dear bridesmaids...

i would really love it if you all wore short black cocktail dresses...please see length of dresses below...



ok?

love you guys...

epicness...

saturday evening was our engagement party, it was epic. my future mother in law...and her husband (in my heart they are both already my family) went above and beyond to make this day so special for both my man and i...and our family and friends made it even better by being a part of it...i am eternally grateful and in love with each and every person that made our engagement night a very memorable time...a night i will never ever forget...and i know that our wedding day and night will be even more special...and i am even more excited about our wedding now...

our engagement party



























it was definitely a night to remember...and i always will...

happy monday my friends...

seven random things...

the ever so lovely heidi nominated me for the one lovely blog award...and i am definitely thankful...i have been a GINORMOUS fan of heidi's for a while...i will always be a fan...she's a phenomenal human being...and i adore her.

for the one lovely blog award:

* thank and link the blogger who has given you the award.
* copy and paste the logo in your blog.
* share 7 things about yourself.
* nominate 15 other great bloggers.
* comment and let them know of the award.

seven things about me...

* i was pulled over by a police officer on the morning of my 26th birthday, during an ice storm for apparently running a red light...when i saw the sirens blaring behind me, i thought i was being pulled over for driving too slowly...i ended up fighting the ticket because i clearly didn't run a red light, i turned left very slowly as the light turned yellow...and i guess i may have still been in the intersection as the light turned from yellow to red...and i cried like a baby...i was so embarrassed.

* i'm uber emotional...i cry over everything...everything.

* i look at cooking as a way to ease stress...and it excites me.

* i absolutely love grocery shopping...it's always an adventure. and i love health food stores...adore them.

* i absolutely adore angelina jolie...i idolize her...

* i am a mama bear...i always feel the need to defend people i care for...i will fight to the death for a loved one...it gets me into A LOT of trouble...

* right now i am on this weird fruit kick...i can't imagine or even think about eating anything else...but i do...

i nominate...

melissa - contagious health
marlie - barefoot and frolicking
nikki - fresh young coconut
lauren (she's already been nominated, but i adore her...so...i nominate her again...ginger is the new pink
shannon marie - rawdorable
callie - rawxy
sarah - welsh girl eats
tasha - voracious


tonight is our engagement party...so excited...it's gonna be a fun filled night, filled with epic friends and family...laughter...champagnsky and a sparkly dress or two...

mishmash randomness...

this post is going to be slightly all over the place, just a little warning...i guess it should be expected, i haven't posted since last week...but life happens, right?

ok...where do i begin? let's begin with food...dessert first...

meyer lemon blueberry muffins (vegan) (inspired by this lovely chickita)



dry ingredients

1/4 cup coconut flour
3/4 cup of whole grain spelt flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp sea salt

wet ingredients

1/4 maple syrup
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
the juice of 2 meyer lemons
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp vanilla powder
1/2 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen

preheat oven to 375 degrees.

combine dry ingredients in a small bowl. in a larger bowl, wet ingredients, mixing well.

pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until incorporated. add the blueberries.

i used 7 silicone muffin liners, and put abut 2 heaping tablespoons of batter into each liner...so i didn't have to grease anything, but if using muffin tins make sure to grease them well.

bake at 375 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes.

and DEVOUR!!!!

peanut butter banana cake (vegan)



dry ingredients:

1 cup whole grain spelt flour
3/4 cup whole grain barley flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of fine sea salt

wet ingredients:

3 mashed up bananas
1/2 cup of pure maple syrup
1/2 cup of water
2 tbsp sugar free applesauce
1/2 cup peanut butter

preheat oven to 350 degrees...place all dry ingredients in a bowl, mix well. add all wet ingredients in a separate bowl and whisk until incorporated. add wet ingredients to dry ingredients...mix well...pour mixture into either a lined and greased loaf pan...or if you don't have a loaf pan, like myself, improvise...and use a 8x8 round spring form cake pan...lined with parchment paper and greased...and call it a banana cake...place loaf pan or cake pan in oven and bake for 45 to 50 minutes...you will know it's ready when the the bread/cake springs away from the side of the cooking vessel...

and remember, you can always drizzle more nut butter on a slice...





how about a little savory dish? something spicy...nourishing and soul soothing?



i had some chickpeas in the fridge that needed to be used asap...so i decided to throw together an indian inspired meal...i didn't really measure, but if i had to guess, it would go a little something like this...

preheat oven to 400 degrees...add 1 cup of coconut milk, 1 cup of water, 1 tsp salt, 1.5 tablespoons garam masala, 1 tablespoon ground ginger ( i would have used fresh, but didn't have any), 1 smushed garlic clove, 1.5 cups chickpeas and one diced sweet potato to a baking pan...bake until the sweet potatoes are cooked, about 30 minutes...then add 2 cups of frozen veggies (i used broccoli, green beans, onions, carrots and mushrooms) into baking pan and let it cook until it is nice and hot and bubbly, about 20 minutes.

one. word. yummy.






wedding stuff...

a couple of weeks ago, taessa chorny (maid of honour, sister, wedding dress designer) showed me a picture of a beautiful dress, a fabulous tulley, fairytale, princess, girlie, fun dress...the kind of dress, that as a little girl, you dream of wearing someday...the very next day, as i was waiting for the bus i started to think about said dress...and i got so emotional, i cried. i cried. i cried! i didn't have that experience with the original dress i tried on...sheesh! i hadn't even tried on the dress, and it got a reaction out of me...i call that love.

so...it is with bittersweet emotions that i say goodbye to the dress i thought i wanted...definitely a beautiful beautiful dress...it just wasn't meant to be...

i have decided not to show you all the dress i have decided to wear on my wedding day...i want you all to be as surprised as everyone else...

i leave you all with a picture of me wearing the dress i broke up with...(totally not allowed to take pictures of the dresses...but i was very sneaky...)



happy thursday my people...have a very beautiful day...

winner of csn store giveaway...

and the winner of the $65 csn store giveaway is...

humanecats

congrats...

i contacted the lovely ericka yesterday...and she is thrilled...and so am i...

stay tuned as i know i will be doing another one of these giveaways in a little while...

have a beautiful day...

pumpkins and tulle on my mind...

as a bride to be i have tulle on my mind...isn't tool gorgeous and fabulous? it makes me smile whenever i see tulle...tulle wedding gowns...rolls of tulle...bows made out of tulle...ahhhh...y'all get the picture i guess...i believe i have totally changed my mind about my dress...i think i want both lace and tulle incorporated into the final product...so tomorrow i am going to try on dresses...i am going to try on the original dress i fell in love with...and i am going to try dresses on that have tulle skirts...a plethora of layers of tulle...i am over the moon...and i am bursting with excitement...

ok...on to the pumpkin on my mind...i was craving pumpkin pie...but i needed something low sugar...low fat...and low calorie...so, i threw a few ingredients together and created the most delicious pumpkin pie cake...



pumpkin pie cake (vegan)

1 14 oz. can pureed organic pumpkin
3/4 cup water
3/4 cuo sugar free organic apple sauce
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
3 tbsp organic blackstrap molasses
1 tsp vanilla powder
2 2/3 cup organic whole grain spelt flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp himalayan crystal sea salt
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground nutmeg
3/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/8 tsp ground cloves

preheat the oven to 350 F. lightly grease an 8x8 cake pan...

in a large mixing bowl, combine the pumpkin, water, applesauce, maple syrup, molasses, and vanilla. mix well. in another bowl add spelt flour, the baking powder, salt, and spices, mix well. add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix very well.

pour batter into the prepared cake pan. bake for 45 to 50 minutes. it's moist and spicy and fabulous...enjoy!









guess who licked the bowl clean?????



have a beautiful weekend my friends...

what is love?

my man using me as a pillow and snoring away...and a snuggly fur baby...

another csn store giveaway...

i am really happy to announce another giveaway...with the help of the lovely and very generous folks over at csn stores, who have kindly offered a $65 gift certificate to one very lucky winner! amazing...



for those of you who don't know, csn stores is the store that offers everything and anything from kitchen goodies to pet accessories, to mattresses...they even offer Le Creuset...i fantasize about Le Creuset ALL. THE. TIME.

here are the rules:

*must be a US or Canadian resident;

*you must be a follower on google friend connect (i will make exceptions for certain bloggers).

optional:

* follow csn stores on twitter
* follow me, nutellaaaa, on twitter
* tweet about this giveaway
* "like" csn stores on facebook
* post about this giveaway on your blog

as stated above, contest is open to US and Canadian residents only...winner will be selected at random...contest ends saturday, march 19, 2011...

good luck lovebugs! and again, thank you so much for all of your kindness and support...

i'm a penguin...i friend for life...

yesterday was a very hard day for me...i realized that someone i really cared for, no longer cared for me...

i'm a very sensitive person, and i take things so personally all. the. time. so when i noticed that i had lost a few readers, i wanted to know who they were, so i searched...and i was so hurt to see that one person...a lady i thought the world of, had stopped following me...a girl i opened my house, my time and my heart to had decided that i no longer mattered...this knowledge sent me into a bit of a frenzy...when i'm hurt...man, is it bad news!

so i emailed her...and was told that because i hadn't responded to her (not sure what i was suppose to respond to, there were no recent emails from her) and because she was in a grumpy mood one day, she decided we no longer had anything in common, she also mentioned that because i don't blog as frequently as i used to, i was no longer worth her time...and i thought, wow...wow...wow...and, yes, this is just a blog...but i feel it's a little more...it's a community...a support system...so, no it's not just a blog...

i haven't been blogging regularly...but my life has blown up...my job is extra crazy and i am planning a wedding...those are my excuses...and i think they're damn good excuses...and i choose to put more of myself, my heart and my soul into a day i have been dreaming about since i was a little girl...dammit, i found my soul mate...my happiness...my laughter...myself in someone else...and i am excited that we are taking this step...and i just want to pour my everything into making this one day as special and as beautiful as i possibly can...some people don't care for weddings...and that's their choice...but i do...and it's important to me...so i guess that is all that matters...

i also wanted to add that...i am a penguin...and i do friend for life...so if a friend is not as attentive or time isn't on their side...and they don't have time to focus on our friendship...i will always be there for them...no matter what...when i give my heart to someone, it's theirs forever, no matter the circumstance...i love...and this little bump won't stop me from continuing to put myself out there and i will always adore everyone that matters to me...and those that are yet to matter to me...

so to all of you that have stuck by me...and continue to stick by me...thank you...i will continue to blog as much as i possibly can...and i promise that when the day (wedding) comes and is gone...i will have so much more time to pour into my little world here...and i will do my best to be here for all of you in this time right now...thank you...your time and your friendship mean the world to me...

here's a little cheese for all of you...vegan of course...or not...



and to keep true to this blog...here are a few pics of some of the goodness i have been fueling myself with...these salads have kale, baby lettuce, millet, quinoa, hummus, tomatoes, cukes and a very special dressing inspired by this fabulous lady...i just added some brown rice miso and a little drop of shoyu to it for a little extra...









stay tuned for some cake, vegan and diet friendly, sugar free cake recipes...peanut butter banana bread...and pumpkin banana bread...

i leave you with a couple of questions...

how do you all deal with losing a friend? do you take things personally?

have a beautiful weekend my friends...

i heart legumes...

i definitely have an infinity for chickpeas and lentils...

here is a recipe for a vegan lentil loaf i made last week...really yummy...and filling and quite nutritious...

lentil loaf

glaze

1/4 cup of bbq sauce (i used organicville original)
1 tbsp XXX hot mustard

whisk both ingredients together and set aside...it's a very smoky hot concoction...yum!

loaf

1/2 cup of uncooked millet, rinsed in cold water
1 1/2 cups of water
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup of uncooked lentils, rinsed in cold water
2 cups water
1/2 tsp salt
1 medium onion, diced
2 medium carrots, diced
2 celery stalks diced
8 ounces mushrooms, diced finely
pepper
1 tbsp shoyu
3/4 cup rolled oats, finely ground
1/2 cup chickpea flour

directions:

* preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
* place millet, 1 1/2 cups of water, and pinch of salt in saucepan, bring to a boil. lower heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, until water is absorbed.
* place the lentils, water, and salt in saucepan, bring to a boil. lower heat, cover, and simmer for about 45 minutes, until water is nearly gone and lentils are very soft, with splitting skins.
* sauté the onion, celery, mushrooms and carrots in oil/spray until soft, about 5 minutes.
* mix the lentils, millet, onions, carrots, pepper, and shoyu in large bowl, then mix in the ground oats, and chickpea flour.
* knead mixture for 2-3 minutes to evenly distribute the ingredients and to activate chickpea flour.
* form the lentil mixture into a loaf and place in a greased baking/loaf dish or pan.
* spread glaze evenly over lentil loaf
* bake for 45 minutes...and enjoy...

another wedding post...

ideas...i have so many...so so so many ideas of what i want this wedding to be...i want it to be lovely...and amazing...and romantic...and fabulous...

and i feel so blessed to have such lovely and amazing people along for the ride...my maid of honour is just such a beautiful girl...and some of my maids...they are the most fabulously beautiful friends a girl could ever wish for or ask for...all of them are my sisters...taessa, angela and vernica...honestly, ladies, i say this from the very bottom of my heart...you are all my saving graces...i love you all so very much...

here are some pics that have inspired me...moved me...added to the excitement and exhilaration i am feeling these days...7 months to go peeps...7 months...*happy dance*










































there is a theme here, guesses?

have a beautiful day my friends...let it be filled with love...flowers...and lots of laughter...