LIFE THROUGH MY IPHONE

Happy Wednesday! I was transferring some of my iphone pics from my phone to my external HD and wanted to post a few. I have been having way to much fun with the new phone ap.

Top to Bottom - left to right
1. Oliver snuggles    |    2. Pink ruffled sweetness
3. Me as a toddler    |    4. Giant heels that didn't end up happening (of course, I went the practical route)
5. Summer livin'    |    6. Concert on the Square
7. Princess pops made by my sister-in-law (craftiness runs in the fam)    |    7. Cheap-O scarf & a little phone app fun

1. My little spider monkey    |    2. Girl cousins

3. No more of that Johnson & Johnson crap    |    4. Snuggles before bed

5. All the littles at Miss Isla's 2nd Birthday Party    |    6. Storm sky

7. Work outfit    |    8. Deliciousness

1. Brixton giving E a lift    |    2. Playing with our new phones a work 

THAI QUINOA SALAD

Good Morning and Happy Tuesday to y'all! The wedding was fantastic, but more on that later this week. For now, here is a DELICIOUS quinoa recipe for you...

I was thinking about my diet the other day and I really need to step up the veggies. I tried this recipe b/c it is packed full of 'em! It isn't exactly a quick weeknight meal unless you food prep that morning of the night before. I always find myself saying "If you want to eat heathy, you are going to have to chop sh!t up!" and sometimes all the darn chopping can be time consuming. Oh, and for those who are gluten free, this recipe is too! :)

Ingredients
¾ cup uncooked quinoa
1-2 cups shredded red cabbage, depending on how much crunch you like
1 red bell pepper, diced
½ red onion, diced
1 cup shredded carrots
½ cup chopped cilantro
¼ cup diced green onions
½ cup cashew halves or peanuts (honey-roasted is good)
Optional: 1 cup edamame or chickpeas
Fresh lime, for a bit of tang
For the dressing:
¼ cup all natural peanut butter
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
3 tablespoon soy sauce, gluten-free if desired
1 tablespoon honey (use agave if vegan)
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon olive oil
Water to thin, if necessary

Instructions

FOOD PREP:

Chop up ingrediants

COOK QUINOA: 

Rinse quinoa with cold water in mesh strainer. In a medium saucepan, bring 1 ½ cups of water to a boil. Add in quinoa and bring mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and let simmer for 15 minutes or until quinoa has absorbed all of the water. Remove from heat and fluff quinoa with fork; place in large bowl and set aside to cool for about 10 minutes. You should have a little over 2 cups of quinoa.

MAKE DRESSING: Add peanut butter and honey or agave to a medium microwave safe bowl; heat in microwave for 20 seconds. Add in ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, and both sesame and olive oil and stir until mixture is smooth and creamy. If you want a thinner dressing, simply stir in a teaspoon or two of water or olive oil.

ADD THE DRESSING TO THE QUONIA:

Add as much or as little dressing as you’d like to the quinoa. (I added it all)

MIX IN:

Next mix the red pepper, onion, cabbage, carrots, and cilantro into the quinoa. Garnish with cashews and green onions. Serve chilled or at room temperature with lime wedges if desired.

Nutrition Information
Serving size: 1/6th of recipe Calories: 260 Fat: 13.5g Carbohydrates: 27.7g Sugar: 7g Fiber: 4.3gProtein: 8.6g

Recipe from Ambitious Kitchen

Food prep - chop up veggies

Make the dressing 

Add the dressing to the quinoa

Add in the chopped veggies

Enjoy!

Another picture of my little kitchen helper. :)

BRB and a sneak peek...

I am going to take a little mini blogging break - only for a few days. I am up to my eyeballs in freelance work and I will be spending the weekend celebrating this beautiful couple. Wish me luck on my MOH speech! :)

Photography - Blue Dandelion Photography    |    Save the Date: me

Oh, and here is a sneak peek at a little freelance project I am working on.
Wait until you see the rest of the pieces! TOO CUTE!

BE RIGHT BACK! See you on Tuesday or maybe Wednesday!

SIMPLE SNACK: NUTELLA & GREEK YOGURT DIP WITH APPLES

This is one of my favorite snacks to pack in my lunch for work and my go-to appetizer to bring to a pot-luck when I have no time at all to make anything. It is fast, super-duper easy and mostly healthy!

DIRECTIONS:

For the Dip: Mix 1 cup greek yogurt with one heaping tablespoon nutella. (add less or more nutella for desired taste)

Cut up some apples and serve.

SMART SHOPPING - DRESSES UNDER $20

Yup, this is seriously how I shop. Glamorous, no. Necessary, yes.

Since Miss Ellis was born, we have found ourselves living on a budget. They weren't lyin' when they said KIDS AIN'T CHEAP! :) Besides having to tighten the belt on my clothing budget, I have no longer have any time to shop in stores. Besides not having time, I don't really like shopping in the stores anymore. Well...maybe... if I a am with one of my friends and we aren't on any kind of schedule. But let's be real, I am always on a schedule.

Now here is the thing. My husband thinks clothes are a waste of money and you know what, he is right. They are completely material objects that, in the end, do not matter at all.

butttttt...... I guess don't really care what he says b/c I am a girl and I like to have something new to wear to a wedding or out on a date night and that is that. There isn't any changing it. Really, there isn't. It is one of those things were we just agree to disagree on. Plus, I could say golf is a waste of money. Oh that is a whole other conversation..... ;)

So this is how I shop. I am an extreme sale shopper. I shop the clearance (usually juniors) section at department stores because:
1 - PRICE - They have the same kind of dresses that you will find at little boutiques like Francesca's, Page 6, and Red Dress Boutique, etc., but they are about 1/3 of the price when they are on sale and, unlike many of the little boutique stores, the dresses actually go on sale.
2 - FREE IN-STORE RETURNS - You can return in store for free. On-line shopping is in no way prefect. I end of returning half the things I buy b/c they do not fit right, but I just swing by the store and return them for free instead of having to pay to ship them back.
3 - CONVENIENCE - I like shopping at home on my computer in my PJs.

Note: Obviously these are not super high-quaity pieces. They might not be staple items in your closet that stand the test of time, but they WILL satisfy the need of, every now and again, having something fun and new to wear. :)

I shop the clearance section on-line at Old Navy, Macy's and JC Penny. My most recent purchase was from Macy's. I bought the three top dresses shown below. They should be here today! :)

Note: I found a 20% off coupon code on-line. That is why the prices are not matching up exactly.

FROM TOP TO BOTTOM | LEFT TO RIGHT

DRESS 1 | DRESS 2 | DRESS 3

DRESS 4 | DRESS 4 | DRESS 5

Other great website to shop for more high end fashion at discounted prices are:
HAUTELOOK | Rue La La | GILT

They run different sales that usually start while I am at work, so by the time I get to look at them, half the stuff is sold out. They do have some SUPER great deals though!
Darn work! Gets in the way of my bargain hunting! ;)

FREE PRINTABLE BANNER (FOR ANY OCCASION)

Here we go! My first FREE printable! Yippee!

I made this simple banner for Ellis' 1st Birthday and now you can have it too! I made it a neutral color so it will work for any occasion and I have included every letter of the alphabet so you can print whatever message you want.

I added color in with the ties. I actually cut up an old floral print dress that didn't fit me anymore and used it as the ties to connect the letters. I am weird and save things like that. I loved the fabric of the dress and wanted to use in on something. I guess this fit the ticket! You can use fabric, ribbon, whatever you want!

All you have to do is:
•  Click the letter you want (below)
• Print each letter on a piece of 8.5x11" card stock on your home printer
• Cut out the banner pieces with some scissors
• Punch a hole in the top corner of each letter with a hole punch
• Connect the banner with fabric, ribbon, etc. and hang up!

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z

MIXED TAPE MONDAY: EASY LISTENING VOL 1

Happy Monday! Here is a playlist of a few of my favorite tunes at the moment. 

Easy Listening - Vol. 1

Enjoy!

Oh, and a quote. I am in love with this quote. It would be perfect for Ellis' room.