Pumpkin Carving Date

Sunday, October 30, 2016
Tomorrow is Halloween! One of my favourite days of the year!
I love it all. Dressing up, Trick or Treating, Candy Apples, Pumpkin Carving, Pumpkin flavoured everything, etc etc.

So as some of you may know, I am a control freak when I do certain projects. Like Pumpkin Carving for example. Before this, I wouldn't let the kids help me with the pumpkins.....nope, nada. Its needs to be perfect. Im not having a messed up, weird destroyed pumpkin. But I've been working on that lol. So, it was Auroras nap time and I really wanted to have some Mommy/Son time with Ben. So we decided to do the carving together! I showed him pics of carvings and he liked this one. The digging of the guts was funny. Ben thought it was soooo gross. But I made him do it anyways lol.

Obviously I did all of the knife work with some 'pretend' assistance from him putting his hands over mine. And Im going to tell you a bad mom moment, so don't judge ;)
It took my a long time to carve out the swirly eyes. Once It was finished, I took it out and it was perfect. But THEN, Ben thought I didnt 'get it all out' so he ripped out the rest of the swirl while I was looking away.........I was pretty mad! He felt really bad about it, then I just looked at him, then looked at the pumpkin and just said to myself, "Its just a pumpkin". There was no reason to get mad over that, none. So I flipped my frown upside down and made light of the situation, and we were back at having fun again. I have a lot of those moments, but its something I need to continually work on as a parent.

Anyway moving on. Last night we had our ward trunk or treat and it was so fun!! I feel really proud of our outfits this year. I loooooove being creative with our costumes, and I feel like we nailed it this year. I mean......I cheaped out on the kids this year.....but Maikal and I looked awesome haha. You can see our outfits HERE on Instagram.

AND....its suppose to be decent weather tomorrow! One thing I hate about Halloween back home in Canada is that there was always snow OR it was bloody cold outside. But here, people were literally in shorts last night. SHORTS! So we can dress as whatever we want and not have to worry too much about the cold! Its awesome! I am having so much fun seeing everyones costumes this year. So impressed! Keep posting!


How We Wore It | Animal Print

Thursday, October 27, 2016
Well these pictures were an interesting experience haha
Maikal wasn't home, so I tried my best to do them myself. Obvi I tried to both get me and the socks in the same pic....and it turned into an adventure lol.

Anyways. This 'How we wore it' is about animal print! Personally, I am not into the usual animal print like cheetah or zebra or whatever, but I AM into animals on the print. These socks are seriously the cutest things I have ever out on my feet! Hummingbirds are my spirit animal, and I just love them.

Fall is definitely here in Ohio, and that means time get bundled up and cozy! Which to me means I now have to wear socks on a daily basis. And life is too short for boring socks ;) I looooove getting bundled up in big sweaters, leggings, warm socks, drinking hot tea or cocoa. I mean....I hate the cold outside, its horrible, but I still love the bundly-ness of it all lol.



Socks :: Mayberrys (currently out of stock, but love THESE)

Be sure to check out my Friends for how they wore it!


PinterTEST :: Vegan Strawberry Cheesecake Bars

Wednesday, October 19, 2016


So, Im not a vegan. I tried the vegan eating lifestyle a few months ago and I loved it. It was super easy for a while, but then came BBQ's, and Birthdays, and Potlucks. And I 'cheated' all the time. I cant seem to be strict enough to keep going with it to actually help with weight loss. But, since I did like how the diet made me feel, I have completely cut milk out of my diet. Which is a big deal for me lol. And I try to focus more around Veggies, Meats, and Fruits and almost cut out the processed stuff like the cheeses, sour cream, and condiments like that. I am trying my best to only eat Real Food. Clean Eating. But, you guys, I looooooove my sweets. I feel like I need a dessert after supper everyday. Its a problem. So to try and keep myself on track, but still curb those cravings, I feel like Vegan desserts are the way to go!!

So today I have Vegan Strawberry Cheesecake Bars.
Holy moly these are yummy. And filling since its mostly made from nuts!
I searched through Pinterest and found this gem and gave it a try. I feel like I nailed my first PinterTest on this recipe. Im sure you could switch out the strawberries for some other fruit too! Maybe raspberries, mango, banana, pumpkin (which Im trying next), or whatever!
The only thing I did differently in mine, is I didn't have pecans, only walnuts (because they are cheaper). But I feel like Pecans would have made this dessert 1 million times more delicious. 

I found the recipe from Choosingchia.com  
Like regular cheesecake, this recipe takes some time, so be patient!

A few tips I found:
~Make this in a bread pan. It will keep it tall and have thicker layers. Don't forget the parchment paper!
~Put your coconut milk in the fridge. I feel like the cream separates from the milk way better when its cold. Otherwise its just all milk! If that doesn't work, maybe just use 3/4 of the can.
~Make sure you press down the 'crust' like crazy. Or else it will just fall apart when you're cutting it.
~Like it says, mix the cashews until it forms a cream or doe. Might take a while. I know it looks like it never will. It just looks like blended up bits of cashews. But just like that it suddenly forms into a doe'like cream mixture! So weird.
~I also added probably an extra 1/2 cup of strawberries. I wanted that extra bit of flavour! 

ENJOY! I know I did!

INGREDIENTS
Crust:
  • 1 cup pecans
  • 1 cup medjool dates (I just used the dried pitted dates from costco)
  • ½ tsp cinnamon
  • pinch of salt
Filling:
  • 1½ cups cashews, (soaked in water for 4 hours or overnight)
  • 1 large can coconut milk (just the cream off the top)
  • ¼ cup maple syrup
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 1 tbsp lemon zest
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup strawberries
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Lets start by making our crust.
  2. Add your pecans, dates, salt, and cinnamon to a food processor and pulse until it forms a dough.
  3. Line an 8 x 8 inch pan with parchment paper and press your dough into the bottom of the pan.
  4. Place in the fridge while you prepare the rest of your cheesecake.
  5. Strain your cashews, and pour them into your food processor, or a high speed blender.
  6. Pulse them until they form a smooth cream.
  7. Next add your coconut cream, maple syrup, lemon zest, and vanilla extract and pulse together until creamy.
  8. Pour out half your filling into your pan, placing the pan in the freezer for 15 minutes to firm up quickly.
  9. Next add the strawberries to the remaining half of your filling and pulse until smooth.
  10. Add your strawberry layer to the pan.
  11. Allow to firm up in the fridge overnight for a creamy cheesecake texture, or in the freezer for a couple hours for more of an ice cream type of texture.
  12. Cut into bars, and serve.


Why We Wore It | Pinktober

Tuesday, October 4, 2016
We are doing things a little differently for this 'How we wore it' series today.

Today, we are going to say 'WHY we wore it'

The reason being is that it is October, and that means Breast Cancer Awareness Month! And the colour for this cause is of course, PINK! I think it is fantastic that there is an entire Month dedicated to bringing people together and fighting for a cause that affects so many of us in one way or another. It's only the 4th and I've already seen people participating in runs/walks, sharing videos/articles, and of course sharing the popular Pink Ribbon to help bring awareness for Breast Cancer.

Today, we are wearing PINK. I personally don't wear a lot of pink (ginger problems), but there is one shade that I will wear, and that is this one. And of course I had to bring my best little lady on this shoot!

Just a little background of why this Month is so special to us; Maikal has two amazing woman (close relatives) that are very dear to our hearts, and they have both fought against breast cancer, and WON! One of which had to fight twice! Maikal's family has some strong individuals and it makes me so proud! That being said, Breast Cancer has had studies showing that Genetics has a part in Causing it. Which means that my little girl may be at risk. And it is my job as a mother to know our history and to be aware of the chance that she could have the gene and to get her tested at some point in her life.

I think Breast Cancer Awareness Month isn't just for the people whom already have it, but for making people aware that you, your children, your relatives could be at risk and to always check yourselves and maybe get tested if you have a close relative with Breast Cancer.

If you would like to know more about Breast Cancer, I have found a fantastic link that has a ton of information, as well as a donation section if you so choose:

http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/

If you are currently fighting against Breast Cancer, I want you to know there is hope. I want you to know that people are fighting for you. People from all over the world. Don't give up, keep fighting and keep pushing forward. You are beautiful, and you are loved. There is hope for a cure, and everyday that goes by is bringing us one step closer to finding it.

So I encourage everyone to WEAR PINK sometime this month and share it! Whether it is an accessory, lipstick, clothing, or the simple Pink Ribbon. I know this generation is so Media Savy, so if you choose to spread the awareness, here are some Hashtags that will bring more people together and help fight for the cause!



  • #BCA #BreastCancer #BreastCancerAwareness #BreastCancerFighter #Cancer
  • #FightLikeAGirl #MaleBreastCancer #Pinktober #RethinkPink #SelfExamination



  • Please Check out my friend Hannah's post as well!


    xoxo
     
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