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Tyler’s grandparents from Iowa and his uncle, aunt and cousins, who are currently living in Illinois, were in town and staying with Tyler’s aunt and uncle who live in Kansas City. We spent Sunday morning and afternoon with them, which just happened to be Mother’s Day (this year it fell on May 12th).

We played outside with Tyler’s cousins.

We were able to meet Tyler’s youngest cousin, Archie, for the first time.

We hadn’t seen Tyler’s cousin Laney for almost two years.

Laney and Zella loved the swing set, especially Laney who could have kept swinging all day!

Tyler’s cousin Ryan and Uncle Bruce did some car washing.

We were able to take some pictures with Tyler’s Grandpa Gordie (we didn’t get any with Grandma Jan – she must have been inside the house while we took these pictures).

Tyler’s Uncle Brent, his wife Amy and Tyler’s cousins Archie, Zella and Laney (from left to right).

We did get to take a group picture with Grandpa Gordie and Grandma Jan with all of the grandkids who were in Kansas City that weekend.

Even though we were bad grownup-kids and didn’t drive to Wichita to see our own moms, we did get to spend it with some special moms!

The post The Un-Mother’s Day appeared first on Beautiful Fight.

The post Snapshots of My Life – February appeared first on Beautiful Fight.

So, without further ado, here are some random snapshots and random captions of my life in January.

The post Snapshots of My Life – January appeared first on Beautiful Fight.

The original bruschetta recipe was from Epicurious, but I modified it slightly. While you can use various types of tomatoes in this recipe, I made this recipe with a mix of orange and red grape tomatoes. When you bake the bread under the broiler, make sure you constantly watch the bread. It can go from a crisp brown to a burnt black in just a matter of seconds. Ideally the tomato mixture would be eaten within two hours, but the mixture didn’t seem to reach that “gross’ stage until the start of the third day after making it. Example: You make it on Saturday, it’s gross by Monday. If you end up with leftovers (which you probably won’t!), keeping the tomato mixture from sitting in liquid would help it last longer. Sea salt can be added to give it some additional flavor.

The post Bruschetta with Tomato, Red Onion and Basil appeared first on Beautiful Fight.

As soon as stores started to sell plants last spring, I picked up a basil plant for about $3.00. The plant was already about 8″ tall so it looked like it was past that if-you-touch-me-you’ll-kill-me phase. Always a good sign.

I also made sure to pick up special potting mix. I think one of the reasons my previous basil plants didn’t make it is due to the fact that I was trying to be frugal and purchased top soil (around $2.00) instead of nice potting mix (around $8.00). Yeah, that was a failure. Note to self: sometimes it is worth spending extra money on things.

So here is the beautiful basil plant I grew last year!

Although these tips are guaranteed to work when you are trying to grow a basil plant, here are the things I did that seemed to work for me:

How to Grow a Basil Plant

What Type of Basil Should You Plant
I chose sweet basil and it has done fairly well in the humid and hot climate I live in. There are also different types of basil such as: Thai basil, lemon basil, Genovese basil, and cinnamon basil, to name a few.

Growing Basil from Seeds or a Seedling
While it is possible to grow a basil plant from seed, I recommend buying a seedling. A seedling is a young plant that has already started growing and can be purchased for a few dollars from a local nursery or hardware store. In the end, you will save time and avoid the heartache of seeing your basil seeds die (from my experience).

What Type of Soil?
Use potting mix for soil and not dirt you already have around your house. Potting mix is light, airy and already nutrient rich. I used Miracle-Gro Potting Mix.

Pot or Ground?
You can plant basil in the ground, but it is easiest to care for a basil plant in a pot. This also allows you to move your basil plant indoors before the first frost of the season to continue using it throughout the year. If you plant basil in a pot, make sure the pot has enough drainage, such as a large hole in the bottom of the pot where extra water can escape. You could also line the bottom of the pot with rocks before adding the soil to provide additional drainage. Also make sure the pot is big enough to allow the basil to spread out. A small pot will limit growth and ultimately be detrimental to your plant.

Location
The plant needs at least 6+ hours of sunlight a day and more if possible. I have mine on my deck where it gets sun throughout the whole day, but it isn’t always in direct sunlight. Basil does well in a dry and warm climate where temperatures aren’t below 50 degrees.

Watering
I watered my basil almost everyday when I first planted it. You definitely don’t want to over water it, but it needs plenty of water to grow. In general, I make sure the soil is always slightly moist. The basil will turn yellow-ish if you are over watering it and will start to wilt if it needs more water. I fertilize my basil plant about once a month with plant food. The fertilizer packaging will provide recommended instructions for fertilizing your new basil plant. I use Miracle-Gro Water Soluble All Purpose Plant Food.

Pruning & Harvesting
I’ve heard you are supposed to prune your basil plant about every week. I’ve really only been picking off leaves that have been eaten by critters or are hanging in the dirt. Picking from the top of the basil plant when harvesting will encourage new growth. You should also pick off the blossoms to encourage new growth and to prevent the basil from developing a bitter flavor.

If you follow those general tips, hopefully your basil plant will flourish!

Since I had success with the basil last year, I also picked up a mint plant and an oregano plant. They made my deck smell great! I followed the same principles as above with both the oregano and mint and they did well.

I was able to keep the mint and oregano alive through the winter, but I never brought the basil plant inside. I still need to make it to the store to pick up this year’s basil plant!

The post How to Successfully Grow a Basil Plant appeared first on Beautiful Fight.

Here is a sampling of the chocolate flavors you can find at Christopher Elbow Chocolates:

Bananas Foster
Almond Kirsch
Mango Basil
Strawberry Balsamic
Champagne
Fresh Lemon
Fleur de Sel Caramel
Coconut Caramel
Lavender Caramel
Pineapple
Caramel Pecan
Yuzu
Venezuelan Spice
Vanilla Bean
Citrus Praline
Raspberry
Rosemary Caramel
Clover Honey
Passion Fruit Caramel
Ghana
Macadamia Praline
View More Christopher Elbow Chocolate Flavors

Tyler chose a cherry and mango pate de fruit and a fleur de sel turtle with sea salt. I picked out a mango basil artisan chocolate.

The post Christopher Elbow Chocolates – Kansas City Location appeared first on Beautiful Fight.

He made it back late on Friday, April 5th. On Saturday, I wanted to do something to get us away from the house so we could spend time together without getting distracted. The first activity was lunch and a movie at Alamo Drafthouse on Mainstreet in Kansas City, which is near the Power & Light District of Kansas City (Kansas Citians call that area the ‘P&L’ for short). I found a coupon through Travel Zoo offering 55% + off of a dinner and a movie combo at Alamo Drafthouse.

Tyler had been wanting to see Oz the Great and Powerful. The showing we went to was in 3D, although we typically don’t like 3D movies.

The theater was pretty empty since we went to the movie in the early afternoon. We found some cool benches upstairs and played around.

I’m thankful (and a little jealous) this guy gets to travel so much as part of his job, but I’m also glad when he’s home right where he should be! (Ok, that’s on the verge of being a little too mushy – don’t judge!)

Our second stop of the day was Christopher Elbow Chocolates… which obviously deserves its own post (coming soon)!

The post Alamo Drafthouse on Mainstreet in Kansas City appeared first on Beautiful Fight.

One of the highlights of the weekend was our stop at Quay Coffee in the River Market area of Kansas City. Quay Coffee (pronounced like ‘key’) is named for the historic area of the River Market in which it’s located. ‘Quay’ means dock or harbor. It opened in the summer of 2012 and serves Oddly Correct beans via Chemex coffeemakers (the new coffee trend) if you want regular coffee or you can get espresso based drinks.

The Kansas City River Market is a great spot for quaint coffee shops anyway, but what makes Quay Coffee one of my favorite coffee shops in Kansas City is the branding! Quay Coffee uses an anchor icon and a mix of fun and trendy fonts. Even their website is branded well. Oh, and the coffee was great too! Most of us ordered spiced lattes.

Our weekend (which felt like a stay-cation) included:

Friday:

• Dinner at 75th Street Brewery
• Stop at Bier Station

Saturday:

• Pancake breakfast at Alex & Krissy’s house
• Early afternoon lunch at Blanc Burger on the Plaza
• Shopping (more like walking) at the Plaza
• Grilled steak and chicken dinner at Alex & Krissy’s

Sunday

• Afternoon coffee at Quay Coffee
• Dinner at Waldo Pizza

… And lots of talking and hanging out in between!

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My mom would make chili at least once a week during the fall and winter months when I was growing up. We always thought she was crazy for making it all of the time, but now I know why she did it – it’s easy to make, it makes a lot of leftovers, and the leftovers actually taste better than when it’s right out of the pot! Now that I am cooking for my own family (a.k.a Tyler), I’ve made some of the traditional recipes ‘my own’. I fell in love with this sweet and spicy turkey chili recipe my good friend, Krissy, introduced me to. If the Midwest happens to get hit by another snowstorm anytime soon, try making this recipe. It will make you feel just a little bit better spring is a little late this year.

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