how to series: how to drive a stick/manual

i have been mia... in vegas, for a friends bachelorette party. now that i am back, and have caught up on the hours of sleep i lost, i thought i should catch up on my blog.

i decided to do a how-to series of posts. my take on how-to's. it might be a little backwards, but informative, and hopefully helpful to someone. this is how i navigate through new tasks to learn new skills in my life. this is how i do it.

first, and most daunting of my how-to's... how to drive a stick {or manual if you are reading and are not from the us of a}.

me in our new {old} car, before realizing just how hard learning to drive it would be... this smile didn't last for long

first you will have to buy {or borrow} a manual car. if borrowing, make sure that person isn't too attached to their car... you never know.

brace yourself, and find a very patient person to get in the car with you {preferably someone who knows how to drive a manual, and preferably not your significant other, for the sake of your relationship}.

apologize ahead of time to that very patient person. you will yell, cry, and probably drive them to tears... they deserve an apology.

start your car with your left foot on the clutch, right foot on the brake {don't mix up your brake and gas - it is easy to do if you are used to using one foot to drive, and could cause some serious damage}.

make sure you push the clutch in {with your left foot} whenever you put the car into gear, your car will let you know if you aren't doing this by letting out a loud screeching noise... it isn't pretty.

slowly take your foot off the clutch {left foot} while lightly pressing on the gas {right foot}, if you take your foot off the clutch too quickly or press on the gas too hard, you will stall.

after you get the initial start, stop action down, spare that person who was helping you and practice by yourself {they might even still want to be friends with you}.

try not to cry too much or panic every time you come to a stop light on a slight hill {you will role backwards, and you will most likely not hit the person behind you}.

if all else fails, and you feel like you might hurt someone every time you step into your car, stick your head out the window and give everyone fair warning that you will be rolling back about 5 feet before you go forward {they will thank you later, most likely after giving you an obscene hand gesture}.

you will get it eventually, be patient. it took me a good couple months before i felt completely comfortable driving around. all of the above tips are brought to you by personal experience. i had been driving for about 10 years in an auto before i took the plunge {and i literally did take a plunge, by buying a manual with the husband}. i felt like i was completely re-learning how to drive at 26 years of age. i think it would be a lot easier if you learned how to drive a manual from the get go.

good luck to you {and your driving teacher}, you will both need it!

love, kbn

recipe wednesday: very berry creamy smoothie

how good does this look?! it tasted just as good as it looks. 

with summer right around the corner, there isn't much better than a cool, creamy, berry smoothie, on a hot day. 

anyone can throw a bunch of fruit into a blender and make a smoothie, and it will usually turn out pretty well, you can't really screw it up...

but you can make it better! 

my tricks for a creamy, almost-ice-cream-like, delicious smoothie...

-add a very ripe frozen banana {those brown bananas you would normally throw away now have a good use, the more ripe, the better}

-add a tablespoon of thick greek yogurt {it thickens it up without taking away from the flavor}

-add a tablespoon of nut butter {this is especially good with a banana oatmeal smoothie}

-don't mix too many types of fruit together {sometimes less is better, banana and blueberry is one of my favorites}

-add only a touch of liquid at a time, to keep it thick and creamy {i use vanilla almond milk for a bit of sweetness}

-eat it with a spoon! {it will feel a lot naughtier than it actually is}

ingredients for this berry smoothie:

1 very very ripe frozen banana

handful of frozen blueberries

1 T of plain non-fat greek yogurt

1 T peanut butter

a splash of vanilla almond milk

blend well and enjoy!

here is an example of the perfect day to enjoy this kind of sweet treat...

utah has been beautiful lately, i love spring, it is my favorite season of all! the cool, crisp mornings, and sunny warm afternoons. i also love the flowers blooming and oh-so green grass. it might also be my favorite because my birthday is in spring, and right around the corner. 

gone are the days when a birthday meant a milestone, now i just feel old as each year goes by. but that's okay, because it also means cake and champagne! happy spring to you!

love, kbn

monday diy: lamp shade make-over

the ugly before:

 the better after:

as soon as i moved into my apartment and had one look at the ugly light covers in the bedroom, i knew they needed a quick fix. i shopped around for a drum lamp shade that would work with my fixture. i ended up buying one at home depot for about $15 in a nice beige color that would go with anything. 

i only encountered a couple issues. first was finding a shade that was wide enough to fit the original fixture. i had a bit of trial and error at first with a shade that didn't fit, but did my homework before heading back out to buy another by taking measurements, be sure yours is about 1-2 inches larger than the fixture you are trying to make-over. i also had to make sure i got a shade with a harp and fitter that would enable me to connect it to the ceiling fixture. if you don't know what i am talking about, visit this site for some helpful tips on lamp vocabulary. 

i would still like to get a piece of plastic to glue onto the bottom to act as a filter, so the brass findings aren't showing. i figured since it is an apartment, i might use the drum shade in the future on a standalone lamp, so i didn't want to alter it too much to begin with. 

it is so much nicer not having those ugly light bulbs showing through the top and it brings a bit more character to an otherwise boring apartment light fixture. 

here is the before and after once again. so much better!

has anyone else done some quick-fix light fixture make-overs? it is a great way to amp up your apartment without paint, or permanent changes. 

love, kbn

6 years, 3 continents, 1 happy marriage

our first picture together 

how i met my husband

tommy and i met 6 years ago at the athens twilight cycling race in athens, ga {which was this past weekend}. tommy was racing and i was a student at uga. a friend of mine was working at karma salon. she asked if a group of us wanted to work at the race, and in return we got our hair done for free. i wasn't going to turn down a free hair cut, being a poor college student, so we got all dolled up and headed to the computrainer race. little did i know that i would be meeting my future husband there. 

i was a podium girl at the race {feel free to have a giggle}, and i was assigned to walk up on stage with tommy's teammate. i was jealous of my friend brittany, that got to walk up with the good looking australian guy. during the race, i kept an eye on that good looking guy and he yelled out to us asking where we were headed off to after the race. he says it was by coincidence that he happened to wander right in front of the one bar {out of the 120+}, that we were in. we had a chat and he got my number before heading off to bed to rest up for the race the next day. 

the phone rang early in the evening the next day, before the race, and it was him. i met up with him before the race so he could give me one of the team shirts. i got front row seats, right by the stage to cheer on my new crush while they flew by, lap after lap. it was the first cycling race i had ever seen in person. after the race, we talked over more than a few beers and ending the night with a kiss. 

britt, britt, brooke, meg, kaysh and me at twilight

we spent many hours on the phone getting to know each other from afar, flights between michigan and georgia to visit, car trips with friends to go to his races... since then we have lived in georgia, belgium, australia, seattle, and now salt lake.

i am lucky to call him my husband and looking forward to many more adventures with him for years to come. the night we met is probably one of the most memorable nights for me so far. we hit it off from the beginning and i am lucky to still be with my best friend. 

our wedding: photo credit whittenberg photography

our wedding: photo credit whittenberg photography

happy 6 years husband!

recipe wednesday: soft boiled egg

this is more of a how to than a recipe... but it is one of my favorite meals, that took a while to perfect. 

hard boiled eggs are easy, you just stick the eggs in and boil the water, you don't really have to think about the time {as long as you boil them long enough}.  soft boiled are a little more tricky. i like mine not too runny and not too firm. i also enjoy mine on very crispy toast with a slice of avocado. yum!

how to make the perfect soft boiled egg:

-place your egg in a pot of cool water {be sure it is fully emerged}

-turn stove top on high heat and wait until water starts boiling

-as soon as the water starts to boil, set your timer to 5 minutes

-run your egg under cool water after 5 minutes is up

-don't wait too long to crack your egg

enjoy!

if all else fails, go buy yourself an egg timer. i had one for a while, and it works great. i must have left one in australia, and one in seattle, so i have had to learn how to perfect my soft boiled eggs sans timer.

love, kbn

diy monday: art with paint chips

it is easy to be creative and artistic, even if you don't think you are either of those things. i shared my easter decorations that i found inspiration from on pinterest {which is still hanging up by the way}. after i made the easter art, i had scraps left over from the paint chips and thought i could easily make something out of them. 

they almost got thrown away by husband a few times, so i thought i should get to it before they became trash. i took a piece of white A4 computer paper, double sided tape, and my paint chip scraps. i cut them into triangles and squares of varied sizes and started playing until i came up with some designs i liked. 

wouldn't this be cute in a kids room? or as decor for a kids party? 

i just used a frame i already had that was the same size as the paper. 

i also can imagine using paint chips to make a larger piece of art, or something more sophisticated to use as art in our place. the possibilities are endless for, free, cute art, so get to it!

my husband and i just had our 6 year anniversary of the day we met! i have been reminiscing over old photos, and ill be sharing that story with you soon.

love, kbn

recipe wednesday: cinnamon roll oats

i made this recipe a while back, when i was on an oatmeal kick. i realized that too much of any good thing, isn't so good... so, i cut back on my oatmeal intake. i do still enjoy a nice big bowl of oats though every now and then. 

for those of you who don't like oats, give them another chance. i promise, you can dress them up, and they don't even taste like oats. 

without further ado...

cinnamon roll oats - what you need:

30 g whole rolled {or quick} oats

a dash of cinnamon

1 ripe banana

1/2 cup almond milk 

1 tsp vanilla 

1 T nut butter {i used peanut butter}

blend your banana, cinnamon, almond milk, vanilla, and nut butter in a blender or food processor {i only have a blender, and it works fine}. i use chocolate covered katies voluminous oatmeal trick to have my oats ready to go in the morning. all you have to do is add your oats to a measuring cup, add more water than usual, with a pinch of salt. microwave for about 1.5 minutes and put in fridge until morning. it is easy to do right before bed, and let's you sleep in a little longer in the morning. you can always quickly microwave your oats in the morning to take the chill off. 

pour your healthy cream mixture on to your oats and sprinkle with more cinnamon. enjoy! 

i think these would also be great using rice or quinoa, if oats aren't your cup of tea. i have been eating a lot of rice lately, because it agrees with my stomach more than oats, so it's worth a try. husband also bought a rice cooker recently, so expect lots of delicious rice recipes coming up! 

tommy and i went to the jazz vs. suns games last night. it was so much fun, and the jazz are going to the playoffs!! also, my legs are starting to recover from running 13.1 miles on saturday :)

love, kbn