Christmas Baking

We don't bake a lot but I figured that because it's nearly Christmas, it was time. We haven't had a spare morning to do anything lately so today was the day. Marin and I picked out two recipes: Cookies and Reindeer Chow. They are pretty easy recipes and don't have a million ingredients. They are also delicious. 

Marin takes any opportunity she can get to wear an apron. 

Marin's favorite part is sneaking M&M's when she thinks I'm not looking. 

Now we just need to share all of these goodies with other people so we don't eat them all ourselves. 

WHOLE ME | Whole 30 Week 3

I only have about one more week until I have officially completed my first Whole 30. It feels like it's gone fairly quickly and I feel like I could eat like this on a continued basis, with some alterations. I haven't been nearly as hungry this week. I've snacked less, which is good because that's one of the things they stress about in the book: minimal snacking. I've landed into a routine of cooking the same meals over and over again, but I really don't mind. I've found a few that I really enjoy and I just keep going back to them. 

I am now starting to research my reintroduction into the world of food once my 30 days is over. I haven't completely decided what I will bring in to my diet yet or not. I know that I will be way less strict at family get togethers or when we go out to eat. I want to still be able to enjoy my life with food. But, I also am realizing how certain foods make me feel and I don't know if I will reintroduce certain things back into my life. 

The reintroduction process from Whole 30 looks like this....You can find this list here....

Here is what I ate this past week. Some of these don't look very glorious, but I assure you, these meals were all delicious. 

B: Banana, Blueberries, Almond Butter, Coffee

L: Lots of Veggies, Ground Beef, Compliant Tomato Sauce, Tomatoes, Garlic, Spinach, Mushrooms

D: Snack Tray. HB Eggs, Plantains, Dates, Guac.

B: Sweet Potatoes, Chicken Sausage, Fried Egg, Hot Sauce, Coffee

S: Strawberries, after my workout

L: Same spaghetti sauce creation and veggies

D: Chicken, some paleo mayo with hot sauce, guac.  

B: Sweet Potatoes, Chicken Sausage, Fried Egg, Coffee

L: CHIPOTLE!! My favorite thing ever. 

S: Grapes and Turkey

D: Prosciutto-Wrapped Chicken, Asparagus, Fried Eggs, Hot Sauce

B: Smoothie with Mixed Berries, Pineapple, Spinach, Almond Milk

L: Chicken Sausage, Spaghetti Creation, Veggies

D: Snack Tray: Grapes, Turkey, HB Eggs, Guac, Plantains 

(Sunday Morning, at work) 

B: HB Eggs, Larabar, Banana, Coffee

L: Shrimp Stir Fry w/ Coconut Aminos 

D: Birthday Dinner at FIL's. Chicken, Salsa, Salad, Grapes, La Croix. (He grilled me special chicken for the occasion. Everyone else had really good looking burritos...) 

B: Sweet Potatoes, Yellow Bell Peppers, Fried Egg, Coffee

L: Spaghetti Creation, Chicken Sausage, Lots of Veggies

D: Snack Tray (again.) Snap Peas, Grapes, Guac, Plantians

B: Sweet Potatoes, Chicken Sausage, Coffee

L: Shrimp Stir Fry w/ Coconut Aminos, 

S: Grapes and Coffee while working at a coffeehouse

D: Lots of Veggies, Spaghetti Creation, Prosciutto-Wrapped Chicken. 

What I'm Learning This Week: 

1. I have been having insane dreams lately and sleeping like a rock. 

2. I'm snacking less, which is good. 

3. I haven't been nearly as hungry as before. A lot of dinners are just kind of snack trays. It's probably so I don't have to cook something. 

4. My spaghetti sauce creation is delicious but I'm pretty sick of it now. 

5. I can't wait to go to COSTCO today and restock on a ton of stuff. 

6. My allergies have been super bad but I think that's just how it goes for me. 

7. I can't wait to weigh myself next week. 

8. I've been pinning a lot of recipes for moving forward on Pinterest.

The Great Road Trip | Day 3 & 4

The past two days have been a good blur. Full of friends, super great food, and scenic drives to the coast. Vacation is being very good to us and now we are half way through our trip. As I write this, we are sitting in our hotel room in Seaside, OR. The ocean is right outside our balcony. This is the life. This will probably be a long winded post, so prepare yourselves. 

Day 3 was our full day in the wonderful city of Portland. Aside from the weather being pretty hot, we have enjoyed ourselves. After our pretty decent breakfast at our hotel, we hopped in our car and drove downtown again. The one place we will always stop at while in Portland is Powell's Bookstore. It's a must. It's like a rite of passage when you come to the City of Roses. You have no excuse not to go to this book haven. We bought far too many books and wandered through the isles for a good chunk of time. 

Next, we perused Buffalo Exchange and didn't find a single, awesome piece of clothing. That's a first. For pretty much every thrift store we've gone to on this trip, we have left empty handed. Our wallets are ok with that I guess. 

After the thrift shop, we found the Food Truck Mecca of Portland. After debating about which two trucks to choose from, we decided on some excellent eats and were not disappointed. The first place we went was the Grilled Cheese Grill where we split The Cheesus (two grilled cheese sandwiches as buns with a hamburger and fixin's inside.) Oh my. Our second choice was The Bento Box where we had grilled chicken, brown rice, veggies, and lots of delicious sauces all tossed into a glorious box. We were told that we could go sit and eat at a park a few blocks away. It was wonderful. I'm going to have to detox my diet when I get home. So much goodness. 

We visited a dear friend at work only a block away and got coffee in Pioneer Square. I walked down memory lane so much on Day Three. 

Later that evening, we met many of our wonderful friends at no other place than The Montage. Any place that has amazing mac n' cheese is a place we will go. If you have leftovers, which you usually try to have leftovers, they mold your leftovers into foil sculptures of awesomeness. I loved sharing a meal with people I love and miss so dearly. The night ended with drinks at a pretty awesome dive bar. Good drinks and good conversation. I love this city. I love the people that I call my friends even after all of these years of not living in the northwest. 

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Day Four started with checking out of our Portland hotel and heading to the coast, Seaside, OR. The drive included everything I love about the northwest: cooler weather, lots of trees, and lots of green. We ate delicious sandwiches once we made it to Seaside. Since we weren't able to check into our hotel room until 4pm, we decided to head to Astoria, OR. 

In Astoria, we split a beer flight at Rogue on the Pier. We went to a few more thrift stores and found nothing. We walked around. We drove back to Seaside, OR and walked on the beach, getting our toes sandy and the bottom of our pants soggy. Later we had delicious gelato before finally checking in. (Do you notice a pattern...we eat. We eat a lot of great things.) 

Our room is amazing. We are right on the beach. We have a balcony and a jacuzzi tub. We are planing on ordering in this evening and relaxing since the last few days have been such a whirlwind of craziness and wonderful friends. I can't wait to take a relaxing bath later and look at the ocean. 

We are half way through our trip and I feel the insatiable need to soak it all in. We will be back to reality before we know it. I can't wait to see Marin. I can't wait to take her on a trip like this some day. 

Day 3 & 4. 

#BeThankful

I am so thankful for......

Family. Seeing life through the eyes of a child. Marin's milestones. Marriage. True Love. A roof over our heads. Heat. Food on our tables. Money to pay our bills. The Word. Baby smiles. Exploring the world. Cat cuddles. Steaming hot cups of coffee. Good food. Good company. The Creative. The church. Our jobs. Learning how to be a mom. Our side jobs. Good books. Clothes on our backs. Shoes on our feet. Clean water. Our home. The holidays. Community. Jesus. Early mornings. Late nights. Good wine. The Kingdom. Music. New friends. Songwriting. Afternoon walks.Old friends. Parenting together. Childhood wonder. Learning day by day how to be a mom and still be an artist. 

 

I'm thankful for....

The past that taught us so much, the present in which we live, and the future that we look forward to. 

A day late, but.... Happy Thanksgiving.

Life Lately: Photos & Thoughts

Last weekend my dear friend, Josh, came through Fort Collins for a visit. He was on the journey of moving back home from Nashville for a season. Good conversations and good food was had. He makes me think about life in so many different ways and helps me realize that where I currently find myself is a really good place to be in the grand scheme of things.

Cheese biscuits & cappuccino  at The Coffee Tree. 

Sea Food Goodness at The Mainline. (Yes, I went there yet again...) 

(This post is inspired by Elise Blaha Cripe. I love her blog so very much.)

loving every little noise that Marin makes. 

celebrating our own anniversary. 5 years together. Half of a decade of awesomeness. 

enjoying evenings spent with my husband. Unwinding for the day. Also talks about life with dear friends. 

obsessing over all things Doterra. 

preparing every single meal that I consume. A new, clean eating meal plan. 

wondering if life will ever slow down for just a minute or two. Where has June already gone? 

packing a diaper bag that is ready for everything & anything. I am the crazy bag lady. 

checking the baby monitor all of the time only to find our little girl sleeping like a little rockstar. 

wishing we could go on a trip somewhere. I want to pack our bags and find ourselves somehow on the coast. 

drinking a glass of wine every once in a while after the baby is asleep for the night. 

planning so many new business ventures. I need to focus. 

reading this book, this book, and this cookbook. 

listening to the new Jack White album. 

watching Longmire. Friends. Game of Thrones. I finished Orange is the New Black the weekend it was on Netflix. Oops. 

marveling at how everything somehow falls into place when it comes to parenting even though we really have no idea what we are doing. 

feeling overwhelmed at times & tired, but excited & ready for what the next few months hold. 

Thanksgiving 2013 (Better Late Than Never)

It's officially Christmas Eve and I'm just now blogging about Thanksgiving. I think that little fact is a great representation of how insanely fast this season has flown by and how preoccupied I have been with being pregnant over the holidays. My mind is in about a million places at any given time. But, even in the midst of the chaos, I know once thing for certain: We have been blessed with amazing families and the fact that we are bringing a child into that family is very comforting and exciting. 

One of my goals for the New Year should be to take more pictures of Ryan and myself. We are always on the other side of the camera. Always. 

Happy Thanksgiving (On Christmas Eve)!

Better late than never. Right? 

Chicken Taco Chili

I'm a big fan of crock-pots. A big, big fan. I've made this chili so many times in the past few weeks, I could probably make it in my sleep. I usually toss all of the ingredients in a crock-pot on Sunday when I'm running all over cleaning the house. Once my house is sparkling and clean, I scoop up a bowl of this goodness and relish in my clean house before anyone else comes home. 

I've been asked by a bunch of women I work with for this recipe, so here you go! Now when I smell up the work kitchen with this deliciousness, you'll know how to make it. It's so, so, so easy. Yet again, this is adapted from a Weight Watchers recipe. 5 points per serving, which is about a cup or so. 

Ingredients: 

1 can No Salt Added Black Beans

1 can No Salt Added Kidney Beans

1 can Rotel (tomatoes/green chilies) 

1 can tomato sauce (the smaller can) 

1 packet of taco seasoning (try to find one that isn't packed with sodium.) 

1 bag of frozen corn

A few frozen chicken breasts (I use the smaller tenderloins) 

A few dashes of chili powder

A few dashes of Cumin 

Place beans, corn, tomato sauce, and rotel in the crock-pot. Stir in the packet of taco seasoning. Add chili powder and cumin. Stir, stir, stir. 

Place as many frozen chicken breasts that can fit on the top of the chili. Don't stir it. Put the lid on and cook on high for about 6 hours or so. You want the chicken completely cooked. 

Once the chicken is completely cooked, remove the chicken pieces from the crock-pot. 

Shred the chicken. Once that's done, dump the chicken back in the crock-pot. Stir the chicken thoroughly into the chili. Let it simmer for a while longer. 

Serve and enjoy! We usually put a little bit of cheese on top and dip corn chips in the chili. 

Have I mentioned how much I adore my little crock-pot?