7/4 Happy Fourth!

Happy Independence Day!
May your summer days be long and hot.
& filled with cupcakes, sprinkles and pinwheels!

 

Enjoy your families and freedom, my friends.
Squeeze your babies, relax in the pool, have a marg and be thankful :)

 

Pink Grapefruit Sorbet {a guest post}

Hello again! Get ready for 2 recipe posts in 2 days. Cray-zay!
You're going to get spoiled!
Doesn't really count though, because I had some help :)
My friend Ashley from Mister G and Me is sharing a fresh and summery sorbet recipe today.
Yuuuuum! It's so refreshing.
If you haven't yet, go check out her blog too.
She has the greatest party DIY ideas... and the sweetest neice :)

Hi Sugar Mama lovelies!  I'm so happy to be back guest posting today.  If we haven't met before, my name is Ashley and I blog over at Mister G and Me.  I love to share crafty tutorials, DIY inspirations, and tasty recipes.  

I'm sharing a recipe for Pink Grapefruit sorbet today.  This recipe is super easy and it will make your whole house smell like fresh grapefruit and sweet, sweet goodness!  This is definitely a "make again" recipe!  Nothing is more refreshing than homemade frozen treats-- especially on a hot summer day!!  

Combine zest of 1 pink grapefruit, 3/4 cup water, and 1/2 cup sugar in a small saucepan.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, stir to dissolve sugar, and boil for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat, cover, and let steep for 15 minutes.  Strain into a medium bowl; discard the zest.  Let liquid cool to room temp, then stir in: 3/4 cup fresh pink grapefruit juice.  Refrigerate until cold, then pour into an ice cube tray.    After your cubes freeze, pulse in a food processor or blender until smooth.  Enjoy!!! 

Quinoa Patties {fab recipe alert}

So here we are. It's Meal Plan Monday again.
Unfortunately we do a LOT of repeats so I was afraid Meal Plan Monday would start getting boring.
I'm not a fan of boring.
So I'll post the rest of the meal plan below but first I want to share a fab recipe with you!
I found this recipe for Spring Herb Quinoa Patties.
We looooove quinoa and these sounded down right d-lish.
So I made a couple swaps, de-glutened and veganized and voila!
We have a new fave :)




Fresh Herb Quinoa Patties
{inspired by this recipe at www.two-tarts.com}

• 2 cups cooked quinoa (about 3/4 c. dry)
• 2 TB Toffuti vegan cream cheese
• 2 Tbsp chopped green onion
• 2 TB chopped mint (Optional. Sounds great but Hunter hates mint so I skipped it.)
• 2 Tbsp chopped parsley
• 1/2 c. grated soy cheese (mozzerella style)
• 1/2 c. gluten free bread crumbs
• 1/4 tsp garlic salt

Mix everything but the quinoa until well combined. 

Fold in the quinoa.

Heat a couple TB olive oil in a pan to med-high.

Form 2" patties with quinoa mixture and place them in the hot pan. 

Cook approximately 3 minutes on each side until lightly browned. 

Sprinkle with more grated soy cheese and enjoy! 

Preferably with a large glass of red wine :) 

 

And for the rest of the week:

M: Spaghetti Squash
T : Quinoa Patties
W: 4th of July cookout!
T: Mac & Cheese
F: Red Beans & Rice
S: eat out
S: Pizza

M: Grilled veggie salad
T: Fried rice
W: Pesto risotto
T: Tacos
F: Black bean burgers
S: eat out
S: Baked ziti

I'm out.

Man oh man. There's a lot going on today!
I'm busy busy with wedding cake decorating & the whole fam is finally here :)
I just wanted to pop in say I'm sooooooooooo excited about this:



Happy weekend friends. I'll see you Monday!

Warning: It's Lily's birthday & this post has WAY too many pictures.

One year ago today, my sweet little lovey finally graced us with her perfect presence. 

After approximately 24 hours of regular contractions at home, Hunter and I made our way to the hospital. Still doing pretty well in this before shot :) 

Another 14 hours later and we were holding our Lily Belle. 

Miss Lily, 

You have been a blessing beyond our wildest dreams. 

I adore your serious side and how selective you are with your smiles. 

It warms my heart the way your big brother, Milo, is so protective of you. 

You are sillier every single day and I love it! 

It has been an incredible privilege to watch you get strong enough to raise your head up. 

And then sit all alone... in an alien costume :) 

You were far less thrilled than your dad and I with your first trip to the zoo.

Same with the parade of lights, but shoot we just love showing you off everywhere we go! 

Your first Christmas was perfection. 

We didn't do gifts because you have no idea about gifts yet. 

It was beautiful to enjoy Christmas for what it really is and to just be together and be in love. 

Also you and Milo were beautiful in our reindeer getup ;) 

Teething is the worst.

But you using a raw carrot for relief was priceless. 

Your daddy and I could watch you sleep for hours.

You might actually be surprised how often we just stand and watch you sleep. 

Loving you makes us more in love... what a wonderful gift. 

The first time you pulled yourself up I about wet my pants. 

I just wasn't ready for it.

So I took tons of blurry pictures and called your dad immediately. 

That was months ago... We thought you'd be an early walker.

We were wrong. You love doing things on your own time. 

I think that's awesome. 

Watching you learn and explore is one of the most rewarding experiences I've ever had. 

You, my love, are nothing short of a miracle. 

Bath time has been your very favorite since day one! 

You looooove to eat :) 

Oh and you'll do it yourself thankyouverymuch. 

You don't need anyone to feed you!

Lately you've been finding your voice and what an amazing voice it is! 

You squeal and screech and sing and talk. 

You're even starting to repeat sounds like "tan tooo"(thank you) "da deee" (daddy) and da! da! (every single time we see a dog)

Lily, you love life in a way that makes me love life way more. 

I'm so thankful for the days I just get to sit in the grass and watch you dance and play and be so perfect happy the way I suppose only a one-year-old can. 

Oh and you're not walking yet but I don't mind one bit. 

Take your time, girl! 

You're 100% capable, you just haven't decided you prefer it yet. 

 You look SO big when you're walking around with your shopping cart... you can wait a few more months if you want :)  

What an incredible (and FAST) year it has been. 

I thought this milestone might make me sad but I'm too excited for the next year to mope around about the last one being over. 

Because of you, sweet baby, I have a deeper faith, stronger ability to love and an infinite amount of more joy!

My thoughts on diets and beauty.

Last week I blogged whined about this cleanse diet I was doing.
Lots of you wanted a recap so here it goes.

Source: justinandashleyrefresh.com via Hayley on Pinterest

I did lose 5 pounds, so that's good. 
The first 3 days (just fruits and veggies) were actually nice. It felt good to eat so fresh and get rid of all the sugar and other junk in my body. This is the part I stuck to faithfully & it's also when I lost the poundage.
The 4th day I did add in bananas and soy milk/soy yogurt but I also had some other fruits and veggies. Call me crazy but I'm just not into starving :)
By day 5 I was pretty much over it. I did have a lot of tomatoes and tofu, plus lots of other veggies... and a granola bar.
Day 6 we just called it. I was up at 4am with a teething baby, baking by 6am and at the farmer's market until 2:30. Oh and it was 100 degrees. So I ate. And I drank an iced mocha.
Day 7 is supposed to be soup all day. Again it was 100 degrees. So we ate scones and hummus instead.

In conclusion: Next time I feel like cleansing I will stick with fruits and veggies. It was a great way to feel clean and refreshed without being deprived and starving. Plus it helped me to cut back my sugar intake even when I added it back in. Plus 5 pounds :)

 

Also requested last week: Pics of my new do.

Can I just add a little disclaimer to this here diet post? 

It's super important to me to raise a daughter that loves her body and is thankful for how amazing she is... not obsessed with dieting and changing her looks. 

I believe that as her mom it's my responsibility to show her a model of this behavior. 

It makes no sense to me to tell her how beautifully God made her and then constantly speak negatively about my own body. 

I've come a long way and can finally say I'm in a place where I'm happy with the way I look. 

I don't look like an airbrushed model who is 4 inches taller and 20 pounds lighter. 

But I'm happy to say I'm totally fine with that. Believe me, I wasn't always. 

To be honest, giving birth (almost naturally) has given me a fabulous new perspective about this body I've been gifted with. 

Ya'll it's AMAZING. It grew/carried a human for 9 1/2 months. Then it sustained her for another 11 months with this body alone! I can haul my 20 pound 1-year-old around on my hip, jog with her in a stroller, and even do a little of Jillian's 30 Day Shred if I feel so inclined ;)  

So it has a few lumps and bumps and unwanted marks here and there. It just doesn't matter to me the way it used to. 

Sorry friends. Self portraiture just isn't my thang. 

Anyhoo. I'm getting a little windy this morning.  I just get so fired up about this topic.

I think that if you're a mama reading this (or plan to ever be) it's about so much more than just you. 

Our kids will be bombarded by media that tells them they aren't perfect enough. 

It's our job to deeply imbed in their tiny minds that the media is lying, and I don't believe our words will be enough. 

We have to show them what we believe. 

So be healthy. Cleanse if you must. Work out for sure. Limit your sugar intake. 

But be happy with the body you're blessed with. 
Be thankful for it... out loud.