Eggnog Mug Cake (Paleo)

The holidays are in full swing around here and this weekend was pretty much awesome.  We got our Christmas tree, hung our lights, made eggnog mug cakes annddddd I got the Christmas cards ordered.  Boom!  Every year it seems like I am always doing everything at the very last minute so the fact that so much is done makes me want to shout it from a rooftop :)  And if you have not done any of this yet then I probably sound super annoying right about now haha.

Anywhoo this mug cake is by far the most moist and spongy creation that I have made to date (as far as mug cakes go).

What you will need:

• 2 rounded tbs of coconut flour
• 1/4 tsp of baking powder
• dash of sea salt
• 1/4 tsp of cinnamon 
• 1 tbs of honey
• 1 egg
• 2 tbs of dairy free eggnog (regular is fine if you are not dairy free)
• 1 tbs of ghee or coconut oil
• 1 tsp of vanilla

Directions:

1. Mix all of the ingredients together in a microwave safe mug.
2. Microwave for 2 minutes. 
3. Enjoy!

This is unbelievably good and it's basically like a Christmas party in your mouth.  You must make it!

Things That Make Me Say Yeay

Elf on the Shelf has arrived at our house and the boys have named him Smarty Pants.  So far Smarty Pants has pooped out a Tootsie Roll, toilet papered our whole living room, made a zip line with candy canes, and hijacked all of the boys stuffed animals. Being a mom is so much freaking fun.

Max opening the first chocolate of the advent calendar.  And since he wakes up before Ronin each morning he usually is the one that gets it.

Sugar cookie making.  Our reindeer cookies all turned out slightly deformed with super skinny necks and some with their necks cut right off haha...but oh well they all tasted awesome and that's the whole point in my book.

It has been raining like crazy in California.  So I finally got to wear my favorite rain boots that have been collecting major dusk in my closet all year.  YEAY!

My 90 year old Grandpa hanging out with the boys and I like it's no big deal at all.  He is so with it! You can read all about his secrets to living to 90 here.

Happy December! This is my favorite month of the year and we are getting our festive on like no other.  This weekend we are getting our tree and hanging our lights.

A Trip To The Railway Museum

A few days ago the boys and I took a trip to the Railway Museum.  This was complete heaven for them as they ran around and jumped on and off all of the old trains.  So many people have asked me recently if we are going to try for a girl.  And the answer plain and simple is no.  I love having two boys more then anything and I wouldn't change that for the world.  They are both messy, rough, way too loud and light up when trains, cars, bikes or bugs are around. And who knows...maybe a girl puppy is in our near future ;)

Here are a few pictures from our afternoon...

(Outfit deets for those of you who like to know: Current Elliott Jeans , Target Shirt, Forever 21 Boots, H&M Flannel) 

I will be taking the rest of the week off to hang with my family but I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! 

Latest Life Snippets + A Santa Spotting

Happy Friday! I am so happy it's Friday because well duh other than the obvious (it's Friday)....it's the start of a fun relaxing and family filled Thanksgiving week!

Here are a few snippets of life lately according to my iPhone and Instagram.  Also, if you are not following me on the Instagram you are really missing out on awesome stuff like pictures of my feet and leaves haha!

1. Date night.  You can never have too many of these.

2. Tractor rides with Grandpa.  Ronin is the driving champ and Max has no desire to drive at all. Max said, "I will drive it when I'm 18, Grandpa." Ha funny boy.

3. Coffee, shopping and laughing my butt off with my awesome friend.  Girl time is the best medicine for so many things.

4. Cute little things all over our house made by Max at Pre-K.  I love this stuff so much and must think of a better way to save and organize it all.  Any thoughts?

5. Last weekend we went to our town's annual tree lighting and Santa spotting show complete with fake snow and fireworks at the end ;)  The husband and I were super claustrophobic since there was a bajillion people there so we decided to skip out about 20 minutes before the show was officially over and look who we spotted and got so close to! Max was trying to chase him down but his security team was pretty intense.  So we explained to Max that they had to whirl him through the mall as quickly as possible to get him to the roof (where his sleigh and reindeers were of course) from a secret indoor entrance so he could make it back to the North Pole in time for dinner.

6. My weekend uniform.  Giant sweaters, comfy jeans and super soft slippers.

Have an awesome weekend!

DIY Polymer Clay Gumball Garland

I am going to start this post by saying making felt balls sucksssss.  Earlier this week I had this not so awesome idea to try and make a giant felt ball garland.  So I went to Hobby Lobby and picked up like $20 worth of felt.  I got home, got all my supplies ready and after a billion attempts I was left with little soggy, soapy shapes that did not even slightly resemble balls.  Plus one ball takes like 10 minutes to make...so ya that idea was axed. And to be honest I like the polymer clay version so much better!  You have so many more options with colors since you can blend them together and it takes like 1/100th of the time it would to make a felt ball garland.

I was going to wait until after Thanksgiving to post this but I just couldn't wait that long.  Plus I figured this is a great craft to do with the kids or just by yourself if you have any time off next week.

What you will need:

• An assortment of polymer clay (found at any craft store) 
• Waxed cotton cord
• A bead making tool or a toothpick 

Directions:

1. Start by conditioning your clay to soften it up. 
2. Decide how big you want to make your gum balls and rip off a small chunk and roll it into a ball in between your hands.  Continue to do this with all the colors that you decided to use. 
3. Once all your gum balls are made (I made 60 to reach from one end of my mantel to the other), use the bead making tool to poke a hole into the center of each ball. 
4. Place all of the balls into a designated craft baking sheet and bake at 275 degrees for 30 minutes. 
5. Let the gum balls cool and then string them onto the waxed cotton cord in whatever color pattern you like. 
6. Hang your garland on your tree or on your mantel.
7. Have fun! 

Have fun! The color and pattern options are endless!

See Also:

DIY Polymer Clay Star Garland 

DIY Polymer Clay Beaded Necklace

DIY Polymer Half Circle Beads
DIY Gold Bar Beads 

Roasted Purple Sweet Potato Mash

The other night I said to Ian (kind of in a whiny tone), "I never have any time to blog anymore, I am just soooo busy."  His response surprised me.  I was thinking he was just going to say something like yep you're too busy, time to hang up the blog but he didn't. He said, "Yes you do have time. You are not too busy.  You make time for things that are a priority and I know blogging is fun and important to you, so make more time for it."  That was seriously just what I needed to hear to get that little fire under my butt started or however that expression goes.

So now on to this dank roasted purple sweet potato mash because I am sure that is the reason why you are here.  You guysss this is amazing! And let's not forget to mention this is PURPLE (yes I am yelling right now) so I mean I don't want to be a spotlight stealer with these or anything but they will definitely put regular ole mash potatoes to shame.

What you will need:

• 4 med-large purple sweet potatoes 
• 1/4 cup of organic grass fed butter
• 1/3 cup-1/2 cup (depending on your desired consistency add more or less) of coconut milk
• 3 tbs of honey
• 1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp of salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Wash your sweet potatoes and poke several holes in them.
3. Place on a baking sheet and bake for an hour or until you can easily poke a hole through each potato. 
4. Slice open the potatoes and scoop out the inside and place in a high powered blender or food processor. 
5. Add in the coconut milk, butter, cinnamon, honey and salt. Blend until you have achieved your desired consistency.  
6. Garnish with toasted walnuts or whatever else you like to top your mashed potatoes with. 

I like my mash potatoes smooooooth so I blended until I achieved that.

I drizzled a little melted honey and butter on top and garnished it with walnuts....and boom so so good! The flavor and constancy of this is spot on and you will want to make it again and again. Please come back and let me know how you liked this if you make it!

It's World Diabetes Day! + A Few Thoughts and a Weird Selfie

Yes that would be standing on my dining room chair in order to get a decent selfie haha. 

I have had Type 1 Diabetes for 22 years now (you can read my diagnosis story here).  Diabetes in a weird way has made me a healthier person.   Because of diabetes I exercise daily, I eat clean and I think about everything I do when it comes to my body.   Some might think this is a curse but I look at it like a blessing.

My husband is my biggest supporter.  Diabetes can play with your head and make you feel like you are all alone at times so having a good support system to lean (and sometimes cry) on is very important.  I am beyond thankful that Ian is always there for me and helps bring me out of the slumps and the burnouts when they do happen.

Type 1 diabetes should not hold you back in life.  You can still have a beautiful family and do everything that you ever dreamed of doing.  You are in charge of your life and your diabetes.  Your diabetes is not in charge of you.  And all the people said....AMEN!  That just felt necessary ;)

Read more of my Type 1 Diabetes posts here.