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Eat all the Pie

11/26/2014

Okay, yes I will probably be doing just that on Thanksgiving--eating all the pie. If you've been around here long enough, you might have caught on to the fact that pie is my favorite dessert. This year I will be making THIS beauty, shown below, from A Beautiful Mess.

It's a spiced bourbon apple pie. I like cooking with alcohol. Particularly bourbon. Yes, I do.

You can follow along with my Thanksgiving food adventures on instagram, along with this pie.

And as for what I'm thankful for this year?...Too many things to put onto a single blog post. But I'll just list some favorites that come to mind.

I'm thankful for...

Growing up and living in this beautiful state of Arkansas.

Having a college education (University of Arkansas alumni!)

My Saturn car (the Kaylin-mobil, as Wade likes to call it)

Not having any desire or need to go out on the crazy chaotic day we call Black Friday.

Nature and all of it's wonders. Like the fact that four leaf clovers exist

Sparkly nail polish

Free online workout videos

Fleece-lined leggings

Netflix

College football.

The warmth of the sun on my face

The smell of the air just before a rainstorm

Wine and fruity cocktails. Especially served in mason jars.

Good friends like these guys.

These people who have put up with me since birth.

This guy that I love more than all the Thanksgiving pies in the world. 4 years strong

And YOU! Yes, you! My readers. My fans. My entourage. Hey, I like the idea of having a blogging entourage. Want to join? Okay, you're in! Just for reading, for commenting, for supporting me by showing up to see this place I've crafted on the internet that is Enticing Healthy Eating.

Thank you.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Linking up with Heather's Friday Favorites today.

What is your favorite pie?

What are some things you're especially thankful for this year?

I Mustache You Some Questions

11/20/2014

25 Comments

I was recently tagged by Elsie over at her lovely blog, Sharing Healthiness to complete a survey. This has been a popular questionairre going around lately in the blogging world so I was thrilled to join in on the fun. Thank you so much, Elsie!

Feel free to play along and answer some of these questions yourself in the comments!

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Four names that people call me (other than my real name):

Nilyak -- My father originally gave me this name as a child. It's my name spelled backwards. Catchy, right?
Kayleno -- Inspired by Jay Leno, a friend of mine started calling me this in junior high.
Honey -- Commonly called this name either by my boyfriend, my mother, or another random nice Southern person.
Kaitlyn (or any other form of the name) -- This usually happens when people don't understand my name is Kaylin, NOT Kaitlyn. I commonly have to introduce myself as "Hi, my name is Kaylin! It's like 'Kaitlyn', but without the 'T'".

Four jobs I have had:

Customer Service Rep. at Rue 21
Tutor in college for student athletes
Breakfast attendant at Doubletree Hotel
Social Media Asst. for a local Artist Retreat Center

*Also currently job searching for my "big girl" career since graduating college last December....Oh the wonderful joys of what seems to be the never endless job-searching*

Four movies I would have watched more than once:

Fast and the Furious (I am a huge fan of the whole series)
Tangled (one of my favorite Disney movies)
Little Miss Sunshine
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (probably my favorite Christmas movie of all time)

Four books I’d recommend:

Yes, Chef: A Memoir by Marcus Sammelsson by Marcus Sammelsson (the famous chef)
Men are Like Wine by Anne Violette (this book was a lifesaver guide for me to better understand wines)
The Selection Series
How to Kill a Mockingbird

Three places I have lived:

Bentonville, AR
Bella Vista, AR
Fayetteville, AR (while in dorms for college)

Proud of my home state!

Also proud to say I made this myself.

Four places I have been:

Riviera Maya, Mexico
Destin, FL
Kansas City, MO
New Orleans, LA

Wade and I on our vacation to New Orleans

Four places I’d rather be right now:

On a beach sipping a strawberry daiquiri
Costa Rica
ANYWHERE WARMER THAN HERE (I'm having a hard time accepting Winter)
Hanging out with Wade

Four things I don’t eat:

Mayonnaise
Cilantro (get that stuff out of my guacamole! *I'm looking at you, Chipotle*)
Cantaloupe
Rice (it's a texture thing)

Four of my favorite foods:

Pies
Dark Chocolate
Sweet Potatoes
Seafood (in particular, salmon and crab)

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This is one of my favorite recipes featured on my blog--dark chocolate avocado truffles

Four TV shows that I watch:

Scandal
How to Get Away with Murder
House, MD (Still one of the best TV shows ever, in my opinion)
Everybody Loves Raymond (I can watch reruns ALL the time)

Four things I am looking forward to this year:

Thanksgiving dinner and Friendsgiving dinners
First trip to Austin, TX with Wade for New Year's!
The Christmas movie marathons on television
Having excuses to bake up massive amounts of candies, cookies, and sweet treats for Christmas festivities

Four things I’m always saying:

"Know what I mean?"
"Definitely" (I definitely use this one WAY too much)
"That's ridiculous!"
"I want to get up and move" (I hate sitting for too long)

Four people I tag to take the survey:

Linking up with Heather's Friday Favorites over at Housewife Glamour

25 Comments

Life Lately: 4 Years

11/18/2014

14 Comments

Just think of Arkansas weather like a woman going through menopause: unexpected behavior, extreme shifts in temperature from one moment to the next, and occasionally bitchy. All filled in now? Okay, good.

Hello ladies and gents! How was your weekend? I have heard and seen many of my friends here in the states have experienced lots of snow lately. On Sunday we were presented with our first snowfall of the season here in Northwest Arkansas. It's a bit early for snow too, which just leads me to believe we are in for a long, cold, and crazy winter.

But if you're at all familiar with Arkansas weather this should come as no surprise. If you're not let me fill you in:

the weatherman's predictions are only right about half the time
no rain or snow can be showing on the radar and we will still end up with accumulation
one day can be a bright and sunny 75 degrees with the following day ending up only with a high of 40 degrees with wind chills that would knock the breathe out of a snowman

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Now that you've had your meteorology lesson for the day I'd like to take a look back at what made this past weekend so marvelous for me.

Due to mine and my boyfriend, Wade's, 4 year dating anniversary falling on this past Thursday the past few days have been filled with many great moments and lots of love *wink*.

Four years...It's actually hard to believe it has been four amazing years with this guy. Here are some of our first pictures together as a couple. Freshman year of college. The picture on the right was taken in my dorm's bathroom. The girl's bathroom. Because we are rule breakers.

Fast forward four years and you have November 13, 2014. After leaving his work, Wade drove the three hours from where he lives to stay with me Thursday evening to Sunday. We are currently in a long distance relationship--read more about that in my article, Soul Searching.
I had a special anniversary cake waiting for him.

A double layered white naked cake. He's a big fan of box cake mixes so I simply used a boxed white cake mix with vanilla frosting. The 4 and hearts are made from a mixture of dark chocolate cocoa powder and stevia sprinkled on top through a stencil I had cut out earlier.

On Friday our adventures began with a trip to Crystal Bridges Museum to see their newest State of the Art Exhibit. This was Wade's first time seeing the exhibit but I had already been through it twice--once was a guided tour with the Arkansas Women Bloggers group for a special blogger's event.

Even though this was my third time seeing the entire exhibit, I still found new pieces and details to marvel at that I hadn't noticed from my previous visits.

Later that evening included a date night dinner at Carraba's. I ordered one of their specials, the Chianti glazed salmon roasted on a cedar plank, while Wade went with the classic lasagna.

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If you follow me on instagram (and I'd love it if you did!), you might have already seen one of the anniversary gifts Wade surprised me with. A blue rose.

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It matches my blue rose tattoo I got when I was 17. When I was deciding what to get for my first tattoo, I was instantly drawn to a blue rose drawing. Not even knowing the symbolism behind a blue rose, I knew I had to have it. Looking up the meaning that goes with a blue rose afterwards, I'm happy with my decision and have always been drawn to them. They symbolize something that seems impossible to achieve, something very rare.

Saturday included a lunch meet up with a couple of friends at PF Changs. I tried their egg drop soup for the first time and was impressed! I'd recommend that soup if you ever happen to stop at Changs.

Later in the evening called for homemade pizzas, a new red wine, and football.

Honestly the most exciting event on Saturday was finally seeing the Arkansas Razorbacks get the recognition they deserve. The Razorbacks have come this close to beating some of the top ranked teams in the nation this entire season. Last night was our time.

They beat LSU 17-0. Get this folks, they broke their 17 SEC team losing streak against the 17th ranked team in the nation AND the final score was 17-0. Coincidence?...I don't believe in coincidences.

The game was truly one of the greatest of the seasons and Wade and I were ecstatic. Our team took back the golden boot we play LSU for every year. The people in the stands swarmed the field after the big win. A great way to end our anniversary weekend as loyal Razorback fans.

4 years of dating celebrated successfully. Here's to many more years to come.

I have a new recipe coming up for you next time. It's a sweet treat I came up with on my own one evening to satisfy my sweet tooth craving for funfetti cake. Or maybe just to satisfy my craving for sprinkles. Who knows? Here's a sneak peek picture to keep you guys interested...