Katie, Lately

i'm not sure i've ever done a post like this that didn't include a photo of coop.


when i pout about being sick, so does cooper.


have i told you about these candles yet? probably. each and every one of them is absolutely amazing. bath and body works. but i'm becoming very partial to Autumn. we've also since added Harvest Coffee to this list.


and this! did i tell you about this yet? i went to this website, logged in with my instagram stuff, and selected about 150 photos to print (you choose the size). i've already covered the entire side of my fridge (i ran out of magnets) - i don't know what else i will do with them, but i love them!


i took my sister in law to Afternoon Tea at The Grand America Hotel in SLC for her birthday and it was so incredible. more on this later. i would recommend it to absolutely everybody.


did you know the cutest bakery in all of history exists inside the Grand America? La Bonne Vie. you're welcome.


they had macarons!


now, as soon as I saw that they had macarons, i immediately had to try almost all of them. i took them home, because after tea, i was just sugared out, but devin and i had a macaron taste test the next day. i either loved or hated the flavors. coconut: loved, hazelnut: hated, pistachio: hated (which is weird, because pistachio is my favorite one at gourmandise!), passion fruit: loved, salted caramel: loved, strawberry: loved (the only flavors i didn't get were chocolate and vanilla. conclusion: these were cute, huge, and had a better variety of flavors, but they were the worst macarons i'd ever tasted. i even like my own better than these. oh well. they were still good, just not my favorite.


i accidentally made 3 jars of salsa (oops.) so we ate 1 jar during the holy war, took 1 jar to a family party, and then i brought the last jar to work the next morning and the guys ate it all in less than 5 minutes, including the chip crumbs in the bottom of the bag. so i guess i make good salsa.


i also make a dang good cup of tea. if you ever want a cup of tea, come to my house. and i will prove it to you. except, i just tried this celestial brand sleepytime nutty vanilla tea and had to plug my nose to drink it. it was horrid. worst taste ever. but i think it worked, because i slept like a baby. so if nutty vanilla sounds like it would taste good to you, i've got a bunch of tea bags left!


dinner prep


balsamic crusted chicken caesar salad. chicken made in our cast iron pan. we don't have a grill, so the cast iron pan works as a replacement, and it's so great, but it's such a pain to clean that we hardly ever use it. in fact, this was dinner for tuesday night (i think?) and the pan is still sitting on the stove. dirty. because i don't want to clean it.


when monday and tuesday are the worst, you stop in the middle of the work day, go straight to starbucks, buy a tan hot chocolate (milk hot chocolate + white hot chocolate) and an orange cranberry scone. and then you feel a little bit better. also, i'm now determined to try making these scones. this one was huge, and a bit too indulgent for me. i think i could make one i like better at home. i'll let you know how it goes.