misSOULa

The time has finally come to bid farewell to this unique and wonderful place I have been able to call home for the last six years. Missoula is a special place. Anyone who has ever lived or visited here knows that. It's the place that makes 'casual' stylish, where one identifies by their favorite brewery, and where local always supports local. It may not be for some, but damn I love this town.

To the countless hikes up Sentinel

In the last week I've made it my personal mission to enjoy every bit that I love about Missoula. Let's be honest, I could eat Tagliare every day and I am already looking forward to my next New Edition. I ask myself, what will I ever do without Kettlehouse in my life? (Serious question) I even drove across the Higgins Street bridge coming into downtown to enjoy my favorite view of the city one last time. But the time has come to move on.

The colorful Clark Fork

In preparation for my trek to SLC, I have stocked my Subaru (of course) with all of my favorite Montana beers because....priorities. I will miss the town filled with a mutual love of Subarus and craft beer.

The best part about living in Missoula and now leaving it, is that I have experienced everything there is here. One should never live in a place that offers so many amazing things and not explore and experience what it has to offer. I don't understand the people who start panicking when they are moving away from a place scrambling to do all the things they "never had time to do". Maybe you had other priorities like a date with Netflix while your friends went to the free Lil Smokies show or you never had 20 minutes to spare on a warm summer evening to stand in line at Big Dipper when Coldsmoke ice cream was back on the menu. For those folks...you're missing out.

Fall outside of the best apartment I'll have

Norman Maclean once said, "The world is full of bastards, the number increasing rapidly the further one gets from Missoula, Montana."

Well touche Norman, and here's to you Missoula. 

Until next time, looks like this Northwesterner is heading south. 

k 

Heart Pound Cake: I Love Baking for Others

In my office, we are pretty big on bringing in food to share, primarily baked goods. Given that it was Valentine's Day, I thought I'd bring something in to share the love.

I'm always up for a Pinterest challenge. Seriously who are these creative people coming up with all of these crazy ideas?

Ingredients:
2 boxes of pound cake mix
1/2 c unsalted butter, softened and divided
4 eggs, divided
1 1/3 c milk, divided
red food coloring
cooking spray or oil to coat the pan
Glaze: (optional)
1 1/2 c powdered sugar
2 TBS milk (give or take)

Method:
Preheat oven to 350.
Coat a 9×5 inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
 Prepare your first pound cake: combine 1 box of cake mix, 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) softened butter, 2 eggs, and 2/3 cup milk in a large bowl. Whisk together with an electric mixer as directed on the box.
Mix in food coloring until you reach your desired shade.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 8-10 minutes less than instructed on box (about 50 minutes.) Let cool 5 minutes in pan, remove and cool on wire rack for 1 hour.

Prepare your second box of pound cake mix the same as the first, except omit the food coloring. Coat a 9×5 loaf pan with cooking spray and pour about 1/4 in of batter to cover the bottom. Align your heart cut-outs down the center, keeping them tightly together. Pour the remaining batter over the sides and top making sure the heart cut-outs are covered.

Bake according to the directions on the box. About 1 hour. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack.
To make the glaze (optional): Mix powdered sugar in a bowl, slowly add milk until you reach a desired consistency. Drizzle over cooled cake.

I'll be putting this baking endeavor in the Success column.
Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Enjoy!

The Northwest Gypsy

Hello all!

I'm Kayla. 

When you meet someone new one of the first questions asked is: "Where are you from?" After growing up moving around every couple of years, I haven't really been able to determine a place that I'm actually from. Born in Washington, moved to Montana, Idaho, South Dakota, and back to Montana for college. Finally, I came up with what I am: a northwest gypsy. 

So ta-da! Here I am. 

Things to know:

I love cooking.

Mountains. 

Traveling is my passion.

Embrace change.

Skiing keeps me in love with winter. 

So here we go. I'll be writing about my life and the things I love. Enjoy