You Always Make Me Smile

Just because I'm in a happy sort of mood today!

{Must be the springy sort of weather out there!}

Enjoy!

You Can Be First Class

You can be first class.

Respect yourself. 

Do not feel sorry for yourself. 

Do not dwell on unkind things 

others may say about you. 

Polish and refine whatever talents 

the Lord has given you. 

Go forward in life 

with a twinkle in your eye 

and a smile on your face, 

but with great and strong purpose in your heart.

Love life and look for its opportunities.

~ Gordon B. Hinckley

image via

Summer Squash Enchiladas

I'm taking a break from all my recent wardrobe planning to bring you this awesome recipe!  :D

I still had some summer squash left from Bountiful Baskets a while ago {kept fresh in the fridge with these awesome produce keeper bags!}.  I had almost forgotten about them but luckily they were still good as new!  {Seriously, those bags are genius!}

So I whipped up some good ol' Summer Squash Enchiladas for dinner.

Summer Squash Enchiladas

Filling:

1 1/2 cup onions, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 tbsp olive oil

6 cups summer squash, chopped

1 4-oz can diced green chili peppers

2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp black pepper

Sauce:

4 tbsp butter

4 tbsp flour

2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

2 cups milk

3 cups mozarella or monterey jack cheese, shredded

Tortillas

Preheat oven to 400.

In large skillet, cook onion and garlic in oil until tender.  Add squash and cook 3-5 minutes more until tender, stirring occasionally.  Stir in half of the green chile peppers, 2 tsp chili powder, and the black pepper.  Cook and stir 1 minute more.  Set aside.

For the sauce:  Melt butter over medium heat.  Stir in flour, chili powder, salt and black pepper.  Cook and stir for 1 minute.  Stir in milk and stir until thick and bubbly.  Remove from heat and add cheese, stir until it melts.  Add the remaining chili peppers to sauce and stir again.  Pour half of sauce into squash mixture and stir to combine. 

Spoon squash mixture down center of each tortilla and roll up.  Place in a lightly greased baking dish.   Top with remaining sauce.  Bake about 25 minutes or until heated through.

Yeehaw!  These are a yummy, comforting southwestern {?} tasting sort of enchilada.  With a hint of spiciness, but not too much {for my family anyway!} that was perfect with a side salad.  Y'all should try it!  They were tasty!

{GULP!}

If you were my jewelery you should be afraid.

Very, very afraid!

Because {gulp!} I'm certainly afraid of this!

Watch out baby!  I've got paint!

Stay tuned . . .


~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Update:  Um, yeah.  So that worked out well!  {Not really!}  It's still a little too chilly to paint outside, so, um, maybe there will be a better update in a few months!

Weekend Shopping Trip

Slowly I am revamping my wardrobe.
Headed out to the stores over the weekend

and . . .

found some sweet pink shoes

{thrifted}

and cute coral bracelets!

{from Kohls}

And a really cute blue shirt
{love the collar!}

{from Walmart}

On the lookout for a new coat
{or two!}

I auditioned a few coats at Kohls.
Loved the color of the turquoise one
but not the price.

Since I'm still in weightloss mode,
I think I will keep thrifting for a while!

Still need some appropriate church clothes.
I really wanted to find a chocolate or navy
crisp little A~line skirt.

Didn't find any.

:(

But!

Found these cute new ties for the toddler!

 {from Peanut Posh ~ I went pretty basic
but they had lots of cute and funky ties too!}

We also found ourselves near the Dressing Your Truth store so my daughter and I hurried in to see if we could figure out her type.  She's been rather intrigued with my experiment!  We found out she is a Type 1 too!  

Check out the cute little coat she picked up at the DYT store! It has a cute little swing effect on her. Adorable!

So we came home and purged her closet as well so that she can try out the experiment too.  We have lots of bags to haul off to our local thrift shop!

Let's see, what else?  

Oh yeah!  

I ended up replenishing and freshening up my makeup.

And bought new basics.

{Layering tee's etc}

My wardrobe still has some holes and gaps in it,

but I'm getting closer to

having a closet full of appropriate clothes for

our grand old experiment!

And the fun part is 

that I get to do it along with my daughter now!

Sweet!

Lunch Bunch: Foods for Romance

This turned out to be a tricky month for our group to get together, so my apologies!  But if you have blogged a healthy recipe you would like to share then please feel free to link up to us!

What did you have for Valentine's Day?

What foods say romance to you?

Tell us either in the comments or link up to us with a post of your own!  I will leave the linky open for a week!

Next month we will do 

healthy breakfast recipes, 

so start thinking!

image via

From Cacao to Coats to My Fav Accessory

Today is a little bit of a mish-mash.  First up, to continue our chocolate discussion, Adrienne from The Rich Life asked me yesterday how the cacao smelled when we were stepping on it and the funny thing is, I don't really remember!  So I had to do a little investigating! 

My raw cacao beans

I pulled some raw cacao beans out of my pantry to see what they smelled like.  When I first opened the package there was no noticeable smell wafting my direction.

Raw cacao beans with the packaging {in case you want to find some of your own ~ it's always helpful to see what it is you're searching for.}

So I stuck my nose a little closer to the package and they smelled kind of fruity.  Not chocolatey.  Which is interesting to me {in a way, but I'll explain more about that tomorrow}, because if you eat real dark chocolate it definitely doesn't taste like the chocolate you are probably used to.  In fact, if you're like Rebekah from Cupcake Caramel, she thought it tasted like dirt.  And I have to admit, when I first started cooking with it and trying to make my own chocolates, it didn't taste so great to me either!  But!  The fudge sauce recipe I blogged the other day is definitely sweet, yet dark and doesn't taste like dirt!  I promise!  It's taken me a while to perfect the recipe, but I think we got it right finally!  :D

But in other news, I am continuing along with my fashion experiment and trying to acquire the correct type of clothing for my type.  Yesterday as I was thrifting, I came across this coat:

In the past I haven't been a huge fan of yellow on myself but I'm willing to step outside my comfort zone to try this out. It fit the criteria of things I need to look for plus it felt so springy!  So I grabbed it.  I think with the right styling it could be quite fresh and cute looking!

I've also been thinking a lot this week about my favorite accessory after Janet at The Gardener's Cottage showed us hers.  I couldn't really think of one off the top of my head because I actually have quite a few that I adore, but I finally narrowed it down and I'm going to say that this scarf is my favorite:

I love it because it is lightweight, fun and springy {as in bouncy!} and the perfect creamy shade.  And those cute little "grapes" are so fun!  And amazingly it is one of the accessories I already had that still fits within my type!  Hallelujah!  I would be so sad if I had to stop wearing this one!

So there you have it!  An odd assortment from chocolate to coats to scarves!

Pisa na Cacao

So to continue our crazy love affair with chocolate, today I thought I'd share with you how your cocoa {or cacao} is made.  Back in 1993-94 I spent some time in Brazil.  The region I was in had lots of cacao plants, so one day we ended up at a cacao processing plantation.  The cacao beans have a gooey, gummy substance around them after they are picked that you have to get off. 

Me in Brazil, back in 1993, stepping on the cacao to help clean it.

One step in the cleaning process is called Pisando na Cacao ~ Stepping on the Cacao.  They lay out the cacao beans in water then you just start stomping all over them in your barefeet ~ clean of course! ~ until the gooey stuff is gone.  Then the water is drained and they are left out to dry.

Me, my friend Claudia, her brother Daniel, Claudia's grandma and some random Brazillian worker

Pretty crazy, eh?  I'm not sure that's how they do it worldwide, but that's how they did it in the region of Brazil I was in at least. 

After they are dried then they get processed and ground into the cocoa powders we are so familiar with in baking and chocolate making.  I prefer raw cacao powder that hasn't been processed or heat treated over the processed sweetened cocoa powders.  Raw cacao is the rich, dark healthy chocolate that I prefer.

Are you a dark chocolate person?  

Milk chocolate?  

White chocolate? 

{Don't even ask me how they make it white!  :D }

European chocolate?

Do tell!

Healthy {and Versatile} Chocolate Fudge Sauce

So, isn't Valentine's Day the official day of chocolate or something?  No matter!  I declare it chocolate WEEK!  We kicked it off by making treats in the kitchen on Sunday, which I showed you a peek of yesterday, so today I thought I'd share some of the recipes we used.

All of our recipes were used by and based off our healthy fudge sauce recipe made with raw dark cacao powder that is packed with anti-oxidants, agave which is a natural low glycemic sweetener and healthy coconut oil.

Coconut oil is a medium chain fatty acid that your body needs.  Calorically it is a lower calorie dense food at 6.9 calories per gram versus 9 calories per gram like most other fats.  But it also aids in healthy skin, hair, cellular function, enhances our immune system and provides quick energy which is why top athletes like Brendan Brazier use it not only for its health benefits but also as quick energy pick ups during training and races.  If you want to learn more about the scientific benefits of coconut oil then I recommend The Coconut Oil Miracle. 

But anyway!  Let's get to the good stuff!  The chocolate recipes!!!

Chocolate Fudge Sauce Recipe

1 cup coconut oil, gently melted on low heat

1 cup agave nectar

1 cup raw cacao, or unsweetened cocoa powder

Combine everything in a blender until smooth.  Gently heat for a runnier sauce.  Place in fridge to thicken or harden the sauce, as desired.

You can purchase raw cacao powder, coconut oil and agave nectar here. That's where I order mine from, they deliver them right to my door and then I don't have to try and hunt them down at a store!  It's a big win-win for me because I don't have any good health food stores near me that carry these ~ I have to drive quite a while just to get to one!

Use the fudge sauce over ice cream.

Yum!

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

Make the fudge sauce.
Dip fresh strawberries in fudge and
place in freezer to quickly set
and harden the fudge.
Store in fridge until ready to eat.

Peanut Butter Balls

1 cup natural creamy peanut butter {no added oils or sugars}

1 cup honey or brown rice syrup {available at health food stores}

1 cup coconut flour {available at health food stores} or powdered milk

Fudge sauce to dip in

Cream everything together in a bowl.  Roll into balls.  Drizzle with fudge sauce, or dip it in fudge sauce if you want them completely covered.  Chill in the freezer so the fudge sauce will thicken up quickly instead of sliding off your peanut butter balls.

Rich, Dark Chocolatey Fudge!

Just pour the fudge sauce

into a shallow dish

and refrigerate to set.

Warning:  Eat in small doses.  It is super duper rich!

Almond Joy Fudge

To the fudge mixture add:

2 cups unsweetened dried coconut and 

2 cups ground almonds 

{you decide how fine you want it ground ~ 

to a flour? to small crunchy pieces?}.

Pour into a shallow dish and 

chill in refrigerator to set.

Wow!  That was a lot of fudge!  By the time you have made all of these in one day {like we did} you will either be in chocolate heaven or entirely sick of chocolate!  :D

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Now I have a confession to make, lest you think I am always so virtuous and healthy with my treats.

I succumbed.

To the sugary 

+ 

corn syrupy 

delights that your dentist hates!

{hanging my head in shame}

I bought conversation hearts 

and Valentine suckers 

for table decorations 

{ok, and to eat too!}

See?

They were just so cute!

They just jumped in my cart!
Honest!

I mean, how could I resist suckers

that spell out words?

Words like ...

and ...

But really, the kicker 

that threw me over the edge ...

Heart shaped suckers in the shape of fruits!!!

CUTE!!!

And amazingly chocolate free!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I've had a lovely Valentines Day weekend.

Spent time with family!

Had a Beatles love fest playing Beatles Rock Band!

Listened to the most beautiful piano and violin duet 

that really touched my soul.

Spent time in the kitchen with my daughter making treats!

Helped the toddler make Valentine's for his friends.

Crafted up a wreath inspired by this one.

And now listening to The Beatles:

I'm such a sucker for the Beatles!  

So happy and fun!  

And oh so many songs about love!

I Saw Her Standing There

I Want to Hold Your Hand

Eight Days a Week

Can't Buy Me Love

All My Loving

Do You Want to Know a Secret

And I Love Her

When I'm Sixty-Four

All You Need Is Love

The first song I ever learned on the guitar was a Beatles song ~ {And I Love Her}.  Don't ask me to play it for you.  I was horrible at it then, and I'm horrible at it now.  It's ok.  I can deal with it!  It's not one of my best talents!  :D

I hope your day is filled with joy and loved ones!

Happy Valentine's Day!

My Apologies

Today was supposed to be our link up for our recipes of love!  But some things came up and our group couldn't meet this week so it will be postponed until next week.  Sorry!  I hope no one is too disappointed!  But hey!  That just gives you more time to come up with something fabulous to share with us!  So hang tight and meet back up with us next Friday for some fabulous eats!

via

I Have Nothing To Wear!

Literally.

This philosophy of dressing isn't just about draping yourself in a certain color group.  It also takes into account design lines, fabrics and shapes within your certain color group that match your personality and facial features.  It's complicated. 

And after assessing the items in the right color group according to the other criteria as well ... I got nothin'!  A whole lot of nothin'!

If I'm going to do this experiment right then I need to have the right kind of clothes!  I think I might hit up the thrift store this weekend to see what I can find.   And I might take  a lot of my old clothes and jewelery that aren't right for me and take them down to her store to exchange them for clothes that are.  Just because they don't work for me doesn't mean they won't work for someone else.  The clothing exchange program ~ It's genius I tell you!

Some of the jewelry that "doesn't work" for me right now.   :(

So hopefully I will have a fun new wardrobe to play around with soon or else this experiment is going nowhere fast!  I sure hope it all turns out ok in the end!

Dearly Departed

So after ordering the online course and watching it, I decided to dive into my closet and see just what I had already that might support my Type 1 nature.  Since my energy is an uplifting, light sort of movement all the black clothing had to go.

Why?

Because it's too dark and brings my energy down.

This was a big step for me.  I really love all my black.  In fact, I had five black skirts and over 15 different black shirts.  Yikes!  I wasn't sure I was going to have anything else to wear.  I can't believe how much of my wardrobe was black!  Now since this is all still in an experimental stage, I didn't completely get rid of them, but I corralled them all to the very back of the closet {they are firmly off~limits} and brought all the supporting colors forward to the front.

Then I attacked my jewelery and scarf collection.   Yes there are even guidelines for the jewelery.  Silver is supposedly not the right metal for my energy type.  ~sad dance~  I absolutely LOVE silver, especially near my face ~ I feel like it really brightens me up.  But in the spirit of the experiment I placed them away from the rest of my jewelery and let them mingle with all the exiled black.

So two old favorites are gone ~ the black and the silver. 

Let's give them a moment of silence...

Thank you.  

May they rest in peace.

But!  On the bright side, I have to say, looking at the "acceptable" items left in my wardrobe that are now all grouped together it is quite a fun, happy looking bunch!  Getting rid of the black really seemed to lighten up my closet!  So, we'll see how this experiment goes!  More later!  I haven't attacked the shoes yet.  I'm off to play around in the closet again!

~ ~ ~ 

By the way, I just realized there is a sale over at Dressing Your Truth for the introduction package to help you discover your own personal beauty profile.  It's not the full blown course like I just bought, but if you're interested in how her whole process works and is different from other fashion stylists, then right now is a great time to purchase it and see for yourself at an affordable price of $19.95.  But I think that special pricing ends tonight, so if you're interested then hurry!   

Then you can tell me what type you think you are too!

image via

Quiet Ray of Sunshine

~Deep breath~

I think I'm finally ready to talk about this.

Last fall I had the opportunity to meet Carol Tuttle of Dressing Your Truth fame.  She is the creator of a system that teaches you to dress according to your true nature.  How she does this is by analyzing your facial features for clues.

I had already read her book, Dressing Your Truth, and since she is local to me I decided to head down and pay a visit while she was doing facial profiles in her store one day.  I thought it would be fun! 

After reading her book I couldn't decide if I was a Type 1 {an animated, bubbly kind of person} or a Type 2 {a quiet, reserved person}.  I know, they seem two totally different types but I honestly didn't know!  If you meet me in person, chances are that I will be rather quiet.  My whole life I have been very shy.  Painfully shy.   But I can also be extremely bouncy and animated once I get to know you. {Of course there are more than two types and I am giving ultra simplistic descriptions of the types I thought I was but anyway, back to the story}.

So I patiently waited my turn in line.  When it was finally my turn I kind of bounced forward with a "look at me ~ here I am!" silly kind of grin on my face!  I mean, what else am I supposed to do when you're selfconscious and people are looking at you???

Immediately she exclaimed, "You're a Type 1!!!"

"Really?" I laughed, "Are you sure???"

"Yes!  Your energy just spoke for you as you bounced forward!" she said and then went on to point out how my facial features also indicated my Type 1 nature. 

Hmm.  Interesting I thought as I left.  And then it threw me into turmoil.


What if I had quietly stepped forward?  Would she have thought I was a Type 2 instead?  Am I shy?  Or am I outgoing?  Do I hide my true nature behind the other one?  But which one is my true nature and which one is the one that I hide behind?  Am I really a shy person who hides my true outgoing nature?  Or am I truly an outgoing person who hides behind my shyness?  Which one is my true nature?  Who am I really? 

I'm not kidding when I say that I was in turmoil!  I had to call my mom, my husband and a few others who have known me for a long time.  Which one would you say is my true nature?  Am I shy?  Or am I outgoing?

Then I got mad.  Why am I putting a label on myself?  I hate labels!  Who cares, right?  And I've sat and thought about it for months now.  And I've read her book over and over ~ I highlighted sections out of both types that totally fit me!  I've watched her videos and read her blog.  For some reason I just had to know who I was.

But what I like about her and keep coming back to is that each types perceived weakness is actually a strength and you should pay attention and honor that.  For instance, a lot of fun-loving, outgoing Type 1's tend to hide their true natures behind other types because they feel like they "have to" grow up and be mature and act differently.  When in reality, their outgoing happy natures are a strength to be honored not hidden away!  I kind of like that philosophy!

Though she was speaking about something slightly different, I like how Emily at Chatting at the Sky put it:

"I’m still trying to figure out why I was ashamed of those things, why I fought the art for so long. Maybe it was because I was in my early twenties and still trying to come out of myself. And the self that began to emerge was different from the self I thought I ought to be, so I denied those parts that didn’t seem to fit with my ideal and I tried to work on those parts that seemed best.

I felt guilty for who I was, how I was made. And because I wouldn’t let myself embrace the creativity and all that comes with it, I was denying myself myself. In turn, I was denying everyone else myself, too. I couldn’t love fully or live fully. I don’t want to sound so self-focused, and I know I’m running that risk. But I believe when we allow ourselves to be accurate expressions of how God made us, then we bring him great pleasure. Like a gift. Like worship. He made us certain ways on purpose, didn’t he?" 

So I've thought a lot about my nature and I'm not sure how this fits into her Typing system, but I've decided that I am a quiet ray of sunshine.  Not the blaring, in-your-face type of sunshine ~ I will never be the "life of the party" or "center of attention" kind of gal.  But I am that happy-go-lucky, optimistic kind of gal.  First and foremost a ray of sunshine {the Type 1 in me}, who just happens to quietly beam her light {the Type 2 in me}.  Somehow I am both.  And that's ok.

There is so much about this experience that affected me.  I may talk more about it later, but for now I think this will suffice.

So in matters of dressing my truth, I think I am finally ready to plunk down some cash and learn how to dress my nature and see how it goes.  I am going to try and trust in their system and go with their recommendation that I am a Type 1.   If nothing else, this will be a fun experiment!

This Just In . . .

Hot off the presses!

In matters of food and Superbowl treats . . .

I AM WEIRD!

And by weird I mean my idea of what constitutes delicious football fare are definitely different than apparently everybody else!

But as in the Dave Ramsey sense, being weird in this instance is great because I don't want to eat processed~pretend~food if thats what is normal these days!  {When did faux food become normal anyway?}

And it is also great in the sense that when I was shopping Saturday afternoon as all the potato chips, velveeta cheese, sodas and barbecue sauces were disappearing from the shelves that all my food was still conveniently stocked! 

I was able to leisurely pick up a jar of Kalamata olives, asparagus and a sourdough baguette and make some pretty fabulous food if I do say so myself!

The Twigs in a Blanket were darling!  The Greek 7~Layer Dip was divine!  The cantaloupe from my Bountiful Basket was fresh and perfectly juicy!  I opted not to bring the Pesto Stuffed Mushrooms and the S'mores this time but I, of course, had to take the Superbowl colored tortilla chips and some fresh mango peach salsa!  Yum!  I love fresh food!

Being weird isn't so bad after all!

What did you eat?

Bountiful Baskets and Superbowl Party Snack Ideas

First up, this is what we got in our Bountiful Baskets this week.  Once again, lots of yumminess!

I'm not sure what to make with it all yet.  None of it is screaming any particular sorts of dishes at me ~ maybe because they didn't have any Asian, Italian or Mexican add-on's.  Those always help direct the types of dishes I end up making.   Instead they had a guacamole pack and a tortilla pack that I bought ~ for the Superbowl!

The tortillas are so cute ~ they gave us packs of green tortilla chips, yellow tortilla chips and purpley-blue tortilla chips!  I hope to have a picture for you tomorrow once I've baked them all up, but I have a suspicion that these might be the colors of the football teams?  I don't know, I don't really watch football, and usually only watch the Superbowl for the commercials.

Anyway!  

Some of the food I plan on 

making for the "big event" are:

Twigs in a Blanket

Three Layer Bean Dip

Nutella S'mores of Awesomeness!

And some of my past favorites:

Greek 7~layer Dip

Pesto Stuffed Mushrooms

and a big bowl of fresh cut fruit

{I'm craving something fresh and juicy!}

What types of foods will you be enjoying

for the Superbowl tomorrow? 

Do tell!

No Bake Apple Hearts ... and Lunch Bunch Reminder

I have a serious addiction!

 I just can't get enough of the No-Bake Apple treats!

And now they've found their way into hearts!

I think I'm in love!

~ ~ ~

Quick reminder that our monthly Lunch Bunch group is getting together on the 10th at my house for my local friends.  Those of you who want to join in from afar can link up to us on the 11th!  

Remember this month our recipes are . . .


Foods For Romance!  

It's a pretty broad topic so you can 
get creative and play around with it!  

What says romance to you?

Desserts?
Your sweethearts favorite dish?
Foods that help put you "in the mood" for love?
Something pink?  
Something red?  
You decide!  

Just remember to try and keep it healthy
and use whole food ingredients!

~ ~ ~

No Bountiful Basket post yet.  I am rushing off to hear my sister-in-law speak at a fabulous women's conference this morning.  So check back later for my Bountiful Basket AND Superbowl snack ideas for this week!

Feeling Better

Phew!  I'm back and feeling much better!  One thing that was on my mind a lot this week was how hard it is to feel chic when you really feel lousy.  Here are a few things I think make it a little nicer to be sick.

Lots of sleep enabled by:

Garnet Hill

A nice fluffy, lightweight, 

soft and warm 

down or silk comforter

Room darkening shades or draperies

with blackout lining.  Available at places 

like Target or Walmart these days.

 Something soft, cozy and comfortable

that you know will look good on you

even when you're not looking or feeling so hot yourself!

1.  Garnet Hill   2. Soft Surroundings

Faux hair pieces 

so it looks like you took the time to do your hair

when you venture outside your room.

Lovely herbal teas with medicinal qualities.

A cast iron teapot with a candle warmer 

to keep the water hot so don't have to

keep trekking back and forth to the kitchen 

to brew your tea.  Just keep it by your bedside.

And if you feel like it,

something to read,

to watch,

or to listen.

How about you?

How do you  maintain a modicum of chic 

when you're sick?