Bomb Bites!

There are a lot of no-bake energy bite recipes out there I've tried and I have loved several. They inspired me to make one up myself with what I already had in my kitchen. Hope you enjoy!

Recipe

No exact measurements on how much of each ingredient, I just gauged amount depending on how much I wanted to make.  It will turn out perfect. If something tastes off, just add more of whatever it is thats missing! 😋

Organic raw oats 
Sea salt
Honey
Maca Powder 
Coconut Oil
Cinnamon 
Flaxseed meal
Water
Vanilla bean powder
Cocoa powder
Sliced almonds
Chia seeds

Mix all together and make into little balls. Roll over almonds. Refrigerate for about 30 min.  These little treats are great to have a half hour before a work out or on your way out in the morning with your coffee. 

They are so simple and easy to make! There are many ways of doing these.  If you create some of your own and come up with a different concoction, please share!

Xo

Lady Tea!

Tea time. For that time, or any time.🌸

Attention all lady creatures:

As most of you know some of the best things to have when we are on our cycles to combat cramps and bloating is turmeric and ginger. It helps with inflammation and when their is less inflammation there is less pain. I love when I find tea that has multiple herbs in it like this one. 

Mom went to Sequim, WA recently and brought this beautiful tea back from Goodness Tea , a blend of simple organic ingredients including hibiscus, lemon balm, ginger, lavender, and lemon verbena. I added some turmeric to it this morning with a little honey. It taste's amazing and serves a medicinal purpose at the same time. The next time you start to think 'Ow, is my vagina falling off, I'm going to die, why wasn't I born a boy' thoughts, have this with some advil and I swear you will feel a whole lot better! 

Cheers to being a woman. 🍵🍵

Roses are Red, Violets are Blue...

Roses are red, violets are blue, but no flower in this world is as beautiful as you! 🌹



I love going to spas as well making my home my own. When it comes to DIY treatments, this one is a must. A friend gave me this as a gift from KOCOSTAR . You can order through them or you can find it also at ANTHROPOLOGIE . It's a rose petal face mask that helps support natural surface cell regeneration. Apply each petal onto your face and leave for 15-20 min. Massage the excess serum into the skin and then boom, you can now start or end your day, whenever you decide to do this smelling like a real rose. They are so fragrant that I didn't want to throw them away. I put the petals in a dish afterwards and left them by my bedside. This face mask is amazing! It inspired me to make my own next time by using natural petals from a rose and soaking them in milk, honey and rosewater before applying them to skin. If you love the scent of rose, you are in for a treat!

Xo 

Life is not a Problem to be Solved, but a Mystery to be Lived.

Someone once told me that life is not a problem to be solved, but a mystery to lived. As I think about this more, I find that these are helpful words to  remember when things in life get confusing. 

The act of solving usually isn't an easy thing. I wouldn't say I enjoy the solving process as it can be trying, but at the same time I am grateful for a newer voice inside me thats recently helped me be a stronger person. Knowing whats ok and whats not is one thing, but having the courage to talk about it is the first step to actually getting something resolved. When you are ready to talk its important to pause and say to yourself that

whatever this thing is, that this...that all of life stuff... is a mystery to be lived. That whatever the outcome... it was meant to be there as a part of your process. Your adventure, your overcoming, your exploration, your ride. Your journey!  Right now we are work in progress. We are “becomings.”

What if every hardship you've gone through, every single one no matter how difficult it was or currently is, actually happened to better you after as an individual? To teach you, to strengthen you, to make you more wise. To feel something that God wants us to feel and know. What if we could actually see these experiences as blessings during the shock factor?  The 'I'm grateful for this uncomfortable situation' thought process is usually not felt till after the fact....but if there was a way to train ourselves to feel this way during the mystery, I wonder if this would help us manage life's curveballs significantly better.

This year has been a year of mystery for me. With my health, with men, with my car, in my career and life as a whole...all mysteries that have been apart of my journey. I've learned that if you want to make something right, a solution usually won't just fall into your lap.  You may have to fight for one.  It shouldn't be this way, I don't think. But, it seems to be designed this way. To help us. To grow. To learn. The more we learn , the more we realize how little we know. And what we know matters, but remembering that who we are through all of life's mysteries is what matters the most. 

In a perfect world, in my perfect world at least, everything would be simple. Thats why during tough stuff, its important to try and keep as much as you can simple and light around you.  Stay tuned for the most simple yet beautiful and relaxing at home spa experience to come! 🌹

Sunday Scones!

I was shopping around looking for candles and fall decor last week at  HOMEGOODS when I accidentally ended up spending more time in the food aisle.  When it comes to baking I enjoy everything about the word homemade but I'm also ok with 'just add water' mixes as long as the ingredients are simple. You can find THESE scones any where plus there are several different kinds you can make if raspberry isn't your jam.  It happens to be mine, so I also made some more 'jam' (thawed frozen organic raspberries with a drop of honey) to go along with them. And butter.  If you are going to have a scone, you have to have butter. Duh. 

Just add water. 14 minutes. 

Tada. 

 

Thaw and mash with a fork. Optional, add a drop of honey. They are tart. 

Sunday breakfast. Ah-la Home Goods scones, one of their Pumpkin Thyme candles, and my favorite ALLEGRO coffee from Wholefoods. 

💋 #happyalmostfall 

Almond Milk to Mickey D's

Black coffee and green tea. Black coffee....green tea. Over and over is all myself and many I know try to order on a regular basis. It's 'the healthy way,' but the boring way, and sometimes you need more kick. Something more exciting.  Like a sweet milky iced drink but minus all the additives and sugar that come along with the lattes, the frappucinos etc. Every boxed almond milk, coconut milk, rice milk, soy milk, hemp milk, whatever milk has added stuff in it. Starbucks, Coffee bean, Petes, and most of the other mainstream coffee shops use these milks. I did come across a great spot once at the Manhattan Beach Pier that made their own milk and soaked their almonds overnight. Then they added a little date and agave to it. It was quite amazing but along with homemade came a price. $8.50 for a small tiny tea with almond milk.  Umm what?  I could have sworn my dinner didn't cost that much last night and there was alot more protein in it than the almond milk I had.  
Today a friend and I chose Le Pain over Starbucks or  the other $8.50 spot. I designed my drink myself. I knew this place had organic almond milk. I ordered some and asked to please pour it over ice.  Then I asked if they could throw a Rooibos tea bag in there as well. I could add some agave after and control how much goes in with some cinnamon and have a drink of my liking without all the added syrups, sugars, carrageenan, guar gums, etc. It seemed brilliant. 


It shocked me watching the barista's faces when I requested the drink.  They were confused and asked a lot of questions. 

Somehow when you order a grande double shot latte with 4 pumps sweetener, soy milk vs. regular and whip cream they get it. When you ask them for some almond milk over ice with a tea bag they just stare at you. The girl working behind the cashier and the person next to them. Everyone is staring. "So like, do you want the tea seeped? Hot?  Then half ice with some almond milk? Or, wait...do you want a hot tea with ice?"  Then I blank stare. "No. Just almond milk poured over ice with a tea bag. Thanks." What was so hard about that to understand? Was it that weird?

Once time I went to McDonalds drive thru (Oh shush you've been too) because I was craving chicken fingers. I asked if I could have two chicken fingers by themselves, not the meal, with an ice water and yellow mustard packets. If you are an anti-sauce freak like me, all fast food sauces are filled with junk. Mustard packets are the only sauce at these places whose ingredients will say: Water, vinegar, mustard seeds, salt, turmeric.  "Hi miss, so you want a chicken fingers meal, ok great, and what drink?" 

😐..."No, thats not what I asked." I tell them again. 

"Oh. Thats it? Are you sure? Would you like to try our big mac, chicken nuggets, french fries, milkshake or vanilla cone?" 

Because you know, just in case I forgot to order more... I wonder who actually says "Oooo cool yes please, I'd love all those too actually! Thanks!" 

I guess simple intentions can be construed as the opposite of simple.  

Go figure. 

Whitefish Wonder

As the holidays are approaching, I reminisce my first time to Whitefish Montana last January. 

It was the most beautiful place. Cold nights, big sweaters, warm tea, soft socks, fireplaces, and morning hikes with only the sound of snow falling from the trees.  

When this fluffy white sparkle is in its natural state, untouched - I believe it is an attempt from God to make this dirty world look clean. 

♡ #fortheloveofwhite

Hungry for Security and Family, not Diamonds.

So this guy probably in his late 40's comes up to me at a house warming party and says “these little cheese bites and mini martinis are the highlight of my damn year,” slamming his drink down splashing my tank top. He seemed to be having a bad day and needed conversation about the food, or something else. “Yes, they are good especially with all the rosemary in them.” He looked at me funny. I realized right then that he didn’t want to talk cheese bites. “Rough year so far?” He looked at me with tired eyes and spoke with slurred words as he openly shared his frustrations dating women and how we are all just a bunch of gold diggers. 

Ouch. I mean ok, some exist. But c'mon not all are. It's his own bad if he picked a frozen faced, barely dressed barbie doll that orders the filet and Dom on the first date. The definition of gold digger is essentially a prostitute. I asked him if she had IG because I wanted to see a photo. He showed me. She was the total opposite of frozen barbie. She looked more like an even prettier version of Punky Brewster all grown up. If she was really a GD, she could find richer (he told me he worked in sales at Nordstrom and was still working toward something else but hasn't got there yet). I asked him, "Why do you think she is a gold digger?  Maybe things didn't work for another reason." He said, “She posted a photo after 2 weeks of splitting. A picture of her and another guy on his yacht. She was only after money the whole time I just know it,” then he went on and on about how he didn't feel good enough with her. How he's actually happier that this all didn't work out because he doesn't really want anything serious anyway and prefers not having to go somewhere where a steak is $40. 

Poor guy. Well, maybe. This conversation really got my thoughts stirring. What if he just wasn't what she needed him to be, to give her enough comfort relating to her future? I’ve learned through experience with my own relationships that men want to be the man they want to be before they fully let a woman into their life. Someone with an established career I think is more likely to commit than one who does not.  Cheese bite's brain: Career. Friend. GF. Then marriage. Then maybe a baby. Maybe. Like way later. Possibly. Lol. Punky's brain may have been a little different: Is this my husband? Can he provide? OK good. Marriage. Baby. Family. Boom. Lets do this. Her man takes her on a nice date and pays for the tab. If she reaches for it, thats good. But if he lets her pay? Hmm. Controversial. 

"Did she want kids? Do you?" Him: "Yeah, and yeah I may." He may. She was probably thinking, 'He's not ready. Next.' 

In her defense, maybe she left this sluggish surf rat because she wasn't feeling secure with him. 

Just because a woman wants this in a mate does not necessarily mean she is a gold digger. 

There could have been another reason she left. Not all woman are thinking husband and baby.  He mentioned the steak comment. Maybe it was because it's hard to enjoy receiving a nice dinner out if she is wondering the whole time if he can actually afford it. "Maybe I shouldn’t have ordered the steak," she thinks. "Will he be able to make rent? Maybe we should just go to Taco Bell because he may not be comfortable going to a nice restaurant..." My point is that if your boy is broke it puts a damper on going out. If she is shopping at Nordstrom, driving a BMW, dining out at Mastros or grocery shopping at Whole Foods and works hard for her money earned.. but he says yes to Walmart, a car always needing to be fixed, Taco Bell, the 99 cent store and doesn't have a job... where are his efforts going and what is she gaining from this? He may be very sweet. Great sex, loving, caring...which of which are important but it may not be enough. 

IF he gets: a pretty face, the future mother of his child, a wife who is strong, smart and crafty, passionate and generous, has emotion, devotion, hope beauty and power. If she has a brain and knows how to use it if she gives you respect, love and gratitude...if she believes in you, nurtures you, fights for you... then she deserves nothing less from you!  

Being alpha feels unfeminine and she may come from a family of traditional values. Thinking back to the cave man days I believe there is an instinctual link to women wanting to be with a man who can provide financial security. 

In sum, if your not making the dough, don’t be hating if she says no. There are many valid reasons she has the right not to be into you, especially if you are looking for a serious partner. It’s not fair to simplify women into the category of gold diggers the second you are aware that they care about money. And why is a girl shallow unless she's happy with a poor ugly guy? Every woman is entitled to having standards, money being one of them.