My week in squares

Babysitting cute triplets

A sweet Snapchat from my BFF pourin' one out for me on the beach. Champs, of course

My angel baby, Ellie, after a clean shaving

Girl's day with my wonderful mom: mani-pedi, coffee, and shopping at Utica

Breakfast in Brookside before heading home

Comfy on my way back to OKC

Baked maple blueberry oatmeal

Considering the last recipe I posted, you're probably under the impression that I'm not extremely health-conscious.

Well, besides the fact that I ate almost all of those rolls I am a quite healthy eater on a daily basis. Now, I'm not eating kale all day long, but I consider my diet to be quite alright. This morning it's gloomy and chilly outside and a perfect day for this baked oatmeal recipe I found on A Cup of Jo a few days ago. I modified a couple of the ingredients, here's my version!

Baked Maple Blueberry Oatmeal
Yields 6  servings as a main dish, 12 as a side dish.
Ingredients:
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
1/4-1/3 cup 100% pure maple syrup
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. lite salt
2 1/4 cups vanilla unsweetened almond milk
1 large organic egg
3 tbsp. organic coconut oil, melted
2 cups fresh blueberries

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F, spray the inside of a 9-inch round baking dish with organic olive oil cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine the oats, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. In a smaller bowl, whisk together maple syrup, milk and egg.

Spread half of the oat mixture in the baking dish. Top it with half of the pecans and blueberries, then add the rest of the oats on top. Gently pour the milk mixture over the oats and shake the dish a bit so the ingredients settle. Scatter the rest of the berries and pecans on the top and drizzle with melted coconut oil.

Bake for 35-45 minutes until the top is golden and the oats have set. Serve warm with additional maple syrup or butter if desired.

Sidenote: toasting your pecans
Spray a cooking sheet with the same cooking spray mentioned earlier. Spread your pecans evenly on the pan and pop in the oven at 350 for about 5 minutes, until aromatic. Watch and smell carefully as pecans burn easily! Chop into smaller pieces for this recipe.

Thursday Three

First: Jimmy Fallon and Jon Hamm

When I saw this on A Cup of Jo, a blog I follow, I knew I had to share it on mine as well! Jimmy Fallon and Jon Hamm did a segment for The Tonight Show of them photobombing tourists on the Top of the Rock in NYC. This is totally my humor and I laughed out loud. Watch below!

Second: Fresh

My mom's birthday was on the 27th, but she came up last Saturday for her birthday dinner. That day, I made a quick drive up to Dutch Floral & Home in OKC and got some cash and carry blooms to take to dinner. (My arrangement is on the top right) I'm planning on going back this weekend to grab some more for my apartment!
















Third: Weddings

A friend of mine is getting married on Saturday and, while I do NOT have wedding fever, I am excited to go and I've been thinking "wedding" all week. This post by Desiree Hartsock highlights a desert wedding and I'm obsessed.

Spring wish list

Warm weather in OKC has me thinking about my spring wardrobe wish list. Here are a few of my faves!

1. Denim smock dress
2. Leopard trainers
3. Linen wide-legs
4. Dungarees
5. Scarf-hem tank
6. Tomboy shorts
7.Spikes and pyramids
8. Peony lips

Thursday Three

First: Adele Dazeem

Okay, we all know about John Travolta mispronouncing singer Idina Menzel's name as "Adele Dazeem" (if you haven't seen it, click here! It's hilarious. Skip to 1:01 to go straight to the clip) and I'm sure you've also seen the multiple ways you can "Travolt-ify" your name. From now on, you can call me Kenzie Marsheem. Find out yours here!






Second: Reuse

Today, I bought my first reusable cup from Starbucks. It's top rack dishwasher safe, microwaveable (remove the lid first, though!) BPA free and recyclable in some areas. And the best part... it's only a dollar. So basically you have no excuse not to help your earth! Also, I don't know if you've noticed, but reusable coffee cups like these are usually pricey. Stock up on a few of these and you're set.






Third: Laid back vibes

Lately, I've been feeling a beachy vibe not only within myself but in my wardrobe. I recently bought a pair of distressed denim skinnies (yes, just like what we wore in high school minus the flare bottoms) and I love them. Paired with messy, wavy tresses and a loose tee, I feel super relaxed and more like myself! How do you show it when you're feeling laid back?

Oscar trends

I've been saving watching the actual Oscars for a watch party my friends and I are having this week, but I did watch the red carpet and I have to say... everyone looked stunning. I don't feel like anyone did terribly wrong this year... surprisingly, I loved almost everything that I saw. With that being said, however, I don't feel like there were enough risks being taken! Obviously there were a couple plunging necklines, etc. but there were very clear trends and mostly everyone stuck to classic silhouettes. You can never go wrong with classic, but I do have to say I wish I would have seen at least a couple of fashion gone wrong but that's why we like it moments.

But as usual, every woman looked beautiful, every man looked sharp and Jared Leto is still as gorgeous as ever. My favorites? Lupita Nyong'o in Prada, Emma Watson in Vera Wang, Kate Hudson in Altelier Versace, and Jennifer Lawrence in Dior Haute Couture.

Oscar 2014 trends

nude metallic

(my favorite) classic black

white/cream

navy

one pop of color

Obsession

Okay, for those of you who know me at all, you know about my unhealthy (quite literally) obsession with Texas Roadhouse rolls and cinnamon butter.

And on this fateful day... I figured out that I could make them from scratch. At my own house. In my PJ's. I'm also thinking this is serious trouble for my waistline.

I have been really scared of making anything bread related for forever now. Either they turn out really dry, rock hard or just don't rise at all and I don't even try to put them in the oven! However, with the ice storm happening outside today and all the ingredients already in my kitchen, I thought "what the heck." And it actually worked... really really well. Again, trouble.

For the rolls (about 2 dozen):
1 package active dry yeast (about 2 1/4 tsp.)
1/4 c. warm water
1 c. milk, scalded and cooled to lukewarm
1 1/2 tbs. melted butter, slightly cooled
1/4 c. sugar
4 c. flour
1 egg
1 tsp. salt

For the cinnamon butter (about 1/2 cup):
1 stick butter (salted or unsalted) at about room temp.
1/4 c. powdered sugar
1/4 c. honey
1 tsp. ground cinnamon


Rolls: Dissolve yeast in warm water with a teaspoon of sugar by stirring until dissolved. In a medium bowl, add yeast, milk, sugar and 3 c. flour to make a medium batter. Mix thoroughly. Let stand until light and foamy. Add melted butter, eggs and salt. Beat well.

Add your last cup of flour to form a soft dough. Sprinkle a small amount of flour onto counter and let dough rest. Meanwhile, grease a large bowl. Knead dough until smooth, then transfer into large bowl. Turn over a few times to grease the ball of dough. Lightly cover with saran wrap and let rise until double in size. Punch down. Flatten your dough on the lightly floured surface. With a knife, cut dough into portions, let rest, then shape dough into desired forms and place on two greased baking sheets. Let rise until doubled in size (about 45 minutes.)

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes (depending on the size of your rolls, my smaller ones took 10, larger took 15) until golden brown. Immediately baste with butter and enjoy!!!

Butter: With an electric mixer, beat the stick of butter until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar, honey and cinnamon and beat well until combined and has whipped look. Cover and refrigerate for up to five days.