1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 It's been a while since I rounded up some of my favorite things for the ho...
Trick or Treat Garland / Placemats / Ikea chairs (similar)
Happy Tuesday! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! We are back into the swing of things at home after a fun-filled weekend of doing all things Fall related. We got to see our best friends for some apple picking, went to a Fall Festival at a local nursery, and have been decorating the house with a few Fall things as seen above. All the while eating quite well despite the no dairy and soy diet my husband and I are on (more on that in this post). How sweet is it that he's doing this diet with me?? I'll write up a separate post on all of the no dairy and soy recipes that I've been cooking/baking up here. It might be easier to find them in one spot if some of you are in the same boat as I am in.
See pics below for our weekend fun with links to some outfits, recipes, and places.
Apple picking with some of our best friends. If you're in the MD/VA/DC area, Larriland Farm is a must during the Fall months. I grew up going there with my family when I was a kid and now I'm taking my children there. It's wonderful and kind of surreal in some ways.
They've got a bunch of these cute cut outs at Larriland Farm for kids to pose at.
My little sneaky monster ;)
Swing Dress / Warm Floral Botton Leggings / Toddler Nike Sneakers
Doing a little dance in the air cause she's so happy to be at the Fall Festival at Homestead Gardens.
Floral Button Back Swing Shell / Julie Vos Pendant Necklace / Dittos Jessica Low Rise Jean Leggings
Wore this swingy top to the Fall Festival at Homestead Gardens and cannot stop wanting to wear it! It's comfy (no need for a strapless bra, woohoo!), goes with everything (gray really does go everything), and is on sale at 40% off!
It may not look like much, but I could not stop eating this amazingly delicious Sweet Potato and Turkey Chili from a Pinch of Yum, which is now my new favorite food blog. Clearly Emma knows what's up.
Nothing makes me happier than to see my two girls loving on each other.
Trick or Treat Garland / Placemats / Ikea chairs ( similar ) Happy Tuesday! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! We are back into the s...
TGIF! I'm just popping in to let you guys know of a huge Anthropologie sale happening right now! Take an additional 30% off their Sale items with code XTRAXTRA. I've rounded up a few of my faves from the sale below. Happy shopping and have a great weekend!
TGIF! I'm just popping in to let you guys know of a huge Anthropologie sale happening right now! Take an additional 30% off their Sal...
1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14
Happy 2nd Birthday to Shop Buru! If you recall from my Southern C Summit post, I mentioned quite a few amazing entrepreneurial ladies that I had met. Well, one of those ladies is Morgan of Shop Buru, a well-curated online shopping destination for mommas, nursing mommas, and mommas-to-be. And it's so well-curated that whether you're a mom or not, you'll want every single item on her site. She also has items for your mini-me, as evidenced by #11, 12, & 14, which I'm dying over.
To celebrate their 2nd birthday, Shop Buru is now offering 24% off your entire purchase starting today until September 27th! How amazing is that? Just use the code BURUIS2 to snag all those goodies above and more!
Happy shopping!
1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 Happy 2nd Birthday to Shop Buru ! If you recall from my Southern C...
Morning! I thought I'd get this week started off by sharing a delicious chocolate chip cookie recipe that is dairy and soy free. Although it is dairy and soy free, it is by far one of the most delicious chocolate chip cookies I've ever had and the best part is, you can eat the cookie dough raw without worrying about getting a tummy ache! And who hasn't gotten cravings for chocolate chip cookies when they didn't have any eggs in the house? Well, now you don't have to have eggs in the fridge to make these cookies. As long as you have butter (or in my case Earth Balance buttery spread, a butter alternative), you can make these cookies. But I will warn you now, that once you make these (that is if you don't eat all of the dough first!), they will disappear right quick. Because you, along with anyone else who indulges in these, will absolutely inhale them.
Ingredients
Recipe from Becky Bakes.
2/3 cup Earth Balance (or butter)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons of water
1 2/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life Regular Size Morsels and Mini Chocolate Chips)
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 350˚.
- Put the Earth Balance, sugars and vanilla in a bowl.
- Using a mixer, beat until light and creamy, about 2 minutes on medium speed.
- Add the water and mix until blended.
- In a separate bowl mix the flours, salt and baking powder.
- Turn the speed of your mixer to the lowest setting and add the flour mixture.
- Mix until the flour is incorporated.
- Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Place scoops of cookie dough on a cookie sheet and bake for 13 minutes.
- Allow to cool a few minutes on the cookie sheet before removing to a cooling rack.
Morning! I thought I'd get this week started off by sharing a delicious chocolate chip cookie recipe that is dairy and soy free. Althou...
1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15 / 16 / 17 / 18 / 19 / 20
TGIF! Here's a little something to get the weekend started off right. Flowy blouses, flares, anything & everything suede, midi dresses, tassels, and all in jewel tones are whats on my mind for Fall. A nod to the 70s but totally wearable in 2015, wouldn't you say? Happy shopping! I know what I'll be doing this weekend...
Shop This Post
1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15 / 16 / 17 / 18 / 19 / 20 TGIF! Here's a little some...
Morning! I've got so many recipes to share with you, I figured I'd start off with these delicious Banana Muffins today. They also happen to be dairy-free and soy-free, so for those of you who have food allergies, you can still enjoy banana muffins. And for those of you who don't have food allergies, these are quite possibly some of the best banana muffins I've ever had/made, so don't let the dairy-free and soy-free factor distract you from making and enjoying them. I'm sure some of you are asking, why is she going dairy and soy free? Well, because I found out almost 2 weeks ago that Vivi has some kind of food allergy and because I'm solely breastfeeding her, it's something that I'm eating that's causing some digestive disruptions. So for 3 weeks (I'm down to 1.5 weeks, woohoo!), I need to go dairy and soy free in order to get a clean system for her and then we can determine which of the two is causing her problems.
At her next checkup, if her system is cleared (fingers crossed!), then I'll introduce either dairy or soy back into my diet for a few weeks and then see how her system is doing. It's all process of elimination so it could take a few months to determine the cause. But the thing that's keeping me optimistic is that these types of food allergies in babies is that she'll eventual outgrow it. That's what I'm hoping for!
Anywho, I've been finding and testing recipes at home since it's been near to impossible to find baked goods (and a whole lot of other things) at establishments near me that are dairy and soy free. Luckily for me, this banana muffin recipe is so easy to make that it's a definite mainstay around here. And I'm pretty sure it'll become a mainstay for you too!
Enjoy!
Ingredients
Recipe from Dairy and Soy-Free Mom
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 cups smashed, very ripe bananas (about 4 to 6 bananas)
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup plain rice milk
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/8 teaspoon fine salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Line a 12-muffin tin with muffin liners. I just greased a muffin pan since I was out of liners.
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, brown sugar, and cinnamon together in a medium bowl; set aside.
- Whisk the banana, oil, rice milk, eggs, salt, and vanilla in another bowl.
- Make a small well in the center of the dry ingredients.
- Pour wet ingredients into the center; then stir with a wooden spoon until the dry ingredients are just moistened but still lumpy. Do not overmix the batter or your muffins will come out dense.
- Divide the batter evenly into the muffin tin, filling each cup to the top.
- Put the muffins in the oven and immediately reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees F.
- Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the cooking. (Insert a toothpick into the center of a muffin to check if it is done. Toothpick should come out clean).
- Cool muffins in the pan on a rack for a couple minutes. Turn the muffins out of the pan and cool on the rack.
Serve warm or at room temperature. I refrigerated the muffins and enjoyed them for several days until we ate them all.
Morning! I've got so many recipes to share with you, I figured I'd start off with these delicious Banana Muffins today. They also h...
My favorite place to get produce, Diehl's Produce of Annapolis.
Happy Monday you guys! It's been a while since I've shared what's been going on lately, so here are a few snaps of the past week/weekend. And recipes of the meals that I've been sharing on Instagram are coming tomorrow, so come back to get some yummy meal ideas!
The hubby and I took Vivi to Grapes Wine Bar to celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary. We did the exact same thing with Cora when we celebrated our 4th anniversary. It was kind of surreal to take our second daughter there to celebrate.
This happened a few weeks ago, but it completely shows how amazing Cora has been with Vivi. She's been the best big sister and loves to read to Vivi. And by read, I mean she likes to show Vivi the pictures and paraphrase what she knows of the book.
I have a feeling this outfit is going to be on major repeat while we transition into Fall.
Ruffled Sweater Tee / Mossimo Jeggings / Red Laceup Flats
Our Friday lunch dates haven't stopped just because we have Vivi. In fact, she's an absolute angel when we eat out. Hopefully I didn't just jinx us by saying that...
Steve and I hadn't seen a movie in goodness knows how long, so we decided to catch a matinee showing of Mission Impossible 4. This was my outfit of choice.
Striped Tennis Sweater / Zara Laceup Flats (similar) / Dittos Low Rise Jeggings
This girl, right there. That face makes me want to have more babies.
My favorite place to get produce, Diehl's Produce of Annapolis . Happy Monday you guys! It's been a while since I've shared wh...
Happy Monday! I wanted to share with you that yummy crostata I made a few weeks back via Instagram. Nothing like a yummy dessert to get the week started off right. Sadly, I can't partake in eating this until we are cleared of any food allergies that Vivi may have. I'm on a dairy-free and soy-free diet for the next two weeks to see if that helps Vivi's tummy. (More on that in another post since I have so much more to share about it.) So, please, please, please make this and enjoy it for my sake. I guarantee you won't regret it. This is a great recipe to use those sweet peaches that are still in season and to hold on to summer just a little bit longer.
Ingredients
Recipe from Tyler Florence. *I've tweaked a few things which are noted below. I've made this recipe countless number of times and the one time I made it following the recipe to a T, it came out awful (no, really it did), so I highly recommend incorporating my tweaks. Trust me on this!
Pastry
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt (Tyler's recipe calls for 1/4 tsp, but I prefer 1/2 tsp)
1 lemon, zest finely grated
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold and cut into small chunks
1 large egg yolk
2 tablespoons ice water, plus more if needed
Filling
4 large ripe peaches, pitted and sliced
1 pint fresh blueberries
1/2 lemon, juiced
3 tablespoons sugar (I added one more tablespoon of sugar because I like my filling more on the sweeter side)
2 tablespoons honey (I've found that the addition of honey makes for a richer filling)
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
Glaze
1 large egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
2 tablespoons sugar
Directions
To make the pastry
- Combine the flour, sugar, salt, and lemon zest in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the butter and mix with a pastry blender or your hands until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Add the egg yolk and pour in the ice water; work it in to bind the dough until it holds together without being too wet or sticky. Squeeze a small amount together, if it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 teaspoon at a time.
- Form the dough into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
To make the filling
- Combine the peaches, blueberries, lemon juice, sugar, honey, and flour in a large mixing bowl.
- Toss the mixture gently to coat the fruit.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
To assemble
- Sprinkle the counter and a rolling pin lightly with flour.
- Roll the dough out into a 14-inch circle, about 1/4-inch thick; it doesn't have to be perfect, free-form is the look you want for this rustic tart.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured pizza paddle. I transferred it to a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
- Spoon the fruit mixture into the center of the dough, leaving a 2-inch border all around; brush the border with the egg wash. Lift the edge of crust over the filling, leaving the fruit exposed in center.
- Gently fold and pinch the dough to seal any cracks.
- Brush the crust with the remaining egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.
- Bake the crostata directly on the brick oven floor towards the front or on the preheated pizza stone for 30 to 40 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and fruit is bubbly and tender. This is what Tyler's recipe says, but I baked mine on parchment paper in a baking sheet to prevent any messes in the oven and on the baking sheet.
- Serve warm or at room temperature with or without vanilla ice cream. Eat it as a dessert, breakfast, or snack!
Happy Monday! I wanted to share with you that yummy crostata I made a few weeks back via Instagram . Nothing like a yummy dessert to get th...
Stripe Knotted-Waist blouse / Denim Midi Skirt with Braided Waistband / Celine Audrey Sunglasses / Vintage Gold Tone Tassel and Knot Necklace / Clare Vivier Petit Duffle (similar) / Kate Spade Bangle (similar) / Vintage ring (Round Signet Ring) / LOFT Heels (similar)
Can you tell I'm digging the 70s trend in fashion right now? This skirt has been on repeat and will definitely be worn during the cooler months with some cozy sweaters and boots. And I can continue my love affair with the 70s trend by wearing this top with some dark-washed flares into Fall.
Shop this Look
Stripe Knotted-Waist blouse / Denim Midi Skirt with Braided Waistband / Celine Audrey Sunglasses / Vintage Gold Tone Tassel and Knot Nec...
1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13
How crazy is it that it's already September? It sure doesn't feel like it here with the temps being in the upper 80s, so you'll believe me when I say I'm ready for the cooler temps. And along with the cooler temps, I'm excited about Fall fashion. Bring on the jackets and boots and scarves, I'm ready for it! This season, it's all about the 70s and how to modernize it a bit. The usual jewel tones are back again, as you can see above. I'm loving that flares are back (so flattering!) and that we're seeing suede again. And the off-shoulder trend is now found in soft, cozy sweaters which I will be all about this season. Can't forget about mentioning the biggest trend of the season, lace-up flats! You're going to be seeing them all over the place, so make sure you snag a pair before they're all sold out. These suede ones are the perfect everyday pair in my book.
Are there any trends you guys are particularly loving for Fall?
Shop this Post
1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 How crazy is it that it's already September? It sure doesn't fee...
