Friday, November 11, 2016

Recently

Cheers because it's almost the weekend🎉 This week has felt short but strange, I think election day threw me off and before I could fully figure out what day it was it's now Friday, but I have ZERO complaints about that. 

I haven't done a weekend dets and eats or a life update post in awhile so I'm combining them into one and calling it recently. At lot of times my life is pretty boring because I am a creature of habit and routine, but this past week has actually been busy.



I am not one to watch a lot of TV. Typically the only TV I watch is the news and that's when I'm running on the treadmill, but I couldn't take election coverage anymore. I started watching The Newsroom on Amazon Prime and I'm addicted. My other recent obsession is a new show called Pure Genius. Pure Genius is a really different show, in a good way, and I've gotten my parents hooked on it as well. It's about a tech genius and billionaire who builds a hospital called Bunker Hill where he enlists the greatest minds in technology and medicine so they can develop revolutionary treatment for patients. The show is very well written and the camera and lighting work is phenomenal! The geek in me gets really excited during the show because it's so well done. I definitely recommend checking it out, plus you can get the first episode free right now on iTunes- all the more reason to check it out!


Last Friday night I headed down to see my boyfriend. Earlier in the day my brother had been texting me about getting Chipotle because he had a buy one get one free coupon and of course I had been craving Mexican food. My boyfriend is always up for Chipotle so when my brother sent me the game to play to get the coupon he was quick to finish it so we could go get food. I had never been to Chipotle but I had heard people rave about it. I got a burrito bowl with chicken, rice, black beans, fajita vegetable, tomato salsa, and romaine lettuce. By the time we actually got food I was starving so I devoured the entire thing. We spent the night in watching one of my favorite movies of all time, Accepted. If you've never watched it it's hilarious and I HIGHLY recommend it! 




Saturday was an unusually warm day so we took advantage of it and drove out to Spicer's Apple Orchard. It's quite a hike but it was a beautiful drive with all the leaves changing so we didn't mind. We walked through all the orchards soaking up all the sunshine because the weather is bound to change. Apple picking season is over but we still found some apples on trees. I bet dear and other animals come in when people aren't around and eat the apples left of the trees and the ones that have fallen on the ground, which there were a lot. Most of the leaves are still on the trees so the orchard looked like it was on fire because the trees were almost all shades of red, it was so gorgeous. 



There was a little market where they sold cider, donuts and various other homemade items. There were so many different types of apples for sale. It was fun to look at all the types of apples because there were so many I had never heard of before, let alone seen in any grocery store. I loved looking at the gourds because each gourd is so unique, but every one is beautiful in it's own way, kind of like people. 


My favorite part of the day, aside from walking around the orchard, was the wine tasting. There is a winery on the property that features a full bar complete with hard cider that they actually make, a variety of wines and small eats. I'm the only one who likes wine, but he tried the hard cider and took a few sips of wine. I wasn't a fan of the hard ciders, they tasted like a dry white wine to me and I cannot stand dry white wine. My favorite wine was the peach wine. I have been obsessed with peach wine since venturing out to Robinette's with some friends a few months ago. Robinette's still has the best peach wine, but this was definitely good.


Sunday was dedicated to getting some work done around the house. There was LOTS of leaves outside that needed to be gotten and some various other things that needed to get done before winter. Cora was thrilled to spend the entire day outside even though she is still stuck in the cone. Please excuse my ugly boots, they may not be attractive but they are super comfortable. I never wear them out in public because they are not cute😂 


My mom went to small group Sunday night so I spent the night hanging out with my dad. We went to Home Depot to get some supplies for my dad's latest home improvement project. By the time we got back the sun was already setting so I quickly fired up the grill to cook dinner before it got totally dark. I love daylight savings time but I am not a fan of it getting dark so early. While I was cooking I broke open a bottle of sauvignon blanc wine that the team at Natura sent me. It's a totally organic wine so I was really excited to try it because while I love wine I'm not a fan of all the pesticides that are used to grow the grapes. A full review of Natura will be up next week!


I knew was going to be working the polls on election day so I spent Monday meal prepping. I haven't meal prepped in awhile because I've been lazy and while I was prepping I realized how much I missed it. It makes life so much easier, so I'm going to try to get back into the routine of prepping some meals for the week. Even though the polls didn't open until 7am I had to be there at 6am to set up. I couldn't sleep so I was up at 3:20am and hit the gym to get in a quick 5 miles before heading home to clean up and get to the polls. 

Not pictured is the breakfast I prepped. I cut up strawberries and a banana to throw into my oatmeal which I ate while I headed out the door. For lunch I had an O'Dough's gluten free bagel thin topped with avocado, organic turkey breast and goat cheese with a honeycrisp apple. For dinner I packed roasted sweet potato, sautéed garlic green beans, and grilled greek chicken breast with ketchup for dipping. Normally I am not a snacker, but I knew it was going to be a long day so I packed a container of strawberries (not pictured) and a chocolate sea salt rxbar.


This was my first experience working the polls and it was a unique experience. I always bug everyone to register to vote and to get out and vote so I wanted to be part of the election. It was a really long day since I ended up working from 6am until almost 10pm. I loved interacting with the public, it's the reporter in me, and it was genuinely awesome to see democracy at work. People were excited to be there and it made the day go by faster. I was dead tired by the time I got home so I cuddle up in sweatpants and a hoodie and my boyfriend came over to watch the results roll in. 


I was kind of nervous to be interacting with so many people since I was still getting over being really sick. One of my friends had given me a bottle of hand sanitizer spray from The Honest Company. I kept it with me all day and besides smelling amazing, it smelt like orange, it was super convenient to have. I liked that it never discharged too much like a regular hand sanitizer bottle does sometimes. It helped my germaphobe self not worry about all the people and germs I was interacting with, especially since my immune system is still pretty weak from dealing with this flare. I would definitely recommend this hand sanitizer though as I know I will be buying more.


We were up until almost 2:30 watching the election results roll in. After a long day of working the polls I couldn't last a minute longer so I went to bed. Of course my body woke me up at 5:05am and was wide awake🙈 I knew I wouldn't be going back to sleep so I hit the gym for a quick treadmill run because I did not have it in me to lift and run. For staying up so late I was surprisingly really awake all day.




After getting back from the gym and getting breakfast I whipped up some pancakes and took them over to my boyfriend. He's definitely not a morning person😂 After spending the morning with him he had to head back to school so I headed home to enjoy some time outside. Cora was so happy to get outside and run around in the leaves. While Cora ran around in the leaves I enjoyed a few quiet moments by the lake. The water was like glass and it was so peaceful. 

Thursday was a blur of doctor appointments, errands and helping my change the oil in the cars, yes I actually know how to change the oil in my car. It's one of the many benefits of having a dad who's all about doing everything himself. 

I'll end things here and I'll try to get updates posted sooner so posts aren't a mile long. Have a great day and happy Friday! 

Do you have any fun weekend plans?
What is one skill you have that people would not expect?

Thursday, November 10, 2016

Thinking Out Loud #10

Happy Thursday friendly faces, does anyone else have election hangover? I'm glad the election is over because I was really, really tired of hearing about it 24/7 and I was really tired of being bombarded with political ads, but I was up way too late (like 2:30am😳) watching the results pour after working the polls. I have so much to share, but I'll keep this weeks thinking out loud brief and a recently post will be up tomorrow. Brace yourselves for the randomness...


1. My newest guilty pleasure is Amazon prime streaming. I have been a prime member for five years and this is the first time I have actually taken advantage of streaming TV shows and movies🙈 I got really sick of watching to the news in the mornings while I ran on the treadmill at the gym so I started watching The Newsroom. OH MY GOSH ITS SO GOOD!!! It's pretty accurate as far as what it's like to work in a newsroom. There is constant stress, looming deadlines, competitiveness, and big egos (especially in big TV markets). Definitely check it out, I highly recommend it. 


2. I feel like I should start this with "typical girl status" because I walked into Target for one bottle of ketchup and I walked out with a basket of stuff. In my defense they did have conditioner on sale for an awesome price so stocking up was the smart thing to do. I did find these waffles though and I did a happy dance because they're gluten and dairy free🙌 Of course I had to try them right away and they are really good! The box is already long gone, whoops😋 

3. Speaking of the election I actually worked the polls for the first time ever. It was a ridiculously long day, I was there from 6am until almost 10pm but it was pretty cool to see democracy in action. I bugged pretty much everyone I knew to register to vote and then get out and vote. I didn't care who they were voting for I simply wanted people to exercise their right to vote that so many people would give anything to have. Voting is not just your civic duty, it's a privilege that hundreds of thousands of men and women have sacrificed to protect. It's also important just so you can be an informed citizen. 


4. Up until yesterday the weather has been absolutely gorgeous and unseasonably warm. Of course I soaked up every possible minute of sunshine because I know cold and the dreaded snow is around the corner. Over the weekend my boyfriend and I headed to a cider mill and walked all around the orchard, pumpkin patch and various other areas. It was so nice just to be outside🍎 It's nice to be with someone who loves being outside and active as much as I do. Sometimes we just pick a park off Apple maps and go explore, we are pretty simple and easy to please.

5. I have started looking for a new pair of running shoes because mine are starting to get old. I've racked up a lot of miles on them so before my shoes totally die, or I hurt my feet, I'm looking to get a new pair. The Nike Air Zoom collection has been my go to for years, but the style I always get is being discontinued so I need suggestions on new shoes. I'm a Nike girl because I know they work well, but I will happily take suggestions on good shoes. 


6. I found this bad boy while browsing the baking isle at Kroger (doesn't everyone do that in their free time😂) I can't have Nutella but from what I've heard it's incredibly sugary tasting. This is basically Nutella but gluten, dairy and nut free. I mixed a little in with my morning oats and it's definitely good. I may do some baking with it during the holidays because it is a better option than Nutella, the macros aren't great but it's definitely better and has half the sugar. The sugar that is included is organic and not artificial. 

I'll end things on six this week because I have a feeling tomorrows recently post might get a little long. Have a terrific Thursday lovelies! 

What is your favorite show to watch?
Are you looking forward to the holiday season? Why or why not?

Monday, November 7, 2016

Nutty Granola (Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Vegan)


Happy Monday!! It's been awhile since I have shared a recipe so that needed to change ASAP. Truthfully, I just have not baked anything in a really long time. I've been trying to stay away from buying allergy friendly products because they are so expensive, so I've been sticking to fruits, veggies and meat. I have a few allergy friendly staples that I buy and I massively stock up when they go on sale- if anyone is interested I'll do a post about the allergy friendly staples that I do buy. Anyway, after a few rough days (that's a story for another post) I needed some baking therapy. 

I had a few new recipes I wanted to test out so I collected all the ingredients and got to work. I've shared a few granola recipes on the blog, but why not share another? The more the merrier right? My mom and a friend taste tested the recipe and gave the seal of approval so I figured it was blog worthy. This granola makes an awesome snack or topping for yogurt! 

Nutty Granola
  • 2 cups gluten free oats
  • 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
  • 1/2 cups pumpkin seeds
  • 1/3 cup cashews
  • 1/2 cup dried tart cherries, divided
  • 1/2 cup dairy free chocolate chips, divided
  • 3 Tablespoons chia seeds
  • 1/3 cup nut butter of choice
  • 1/4 cup honey or agave
  • 1/2 Tablespoon coconut oil
  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350F degrees and line a baking sheet with tinfoil and spray with coconut oil or nonstick cook spray.

In a mixing bowl combine oats, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, cashews, half of the dried cherries, half of the chocolate chips and chia seeds. 

In a separate bowl add nut butter, honey, coconut oil and vanilla. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir and if the nut butter is not entirely melted microwave for an additional 10 seconds and stir again.

Pour liquid ingredients over dry ingredients and use a spatula to stir until everything is well coated.

Spread granola out in an even layer on baking sheet and sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips over it. 

Bake at 350F degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until it's golden brown. 

Remove from oven and allow the granola to cool. While cooling sprinkle the remaining dried cherries on top of granola. 

When the granola is completely cooled break it into chunks and store in an airtight container. 

If you make this granola take a picture, tag me on instagram, and use the hashtag #thesimplelife I'd love to see your creations! Don't forget to like my new Facebook page!