple bedroom. EEK!! 

I absolutely love my floors. They're so pretty and definitely perfect for some sock sliding. I don't know if I like my old pink rug there, I kinda just threw it there because we have two of them from my old room. I guess it's fine for the time being, but if I find the perfect rug to replace it's leaving for good. 

Thanks for stopping by,

Happy Friday everyone, have a wonderful weekend. 

xo, k  

Chivalry

"Whatever happened to chivalry? Does it only exist in 80's movies? 

I want John Cusack holding a boombox outside my window.

 I wanna ride off on a lawnmower with Patrick Dempsey. 

I want Jake from Sixteen Candles waiting outside the church for me.

I want Judd Nelson thrusting his fist into the air because he knows he got me. 

Just once I want my life to be like an 80's movie, preferably one with

 a really awesome musical number for no apparent reason." 

-Olive Penderghast (Easy A)

Well said Olive, well said.

DIY Foot Warmers

Me: "My toes have been frozen for the past hour!"

Anne: "I got a bag of rice in my car!"

Me: "?????"

I was sitting at Chris' parents house when he was home for winter break and my feet just wouldn't unthaw. They were so cold and literally felt like they were going to fall off. Chris' sister, Anne yells out that she had a bag of rice in her car and we all looked at her like she was crazy. What good would a bag of rice do for my frozen toes?

Well she got the bag and proceed to throw it in the microwave. When she gave it to me, it was the warmest thing ever and I plopped it right on my toes. Instantly they felt 10x better and within minutes my toes were back to functioning mode. Thank you Anne :)

I told her I absolutely  needed one of these rice bags and she said they were so easy to make. So now, after a month, I'm finally making myself one. I like to procrastinate.

Things you will need:

Fabric, must be flannel! 

Sewing machine or just a needle and thread

lots of rice (not instant)

(I apologize for not picturing the sewing parts, hopefully this isn't confusing)

1. Cut two pieces of fabric into any size that you want your warmers to be. Take the two pieces and line them up so that the pattern size is inside. Sew three sides in a straight stitch, ending with one side fully open. 

2. Flip inside out and fill the pouch with rice until almost full. You don't want the bag to be stuffed completely with rice. 

3. Tricky Part! While keeping the rice in the pouch, sew up the last side and back stitching at the end to close it.  I got bored real quick with these and used some leftover fabric to stitch on some patches for a little decoration. I thought it came out very cute.  

4. Throw in the microwave for about three minutes (if the bag is bigger, longer time). Roll the bag around to get the rice moving and plop onto your feet when they just won't unthaw! 

Now my toesies are happy :)

hot oil hair treatment

My mother likes to run the furnace hot in our house, which I don't complain with because I'm always frozen. But I've been noticing that all the dry air is really taking a toll on my hair. :( My poor locks definitely show the harsh cold weather and dry air and it has gotten super dry and nothing seems to help it. 

I've seen some oil treatment recipes around the internet, but never really wanted to put that stuff in my hair. I researched the benefits of olive oil and canola oil and realized they're actually really beneficial for your hair. I thought I would just suck it up and give it a go, so I put together this concoction and treated my hair to a little spa day. 

ENJOY! 

Things you'll need:

3 tsp. canola oil (any oil really would work, I just happened to have this instead of olive) 

1 tsp. honey 

Saucepan 

Spoon

Comb

Warm towel or shower cap

1. Start with wet hair. Combine the oil and honey in a saucepan and heat the mixture until it begins to boil. 

2. Take away from the heat and allow to cool. Stir until well blended. 

3. Put the mixture into your hair. Comb it through to evenly distribute through your locks. Wrap your hair in towel and keep on for about 15-30 minutes. I liked using a warm towel just to lock some heat in and it was nice to have a warm head for a while. Just throw the towel in the dryer for a few minutes while the mixture is cooling. 

hair monster

4. Rinse and shampoo as normal. 

I blow dried my hair just a little so it wasn't soaking wet then let the rest air dry. I gotta tell ya, my hair feels amazing right now. The aroma of honey is still present in my hair and I'm loving it. It's so soft and smooth, I'm glad I tried this treatment out.

Happy Tuesday everyone!

xo, k

Love is in the air

Happy Valentine's Day everyone, I hope all you love birds out there have a fantastic day. And for those celebrating it alone this year, don't hate, love yourself! 

Enjoy all the chocolates and lovely flowers :)

xo, k

Cold Italian Pasta Salad Recipe

My addiction to Italian pasta salad started about five years ago, my sophomore year of high school. I was in track and during the meets, one of us would always bring a huge bowl of pasta salad and the rest of us would bring our own forks. During the breaks we would all chow down on pasta salad like we've never been fed before. It was always a fight to see who would get the pepperonis first. YUM!

It's one of my favorite past times and still a huge reason why I continue to make Italian pasta salad every now and then. It is so simple and you can throw it together in a matter of 15 minutes. Now I know there are a million different ways to make this stuff, but this is my take on it so I hope you enjoy it! (This is how a track kid eats)

Ingredients needed:

(There's no exact measuring to this recipe, just use the amounts you would like for each piece)

Colored Rotini pasta 

Italian dressing

Pepperonis

Cherry tomatoes 

Shredded Parmesan cheese

Black olive halves 

Mozzarella cheese chunks

1. Boil water and start cooking your pasta. Meanwhile, I start getting all my ingredients ready. I cut the cherry tomatoes in half and pick out the seeds. I also cut the pepperonis in half (and eat a few). I use canned olive halves, so I drain the water and set them aside.

2. When you pasta is cooked to al dente, drain and throw in a bowl. If you want to eat the salad right away throw the pasta in the fridge for a bit to cool it down faster. Or just throw everything together and pop in the fridge for later. Once the noodles have cooled throw all the goodness in and mix up. top with Italian dressing and Parmesan cheese. 

3. Sit down and gobble up!

This is my favorite :)

Happy Monday everyone!

xo, k

went to a fight and a hockey game broke out

I went to go visit that wonderful man of mine this weekend. I was so excited to leave Friday that I could barely even concentrate during class. All I wanted to do was to get in my car and start driving. Being almost three weeks since I saw Chris last, it was so nice to finally spend time with him again. I had butterflies the whole trip there (funny after 9 months that I still have that). 

He's wonderful.

We celebrated an early Valentine's Day this weekend, since we wouldn't be together on the actual day and I must say it was a very lovely one. I put together a meal where I found all the recipes on Pinterest (addiction). It went over great with Chris and I absolutely loved all of it. 

I made Dijon mustard and barbecue chip crusted chicken along with Parmesan knots. I must mention, remember to look twice at the size of the chicken breasts you buy, because the ones I bought were literally the size of my head (I have a very large head). I bought a two pack and had to cut them in half because they were so large. Almost used a whole bag of barbecue chips just to cover all of them!! 

After the chicken and knots were finished, Chris kept thinking of things that he could add which  resulted with mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli. The mashed potatoes came out very bland so we came up with this great idea of just adding the glaze that I made for the knots. It consisted of garlic, parsley, parmesan, and oregano. I gotta tell ya, it made the potatoes a whole lot better!! Overall, I was really impressed by our very simple Valentine's Day Dinner. 

After a short nap and getting over our food comas, we went to a hockey game. I had to include this picture, because I had to show you guys this awesome moment. There was a fundraiser going on for the local hospital that was collecting teddy bears to give to the children. The fans were asked to throw the teddy bear they brought onto the rink after the first goal. During the first period there was a scramble near the opponent's net and everyone thought that we made a goal. So the whole crowd goes crazy and starts throwing their bears onto the rink.

The whole stadium was engulfed in teddy bears being thrown everywhere. A minute later the announcer states that there was no goal and yet the crowd still continues to throw the bears. The teddy toss probably went on for a good five minutes straight before it started to calm down. The rink was covered in bears!! It took them almost 20 minutes to clear the whole thing out. They announced at the end of the game that they raised over 8000 bears!! 

Also, during the 3rd period, within four minutes four fights broke out between the teams. This is why I love hockey. Along with that we also won the game, so it was a pretty great night.  :)

The game ended around 10pm and when we got back Chris put together his wonderful Cheesecake Pie (as he calls it). I was a little skeptical about this Cheesecake Pie at first, but it was amazingly delicious! It takes like four ingredients and about five minutes to make. I was very proud of my baker man :) 

It was sad leaving him today but I know i'll see him again soon. This weekend was amazing and I'm so thankful for having a guy like him in my life. 

Hope your weekend was just as wonderful! 

Goodnight everyone, 

xo, k 

(p.s, I'll be posting the recipes to these soon if you would like to know! stay tuned!)

beauty.

Today in my Women Studies 101 class, we were discussing magazine ads and how they reflect women. We began to focus more on the makeup ads, with the models and their perfectly photo shopped faces. And it was just that, photo shopped. Many of these models don't naturally have that perfect skin that never has one blemish or any sign of aging what-so-ever. It's merely the magic of the photo. 

The class then began to discuss the reasons why women get all dolled up everyday, spending hours at a time putting on foundation and eye shadow and mascara. We had a few girls say how makeup is only there to hide your true self. Almost instantly a debate began with the argument that makeup can make the woman feel more confident about themselves and more outgoing. They aren't actually hiding anything, they're just emphasizing what their mother gave them. 

I totally agreed with that. I feel putting on makeup in the morning has nothing to do with hiding yourself, its highlighting your natural features. Mascara is designed to make your eyelashes darker and longer, making your eyes seem bigger. Blush is designed to give you that natural pink color to your cheeks that isn't there all the time. Makeup is there make the person who puts the products on feel pretty and therefore, more confident in themselves. 

I'm a user of makeup (sounds like I'm harassing my makeup) and there's nothing that I don't enjoy more about my morning then sitting in front of the mirror putting on my makeup and getting ready for the day. It has been a routine of mine everyday since 8th grade, when I began to experiment with different sorts of makeup. Having mascara on my lashes and knowing that those acne scars are covered up makes me 100% more confident in myself. 

one of the the most beautiful natural beauty- Jennifer Aniston 

Embrace your beauty.

Love yourself. 

What do you find beautiful? 

xo, k

i want a hippo.

 I want a hippopotamus.

We will start our journey when he is a baby. I will call him Tiny.

I will give him daily baths, because he is a hippo and hippos like water. 

I will push him to be the best darn hippo there is. 

I will teach him to play soccer. I have mad soccer skills. Like soccer ninja.  

On lazy days, we will sunbathe together in the hot hot sun. 

We will grow old together and maybe even join a hippo colony or just like one on Facebook. Flying an adult hippo on a plane to Africa might be difficult. 

This comic is about Tiny. Don't mess. 

Goodnight to all, 

xo k

The Show Goes On

I don't know what it is, but I have lost all inspiration and motivation to write these last few weeks. It might just be the fact that school has pretty much clogged my brain like a backed up toilet (that was gross). I feel like my blog isn't going anywhere at the moment and I really have no true reason to have it. I've only had this little corner of the internet for a few months and don't get me wrong, I absolutely love everything about it, but I'm starting to think I don't know why the hell I'm here? 

I'm definitely not a fashion blog, because I have a sense of fashion that consists of mainly skinny jeans and t-shirt. Having an "Outfit of the Day" post everyday with the same outfit really wouldn't be that interesting. And my relationship with makeup is like a 5 year old who found her mother's makeup stash (not good). I gawk over some the blogs I follow with the girls who have the prettiest sense of style and can do their hair in ways that make my jaw drop. I wish I could do that and show you guys, but I can't. I need to realize that that's okay, I have so many other talents and I just need to harness and improve at. 

Like baking. Baking has always been a favorite past time of mine. There's sometimes I get home late from work and have this great recipe idea that I absolutely need to do. So i'll start the oven up and whip up a fabulous batch of cookies. I love that feeling when I make a successful recipe. I need to focus on that and really get into it. Baking is a passion of mine and I want to share that with you guys. 

So not that there was any point of this post other than me complaining and then fixing my own problem. Anyone ever have that? But it might be a little slow around here for a while, as I seem to have lost my mojo. I'll give a few weeks and it should reappear soon. The show always goes on. :)

happy friday everyone

have a fabulous weekend,
here's a kitten to kick it off!

xo, k