Monday, March 28, 2011

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...

Friday, March 25, 2011

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...

Thursday, March 24, 2011

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...

Monday, March 21, 2011

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...

Friday, March 11, 2011

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...

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

what is love?



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

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

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...