Weekend movie: Top o' the Morning (1949)

I just got home from Karissa's wedding in Tulsa after a whirlwind weekend of bridesmaid dresses, hairspray, and cake cutting. It was beautiful and perfect in every way. I'll have pictures on the blog later, but while I am editing them, I decided to kick back and celebrate St. Patrick's Day with an old movie. Because, really, what could be better?

This 1949 B&W movie stars Bing Crosby as an American insurance investigator that travels to Ireland in order to investigate the theft of the Blarney Stone. When he arrives, posing as an artist, various mishaps cause him to fulfill an ancient prophesy regarding the daughter of the local police captain. 

The light storyline has all of my favorite elements--music, romance, mystery, folklore and, of course, Ireland. Can I please go back there and sing folk songs for a living? Please and thank you. 

Even though I figured out the "villain" before the main characters did, how the story comes together still kept me in suspense. And overall, it just increased my wanderlust to travel back to Ireland. This was the perfect way for my exhausted self to celebrate one of my favorite holidays.

This is why I love OKC

Well, it's one of the (MANY) reasons. They definitely know how to treat the employees around here! 

Thanks for the lunch, Downtown OKC! 

Boyfriend cooking school, part 1

One of Daniel's New Year's Resolutions was to learn to cook more. And since home boy doesn't even know how to fry bacon, I figured that even someone with my level of culinary experience could give him a few pointers. I may not be Julia Child, but I love cooking. Food just tastes better when I've cooked it myself, and cooking with someone else just makes it twice as fun for me.

The first recipe we tackled was the salsa chicken casserole created by Budget Bytes. I accidentally messed Daniel up by giving him brown rice to use instead of white rice (did you know it takes WAY longer to cook in the oven?), and the spice measuring process was a little confusing, but the recipe tasting amazing and now Daniel can add one more dish to his recipe repertoire. I highly recommend this recipe, since it is easy and cheap--a winning combo! And it can easily be adapted to paleo by using riced cauliflower and omitting the beans. There are lots of ways you can make this dish your own!

weekend reads

this weekend I am hosting the first of two bachelorette nights/showers for Karissa. i'm super excited, and also a little nervous about hosting my first on-my-own shower. but now that it is wedding time, I am sure the days will fly by! (fun story: I was cooking for the shower last night and I set off my smoke alarm not once, but twice. and in usual Kaylee fashion, I ran about my apartment frantically until I thought to open a door and fan the smoke away from the alarm.)

I can't wait to break out my camera and document the next few weekends, but until then, here's what I am reading on the internet this fine Friday:

• Wartime kisses via A Cup of Jo
• Facebook fatigue: Are you a victim? via Social Media Today (and I would say yes, I am a victim :)
• How I lost more than 150 pounds via Lifehacker
• For a moment of awe at the human spirit via Explore
• Would you spend 10 days in total silence? via No More Dirty Looks (and no, no I would not :)
• H. P. Lovecraft’s Advice to Aspiring Writers, 1920 via Brain Pickings 
• Exploring the (seemingly) ordinary via Darling Magazine

Happy weekend! 

Creamy sweet potato soup

They say that necessity is the mother of invention, right? And when you have bare cupboards (and an almost-empty refrigerator) you have to invent some new recipes. The weather has been so winter-like in OKC, I needed soup last night. And I had just enough pantry staples to pull off something Paleo. And, most shocking of all, it actually turned out to be great. Here's what I came up with.

Creamy sweet potato soup
Serves 2-4 people, depending on portion size

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. coconut oil
1/4 red onion, chopped
3 chicken breast tenderloins (or you can use 2 chicken breasts)
1/2 sweet potato, cubed
1 can diced tomatoes
1 cup canned coconut milk
1 cup chicken stock
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. mustard powder
1/2 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. lemon pepper
1/2 avocado
1/2 lime

Instructions:
1. Melt the coconut oil over a low heat in a medium sized soup pot. Meanwhile, mix all the dry spices together and set aside.
2. Saute the onion until they begin to sweat, and then add about a third of the spices. Mix well.
3. After the onions are translucent, add chicken and cook thoroughly. Once cooked, shred with two forks.
4. Add the sweet potatoes and saute for about a minute. Add the remaining spice mix.
5. Pour in the tomatoes, the the coconut milk and the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Let soup simmer for 15-20 minutes and then ladle into bowls. Squeeze fresh lime juice over each portion and garnish with avocado.

I really liked this recipe. It was easy, filling, and the slight coconut flavor paired with the fresh lime juice was yummy. I also think that a little cheddar cheese would taste fantastic with this!  If you make it, let me know what you think!

Valentine's Day escapades

I was totally overwhelmed with love and chocolate this Valentine's Day. I've always loved this special day--making funny notes to send to friends, baking sweet treats to share with others. And now that I work downtown and park at Main Street Parking Garage downtown, they make every holiday a little more awesome by giving out cookies and having live music. But this year was even more special because I got to celebrate with Daniel (sorry so sappy).

My Valentine's Day prep started the night before when Daniel and I made these to take to our offices the next day. (Yeah, they are totally not Paleo. I knew that I couldn't withstand the temptation so I had a few built-in cheat days.) And then I finally got to use my old school label maker to finish up my gifts.

And I found the cutest valentines to give to my coworkers this year. (http://harrypottervalentines.tumblr.com/) LOVE. I only printed the appropriate ones.

And then I got a few surprises of my own from Daniel and my parents!

CALAMITY JANE, Y'ALL.

Besides the roses, Daniel got me a huge box of K-cups for my Keurig (because I am totally obsessed with it) and I got him a little scrapbook (a work in progress) and a few seasons of Southland on DVD.

Daniel and I went to Blu for their Valentine's Day meal. It's one of Daniel's very favorite restaurants, and we love going to Norman since we both lived there at the same time but didn't know each other yet. It gives both of us a chance to revisit our favorite haunts. Blu was so amazing, but I completely forgot to take pictures while we were there. Here are a few of us from that night.

It was such a happy day! By far one of the best Feb. 14 in my personal history.

weekend happenings

Weekends are such a wonderful invention. (for some reason, all I can hear in my head right now is the dowager countess of Grantham saying "what is a week end?")

Last weekend I got to go home to Idabel for pageant weekend. Yes, I love pageants. Not the toddlers and tiaras kind, but the Miss America kind. And it was just a lovely, relaxing weekend away from the hustle and bustle of OKC. Because sometimes I just need to be in the country where you can hear crickets and see stars. The only way it could have been better is if Daniel had tagged along, but since two separate pageants were involved, I can't blame him for not tagging along.