Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all of you! Instead of doing a Life Lately post I thought I would post my Year in Review video. This year has been amazing and there have been so many ups and downs and crazy growth in so many aspects of my life. I can't describe my life with any other words than just blessed.  
Again, many thanks to all of you who have stuck around with me here at c/oMKE and for all your support. 

I hope that 2014 brings you much love and happiness.

Please excuse my silence over the last week or so - I am enjoying some much needed down time with family and friends.
To follow me in Instagram, please click my name on the IG banner above.

Cheers!

Lisa
c/oMKE

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Happy Christmas!



Happy Christmas everyone! I hope that where ever you are you are having a blessed time with your families, friends, and loved ones. 
The child is born.

Lisa
c/oMKE

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Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Marshmallows | Three Ways


On Christmas Eve my family and I always go to the evening church service and then cozy up at home with coffees, hot chocolates, and snacks to open up our gifts. 
So here are three delicious marshmallow ideas for for your hot chocolates, hot toddys, and any other cozy drinks for snuggling up by the fire tonight.

Marshmallow making is a bit intimidating so I used A Beautiful Mess's recipe. Although they are equally delicious plain, I dipped some in chocolate and others in chocolate and gingerbread cookie crumbs for a little variation

What kinds of mallows would you make?

Lisa
c/oMKE

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Monday, December 23, 2013

Barbiere's Pizza



I love this city so much. And I wouldn't want to live any where else in the world. It's a small city, yes, but there are so many places that I haven't yet discovered and last weekend Breanne and I found another gem. Ok, we didn't find it per say. It's been here forever. And I've passed it a million times and I've heard some amazing things. After Breanne and I went Christmas shopping we found ourselves at Barbiere's Pizza.  The restaurant is everything that I love about small Italian pizza places with the low lighting and decorations. 
And the pizza! The pizza really didn't disappoint and was probably the best pizza I've had in MKE. Better than Zaffiros even...I know, I said it. I mean, that cheese. And the thin crust. 
It's a bit off the beaten path, but worth a visit.

Whats the last gem that you found in your town?

Lisa
c/oMKE

5844 W Blue Mound Rd
Milwaukee, WI 53213
414.453.3800

1021 Milwaukee Ave
South Milwaukee, WI 53172
414.764.1234


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Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Bread



I just absolutely love the Christmas season. I love that all of my family will be so close together for a couple of weeks and Christmas day when we all gather and celebrate the season and the real meaning of Christmas. Also, that crisp bright feeling of a winter morning when it has just snowed the night before and the sun peaks through the clouds and everything is quiet. I love that.
One of my favorite things, though, is when my mom does her crazy Christmas baking. She starts weeks in advance and stores it all in huge Tupperware containers in the garage. Honestly, we're talking like hundreds of cookies. And don't you dare try to sneak one...When we were kids we would make up tons of cookie tins for our teachers and friends.
The treat that I loved most was the mini banana bread. She always uses my gram's recipe and has these handy little loaf tins that make the perfect sized banana bread. A couple of weeks ago we had a "peanut butter" food theme for Bible Study, so I though I would adapt my Gram's banana recipe a little bit.


Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
For the regular banana bread  - remove the peanut butter and chocolate chips
May also be made in a normal sized loaf pan

Ingredients
1 cup butter (softened)
1/2 cup peanut butter (room temp)
2 cups sugar
4 beaten eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
4 tbls milk
4 cups flour
2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking powder
4 cups banana (make sure to measure out)
1 cup nuts (optional)
2 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips (1 cup for mixing in and 1 1/2 cup for garnishing)

1. Combine flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a separate bowl and set aside.
2. Cream the butter, peanut butter, and sugar.
3. Add eggs, vanilla and milk until fully combined.
4. Add bananas.
5. Gradually add dry ingredient mixture. Then, chocolate chips if preferred (and nuts if preferred)
6. Pour into the tins until about a 1/4-1/2 way full.
7. Add remaining chocolate chips to the tops of the loaves.
8. Bake at 350° F for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when tested  rotating the pans half-way through.

Now you have a delicious (and cute) treat for your loved ones. Wrap it up with a little bow and give them away as gifts!

What's your favorite holiday treat?

Lisa
c/oMKE

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Monday, December 16, 2013

Outtakes


Every time I have a photo shoot I end up with WAY more outtake photos than usable ones. I find it very hard to take a serious or pleasant photo and always end up doing silly things. Also, always moving around too much because I don't know how I should pose. Anthony is the one who usually plays photographer and bless his heart for having the patience to do it. I mean, I might or might not bribe him with baked goods or delicious meals. Maybe.

This weekend I spent time with some great friends cooking and laying low on Friday and exploring new pizza places later in the weekend. {Stay tuned for more detailed later this week.} 

What did you do this weekend?

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Friday, December 13, 2013

Swirled Fur Cowl Scarf


Do you remember when R and I went to the Anthropologie Holiday Fashion Show?? There were so many styles that I loved, but let's just face it...my pocket book did not approve. And then I saw this scarf and fell bit dithery in love with it. Immediately after the show I scoured the store until I got my hands on that soft and beautiful material. 
needed it. 
The pocket book said no, so off we went empty-handed. I thought about that lovely circular cowl for weeks until JoAnn's had a major fabric sale and it hit me...

All you'll need is 1 sq yd of fabric {really any type of fabric you fancy}. Don't be intimidated, it's really very easy.

Swirled Fur Cowl Scarf 
1. Fold the fabric in half so the unfinished side is facing out {see photo above}
2. Sew up the longest end leaving a 6 in gap so that you may turn it right side our when needed.
3. Sew the circle ends together - this part can get tricky, but take your time. {see photo above}
4. After the ends are sewn, turn the scarf right side out using the hole you left open.
5. Stitch up the hole. If you're using lighter material it will look better stitching by hand. If you are using a material like this "fur" you can easily top stitch without seeing the seam afterward.

Once you stitch up the hole, you're done!
Now I  have a beautiful infinity scarf all for $5. I love the finished product and I've been wearing it constantly!

What kind of fabric would you use for your scarf?


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Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Bagel Bread Bowls


It has been SO chilly here recently. Right now it is 12°, but feels like -6°. Ay! The littles at my school aren't even venturing out to play in the snow. You know it's cold when they don't even want to go out.

Because the arctic has fallen, I have been trying to keep as warm as possible. Every week at Bible study we have a different food theme. One of our most recent was soup-night. Fitting, huh? With all the cold and freezing. I thought that I would try to be adventurous and make some bagel bread bowls. I followed Sarah's Recipe exactly. When it came time to make the dough balls, flattening them, and poking holes, I ended up making the dough a little bit taller by turning the bottoms under and I skipped the flattening. We want a soup bowl after all.

They are best when served warm. 
Cut a whole into that baby and fill it with your steaming soup of choice!

Enjoy!
Lisa
c/oMKE

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Monday, December 9, 2013

Repeal the Prohibition



On Saturday night RenĂ©e, Ben, and I went to the Repeal the Prohibition Party at The Iron Horse Hotel. I'm so excited that this is the first MKE event post since the rebranding because it was really just such a fun night. None of us had 20s-style clothing so we dug up any pieces that had black and white and pleats and shimmied down to the hotel to find the bar buzzing with fellow party goers in all-out costumes. The low lighting and style of the bar gave a real speak-easy feel. 
Batch19 sponsored the party and they kindly started the party by serving up 5¢ taps. We got there a bit late so we hunkered down with some beers and ordered some food. We got the cheese curds and the garlic and parsley fries. Both of our choices were brilliant. The fries were super crunch on the outside and almost like mashed potatoes on the inside. The cheese curds were quite possibly the best cheese curds we have ever eaten. {We would know, we've tried a lot. I mean, we live in Wisconsin and we go to state fair.} They were pillowy soft on the inside, not chewy, pillowy. Oooof. Later in the Iron Horse served up $5 growlers of Batch19...we ordered two and ended up giving one a way at the end of the night. We ate, drank, and chatted for a couple hours. I hadn't laughed so much in so long! 
The night was great! Not only did we have great company, but the service was amazing with cloth napkins and continuously serving water {in a bar. A Bar!} and our server was just the cutest in her Prohibition-era clothing. 
Can't wait for next year's Repeal Party!

What did you get up to this weekend?

People always ask me where I hear about all of the weekend MKE happenings. I hear about a lot of the events from OnMilwaukee.com's Weekend Preview. You can sign up for the email newsletter here.

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