Winston

This weekend I had to say goodbye to a faithful friend. Long before our dog Jack, there was our sweet Westie, Winston. We got him when I was 7 years old and he lived a long and happy 18 years with us. He was a gem of a dog, perfect in every way. I cannot fathom what life would have been like growing up without his companionship. We all loved him dearly and it was harder than I could have possibly imagined to say goodbye when he passed away this weekend. Thankfully he was able to leave us peacefully in his bed at home next to my wonderful parents who have done so much to love and care for him as he aged over the past couple of years. 

Love you precious Winston! We miss you!

Today in B&W

Some silly snapshots from our day today. In B&W.

(Happy President's Day)

Pinned it. Tried it. Loved it.

Hello! So, as I'm sure is true with many of you, Pinterest is one of my go-to awkward moment fillers. You know, those few minutes between a class, or in a waiting room, or maybe right before bed. I don't necessarily devote time to it, it just fills those times where I don't really know what else to do. I love, love, love using it to pin recipes that I want to try. Most of the time I just look at my recipe board for inspiration when I don't know what to make for dinner and throw together something "inspired" by one of the images on the board, but other times I'll actually set out to legitimately follow one of the recipes.

Every so often I hit the jackpot and find something wonderful and so I'm going to start regularly sharing the best of the bests with you! Because, honestly it helps to have someone confirm that something among the thousands of pins actually tastes good.

>>>You can find me on Pinterest here.

P.S. We try to eat only organic, whole foods when we are at home. So, although I don't always pin such recipes, I usually substitute any ingredients accordingly.

1. Jamie Oliver's Scrumptious Spanish Chickpea and Chorizo Soup. This soup was a bit of a process and usually I don't choose things with so many steps, but believe me, it was worth it (plus it lasted for several days and was even better each day!). Also unusual for me, I pretty much followed the recipe exactly and even went out and bought the ingredients specifically for it. It was so flavorful and definitely lives up to the "scrumptious" in it's name.

2. Grilled Zucchini Roll-Ups. We made these for little Superbowl Sunday appetizers, minus the lemon (only because I didn't have any!). You really can't go wrong with goat cheese in my book. They were a hit!

3. Baked Sweet Potatoes Stuffed with Olives, Feta and Sundried Tomatoes. I did without the sundried tomatoes, again because I didn't have any, but I'm sure they would have made an excellent addition. They were perfect combination of salty and sweet!

4. Roasted Zucchini, Black Bean and Goat Cheese Enchiladas. Again, the goat cheese. Perfection.

5. Baked White Cheddar Mac n Cheese w/ Kale & Bacon. I've already mentioned this on the blog before, but it deserved another mention. Only because we have already made it more times than I can count. We usually avoid cow's milk (we use almond milk instead!). But no...for this recipe we're alllll about the whole milk ;)

Throwback Thursday. Valentine's Day Edition.

It's Valentine's Day. You know, that one day a year that you're supposed to show the person you love that you love them. In case you forget to on other days, this day will make up for it, right? Okay, so it's a little silly. It's ridiculously commercial. But I still like it.

I did a little digging and found some photos (above) from our first Valentine's day after we got married. [ETA: I just noticed I also used one of these pictures in last year's Valentine post.  I had completely forgotten! I guess next year I will have to get more creative...] This was one of the only Valentine's Days that we've ever gone out to a semi-fancy dinner. At the time we were living in my parent's gigantic house in Oregon while it was for sale (my parents had moved up to Washington). My grandparents and sister also lived there so we decided it would be nice to get out of the house for the evening and so we did! 

It's funny looking at these photos now. My hair was short. My dress was short. I'm pretty sure I had a pink streak in my hair. Lance had a scraggly beard(??). It's crazy to think about who we were then versus who we are now. So completely and utterly different, yet still so very the same. I can't even explain it, but it's a good thing. I promise.

And now the lovey-dovey-valentiney part. I can't even put into words how blessed I am to have this man as my husband. I am so grateful for his patience, devotion, and easy-going nature. I don't think I could imagine a more perfect match.

So, Lance, I love you dearly! Thanks for being my Valentine for the 9th(!!!!) year in a row. Here's to 99 more! xoxo, Ky

Lately. Mostly nothing. Just Lately.

A few photos that were hanging out on my phone from the last couple of weeks...

//We date sometimes because we're in love.//

//I accidentally went on a shopping spree when I had to vacate my apartment for fire alarm testing. Along those lines, is there a magical age when you are no longer allowed to shop at Forever 21? I hope not.//

//Coffee is even more delicious when made in my mom's new kitchen.//

//He's comfortable.//

//This past weekend we reorganized my mom's pantry and I'm in love with it. Anything well-organized is my weakness. Blog post coming soon!//

//Pretty skies and an awkward selfie. The usual.//

//In case you didn't realize, Valentine's day is upon us, so we made a garland and decorated my mom's mantel.//

//Boots with the fur, sweatpants, the bachelor and a glass of wine are an alright way to end a long day.//

//Why yes, my desktop is always that cluttered, thanks for asking.//

//Fun with play-dough at church.//

//It rains here. A lot.//

//A major reason for my busy days and lack of blog posts lately is that I have been working on redesigning and reorganizing The Inspired Room blog. It's *mostly* done with only a few things that aren't quite right that we are waiting for someone to work out. Hopefully it's way easier to navigate now! Check it out here.//