This post is a few weeks overdue, but so worth remembering. A couple weeks ago, Adam and I ventured to Omaha. We went for a variety of reasons; babies, baby showers, grandpa visits, engagements and extra family time.

I am sure that extra family (and friend) time is never a waste and always worth it. Even if it is an 8 hour drive.

Omaha is always so wonderful because it's full. It's full of dinner, friends, family, delicious cocktails and this time -- babies.

Two of my best girls are mamas and almost mamas. Lyndsey had the sweetest little bun, Caroline, in March and this was my weekend to meet the little love. Lyndsey is a natural. She is such a great and relaxed mom, even when Caroline pukes on her favorite aunt --> me. She's a happy, beautiful baby and lunch with her and my girls was just what my heart needed.


After the girls lunch, Adam and I ventured to visit Grandpa. Little did we know that this would be one of our last visits with him, but it was such a good visit. We were so lucky to have the extra time with him.

Dinner with family to follow and lots of cocktails with my Adam and mother and father in law. The next day it was baby shower time! My girl B is the cutest little pregnant mama. The afternoon was spent with coconut chicken salads, too many mimosas with my girlfriends and lots of baby clothes and necessities. I cannot wait to watch B become a mama.

After the shower, I ventured down to the lake for a surprise engagement for my brother-in-law and now almost future sister-in-law. My brother-in-law arranged all the family and her family to be at the lake so when he proposed on the boat, we'd all be on the dock. Needless to say, she did not see it coming. Bring on the next wedding!


Family weekends are the best. They are good for the soul and the heart. I love that I have such amazing friends and family to love and to miss.

Until next time.

2016 is a fresh start. 2016 is a new year.

This year it's about prioritizing the important things and learning to say no to things that aren't a priority. Life is crazy busy. Schedules are busy. There are things going on at all times. It's very easy to feel overwhelmed.

Please don't read this the wrong way. This isn't a brag to "look at how much fun stuff I get to do." It's about learning how to make things a priority and learning to get rid of the excess. I've been throwing this post around in my head for weeks. I've deleted it in it's entirety thinking, "Kristen, stop complaining, you'd rather be busy than bored." But maybe that's the wrong mentality.

Jen Hatmaker wrote one of my favorite books, For the Love, and she talks about this very ideal. Starting the new year, my girlfriend B sent me Jen's quote (see below), it was like she was speaking right to my heart.

I don't think it's about complaining that I'm busy or bored or still, it's about filling my life with the things that are worth it. One of my goals to work towards in 2016  is to be intentional. Intentional with my relationships, my work, this blog, my free time, my busy time and all the other things in my life.

Relationships that I'm giving too, I want to feel that effort reciprocated. Is that selfish? I want the people in my life to feel important. But I'm willing to let the reins go a little on the relationships that don't find me important. We don't have to be best friends with everyone we know. This isn't an angry goal, it's about being an adult and choosing what I do with my time and with my love for that matter.

I want to be intentional about my work and do my best, same goes for this blog. I want to be all in.

Time moves fast and 2016 is already flying.

This post is about constantly learning prioritizing my family, my best friends and things that make me say hell yes and to every else, learning to say no. It's about being intentional.

After one of the redrafts of the post, I was scrolling through twitter when one of my blogging gal-pals, Kait re-tweeted my other blog gal-pal Chelsea and her post about this same Jen Hatmaker quote! (did I lose you there with all the galpals and retweets? I hope not!)

It's like we all have the same thought and goal about 2016. What's important. Chelsea's post is awesome and it's cool to see the different perspective surrounding the same words. Take the time and go check her post out - it's so worth it.

All in, baby. What are you prioritizing in 2016?

Happy November everyone! Can you believe it's already November? October flew by so fast!


Did you know there are only...

• 23 days until Thanksgiving?
• 52 days until Christmas? 
• 58 days until New Years Eve? 
• 103 days until Valentines Day? 
• 188 days until May 9, 2016? Okay, that's my one year wedding anniversary and pretty much just a countdown for me. 

B, Happiest Birthday! I hope you spend your day celebrating, drinking champs, cuddling with Lil, eating cake and opening presents. You deserve to be celebrated today and I'm so glad we were able to celebrate when you were in Denver. Thanks for always being such a loyal and wonderful friend. I can count on you for everything. I love you! Happy Birthday! 

Weekends are just the best. I wish they could they all be 5 days and then work weeks, 2, but since they can't why not just talk about them always!  My favorite thing about weekends is the ability to slow down and move really fast all while doing fun things, usually drinking delicious cocktails and they're always spent with great people. 

When I wasn't working weekends were just another day in the week. Sure, Adam was home but for me life didn't really change. Now that I work all week, counting down the days until Friday night is one of my favorite pastimes. 

I haven't done a weekend recap in a long time, so brace yourself, this is going to be a long weekend recap with tons of fun things and a bunch of weekends!

Today's my 28th Birthday! Hooray! I love birthdays and not just my own. What's better than celebrating someone you love. I just love birthdays! This past weekend Adam surprised me and took me to Breckenridge for the weekend! It was such a nice escape into the cool mountains to relax, drink delicious beverages, eat great food and spend some time together. Oh, how lucky am I that I get to spend the rest of my birthdays with him.

This feels a bit narcissistic, writing a post about me and my thoughts, but hey it's my birthday and my blog so I do what I want! :) This post is dedicated to me and the 28 Things I've learned in the past 28 years.

1. Be Kind.
2. Work harder.
3. Always say thank you. 
4. Don't be afraid to go after your dreams, even if it means failing many, many times. 
5. Marriage is the greatest thing. 
6. You can sleep when you're dead. 
7. Being right isn't always worth it. 
8. Make sure to remember the details.
9. Take pictures.
10. Don't tear your ACL, it sucks. 
11. Travel often.
12. Take care of your body, but spoil yourself too, a little wine never hurt anyone. 
13. Be present. Put your phone away. Turn off the TV. Enjoy the people around you.
14. Everything in moderation.
15. Hand-write notes to people. Call people on the phone. Look people in the eyes. Make people feel important. 
16. Get a planner, use it. Missing important dates is not good. 
17. Be on time. (I'm constantly working on this) Respect other peoples time.
18. Call your mom. 
19. Iron your clothes. 
20. Surround yourself with people who are good for you.
21. Lean on people when you need it, and let them lean on you. 
22. Read your Bible. Study your Bible. 
23. Use spell check. There is nothing worse than a 20-something year old that can't spell. You're = you are. Your = your. Learn it, love it, use it. 
24. Do what you love. 
25. I hold the key to my own happiness. My happiness should not be dependent on anyone else. 
26. Never cut bangs. 
27. Get a dog. 
28. Love always, love deeply and love with your whole heart. 

Happy Sunday everyone! Sundays are the perfect day for inspiration. This might be a little more cynical than your usual Sunday inspiration, but it's good nonetheless.

Here's to starting the week stronger, happier and less cynical. It's the week before Easter! Try not to eat every Reeses' bunny you can find, it will be a challenge for all of us, I promise!

I bet you're wondering why the title of this post is about Saturday when it's only Friday. Well... I figure you're going to need time to head to the grocery store to get all your supplies so you can make Saturday brunch tomorrow! Because, is there anything better than Saturday brunch? When we first moved to Denver it didn't take us long to realize that Denver & brunch go together like pb&j. We've found the best bloody mary bar, spicy chicken and waffles (and homemade pop tarts!) and a buffet the size of a football field. Even though brunches are easy to find here, sometimes it's just too cold to venture outside, so the next best option? Homemade brunch. My friend B sent me this recipe and I kind of modified it based on what I had in my fridge & to make it paleo. Here's the recipe B used and mine is below! I hope you like it!

Ingredients:

• 2 sweet potatoes, cut into cubes
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 eggs, your choice, I do over-easy
• Chicken sausage, bacon, regular sausage, whatever you like, cut small
• 1 avocado, made into guac or sliced! 
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin 
• salt and pepper 

The best of friends are the ones that listen when you vent, pour wine when you have a bad day, let you cry during commercials and send you quotes when you really need some inspiration. I'm so lucky I have one of those friends. Happy Friday people, I hope you have the best day and the best weekend. Let's make it a good one. 

Breath deep. You may not love what you are doing now but you are building a toolset that will lead to amazing things. -Jana Bek 

Attention: These chicken wings are delicious. I got this recipe from B (thanks, B!) and they are so delicious. They're fairly easy to make and were a hit! I highly recommend these for your next tailgate! Here's the original recipe and mine is below! Enjoy! 

Ingredients

1. Simmer the water and sugar in a sauce pan over medium heat until it turns a deep amber, about 10-15 minutes.
2. Mix the soy sauce (or fish sauce), lime juice, chili sauce, and garlic and carefully add it to the pan, then heat until the caramel dissolves.
3. Marinate the chicken wings in the sauce for 30 minutes to overnight.
4. Place the chicken wings on a rack, on a foil lined baking sheet and bake in a preheated 400F oven until golden brown and crispy, about 25-30 minutes.
5. Meanwhile place the marinade in a sauce pan and simmer over medium heat to thicken, about 7-10 minutes.
6. Toss the wings in the caramel sauce and enjoy.

This one is easy for me because I truly have the greatest friends in the world. I've been lucky to live in a lot of different places and because of that, I have friends from lots of different places. People always say quality is better than quantity and I agree, I guess I'm just lucky enough to have both :) I feel so lucky to have this large group of woman in my life. They've been my rocks, they keep me grounded, they're all hilarious, gorgeous, smart, compassionate and wonderful. #blessed.

My friend group gets thrown back to high school/junior high. Yes, I'm 20-something years old and I'm still best friends with my friends from high school, how cool is that?! Two of them are my maids of honor and another one is a bridesmaid (and I was her MOH!). They loved me through my awkward high-school years, which wasn't pretty people, so that is saying a lot. They're the greatest humans.

My mom always told me the friends I made in college would be my best friends for life. Boy was she right. In college, I met some amazing girlfriends who became my roommates, sorority sisters and law school comrades. We grew up together. They're the girls who saw me at my best and worst. I'm so lucky to have them.

Next, guest where...off to law school. And what figures, I found 3 more girls who complete the circle. Law school would have been unbearable without these girls. They were my study group, my wine drinkers, TIVO watchers and friends. If you can get through law school and all the stress and crap it brings, along with multiple bar exams and come out with friends, hold on to them, because I haven't found anything more challenging and friends are a necessity. I'm so grateful for them.

Lastly, I'm lucky to have sisters as friends. When my brother married Camila I instantly gained three incredible ladies to call my family. And when I marry Adam I will have two more sisters to officially add to that group. They're all so strong, smart, independent and amazing. 5 sisters? How'd I get so lucky.

I know this sounds braggy and oh my gosh my friends are great but hey, they are, and I'm thankful for them. They've made me a stronger, better version of who I am. Who are you grateful for?

All of you in blogland are in for such a great treat today and I am so excited about this post! I've been wanting to do a "guest post" for a long time now and I think this is the perfect post to start with. A little bit about Britt before you get to her perfectly timed-blog. Britt and I met in our first year of law school. Turns out we were both Kappas in college, however that is only one of the many things we have in common. She is hilarious, sarcastic, the best listener and did I mention gorgeous? I'm lucky to have her as my best, bridesmaid and now guest blogger. I hate to keep you waiting, so without further ado, Britt's post: 
It is no secret that my general demographic is obsessed with #fall and all related products and experiences. I don’t hate fall by any means. However, I have some serious concerns about this fall obsession and feel that my peers have been overlooking the following issues:

1. Pumpkin Spice Lattes: The #PSL is basically barf in a cup. As someone who lovingly awaits the “Christmas” cup at Starbucks each year, I can appreciate a hot cup of coffee or latte now and again. But everyone knows that the only reason anyone orders a #PSL is to post a pensive picture to Instagram. 
2. Fall candles: Fall candles are such a mixed bag for me. I love how the perfect cinnamon/vanilla candles make my house smell, but 9/10 times, instead, I buy a disgusting sugary candle by accident and then it sits under my sink until I throw it away during Spring Cleaning. 
3. Allergies: Ahhhh allergies. In Nebraska, and never being more than 2 miles away from a cornfield, allergies are abundant. So in addition to me not feeling great without constant Zyrtec, everyone around me is constantly sneezing and not covering their mouth. Cute. 
4. Carving Pumpkins: This is the “best in theory, worst in practice” fall-related activity. Sure, it’s fun going to a pumpkin patch and finding the perfect $10 gourd. But carving it? Yuck. The knives are never sharp enough, actually carving is just not fun, and then you have a huge mess. Also, I never have the proper candle to light it up so I usually end up using a citronella candle leftover from summer which is sad. 
5. Weather/Boots/Scarves Dilemma: Nothing is as great as pulling out your favorite #boots and #scarves post-summer… Except when it is still 80 degrees and almost November. Is it so much to ask to have some clear, crisp, 58 degree days before the temperature plummets and the snow ruins my boots?
6. Halloween Costumes: Don’t even get me started on professional adults dressing up in slutty/stupid costumes. 
7. WINTER: Probably the most overlooked aspect of fall is that it is just a hop, skip, and a jump away from WINTER. The most dreaded months almost everywhere, but especially the Midwest. Goodbye sun and happiness, hello freezing temperatures, bad drivers, and ice.