I have been on an almond kick lately. Why? Besides their obvious nutritional awesomeness (healthy fat, high protein), the main reason is because I bought the most gargantuan bag of Blue Diamond Natural almonds at Walmart last week! It is literally 2 pounds of oven-roasted sea salt almonds. ... Read more » about {Greek Yogurt Pineapple Nut Smoothie} - HLTT4

Babycakes is still living on cloud 9, basking in the joy of her birthday, friends and cupcakes swirling through her head! Yesterday morning, 4 days after said birthday party, my little now-2-year-old looks over at me and says: "I want another birthday, Momma."  Can you blame her? The festivities were grand! She was surrounded by the people that love her most: family and friends. The food was delicious! ... Read more » about Another Birthday + {Avocado & Corn Bites}

My lovely friend Calee (not Caylee) has created a genius weekly link-up blogger party called Tuesday Tutes & Loot. What is it? It's a day dedicated to sharing Tutorials (TUTES), cool new products, and/or giveaways (LOOT).  a) I love this idea, and b) I love Calee. Soooooo, I've been racking my brain on what I could write about today on this innaugural TTL.  In coming weeks, I'm planning on sharing how to roast garlic, how to press tofu (must research, b/c I have tofu in the fridge and no idea how to prepare it!!), and how to get your kids to eat more veggies :) ... Read more » about Tuesday Tutes & Loot (#TTL) - Party Planning Edition!

In case you missed Friday's blog post or recent Facebook discussions/pictures, you should know, this past weekend was Babycakes' 2nd birthday!  I'm in full party recovery mode, which means ignoring all dishes, feet up on the coffee table, and refusing to do most of anything. ... Read more » about Party Recovery + {Summer Tabbouleh}

Hello friends! I mentioned the other day on Facebook that Wednesday was MY day. I spent it shopping, cooking, blogging, photographing, formalizing some business ideas, and party planning!! What are we celebrating? Babycakes' 2nd birthday, of course!  I admit, I think I'm a pretty good mom...most of the time.  I even let my toddler run around the house naked sometimes.  And I feed her lots of vegetables. ... Read more » about A Momentous Occasion: Babycakes is Turning 2!

I'm lightening things up a bit from yesterday's more serious "Our Words Matter" post. I learned something new this week: how to activate yeast.  While I was on vacation in Arizona, my dad made his weekly homemade pizza dough.  Not only did he show me how it's done, he equipped me with the recipe.  And I, like any loving daughter, decided to go out on my own and not follow his instructions.  The recipe called for 1 Tbsp of sugar.  Me? I don't need sugar in my pizza dough! ... Read more » about Activating Yeast + {Caramelized Onion & Peach Pizza}

My toddler's desire to run around the house naked increases by the minute. Those of you with 2 year olds totally understand! She has a newfound desire to strip down naked in an attempt to "try" to go potty on the big girl potty, but inevitably she gives up on that and just runs around the house in her birthday suit.  I think secretly she just likes the feeling and freedom of being naked.  It's like when you've been out in cold weather totally bundled up in down jackets, long underwear, wool socks, etc... ... Read more » about Our Words Matter + {My Pretty Body}

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!  Mine was especially good with eats like Chocolate Chip Banana Bread (my newest and BEST banana bread recipe!) and Peach/Caramelized Onion Pizza, as well as a cooler weather, a long bike ride, Olympics, and running into one of my awesome readers at the local market!! ... Read more » about Health Benefits of Nuts + {Nutty Butter Giveaway}

I don't know about you, but I just LOVE watching the Olympics.  Every night I find myself promising I'm going to go to bed early earlier, to no avail. I just have to keep watching! It's intriguing. It's inspiring. And I love seeing the smiles on the faces of the champions.  They have trained so hard for that moment, sacrificed so much, and just want to be the best...in the world.  You've probably seen the commercials, but Chobani is sponsoring this year's Olympics!  Talk about big time :)  The forward momentum they have is amazing ... Read more » about Olympics + {CHOcolate Chip Banana Bread}