A Vesper Martini calls for gin, vodka, Lillet, and a slice of lemon. To take it down a notch and give it some color, I switched out the vodka for grenadine. The gin was brought down to two parts and I added just a tad more Lillet to amp up the citrus taste. 

So grab your cocktail shaker and fill it with ice. Add the grenadine, Lillet, and gin to the shaker. Cap the shaker and shake vigorously until it starts to become really cold - about 5 seconds. Strain into a martini glass. Peel a slice of lemon, twisting it so the oils and juices are released into your drink, then drop it in the glass. 

Let's face it folks, winter is holding fast here in Michigan. With snow continuing to fly and temps dropping, all I have been craving is soup. First it was chili, then black bean soup and most recently, tomato lentil. Can you tell I'm cold!? Spring, come on already! Dreams of warmer weather alway take me back to my trips to Kauai. My first time visiting the small island was during college on a work trip. I remember trying lots of Hawaiian foods and one in particular, the Saimin Soup Bowl, blew my mind. This dish inspired by the many ethnicities on the island is truly a unique collaboration of cuisines. Since becoming a strict vegetarian, I never thought to make a veggie version of this until I saw Aida Mollenkamp's recipe. 

Here is my simple, vegan version of a Saimin soup bowl adapted from Aida's. 

Get ready to drool. 

Ingredients

6 cups veggie broth

1/2 cup diced onions

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 oz package of dried shitake mushrooms

1 cup of mushroom water

1 pound of chow mein or udon noodles

1 package of firm tofu, chopped & fried

1/2 bok choy, cut ends

1 bunch broccoli (or broccolini)

handful of chopped green onions

Directions

Soak dried shitake mushrooms for about 30 minutes. Drain mushrooms and save 1 cup of the mushroom water for the saimin broth. Slice the mushrooms and set aside. Fill a large pot of water and bring to a boil. Lightly cook the broccoli and bok choy until bright green. Blanche the vegetables by using a slotted spoon to take the vegetables out and put into a ice water bath. This stops the cooking process and leaves the vegetables with their bright color. Add the noodles and cook until tender. Drain and set aside.  

In a medium pot, saute onions in oil. 

Add veggie broth, soy sauce, and mushroom water to pot and bring to a boil. Let simmer until you are ready to make the saimin bowls. Pour the broth into each bowl, top with mushrooms, noodles, tofu, broccoli, and bok choy. Sprinkle with green onions and serve!

Seeking out the unknown always creates a sense of exhilaration for me. Whether that is the physical limits of my body in an ultramarathon or hiking mysterious trails of a North Carolina mountain - the unknown can definitely be scary. When Zach told me we'd be climbing up to about 6000 ft up Mount Sterling, I knew this wasn't going to be a quick hike. 

At the trail head we loaded up our gear - making sure we had enough water and food for about four hours - and worked our way to Baxter Creek Trail. 

Starting out, the trails had just a slight dusting of snow on them; such a nice change from Michigan's packed iced sidewalks. I immediately noticed how much green was peeking out from the snow in the trees. Tropical looking trees flagged a good portion of the trails at the base of the mountain. After just a few miles of running (or at least trying to run since the ascent was rather rugged) we started dropping layers even though the snow had started to accumulate more and more. Carrying my Fluid 6 Mountain Hardware pack was essential to this hike. Storing my water, food, camera, jacket, and Yaktraxs; I'm not sure what I would have done if I had opted for just a waterbelt.

As we ran further, it was beautiful to watch the "climate" change before our eyes. The trees got thicker and more evergreens seemed to appear. Snow piled up and trees began to look crystalized. 

After 2.5 hours of hiking, the elevation was starting to get to me. 

The climb seemed to get steeper and the six inches of snow wasn't helping...but I kept reminding myself, "I'm climbing a mountain!" Once we reached the summit we saw the 60 foot fire tower that marks the top. Amidst the clouds towered stunning evergreens that seemed to disappear into the sky above. I had hiked my first mountain!!!

Have you ever hiked or ran up a mountain? 

Any recommendations on ones to visit? 

A shout out to Rob for letting me use some of his photos. Can't wait for our next trip! 

What goals are you pursuing this year? 

Any advice on how to get back that drive and tackle the to-do list?

Go grab yourself a cup of tea and jot down those aspirations! 

I've been staring at this blog post for a couple days now. I'm not really sure how to begin, how to start over, and reignite this blog. To be honest, I wasn't sure I'd ever come back here. My life seemed a little chaotic and overwhelming when I decided I needed to take a break. Over the past eight months, time has granted me the ability to refocus, align Zach and my goals, and gain confidence I needed at my new job. About half way through this hiatus I started to crave for more creativity in my life - realizing that this blog had been the hub of that for the past two years. I missed it and felt disconnected.

It's been a while blog friends. This past month, my life has changed in many ways. All great blessings, but regardless of the wonderful things I've decided it's time for a break from the blog world... and social media in general. It's taken me a couple weeks to get to this point. As much as I cherish and dearly love this blog, it's not where I want to spend a good part of my life. I'd rather be taking on my many hobbies and living these adventures, than blogging about it. It's a hard decision, but something that needs to be done before I spread myself too thin. 

With work becoming more important and challenging to me, I dream of my career flourishing. Being able to dedicate time to train for a 50 mile race, that's not easy, but I want that option. It's diving into the world of cooking, crafting, and learning what I crave. Or absorbing Grand Rapids and meeting the beautiful folks within it. Traveling to far off places and being full of wanderlust is my hope. It's eking out every last second of the day to spend with my best friend, Zachary. 

These are my priorities and this is why I must take a break. I don't know for how long or if I'll every come back, but I want to thank all the amazing followers who have left me beautiful comments and always made my heart full of daisies. :) 

Much love, 

Kate