Heat waves.

Another jam packed week full of adventures & more packed boxes. 

I've picked up hooping once again and have fallen back in love with the art. It's been fun lately rediscovering tricks and such.  We went to the beach, the Portland Aquatic Center, Chuck E Cheese (who now has churros!!!), just an all around great week. 

My daughters feild day was canceled Friday due to rain but is rescheduled for Wednesday. I have a photoshoot coming up for Back to Life Alternative that same day. I'm really excited, the theme is gothic beauty. Professional makeup, styling, the works. I'm over the moon with excitement. It's been in the talks for a bit but now it's a reality. I'll be sure to post those photos up when I get the okay. 

My son turns two on Tuesday & I have a dirt dump truck cake to create. With the help of Pinterest I have a pretty good idea as to what I'll be doing. A friend of mine had a giant box full of food colors that I can't wait to use . I'll have that post up soon. This week is going to be busy with everything going on plus my sons birthday party is Saturday! Oh and get this? WE MOVE INTO OUR NEW PLACE THAT EVENING!!

Yup. So stay tuned!! 

Lots coming up.

heal a sunburn overnight, naturally.

Yesterday my family spent a beautiful Memorial Day at the beach. We rode the waves, fished, built sand castles, had a sand war, ate hot dogs, became mermaids, oh & we got sun burnt!!

Badly sunburnt. My daughter is very fair skinned & got the worst of it.  I took this photo last night:

I took to the Internet & read on a few wellness blogs about ACV & coconut oil for sunburn treatment & instant relief. I always have both on hand so I took to my food pantry. 

"When apple cider vinegar (ACV) is applied topically for sunburn, it acts as an astringent. The work of an astringent is to shrink or constrict body tissues. Thus, it will reduce inflammation caused due to sunburn. ACV also helps in balancing the pH levels of your burned skin which means it will balance the acidity v/s alkalinity of your skin and thus promote healing. When you have mild sunburn, you may expect to treat it just by applying apple cider vinegar once or twice. Advanced stages of sunburn may require more ACV to be applied over time."

I used a clean rag to dip in the ACV and dab it all over my daughters back. I saturated her back and shoulders & let her sit without a shirt so it could dry. About ten minutes later I covered her burns in coconut oil. I rubbed gently so I wouldn't hurt or irate the burns, I know first hand how uncomfortable sunburns can be. 

About twenty minutes later I reapplied the coconut oil and she was comfortable enough to go to bed. When she woke up this was the result:

The sunburn is gone. The burns have tanned and she wasn't in any pain. No blistering, no peeling. I added another layer of coconut oil this morning before getting her ready for school and she says she feels fine & isn't in any pain. 

Tip: I also sprayed some lavender essential oil diluted with water to help not only with the smell but the assist in the healing process. Lavender has many uses but may be used to soothe and cleanse common cuts, bruises, and skin irritations including but not limited to sunburns. 

This & that.

 I started typing this out yesterday but became distracted when my boyfriend & I decided we NEEDED to make those fruit/candy chamoy chili cup things. -

Any fruit of your choice. 

I used: 

• kiwis

• watermelon

• pineapple 

• strawberries 

• cucumbers 

• candy sour belts

• gummy bears 

• chamoy 

• fruit chili 

The chamoy & chili we found at HEB in the freezer part of the produce section. 

-Which is ironic because this post initially was to apologizing for lack of post this week since I've been tied up with the craziness of life. 

Now, I'm not trying to use this blog for "personal" entries these days. But every now & then you might catch a little wind of my life next to my recipes & crafts. I also have a few major post coming up in the next few weeks. My sons 2nd birthday & party are riiiiiight around the corner (literally his birthday is June 2nd & his party is June 6th).  The theme is  'Where The Wild Things Are' and did I mention it's a pool party? Yeah, my hands are full! 

So look out for that post coming to a blog near you! 

On Friday was saw Poltergeist :

Now I'm not a movie review type of person but I feel like it's a public service to warn people about this ....."movie". It has to be one of the most horrible remakes to this day. It was fast-paced, unorganized, extremely cheesy, the cgi made it look like a cheap video game you get at the pawn shop. There was no character relationship because "Maddy" is sucked into her closet so damn fast you don't even realize the movie already started. All of the classic lines from the original are jumbled up & thrown into this film in random places that make no sense. It's just a bad movie in every aspect. There were a few chuckles thrown in the mix, but if your expecting to be scared, or amused, don't see this film. Especially if you are a fan of the original. 

Oven roasted pears & peaches

Something really sweet & really simple is my favorite type of dessert. Today I oven roasted pears & peaches at 350 for about 17 minutes. I prepped them in honey, cinnamon & coconut sugar & let them cook. After I added vanilla yogurt, a honey drizzle & granola for an afternoon snack my kids devoured.

Dollar Tree DIY Cake Stand

First gather  your materials: 

• glass plates

• candle holder 

• crazy or gorilla glue

• spray paint 

{I got everything besides the spray paint at the Dollar Tree}

 You can use as many or as less candle holders & plates as you'd like. That's the fun part about making it custom. I'm using three candle holders & two glass plates. Then Krazy glue. 

Stack & assemble the now cake stands to your liking, then glue. After you've glued and double checked it's completely straight, place something heavy on to help the adhesive stick better. Let sit over night. 

The next day you're able to spray paint. Make sure you pick a color that's able to hold to glass. Flip upside down & spray paint-let dry about an hour so it won't peel. The longer you let it dry the better. Then flip & paint the other side.

If you want the stand to be a different color then the plate feel free to paint them before you assemble. Again, that's the fun part about making these custom.

100% juice popsicle

Summer is right around the corner & the south Texas heat is no joke. So popsicles are a must have in our household. But all of the store bought ones contain high fructose syrup, unnecessary food dyes, way too much sugar or the organic ones cost way too damn much. In a previous post I wrote how we juice three times a week. So this week I decided to make savory cool, though healthy frozen popsicles using 100% juice & that's it!

This one is strawberry/apple/cucumber & is ridiculously refreshing. Cucumber is always a refreshing favor but mixed with strawberries & Apple? Amazing. 

This one is a mango/apple/carrot blend. Who said we still can't hide our veggies in a sweet treat?

This one isn't 100% juice because I added vanilla yogurt to make it a mango creamsicle. 

The popsicle tray was only $1 at Dollar Tree. So I picked up two!

 The yogurt I used is organic vanilla Horizon brand. 

Gluten free/dairy free-raisin/goji berry bars

What you need: 

• 2-3 very rip bananas 

• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon

• handful of raisins

• handful of goji berries  

• 2 cups of oats 

•Heat your oven to 350

• peel your bananas & place them in a bowl & smash them. 

•add in cinnamon & oats

(Tip: I used my hands to mix everything together that way I could get the right texture for the bars.)

• add in berries and rasinins & continue to mix. 

(The consistency should be thick. You should be able to make a firm ball.)

• lay out batter on an ungreased pan & bake for 15 minutes. 

Let's cool then cut into bars. 

Tip: add dark chocolate tips for the picky eaters to sweeten this delicious & healthy bar. 

Gage Huntley Personalized Stamp Bar Necklace

There's just something special about hand crafted jewelry. The imperfections make each piece unique, one of a kind & beautiful in its own different way. 

I recently came across http://gagehuntleydesigns.goodsie.com 

and Ive fallen in love!  Not only is the jewelry handcrafted & reasonably priced, but you can also personalize it. 

For mothers day my lovely boyfriend ordered me a silver stampbar necklace with our childrens names "Raegan & Jasper". It's simple, chic and  creates a statement of unconditional love & pride without even having to say a word. 

If you're looking for a beautifully crafted & personalized gift then I high suggest checking out Gage Huntley. Always support small businesses.

S'mores cookie

There's no dessert more nostalgic &  sinfully satisfying than a classic s'more. There's something about the gooey melted milk chocolate mixed with the toasted marshmallow & the crunch of graham cracker all in one delicious bite that awaken your inner child. 

 Unfortunately,  it's been raining (flooding actually, we didn't have lights for an hour). So a camp fire or even a bbq pit flame was out of the picture. I looked through Pinterest for a general idea and came across a s'more bite. But it needed a twist....

So here's my version of a s'mores cookie. 

What you need:

•Two Herseys chocolate bars 

•One bag of large marshmallows 

•1/4 cup coconut sugar

• 6 tbsp of butter

Here's what you need to do:

•preheat your oven to 350

• place your graham crackers (one package) into a food processor and crush those suckers up!

• empty into a bowl & add sugar & butter. Mix.

•line a baking seat (brownie size) with the graham cracker mix thinly. Bake for 4-6 minutes.

•take out of oven and place chocolate bar pieces on the top of the graham crackers. Cut the marshmallows in half & place cut side down on top of the chocolate. Bake another 4 minutes then turn oven to broil for 3 minutes to brown the marshmallows. 

Let cool or eat warm, whatever you prefer. Both ways are absolutely delicious. 

I shaved some of the chocolate bar over the marshmallow before letting it cool to melt. 

Enjoy!

Rainbow jar cakes

Pick any flavor cake you'd like to bake in these adorable mason jars. I went with a basic vanilla cake. Add all ingredients into a mixing bowl & fully mix before separating for coloring. 

Cake recipe: 

2/3 cups  all purpose flour

1 cup  sugar

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

3/4 cup butter (room temperature)

3 egg whites

3 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup milk

Mix your batter in separate bowls or cups with the different colors of choice. Get your kids involved, my daughter loved this part. Especially licking the spoons.

Using a spoon to pour in the batter into the mason jars use about three tablespoons per color during layering.

Bake at 350 for 35 minutes then let completely cool before adding icing & sprinkles.

And that's it! 

Apple pie tacos.

Yup. You read correctly. APPLE PIE TACOS. This sweet & simple recipe will ease your autumn craving for apple pie with out the hassle but with the full sweet aroma of cinnamon & fresh apples. 

What you need: 

• flour tortillas (I used only three, but use as much as you wish)

• enough oil for frying 

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon for the taco shell & 1 1/2 teaspoon for the pie filling

• 1 1/2 teaspoon butter 

• 1/4 teaspoon ginger

3 tablespoons coconut sugar & 1 teaspoon for taco shell

• two large Granny Smith Apple peeled & diced

• 1/4 cup water 

For the shells: 

your going to use 3 large flour tortillas & cut in to them with small mason jar lids or a circle cookie cutter. You should get about four circles from one tortilla. (Obviously they're mini tacos) lol. 

Combine cinnamon and coconut sugar in a bowl & set aside. 

Heat oil & place tortilla in the hot oil with tongs (about three seconds each side). Using tongs to shape the tortilla into a taco shell. If you're having issues with this part just let the tortilla fry & when you place it in a napkin to dry fold it inwards to shape the shell. 

Next dip the shell in the cinnamon/sugar bowl and pat it all the way around until fully covered & set aside. 

Repeat this step until all shells are complete. 

For the filling: 

Peel & dice the apples.

Place into a medium size pan over medium heat & add in the butter. Begin to mix. Add in the cinnamon, ginger & coconut sugar. When ingredients are all mixed add in the water, stir & let cook until all of the water disappears & the apples become soft. (10-15 minutes)

Let cool. 

Next just stuff the taco shells with the filling and enjoy! You can add ice cream, whip cream, caramel the toppings are endless!! 

Churro funnel cake with dark chocolate drizzle

 Today I was craving a churro! My kids have never had one before & momma had an itch to be in the kitchen creating. After starting my recipe I realized my sister had my piping bag- No problem. I just had to improvise. Luckily, momma has also been craving a funnel cake! So I figured I'd put the two together!! 

For the churros batter: 
1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 Tablespoons coconut sugar, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 Tablespoons + 2 quarts vegetable oil, divided
1 cup all-purpose 

Combine 1/2 cup sugar with the cinnamon in a shallow bowl. Set aside. Line a plate with paper towels.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, whisk together the water, 1 1/2 tablespoons coconut sugar, kosher salt and 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. 

Bring the mixture to a boil then remove it from the heat. Stir in the flour, mixing until it forms a ball.

Heat 3 to 4 inches of vegetable oil in a large pot over medium-high heat until it reaches 375ºF. 

Grab your funnel & begin to pour the churro batter into the oil moving in circular motions. 

Let cook until golden brown then transfer to a paper towel & let dry. 

After cooled add cinnamon/sugar to the churro funnel cake. 

& enjoy!

I added a dark chocolate drizzle over mine that completed the taste & made it to die for. Literally, I would of died for this churro cake. 

All you need is 3/4 dark chocolate chips & a splash of almond milk. Mix together over low heat, continuously mixing to avoid burning.