Somedays, I Really Enjoy Being a Girl

Tweet Spring has finally sprung here and I have been squirreling away activities for Quinn and I to do together out of doors.  We're in the middle of getting our vegetable garden ready and the Easter Bunny even brought Q her own little bag filled with tools to get her hands dirty :)  As excited as I am about fresh produce right out side our door, our new Fairy Garden takes the cake.  The little miss has recently become fascinated by Tinker Bell which naturally led to me seeing how we could take this newfound interest in a totally over the top direction ;)  I found a ridiculous amount of information on line about building your own fairy houses and gardens which apparently is all the rage.  Who knew the South girls were so on trend?  

We took a trip to Dearness Gardens this week and I have no idea why I have never been there before!  For a kid, it has to be like walking through the looking glass.  There are so many interesting trees and plants to look at and and their stone and sculpted garden art is amazing (they had owls AND dragons!).  Their staff was super helpful and pointed us in the right direction for fairy garden supplies.  They have lots of container and plant options plus pre-made houses and other miniatures for the wee wee folk.  

All you need to get started is a container, small plants like moss or other flowering varieties, pebbles, a house and any other decorations you like.  If you have older kids I think it would be really fun to go exploring in the woods or even your own backyard for materials like bark, sticks, rocks and other plants to build your very own fairy house.  You can also find fun options here, here, and here.  If you aren't already - follow me on Pinterest and keep up with us and all our fairy gardening inspiration.

~ Em xo

Spring Cleaning

Tweet In the last month I have decided to go on a detox of sorts. My sister loaned me the book Clean and it made a ton of sense. I was already doing some of the things recommended by Dr. Junger, M.D. but after reading the book I decided I was straight up addicted to sugar and caffeine. I tried to tell myself that those were really my only two remaining vices and with a small child I would be insane to give up my coffee. The really insane thing was how I would crash at her nap time and find myself binging on sugary snacks or having another 16 oz cup of coffee. I got seriously honest with myself about what the real reason behind this consumption was and made the choice that I was disciplined enough to get off the sauce so to speak. The full clean program consists of a 21 day detox cleanse that includes two liquid meals, a shake or smoothie for breakfast and a soup for dinner with a real meal at lunch. I was almost on board and then got super stressed out by the amount of menu planning and shopping I would be doing. Not too mention how my grocery bill would likely double or triple in the process. Q and I already have green smoothies for breakfast and with the hubs on the road I don't see the point in cooking for 1.5 people that often. We already eat a lot of soups and chilli and salads. But there was still the damn coffee and sugar to deal with. I gave it up cold turkey (I did this once before the day after I found out I was pregnant.) It was easier then since I was doing it for my baby. I am letting myself drink Chai tea in the morning with coconut creamer and so far so good. I've been off coffee for a month and it doesn't even smell good to me anymore. Kicking sugar to the curb has been way more difficult. I have a MAJOR sweet tooth and was constantly snacking on junk in the afternoon when my energy was crashing. To help ease the pain of not being able to have sweets I've been playing with recipes that are either raw or involve little baking and next to no sugar. So far I have had a lot of success with my attempts and am excited to share the recipes here with you! My first dessert was a fruit cobbler replacement that I made with some bears and berries lying around. I did use a little brown sugar and Smart Balance (dairy free and vegan) spread - i'm sure you could use Stevia as an alternative.

Fruit of the Forest Crumble
1 c dry roasted unsalted hazelnuts
1 c dry roasted unsalted macadamia nuts
2 tbs sugar ½ c brown sugar
1tbs cinnamon
1tps Nutmeg
½ c smart balance
 1 c fresh blueberries
1 c fresh blackberries
1 c peeled and sliced pears (about 4 bosch pears)

Preheat oven to 350 Combine fruit with the 2 tbs of sugar toss and set aside Place nuts in food processor and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Transfer to bowl and mix with brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Cut in smart balance with a fork until everything is incorporated and crumbly. Spread half the nut mixture in the bottom of a 9x9 glass pan. Top with fruit mixture then dot the remaining nuts over the top. Bake for 30 minutes or until top is golden brown and fruit is bubbly.

Walk On By

Tweet It's apparently the last day of February and I officially feel like I lost an entire month. We had Dada home for a few weeks early on and our little lady turned two! This year I opted to not drive myself crazy with a party so we just had a simple celebration at home (I promise to do my best to post some pics, because simple is and can be pretty cute). Race season has kicked into full gear which means we are soaking up all the family time we can get in between Dada's work travels. Did I mention Q turned two? She might as well have turned 12. My sweet little snuggle bug who would still let me put her in a sling now insists on walking EVERYWHERE and doing just about everything herself. In turn, making my life a lot more difficult than it was just a few short weeks ago. I am proud of her new found independence but wish it came a little lighter on the fierce stubbornness. I also find myself getting sad, or at the very least wistful, when looking at her baby pictures and realizing just how big she has gotten. I swear I just had her! Cute little quirks like only giving positive answers to questions by exclaiming "I DO!" and the way she used to beckon us to come with her are gone. Replaced by big girl sentences like, "No, I don't like it" when we try to introduce new music to her. I fear this next year is going to be trying but like all things I know that this too shall pass. I just hope to God it doesn't pass too fast. Love, ~ Em xo