Laura's Sweetheart Pies

I've been doing some experimenting with cooking & baking lately because I've set some new goals for myself.  I am cutting out processed foods, so anything that comes in a box is prohibited in the Bachelorette Pad.
I also cut out red meat (and Starbucks, but that's a different story).  This is actually incredibly easy for me since I was a vegetarian last year and just started eating meat again this past autumn.

So the other day I made my roommates and I some turkey chili and strawberry-raspberry pies.

And no dinner is complete without one of Katelyn's incredible lattes.

The pies turned out better than I could have imagined.  I've been buying an excessive amount of fresh produce lately, but have such a hard time eating it all before it goes bad.  I took all of my strawberries and raspberries out of the fridge and threw them into some pie crust with ricotta and sugar, and VOILA! Pies!

I decided to make them extra feminine and cute by using my heart-shaped cookie cutter.  ;)

 

The recipe is super simple and they turned out to be delicious! They are also great for on the go.
:)

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

xoxo,

Laura Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Wooly Wednesday

Katelyn here! So Alex and I are FINALLY getting our engagement photos done tomorrow (after being engaged for a year and two months already). I thought I would share a little sneak peek with everyone as to what I'll be wearing! Here's a little inspiration board I made to get you thinking!

Hopefully the weather isn't too awful tomorrow, but with this Michigan weather it seems like Mother Nature does not want to be bossed around and she's going to do what she wants to do. As long as it's not slushy and too grey outside I won't mind :)

Here's one last photo of the actual sweater I'll be wearing. It's a 100% wool sweater I picked up while in Galway, Ireland last year. It sure is warm, but really itchy if I don't wear a shirt underneath it. So stay tuned in the next few weeks for the actual photos!

Xoxo, 

K

P.S. Sorry about the lack of posts from me lately! If you ever want to spend endless hours not being able to move from your couch...start watching Lost for the first time, hehe.

Over the Weekend: Detroit

It's safe to say the weekend went by WAY too quickly.

I had an amazing past few days.  On Friday I came home to quickly pack up some things and Katelyn made me a fantastic latte.
Then I quick packed up my bags so that I could take off to Detroit right after work.

After work I took off for Detroit for a fun filled weekend of hockey, beer, and my favorite man on the planet.  Steve and I had big plans to see the Detroit Red Wings take on the Nashville Predators.  The best part?  We are RIVALS.  That's right, he's a Preds fan. :{} !

Okay, no, that's not the best part.  The best part was when we beat them in a TOTAL SHUTOUT of 4 - 0.

Sorry, Nash.  But not really.

We stayed in a hotel right downtown, so it was nice not driving anywhere all weekend. 

On Sunday we grabbed breakfast at The Fly Trap in Ferndale, did some indoor glow miniature golfing, went out for ice cream, and did the dreaded and anticipated long hug&kiss goodbye.
Two weeks until I get to see him again.

Hope you all had a fabulous weekend!

xoxo,

Laura

Wining and Dining at the JW Marriott

It has been quite an eventful week over here in the Relatively Offbeat household!

On Monday I (Katelyn) went to a wine dinner with Alex at six.one.six. The featured wine maker was Mas De Daumas, and they paired SEVEN different wines with four courses and a light dessert to finish. It was so much fun and I love seeing Alex so much in his element. Here are a couple photos of the food and us at the wine dinner!

And the happy couple :) 

Thursday night Laura and I took a short little road trip to our hometown in Muskegon to drop off Syrus for the weekend and she worked on her friend's invites while I pinterested.

This Vine clip shows only a portion of how obnoxious we really are.

 

We are hoping to make up for our lack of posts as soon as possible. 

Until then, have a fabulous week! 

--Katelyn

Love is a Verb

I had a Valentine this year.

Last  year on February 14th, I spent the day at work, picked up some Sushi on my commute back home, picked up a bottle of red, plopped my butt on the floor and enjoyed my fancy dinner for 1 while watching the Red Wings.  But don't get me wrong, I didn't complain.  That's just how you roll when you're single.

Tweet from last year.

But this year was different.

I still worked all day.  But instead of takeout and hockey, Steven had dinner cooked and ready for me when I walked in the door.
(The hockey comes later.. I got us Red Wings vs. Predators tickets for next weekend.)

Red Wings vs. Nashville Predators.

 

Came home to this. :)

Syrus wanted some.

 

 Dinner was delicious.  But now that I know he can cook, he has no idea what he's in for.
;]

I followed up by making him some V-day desserts.  Cupcakes and chocolate covered strawberries!

 

 The evening was absolutely perfect.  It was so nice to have a Valentine this year.  I forgot how nice it can be to share days like this with someone special.
And I don't just mean Steven.  Syrus was just as much my Valentine this year. :)

Hope you all had a great L-O-V-E day!


xoxo,

Laura

Balloons and chocolates and food, oh my!

Happy Valentine's day everyone!

Unfortunately, Alex works the majority of the day....but we already celebrated our Valentine's day! So here's a little re-cap:

I recently read the book The Five Love Languages and I realized that Alex's love languages are Gifts and Acts of Service. So I thought I would combine the two and make him a delicious home-made dinner! He chose chicken pasta primavera...and I have to admit I did a pretty awesome job. Here's some proof.

First I cooked the chicken

While that was cooking, I got the rest of my ingredients together

Added the veggies while my pasta was cooking

Enjoyed a nice glass of wine out of my queen wine glass ;)

AND VOILA! A super-mega-yummy-dinner!

Next up was Alex's turn!

First off...what girl doesn't swoon when they get this text message

That would be the number of days until our wedding :D

Okay so later in the day Alex was suppose to work all night, but instead he texted me and told me to be ready in 45 minutes. He showed up with the BIGGEST balloon I've ever seen, and a box of chocolate kisses.

Alex doing his sorority pose...what a goon.

Seriously 

SO

BIG!

To finish the night off right, we went for dessert at the Melting Pot. We chose the Snicker-doodle option which was chocolate, butterscotch, and then a shot of Bailey's mixed in. It was heavenly!

I also feel like Valentine's day isn't just about your significant other...but for everyone you love. Therefore I stopped by one of my favorite coffee shops in GR (Madcap) and got myself a delicious almond milk cappuccino, and I delivered a scrumptious mocha to Laura at work! 

Thanks Madcap!

That's all for now! Laura and her Valentine are celebrating tonight so look for her update soon!

xoxo, K