Slice of Life #1

Welcome to a new feature on The Live-In Kitchen. Every now and then I want to share with you a little deeper into what’s been going on in my life. Think of it as The Monday Menu meets The Sunday Brunch Buffet meets here’s a picture of my kid in the ball pit currently sitting in our living room.

As a busy mom trying hard to get my house in order and stay fit in the new year, these posts won’t have a regular schedule, just whenever the mood strikes me and there’s plenty to share. Here’s what’s been happening in the last week or so:

I bought this cubby organizer. It has changed my life (maybe just my living room).

I also received this chalk board for Christmas and set it up in the living room. I’ve been using chalk pens (praise the Lord, I hate actual chalk) to create visually pleasing arrangements of scripture verses. It is a relaxing creative outlet for me as well as a very effective way to imprint scripture on my heart. The “artsiness” of it really helps the picture stick in my mind, ready to grab whenever I need it. One slight problem – I can’t seem to fully erase the chalk pens (I’m using a wet rag). Any tips?

This kid is teething. This is the opposite of what he looks like most days.

I made the worst fish sticks ever the other night. EVER. I don’t even want to point to the recipe of the blogger I used because I totally respect her and I don’t want everyone to think all her recipes are garbage. I actually totally blame myself for the failure. Why do I keep thinking its a good idea for me to dredge things?! It never works out.

Here are a few of my own recipes I’ve been eating lately:

Cheesy Spinach Baked Egg Sandwich
Vegetarian Chili
Moist and Fluffy Cornbread
Blueberry Pomegranate Breakfast Parfait
Black Bean Patties
Mediterranean Macaroni and Cheese

And here are a few things I’ve tried from around the web:

Caramelized Butternut Crispy Kale and Fontina Pizza
Epic Crispy Quinoa Burgers Topped with Sweet Potato Fries, Beer Caramelized Onions and Gruyere
Spinach and Artichoke Pizza
Roasted Spaghetti Squash

My husband and I actually went to dinner and a movie last weekend. This never happens. We saw Anchorman 2 (meh) and ate at Hackberry’s. We both ordered the Trempelau Hotel Walnut Burger. I just found out there are some places across the country where you can get this burger. It’s pretty local to us (and therefore easy to come by). If you ever get the chance to try it, go for it! It’s an amazing vegetarian option.

Can we talk about tv for a minute? I have only a handful of regular shows I like and rarely stray from them into the “normal” world of television. Downton Abbey started up again this week which was exciting. I get kind of bored watching it but still can’t stop. I can’t even explain it. Girls comes back this Sunday which I couldn’t be happier about. I think we even get 2 episodes in a row! If you haven’t seen Girls before… you won’t like it. You’ll turn it off and then think about it a little bit and realize how deep and funny it is… or not. I hated the first episode I saw and now I love it, so seriously, let’s not even try to explain my brain. Oh, and Parenthood? Is there anyone in the world who can get through an episode without crying? My husband won’t even watch it any more because he thinks it’s too emotionally draining. And it totally is, this Julia and Joel stuff is seriously killing me. Ugh.

What’s happening in your life? Most importantly, what have you been eating and watching on tv?!