Kasie Chelanne, Author at Musings on Momentum

Bacon Asparagus Pasta – Your Go-To Valentine’s Day Recipe

January 26, 2016

Over the years Valentine’s Day has taken on many incarnations. For the first eighteen years of my life I absolutely despised the day because it represented a day when I was tangibly reminded of the fact that I was not popular nor were any of the boys at my school remotely interested in me. I’m sure we’ve all been there at one time or another…it feels lousy and it greatly influenced how I have celebrated the occasion as an adult.

While the day has been consistently good from the time I was nineteen on, I still choose to commemorate it in a more low-key fashion. I’ll pass on the overcrowded restaurants and boxes of chocolate (wait, I take that back, please still give me the chocolate!) and instead generally opt to cook a nice meal at home and enjoy some down time with my valentine.

In keeping with that tradition, today’s recipe is equal parts simple and delicious making it the ideal Valentine’s Day dinner. This bacon asparagus pasta has been a favorite in our house for over a year. You can whip up this five-ingredient Valentine’s Day recipe in a jiffy and are guaranteed to please your guest. Especially guests of the bacon loving variety.

Honeymoon Stop One – New Year’s in Amsterdam

January 25, 2016

As some of you know, my husband I returned from our honeymoon in Europe a few weeks ago. We spent a whirlwind of a week and a half traveling to some of our favorite cities, two of which were new destinations for me! Rather than do a full trip recap, which I don’t feel remotely qualified to do after spending just a few days in each of our gorgeous destinations, I’m going to share a few photos and a favorite memory or two from each of the cities we visited over the next three weeks. First up…Amsterdam!

Honeymoon Amsterdam Canal Clouds

We started our honeymoon with an amazing four days in Amsterdam spent languidly wandering the the banks of the canals, popping into cafes and taking in the sights and sounds of the city. It was my first time in Amsterdam and I have to say that it stole my heart. It is a friendly, vibrant, beautiful jewel of a city and I can definitely see myself living there in the future. Perhaps just not during the holidays…

Maison Hand Home Tour

January 21, 2016

Obsessed does not even begin to express my feelings regarding this apartment. Design studio Maison Hand, headed by Pierre Emmanuel Martin and Stéphane Garotin, was hired to transform this abandoned Lyon apartment into something livable and unique.

Maison Hand went one step further and created an apartment that is filled to the brim with contradictions; all of which come together to create absolute perfection. It is eclectic yet modern. It is refined yet breezy. It is elegant yet homey. It is an absolute dream and too splendid not to share.

When Pierre Emmanuel Martin was asked to describe the space he said (roughly translated),

What we are doing is our interpretation of what is in the design world. We are working more towards creating a lifestyle, rather than just collecting famous names. Of course we work with many wonderful brands, but as with cooking, mix and method is as important as the ingredients.

How perfect is that? The design duo hit it out of the park with this one and created an apartment that projects a lifestyle I for one would be happy to live.

The living space achieves what I think of as a unicorn when it comes to interior design…it is both stately and relaxed.

Zesty Cucumber Amsterdam Mule Recipe

January 19, 2016

On our final day in Amsterdam my husband and I meandered through the streets of the city, soaking in as much of the vibrant town as we could before our flight to Prague. We stopped for a late lunch at a little corner cafe situated on a canal and lingered there for a couple of hours, watching the city go by.

Amsterdam is a town where beer flows like water; in fact a glass of beer is considerably less expensive than a glass of water. Needless to say, I was getting a little tired of drinking beer at every meal and decided ~~water~~ a cocktail was in order. After surveying the menu I settled on a Moscow Mule, fully expecting to be served a classic no-frills vodka and ginger beer concoction.

What was placed in front of me however was a gorgeous glass filled with slices of cucumber and topped with black pepper. I took a sip and, to my great surprise, the cocktail tasted even better than it looked! I immediately took a photo of the drink and announced that I was going to recreate the mule recipe and share it on the blog as soon as we got home. I did exactly that my first weekend home and thus the Amsterdam Mule was born.

Music Mondays – January Playlist

January 18, 2016

I can’t begin to tell you how incredibly excited I am to start this new series on Musings on Momentum. Music has always been a huge part of my life; in fact I am a classically trained pianist who performed and competed seriously throughout my youth, I danced both ballet and hip hop growing up and cheered in college, and I obviously attend A LOT of concerts and festivals. I have been longing to incorporate more of that part of my life into this blog since its inception.

That desire led to the creation of Music Mondays. On the second Monday of each month I’m going to share a playlist of my favorite music at the moment. Most of my choices will be relatively new, but there will also be some remixes of familiar hits and old favorites mixed in every now and then.

It is my hope that by sharing some of my favorites with you, you will in turn be prompted to share yours with me, exposing us both to awesome new music! Be sure to check out January’s playlist and share your favorite music of the month in the comments section below!

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