One to Nothin'

That Time Nate Ruess Followed Me on Twitter

February 8, 2013 by mackensieg@gmail.com 3 Comments

Sigh.

They are both wonderful. So very wonderful.

Also, let’s talk about this for a second:

I totally flipped my shit for the .2 seconds it took me to realize this was not, in fact, the real-life Nate Ruess (lead singer of Fun.) And yes, it took me a whole .2 seconds to realize this, because apparently a very small part of my brain thinks that Nate Ruess following me on Twitter is actually a possibility. Really, though, for those .2 seconds my life was complete. My face got ridiculously hot and I thought I might cry/vom/pee my pants at the same time. Good to know that whenever a crazy life-changing event does happen, that will be my reaction. I just hope someone has a camera so I can blog about it.

GAWD, I love that man.

Have you heard this one yet?

Go listen and be obsessed with me

That is all.

Happy Things

February 7, 2013 by mackensieg@gmail.com 5 Comments

After reading this post, I started thinking about all the things that make me happy and decided I should think about these things more often. So I’ve made a list of happy things for this week.

This picture because it reminds me of the best spring break ever.

This post. Pretty much everything about it, but especially the “Happy Day Spa.” Adorable. I cannot wait to have a daughter one day (except that I can).

At work I was craving doughnuts (mostly because I was bored). So later on in the night when I started craving sushi too, I asked the sushi chef to make me a doughnut sushi roll as a joke. Later on he handed me a to-go box full of rice and imitation crab balls with spicy mayo and eel sauce drizzled all over them, much like chocolate-drizzled doughnut holes.

New Girl. I am absolutely giddy about that show. Even the theme song puts me in a good mood and makes me dance. Every. Time. AND THE FACT THAT TRUE AMERICAN HAS REAL RULES. I know what game I’m playing this weekend!

Tegan and Sara’s new album, Closer. It’s just so catchy and awesome.

I saw a snake in the backyard and it was too large for comfort, so I ran inside and told my nephews, naturally. My 8-year-old nephew, wearing PJ pants and an inside-out-and-backwards camo shirt jumped up, grabbed a staff and ran outside to catch it. His reaction made me happy, even though I told him he wasn’t actually allowed to touch the snake.

My juicer pulp bread. I had no idea how a paleo bread full of carrot, spinach, ginger and apple pulp would taste and it blew my expectations out of the water. Victory!

This Pinterest board by my bloggy BFF, Sarah.

Finding out that Fall Out Boy is back in action AND that Kristen Wiig will be in Anchorman II (and Twitter in general for informing me of these things).

Getting my paycheck and being surprised that it’s bigger than I thought it would be!

And this song.

That’s all I’ve got for now, but I think making these lists more often will be beneficial.
What’s making you happy this week?

Songs to Slow Dance To

February 6, 2013 by mackensieg@gmail.com 2 Comments

I really don’t have a whole lot to contribute to this whole Valentine’s day month this year. It’s kind of a weird sensation not scrambling to put together something totally-sweet-and-homemade-yet-not-too-girly for that special someone you’ve been doting on for the past few years. It’s also kind of nice. But regardless of my relationship status, I will always be a sucker for love songs. I can’t help it. If I were a singer, I’d probably write songs like my girl T. Swift — going through every stage (butterflies, secure in a relationship, devastated breakup and um, we are never getting back together, like ever) all in one album. So without further ado, here’s my playlist of romantical songs for your love month listening pleasure. I’ll be dancing to them by myself and loving it.

Breakfast Stuffed Acorn Squash

February 5, 2013 by mackensieg@gmail.com 2 Comments

(via)(my halves looked nothing like this)

For those of you who are into the Paleo diet and have not yet discovered PaleOMG, I suggest you start browsing immediately. Not only is this chick hilarious and super fit, but she also posts the most delicious and easy to make Paleo meals on the reg. The other day I bought acorn squash because I’d never cooked with it before, so naturally I had no idea what to do with it. That’s when PaleOMG came along and saved the day. And ta da! Breakfast Stuffed Acorn Squash was born.

First thing I noticed is that acorn squash is far more difficult to cut in half than other gourds.. but somehow I made it without cutting off any appendages, and I scooped the guts out, laid both halves face-down on an aluminum foil-wrapped pan and baked it for 25 minutes in a 375-degree oven.

Then I gathered:

Half an onion, chopped

1 T minced garlic

3/4 lb breakfast sausage

1 T olive oil

2 eggs

Salt and Pepper

Sriracha

While the squash was baking, I sautéed the onion, garlic and sausage in olive oil over medium heat until the sausage was fully cooked and the onions were translucent. Then after letting the baked squash cool a bit, I scooped out the insides (trying not to tear the skin.. and failing) and mixed them in with the concoction being sautéed. Then I stuffed the concoction back into the squash skin, made an indention in the middle and cracked an egg on each half before sticking it back into the oven.

After about 10 minutes I decided the eggs were cooked enough for my tastes and added salt, pepper and my signature sriracha dots (because anything more than a dot is far too spicy for me to handle).

It turned out really well and was very filling. I definitely recommended trying this bad boy out. And all of the rest of the recipes on PaleOMG for that matter.

Do you have a favorite paleo recipe site?

Grandma + Jager = Epic

February 4, 2013 by mackensieg@gmail.com 8 Comments

You know how sometimes you find yourself in a certain situation and you step out of your body to observe this defining moment? Suddenly it clicks and you say to yourself, “Self, this is what your life is about. This is it.” This happened to me several times this weekend, but I think the most defining moment was the one where I watched my Grandma take a pull from a Jagermeister bottle at my cousin, Katie’s wedding.

Then it became a ‘thing’ and every single person in my family took a pull from this bottle.

This is not an exaggeration. Hey there, siblings.

Hi there, cousins, aunts, uncles, parents and everyone else that wouldn’t fit in the collage.

Then there was the moment where I was DD in a golf cart. And finally, the bride and groom. Adorable. This was my Saturday night. I guess we could rewind a bit and see the beautiful ceremony part..

Afterward my dad dropped us off downtown, and let’s just say it was an epic night of drunken family debauchery. Totally worth not being able to partake in any libations on Superbowl Sunday due to the subsequent epic hangover (and my nephews calling me out on it all day).

Also, yesterday was Ziggy Stardust’s birthday. She’s a big, bad 3-year-old now. She got lots of bones, treats and left over food in celebration. God, I love that dog.

So wedding, family, Jager, hangover, dog lovin’, Destiny’s Child reunion, sadness for the 49ers and more epic Bey booty dancin’.. that about sums up my weekend.

Congratulations, Katie and Eric. Love you both.

Linking up here.

Braided Upside Down Do Tutorial

January 31, 2013 by mackensieg@gmail.com 11 Comments

I had a few readers say they are all about the hair tutorials, so here goes!

This upside down braid bun is pretty easy and perfect for greasy hair when you don’t have time to wash, dry and style (ain’t nobody got time for that!).

Here’s what you need: bobby pins, a small hair tie, a bigger ponytail hair tie and a big ole can of hairspray.

1. Whip yo hair back and forth.. Or just flip your hair forward and brush through the bottom layer. Then grab a small section at the nape of your neck and split it into three sections.

2. Start braiding the three pieces, grabbing sections of hair from either side and adding them to the outside pieces of the braid (as opposed to the inside, like you would for a french braid). This creates an inside-out braid. Continue this braid to the crown of your head (or lower, depending on where you want your bun to go). Secure with small hair tie.

3. Smooth sides and gather all of your hair into a top ponytail.

4. Twist hair and coil into a bun, securing with bobby pins as you go. For a “top knot” look, avoid putting bobby pins in the front of your bun if possible, allowing it to poof up more. Then spray it down with hairspray.

Warning: This hairstyle is likely to make your head hurt after wearing it for long periods of time. Also, you will look like a lion when you take it out.

If you try this style out, please send me photos/tag me on InstaGram(@mackensieg)/etc. I’d love to see them!

What I Wore

January 30, 2013 by mackensieg@gmail.com 8 Comments

Dress: $12 clearance Papaya outlet / Shoes: Target / Vest: Made from Wal-Mart Miley Cyrus chambre button down / Necklace: INpink

True life:
If it weren’t for Sarah and the Dress Dare, I would have worn PJs until work at 3:30, but because this chick is super awesome, I decided to brave the mud puddles in the backyard and show off my newest dress steal and homemade jean vest. Now if only I had somewhere to go.. 😉

Linking up here.

Happy Hump Day!

My Day Off..

January 29, 2013 by mackensieg@gmail.com 3 Comments

This post pretty much describes me every day, but especially today.

The thing is, I have the day off, so it’s the perfect time to get things done! So what do I do? I sleep in until noon, obviously. Then, I finally get up and I brush my teeth! That’s an accomplishment right there. But then I realize it’s like 75 degrees and sunny out, so I get depressed that I’ve spent so much time in bed.. which causes me to lie down again in depression-clouded defeat. BUT then comes my second wind, so I put on clothes and even throw on some foundation (I know. Crazy, right?) before heading to the grocery store and the bank..

So once I’ve bought vegetables, eggs and Lactaid milk (not a Poptart or family-sized bag of sour cream and onion Lays to be found!) I start to get cocky. I’m all, “I am the CHAMPION of being a mature adult. I think I’ll even get my car washed, work out, read and get my tan on.. all before filling out 500 job applications and taking the dogs to the dog park! Then I’ll make a list of all the things I’m going to do every day, that way I’ll definitely do them.” I come home, put my groceries up, blast some music and get distracted by blogs and Facebook. There goes another hour. But it’s okay, because I’m a grown ass woman, so I put on my bathing suit and read by the pool until the mosquitos force me to go back inside.

Pages read: approximately 5

Tan achieved: Casper status

Then I’m hungry and briefly considered going to get some food and remember the responsible vegetable purchases from earlier.. but instead of cooking something fabulous and blogging about it, I hit up Pinterest. OH, hawt lookin’ booties! That’s what I need. Commence the workout.

Many lunges, squats, leg lifts, scissor kicks later..

When my butt’s a burnin’ and I’m pretty sure it should look like this..

I sit down at my computer to blog about it and end up watching things like this and this.

Listening to this and looking at things like this and this

Current time: 4:23pm.

Food cooked: none

Job applications filled out: zero

Unread e-mails: 366

Car: still disgusting

Hey, at least I made it the the bank and grocery store. And my butt better be sore tomorrow.

Just saying.

A day off in the life of Kensie.

Happy Tuesday, friends.

Music Monday

January 28, 2013 by mackensieg@gmail.com 1 Comment

My weekend consisted of bowling alley chardonnay, a terrible hangover, great music, a much-needed date with my best friend, UFC fights, “The Office,” terrible tips and lots of Japanese food.