tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10102591144284957032024-02-06T21:38:23.390-06:00Gather Around Our TableLover of feeding people, body and soul. Natasha Redhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11198130453192163120noreply@blogger.comBlogger129125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1010259114428495703.post-72635856252395608642015-03-01T05:00:00.000-06:002015-03-01T08:33:26.332-06:00Gather Around Our Table is now NatashaRed.com<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Friends!!! I have been MIA here because I've been working hard to get my new site and blog up and running for you. I can not wait until you see it. I think it is a much more purposeful expression of this online space and I hope it blesses you a million times more than it does me!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Today is LAUNCH DAY over at <a href="http://www.natashared.com/">www.natashared.com</a>! Click over to read our new blog and join the community already forming of women who want to live a slower life around the table with the ones we love. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">This blog will stay active but I will no longer be posting here. If you want to keep reading and stay connected with what I'm up to (hint: a little shop is opening it's doors soon! ;)) then head over to the new site and sign up for our newsletter!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://www.natashared.com/blog">Join me there!</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1010259114428495703.post-82356915460555066192015-02-13T09:11:00.000-06:002015-02-13T09:11:38.161-06:00Spinach Cheese & Mushroom Quesadillas<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Denton is pretty well known for the coffee shops and small eateries around town, of which there are many to choose from. It feels like every month a new restaurant goes up for business! But I love the old school ones...the ones that have been in business for years and years and who's families run them.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Right off the square there is a great restaurant just like that called the Greenhouse. It's been my favorite since college, when I tried their spinach and mushroom quesadilla. It sounds so plain but it is actually incredibly flavorful........</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">.... catch more + the recipe over at <a href="http://mycookingspot.com/spinach-cheese-mushroom-quesadillas/">My Cooking Spot</a> today! </span></span>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1010259114428495703.post-90959248581769614242015-02-02T20:00:00.000-06:002015-02-02T20:00:33.688-06:00February Goals<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I cannot believe it's February. Jordan and I walked around Barnes & Noble yesterday and I saw a big bucket of Christmas stuff on clearance. I thought "really?! Christmas was sooo long ago, that is so weird!" then quickly realized it was only the last day of January. Wow. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm feeling a little in between the lines right now regarding my goals. I accomplished what felt like a lot this month, in a span of time that felt so short. At the same time, my self doubt creeps in and tells me I'm totally behind. I'm working on speaking truth into that :)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Mapping out and deciding before hand what mattered most to me and then laying out actionable steps to get me there totally freed me up to </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">just DO what I had set out to do from the beginning, which felt so good. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So, let's review January's goals:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><strike>Email a friend about discipleship </strike></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Yes! I'm excited to get to know her more and see where this leads. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><strike>Schedule haircut</strike> It wasn't 6 months coming or anything... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Clean out garage</b></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> I'm thinking this is either a husband only job or a long Saturday job for the both of us. We had a lot going on inside our garage with wedding projects for a friend and then selling my car, so it's been occupied. Onto February's list it goes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><strike>Shoot 10-15 recipes for the book</strike> I</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> seriously cannot believe that I got 13 recipes shot for the book. Car-az-ay. I thought this was going to be the biggest most monumental task with a toddler but in all reality it made our days at home so much easier. Cooking your dinner at noon is the best. Or at the very least it beats trying to make dinner during witching hour. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><strike>Plan Jan. + Feb. date nights with Jordan </strike></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Y'all, we had the most fabulous date last month. It wasn't fancy at all. In fact, it was at an over crowded restaurant (not my scene) with ice cream afterwards. The special part was that I feel like we really moved forward on some hard things and I left feeling secure in that. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This month we're planning to go on a "progressive dinner" around our city! There are tons of new restaurants down town I can't wait to try. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><strike>Solidify vendors for shop</strike> Yes! And so excited to begin working with them.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> With my crazy question asking self, they are already so helpful! I'm so grateful this part is over. Let's just say searching online for things is my #1 energy drainer. I can't wait to order all new business cards and more for the shop! Eek!! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><strike>Find parenting resources for Feb.</strike> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I'm feeling super pressured to read a book for some reason. Books feel like the most obvious choice here, but right now I don't have time to add another book to my list. I get a little crazy when I have too many unfinished :) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I did download podcasts including: God Centered Mom, Inspired to Action (fave!!!!), Focus on the Family and Nancy Lee DeMoss. I think that will give me plenty of mama meat to chew on for a while. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now, this month's goals (a.k.a intentional things I'm going to make happen): </span><br />
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Linked with <a href="http://www.thetinytwig.com/2015/02/02/goals-grace-feb/">Goals with Grace</a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1010259114428495703.post-56013367567076367632015-01-30T05:00:00.000-06:002015-01-30T05:00:09.001-06:00Reaghan's First Birthday! <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Well, our sweet Reaghan turned one in November, and I'm just now getting around to blogging about her birthday! It was a sweet day filled with friends and family who love our girl and made us feel so special with their presence. </span><br />
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I wanted the details to be feminine and sweet, like our little girl! I incorporated two of my favorite colors.....surprise surprise...gold and peach :)<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">People joined us in reading a dedication of Reaghan to the Lord. Our church is so large that they don't do individual baby dedications, but encourage home groups and communities to participate on their own. We took some scripture we liked from a resource from our church and had everyone read along with us. It was a sweet time. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There was even a photo booth! One of my favorite parts :) Here's the backdrop I created from a stick I found outside and some yarn. I cut the yarn double long, folded it in half and then looped it around the stick. It was super long for the party to cover an armoire we have for pictures. After the party I cut the yarn much shorter and hung it above her crib. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Reaghan was much more interested in the markers for the photo booth frames than her toys! Of toddlers... </span></div>
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We served a few snacks to guests and gave everyone a baggie full of homemade kettle corn as a thank you! I could have eaten that entire basket of kettle corn...mmm...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Photography by the amazing <a href="http://casandrahawkins.com/">Casandra Hawkins</a>...except for that last one, totally iPhone quality ;)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Did you throw your little one a first birthday? What are your favorite themes? I can't wait for some fun ones in the future: ice cream party, little chefs, tea party, oh my! </span>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1010259114428495703.post-10968445894228070312015-01-28T05:00:00.000-06:002015-01-28T05:00:03.454-06:00 Gluten-free Dairy-free Cilantro Lime Crock-pot Tacos // Ali Wren<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Y'all, I'm so excited for you to hear from my friend <a href="http://www.aliwren.com/">Ali</a> today!! I met Ali at the Influence Conference when she hosted a cute little meet-up for gluten-free/dairy-free folks to eat some allergy-free cupcakes from a local bakery! It was so fun and thoughtful. I loved even the short time I got to spend with her in sessions and just talking about failures and hopes. I knew she was a special person with so much to offer! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ali blogs about healthy minded eating and whole hearted living, truly being present where you are and loving people well, while being conscious of the food you eat! She has GREAT tips for <a href="http://www.aliwren.com/2014/09/04/my-favorite-gluten-free-dairy-free-snacks/">traveling with allergies</a> and even offers an e-book to her newsletter subscribers (available at the top of her homepage!) with in depth information on national chain restaurants and how they cater to allergy specific needs. It's incredibly helpful. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Enjoy this recipe from Ali!! I'll definitely be making this for dinner next week! </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Tahoma; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Gluten-free Dairy-free Cilantro Lime Crock-pot Tacos </span><br />
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Tacos are pretty much the greatest main dish. People with food allergies or special food needs can feast on the same meal as their friends and family. This chicken is a super easy and tasty crock-pot recipe. You can eat the meat hot and ready for dinner one night, and eat it cold on a salad for lunch the next day, or even scoop it up with chips and guacamole. </div>
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<em>Ingredients:</em><br />
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<li style="margin-left: 15px;">2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast or breast pieces</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">1 16-ounce jar gluten-free salsa (some gluten-free brands include: Chi Chi’s, Frontera, On the Border, Newman’s Own, Old El Paso, Pace, Taco Bell, and Tostito’s)</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">1 packet gluten-free taco seasoning (gluten-free brands include: Trader Joe’s, Old El Paso, Ortega, McCormick, Penzey’s, and some Frontera packages)</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">1/3 lime, juiced</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">2 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro (feel free to go lighter on the cilantro or eliminate if you are not a fan)</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">gluten-free corn tortillas *optional (gluten-free brands include: Mission, Rudy’s, and La Tortilla)</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">gluten-free corn chips *optional (gluten-free brands include: Snyder of Hanover, <em>most </em>Tostitos, Mission, and Xochil)</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">condiments of your choice</li>
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<em>Directions:</em><br />
Place chicken in crock pot. Combine salsa, taco seasoning, lime juice, and cilantro. Pour combination over the chicken. Cover and heat on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for approximately 4 hours. Pull the chicken apart with two forks and mix everything together. Scoop into your favorite shell and Enjoy!</div>
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Notes: </div>
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<b>grain-free: </b>eat as a taco salad</div>
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<b>corn-free: </b>eat on a salad or flour tortilla, or with sweet potato chips</div>
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<b>optional add-ons:</b> beans, cheese, sour cream, corn, salsa, guacamole<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1010259114428495703.post-20764812471696262432015-01-26T12:25:00.000-06:002015-01-26T12:25:55.417-06:00Guest Post: Elevated Tomato Soup<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Yay! I'm so excited to introduce you to my friend Madison! She was my very first friend in this whole blogging world and has been such an awesome influence in my life. She loves to cook and create in the kitchen, so I thought it would be fun for her to share a recipe with you! Here it is, I hope you enjoy it! </span><br />
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Hi friends! I'm so excited to be sharing with you guys today! My name is Madison and I blog at <a href="http://wetherillssayido.com/" target="_blank">The Wetherills Say I Do</a>, a faith based lifestyle blog where I share everything from <a href="http://www.wetherillssayido.com/category/recipes/" target="_blank">recipes</a> to <a href="http://www.wetherillssayido.com/category/marriage/" target="_blank">marriage</a> to <a href="http://www.wetherillssayido.com/category/blogging/" target="_blank">blogging tips</a>! When Natasha asked me if I would be interested in guest posting I was all for it! Natasha has become a great blog friend over the last few months. I admire her cooking and life mottos so much!<br />
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I have always been a soup and salad kind of girl. It's the perfect lunch combo in my eyes. Personally, my favorite soup of all time is tomato soup. A lot of people may turn to that only when they are sick, but for me it's my go to always.<br />
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I've made the copy cat version of Panera's tomato soup, but I wanted to try something a little different. See, you probably would feel weird serving plain old tomato soup for dinner to guests, or at least I feel like I would. However, you can add a few simple ingredients and have an <em>elevated</em> tomato soup recipe that will make them forget about any seemingly "boring" tomato recipe they've had in the past.<br />
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Literally by adding two extra ingredients, you've completely changed this dish from the-soup-you-eat-when-you're-sick to a gourmet soup experience.<br />
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For clarification, I don't believe that food needs to be showy. Food can be simple, but elegant. Recipes should be easy to make, but have a hard-to-make kind of taste!
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Ingredients</h4>
1 tablespoon olive oil<br />
1 tablespoon butter<br />
1 large onion, chopped<br />
1 large clove garlic, minced<br />
2 ribs celery, chopped<br />
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour<br />
5 large super-ripe tomatoes (about 4 pounds), coarsely chopped<br />
1 teaspoon sugar<br />
4 leaves fresh basil + 1 tablespoon chopped<br />
3/4 teaspoon salt<br />
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper<br />
2-3 slices of bacon<br />
1/4 cup crumbled feta<br />
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Directions</h4>
-Warm the oil and butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and celery, and cook until soft but not browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute.<br />
-Add the tomatoes (with juices), sugar, basil leaves, salt, and black pepper.<br />
Increase the heat to high and bring the tomatoes to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 15 minutes, skimming off and discarding any foam from the surface.<br />
- While the soup is simmering, cook bacon in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Remove and place on a paper towel to remove any remaining grease, then chop into tiny pieces.<br />
-Puree the soup in a blender or with emersion blender, in batches if necessary; then pass the puree through a medium-mesh strainer, pressing on and discarding the solids. Return the soup to the pot to keep it warm.<br />
-Use a ladle to separate into individual bowls, top with chopped basil, feta and bacon.<br />
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I'd love for you to comment below with your favorite soup recipes and stop by my <a href="http://wetherillssayido.com/" target="_blank">blog</a> to see what it's all about!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1010259114428495703.post-9412046345445502842015-01-14T05:00:00.000-06:002015-01-14T05:00:03.705-06:00Kitchen Basics: Slicing and Dicing an Onion<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I've been wanting to put together a series of posts explaining some </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">kitchen basics</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> for a while now, and for some reason I've never gotten around to it! I get a lot of questions regarding some of the easiest skills in the kitchen. For me, these seem basic and easy, but as I've had conversations with many, I've realized that not knowing how to do these tasks keep women out of the kitchen and intimidated of cooking! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Because of this I'll be sharing some practical how-to's with you through this series! I'll be posting periodically (weekly? bi-weekly?) with simple skills to make your cooking experience more enjoyable and boost your confidence as you learn! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I know I've had my share of light bulb moments when reading recipes or cookbooks and noticing something being done differently. I've been taught by so many, and have picked up a lot over the years. So let's get started with the first topic: how to slice and dice an onion! </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Here's what you'll need:</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A regular ole onion and a large chef knife. I'm using an 8 inch knife. You could use a smaller knife, just be a bit more mindful of your fingers and how close you're getting with the blade ; )</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">TO SLICE </span></h4>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Step 1: </span>Turn onion on it's side and cut off tops. I always save veggie scraps, including onion tops for when I make homemade chicken broth. Just throw them into a plastic bag and freeze them until you need them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Step 2: </b>Turn the onion flat on it's top (or bottom) and cut down the middle. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Step 3: </b>Peel onion. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Step 4: </b>Lay each onion half on it's flat side and run your knife along it length wise, from right to left. You can differentiate with how thick you would like your slices to be. Just remember, go SLOW, no cook's a happy cook when she slices her finger.....<i>trust me. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">TO DICE</span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Simply do Steps 1-4, then...</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Step 5: <span style="font-weight: normal;">When you are slicing, hold each sliced piece together with a free finger so they stay together. Move so the cuts face horizontally, and run your knife through it again in the same manner, creating small diced pieces! </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">See, easy peasy! Sliced onions are great sautéed or caramelized and topped on a burger, or used in sauces. Diced onions are great in just about anything else. My forever motto is that anything good always, <i>always,</i> starts with onion and garlic.....In fact, I'll cover garlic next time! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Share with me in the comments or on <a href="http://instagram.com/natashajred/">Instagram</a> if you have any requests for kitchen skills that you'd like to learn. I want to share what will be helpful for you! : )</b></span><br />
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Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1010259114428495703.post-69505250539663202912015-01-09T14:32:00.000-06:002015-01-09T14:32:29.116-06:00Get Dinner on the Table!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm super excited to be joining the writing team at <a href="http://graceformoms.com/">Grace for Moms</a>. Y'all know I want to help women get in their kitchens with more joy and less fuss and stress. Because, who wants to sit down to dinner when they are frazzled and mentally spent? Not me. I've gathered up my best and simplest tips for getting dinner on the table. I'd love it if you would hop on over to their blog and be blessed by it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">PS: Jessica <span style="background-color: white; color: #173821; letter-spacing: 0.5px; line-height: 1.2;">Wolstenholm created a fabulous printable and is offering it for FREE on the blog post....<a href="http://www.graceformoms.com/simple-meal-planning-help-get-dinner-table/">go check it out</a>! </span></span></h4>
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<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1010259114428495703.post-5753671056764608492015-01-07T05:00:00.000-06:002015-01-07T05:00:03.798-06:00January Goals<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So I've shared with you my overarching themes/hopes/goals for the year, and now it's time to narrow down and share a little bit of the practical on how I'm going to make those things happen in the day-to-day. I'll be choosing a handful of goals for each month that fall into my bigger hopes. I love having them written down in my PowerSheets (see previous post for details) so that I can refer back and know exactly what is worth spending my time on for the month. From there I have weekly goals and daily goals. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It's one thing to set some hopes and dreams for the year and it's another things entirely to see those things comes to life in the hustle and bustle of life. We can choose to get swept away in busy or we can intentionally enter each day to make what matters to us actually happen. So, here's where I'm at for January:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There you have it! Some lofty ones to push myself, but some practical easy ones -- all lined up with the core of where God is leading me in this season. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If you missed my previous two goal-setting posts, here's some insight into my <a href="http://jordanandnatasha.blogspot.com/2014/12/2015-hopes-dreams.html#.VKx5wIrF-pw">hopes and dreams for 2015</a> & </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Part Two: </span><a href="http://jordanandnatasha.blogspot.com/2015/01/2015-goals-digging-deeper.html#.VKx51YrF-pw" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Digging deeper into the heart of my goals</a>.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Linked with <a href="http://www.thetinytwig.com/2015/01/05/goals-grace-2015/">Goals with Grace</a></span>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1010259114428495703.post-31869645899432397752015-01-05T13:19:00.000-06:002015-01-05T13:19:33.132-06:002015 Goals: Digging Deeper<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Setting goals feels like an actual commitment to me. I'm taking a stand and saying "I'm actually going to do this." But here's the thing, there is GRACE and I need it. To the depths of my core I need it. AND I need to know it's okay for my goals to change. I think this is why I love the <a href="http://laracaseyshop.com/products/making-things-happen-powersheets">PowerSheets</a> so darn much. Every 3 months there is a refresh that prompts you to reconsider your goals and refine them further where needed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Things can change. So, maybe I'll see you in 3 months with a new pretty graphic of goals. Who knows. Until then...I encourage you to really pursue what God is guiding you in this year. Don't let 2015 be an accident......live on purpose for what matters at the core of who you are. Dig deep enough to figure out what that is and then live in it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Here are my overarching goals for 2015 with some deeper thoughts fleshing them out:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1. If you text me in the middle of the day with a prayer request, chances are I'm going to stop right then and pray for you. My pastor calls this "shot-gun prayers," the times when we tell God of an urgent need. I wouldn't necessarily consider this a conversation with God, and that's what I want to grow in this year. I want to spend my mornings praying for more specific things. I'm using <a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/164215312/preorder-undated-prayer-journal-6-months?ref=shop_home_feat_2">Val Marie's Prayer Journals</a> to help me with this. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2. I am working with a branding consultant to create a new website in 2015! Woohoo! I truly believe this site will be a deeper reflection of who I am and of my values. I want to spend the next year building a story around my brand and creating a genuine community of people around my business. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">3. This is three fold -- pursue community with moms in my church, pursue friendships with moms in the community & neighborhood, and invest time in the <a href="http://embracegrace.org/">Embrace Grace</a> mama's. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">4. I hate the feeling when I look at the calendar for the month and every single weekend is packed full with events. I know this is going to be a hard one since my sister in law AND best friend are both getting married this year. Both these events and everything that comes along with them are going to be such blessings in my life, but as an introvert, I know I need to plan to spend time alone. I want to be intentional about saying no to some things so I can say yes to those two relationships and still have time to rest and create memories as a family. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">5. I have been using nap times as crazy work crunch time lately. I enjoy being able to get so much done during these times but I want to be intentional about scheduling at least one of Reaghan's naps per week where I can just "be." For me this includes reading, painting for fun, cooking for fun, have a friend over, or take a nap myself. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">6. This is so important to me. I haven't had anyone speaking into my life on a consistent basis for a couple of years. Since there are so many places where I am pouring myself into others, I have this achy feeling. Like I have no water left in my canteen and I'm parched with thirst. I'm desperate for an older woman who has weathered the roads of marriage and motherhood before who can speak into my confusing and broken places. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">7. I want to be intentional about reading, listening to and just soaking up knowledge on gospel-centered parenting. I also want to be present with Reaghan as she grows to get to know her specific needs and how we can parent her well through them. Jordan and I both want to lead her to Jesus rather than towards perfectionistic obedience. I've got my eye on some Jessica Thompson books but <b>I'm open to resources and book suggestions!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">8. I want to have at least one (hopefully more) meet ups with local bloggers and small business owners in the Denton/Dallas/Ft. Worth area. I'd also love to find other <a href="http://theinfluencenetwork.com/">Influence Network</a> members in my area and grab coffee. I have been loving this little online community but I crave that face-to-face interaction with these women and want to move forward with making that happen. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">9. I also want to really dig deep into my church community. I honestly don't know how this will play out, so hopefully #1 will help me in this area ;)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">10. I want to be available for my husband. So much of 2014 I found myself saying "no" to my husband. Saying no to being available emotionally, spiritually and physically. Sometimes because I just couldn't physically or mentally muster up the energy to be there for him but sometimes, selfishly as well. I want to be available at the end of my day to spend time with him, spontaneously dance in the kitchen, talk about scripture and pray more together as a couple. Our nights (and weekends) are our only times to really work on our relationship, so I hope to structure my days in such a way where I feel freed up to invest in that, rather than being a tired frazzled mess when he comes home from work :) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now, most people choose one word to define their hopes for the year, but as I sat on this for a while I really feel like these three words came to mind:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Pride has been a big ugly gross thing in my life for years. I want to look back on this year and see that God really broke that bond for me in many ways. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I've noticed that much of discontentment or unhappiness in life is centered around my choice to sit in frustration. When I choose joy when Reaghan throws all her food on the floor, or patience when my husband forgets something important I told him, my perspective changes, and I am so much more calm. This isn't meant to be fake, just simply choose (in God's power) to be patient, kind, unselfish, loving, etc :)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I want to be surrendered. I have a lot of plans for the next 6 months specifically, and I want all those plans to be humbly from God as well as constantly sitting in an open hand. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>What are your word(s) for the year? I've loved reading about this on Instagram and other blogs. Cheering you on as we keep each other accountable! </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><br /></i></span>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1010259114428495703.post-51247765678630151502014-12-31T16:08:00.001-06:002014-12-31T16:08:35.823-06:002015 Hopes + Dreams <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Firstly, let me just say that I have NEVER been a goal setting type of person. I have literally had countless conversations with people where I've actually bashed making resolutions and goals. HA-HA.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Well, I'm still weirdly afraid of January 1st fever and the ridiculous need to make resolutions that you </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">know</span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">..</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">you KNOW.. are going to be out the door come March. Even when we have the best of intentions and desire to do the best of things with our year, month, day...life just gets busy and we either forget, move that thing down the priority list, or struggle in it and therefore give up altogether because we feel so bad that we "failed." </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">That's not how I want to spend the first weeks of my year and certainly not what I want to be feeling on December 31st of 2015.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Each year brings such an opportunity for new life. New wisdom and new opportunities. So does every other day of the year, but something about starting a new year just feels like a clean and fresh slate. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2014 threw me for a loop. I left campus ministry in a flash, had a brand new baby, and was staying home daily all alone (a very new thing for me). It started off pretty depressing to be honest. I had a lot of transitioning into this new lifestyle as a mom. But you know what happened? I was met by God in the most amazing way. In some of my biggest times of need, in the middle of the night feeding Reaghan or at the end of my rope or lonely as all get out, HE was there for me. He guided me towards some creative passions I haven't been able to explore for quite some time because I haven't had time. And He did something beautiful in that.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now I'm on the cusp of what feels really exciting and scary. I'm stepping out into the brand new (to me) world of creative entrepreneurship and it's really kind of crazy. I daily feel like I have no clue what the heck is going on while simultaneously feeling a kick of adrenaline in my gut. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Although goal setting still freaks me out (I may have been incredibly nauseous setting the below goals this past week) I truly deeply believe in the power of intentional living. The reality that we can live on purpose and not by accident (a </span><a href="http://laracasey.com/" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Lara</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">-ism I've come to really enjoy) and that if we sit down to think, pray and dream about making the things that matter most to us happen, that they actually CAN happen if the Lord allows. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So, here are 10 things I'm hoping for and dreaming about in 2015. Just a little snapshot of what I hope this year will hold for me + my family. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">PS: I've used Lara Casey's <a href="http://laracaseyshop.com/products/making-things-happen-powersheets">PowerSheets</a> to help me get to this list...I highly recommend them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Alright, this is getting long and I like short posts...so I'll come back another day and share a little deeper into each goal and what they mean to me. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Have some goals of your own? Share a link to your blog/instagram/whatever below and I'd love to cheer you on! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1010259114428495703.post-19139347921436920192014-12-30T08:16:00.000-06:002014-12-30T08:16:37.506-06:00Does God Even Care?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I mentioned a couple posts back that I am building a new brand focusing on my passion for helping people get into their kitchens and use it as a place to bless others. My heart and mind can't stop dreaming of all the small and big ways I can work to make this happen for people. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I have been working with <a href="http://brigetteturner.com/">Brigette Turner</a> on my branding and can I just say, I have been moved to tears, squeals, and nerve-induced stomach aches because of her ability to just GET ME and the heart of my brand. I cannot wait to show you some sneak peaks soon...so be sure to follow me over on <a href="http://instagram.com/natashajred">Instagram</a> for all the details. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It has been so incredibly important that I know for sure that God cares about the stuff that my brand and business is about. I have all these dreamy thoughts that set my heart on fire, but I had a moment of uncertainty recently where I really wondered -- does God even care? Does He care about getting food on people's tables in a meaningful and joyful way? Does He concern Himself with the mom who is struggling for inspiration in the kitchen? Does He care about a simpler and more relationship-filled life? What I found in the Bible has been sooo encouraging and affirming. Here's a small snapshot:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">* God is a creator, and has given me creativity as He designed me in His image (this was really important for me to understand, and root in my heart. Watch <a href="http://vimeo.com/11622846">Tim Keller</a> for more)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">* He cares about inviting strangers into our homes:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in" </b>(<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew+25%3A35&version=NIV">Matthew 25:35</a>)</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">* He cares about encouraging others (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Corinthians%207:13">2 Cor. 7:13</a>)</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">* He cares about refreshing company (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%2015:32">Romans 15:32</a>, <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Cor.+16%3A18&version=NIV">1 Cor. 16:18</a>)</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">* Investing in relationships is more significant to Jesus than the preparations that go into hospitality (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+10%3A38-42&version=NIV">Luke 10:38-42</a>)</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">* God intended food to be enjoyed freely, but because of the brokenness of this world, we must work hard for it. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">* Food is a provision from the Lord that brings joy (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%2014:17">Acts 14:17</a>)</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">* Food does not bring us near to God (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+8%3A8&version=NASB">1 Cor. 8:8</a>)</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">* All of this <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%2012:9-13">Romans 12:9-13</a></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">* Jesus eats with the lowly and outcast (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%209:9-13">Matthew 9:9-13</a>)</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">* Jesus is radically welcoming -- He cared most about the hurting, weak, children, and the sick. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">* In the end there will be a marriage supper, a feast with all God's people rejoicing around the table. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">* </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px;">"On this mountain</span><b><span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-18125A" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-18125A" title="See cross-reference A">A</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span></b><span style="background-color: white; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px;">the Lord </span><span style="background-color: white; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px;">Almighty will prepare </span><span style="background-color: white; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px;">a feast</span><b><span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-18125B" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-18125B" title="See cross-reference B">B</a>)" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span></b><span style="background-color: white; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px;">of rich food for all peoples, </span><span class="text Isa-25-6" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px; position: relative;">a banquet of aged wine—</span><span class="indent-1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Isa-25-6" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;"><b>the best of meats and the finest of wines." </b>(</span></span></span><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%2025:6" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 24px;">Isaiah 25:6 </a>)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1010259114428495703.post-58999912859925507102014-12-15T13:46:00.000-06:002014-12-15T13:50:39.113-06:00Christmas Magic and other thoughts...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1fgnlVJLZWU/VI5Kqoa9p4I/AAAAAAAABaI/8v3xsFxFK-8/s1600/Sharing_Christmas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1fgnlVJLZWU/VI5Kqoa9p4I/AAAAAAAABaI/8v3xsFxFK-8/s1600/Sharing_Christmas.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Age seems to bring the realities of life with burdens and stresses that still continue on throughout the holiday season. This year in particular has felt like a straight up <i>fight</i> to keep the focus on Christ during this season. December has probably been the busiest month of the year for me so far, and I have a hunch it's really not supposed to be like that. This makes me want to structure my year around making next December a month of rest and reflection. Running a million miles an hour while simultaneously trying to rest and reflect? For the record, that doesn't really work very well. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">However, how sweet God is in the midst of chaos and crazy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The magic of Christmas truly is in the miracle of Christ's birth. There really is no amount of gifts, cups of hot chocolate, fires lit and snuggles in thick wooly quilts that can compare to the beauty and magnitude of Christ coming to the world as a baby. As I sit and show Reaghan the nativity scene in our living room, I love telling her "look, Jesus was like you!" It helps my heart relate to him so much deeper to know that he came in such a humble form to meet us right where we are. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-family: Trebuchet, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-family: Trebuchet, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">John 3:17</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm a <b>huge</b> fan of traditions. I want Saturday morning traditions, and dinner time traditions and bed time traditions and holiday traditions. I'm obsessed. But this year, Reaghan is only one so it's been hard to think of traditions that we could start that would make sense for her age. Some things on the list are: reading the Christmas story from the <a href="https://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0310708257/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0310708257&linkCode=as2&tag=gataroourtab-20&linkId=UJWUGLVWTWVL3JYH%22%3EThe%20Jesus%20Storybook%20Bible:%20Every%20Story%20Whispers%20His%20Name%3C/a%3E%3Cimg%20src=%22http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gataroourtab-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0310708257%22%20width=%221%22%20height=%221%22%20border=%220%22%20alt=%22%22%20style=%22border:none%20!important;%20margin:0px%20!important;%22%20/%3E"></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0310708257/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0310708257&linkCode=as2&tag=gataroourtab-20&linkId=F7B2LPKMNFZX24XI">The Jesus Storybook Bible</a>, taking pictures with Santa, and going to look at lights. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I love when she comes into the living room and points to the "TEE!!" (tree) with excitement! Decorating the Christmas tree has always been my absolute favorite Christmas tradition. We used to do it on my birthday every year growing up. We are definitely the family with sentimental mix matchy ornaments, so hanging them on the tree is like a fun trip down memory lane. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For traditions that will last through the years, I </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">have my eye on this <a href="https://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0015YFYGK/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0015YFYGK&linkCode=as2&tag=gataroourtab-20&linkId=ZRYBTUM4ENEEBOD4%22%3EChristmas%20Memories%20Book%3C/a%3E%3Cimg%20src=%22http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gataroourtab-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0015YFYGK%22%20width=%221%22%20height=%221%22%20border=%220%22%20alt=%22%22%20style=%22border:none%20!important;%20margin:0px%20!important;%22%20/%3E"></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0015YFYGK/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0015YFYGK&linkCode=as2&tag=gataroourtab-20&linkId=ZRYBTUM4ENEEBOD4">Christmas Memories Book</a> (which I saw on my friend Hayley's coffee table the other night). I hope to get it soon and start recording memories for this year. </span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-u327uSbQ4gU/VI8kOU3Xo2I/AAAAAAAABa0/1GQAVnv_y4k/s1600/ChristmasMemoriesBook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-u327uSbQ4gU/VI8kOU3Xo2I/AAAAAAAABa0/1GQAVnv_y4k/s1600/ChristmasMemoriesBook.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I also have my eye on this <a href="http://www.themomdiggity.com/shop/advent-activity-pack">Advent Calendar</a> for next year!</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-toY1Nn6LVWg/VI8kOAWCrYI/AAAAAAAABaw/FkrX-tF0sSM/s1600/advent3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-toY1Nn6LVWg/VI8kOAWCrYI/AAAAAAAABaw/FkrX-tF0sSM/s1600/advent3.png" height="228" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I've been following the hashtag (#mddadvent) on the Advent Calendar and getting super excited to do fun and meaningful things with Reaghan next year surrounded around Christ. </span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What traditions do you plan for your family and kiddos? Have you felt the slump of Christmas as an adult and wished you could get back to the magic? </span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Also! I'm <a href="http://coconutrobot.com/2014/12/sharing-christmas/">linking up with some wonderful bloggers</a>....have a blog? Join in on sharing what Christmas looks like for you. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">affiliate links used....all compensation I receive goes straight back into this blog!</span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1010259114428495703.post-52671485836968389672014-12-09T14:43:00.000-06:002014-12-09T14:43:08.127-06:00My Cooking Spot // Sweet + Savory Salmon<div style="line-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">During the winter my husband and I love to eat our fill of stews and soups. Made with homemade bone broth to keep us healthy and because a warm bowl of stew is just so comforting to eat alongside a fire on a chilly winter night. We like to mix in some lighter meals to balance it out and this week I was craving the lightness of a salad. We baked this salmon, flaked it with a fork and mixed it in with some greens, cherry tomatoes, blueberries and homemade vinaigrette. A super simple dinner that we absolutely savored.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I love that this can be prepared all in the morning (perhaps before you leave for work) and the only work required in the evening will be to pop it in the oven!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You can find the salmon portions in the seafood section at your grocery store. We have been using plain goat yogurt and loving it's tangy mild flavor, but feel free to use any kind of plain yogurt here -- Greek, full fat milk, or any other. We use <a data-mce-href="0px !important;" />" href="http://mycookingspot.com/wp-admin/0px%20!important;%22%20/%3E">coconut aminos</a> instead of the regular soy sauce to avoid soy as much as possible and choose a healthier option. And it tastes exactly the same! I've seen it in the natural/organic section of our grocery store, or you can pick it up online. I also keep my salmon in the freezer until I'm ready to make this dish, so it doesn't go bad sitting in the refrigerator for a few days!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This recipe serves two people, but if you'd like to add more, just add one salmon fillet per person and a 1/2 cup of warm water to the marinade.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TBa7WS0x_Yg/VIX7tvaaxaI/AAAAAAAABZk/BylIRcT6fPg/s1600/salmonfillet1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TBa7WS0x_Yg/VIX7tvaaxaI/AAAAAAAABZk/BylIRcT6fPg/s1600/salmonfillet1.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">See the full recipe at <a href="http://mycookingspot.com/sweet-and-savory-salmon/">My Cooking Spot</a> today!</span></div>
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Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1010259114428495703.post-90376162244508819362014-12-08T13:23:00.001-06:002014-12-08T13:23:46.524-06:00Living On Purpose: Doing What Matters<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--9Mrb5u8Bl0/VIX2A0V3n3I/AAAAAAAABZU/dQ9Tt_7LReQ/s1600/dowhatmatters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--9Mrb5u8Bl0/VIX2A0V3n3I/AAAAAAAABZU/dQ9Tt_7LReQ/s1600/dowhatmatters.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hi! I promise I haven't been neglecting this little blog or you as a reader intentionally these past few weeks. If you follow <a href="http://laracasey.com/">Lara Casey</a> or <a href="http://www.emilyley.com/">Emily Ley</a> at all, you have heard the above statements in some form or fashion. These two ladies host an intensive called <a href="http://makingthingshappen.com/">Making Things Happen</a> twice a year, and dedicate their lives and businesses to spreading the message that to live on purpose means not chasing the world's definition of perfect. After years of chasing the world's version of perfect by saying "yes" to nearly every good opportunity, I am soooo down with this message, completely soaking it in and reminding myself often to slow down and focus my energy toward what matters most to me. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Since starting this journey in June, I have met some of the most amazing women and bloggers. I attended the <a href="http://www.theinfluenceconference.com/">Influence Conference</a> which was nothing short of life changing. I have grown so much in just 6 short months. At the same time, typing that seems CRAZY to me, I cannot believe I've been blogging for six.whole.months. And from the person that thought it was so weird to blog. I started this to share recipes with women and hopefully bless some people. I think that's happened and I couldn't be more thankful. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Since the Influence Conference I've really been praying and asking myself where this blog should go. I haven't been sure how God wanted to use my online influence. Recently I've gained so much clarity and am getting more and more excited about it every day. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Over the last month my mind has been a spitfire of idea after idea, all surrounding around the burden to <b>help women get into their kitchens with less fuss and more joy, blessing others and deepening relationships in the process. </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So, I'm trading in a constant schedule of blogging for a a few incredible things that will allow the above statement to happen. As I have thought long and hard about these things,</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> prayed, processed and sat in the silence, God has placed an incredible burden and excitement on my heart for a small business. It's what I'm focusing a lot of my daughter's nap-hours on these days, which means this blog is getting a little less attention. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I want to build something very intentional with this online space and use it to crazy bless lots and lots of women. I'm trading in something good for something so much greater, and it feels really good. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If I have time and feel passionate about sharing something, I will definitely be here sharing it. But for now, many of my recipes are going into a product I feel will bless and serve many women. In addition, I'm learning my way around the crazy world of starting a small business, so ANY insight out there would be much appreciated :) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Is there something in your life that you know you need to be more intentional with? Share with me and let's keep each other accountable to making the things that matter happen. xx</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1010259114428495703.post-46520905080450934502014-11-21T05:00:00.000-06:002014-11-21T05:00:04.539-06:00You Are My Greatest Adventure // The Olive Plum Shop!<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm so excited to introduce you to the amazing Alfa of <a href="http://theoliveplum.com/">The Olive Plum</a> shop! </span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pAhQYcy9glQ/VG63zGdu4rI/AAAAAAAABXc/2GNc8uvQhpc/s1600/IMG_6877.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pAhQYcy9glQ/VG63zGdu4rI/AAAAAAAABXc/2GNc8uvQhpc/s1600/IMG_6877.jpeg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Alfa is the mommy to her sweet girl Aria who also just turned one this month!! She's a Texas gal living in Austin with her husband and baby. She creates gorgeous prints, stationary and artwork and has such a heart for adorning the walls of nurseries and homes alike with beautiful artwork. She also blogs about her precious life as a mommy over at <a href="http://www.lightlysprinkled.com/">Lightly Sprinkled</a>. </span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cC_YnOP55KU/VG5GiWUWY0I/AAAAAAAABWE/l9lFCNBbKXE/s1600/TOP4_original.png" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cC_YnOP55KU/VG5GiWUWY0I/AAAAAAAABWE/l9lFCNBbKXE/s1600/TOP4_original.png" height="208" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I met Alfa through a blogging community called The Peony Project. If you're a blogger, check it out! The button is on my sidebar :) When she reached out to some bloggers about creating a piece of art for us, I jumped at the chance for her to create a custom piece for Reaghan's first birthday! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I gave her the quote "you are my greatest adventure" inspired by a scene in The Incredibles where the dad realizes the immense value in his children. I just love the meaning behind this quote, that out of all the fun adventures we could ever (or have ever) gone on, Reaghan is the greatest one Jordan and I have ever ventured into the past year. </span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tnhQEZDZWEM/VG5O0KXvShI/AAAAAAAABXA/MjnJCWrlCM4/s1600/OlivePlum4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tnhQEZDZWEM/VG5O0KXvShI/AAAAAAAABXA/MjnJCWrlCM4/s1600/OlivePlum4.jpg" height="320" width="307" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My vision completely came to life in such an amazing way! Alfa knew exactly what I wanted from my description and created a gorgeous one of a kind piece that can grow with Reaghan in her room for years to come. </span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AYYx9Z8bsEQ/VG5N05g0B7I/AAAAAAAABW0/8yFdyYEcMhI/s1600/OlivePlum1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AYYx9Z8bsEQ/VG5N05g0B7I/AAAAAAAABW0/8yFdyYEcMhI/s1600/OlivePlum1.jpg" height="206" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">How beautiful is this print? All hand painted, with peach botanical flowers and gold lettering to match her party and her room. I love that this canvas is so feminine and light. It perfectly describes Reaghan -- dainty, feminine and sweet! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It fits perfectly in her newly redone gallery wall above her changing table. I loveee staring at this wall in the early morning or when I'm playing with her in her room. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://theoliveplum.com/">The Olive Plum</a> isn't just for nurseries and kid's rooms! She has over 40 pieces of custom artwork ranging from stationary, postcards, canvas art, and more in her <a href="http://theoliveplum.com/">shop</a>. She also just listed some gorgeous pieces for Christmas like this <a href="http://theoliveplum.com/products/10630014-its-the-happiest-season-of-all">pretty canvas</a>!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">HOORAY! This weekend The Olive Plum is offering 15% off for YOU with the coupon code <span style="background-color: white;">NATYRED. So run over to her shop and snag yourself a little happy or stock up on handmade gifts for Christmas this year! Discount code runs until this Sunday night, November 23rd, so hurry! </span></span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">More #raeraeturnsone party details coming soon! ;) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The closest Trader Joe's to me now is at least 30 minutes away if not farther. With a baby who only stays awake for 2 hours at a time, it's just not possible to make the trip out there just for groceries. Especially when two perfectly good grocery stores are within 5 minutes of me (including Natural Grocers!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">BUT on Monday morning Reaghan and I braved the cold temps to meet a friend for a play date, and I found myself in close proximity to a Trader Joe's! Let me be honest, I totally planned this ahead, as I've been obsessing over TJ's for quite some time now and <i>praying</i> that they would open one up in Denton! It's been over 10 years since I last stepped foot in one, and I was wanting the experience all over again. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Here are my top three favorite items from my grocery haul on Monday:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Sprouted bread </b>// I've heard people talk about this but have yet to find it in our natural food store here in Denton (maybe I'm looking in the wrong place?!) When I glanced at the bread section at TJ's....there it was! Sprouted bread is probably the best kind of bread, if you are going to eat it. The grains have been soaked for optimal nutrition and better digestion. And the rest of the ingredients were pretty clean too. Yay for healthy bread! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Almond Butter</b> // Just yummy, and only $6.99 for this big jar! That's pretty amazing to me and sort of on the low end of cost for almond butter, from what I've seen at the store. We go through this stuff quick in our house and rely on it for snacks :) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Organic Bananas</b> // ....for .29 each!!! Really?! Organic banana's are usually about .60 anywhere else. We (and by we, I mean Reaghan) eat a lot of bananas, so I stocked up on 3 bunches. And yes, we'll probably eat them all before they get too ripe. If not I'm slicing them up and freezing them for smoothies! Yay! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I'm already planning the next time I'll "be in the neighborhood" and can stop by. </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Have you ever shopped at Trader Joe's? If so, what's your favorite item they carry?</i></div>
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Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1010259114428495703.post-31248388763430839172014-11-17T05:00:00.000-06:002014-11-17T05:00:02.103-06:00The Truth About the First Year<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Reaghan had so much fun at her birthday party! We're so thankful for those who were able to help us celebrate her little life. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">If you're looking for a healthy, grain free, nut free, dairy free, refined sugar and honey free cake, I used <a href="http://www.rubiesandradishes.com/2013/08/16/babyfriendlycake/">this one</a>. Topped with my <a href="http://jordanandnatasha.blogspot.com/2014/08/coconut-whipped-cream.html#.VFPMIVPF8QS">coconut whipped cream</a> (sweetened with pure maple syrup instead of powdered sugar) and cooked mashed peaches. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">I can't believe my baby girl is one. It seems like yesterday that we were settling into a new house and </span><a href="http://jordanandnatasha.blogspot.com/2014/02/reaghan-noelles-birth-november-20-2013.html#.VFPRalPF8QQ" style="line-height: 22px;">welcoming Reaghan into our family</a><span style="line-height: 22px;">. I want to share <i>just a glimpse</i> into this past year for me, as I have been reflecting on it quite a bit lately. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Nursing. Did I mention nursing was a major struggle for me? I kind of cringe when I say that too because I have heard many more horrific stories than mine in this department. But it's not about comparing, amen? What was hard for me still was hard. You can read more about that <a href="http://jordanandnatasha.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-broken-beautiful-our-breastfeeding.html#.VGlLPFPF-pw">here</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">She was super sleepy. Well dang, don't I sound like a big complainer?! But guys, this was hard for me because I really wanted that interaction, and it's just not there during the newborn stage. Not only this, but it was near <i>impossible </i>to feed her because she was too ASLEEP! Even rubbing ice all over her naked body wouldn't wake the kid up to eat. This put a pile of stress on my shoulders as a brand new mom, not knowing if she was getting enough milk. It also made 10 minute nursing sessions last an hour or more. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">I was lonely. I went from a busy life filled with lots of meaningful conversations to alone in a house with a screaming infant. In one day flat. Literally, I went to a Thanksgiving potluck with a bunch of international students the night I went into labor (no clue I was about to go into labor, by the way) then BAM, the next morning she was here. That was very shocking for me and I watched as my friends participated in fun activities that I had planned to go to but wasn't able to anymore. I felt like I was the kid at home without a date during the school dance all over again. Like time stopped within the walls of our little home while the rest of the world just kept living their wonderful easy lives. To add insult to injury, it was brutally cold and iced over a couple of times, making an already stir crazy mom even more crazy.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">Also? People think you get really busy when you have a baby and don't tend to call. Non-mom people: call your new mom friends. They are overwhelmed and lonely and would probably LOVE to have you sit on the coach or vacuum their carpet while they struggled in said hour long nursing session. Of course there were days where visitors would have sent my stress levels over the moon, but sometimes it just makes it better to not be alone. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">I felt sort of trapped for many of these days. During those first 3 months especially, we were really trying to train her to sleep and give her a consistent schedule to get used to. That kept us home or out of several activities that I would have loved to have been a part of. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">Along with this came lots of guessing. It's incredibly humbling to say the least when you're constantly guessing and never knowing if the decision you're making is "right." Of course, everything during this first year was a guess. In sleeping, eating, facial expressions, noises, developments, etc etc. It just feels like you got thrown in the pool after only listening to lectures about swimming, but never actually trying it for yourself. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">I feel like my head somewhat lifted out of the fog about a month ago. I started waking up at normal times again and living an overall more balanced and healthy life. Breastfeeding got better, then my supply tanked during months 7-8, but with perseverance and a lot of prayer, it went back up again and seemed to turn a corner into easy-ville, <i>finally. </i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">Our daughter interacts with us more and more each day! What a huge blessing and joy to be able to make her laugh on a whim, see her smile when we come in to get her after a nap, or when she sees something new for the first time. Her joyful spirit just invades any darkness I'm experiencing throughout my day, and I love that so much about our relationship. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">She's constantly on the go, crawling and moving around everywhere. She's not super into harmful things, so our house has been left mostly un-baby-proofed (real confessions) and she has done great. We've been able to use these new skills to start to teach her obedience and safety as well, which gets to the heart of parenting to me. It foreshadows days to come of shaping her conscience and guiding her heart towards the gospel. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Though the sleep training was difficult, the pay off has been better than imagined. Reaghan does sleep well, and who knows if that is her personality or our efforts, or a mixture of both, but whatever the reason -- I'm thankful. She's able to skip a nap on occasion without completely falling apart. She eats on a routine which is a huge relief to me because I don't find myself guessing if she's hungry. There is a rhythm to our days which I deeply thrive on. This in contrast to the first 6 months when her wake time and sleep time seemed to constantly be changing based on her growing needs. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">She eats food! I realized when I became a mom that </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 22px;">bringing a spoon to my baby's mouth while she opened up wide was something I always imagined doing. It brought me so much joy to watch her chomp down and make memorable faces with each new taste. Around 10 months she ditched the purèes and started wanting to feed herself. What a strange and fun new adventure. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 22px;">She's growing so much every day. Showing that she understands us, points to things and tries to say the word, waves at strangers. I feel like she just brings people joy everywhere she goes. That is more than my mama heart could ask for. </span></div>
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Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1010259114428495703.post-68107446314615368422014-11-12T10:02:00.002-06:002014-11-16T19:30:21.253-06:00Mexican Chicken Enchiladas <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What does family dinner mean to you? Comfort, nourishment, respite from the trials of the day? Or does family dinner appear in your mind as a drive thru window, digging in the back of the freezer for the last TV dinner, alone on the couch?</span><br />
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There is so much hurt and pain in this world. From strained relationships, to sickness, aging, and emotional damage. </span><br />
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The more I think about meals, dinner in particular, and my current reality, the more I see with clarity the reality of those around me, whether personally or in the larger world who do not have the things I so long for and desire for them. I can talk as much as I want about gathering our closest friends and family around a table, enjoying a meal and sharing life and stories and hurts and joys. But what if that's not your reality? What if you have never experienced that and don't know what it would look like if you saw it? </span><br />
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True family, true community, and true love is found only in one place, through a relationship with Jesus. His name may not make an appearance on this blog in every post, but the heart of everything about this blog all boils down to Him. If you're reading I want you to know how loved and adored by God you are, and how desperately He longs to sit at a table and be with you. To share a meal together, breaking bread, listening to the words leave your lips and comforting you in your loneliness. That is true family dinner. One that doesn't have an end, but will actually live on into eternity. That's the kind of family that I cling to, knowing it will never fade. </span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-F5_eZgHuzAQ/VGGaWVwRUfI/AAAAAAAABVA/yeoxMx_-n4c/s1600/MexicanEnchiladas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-F5_eZgHuzAQ/VGGaWVwRUfI/AAAAAAAABVA/yeoxMx_-n4c/s1600/MexicanEnchiladas.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<b>Serves: </b>4</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Ingredients: </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2-3 tablespoons of coconut oil,
for cooking <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 medium onion, diced<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2 garlic cloves, minced</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2 (15 ounce) cans black beans,
drained and rinsed <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 (15 ounce) can corn, drained <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 teaspoon salt<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 tablespoon cumin<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1-2 chicken breasts</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 (16 ounce) bottle medium heat enchilada
sauce <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2 cups spinach or kale<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">juice of 1 lime<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">a handful of chopped cilantro <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">20 count bag of flour tortillas</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 cup crushed tomatoes</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1-2 tablespoon taco seasoning <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1 (10 ounce) block <a href="http://followyourheart.com/products/monterey-jack-3/">Monterey Jack vegan cheese</a>, shredded (or any kind of cheese you prefer!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
Feel free to leave out the chicken and make this totally vegetarian! We're adding chicken and cheese in our family because my husband can't stand the thought of enchiladas without chicken and cheese. I tried to win him over on the vegetarian route, but sometimes there's just some marital battles you have to lose! ;) </span><br />
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Preheat oven to <b>350 f</b></span><br />
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Heat a tablespoon of coconut oil
over medium heat in a 3 qt. sauté pan (or pot). Sauté onions until translucent. Turn down the
heat and add garlic, corn and black beans, continuing to sauté for 1 minute. Add salt and cumin and stir to combine. Allow everything to sizzle over medium heat for about 5 minutes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Season chicken with salt and pepper. Push
bean mixture to one side of the pan, adding more coconut oil to the empty space, then add chicken breast. Allow to brown, about 5 minutes on each side. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Pour just enough enchilada sauce
to cover the bottom of two 9x13 baking dishes (or one 9x13 and one 9x9 dish). Mix beans and chicken together
and pour in the remaining enchilada sauce. Cover and allow everything
to simmer for 15-20 minutes. Using two forks, shred the
chicken. You may need to transfer to a cutting board to shred, or give a fine chop with a chef knife (if you're lazy like me), then add back into the sauce. Throw in your greens (kale or spinach) and cover the pot again to allow the
steam to help it wilt. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Stir in lime juice and cilantro. Fill each tortilla with stuffing and roll up, placing in your
baking dish. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In a small bowl, combine crushed tomatoes and taco seasoning, mix together well then pour over top of the tortillas. </span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Shred cheese over top and b</span></o:p><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">ake for 20 minutes.</span></div>
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Co-hosting with the <a href="http://www.ohsimplethoughts.com/2014/11/the-bread-wine-project-homemade.html">Bread and Wine Project</a> today! Join us by linking up your recipe below! </span><br />
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<!-- end InLinkz script -->Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1010259114428495703.post-58377239339677714032014-11-11T10:03:00.001-06:002014-11-11T10:03:18.127-06:00Creamy Pumpkin Apple Pasta<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ever wonder what the heck you're going to make for Thanksgiving?! Maybe you're not hosting the whole shibang, but you've been asked to bring a side dish. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">With lots of fun holiday parties coming up, I've shared a perfect Thanksgiving side (or fall inspired dinner!) on My Cooking Spot this morning! <a href="http://mycookingspot.com/creamy-pumpkin-apple-pasta/">Find the recipe here</a> and make sure to check back in on My Cooking Spot for more Thanksgiving inspired recipes this week! </span><br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1010259114428495703.post-77086364675526321712014-11-07T05:00:00.000-06:002014-11-07T05:00:10.606-06:00Nourishing Baby Food <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I've had some requests for recipes of some of the baby food I've made Rae. I can't believe it's taken me this long to share a couple on the blog, but I wanted to do it for any who might need some new ideas! </span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-faRc5JTb4D4/VFbxYDHoQsI/AAAAAAAABRU/pjaZam7J6sk/s1600/nourishing%2Bbaby%2Bfoods.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-faRc5JTb4D4/VFbxYDHoQsI/AAAAAAAABRU/pjaZam7J6sk/s1600/nourishing%2Bbaby%2Bfoods.jpg" height="277" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We introduced Reaghan to solids at 6 months. Research has found that 6 months is a good age as it allows more time for their gut to seal. Gut sealing is important because it keeps food from getting into the blood stream, causing an allergic reaction. We also decided to start slow and with foods that were high in nutrition. Some of her first foods were: homemade <a href="http://againstallgrain.com/2014/03/03/chicken-stock-bone-broth/">bone broth</a>, soft boiled <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ox_eYIGvcBs">egg yolk</a> (the white is what causes allergies in babies, the yolk is full of nutrients!), coconut oil mixed with probiotics (CO has a lot of similar nutrients to breast milk). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After that we followed the guidelines from the <a href="http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/nourishing-a-growing-baby/">Weston A Price Foundation</a> and got some help from the <a href="http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/">Wholesome Baby Food site</a> as well. Both were super helpful in just listing out recipes as well as ages for each food to be introduced, when to buy organic, etc. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Reaghan really needed something closer to the texture of milk at first, so we started with purées. At about 10 months she started wanting to pick up her own small chunks of food, so we're doing that now. Here are a couple of "recipes" I came up with that she really enjoyed! </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Blueberry Sage Purée</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ingredients:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 cup frozen organic blueberries </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 teaspoon rubbed or fresh sage</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Cook about a cup of frozen blueberries in just a few tablespoons of water over medium heat. Allow to bubble and let simmer for 10-15 minutes. If sage is dried, just measure out with a teaspoon and add to the blueberries. If fresh, chop finely and add. Mix together then pour into a blender and blend until smooth. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We stored all of our purées in ice cube trays then popped them out into plastic baggies when they were frozen. For traveling, we used these handy <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Infantino-Squeeze-Pouches-50-Count/dp/B009IWNPXK/ref=sr_1_1?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1414984495&sr=1-1&keywords=infantino+pouches">Infantino pouches</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I think she liked it.....</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hYOdPSrEqPs/VFbqIuKXuMI/AAAAAAAABQ8/nDopEVs8bx8/s1600/reaghanblueberry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hYOdPSrEqPs/VFbqIuKXuMI/AAAAAAAABQ8/nDopEVs8bx8/s1600/reaghanblueberry.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Fall Medley Purée </span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ingredients: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">3 sweet potatoes</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 butternut squash</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">3 apples, any variety</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2 tablespoons coconut oil </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">pumpkin pie spice</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">cinnamon</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">ground ginger</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">pinch of sea salt*</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">*refined table salt is terrible for babies, but they can have a small amount of real sea salt. I am not a pediatrician or doctor, just made this judgement call based on my own personal research. I always encourage mama's to do your own research. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Preheat oven to <b>425 f</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Peel and chop sweet potatoes and butternut squash into small bite-size pieces. Core and slice apples and toss everything into a large bowl with a couple of tablespoons of coconut oil. Sprinkle evenly with spices and a pinch of sea salt and toss around with a wooden spoon to coat everything evenly. Spread out on a large baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I think for this one I ended up serving some of the veggies with our dinner that night since it made quite a lot! Of course, you could blend it all up and make a big batch of food for your baby. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Allow to cool for a few minutes then blend in a blender along with a little filtered water. </span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MWUiHNku4B0/VFbqnJdst8I/AAAAAAAABRE/QyhKFA6-2w8/s1600/FallPuree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MWUiHNku4B0/VFbqnJdst8I/AAAAAAAABRE/QyhKFA6-2w8/s1600/FallPuree.jpg" height="106" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What have you fed your little ones? Did they like purées or jump straight to finger foods? What foods do your babies like best? I love learning and trying new things with Reaghan and would love to hear from YOU! </span><br />
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Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1010259114428495703.post-32015157301682250652014-11-05T05:00:00.000-06:002014-11-05T13:00:21.899-06:00Family Photos!<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We had a fun shoot with my incredibly talented friend <a href="http://casandrahawkins.com/">Casey</a>. She has the most wonderful <a href="http://casandrahawkins.com/">photography business</a> and has recently become super passionate about photographing <a href="http://casandrahawkins.com/2014/09/23/the-birth-of-sawyer-wesley/">births</a>. Her gorgeous photos make me want to give birth all over again!! They are so beautiful and move my heart so deeply when I see those images. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">She carries that same passion into all her shoots and that totally came through in our family photos! I could not love them more and kind of want to use all of them for our Christmas card. Is that possible? Well, I don't think so....so I'll settle for sharing them on the blog with you! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For the record, Reaghan was super frustrated and screaming almost the entire time. I'd say it was a tad cold that morning, which she probably didn't appreciate. I was nervous there wouldn't be any pictures showing off her precious smile, but Casey managed to capture some! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I love how these photos capture the joy in our family since welcoming Reaghan into our lives. The older she gets the more I realize I just love being around her, regardless of what she's going through or if she's cranky, I just want to hold her, make her laugh and enjoy her presence. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There's really nothing like seeing my husband with my daughter. I love watching him with her on a daily basis, but seeing these moments captured warms my soul in a different way. I will always be able to have these memories captured to look back on when she's older!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Our little thumb-sucker. She doesn't suck her thumb crazy often but gosh, when she does, I completely melt. These next few have to be some of my favorites. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Time reading as a family is a really sweet time for us. I will admit that I have struggled to read to Reaghan this year. It was just plain hard when she was too teeny to care that I was talking to her at all. Over the past couple of weeks she has really taken to books and will flip through them and babble like she's reading them! Her new-found interest in books has gotten me excited to read to her more and see her interacting with the characters and pictures on the pages.</span></div>
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Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1010259114428495703.post-64544049464800116312014-11-03T05:00:00.000-06:002014-11-03T05:00:02.118-06:00Let's Be Thankful <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I had an unusual day of thankfulness despite my circumstances on Halloween night, and it was really refreshing. One tiny example of that was that we decided to sit on the front porch and pass out candy to the trick or treaters and hot apple cider to the parents as they made their rounds on a chilly night. I was super excited about it all week and anticipating all the precious/scary kiddos! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Of course, all the kids on our block must have gone to their own private Halloween parties, because we got a whopping 3 groups of kids and only a couple of parents at our door. As we sat there drinking our apple cider, we processed together how we could feel like our attempt to serve and meet our neighbors was a huge flop. Surprisingly, we felt super thankful for the neighbors who came by and texted later saying they loved the cider. And we were just thankful to start a tradition in our own little family of getting outside on this holiday that <i>usually</i> brings all your neighbors to your front door. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by <a href="http://casandrahawkins.com/">Hawkins Photography</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Regardless, we've turned a corner after Halloween, and I caught myself thinking "on to Christmas!" When I woke up this morning I was hit with the realization that there is another holiday coming......Thanksgiving. <b>Why skip it?</b> Since getting married, I've been looking for ways to incorporate new traditions into our family. The unusual and uplifting bout of thankfulness from Halloween got me thinking -- let's share as a family what we are thankful for each day of the month leading up to Thanksgiving. We'll write them down in a special journal. Through the years as we repeat this tradition, we'll be able to look back on previous years and remember all </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">God has done in each season of our lives. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I know this isn't the most earth-shattering thing you've ever read, and I know for sure that we are not the first family to do it! BUT, this is definitely new to <span style="font-weight: bold;">us</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>and I think it will be a heart check on a daily basis throughout the month. It will help us to see where we are putting our hope and where we are slumping into the dark hole of complaining when we have an abundance all around us to be thankful for. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm thinking this simple tradition will only get better throughout the years when Reaghan (and hopefully future babies) are old enough to participate themselves. </span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Here's a perfect example of how I fell into the slump of ungratefulness this week: </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">(Jordan and I were talking about our budget and some changes with it in the near future...)</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Me: "But how are we going to have the money to afford fulfilling my dreams?"</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Jordan: "The little girl on the Compassion Magazine cover wants to punch you in the face right now."</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Point taken. </i></span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My husband was lovingly pointing me to the reality that I have everything I need for life right in front of me, yet here is a little girl who just wants a rooster for her family so they can afford food. Ouch. My thankful eyes had temporarily gone blind and I wasn't able to see the reality of my life versus so many other lives around the world. And in the most selfish, I'm-a-5-year-old-again kind of way, I totally whined about "my dreams." </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What areas are you most tempted to be ungrateful for in your life? How are you going to use this month of Thanksgiving to spring board your own heart and family towards thankfulness? I'd love to hear and learn from each other!</span></div>
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Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1010259114428495703.post-51634575605283837512014-10-28T21:12:00.000-05:002014-10-28T21:12:56.183-05:00Strawberry Apple Galette<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm sure I will say this a half a dozen times this season but I LOVE this season. Cool breezes, hot apple cider, fires going in the fireplace, cozy blankets, and all the love and celebrations that go along with the magic of fall and winter. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This past weekend my husband and I celebrated two years of marriage! Two years ago we chose to have a rehearsal luncheon because my dad's 80th birthday was the day before our wedding. That night we threw an incredibly sweet and fun surprise birthday party for him. It was the night before our wedding, and we were celebrating so many things that weekend. It brought us joy to be able to invite others into "our day" and good for our souls to not make the weekend all about ourselves. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My dad loves pies, and has been begging me for a blueberry pie for a while. Well, I didn't have blueberries in the house this week (sorry dad!) but did have apples and strawberries. I decided to whip something together with those fruits + the rolled pie crust I had in the freezer for his celebration dinner. The result was divine. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Ingredients:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 rolled pie crust (found in refrigerated section at grocery)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">3-4 apples (honey crisp, gala, fuji, or similar)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 cup strawberries</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2 tablespoons light brown sugar</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 teaspoon cinnamon</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Coconut Whipped Cream </b>recipe <a href="http://jordanandnatasha.blogspot.com/2014/08/coconut-whipped-cream.html#.VE-yZJPF87u">found here.</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Preheat oven to <b>400 f</b></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I3Fe9N-KeyU/VE6KqAPdSdI/AAAAAAAABHo/YPW9F6VVVKo/s1600/StrawberryAppleGalette2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I3Fe9N-KeyU/VE6KqAPdSdI/AAAAAAAABHo/YPW9F6VVVKo/s1600/StrawberryAppleGalette2.jpg" height="320" width="309" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Start by allowing your pie crust to thaw to room temperature. Core and slice apples evenly. Hull and quarter strawberries and add both fruits to a medium size bowl. </span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Jkf4SA9KA8s/VE6Kq-2c0jI/AAAAAAAABH0/eCRjPnVAPF4/s1600/StrawberryAppleGalette4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Jkf4SA9KA8s/VE6Kq-2c0jI/AAAAAAAABH0/eCRjPnVAPF4/s1600/StrawberryAppleGalette4.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Mix in the remaining ingredients and stir to coat fruit evenly. Allow to sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour for flavors to meld together. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Unroll pie crust over a round 9 x 11 pie dish. Slowly pour fruit mixture into the middle of the crust and fold edges around evenly, pinching with fingers to secure the crust together. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">Bake at </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">400 degrees for 20 minutes, then lower the heat to </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">350 and cook for an additional 15 minutes, checking to make sure crust is golden brown. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">Allow to cool for a few minutes then slice and serve with a dollop of <a href="http://jordanandnatasha.blogspot.com/2014/08/coconut-whipped-cream.html#.VE-yZJPF87u">coconut whipped cream! </a></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xj2dpoJctwo/VE6Kq3b9nRI/AAAAAAAABHw/HIYwtmns4LQ/s1600/StrawberryAppleGalette3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xj2dpoJctwo/VE6Kq3b9nRI/AAAAAAAABHw/HIYwtmns4LQ/s1600/StrawberryAppleGalette3.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1010259114428495703.post-67011382632206284902014-10-24T10:16:00.001-05:002014-10-24T10:16:18.906-05:00Three Layer Tex-Mex Dip<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8zKSfRHGdJk/VEnGMR26GhI/AAAAAAAABG8/IeHZpISRHig/s1600/beandip2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8zKSfRHGdJk/VEnGMR26GhI/AAAAAAAABG8/IeHZpISRHig/s1600/beandip2.jpg" height="290" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Our family has been in and out of suitcases lately. I love being able to travel, and it was especially nice without our little one tagging along. My husband and I enjoyed many long conversations that weren't interrupted by a diaper or feeding or baby kiss-a-thon.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One of my favorite aspects of traveling is experiencing the different foods that make their way into the culture of the city and state, or even country. However, no matter how incredibly delicious the food of the region is, I <em>always</em> crave Tex-Mex upon landing on Texas soil. Something about the heat radiating off the pavement and the wide open skies calls me to eat all the chips and salsa, fajitas and empanada's in sight.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Needless to say, Tex-Mex has been on the menu for the past couple of weeks in our household. I whipped up this quick and delicious three layer dip to go along with my <a data-mce-href="http://jordanandnatasha.blogspot.com/2014/07/texas-stuffed-peppers.html#.VEbKKJPF87t" href="http://jordanandnatasha.blogspot.com/2014/07/texas-stuffed-peppers.html#.VEbKKJPF87t">Texas Stuffed Peppers</a> and I'm even snacking on it now as I type. I love the tang of the goat milk yogurt along with the spices of the black beans. This is definitely going on my list of favorite appetizers and snacks.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm over at <a href="http://mycookingspot.com/three-layer-tex-mex-dip/">My Cooking Spot</a> today sharing this easy recipe! <a href="http://mycookingspot.com/three-layer-tex-mex-dip/">Join me there</a> to get the details :) Happy weekend, friends!</span></div>
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