Jelly Beans!

For the past few years I have gone through many different changes. I have gained (and LOST!) 35 lbs. I have been stretch-marked, kicked multiple times on the inside, and suffered from incontinence. I had my boobs balloon...and deflate...and balloon...and deflate. My feet are now half a size bigger. Hmph. One of the most annoying changes, even more irritating than those horrible events listed above, is the fact that my hair has changed color! This effects my makeup and my entire wardrobe. Not that I'm fancy or anything, but it's still a pain! Now that my hair is now, well, brown, I've had to figure out what I can and can't wear. For instance, now I can wear orange, but I really shouldn't wear black. It's all so annoying especially since my skin really is whiter than vanilla ice cream (I have melasma and so I stay out of the sun to prevent the ever-dreaded mustache tan). Thank goodness for blues and greens. There are certain colors that always look great with blue eyes. Phew.

I've been cleaning out my closet for weeks. A shirt that makes my eyes especially raccoon-like was donated here, shoes that no longer fit into my fat feet were given away as well, ALL maternity clothes to a friend (good riddance!), etc. I finally got motivated about making my closet a little more complimentary to the not-so-new hair color after my recent trip to the Banana Republic Outlet (that place is evil!) with Montessa. I only buy it if I absolutely love it!

That's a new policy.

My closet has been filling up with aquas, greens, and more shades of blue than I can describe at the moment. It's been fun, especially since the sales that are out there are insanely decent! My closet is getting there. But I still was missing something.

Ah, yes. Accessories! I know my wedding set is the ultimate accessory, but sometimes that's not enough. I've been wearing a lot of teether necklaces, but I'm craving more than that. Finally, I broke out of my shell. I've always been accessory-challenged, but I just couldn't resist this:


Look! It's basically all the colors I look good in these days! Isn't it great?


I got it from MySelvegedLife over on Etsy, which is an online marketplace that features all things homemade and glorious. Believe me, it is far more trouble than the BR Outlets, at least in my world! The real stinker with Etsy is that most everything is one of a kind and so you feel a little more pressure to buy if you see something you absolutely love. Sure, the seller could probably make another for you, but come on...you know it won't be exactly, exactly the same! The necklace that I bought is called "Jelly Beans" and I just knew I had to have it after (1) seeing all the pretty colors and (2) looking at Luke's reaction to seeing it. "What is that? Jelly Beans? I like that!"

So now it's mine! At least until the baby breaks it. It's fun to wear some real jewelry. I love my teething necklaces, but it's fun to wear something that's not made out of rubber and also something that goes with my hair!

It's okay that I'm not blonde anymore. These colors are way more fun, anyhow!

My Spring Cleaning Theme Song!

I'm Addicted.

To these.

Carrot Oatmeal Cookies


Ginger. Coconut oil. Walnuts. Carrots. Oats.



Good.

It's yet another one of Heidi Swanson's recipes, can you blame me? The woman is so inspiring! This recipe is free of sugar and eggs and is one I'm sure I'll make for years to come.

I made two necessary variations. First off, I didn't have the fragrant coconut oil, just the refined stuff. So I added a splash of coconut extract and this was so freaking delicious! The smell was intoxicating. I guess I'm just a coconut freak, can you tell? I also only had organic pastry flour, not the whole wheat stuff, so substituted that and I'm sure that made these cookies only more enjoyable!

I prefer them on the soft side. 9 minutes is perfect for my oven, at least. When we cooked these for the full 12 minutes they were way too dry.

I made these two days in a row and as soon as I get more maple syrup, I'm making more, baby! The dough is great, too.



They freeze great (cooked) and the best part of making them on the small side is that you can eat about 9 and it's the equivalent of one "regular-sized" store-bought cookie.

Please Don't Pour it in Your Loafers

Several months ago I tried Heidi's Split-Pea Soup recipe and we definitely enjoyed it. While I enjoy the flavors she suggests, I'm NOT a fan of cooking my lentils and split peas for only 20-30 minutes. That texture kills me. I also don't like having to take the extra step of blending, even though I have a hand blender and my awesome Vita-Mix. I'm just so tired, so if I can possibly eliminate the need to wash an extra dish or appliance, laziness will surely win in order to keep my kitchen sparkling.

A few days ago I made a crock pot variation of her pea soup that has been a wonderfully easy recipe to prepare while the boys are eating their breakfast or snacks. This is ultra-fast, at least in preparation, but not the cook time. Luke and I have been making this together at least once a week, along with Chuck Williams' Country French Bread in our bread machine for a delicious dinner!

Mmmmm.....so good.


Place in crock pot:
One onion, chopped
Approximately two cups of green split peas, rinsed and picked over
One handful of baby carrots
About twice the amount of water as there are ingredients

Cook on high for 4-5 hours (I think that's right. You know how these crock pot recipes are!).

Salt and pepper to taste. Top with drizzle of good-quality olive oil, a good dash of paprika, and chopped scallions. Lemon juice and zest is great, too.

Here it is with a slice of Panera's Tomato Basil bread. I had half a loaf in the freezer, so it was pulled for the occasion. That Sweet Streusel topping keeps me coming back for more!

El Gatito Nuevo - Aceituna

Olive is growing bigger almost everyday and it's astonishing to see such rapid growth. She plays hard and sleeps hard, all while steering clear of Ermie, who has turned into an grumpy, old, growling lady.

Luke is especially taken with her. He carries her around nonstop and I can tell these two are going to be napping buddies, once she's a little bigger, of course.


As for these two, they have an interesting relationship. He sneaks up on her when she's sleeping and scares her half to death, while she jumps on him around my bedtime and starts attacking his feet. Aidan laughs with sheer delight, but I sure hope these two learn to get along. Even in this picture she's trying to bite our baby!


Her biting really is a problem. It's annoying. It's painful. Thank goodness she's just learned to respond to our emphatic no's. If it weren't for that we really would have followed Jay's suggestion and renamed her "Bug." Man, does she bug.


But we just love her sweet little face.


And her adorable little leopard markings.


And just when she's fooled us into thinking that she's finally growing up and is ready to act like a lazy old cat, she'll go and remind us what she really is.

I Guess This Is Why We Have Bibs.

I have no idea why I forgot to put it on, but I did. Oops.

Forget the Facial Cleanser

I'm eating this instead!

On our way back from visiting Gram V in Long Beach, we took a glorious drive down PCH all the way to Dana Point and stopped at Sprinkles in Newport Beach. We brought home a few and just this morning I tried the brown sugar praline cupcake, which is a special flavor available this week and is featured in their HOP BOX.


Although I wasn't initially excited about trying this seasonal creation, it's one of the best I've tasted. There's just something about those sweetened pecan pieces that is so delicious. That salty sweet crunch just gets you and it's an extremely satisfying crunch that is also delicate due to the size of the granules. The cake part is really good, too!

I was a little disappointed that I wasn't able to try the Flourless Chocolate cupcake that is available for one week starting today in celebration of Passover. We were just one day short. :( Maybe we'll get to try it next year. Yum!

Delicious, really!

My mom gave me this facial cleanser a few weeks ago and I just love it. After trying it the first time I thought, "that's sure tasty!" and licked my lips after giving my face a good scrub. Mmm...orange. These ingredients are edible, aren't they?

Ingredients: glycerin, olea europaea (olive) fruit oil, citrus aurantium dulcis (orange) peel oil, avena sativa (oat) kernel flour, lanolin, aloe barbadensis leaf juice, quillaja saponaria extract, avena sativa (oat) kernel oil, vegetable oil, beta-carotene, rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf oil, tocopherol

I casually mentioned that the cleanser was delicious to JJ and he actually straight up ate the stuff in the shower. Whoops.

Oh, it's been treating my skin great as well!