When Life Hands You Lemons

When life hands you lemons… put them in your water? I know many restaurants put lemons in their water to be fancy, but they’re actually on to something. Who knew?


I’ve learned quite a few health benefits regarding drinking lemon water from my new love affair with pinterest. Apparently it helps flush out your system, gets you energized in the morning, speeds up your metabolism, etc. Just keep in mind the people who are claiming these things (that I read) aren’t doctors, and neither am I, so please don’t take this as actual medical advice (not that you would).

I am also a firm believer in the power of your thinking, whether positive or negative. And all this could just be that I believe it enough that I think it’s true, so just bear with me. I haven’t been sick in 4 months – FOUR MONTHS! (knock on wood). For anyone that actually knows me, that’s probably the longest healthy stretch there’s been since I’ve had kids. And I am convinced that it’s because of the lemon water.  Because guess what? I started drinking it about four months ago. Coincidence? I think not! Hello increased Vitamin C intake!

The original reason I even started drinking it was because I’m trying to cut back on coffee/diet coke intake for obvious reasons. But I’m not really a big water drinker. It really annoys the Mr. that I always have to “add” something. Like chocolate to my milk (I HATE regular milk), cheese to my broccoli, etc. But if it saves us money on pop and other things, he’ll buy the 50 cent lemon, and like it.

I love when I accidentally do something healthy! So Raise your glass (o lemon water of course), cheers!



In case you're interested in reading the literature: http://www.waterbenefitshealth.com/benefits-of-drinking-lemon-water.html

A slight obsession

See this blog isn't just about food. (but during the winter time especially, there's not much to do in our teensy house, we can't go outside, so we find fun things to make! but I digress) This post isn't about food! It's about my new obsession... chevron.

Is that a weird thing to be obsessed with? I'm loving the pattern, and everywhere. I cannot wait to finally buy a house again and incorporate it somewhere. or anywhere. or everywhere :) Well anywhere the Mr. will let me. I'm not sure how I feel about the hot pink necessarily, I'm more drawn to the neutrals. I totally want to make a tray like this, just not sure I have the patience to make sure my tape is all perfectly even (but that's what the perfectionist Mr. is for, mwahah)

My second obsession is the color gray. I don't know why, but it just seems to go with everything. I love gray and pink, gray and yellow, gray and green, gray and purple, you name it. So once again I need to get on the whole buy a house thing... anyhoo! I have to get my hands on a rug like this:

There's so many things I love about this I don't even know where to begin. The curtains, the DIY'ed texture on the wall behind the crib, the rug, the orange accent... love.

Ah chevron, le'sigh.

Something Salty

I have a love of salty snacks. And let me tell you that "you can't have just one" rule doesn't apply only to Lay's (or whatever the slogan comes from...) so I found a recipe for Kale chips and decided to try them out. And don't worry this one went better then the exploding chick peas :)

Here's the dets:

Kale
Seasoned Salt
Olive Oil

That's it! Do you know how many ingredients are listed on a bag o potato chips? Not to mention ones I can't pronounce? Just wash your Kale really well, pat dry with a paper towel, toss with olive oil and a bit of seasoned salt and bake for 10 to 15 minutes at 350. Voila. You've got a yummy snack with ingredients you can pronounce!

Now I'm not going to lie, they're not potato chips. But when you're craving something crunchy and salty, it definitely hits the spot. And the Mr. liked that I wasn't baking desserts (and so did my rear end). He even ate most of them! He likes to snack late at night after the girls are in bed, and just peruses the kitchen. So it's nice to have something snacky that's actually good for you readily available.

Bon appetit! (apetit? appettit? however you spell it.. )

A Yummy Snack

I absolutely love to find new recipes that are not only delicious and easy to make, but good for you too! That's not too much to ask right? Well a while ago I fell in love with hummus. It is SO easy to make, and is quite tasty. Well the main ingredient for hummus is chick peas. Did you know that chick peas are really good for you? They are. I know these things. Well that got me thinking, what else could I make with chick peas? I found a recipe for roasted chick peas a while ago, and today finally got around to making them, and they were mm mm mm mm good! So easy I have the recipe memorized. All you need are chick peas (if you want to go really simple just buy a can, rinse and drain them - I prefer the dried bag that I then let soak overnight no preservatives or icky things that way), salt, olive oil, brown sugar and cinnamon. That's it. So here's what ya do:

Preheat over to 450 degrees F
Line a jelly roll pan (fancy term for a baking sheet with a lip) with parchment paper
spread out your chick peas
Roast for about 20 minutes*
Remove from oven and transfer to a bowl, mix with 2 t olive oil, 1/4 t salt,  1 t cinnamon, and 1.5 t brown sug
ENJOY!

*Funny story- I say about because originally the recipe told me 30 minutes, and I don't know if I just have a really high powered oven or what, becuase at about 20 minutes a couple of them started exploding in the oven. Now I get to clean the oven... YAY! So just be carfeul when roasting!!

Bon Appetit!

Holy 2012

It's been over an entire year since I've blogged. Crazy! I've missed it a lot. We've had quite a crazy year, and one (of many) resolutions is to resume blogging and keep it up! One thing I'd like to do is make it into a book at the end of the year. We'll see if that happens :) So without further ado, here's 2011 wrapped up as quickly as I possibly can:

In January I started my new job in KC.
In April Gracen turned 3, holy cow this little lady's growing up WAY too fast!
In May we moved to KC - wahoo! (and i've been internetless until now)
In July Gracen took swimming lessons and I might've cried. It was just so precious!
In September Gracen started pre-school, more tears. She also started ballet and tap lessons, even more tears. Sept. also marked Hadley's second birthday, where did my babies go?!
October brought the start of holidays, and we had a cupcake (Gracen) and giraffe (Hadley) for Halloween.
November brought Thanksgiving, and was hardly time to even breathe.
December was a whirlwind. I spent a weekend in Chicago with my sisters (unbelievably cold, but a great mini-girls-weekend-vacay). The Mr. and I celebrated our anniversary, spent Christmas in Iowa with mi familia, New Years came and went and all of a sudden it's 2012!!! January 2nd I started grad-school, and I might be more than a little petrified to be in school again.

I can't wait to see what this year has in store. Including all the run of the mill resolutions: eating better, losing the baby weight, being more patient, blogging more etc.

So Happy New Year to all! Just a wee bit late. But better late than never right?

Christmas Card 2010

Seasonal Chic Noir Christmas Card

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What I'm loving Wednesday!

I'M LOVING that we are no longer sick with the flu! Finally everyone is feeling better, and I'm definitely LOVING that it didn't happen over Christmas like it did 2 years ago!

I'M LOVING all the Christmas specials on TV. Even though we (GASP!) don't have cable, there are tons of family Christmas specials on the main channels, and I do love me some Charlie Brown.

I'M LOVING that all our Christmas decor is up, and while my bambinos do love to admire it, they've been uber cooperative, and haven't ripped off Christmas ornaments or toppled the tree over for that matter!

I'M LOVING that there are some exciting things in the works. Yay! Who knows what life will bring us in 2011!!

I'M LOVING my family!