silly but true resolutions for 2015

happy almost 2015! where oh where did this year go? i haven't even taken in december, yet it is almost over! it sure has been a good one...  today as i was getting ready for the day, i had an instant mood changer over something that truly is not a big deal. the dishes.

do you have those weird things that give you way too much anxiety then they should? for me, it is the dishes. every time i glance over at the sink to find a dish in them, i instantly get crabby. it is really quite silly, they are just dishes. they won't take that long to clean up. they are just sitting there, (we don't have a dish washer) but for some reason it is the end of the world when i see those dang dishes in the sink . my mood goes from chipper to sour. which is not fun for anyone involved ;)

so instead of being stubborn, i have decided i cannot be upset about the dishes, i am going to change and start living out the whole let's not stress out about the little things and do an attitude check. is this something that i really need to get annoyed about? no! life is way too short to get stressed about the dang dishes!

yes, i realize that this may sound like a silly thing. but really...something that i could work on to make me a happier person (and probably chad too! ;) )

another little thing that i want to work on in the new year is giving. i am not talking about the actual giving part, but more the heart behind the giver. i want to be a cheerful giver. i want my giving to be about giving, and not expecting anything in return.

to not keep a mental note, like  "well he did this for me, so i will do this for him" or "she did this rude thing to me once, so i am not going to do this for her". i don't want to have that type of heart that focuses on checks and balances, i want to be a person that naturally loves to give. i want to do more, give more, listen to what the lord has for me this year and not keep a tally of the rights and the wrongs.  when you give, you are suppose to be an joyful giver, and that is exactly what i want to become. i want to share cookies with strangers, and make peoples days. i want to shift the focus of always thinking about me, and start thinking of others more. another silly but true resolution for the new year.

and because everyone needs to have a resolution related to some type of generic thing ( but something that truly does need change but usually ends up not happening), i am going to keep working on improving my health, mainly by reducing sugar. sugar is my "bad ex-boyfriend". i love it way too much and it does not love me back. i think my love of this crazy ex-boyfriend has caused a lot of stomach pain over the years. i keep saying, oh i need to watch my sweet tooth. but it doesn't really happen. i love it too much. but after these last few weeks of major sugar intake, i am feeling so, so sick.  with that, instead of moping around that i don't feel good... that my tum tum hurts or i have a major headache, i am going to make a change! a hard one. no more excessive sugar. no more double helpings of ice cream (shh, yes i do that), being more reasonable with the food that i put into my body. i hear sugar is kind of like a drug, so i am slightly nervous that we are going to have a nasty breakup, but does anyone have any tips of how to reduce sugar intake? really though, sugar is my baby and my love... so this is going to be the hardest resolution of them all...

what are your goals for the new year? enjoy the last two days of 2014!

whats for dinner / 03

mmmmhmmm mmmmhmm mmmmhmmmm

these past few weeks have been filled with lots of good eating. thanksgiving, holiday parties, cooking baking... it's been quite tasty! and makes me want to be eating more ;) and with a greater variety. here are some tasty inspiration 

what do you make this time of year for dinner? 

1// 2// 3// 4// 5

winter in minnesota

three things you must have in minnesota in the winter

1. flannel

2. leather

3. wool

that is all. 

outfit details: shirt// old navy skirt// madewell shoes// frye bag// madewell

three for the weekend+ kinfolk giveaway!

over the weekend...
1. i baked well over 1,000 cookies. my family and i do an annual holiday christmas cookie bake while we blare christmas music, sip on some beverages and bake! i love it. this year we made 5 different varieties and only burned one batch, woohoo! then, the baker within me, came home on sunday and baked another batch of non-christmas cookies (baker's going to bake).
2. chad and i were super lame and instead of doing a usual surprise christmas gift, we went to the mall and bought each other new balance tennis shoes for christmas. granted, these won't be the only gifts we exchange this year but the gift giver inside of me was so hesitant to do this..!!! but we did it. and we got a steal of a deal,
3. i spent a lot of time sleeping. ever since i have returned from mexico, i have been battling a nasty cold. i thought this sickness was over until i started to feel sick late last week... well, over the weekend it progressively got worse. i slept in, which almost never happens, unless i am sick, and still didn't feel the best. so, if i wasn't baking cookies,  i was either sleeping or reading. i decided to start rereading harry potter again so my reading addicting is in full force.

with the holiday season upon us, so is the season for bloggers hosting giveaways! so lucky for you, one honee bee ready will have the opportunity to win a year long subscription to one of my favorite magazines, kinfolk! (i wish i could win).  here are the details. giveaway begins today and will go until sunday december 22nd. be sure to check out the other bloggers who are sponsoring this giveaway! they are quite talented ladies.

Blogger Links:

Holly Marie Designs / Tara Victoria / Honee Bee blog / Clear the Way / Thou Swell / Irene Victoria / Safaris & Sunsets / Fashiony Fab /Kercia Jane 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

holiday wish list

fa la la la la la la la

tis the season for shopping, and making those holiday wish lists.

i am trying to keep it simple this year with not a whole lot on my list and trying to be more practical. for instance, chad and i requested
a chest freezer as a gift from my in laws. also on my list is a few lamps, cutting boards, and dish towels (am i getting
old or what... ) but... with trying to be balanced and practical, it is fun to make a list of things that you are dreaming of...
and that you really don't need but still hope that santa will bring you, ha!

what is on your holiday wish list?

things cooks like

things people do when they love to cook:

- your favorite room in your living space is the kitchen
-after a long day at work, you get excited by knowing you get to make a delicious meal when you get home
-the more stressed you are, the more likely you are to be baking. or cooking.
-you get excited over weird kitchen gadgets
- you read cook books in bed, and leave them all over the house... even though they do belong in one's favorite room, the kitchen
-you think it is fun to try new recipes, and are constantly thinking of ways to "make it better"
-looking at pictures of food is fun

the other day i was talking to someone and they asked me, what do you like to do. i responded casually, read and cook. they quickly asked me what types of things i like to read and some of my favorite authors, i rambled to her my list of things i like to read (MFK fischer, julia child, elizabeth davis, alice waters... ) and they responded.. so you really must like to cook. i sat there and thought, yes, yes i do.  my one hobby of cooking affects several other of my hobbies. so much so that i can't go an hour with out thinking about food. do i have a problem? maybe! but.. i wouldn't have it any other way.

anyway! we had friendsgiving a couple weekends ago and at friendsgiving, i decided after reading this month's edition of bon appetit, that i need to mix up my veggie cooking and try this. chad has declared these carrots as his new favorite, which is saying a lot because carrots are something we eat quite often and in a variety of ways...


harissa and maple carrots

2 garlic cloves, finely grated
1/4 cup olive oil ( i use whole foods)
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon harissa paste
a few dashes of cumin
salt and pepper
2.5 pounds of carrots, scrubbed, peeled and cut

1. preheat oven to 450
2.  whisk garlic, oil, syrup, harissa, and cumin in a small bowl. add salt and pepper. toss in carrots.
3. place in a large roasting pan, season with salt and pepper again and bake for 35-40 minutes.

ENJOY!

my black friday

outfit// leggings c/o pink blush  boots// ebay socks// chad's closet  sweater//pink blush hat// c/o crochet this for me glasses// c/o firmoo

it is now officially the day.. where holiday sweaters and christmas trees are fully welcome! hello christmas season! last year chad and i started a tradition of doing non-traditional black friday shopping. instead of waiting in long lines and dealing with the craziness of the holiday shoppers, we sleep in, drink lots of coffee,  do some online shopping and  my favorite part... go christmas tree shopping.  it is a much less chaotic way to start the holiday season if you ask me... and great news! pink blush (where my sweater and leggings are from) are having a major sale on their clothing items (40%! off + free shipping!) now you don't have to wait in line to get your sister that cute scarf or sweater that she is wanting... you can do it from home! just like what i am doing, christmas shopping while staring at my christmas tree. winning.

pink blush is giveaway several fun prizes on IG today as well.. go to my instagram//heathermariebee to enter and see all the rules!

happy first day of the holiday season!!! 

WINTER NEEDS FEATURING LISA + GIVEAWAY

tis the season for coziness! sweaters and slippers! wool socks!

my dear friend lisa has put together her winter "want, need, read, dream" list... complete with a giveaway for $20 to starbucks. just in time for that crazy black friday shopping that will be happening this weekend. lucky for her she lives in the desert and gets to stay nice and warm all of the time this winter! despite wherever you are... winter is still a time to get cozy, especially this holiday season. 

what are you dreaming of this holiday season? i know i could use some coffee ;)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

friendsgiving! + giveaway

recipe to have an extra fun thanksgiving: add another day of celebrating and do it with friends.

1. find cute pots and pans to host your food in
2. assign everyone random food tasks
3. gather together and ensure that there are lots of beverages to share
4. eat lots of yummy food
5. swap recipes so everyone can replicate their favorite dishes
6. go around and say what one is thankful for
7. laugh a lot. and get excited again because thanksgiving is going to be happening twice for you in one week!

friendsgiving was probably one of the best ideas that friends ever came up with. an extra day of feasting and trying your friends thanksgiving sides, amazing. and inspiring!  one of my lady friends make cornbread stuffing, it was so delicious. i am drooling just thinking about how dang good it was. and how i need to have cornbread stuffing on thursday. again. ;)

it makes me even more excited to have my family thanksgiving on thursday and to  add some of the sides that my friends brought!

anyway... im not sure if this is a natural thing if one is a food lover... but there seems to be a direct correlation with food and wanting pretty dishes. chad has become strict on my desire to want to continuously add to my dish collection, especially because we have a tiny home, but sometimes they just speak to me. luckily if i can stack em nicely, he doesn't seem to mind and just laughs at me and my fun collection.  so... if you happen to be a food lover who is in need of some new serving pieces (that are stackable, cute, and colorful) corning ware is giving one lucky honee bee reader a chance to receive a four piece set just in time for the holidays! giveaway goes until next saturday.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

soup for the soul // carrot fennel soup

i have been a little under the weather this past few weeks. granted, it may be because i have spent a total of 9 nights in my bed in the past month and sleeping quite poorly... oops!

whenever i am not feeling well... or whenever it is cold out i instantly crave soup. with winter being here in full force, i have started my soup game up again (and am looking for any recommendations, links, or pinterest ideas of what types of soups i should make/ your favorites!)

chad is not really a fan of the soups. but as usual, i am keep feeding him these delicious soups. it's not that he doesn't like my soups, just not the biggest soup fan. i don't know how you can not be a soup fan. especially when there is snow on the ground! silly boys. i suppose they like things that are more meaty.

anyway, i always talk about the important of eating seasonally, and this recipe takes all of the delicious foods of the season - root vegetables, carrots, fennel, and blends them together to make a perfect, hearty winter meal.  roast all of these things together... and you instantly warm up, inside and out! don't be nervous if you have never cooked with fennel. it is kind of an odd ingredient that smells like black licorice but taste amazing. growing up in my traditional, five same rotating midwest meals every week, we never had fennel. i couldn't have even told you what it looked like until reading bon appetit a few years back, when i saw a fennel lemon salad. i read the recipe, and after a little hesitancy i decided to go to the grocery store and test it out.  the results were positive ;) now i am always trying to sneak it into things, especially in this winter season where immune systems are weak and are needing an extra boost!

carrot fennel soup

4 tablespoons of butter
1 onion finely chopped
3 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
1 fennel bulb sliced thinly
2 potatoes, diced
2 bay leaves
3 sprigs of thyme
salt and pepper
4 cups of broth (i used chicken broth)
dash of half and half

1. heat butter in a large heavy pot ( i used my cast iron pot) over medium. add onion, carrots, fennel, potato, thyme and bay leaf. season liberally with hot and pepper.
2. reduce heat and cook on medium-low for 45 minutes or so until vegetables become soft.
3. add broth and bring to a boil
4. reduce heat and simmer for another 10 or so minutes.
5. let the soup cool and then work in batches to puree in a blender until smooth. this was the point where i added half and half to give it a more rich flavor.
6. top with nuts, sour cream, creme fresh or whatever topping you would enjoy!
recipe adapted from bon appetit

enjoy! 

things that make me say yay/ 06

well, i have returned back from the beautiful, warm country of mexico, back to the frozen tundra where snow and chilly temperatures instantly greeted me. surprise! when i left for mexico, the temps were still fairly warm (30s-40s). little did i know that it would full on transform to winter while i was away. in a way it is nice to be greeted with a new season, because as the weather has changed, so has the next season of my life, being an official graduate! i have several of fun snippets to share from my past two trips (life in the range road trip and puebla mexico) but to keep it nice and simple today, here is what makes me say yay.

cups of hot cocoa on 10 degree days
warm wool sweaters
paired with a nice scarf
wearing my favorite pair of frye boots everyday for a week
hot lemon water
tissues when you have an awful stuffy nose
my cute little sister's blog
planning meals for thanksgiving
pomegranates! now that they are back in season.
wool hats. especially when you have a bad hair day or two

what makes you say yay?

outfit details: hat// target shoes// born from nordstrom shirt// madewell pants// american eagle purse// fossil

Wordless Wednesday- Puebla

Hola amgios!

Hola amigos!

Last Friday I packed up my bags and headed south to Puebla Mexico with an organization (that I did my internship with) called smile network international. We are  in Puebla conducting surgeries for children with cleft lips and pallets. So far we have just completed the screenings but It already has been incredible and today will mark the first day of surgeries. I am extremely excited to see how these little lives will be changed . Be praying and thinking of us as we will be doing surgeries all week.

Hasto luego!

oh breakfast!

everyone talks about how important it is to start the day off well by eating breakfast, but realistically speaking, how often do you do it? ever since chad and i have been married i have really upped the breakfast routine. i no longer just take my food on the go (aka just eat granola bars every single morning) but spend some time eating a healthy breakfast. granted... my newly founded habit has not affected chad's decision on eating breakfast in the morning, but i still feel pretty proud of myself that i am making an effort to eat breakfast everyday. i have really started a good routine, one that i don't feel like i am running around with my head spinning. i take that time to relax and read in the morning before rushing to work.

my little sweet tooth starts craving some sweets pretty early on. its like 6:00 am and i am thinking, should i or should i not have the cookie for breakfast,  should i eat nutella toast? ha! i really do try and start the day on a more healthy note, so i have came up with a solution. tasty, healthy, easy pancakes that have a little sweet. best of both worlds.

healthy banana oat pancakes

2 eggs
1 banana
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
handful of oats

1. put all ingredients into a blender and pulse for 10 or so seconds. do not over mix.
2. pre-grease a skillet (i use coconut oil sometimes from trader joes!) add pancakes and cook for 2-3 minutes per side. in this stage feel free to add blueberries, or chocolate chips for an extra treat!
3. serve with honey, syrup, powdered sugar or even eat plain!

next time when you are in doubt... healthy pancake it out ;)
enjoy!

a preview of life in the range // colorado

how does one do a re-cap on an amazing trip? 24 hours of being home- i have unpacked, did laundry, ran to the store, (a lot of big tasks in a small amount of time, i am ready for a nap!) and looked at my photos from the past 12 days 121,234 times. life in the range has come to an end and we couldn't be more bummed. if you haven't been following along on instagram, we have been gleefully over sharing all of our adventures because what else does one do when you are in the car and are doing lots of exploring? it was a dream! one that we never wanted to end! we would wake up each morning, look at each other and say "what should we do today? where should we go?"

granted, not all of life in the range was glam. we had extremely limited access to bathing (but why does that matter anyway ;) ), some days were cold, and food was ehh, okay. but... these things were very minor to us, all we cared about was all of the items packed up in that truck bed and the adventure we were seeking.

 after this trip we decided that the kirseboms are going to be working hard to continue to travel as much as two people can. we are dreaming of a way to make work portable (is that even a thing). we don't need stuff. we just need travel!

the first stop on our roadie adventure was colorado where my sister lives. and where we are hoping to go? maybe?! we love the mountains. how can one not? we go to denver quite frequently with my sister aka best friend living there, so we didn't really spend a lot of time there.. knowing that we always go to colorado. but what happens each time i go to colorado, is i find all sorts of new things that i want to do there, and keep on adding it to the list. now, the list is quite long and i don't know if i will ever get to it all, unless we move there... which my sister is working at persuading us, i think it may be working.

  i got to experience rocky mountain national park for the first time and fell in love! and instead of checking that off my list, i just re-added it to the list (you see how this goes...) you get me every time colorado. 

a more detailed post with more photos and a video will be posted at a later date just needed to get a bit of our adventure on this little space, because i think i could write about it for days. though i won't :)

#LifeInTheRange  (for life, if that is at all possible) more photos and videos to come...