There is something magical about eating outside. First I met up with my mother dear for lunch during her break on Wednesday. Unfortunately, parking was absolutely terrible where we had planned on going and ended up at Central Market (kinda like a Texas-only Whole Foods).

I also realized that there are gorgeous parks hidden in the midst of my suburb city. So I went out to picnic by myself. Brought Greek style sweet potatoes slightly inspired by this recipe and walked around with Katie Dalebout's podcast. By the way, thank you again Cora for always being my forever inspiration. (I hope you don't mind my constant "copying" you 😉)

Finally, my dad's cousin was in town so we took him out to true Texas brisket. They have a giant woodshed smoker and everything. But boy was it hot! I realized I could never work there, could never handle that heat. Coming from me who LOVES the heat--I shower with hot water even during the summer--, this is definitely saying something!

I am more basic than I thought. When your Saturday consists of: yoga in the morning, a quick visit to the farmer's market where and buying a growler of kombucha, work at a vegan bakery.

On that note, free pastries are a perk of working the closing shift especially before a long weekend. I started training at my new summer job as a cashier. I continue training this week by shadowing others then officially start on Saturday!

I tend to accumulate reads I've loved over the weeks in one blog post. Then I go back and select a handful to share. But there have been so, so many good links lately that my indecisiveness (and let's be real, partially laziness) can't deal. So instead of eliminating them, I've got a number of things I wanted to share with y'all and will share them all. Also, rather than explain each with my own little blurb, I'm going to let the article speak for itself.

Rest ≠ recovery. The key is to resilience is in the recovery. So in short, make time to recharge.

The Donut Eating Dietician's of body acceptance.

Some common misconceptions of intuitive eating.

Did you know that the daily energy your heart produces from pumping--just by doing what it naturally does--could theoretically power a truck for 20 miles? Here are 16 other random facts about our bodies. 

It may not be the body you desire, but the body you have is more than enough.

A cute yet accurate cartoon on the reality of communicating with others when you're depressed.

Source

Becoming content with being alone.

If you're on the verge of an emotional breakdown, read this.

A take on self-care versus self-indulgence from the Kitchn.

Barbie is telling it like it is. 

Questions:
What have you enjoyed reading on the web recently?
How are you showing yourself self-care this weekend? 
What is one thing you are loving about your body today? 

• After much back and forth, 2 emergency transcripts, various phone calls and unnecessary stress, I sent everything in for that scholarship app. Crossing my fingers that it all gets in on time. 
• Had my fingerprints scanned and some documents notarized for my CPA exam app! 
• Picked up my allergy med prescription refill with no speed bumps. Bless the Costco Pharmacy 🙏
• Went to WF's just to buy my Siggi's on sale (only $1 each!!!) the day the sale was ending.

• Took the train downtown to a bookstore/coffee shop called Serj that I had be meaning to try. Their walls are full of unique/offbeat books, the baristas tell jokes and the you can draw on the tables. For breakfast, was torn between getting a chocolate zucchini muffin or a lemon poppyseed scone. Who am I kidding? I got the latter as I'm a sucker for scones. 

• Whilst there, I finished reading Isabel Allende's book Eva Luna before my monthly book club gathering on Thursday....which ended up getting postponed to this Tuesday instead. Siiigh. At least I finished it, yeah?
• Began and finished the new season of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt on Netflix with my sister. That Boobs & California song has been stuck in my head ever since. 
• Posted another recipe on the blog! Yay for more bread! 

• Spent Sunday afternoon cleaning out our apartment refrigerator. Feels so good to get stuff done.
• Also started cleaning up my computer desktop. This includes sorting pictures from pre-college Kaylee. Here's one quote that I saved back from my Tumblr days to echo those thoughts ^^^: 

• After  months and months of living in this apartment, I FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY hung up all my wall decor 

• Made 2 cakes. The first was a blueberry bundt cake to use up the aging blueberries at my parents'. The second was a sad looking chocolate cake because chocolate. It still tasted moist (sorry!) and delicious though. As I say, it all goes to the same place right? 
• Funnily, my dad's birthday was last Friday but neither one was used as his birthday cake. We put on a candle on a Hostess cupcake (his favorite) and sang to him on Thursday evening. Since my mom went out of town over the weekend, my sister and I spent the weekend with him instead. 

Questions:
Does  having a free day make your feel anxious?
Did anything in your week not go as planned? 
What was your most recent shopping score?

One item on my summer to do list is to finally weed through or tackle my many must-try recipes. My recipe searching is like the hydra: Cut off one head (recipe) and three more grow in its place. I have accumulated literally hundreds of recipes saved to try. Having way too many tabs open is honestly one of my biggest bad habits. Even with this magical Chrome extension, OneTab, that I stumbled upon years ago, my browser's a mess. Thus, here I am trying to knock sone off.


I was able to get two birds with one stone with this meal! I de-veganized Minmalist Baker's naan recipe to utilize in my take on Immaeatthat's black bean naan bowls. Mine lacked avocado because I didn't have avocado (a huge first world problem), used up the remains of some store-bought salsa instead of making my own, and was served on a plate. So I guess they weren't so much "bowls" as they were "plates."

• Said naan recipe, using Chobani full-fat yogurt instead of coconut milk yogurt
• Black beans, or any legumes really
• Salsa
• Fried eggs
• Brussels, or again, any other vegetable

1. Make the bread as directed on Dana's blog
2. Add all the components listed above (or more if your heart desires) onto a bowl (or as in my case a plate). 
3. Dig. In. 

I did it!!!

Last Friday, I walked across the stage and officially earned my Bachelor's degree in Accounting. 🎓  So t'was the past seven days were full of celebrating! It still feels surreal though. I keep asking myself if it really happened since the whole thing basically blurred by.

• Amidst my exams, I finished Sarah J. Maas' A Court of Wings & Ruin, the 3rd and final installment of a YA fantasy series. Was a good but long (almost 700 pages!!!) read. 
• Got at 86 on that final I was dreading 🙏  A great way to finish of my undergrad career!
• Had booked an end-of-the-semester massage using a Groupon as a gift to myself. Too glorious that towards the end I fell asleep (as usual). 

• On Tuesday, my accounting program held a graduation luncheon for my cohort. At the lunch, I had a seemingly never-ending bowl of kale and quinoa salad with a citrus-ginger dressing. Then my friend and I split the set menu dessert: the famous whiskey cake. One of the top things I learned in the past 4 years: Always say yes to free food. 
• Following the lunch, opted to go shopping with friends even though I honestly did not want to; I felt all socialized out but reminded myself that these college moments were fleeting and I should try to spend as much time as possible with my classmates as I can. 
• Completed the food handler certification course needed for my summer job working at a local vegan bakery. ☑️

• Participated in the Honors Convocation on Wednesday then actual graduation on Friday. CRAZY. 😲
• Similar to the end of the semester last December, I ran and worked my org's rose bouquet sales at the commencement ceremonies . Pretty stressful and long days where I was on my feet the entire day but provided me with a sense of satisfaction after the fact.
• Broke 100 during a round of bowling with my family <<< a major accomplishment for me considering my awful bowling abilities. No strikes but there were a handful of spares in the mix. 
• Watched Guardians of the Galaxy 2 Sunday afternoon. Funnier than I remember the first one being. And Little Groot was too cute!! 

For some reason, finals week is typically when I allow myself the most freedom to do "fun things." Kinda backwards don't ya think? This is nothing new. I remember freshman year, spending hours upon hours watching Disney movies with my roommates in pajamas the entire day. Good times, good times. How was that almost four years ago?!! It is scary for me to think I am typing this up a couple of hours before I take my last exam of my undergraduate career. I graduate on Friday. Holy guacamoly. 😳


Perhaps this avoidance and intense procrastination stems from a sense of resignation at this point in the semester. What can I really do in one test to change my grade that much? People have said that this feeling is a testament to how much I've studied over the past weeks that I don't need to study now. According to them, I'm "ready" but I don't feel so. At the same time though, I am feeling uncharacteristically not guilty and I think a sense of almost true happiness, which then makes me slightly anxious.

It was a packed week, packed with things I don't typically do because they're considered "unproductive" for me. For this week's Week in Review, I wanted to share those activities, things that don't even include chores or errands that I would normally add onto my WIRs. So, here are things I did instead of studying for my final final:

• Attended a recognition luncheon for my major and won the Most Likely to Become Faculty award. 
• Got a $1 turkey sandwich at Jimmy John's customer appreciation event last Tuesday with friends. 
• Subsequently watched The Lazarus Effect on Netflix. Strange movie but definitely mind-trippy, which was what we were looking for. 

• Treated my grandparents who are in the country for my graduation to bagels. I opted for salt + veggie cream cheese. Had to brush off a bunch of the salt but otherwise hit the spot. 
• Saw another musical performance of the same friend as last week. This time for a jazz concert. The conductor (probably not really called a conductor but IDK what you would call him in this case) would just point to the different musicians and they would play their improv-d solos. So impressive. Jazz is pretty cool stuff. 
• Made Immaeatthat's pancake mix cinnamon rolls using Kodiak mix. Ingenious. 
• Posted my favorite eats of April!
• Put in a couple of hours at the animal shelter. There are so many new doggies and kitties I hadn't met!! 
• Watched The Circle with my former roommates. The book is always better.

Almost like freshman year

Free, sunshine filled-yoga on Saturday morning as usual.

Went to the Dallas World Aquarium for the first time with friends! More zoo-ish than an aquarium but it was worth visiting at least once. Can cross that off my bucket list! My faves were the penguins. 🐧 Really jealous of them just laying on the rocks like that. Wish my life could be that simple.

• Went out for dinner twice with my fam-bam to relish the time and company of my grandparents since they are here for only a couple of weeks. 

Grilled pork chop, green beans, mushroom bread pudding + red wine demi glace

• Met my sister for lunch Sunday morning for lunch at a cute cafe/bakery. Loved talking to her (s/o to you sissy) about all the things. I could barely keep up with my thoughts, I swear. Then we went to look at more potentially adoptee greyhound dogs. 🐶 

Off to take an exam! Catch you on the flip side. 😉

First of all, happy 5th of May aka Cinco de Mayo! It definitely does not have the same ring in English as it does it Spanish. Also, belated happy Star Wars day. Hope the fourth was with y'all yesterday sending good vibes throughout your Thursday. Not a huge fan myself but I have seen the original six movies. Last night, while I was "studying," the 6th (...or technically 3rd?) movie was playing in the background, which made me want to go back and re-watch all of them. Another summer to-do perhaps.

Anywho, speaking of good-vibe-inducing-things, I may be five days late but it's already time for me to share some of my favorite eats over the past month. Check out March and February here!

As usual, I want to note that my recent eats posts are for inspiration not comparison. I don't want to make someone feel better or worse about themselves for looking at what I do or do not eat. Remember, you have your own body, mind, feelings, life. Trust yourself to nourish yourself.

• Strangely been on a spice--both spic-y and spice-filled--kick lately despite the warmer weather. Here are some examples mostly of the latter:   
• a) Homemade tempeh stuffed enchiladas topped with salsa + brussels + yogurt
• b) All-you-can-eat hotpot dinner out with mi familia. WORTH EVERY PENNY. The nature of the meal, however, made it more difficult to know if I got enough to eat/hit my meal plan. 
• c) I had been meaning to try this Indian vegetarian lunch service that an org at my school offers. You order online from a set menu and pick it up the day of on campus. For only $5, that day's came with yellow spiced rice, pinto bean curry, potatoes & veggies, vegan raisin bread, and halava. With all of that, I was able to have leftovers that I purposed in to 2ish other meals. So delicious and such a good deal too. Sadly it was the last week they'd be offering it for the semester but will most definitely be buying from them again come fall! 
• d) Avocado & Tomato Scramble + My New Roots' chickpea flour chips. Oh the magic of chickpea flour. Its versatility astounds me. One of my favorite underrated ingredients for sure. 

• Also getting ready for the summer season with ice cream! Two notable times this month: 
• a) semi-branching out from my usual at Braum's with a new flavor--pecan praline. Those caramel ribbons were on point. 
• b) trying a vegan coconut and strawberry one at Melt in Ft. Worth, a place I had been wanting to try. Seriously, you can never go wrong with ice cream.

• Also been enjoying throwing random leftovers in my fridge together like this simple bowl of barley, corn, chickpeas, feta & pesto. I've always loved corn + pesto combo for some odd reason. 

• As I mentioned even early on in You've Got Kayl, summer  strangely makes me want to bake, bake, bake away! For example, this life changing Milanese raisin bread 😍 😍 😍  Already have a buttload of yeasted bread and pastry recipes to try over the summer. 

• Prior to the unfortunate news of my almond allergy (still mourning this loss 😢), I enjoyed this fancy toast with peach slices, nut butter, walnuts, homemade granola and hemp seeds. 

Honestly, despite all the Week in Reviews I have done in the past recapping my accomplishments for the week (or weekend), I never really felt accomplished in the moment. It is usually only in retrospect when I write and publish my WIRs that I relish in them. But this week I can say that throughout the week I actually felt I got things done. I managed to appreciate how much I was getting done in the moment rather than after the fact. Looks like faking it 'til you make it pays off. So thank you Meghan for helping me feel accomplished

• Interviewed for three part-time jobs: one for tutoring during the fall semester and the two others cashier bakery positions for over the summer
• Picked up my walking card for graduation
• Saw my allergist again and got the results of my blood work. Unfortunately found out I am allergic to almonds. Goodbye almond butter, almond milk, almond meal, plain ol' almonds in general. 😢  

No more almond-laced KIND bars dipped in almond butter

• Took more steps towards my potentially adopting a pet this summer by going to a meet & greet. Dogs never fail to make my day. 😊
• Finished a book and started a another one
• Painted my nails
• Baked pizza! 
• Went to an Asian grocery store & got all of this vvv for < $8! What a steal! 

• Helped out for a bit at my club's bake sale 
• Caught up on reading and commenting on blog posts
• Finished that dreaded project I was complaining about during the entirety of last week. Plus, the presentation actually went well! 

• Attended the international festival at the school where my parents' work. Yay for free food samples! 
• Supported a friend at her makeup meetup party then bought eyeliner from her #treatingmyself
• Supported more friends at their Spring wind ensemble show
• Saw a production of Hair at my sister's university on Saturday
• Last but certainly not least, I had my last full week of undergrad classes. Now I just have to make it through 2 more final exams!