I just love J. Crew!  Have you seen their latest summer looks?  So adorable….love them.

Here are a few of my favorites….

Love the yellow….which is totally not natural for me but thinking I might have to change things this summer to wearing yellow.  What do you think?

Totally loving these red and blue’s for July 4th!

Go check them out, what is your favorite??

Ok, I’m a little behind because this beautiful online magazine has been around for  bit.  But here you go….S Magazine!  It’s beautiful….filled with lots of eye candy.  We love eye candy, right?  It’s revolved around weddings so it makes a girl wish she could do it all over again….of course without all the stress.  It’s filled with other things too even if you’ve already walked down the aisle.  So here you go, a look inside…

One of my very favorites were these!  Swoon….love them!

And one more…a table for any dinner party

You can read the whole issue for free right here, and see all the past issue of S Magazine on their blog. Beautiful….Lovely!

Hard to believe Easter is this weekend!  I’ve been loving all the beautiful Easter eggs on Pinterest.  Here are just a few of my favorites.  You can see my other Easter pins on Pinterest.  And if you are on Pinterest you can follow all my pins here.

Pictured Above: from Decor8

Do you dye your own eggs?  I’m seriously thinking I need to before Sunday.

Since tomorrow is St. Patty’s Day I thought I would share a little bit of green with all of you.  So here you go… just a few pretty green things that I found along the web.

Pictured Above: Flowers and Moss Menu from Poppies and Posies, Cactus Flowers from Decor8, and the green drawers I forgot to re-pin on pinterest….sorry.

Green Paper and Butterflies from decor8 and white flowers

Enjoy and Happy St. Patty’s Day!

I’m in love with this o so pretty pink ombre chandelier. From the color palette to the scalloped edges to the blush pink satin ribbon, this DIY project is totally up my alley.  Get the complete how-to at Hey Gorgeous.

And favorite DIY idea…..using paint chips to create something beautiful!

{Photos by Jenna McKenzie for Hey Gorgeous.}

Do you love Award Show season?….I do!  Love the dresses, the fashion, and oh….the awards!  Of course the awards, right?  No, really I just love seeing the dresses and all the beautiful people.  The awards are just a bonus.  Honestly these days I don’t have time to head to the movies so the award shows helpme to prioritize my netflix picks.  I have to say in college I used to torture my roommates into watching the shows with me, now I just torture my husband.  Luckily, he enjoys them…at least that’s what he tells me. 

Since the Oscar’s are this weekend, how about a little Oscar Party themes to get us in the mood?  Sound fun?  Well here we go…

Source for above: Oscar Party

Source for above Oscar Blush Party

Have fun this weekend!  Enjoy the Oscars….

And if you’re all out of time to print and send one of these out this year, you can still do something sweet for your Valentine by sending one of Mooo’s free Valentine e-cards.

Have fun!  And Happy Valentine’s Day!!!

Images from Mooo.

Valentine’s is around the corner and I’ve been busy getting in the mood on Pinterest.  Here are some of my latest pins.

Pictured above: Love Garland

Love you More Printable

Valentine Heart Garland

Valentine Plate

Valentine Bookmarks

If you want to find me on Pinterest you can find me here.

Happy Pinning everyone!

I had to share this adorable DIY from Creature Comforts for Valentine Tea Bags and Tags. Creature Comforts also has a free printable and step by step instructions so you can make your very own for the special Valentine in your life. 

There are 4 ways to assemble the teabag wrappers.  The one shown in the tutorial below is the most time involved (stitching by hand) but the results are beautiful.  Other methods would include using tape, glue or a sewing machine.  

Head over to Creature Comfort to see what you’ll need to get started and have fun!

The past two days I have been walking the floors of the Atlanta Mart for the Home and Gift Show for my “real” work and today I happen to stumble across the cutest flats ever…..and because I thought they were so darn cute I had to share them with you.  They are from Oka b. – Shoes that Love You.  They have all types of shoes but my heart went pitter-patter for their adorable ballet flats.  Aren’t they the cutest?  They have several styles and several color combos.  The ones above are just a few of my favorite.  Want to see more?  Then head over to see more of Oka b. ballet flat collection. 

And guess what?! Until Sunday, January 15th they are having a sale!!!  Yippee!!  Happy Shopping!

Ever walked the aisles of the book store and questioned what are the best children’s books?  I came across this great list of Top 100 Children’s Books of All Time!  The list is filled with some of my childhood favorites along with some of my new favorites that are on the bookcase of my little ones.  It also helped me create a new list of books we need to add to our collection.

If you are curious of what books made the list go check out the Top 100 list.  Have fun!

Need some last minute super cute and FREE printables for daddy’s day?  Check these adorable ideas from around the web from some very creative ladies!

The super talented designers at Hello Lucky designed these fabulous printables for the fabulous dad’s in your life.  The free download includes the bottle labels and matching card that you can print and affix to his favorite vintage or microbrew. So handsome aren’t they?

Going along with the theme of beer, check this adorable idea from Amanda from Amanda’s Parties To Go. My hubby is a beer lover so this might be a must for Sunday.  All you have to do is like Amanda’s page on facebook and you download for free.

My girls consider their dad a superhero.  It might be the influence of all the boys in their class talking superhero all day?  Not sure, but this idea from Kiki and Company is so cute!  I love the Superhero characters!

If you have little ones that love to color then this is a must to download.  You print these adorable cards and allow your little ones to color their own card for dad.  Super cute, right?   And I bet they will be super proud to hand these over to dad.  These great cards are from Swoon.

So there you go.  If you are still looking for some cute Father’s Day ideas these free printables may do the trick.

I saw these super cute ABC Wall Art designs featured on Cool Mom Picks today.  Aren’t they fun!?

Boo and You is a brand new children’s wall art website based in Sydney Australia.  The website features personalized and non-personalized prints for boys and girls.  I fell in love with their super cute alphabet prints.  They each have a cute theme created by whimsical images and soft colors.  You can select your own color scheme and each print is hand signed by the artist.  Pretty darn cool, right?

Go check out the other designs from Boo and You

Well the creative folks at Mooo have done it again. This time they are giving away 12 pages of free Easter Printables. Yes, 12 pages!!! All you have to do is hop on over and download the sets you like (there are three to choose from), and your Easter prep will be nearly complete. Amazing right?!

Which is your favorite?  I love them all!

And if you’re looking for fabulous personalized goods for the little ones in your life (the iron-on name labels and personalized clothing are my current favorites), I need those labels for the girls for school.  Be sure to check out the rest of the Mooo site for more of their wonderful products.

I’m in love with these super cute Clover Leaf Lei’s over at Simple as That….and by the way a new favorite blog!  Her photography is beautiful….swoon!  Love her blog just as much as I love these super cute, super fun, and so easy lei’s.  Just in time for St. Patty’s Day too!

You have to jump over and see how Rebecca made these Clover Lei’s!!

{Photo’s by Rebecca Cooper Photography}

Aren’t these beautiful!?  These Valentine Crayon Hearts are from the super talented Heather from Whipper Berry.  I have to say she has a pretty cool name too….you know Heather….and my name happens to be Heather too.  Ha!

Heather guides you through on how to make these adorable glitter heart crayons over on her blog.  Click on the link above. 

And you have to check out her beautiful photo’s that are included in her DIY.

And if you are looking for other ideas on making heart crayons, last year I made similar crayon hearts for the girls friends as school

Along with the crayon I included a color page

If you want to print out a free page to hand out to your kids friends at school head over to my post last year for Kid’s Valentine Coloring Card

I thought I would feature a few posts I’ve done in the past and a few I’ve found out in internet world of holiday craft and projects you can do with the kids.  Some these projects your kids can do on their own while you finish those last minute holiday chores.  A big plus in my book as I try to finish up my own last minute Christmas chores.  Too much to do and too little time!

Now let the fun begin!

Holiday Kid Craft Ideas

Christmas Puppets

Gingerbread Houses

Winter Wonderland Snowglobe Ornament

Candy Cane Reindeers

Waterless Snowglobes – Tidy Mom

Have fun and Happy Holidays!!

 The girls and I have been busy making these super fun reindeer candy canes for their friends at school.  They are really easy to make and a whole lot of fun for the little ones to help…and even more fun for them to hand out to their friends. 

Here’s what you’ll need to get started:

Candy Canes

Brown yarn (try to pick a thicker yarn)

Wiggle Eyes

Small Pom Pom’s – red or black

Ribbon or Twine

Fabric Glue

 Here is how you make these little guys:

Step 1: Take two candy canes and place them so the arc of the candy cane looks like the reindeer antlers.  Tape the candy canes together so they stay in place.

Step 2: Take the yarn and start wrapping it around the candy canes.  In order to make them look more like a reindeer face, wrap the center of the candy cane with more yarn to make it thicker.  See pictures.  Once the candy cane is all wrapped up, place a drop of glue on the back side to stick the end piece of the yarn.

Step 3: Next glue the wiggle eyes onto the top part of the yarn to make the reindeer eyes.

Step 4: Place a red of black pom pom onto the face of the reindeer to make his (or her) nose. 

Step 5: Take the ribbon or twine of choice wrap around the “neck” of the reindeer and tie into a bow.  You could also tie a bell onto the front but I couldn’t find them anywhere at my craft store.

And there you have it, I fun little gift to hand out to your child’s friends at school. Or to use on a dessert table for Christmas.  Have fun!

It was a Monkey of a good time this weekend as we celebrated the girls 4th birthday party at our local play gym.  Barrel of Monkey’s is the gym so it was only appropriate to have a monkey birthday party filled with all things monkey!  The gym was filled with little people (and big people) and we all had fun celebrating the big day!

The kids got to run around the gym swing on monkey bars (only appropriate since it was a monkey party), flying through the air, jumping for bubbles, climbing a mini rock wall, and even stopping to have fun doing a monkey craft. 

After all the play time there was a quick stop for lunch.  The kids had their own table and the adults had their own table.  The kids lunch table was made up of fruit, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, cups of pirate booty of Annie’s Cheddar Rabbits, cheese, and chicken nuggets.  For the adults the table was filled with two varieties of chicken salad sandwiches, pasta salad, fruit salad, and mini cupcakes.

After lunch some more playing and running around the monkey gym only enough playing to work up their appetite for dessert….cupcakes.  Chocolate and Peanut Butter, Banana and Cream Cheese, and Chocolate and Vanilla Buttercream topped with monkey and flower fondant toppers.  Also on the table were monkey sugar cookies that went into the kids favor bags at the end of the party so they could take home to enjoy later.

Other items stuck inside the favor bags were: monkey bracelets, coloring book, crayons, play-do, organic lollipops, monkey erasers, bouncy ball, and the adorable monkey cookies.

We all had a good time….especially the birthday girls….

And even the resident monkey at the Barrel of Monkey’s had a monkey of a good time….

Vendors:

Gym – Barrel of Monkey’s

Tissue Pom Poms – I made using Martha’s Tissue Poms pack

Happy 4th Birthday Monkey Signs – I made

Monkey and Flower Fondant Toppers – Clementines Cupcakes

Monkey Sugar Cookies – Delicious Dozen

Monkey Centerpieces (only monkey on stick) – Sweet Heart Party Shop

Napkins, Cups, and Stripe Straws – Sweet Lulu

Plates – Target

Food Sticks – I made

Favor Tags – I designed

Need something to do with the kids on the days leading up to Thanksgiving?  Here is a fun craft that will keep them busy.  Turkey Pine Cones!  Helps clear some of those pine cones in the yard too.  Here in South Florida pine cones are rare to find, but on a wild hunt we were able to find some out and about.  These turkey’s are fun holiday craft for kids and adults and they can not only be used for decorations, but also as place holders, or even favors for guest to take home with them.  Have fun!

Here is what you’ll need:

Materials:

- Pine Cones

- Felt – Orange

- Wiggle Eyes

- Pipe Cleaners in fall colors (brown, tan, yellow, orange, red, etc.)

- Brown Pom Poms

Instructions:

1.) For each turkey, cut out a yellow beak. Then glue the beak and a pair of googly eyes onto a pom-pom to create the turkey’s head.

2.) Glue the pom-pom head to the tip of a pinecone. Allow the glue to dry.

3.) Wrap a pipe cleaner around the middle of the turkey’s cone body, starting from the top and twisting it together a few times on the underside. Separate the ends of the pipe cleaner (below the twists) and bend each tip into a 3-toed foot.

4.) For the turkey’s tail, individually wrap 3 or 4 pipe cleaners around the back of the pinecone, starting from the underside and twisting them together a few times on the top of the pinecone to secure them. Then loop both ends of each pipe cleaner to shape tail feathers.

You can see a video on Disney’s Family Fun that shows you how to make this fun little turkey too.

This turkey can not only be a fun decoration for Turkey Day, but it can also be a place card holder for your Thanksgiving dinner.

Happy crafting!  And most of all Happy Thanksgiving!!!

It’s moving day!!!  And this is what my life has been like for the past week……BOXES!!!  Lots of boxes, lots of bubble wrap, and lots of packing tape.  Amazing how much stuff can accumulate!!

And to think in only a few short days…..all these boxes will need to be unpacked!!  Yikes!!  Let the fun begin!

I know it’s Thursday and I’m late with this post but that’s what happens when life gets crazy….

So this past weekend was a mix of rain and sun but it didn’t stop us from having fun.  I’m currently a little obsessed with Instagram.  They finally came out with a version for all us uncool people who don’t have an iphone.  Yes, it’s something I admit to….I have an Android.  Maybe one day I will make the switch to being a cool person and get an iphone, especially now that I’m a ipad girl.  Anywho, come find me on Instagram I’m easy to find…Multiply Delicious.

So since I’m a little obsessed with Instagram I thought it would be fun to share a look at our weekend of fun.  And by the way I must have gone camera crazy because now my camera on my phone won’t work.  Ugh!  Maybe that is a reason to make a switch to an iphone!

The hubby had to head down to Miami to handle some work stuff so after my Saturday morning CrossFit WOD I had full duty with the little monkeys.  Saturday started as a sunny day but quickly changed into a rainy one.  That didn’t stop us in making a trip to a fun place close to us where they have nature walks, butterfly garden, sea aquariums and more.  The rain kept us mostly inside but we did venture out a little.  We actually ventured out between storms and found a hut right by the Intercoastal and had our picnic….even though the sign said no picnics.  I know bad example to break the rules but I didn’t think anyone would stop us because no one was to dare venture out in the rain like we did.  We sat and had our picnic and the weather/storms quickly approached which meant we stayed under the hut for while because making a mad dash for the car when the rain let up.

We came home and with the rain falling outside I decided it would be fun to have a baking session.  So we made the girls very favorite cookie recipe, the Dark Chocolate Cakies.  They have many reasons why they like these but I think their favorite is because they get to lick the batter (no eggs).

Then Sunday came and it turned out to be pretty darn beautiful.  In the morning the hubby took the girls back to their new favorite place so they could explore minus the rain while I stayed home and did my homework.  Wish I could have joined them but having two classes now has meant a lot more homework!

In the afternoon we all got to head to the beach and run in the water and build sand castles!  A pretty fun afternoon!

So there you have it folks a weekend filled with fun and my new obsession….Instagram!

On this Mother’s Day this is how I feel about being a mom….

Remember to breathe….deeply and often.  Name those feelings as they fly through your heart. 

When your children drive you crazy think of the warm sweetness of their bodies when they were just new.  THIS TOO SHALL PASS and far too quickly.  Let the dishes pile up and have a party instead.  Laugh aA LOT. 

Go puddle jumping and star watching.  Build forts and climb trees.  Spend rainy days in bed snuggling and sunny days outside adventuring.  Sing loudly and off-key.  Dance like MANIACS!  Butterfly kisses and bear hugs cure broken hearts. Tell them they can be ANYTHING….tell yourself that too.  Now believe it!  And don’t forget to breathe through it all…..

And here is another quote I found recently from Donna Bell and it spoke mountains to me.  Hope it does to all other moms out there….

Motherhood is a choice YOU make everyday to put someone else’s happiness and well-being ahead of your own

to teach the hard lessons

to do the right thing even when you’re not sure what the right thing is….

and to forgive yourself over and over again

for doing everything wrong.

Happy Mother’s Day to all you moms out there!!

Photo Source

Spring was in a full swing when we landed in Atlanta last week for our Spring Break.  The flowers were in full bloom (and the pollen too).  I was in love with all the flowers too and found myself clicking my camera left and right.  Here are just a few photo’s from our trip….Happy Spring!!

On our trip we when to the Botanical Gardens, simply beautiful.  A must visit if you are in Atlanta in the spring.  One of our favorite parts of the garden was walking through the orchid houses.  Here is just a few of the dozen photo’s I took of orchids alone.

I love spring!!

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!!!

This past weekend we all took a trip to the farm, Heritage Hen Farms.  A peaceful little place filled with love for their animals and for the land they graze on.  All the chickens and hens roam freely on the property as do the cows and the goats. 

Heritage Hens, sell their amazing eggs every Saturday at my local Green Market during season and rarely open their farm during this time of the year.  Saturday when arrived at the Green Market they were completely sold out of eggs.  It was my fought since I arrived late.  I decided to opt for my CrossFit class instead which meant no eggs for me.  You see their eggs are extra special….they taste amazing.  Honestly, you can see the difference and taste the difference from the eggs you pick up at Whole Foods.  It was music to my ears when they said they were opening the farm that night for a special event.  I knew exactly what we would be doing.  The girls were over the moon with excitement…and so was I.  As soon as we stepped onto the farm it was a magical place.

Here are just a few of the friends we met on our trip to the farm.

This is Jet, well we aren’t sure that is his name but that’s the name we gave this handsome guy.  He was quite interested in the girls and walked up to the fence to give them a personal hello.

And here is Mr. Goat, who munched on apple slices and greens most of the time we were there.  He was a handsome guy also.  He was joined with his other goat friends who were just as handsome too.

And the Turkey!  He was the boss of the farm.  Very vocal turkey, but very beautiful!  And I sware he posed for this photo for me.  Almost like he knew he was beautiful.

This is Roost, can you say handsome?  He was one of many that walked Heritage Hen Farms and they were all amazing in their own way. 

The girls favorite part of the farm visit was the chance to hold some of the residents.  My favorite part was just stepping foot onto this amazing farm….and of course picking up some of their pastured eggs. 

We are already looking forward to our next visit.  Thanks Heritage Hen’s Farm for opening your doors to your magical and peaceful farm.

Today was one of those days at work.  You know the ones where it might have been better if you just stayed home.  Around 11am my computer at work locked up and there was no turning back.  By 4:45pm it was still being worked on by the IT group so I decided to head out early and pick up the munchkins before making our way home.  Since I missed my 6am WOD (workout of the day) I decided to make up my own “homemade” version in the backyard when we got home.  I had two little people join in to do their own CrossFit WOD with me too.  The whole time they were doing their own workout I got a lot of this…..”mommy, do you do this in your CrossFit class?”  Then they would strike a pose of some sort or do some kind of crazy jumping move.  Pretty darn cute but I seriously doubt my coaches would classify them as CrossFit moves….but we will keep that between us because I told two little girls yes.  They seem to think they were pretty cool. 

Here is what my Homemade WOD was made up of:

15 burpees

20 KBS (20 pounds – only thing I have, could have used a heavier KB)

25 DB Walking Lunges (15 pounds each hand)

30 Air Squats

35 Push-ups

40 Sit-ups

50 Double Unders

for 4 sets

And because they were too darn cute I had to capture my little ones at their attempt to do some of the moves I was doing in my WOD.

Here is a burpee, looks more like a good plank move if you ask me but I was told in the most serious voice ever that ”mommy, this is a burpee”.  They think the name burpee is hilarious by the way….I disagree, but only because I hate burpees!

Now I would like to give this move a name but I have nowhere to start.  I was only told that “mommy, I’m doing CrossFit”.  So I will go with that…

She has the same facial expressions I give when I’m doing my WOD’s too.

By the end of our WOD I was a new person, but most of all we all had a bunch of fun.  They both told me they wanted to do it again tomorrow night.  Hmmmm….future CrossFit stars in the making?  And even at 4 years old!

This post is going to be very random as I just need to just write….or type in this case.  My head is a spinning mess as I ponder what direction I should be taking right now in my life.  Ok, let me step back.  Life is good don’t get me wrong.  I have a great family, a roof over my head, and I have my health.  What I’m really talking about is what should I be doing?  I’m in this rut in my career.  I find myself hating going to work every day.  It doesn’t bring me the same joy it once did.  Oh yes, I probably shouldn’t be typing these words since I do have co-workers who read my blog.  But seriously I have to get this off my chest.  Shouldn’t you be doing something you love?  Something that has a purpose?  And that you wake up excited to do?  YES!!!  100 times YES!  So with that being said that is why my mind is spinning messing!  And I’m left with the question “what should I do”.  So on a piece of paper I wrote down the things I love, which were….

Cooking/Baking – Duh!

Being creative

Primal Living

CrossFit

Blogging – the place I get to be creative

So what do I do with all that?  I’ve tossed around many ideas in my head, but this is the year I make changes.  I need to!  Not only for me but for my family because being unhappy in a place where I spend most of my time is running over into my family life.  NOT GOOD!  

So here is to figuring it all out.  And for finding that happiness! 

Any of you have any ideas for me?    

Thanks for letting me vent.  This post may come back in bite me in the rear…..but honestly I don’t care.  This is my space in this world to have my freedom of speech!  So here is to freedom too!!

Enough said…..

Here is to a good year!  And a year where I reach my goals plus more!

This post is a little late, but better late than never….right?  I’ll blame it on the food poisoning, but it’s the truth.  That stupid food poisoning really set me back.  But I still had to share our family Christmas in one very magical place…..Disney World!  The happiest place ever!  Ok, it is when you have 4 year old little girls and you see their faces when they see Mickey and the castle.  Every worry in the world disappears….and you are happy being with your kids and being kids with your hubby.  Pretty magical if you ask me. 

So our trip to Disney was filled with lights….and lots of them.  Hollywood Studios is pretty amazing at Christmas.  We happen to be there the night of Christmas Eve.  Imagine walking the corner and seeing nothing but this

….and with Christmas music blaring from speakers….pretty freakin magical.  Then you throw fake snow falling from the sky and you get pretty spectacular!!

And just when you think it couldn’t get any better you get to see a Disney Christmas parade

and see some of your favorite characters….

And you look up and you see this….

There is nothing like seeing your child happy!  Again, magical!

And of course seeing your children make these faces after just buying them Minnie hats

pretty great and pretty funny at the same time!  I love my two little munchkins!!

And what’s a trip to Disney World without a picture in front of the castle

Or a picture with Mickey and Minnie!!!

We had a wonderful time at Disney and our trip will forever be a memory.  Christmas 2011 + Disney = Family and a whole bunch of fun!! 

Hope you all had a magical Christmas and holiday too!

The cookies are the winners!  I asked today on facebook which recipe you were in need of and the cookies were the winners, but it was close.  Don’t worry the muffins will be shared soon!

I have missed you all!  Back from vacation and feeling refreshed!  We had a great time and it was one of those vacations where you just don’t want it to end.  Then again, most vacations are like that …right?  We got some beach time in which was needed.  We have seriously missed the beach after making the move from Florida to Charlotte.  The weather was a little cooler on the first few days but we didn’t care.  We wore jackets over our bathing suits just so we could get on the beach and play.  By the end of the week it was warmer and we had a blast.  We made our way back home on Sunday and I was itching to get back to crossfit.  We made up our own WOD’s on the beach a few days while we were there but nothing beats being back with the community of people at your box that you adore.  Monday I was slow but it felt good to get back.  Then came Tuesday…..and everything went downhill in a matter of a few minutes into the workout.  I’m embarrassed to say this downhill actually happened in the warm-up not the workout.  Yes, I’m embarrassed!!  Do you remember a few months ago when I took a spill on the 24″ box jump?  Well I thought I conquered the box and wouldn’t have another run in with the 24″ box.  Well…..I was wrong!  I was on 9 of 10 in our warm-up box jumps on the 24″ box and there I went.  The sad thing about it all is I had a bad feeling right before I made the fall.  I looked down and the beautiful scar I had from the first fall was wide open.  Not a scrape but wide open….yes, you are seeing the visual right now and I’m sorry especially since this is a blog about food and you should be thinking of food instead of….well yucky stuff.  Any who, the wonderful friends I have at my box got me wrapped up so I could make my way to the closest urgent care.  Walking in I felt fine but moments later, and luckily after the hubby and kids arrived, my body went into shock and I nearly passed out.  I have to say it did get me in the doors to see the doctor faster though.  10 stitches plus 2 vertical mattress stitches later I’m here to tell my embarrassing story of how the 24″ box won again!  Darn wooden box!  Actually, I had other words for the box but I won’t indulge but your mind can just imagine what they were.  But seriously, I’m wearing my old soccer shin guards from here on out when we have to jump on a wooden box!!!!  I’m not having any of this again!!  The worst part about it is I’m sidelined from working out for a few (or more) days.  Sucks!  The past few days have been painful but I’m hoping this will heal fast because did I tell you….I got pretty pink nano’s for my Mother’s Day gift!  I must have been good!  But I really need this to heal so I can sport my new kicks and get my butt back in the gym!

Enough about that and onto cookies.  And note to self: write down the recipe of something you are working on because you will forget after you come back from vacation and are trying to write a blog post about them.  Yes, I made these before leaving on our trip and I completely forgot certain things.  So what happens when you do that?  You have to make them again!!  Not a good thing when you are sitting on your butt and not working out.  The kids and the hubby are going to have to eat these fast so I don’t give into them but they call your name.  They are good and don’t you worry about those carrots hidden inside these…they make the cookies good for you, right?  Haha!  Maybe I should eat them so the carrots can help me see that 24″ box better next time!!!  Enjoy!

Carrot Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies

1 1/3 cup almond flour

1 1/2 tablespoons coconut flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

2 medjool date, pit removed and chopped

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

1 egg

1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup (optional but if you don’t add use 1 more date)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup grated carrots

1/3 cup dark chocolate (85% and higher), chopped

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a small bowl combine all dry ingredients, almond flour through sea salt, and whisk to combine.

In the bowl of a food processor combine dates, coconut oil, egg, maple syrup, and vanilla extract and process to combine.  You want the dates to be completely broken up.  Add dry ingredients to the bowl of food processor and pulse to combine.

Remove blade from food processor and stir in carrots and dark chocolate.  The dough will be very sticky.  If you want to add an added crunch add 1/4 cup chopped walnuts to the cookie batter.

Scoop even scoops of batter with cookie or ice cream scoop and place onto prepared baking sheet and slightly press the tops.

Bake cookies for 12-15 minutes or until golden.

Cool cookies on pan for 5 -10 minutes before removing from pan (or trying).  If you remove too quickly cookies will break because they are on the softer side.

Cookies will keep longer stored in an airtight container in refrigerator.  You can also freeze and enjoy later.

Makes about 18 – 20 cookies

I’m drowning!  Drowning with so much stuff….I sound like I did last week.  Oh well, its the truth.  I guess I’m consistent!  This week a bomb went off in my house.  Tuesday I got the call from the girls school that the head lice that was being warned about 2 weeks ago landed in not one of my children but TWO (but luckily not me)!  I guess that would happen when I do have twins…duh!  The days after have been taking trips to a specialist…which I didn’t know there was such a thing until this all happened by the way.  I have to say those specialist were the happiest group of people I have ever seen especially they are checking peoples heads for bugs and eggs.  Yuck!  I was lucky enough never to have gotten these little critters in my hair growing up.  I can honestly say I hope my little ones don’t have to go through it again either.  Not only does it suck in the pocket book but all those things on the to-do list you have get pushed back even more.  Like this blog post….I wanted to post it days ago but it’s Friday and I’m just getting to it.  But the girls were home with me the past three days which meant entertaining two little ones and not getting much of anything done!  I hope I don’t sound like one of those whiny people…I hate it when my kids whine so I really hope I’m not sounding like them! I’m sorry….I’ll shut up now.  But seriously, other moms out there who have gone through this whole lice thing please tell me this only happen to your child once and not multiple times.  Ok, I’m shutting up.

Here is a good thing, our vacation starts tomorrow!  The family and I are headed out on some much needed bonding time together…oh and the dog is even coming along too.  Which makes us all happy to have our four legged friend along for the fun.  So no whining or blog posts from me next week but hopefully I’ll be able to come back a new person and just maybe a new redesigned site….ok, that may be later in the month but its coming and I’m over the moon with excitement to share it all with you.  I’ve been listening to you all too.  A print option is coming, a pin it option is coming, and some more paleo information overload that will hopefully make your transition to the lifestyle easy.  I’m thankful for the creative and super talents of Melissa and Erin over at Wooden Spoon Kitchen to make this all a reality.

Ok, food….here is the recipe!  Oh, I realized I am extremely rusty on making a fried egg.  I’m a scrambled egg kind of girl on most days.  Sorry they aren’t so pretty…they tasted good though!

Breakfast Skillet Hash

2 slices nitrate free pastured bacon, cooked

1 small to medium sweet potato, finely diced

1 bunch of brussel sprouts, trimmed and quartered

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

4 eggs

Instructions:

To make hash:

Use the bacon grease from the cooked bacon and add to a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.  Add diced sweet potato and sea salt and stir to combine.  Cook sweet potatoes for about 3 to 4 minutes, stirring often.  Then stir in brussel sprout quarters and continue to cook until both the sweet potato and brussels sprouts are tender and golden.

Dice cooked bacon into pieces and stir into hash.  Remove from heat and set aside.

To make fried eggs: 

Set your non-stick pan over medium heat and let it warm up. Add 1-3 teaspoons of coconut oil or bacon grease.  Crack egg(s) directly into pan.  Once you’ve cracked the eggs in the pan, just let them sit.  They will be done when the whites are set and the outer edges are just starting to curl up.  If the edges start to curl before the whites in the center are fully cooked, cover the pan with a lid for a minute or two.

Divide hash onto two plates and serve two fried eggs over hash.

Makes 4 servings.

I have a couple recipes stocked up to post but time has gotten away from me.  Where does the time go?  Am I the only one that wishes we had more time in a day?  My to-do list on a daily basis continues to grow and yet hardly anything gets marked off because something other than what I am supposed to do happens.  Things happen!  Darn things…stop happening so I can get crap done!  Ugh!  All of you who have sent emails or comments on the blog I promise I will get back to you soon.  I haven’t shared the reason for lack of posts lately because there hasn’t been a good time to indulge why with you….is there ever a good time?  Ok, there I go on time again!  I’ll shut up and continue with what I was going to tell you.  So you know I did the e-book, and you know that I worked on another book which will be out on book shelves in October, BUT there is something else….I’m working on another book!!  Yep, folks I’m pretty excited because this next project isn’t just about recipes it’s about Super Paleo Foods and all about what makes them super and then thrown in are of course recipes I have created (and photographed), 50 to be exact!  I have been working behind the scenes on that for a month or two and the manuscript is due to the publisher July 1st!  Which speaking of time…. is not a lot!!  I am so fortunate to be partnering with Julia on writing some of the content inside the book.  She has been so wonderful to work with and takes my gibber and random thoughts and turns them into perfect sense.  So bare with me on posts in the next two months as I work like crazy behind the scenes on this new project.  Which by the way will be available to your eyes in May 2014!  I know a whole year but I promise the wait will be worth it.  I’m excited about this project and I hope you will be too.

Before I scoot along to work on more recipe development for the book I wanted to share this bread recipe with you.  It’s one of those things that came about when there was one ripe banana sitting on my counter begging to be used.  I have done my fair share of muffins on the blog so I thought it was time for some bread.  So here you have it….Apple Carrot Banana Bread.  The banana and dates give it a nice natural sweetness but I did add a little maple syrup to the batter which gave it the perfect balance.  You can opt to leave it out but I recommend keeping it in.  You can also turn these into muffins if you are worried about eating the whole loaf.  Either way enjoy!

Have a fabulous weekend folks and I promise if I’m not talking here on the blog or other social media outlets it doesn’t mean I don’t love you guys and not working hard on all things Paleo related!  I’m just knee deep and wishing I had more time…..

Apple Carrot Banana Bread

2 small carrots, shredded

1 apple, shredded

1 ripe banana, mashed

4 medjool dates, pitted

5 eggs

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons maple syrup (optional, but recommended)

1/2 cup coconut flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a bread loaf pan with coconut oil.  The loaf pan I used here can be found here.

Shred carrots and apple and set aside.

In bowl of a food processor, add banana, dates, eggs, coconut oil, vanilla extract, and maple syrup and process until dates are completely broken up and no large chunks are in mixture.

Add coconut flour, baking soda, sea salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves to food processor and process until a batter forms.  Remove blade from bowl and stir in shredded carrots and apple.

Pour batter into prepared load pan and bake for 45-50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  You can sprinkle additional cinnamon on top of loaf if you desire as well.

Allow loaf to cool for 10-15 minutes before cutting into.

Loaf can be wrapped and stored in refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.  It can also be frozen and enjoyed at a later time.

Makes 1 bread loaf or 12 muffins

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted.  It’s been a bit crazy in my world.  Some good…and some bad but that’s what makes the world go around.  Right?  Right!  I don’t want to bore you with all the “bad” stuff so instead lets talk about the good.  Everyone needs a little good after everything that has happened in Boston this week.  So scary!  My thoughts go out to those of you in Boston and if you know of someone effected by the events that happen on Monday.  So scary to what this world is coming to.

Ok, we are supposed to be talking good (not bad)!  Now for some good, I just finished the proofreading for the real deal cookbook that will be out this coming October!  I have to say its pretty crazy to see all the hard work I packed into a 3 month window on physical pages.  And how I managed to not only write the book, create recipes, and photograph 50 of the recipes in 3 short months all while working on the e-book is still a little hard to wrap my brain around.  I think I’m seriously insane….but you guys already knew that so that isn’t anything new to you. Haha!  Again, proofreading is done and now I guess we will wait for the next steps.  Not sure what those are since I pretty much have been along for the ride on this cookbook writing stuff.  I will keep you updated on things as we go.  Speaking of cookbooks, did you see Juli’s cookbook is now available to order on Amazon?  I ordered my copy and I’m excited to get my paws on it too!  Love that girl!  And another cookbook I’m excited about is Haley and Bill’s latest, Gathered.  It looks beautiful!  Their first cookbook is still one of my all time favorite Paleo cookbooks.  A lot of Paleo cookbooks will be on shelves soon.  Makes my heart happy I must say!

Another piece of good, the new look on the site is supposed to be coming your way the 2nd week of May if all goes as planned.  I’m soooo excited about it.  I need a new spring cleaning on the site.  It’s going to have a new focus and its going to be nothing but Paleo food talk.  Some other things in there too that my only hope will make it easy for you to stick to your paleo lifestyle without the fear it sometimes may bring.  Did I tell you I was excited about this whole new look?  I’m over the moon!  I’ve tried to sprinkle some of what is to come with the logo in the pictures recently.  Let me know what you think.

Just some other side stuff and recent thoughts that I had to share because sometimes they may help someone out there in a weird unknown way. I have had a wave of doubt come through me lately.  You see back last summer with the move we made to a new state I quit my corporate America job in order to jump on my passion for Paleo and sharing that word with others out there.  It’s been a scary ride and there have been times were I have seriously wondered what I was thinking and even scared that I may not be able to buy groceries for the week.  With that being said and a little side note, thank you for those who have bought the ebook.  Its helped me stay afloat.  As always I’ve gone off the track I was trying to take with this.  So back on track we go….earlier this week I was seriously thinking of entering back into the corporate rat race.  You see the unknown is scary and the known is comfortable and stable.  Then something happened yesterday that made me really stop and think.  First I met a lady while the girls played with her niece.  We got to talking and eventually the conversation landed on “what I did”.  I told her about Paleo and she knew about it and told me her sister-in-law was Paleo.  We continued to talk and as I was talking my passion about this stuff radiated through me…why deny it and turn away I thought?  AND then not but a few hours later I was approached about the idea of Paleo catering and meal delivery in my local city.  Hmmmm….things happen at the right time and sometimes when you need them the most.  I need to keep a note close by that reads, DON”T GIVE UP ON YOUR PASSION AND YOUR DREAM!!!  Sometimes you need a little kick in the butt to realize that you can’t give up!

Enough with my rambling words.  What about a burger?  With the weather warming up I have craved nothing but burgers on the grill lately.  We made them twice this past weekend and I made these pork burgers last night with some leftover pesto I had in the refrigerator.  They are easy to whip up and the tomatoes really make these in my humble opinion.  But there is nothing wrong if you just don’t have it in you to saute them up.  Either way, enjoy and I hope my rambling thoughts helped one of you out there in some small way.

Pesto Pork Burgers with Sauteed Cherry Tomatoes

1 pound ground pastured pork

2 tablespoons Paleo Pesto (recipe below)

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

Paleo Spinach Pesto

2 cups baby spinach

1 cup fresh basil

1 clove garlic, sliced

1/4 cup olive oil

juice and zest of one lemon

sea salt and fresh pepper to taste

Instructions:

To make pesto: Blend everything together in a food processor until smooth.  Stopping a few times to scrape down the sides of bowl.  Taste and adjust, adding more salt, pepper, or olive oil, as necessary.

To make burgers: In a large bowl, add pork, pesto, and sea salt and use a fork to incorporate evenly together.  Form pork mixture into 4 to 5 even patties.  Allow the patties to sit for about 10 minutes covered while you preheat grill or grill pan.  Allow the patties to absorb the flavor of the pesto by allowing them to sit.  You can also form patties the night before and store in refrigerator.  If you do this, just allow the burgers to sit out for 5-10 minutes before placing on the grill or grill pan.

Place burgers on grill or grill pan and allow to cook on one side 3 to 4 minutes until flipping to cook the other side.

To make tomato basil saute: In a medium nonstick skillet heated over medium heat add 1 teaspoon coconut oil or bacon grease.  Allow the oil to melt and add tomatoes, basil, and minced garlic.  Stir and allow the tomatoes to soften and burst with flavor.  About 2 minutes.

Serve burgers with tomato mixture onto top.

Makes 4 to 5 burgers

So I’ve been missing in action!  Things happened…and then more things happened!  Sad things!  Things that are still a bit hard for me to talk about because they are still so fresh.  You see my grandmother, the lady that was a huge part of my life growing up, passed away last week.  Things happened overnight it seems.  She went from the full steam ahead stubborn lady I knew to a lady I didn’t even recognize laying in the hospital.  It’s amazing how life works and how you get so busy in your life that you forget to stop and say “I Love You” on random times and days to those important in your life.  I’m guilty of it!  My goal is to get better.  Too bad it took this happening to realize that.  I loved my grandmother more than words and I will miss her greatly.  BUT I am happy I have so many memories of her fresh in my head like they happened yesterday.  I speak of her a lot in the my upcoming cookbook I wrote, which you’ll hopefully see in early October.  Like the hot summer days sitting in her kitchen eating cantaloupe.  Or the peach ice cream we used to make every summer in the old fashion ice cream maker.  And even her non-Paleo Southern biscuits that I loved as a child!  So much!  I’m tucking those memories deep in my mind and heart to cherish forever.  She was more of an influence in my life than I think she knew….

With that being said I wasn’t able to get in the kitchen to cook so I’m cheating a little with this recipe.  This was my breakfast but it was good so I thought why not share it?!  Don’t judge, just love that I thought of you long enough to snap this photo before completely eating it all.  And now you have a recipe and hopefully a new dish to try one spring morning…since it is spring even though the weather doesn’t seem to agree in my neck of the woods.

Another thing, I wasn’t able to attend PaleoFX which was sad but it was amazing to see pictures and see recaps from some of the fellow Paleo Bloggers out there.  There is always next year….

One last note, stop and breath every now and then and take in what is around you.  Especially those that mean so much to you.  Because unfortunately you never know what tomorrow will bring.  With that being said…..thank you to all of you out there who support this little creative outlet of mine and read my rambling words. I “heart” you guys!

Spring Breakfast Bowl

This bowl is a mix of several yummy things thrown into a bowl to create a delicious breakfast meal.

2 pastured eggs, scrambled

2 slices of nitrite-free bacon, cooked

1 cup spinach, chopped

1/2 a bunch asparagus, bottom of steam removed and chopped into pieces.

1/2 small avocado, skin removed and interior cubed into pieces

Instructions:

Prepare eggs and bacon.

To make spinach and asparagus saute: In a skillet over medium-high heat add 1 to 2 teaspoons of bacon grease from cooking bacon slices.  Then add chopped spinach and asparagus pieces and saute until spinach is wilted down and asparagus is tender.  About 2 to 3 minutes.

To make a delicious breakfast bowl: Add scrambled eggs, spinach asparagus saute, bacon (crumbled if you like), and avocado dices to a bowl and enjoy!

Easy dish in a matter of minutes to fuel your day!  What could be better?

I’ve been lazy lately!  Not sure why but I haven’t had a desire to really get in the kitchen and cook.  Not sure what it is but for the sake of all of you out there and the blog I really hope this all passes soon!  It’s not like I don’t have the ideas.  I have a stack of papers by my computer which all consists of recipe ideas.  Its just a matter of making them!  Ha!  Anyone want to come over and cook with me?  Maybe that will get me back in to the mood?  I have to say these biscuits might have busted my cooking blues.  I had a quick idea which lead to these biscuits which lead me to get in the kitchen.  The outcome was a winner but then again anything with bacon is sure to be a winner!

Now time for some of my randomness and updates of what is going on around the blog and elsewhere….

Updates are coming soon to the blog.  So stay tune!  I’m hoping to change the look a little and do some spring cleaning.  It should all be up (if all goes as planned) in May.  Which if you think about it will be here before we know it.  I’m really looking forward to the change and happy to have the great team at Wooden Spoons Kitchen to help me in the redesign.  So those of you who have requested different things for the blog I have taken note and I promise I’m working on it for the new look.

Saveur is doing their annual Best Food Blog Awards.  If you have a moment I would love your vote…pretty please!  Just head over to their Best Food Blog nomination page and vote (if you want).  You can check those areas that you think best fit the blog, like Best Special Diets Blog.  A huge thanks everyone!

Update on 13.2 and the workout.  I made it through and scored a 247 which I was happy with.  Now onto 13.3 and I’m hoping I can survive 150 wall balls!  Yuck!  I didn’t do them last year and I certainly didn’t hope for them this year.  Oh well, sometimes you have to do things you just do’t like…right?  Good luck to those who are tackling this workout this weekend!  YOU CAN DO IT!!

And I’m cold….I miss Florida right now and have for several weeks.  What is up with these cool temperatures.  We were spoiled here in Charlotte this past weekend with 70 degree weather and now we are back in the 30′s for the highs…..WHAT!!  Seriously the first day of spring came so where is the warmth?  I need warmth?  I crave warmth.  Thank goodness I’m headed to Texas next week.  I’m really hoping for sunshine and warm sunshine.

I’m going to sign off for now.  Next week I’m heading to Texas and I’m hoping I can get a recipe up before I head out for the PaleoFX conference.  If not, please don’t hate jut make these biscuits and it will hopefully make you happy and not hate.  I promise to have pictures and updates from the conference.

Bacon, Sundried Tomato and Chive Biscuits

2 1/2 cups almond flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

2 eggs, whisked

1/4 cup bacon grease (or coconut oil melted)

1/2 teaspoon honey

2 strips of nitrate-free bacon, cooked and crumbled

2 sundried tomatoes, diced

1/2 tablespoon fresh chives, finely diced

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large bowl whisk together almond flour, baking soda, and sea salt.  Stir in whisked eggs, bacon grease (or coconut oil), and honey and mixing to combine.  Add crumbled bacon, diced sundried tomatoes, and chives stirring until well incorporated.  The dough should form into a ball.

On a flat clean surface place a piece of parchment paper.  Place ball of dough on top of parchment paper and using hands flatten dough to an even circle.  Flatten dough to the desired thickness you would like your biscuits.  I preferred to keep mine thicker.

Using a biscuit cutter (between 1″-2″ in size), cut the biscuits out of the dough.  You can use remaining dough to flatten again in order to cut out additional biscuits.  Place biscuits onto prepared baking sheet.

Bake biscuits 12-15 minutes or until golden.  Best if enjoyed still warm from the oven.

Biscuits can be stored in an airtight container in a cool dry place for about 2 to 3 days (if they last that long).

Makes 6 large biscuits or 12 smaller biscuits.

This is how I recommend using the biscuits – as a breakfast sandwich! Yummy!

I don’t know what it is but my kids have recently decided green stuff in any form is something they no longer love or have a relationship with.  WHAT!?  Seriously?  It’s like they are teenagers already and like a boy and then a week later decide they don’t.  Ok, maybe that was me when I was a teenager and I’m getting confused?  Ha, but seriously they used to be the kids I loved to brag about because they ate their greens.  Now it’s like I have two totally different children who look the same but have totally different eating habits.  Hmmmm!  What to do?  Here is what I did…I blended the green stuff all up in a smoothie and gave it a really cool name so they wouldn’t know that they are actually “eating” their greens.  I know, it’s kind of like I’m telling a white lie.  It’s a little one, so thats ok right?  But seriously, a mom has to do what a mom has to do.  I’m desperate I guess….NO I’m a caring mom that is only doing the best for my 5 year old girls. HA!  Call it what you like I’m happy when they drink this smoothie down in a flash and are happy healthy girls in the end.  With that being said I make this smoothie (or a version of it) often.  The thing about smoothies is you can play around with what you put in them.  So you do the same with your smoothie.  Have fun but don’t forget those greens.  One of our other favorite smoothies we have made several times lately and added in spinach.  It’s a winner and they have no clue!  Genius!

Some other stuff to keep you entertained.  I read Juli’s post today in line today at Starbucks about the Bachelor this week and laughed out loud.  I couldn’t agree more with her thoughts and I seriously thought I was the only one on earth.  I wasn’t a die hard viewer of the Bachelor but I followed enough to really think that his final choice would NOT be Catherine.  Really?  Seriously?  Again, a waste of several hours of my life watching that all go down.  I do have to thank the person that invented the recording aspect (what did I do before) because I did fast forward most of the drama that unfolded.  Any who, totally disappointed and happy to hear Juli felt the same. Ha!

13.2 is going down for me tomorrow and practiced this morning in the gym.  My only take away….it’s going to SUCK!  Seriously, I’m not looking forward to it.  May the force be with you all who are doing it in the next couple days.  I hope you rock it because I seriously don’t know if I’m going to.  75 might be light to some but anything involving my shoulders and pushing overhead I SUCK at in a big major way.  Yes, I do know what I need to work on for sure.

One more thing, the site is going to be redesigned in the next few months.  SOOOOOO excited about that fact!!!  I’ve out grown this site from when I started it and now I need to put on some grown-up blogging pants with a new look.  A makeover of sort.  Don’t worry it won’t be till May when it will come out so everyone can see BUT I’m totally excited about it and of course couldn’t keep a secret.  I suck at secrets.

Ok, enjoy the smoothie and don’t do crazy things on Sunday for St. Patty’s Day.  Ok, you totally can I’m kidding.  I have done my fair share in my lifetime….look at me I sound like a old lady saying that!  Ok, I’m out.  Have a good weekend!

Green Monster Smoothie (for St.Patty’s Day)

1 cup canned coconut milk

1 cup spinach leaves, loosely packed and washed

1 cup kale, stems removed and loosely packed and washed

1/2 cup fresh pineapple, cubed (or mango)

1 frozen banana

1/2 cup ice cubes

1/2 cup water

Optional Add Ins:

1 tablespoon coconut butter or almond butter

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon honey or 1 pitted medjool date

Instructions:

Place all ingredients into a blender making sure to place the coconut milk in first.  Blend until smooth, taste and add additional goodies in to taste and blend again.  Serve and enjoy.

Makes 1 large smoothie or 2 small smoothies

I can’t believe it’s been almost a week since the big 13.1 workout announcement.  Sorry if some of you out there aren’t CrossFit goers.  Just skip down because I’ll be talking a little CrossFit for a little bit.  So, tomorrow night the next workout will be announced.  Anyone feeling a little nervous about what the workout will be?  I have to say I’m trying to not get stressed (I might be lying about that fact…maybe just a little).  Ha!  Any who, how did ya’ll do on 13.1?  I asked a bunch of you for advise last Friday on my facebook page and it was great to hear the feedback.  You guys rock!  But you already knew that!  I have to say I was happy with my 13.1 performance.  I didn’t go crazy on the burpees right out of the gates and paced myself.  I was able to complete the first set of 40 burpees and 30 snatches in 5:20.  Even the next set of burpees went well but when I got to the 75 pound bar things slowed down a lot!  You see, just the day before doing the workout I was able to beat my last snatch PR of 60 pounds by doing 75 pounds.  Walking away from doing several reps at 75 I felt pretty good about doing 13.1.  BUT once I was in the workout and after doing 70 burpees the snatches at 75 was hard!  Many of my snatched didn’t look pretty but I was happy with my final score of 129.  I failed on my second to last attempt so if I would have stuck that I would have gotten 130.  oh well!  Again, happy with that score.  I do know what I need to work on though.  In the end, I couldn’t have done the workout without my wonderful CrossFit family cheering me on.  I love CrossFit but what I love the most is the people!  Such a wonderful feeling to have people who workout at all different times of the day come together at one time to do a killer workout and everyone cheering each other on.  Beautiful I tell you!  So it’s now onto 13.2!  Any predictions on the workout?  I have heard talk that it’s going to be heavy….my worst nightmare!  Whatever it may be I’m still excited!  Ha, call me crazy!

Ok, now for some scones.  I made these last week when we weren’t having the current sunny and 70 degree weather.  In fact it was more along the lines of raining, gloomy, and a bit on the colder side.  It was the kind of weather that made me crazy a cup of tea in the afternoon while I worked away on some things here.  as much as the tea was delish it needed something to go along with it.  Like these scones!  Now folks these are Paleo scones so they aren’t like the ones you used to love pre-paleo.  BUT they are pretty darn delicious in my humble opinion.  The kiddos loved them and approved too so I would like to think that is a seal of approval too.  They aren’t terribly sweet and they have the right amount of spice.  They soften up a little next day so if you prefer a softer scone/biscuit hold out to enjoy until the next day.

Maple Spiced Scones

2 1/2 cups almond flour

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon maple syrup

2 eggs

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

Maple Cinnamon Glaze

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1/2 tablespoon coconut oil, melted

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large bowl add almond flour, cinnamon, sea salt, and baking soda and whisk to combine.  Then stir in maple syrup, eggs, and coconut oil to incorporate.  The batter should form a dough once everything is incorporated.

Lay a piece of parchment paper down on a flat surface and sprinkle with a thin layer of additional almond flour.  Shape dough with hands to make a ball.  Place the ball of dough onto the parchment paper and with hands of a roller flatten dough out to a circle in even form about 1 to 2-inches in thickness.  The thickness will be up to you and the thickness you prefer.  I honestly think the thicker the better.  You can then cut the dough into triangles OR you can cut out into 2-inch size circles using a biscuit cutter.  I happen to like using the biscuit cutter because it makes these perfect for the two little people in my life and their little hands.

Place cut out scones (in shapes of choice) onto the prepared baking sheet.

To make glaze, add maple syrup, coconut oil, and cinnamon and stir to combine.  Using a kitchen pastry brush, brush the tops of each scone with the maple cinnamon glaze. Don’t go crazy with the glaze, just a light coating will do the job.  You may have some of the glaze leftover and that is fine.  You can use whatever remains to brush the top of the scones after baking.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until slightly golden.  If you have any glaze leftover then brush the tops again right after removing from the oven.

Allow the scones to cool slightly and serve warm.  These are great with a cup of tea.

I actually think these little scones taste better the following day, but again that’s just me.

Makes about 15 – 2-inch scones

Store scones in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days in a cool dry place.  To keep longer, store in refrigerator.  These can also be frozen and enjoyed later.

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You asked and you shall receive.  Last week, or maybe the week before, I asked on my facebook page what you wanted to see on the blog as far as recipes go and by far the vote was something involving the slow cooker.  I have to be honest I don’t use mine as much as I should.  My mom hardly ever used ours when I was growing up so I like to think that is the reason why I don’t use mine BUT shame on me!!  I need to use it more often because it totally rocks and saved my butt in having to make dinner the other night.  WHY?  Because I just threw all of this in the pot and 4 to 5 hours later when I was super tired I had dinner!  Dinner that I didn’t have to make because I did it 4 or 5 hours prior.  Ahhhh!  Nice!  Genius those people who made the slow cooker….genius!  Don’t you wish you thought of it?  I surely did.

Ok, before we jump into the recipe some fun “stuff” to share.  Just because!  And because it’s fun to share!  Last week if you recall my random thoughts I mentioned I was “thinking” about signing up for the 2013 CrossFit Open.  Well, I DID!  Ugh!  I hope I didn’t make a terrible mistake and regret it after the first workout.  And why do I have butterflies in my stomach waiting to hear what the first workout is going to be?  Is that good, or totally bad?  Ugh!  I sometimes wonder why I do this to myself!  I was totally bullied to sign up by my coach….ok, totally kidding but he did tell me on numerous occasions I should….so I finally did!  I’m going to totally tell myself its all about having fun these next 5 weeks.  Ok, now my armpits are sweating thinking about it.  I totally need to move on to the next topic so I can calm my butt down!  But (the other one) I do have to mention the announcement of the first workout is in Charlotte!!  My new hometown!  Just a short 20 minute drive away the first workout will be done at the beautiful CrossFit Vitality.  I soooooo wish I could go but I have mom duties to attend to and lets face it that’s more important than sitting around watching Dan Bailey and Scott Panchik sweat it out….hmmmm?  Questionable!  Ha!

Another fun thing going on….I’m going to the PaleoFX event at the end of the month in Austin, TX!!  Yippee!  I’m sooo excited!  It will be fabulous to finally meet some of my favorite Paleo bloggers like Juli, Danielle, Stacy, Michelle, and many more too.  I’m also excited to see my Paleo crush Matt Lalonde  speak.  I’ve never been to Austin either and I’m pretty pumped about seeing this city.  I have heard nothing but amazing things about it.  Are any of you going?  Please let me know if you are in the comments below.  I would love to meet you and chat.  And for those of you who can’t come, I will be sure to share my journey with all of you out there so make sure to follow me on my facebook page, instagram, and twitter to hear what I’m learning and seeing.

Ok, I’m off.  Enjoy the stew my beautiful Paleo people!  Stay tune because I have some Cinnamon Maple Scones to share with you soon.  My mouth just started to water typing that…I have a problem folks.

Slow Cooker Chicken, Sweet Potato and Kale Stew

1 pound skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks

1 yellow onion, diced

3 carrots, peeled and cubed

1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

1/3 cup tomato paste

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoon gluten-free yellow mustard

3 bay leaves

1 bunch of kale, steams removed and broken into pieces

sea salt and fresh pepper to taste

Instructions:

Wash chicken and cut into chunk size pieces and place into the pot of a slow cooker uncooked.

On top of chicken add diced onion, cubed carrots, cubed sweet potato, garlic, chicken broth, tomato, paste, balsamic vinegar, mustard, and bay leaves.  Stir to mix everything together.  Place slow cooker on high heat for 4 to 5 hours or until carrots and sweet potato are tender.  In the last hour, add kale and stir to combine.

If you don’t like your chicken chunky you can shred the chicken at the end of cooking by using a fork or the back of a spoon.  Its super easy to do with the cooking process.  I’ve had it both ways and both are delicious.  Taste the stew and season with sea salt and fresh pepper to taste.

Remove bay leaves, serve and enjoy.

Makes about 5 to 6 servings (give or take).  Its hard for me to gauge because my husbands servings are bigger than most.  ha!

I’m going to start off this post thanking Juli over at PaleOMG for doing a super nice review of the e-book.  You have until March 3rd to head over and leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the ebook.  So if you haven’t gotten your hands on a copy yet and are feeling lucky head over and leave a comment.

Now for some randomness since you all love those moments on the blog….you know you do!  I haven’t had them in awhile too.  I promise the limited amount of posting isn’t because I don’t love you but its all the stuff I’m working on the background.  I have been busy working in the editing of the other book coming out at the end of October.  I can’t wait to see the cover so I can share with all of you.  It will be sweet!  Hint: this next book I’m working on is going to be all about Paleo Treats and Desserts.  Ahhhh, yes I can hear it now…Paleo and Sweets….that’s not right!  Well folks we are human and still have that occasional party or celebration and instead of going to the bakery and indulging on some serious sugar I will have alternatives that are GOOD and have NATURAL sweeteners.  Hooray!  Now of course I went off on a totally different path (and no that wasn’t my randomness I was speaking about above).

Randomness…

I love the Oscars.  Mostly the red carpet and all the dresses.  Back in the days of college I would daydream I was a famous actress and torture my roommates with my acceptance speech.  Ha!  Crazy right?  But that’s what happens when you take acting classes in college (I have a minor in performing arts), you start to daydream way to much!  I have now roped my kids into sitting and watching the red carpet.  They actually requested they eat there dinner while the red carpet was going on in the background so they could still see the parade of dresses and “handsome” boys….that last one was their words.  By the way their vote for handsome boy was Bradley Cooper….seriously that was without me saying a word.  But I have to say I agree!

CrossFit is kicking my butt, in a good way, lately.  We did Annie last week – 50-40-30-20-10 of Double Unders and Ab Mat Sit-Ups.  I had a PR and RX of 6:11.  Pretty proud moment!  We did the Hero WOD Whitten on Saturday, I don’t wish that on anyone!  Long, long, long!  I finished though and was happy with the 37:17 time.  Nothing like a long WOD to make the rest of your day feel like you are going in slow motion too.  My whole body hated me!

Thinking about signing up for the CrossFit open….again thinking!

I occasional tune into the Bachelor.  It’s easy entertainment.  I record and fast forward through all the drama.  Last night I did just that and skipped to the rose ceremony.  Ok, I honestly didn’t think she was going to be kicked off.  I think I might have to watch it again and actually watch the part of her date so I can see why.  The last two standing are totally different and not what I imagined.  We shall see what happens next week.  I’m recording it though so I can use my fast forward button because you know how they draw things out on the last show.

I have to admit I haven’t wanted to cook lately.  Maybe it’s because of all the cooking I have done with the books lately.  The other night I was so lazy I rolled up slices of applegate chicken with avocado slices and had that for my dinner.  Yes folks, even food bloggers are too lazy to make things to eat.

End of Randomness….

Now onto the recipe!  These little twists were inspired by the request for kid-friendly snacks by you, the readers.  These can easily be made with your kids because the dough is similar to the fun you have with playdough.  They are great for dipping too and all kids love a  food that requires some dipping.  Even big kids do too!

Paleo Pizza  Sticks

1 1/2 cups almond flour

2 teaspoons pizza seasoning, divided*

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon sea salt, divided

1 tablespoon bacon grease (ghee or coconut oil), melted

1 teaspoon honey (optional)

3 eggs, divided

2 tablespoons coconut flour

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large bowl whisk together almond flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons pizza seasoning, garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, bacon grease (or ghee or coconut oil), and honey.

In a small bowl, which 2 eggs together.  Add egg mixture to the almond flour mix and stir to combined.  Add 1 tablespoon coconut flour and stir to combine.  Allow the mixture to sit for a minute and then add the other tablespoon of coconut flour and stir to combine.  The batter should be slightly sticky and easy to knead.

Make a ball of dough and on a large clean surface (I used a large cutting board) roll dough using finger tips to make a long rope.  I compare it to play with play dough with my kids and making a snake.  You want a long snake about 1/2 inch thick in diameter.  Carefully fold the long rope in half so you have two pieces in equal size.

Then carefully pinch the two tops together and start twisting the two pieces of dough together to make a twist.  If the dough starts to crack just use damp fingers and smooth out the cracks.

Place the pizza twists/sticks onto prepared baking sheet and place in preheated oven.  Bake for 10 minutes.

In a small bowl whisk 1 egg with 1 teaspoon water.  In another small little bowl add 1/2 teaspoon pizza seasoning and 1/2 teaspoon sea salt and mix to combine.

Remove the sticks from the oven and carefully turn them over.  The bottoms should be golden.  Then brush the tops of the sticks (which were the bottoms) with the egg wash and then sprinkle with the pizza seasoning/sea salt mix.

Increase the heat of oven to 375 degrees.

Place the pizza sticks back in the oven and bake for an additional 5 minutes.

Remove and allow the sticks to cool slightly before serving.

Serve with a Paleo Tomato Sauce or favorite clean sauce you desire.

Makes about 4 pizza twists/sticks

Recipe adapted from Stir it Up

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