Sadness is a profound emotion.

It's the beating in your chest that is so loud you can hear it. It's tears that pour out of your eyes when you least expect it. It's the feeling that someone is standing on your heart.

Sadness is profound. Sadness is what happens when someone you love passes.

When the phone rings at 3am, it's rarely a good call. Last Wednesday night, my husband lost his grandfather. That night I saw my very strong husband cry.

I met Orin 8 months after Adam and I started dating. It was Adam's oldest sisters wedding. It was such a beautiful wedding. It was Adam and my first real event together as a couple. We were dancing the night away. I looked over and saw Orin sitting at his table watching the happy couples dance. I went over and little did Adam know he had lost his dance partner for the night. I danced with Orin.

Every family wedding after that, I danced with Orin. It was the highlight.

Orin was a father, husband, grandfather, great-grandfather and dance partner. I feel so lucky to have married into such an amazing family.

This weekend we ventured back to Omaha to celebrate his life, I will always remember him and how much he meant to my husband, my in-laws and me.

He is to be celebrated.

Today is he dancing in Heaven with his lovely wife. Today, while we may be mourning him, we will be celebrating his life, because he lived a life worth celebrating.

This ones dedicated to all those family members that left us too soon. Grandpa Orin, Grandpa Horst, Grandma Grace, Grandma Pat, Grandma Jack. And all the others. 

Sadness is profound, but remembering someone, loving someone is even more profound.

Here's to remembering. 

Happy Memorial day everyone. Let's not forget that today is not just about BBQ's and sunshine. But instead its about all those who fought for us. All those who died for us. Thank you for you. Thank you for fighting. Thank you.


Recently, I've been on a huge cilantro kick. I love it on my chicken, in my enchiladas, in my soup, pork -- you name it, I probably put it on it. Besides smoothies, that's just crazy talk. Remember how I told you it's genetic if you don't like it. So, if you're one of those, I'm sorry. Anyways.

Eating paleo is a tricky thing sometimes. It's super easy to eat grilled chicken everyday or if we're playing by my rules, pizza. I try to make it a point to meal plan on Sundays to avoid the boring meals. Adam and I always do a tally at the end of the week, good meals 4, bad meals 1. As long as I'm over 2, I consider it a win.

This last week, I had 5/5. That is huge and never happens.

Let's talk about pork. Sometimes I think people are afraid of pork. A lot of people think it's easy to just make beef or chicken. Let's get a little adventurous people.

Ingredients: 

• 1 pork tenderloin, cut into 1 inch slices
• 2 tbsp olive oil

For the rub:

• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• ½ tsp cumin
• ½ tsp chipotle chili pepper spice
• ½ tsp coarse sea salt
• 1 cloves garlic, minced

For the sauce:

• 1 cup canned coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tsp liquid smoke
• ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Pork people, It's what's for dinner.

Oh, how I love Fridays.

Fridays are like the lighthouse guiding you into the harbor. It's the perfect Instagram filter or its when you find the perfect lighting. Fridays are the perfect combination of white wine and chinese food takeout. Fridays are the best.

Wanna know what else is the best ---> Friday Favorites on the blog.


The world is currently full of crap. Things like Trump v. Hillary are on every news outlet. There are thousands of tornadoes hitting the midwest. TSA lines are 3 hours long and people are going bankrupt.

Let's make today a good and happy one. Let's share the good things going on in the world. The positive, happy things. Those are the things worth talking about after all.

1. Did you guys see Helene's new project --> Blog Boss Babe. It's incredible. Want to grow your blog, learn how to do cool things and grow all your social media platforms, all while learning from the best bloggers around? This is your site then. 
2. This. Song. 
3. My blogging BFF, Amber made cannoli poke cake. Guys, this is unreal. 
4. Nordstrom is currently in the midst of it's half-yearly sale, which is the best time of the year. Don't tell the hubs, but I did a little shopping (I'll return half anyways...maybe). They just have so much good stuff, I cannot handle it. 

5. Adam and I saw Chris Stapleton a couple weeks back and it was the greatest concert I've ever seen. Sure, it wasn't all glitz and glam, but it was amazing vocals and the best jams. I haven't stopped listening to this one --> 
6. Queso Cheeseburgers with Avocado and Pico de Gallo. What. Is that even a thing? Oh yes, it is. And here is the recipe. You are welcome. 
7. Most of you know about my obsession with Chrissy Teigan. She is queen. And this list of her funniest tweets prove it. You're welcome. #8, #9, #12.
8. This dress because I think it would be really pretty on and I could twirl in it. 
9. This hilarious post on how to beat Bloggers Block from my friend Kelsey. She's hilarious and witty and posts funny Snapchats. You should be friends with her too. 
10. Every song from Grey's Anatomy and Quantico. Did you know there is a website where you can see specific songs for specific episodes. Yeah, that's the truth. 
11. These 44 examples of Pinterest fails. Oh man, so hilarious. I can totally relate. 
12. This Bachelorette recap from my friend Jess over at Little Bits of Joy. She is so hilarious and blogs every week with great updates. You should (1) watch the bachelorette because Jojo (2) join my bachelorette bracket and (3) read Jess' recaps. Print it, fill it out, play along. I dare you to try and beat me :)

Happy Friday my dear friends. I hope you have the best one and I hope this post made you smile.

Let's make it the best one.

It's finally here. JoJo is the Bachelorette and I think it's safe to say she's the hottest bachelorette ever. ABC has been doing a much better job picking their front-runner. Ever since Juan Pablo, they've figured it out. They had a minor mis-step with Chris Soules, the farmer, but ever since then, we're doing good. JoJo rocks, why?

1. She's so beautiful. 
2. She's very honest and no bullshit. 
3. She's excited.
4. She seems to actually be looking for love. 

The part you've all been waiting for -- the Rose Ceremony! Scroll down for the ones who go home!

Don't forget to fill out your bracket and let me know [in the comments] if you'll be playing! Can't wait to have all of you!

Let's talk about phone cases.

I love phone cases. When I was in law school, my friend and I would go on Amazon and buy super cheap ones that had bunny ears, mirrors, you name it, I probably had it on my phone. As I gotten more mature  older, I started realizing that my Iphone case probably shouldn't have bunny ears on it.

Recently I've been sticking to classics. Sparkly gold from J.Crew (is that classic?), black from Amazon, ya know, basic. But when CaseApp reached out and I saw all these gorgeous marble custom iPhone cases, I knew I had to have one. 

Oh hey, this post is sponsored by CaseApp. But one thing you must know, these are my honest thoughts about my custom iPhone case. If you want to read more about sponsored posts, check it out here ---> click here

CaseApp rocks because you can pick a design, create your own design, add your own pictures or quotes. You can design whatever you want; a custom iPhone case, iPod, iPad, custom laptop skin and more. I love mine. I chose the classic white marble. I feel like a real adult now.

I've been using it for a while now and I have gotten over  20 compliments. I'm not exaggerating. Strangers have asked to hold my phone because my case is so cool. The cool part, they're fairly inexpensive and great quality.

I told you I'd be honest...the only downside to this case is that its a bit slippery. The pro of that is it fits easily into my back pocket of my jeans. The downside, it's slippery. Oh well. I'll take slippery and beautiful.

Wanna know what's cool. CaseApp is going to give YOU 20% off. All you have to do is go to their site, create whatever you want and use the code --> EVERYDAYGRACE20

And since it's Friday and everyone needs a little love in their life. Let's do a giveaway. Enter below! Share the post with your friends, family, put it on your blog! 

Happy Friday folks! I hope you win the giveaway! 


a Rafflecopter giveaway

I made the best recipe ever.

I know I say that a lot, but this one really is the best ever. The last month, Denver has been a bit gloomy and cold. For example, in a two day period in April, we had 17 inches of snow. This is not the spring or weather I signed up for,

The last two days, it's been below 50 degrees and raining. I'm complaining, totally. I'm throwing myself a pity party. To get over my pity party, I made a delicious dinner that made it feel like summer.

This recipe has a lot of cilantro in it. Luckily for me, Adam and I love it. But, if you're like my best, Coti - you hate it. Like actually despise it. But, did you know that hating cilantro can be because of your genetics? So, if you hate it, you can blame your genes for that :)

I think this recipe would still be uber delicious even without cilantro. This recipe is perfect for sitting outside with a cold beer enjoying the sunshine.

Ingredients:

Did you know that THIS post is my most viewed post ever.

This one. This picture. Can someone please explain to me how a picture, with no caption or copy is my most viewed post. What about the posts that take me hours. Or the ones I cry over while I'm writing. But nope, you guys love this picture.

It doesn't seem quite possible that one year ago today, Adam and I got married. One year ago, I was excitedly getting ready with my best friends and little did I know at that moment, that our wedding day would be the greatest day I could have dreamed of, blowing the roof off whatever already great expectations I had about that day.

[warning] sappy post ahead followed by even more photos.

That day was incredible. Literally the greatest day of my life. I married my love, celebrated with friends and family and ventured into married life happier than ever.

Little did I know that life would only get better than that day already was. Maybe I'm a sap because I'm still considered a newly wed, but marriage is the greatest thing ever. My wedding planner told me this 100 times during wedding planning, the wedding is one day, but your marriage is for the rest of your life. It was so easy to get caught up in planning the perfect day, that sometimes I missed the idea that we were preparing for the rest of our lives.

PS -- if you're following me on Instagram, I promise this morning will be the last anniversary picture for a while. I can't help it.


If I've learned anything, marriage is the greatest even when life isn't the greatest. Marriage is the happy and the sad and the ups and the down. But it's also those amazing quiet times in between. Marriage is learning how to get through life, together. It's about getting through the crap, together.

Adam has transformed the words love and commitment in way I never knew I needed. It's support when it isn't asked. It's love when its not deserved. It's a smoothie on Sunday morning when you had a little too much wine the night before. Or taking Henry out first thing in the morning so I can get another 3 minutes of sleep.

This post is dedicated to Adam and to us. It's a celebration of this amazing life we've created together and the life we will continue to build together. I won the marriage jackpot with him.

To you, Adam, my love. Thank you for asking me on a date five plus years ago, picking me two years ago, and saying I do, one year ago. I can't wait to see all the great things we continue to do together. I love you more than blog posts can express (which you know is a lot). Here's to year one, and here's to 100 more. 

Thanks for letting me be a sap today, regular scheduled posts will be back tomorrow :)

So you wanna take a trip to San Diego do ya? I just love San Diego. It's one of the most picturesque places ever. The weather is almost always perfect, the sun is shining (except for that June gloom), the boats are always in the harbor and the food and drink is incredible. I used to go every summer as a kid because we had family there.

My most recent trip was a little different from the trips I used to take as a kid. This trip was a bachelorette party for my best, Coti. Her sister planned the most incredible getaway and because of her, I have 10 tips and tricks to having the best time in San Diego.



This is dedicated to Coti. Only 37 days away from I do! I'm so glad I could celebrate with you this past weekend -- I cannot wait for the big day! #mattandcotisayido

I also have a lot of photo evidence of my 10 tips and tricks, so get excited, they're really good.

1. Make sure your best friend is getting married and having her bachelorette party there. This really ensures that the weekend will be full of girlfriends, laughing, delicious cocktails and lots of selfies. 
2. Stay at a great hotel in a great location. We stayed at the Andaz and it was right in the middle of downtown San Diego. We walked to breakfast every morning, uber drives were short and the rooftop bar at the Andaz is awesome. 
3. Eat delicious breakfasts. Our first morning there we went to Coffee and Tea Collective where my BFF bachelorette and I split an avocado toast and an Acai bowl. Wow... Make sure you ask for some extra pink Himalayan salt for your toast. And, the Americanos' are amazing there! 
4. Eat delicious lunches. Are you seeing a theme here, we love to eat We lunched at Tower 23, right on Pacific Beach. There is literally nothing better than a delicious salad, amazing wine and a gorgeous view of the ocean. Oh, and top it off with great girlfriends. Done and done. 
5. Eat delicious dinners. Might I recommend Kettner Exchange and Nobu. Both a little more on the expensive side, but both totally worth it. I've never eaten better. At Kettner, get the tuna pizza and at Nobu get the yellowtail sashimi with jalapenos. Trust me.
6. Go to fabulous clubs and dance the night away. We went to Omnia which was so fun. Granted the girls around me were like 12 and didn't know that Kelly Kapowski actually invented the crop-top instead of Forever 21, but hey, it was so fun. Then against our better judgment and the fact that Uber couldn't "find" us, we got on a rickshaw. Literally one block and $20 later he started cursing at us and calling us names that I refuse to type. Just let the Uber find you. Take my word on this one. 
7. Get cute matching t-shirts. This is a must. 
8. Make sure there are presents. Presents are also always a must. 
9. Find a yacht and go on the yacht. Cruise the harbor. Party on the yacht. Repeat. Oh, and when they let you drive the yacht, you drive the yacht and you honk the horn. 
10. Take thousands of pictures, make a shared album and relive the weekend over and over. Oh, and for sure get on Snapchat. Those stories are some of the best. 

Cinco De Mayo is observed to commemorate the Mexican Army's victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, under the leadership of General Ignacio Zaragoza. This battle was significant in that the 4000 Mexican soldiers were greatly outnumbered by the well-equipped French army of 8000 that had not been defeated for almost 50 years. Second, since the Battle of Puebla, no country in the Americas has subsequently been invaded by any other European military force.

Get it Mexico! I'm celebrating you today! And, I'm celebrating you the best way I know how. I'm making delicious tacos, drinking a margarita and I'm going to listen to great music. Chris Stapleton, we're coming for you tonight. 


If you're looking for another delicious recipe, I've got you covered. Fajitas -- Carne Asada Tacos -- Regular chicken tacos -- Hatch Green Chile Casserole -- Green chile soup -- Chicken tortilla soup -- Steak tacos.

Today I'm sharing Crock Pot Pork Green Chile. (1) Is there anything better than cooking in a crock-pot? Life is so easy when you come home to crock-pot dinner. (2) is there anything than pork green chile? I was so excited for our dinner, I texted Adam in the middle of the day. See the proof below.

This is paleo-omg's recipe, but I added some things. She is a paleo goddess, I LOVE her recipes. You need to go check her out if paleo (or good food) is your thing.


Ingredients:

• 2lb pork roast
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 (4 oz) can diced green chiles
• 2 anaheim chilis, seeds removed and chopped
• 1 poblano pepper, seeds removed and chopped
• 1-2 jalapeño peppers, diced
• 2 cups chicken or beef broth
• 1 (8oz) can of diced tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon white pepper
• ½ teaspoon cumin
• ½ teaspoon sage
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

How to Make:

1. Pull out your crockpot.
2. Place your pork roast in the crockpot and place all the veggies around it.
3. Pour your green chiles and tomatoes over the pork.
4. Toss in all the spices on top.
5. Pour your broth in the crockpot.
6. Turn your crockpot on low and cook for 6-8 hours.
7. Once the time has elapsed, use some tongs to shred your pork and mix all the ingredients together.
8. Enjoy! 
9. PS. These are great with Paleo Almond Flour tortillas -- you can find them at Whole Foods! 

I'm going to be 30 in 400 days. 30. Thirty. 29 years and 365 days.

Sure on paper 400 days looks like a long time. Most of you are probably thinking, shoot, you're not even 29 yet. But in reality it's less than a year and a half away. Less than a year and a half until I'm not longer "in my twenties."

Needless to say I'm not coping well with 30 lurking just around the corner. I like being in my twenties. For one, I can tell people I'm still in my twenties. I can still lose weight easily. I'm not super wrinkly, things aren't drooping yet and I really am enjoying this 28th year of mine.

When I was younger, let's say 23, I had huge plans for 30 years of age. Married (check!), kids (no check), professional blogger (no check), house (check!), 28 dogs (no check, your welcome Henry) and so many other goals.

Sure, I could probably accomplish some of these things before thirty (sorry mom, probably not kids) but it's just a reminder that I haven't hit the goals I had as a young little tyke.
Bring in my twenties was so damn fantastic. I was in college, I was in law school. I drank. I smoked (only in Italy - you have too), I fell in like, fell out of like. Found my big love. I danced on bars. I went to Vegas a lot, I traveled, I wore really bad outfits and some really good ones. I bought the shoes and the purses and the sunglasses. I got married. I bought a house. I moved 4 times. I got fired. I made friends, lost friends and just moved on. I broke bones and hearts. I lost. I won. I had the best effing time.

But ya know what, I have a year and a half left and this is just a reminder to make the damn most of the best decade of life thus far. While my dancing on bars stage is probably over, whomp whomp, that doesn't mean I'm going to stop drinking wine, start doing yoga (just cant) and acting any more my age than before.

I totally plan on being a bad ass 30-year old woman, going to Pure Barre and still wearing fur (faux) and the good heels. I'm going to shop at Whole Foods, buy the pretty flowers in brown wrapping and pretend to be a grown up. Shoot, 30 sounds awesome.

But, while we're at it - let's turn those lemons into a vodka soda and celebrate while we can. And what makes celebrating even better? Creating a list. 

If you know me at all, you know that making lists and crossing things off that list give me as much joy as still being in my 20's does. There's a lot to be done before I hit that next decade - I better get started.


30 before 30 bucket list:

1. Write a book or at least get it in the works.
2. Have a few drunken nights where I wake up in the morning with a hangover and declare, out-loud to Adam that I better enjoy this now because when I'm 30, the hangovers will be worse. 
3. Do a photo-shoot for the blog (any takers?). 
4. Keep pushing this blog to be bigger and better because before I know it I'm going to be writing about getting old products and babies.
5. Buy a really trendy outfit from Forever 21 that I'll probably only wear once since I'm pretty sure when I hit the big 3-0, a store with 21 in the title no longer applies to me. 
6. Get another dog. Sorry Henry. And probably buy the new dog on a whim one Saturday afternoon when Adam and I are bored.
7. Learn how to manage my hangry-ness. Sometimes I just forget to eat and then before you know it I'm lashing out at Adam because he made the bed. At least he loves me when I'm hangry.
8. Go on a fabulous trip with Adam and not worry that we're spending too much money by staying somewhere fabulous. Because once we hit 30, we're going to have to be responsible and save for our future.
9. Buy a new fridge. Don't judge me, it's my list. And just watch out, when I'm 30 I'll be buying things like ovens and buffets for the dining room. 
10. Learn to like cake. This is a weird one I know, but it makes other peoples birthdays really awkward when I pass on cake and you hear the gasps from people who just cant belive you don't like cake.
11. Host a really fabulous dinner party with all of my friends where we pretend like we're adults, but when 11pm hits we start playing card games and get a little too drunk for people in their late-20s and said friends end up crashing in my guest room #adult. 
12. Get back to skiing comfortably and not fall. Or if I fall, don't break anything.
13. Write for the Huffington Post. At least once.
14. Learn how to speak a foreign language. When I was in my twenties, I learned a little Italian which isn't super convenient since no-one speaks Italian in the states. Time to learn Spanish. Me llamo Kristen.
15. Get blog sponsored for one of those adult sponsorship, like tampons or pads or vacuums. "Ever since I got old, I pee when I laugh." That's how I'll know I made it to adult blogging. 
16. Stop watching Disney Channel. Guys, I can't help it, I love Girl Meets World. Old school nostalgia is my thing.
17. Go to Vegas. I feel like I need one last trip of craziness. 
18. Watch all those classic movies I never want to watch but know I should. Like Gladiator. Is that a classic? Regardless, I should watch it, that way I'm well rounded when I turn 30. 
19. Learn to like beets. I feel like adults like beets. They just give me the heebie jeebies. I was in San Diego this weekend and some people ordered a beet salad and all I kept thinking was why would you want a slimy purple veggie instead of this blue cheese wedge? 
20. Figure out how to wake up in the morning without taking at least 45 minutes of being angry. It's legit a daily struggle and one day when there are babies in the picture, 5 minutes of morning angriness will not be allowed, let alone 45. 
21. Go to a concert at Red Rocks. I haven't been to one since John Legend. That is just too long ago. Who wants to go to Eric Church this weekend?
22. Start wearing lipstick, My mom is always telling me I look too pale or washed out. Sorry, but I LOVE chapstick. It's the bomb.com. (I should probably add stop saying bomb.com to my #adult list). 
23. Stop being obsessed with how many likes my Instagram pictures get or how many followers I have. I cant help it. PS follow me here ----> Kgrace01 -- come on you knew that was coming.
24. Get my house totally furnished. I still have two empty bedrooms, a basement and a dining room. I better add win the lottery to this list too. 
25. Keep my plants alive. I'm semi-okay at this, but usually my mom or Adams mom comes to visit and fixes my plants. I need to get better at all of that, especially if I'm going to have kids one day. 
26. Get to 300 Pure Barre classes. I'm chugging along. I have right around 175. So 125 classes in 400 days should be a breeze right? I'll keep you posted on this goal.
27. Wedding weight, wedding weight, wedding weight. 
28. Learn to play golf. Adam is really good at golf, like really, really good. I think it would be so fun to be good at golf. Plus it seems like something an adult should know how to do. That way I can schmooze and golf. 
29. Go sailing. Like actually sailing. Not just me drinking champs on the boat. I want to learn how to sail and actually do it. 
30. Have fun. Hey, my twenties were and are the best years of my life so far. I'm pumped to see how 30 tops them.