Personal Blog

It's been a long time, people! I set some pretty big goals last year for my blog (like blogging once a week) and then I stopped blogging all together.

I took a step back to figure out what I really wanted out of a blog, practice my skills elsewhere, and come back with a better plan.

This year I had been writing down recipes with the intention of starting a food blog with the hopes of helping others eat healthy,  but these last few months have changed that plan again.

What I do know for sure is that I am taking this blog back to be a space for personal posts and family updates. A forever Christmas card if you will.

Here are some highlights over the year that I have not shared:

• Ollie turned one in April! 
• Mine and Andrew's business took off and we are now doing that full time while being at home.
• I quit Thumbtack after 3 years and officially left the corporate world! 
• We bought a new car in July that our family can finally fit in (2017 Hyundai Santa Fe).
• Our home is almost completely done on the top two levels, we will be tackling our basement next year.
• Olive got to meet his great, great grandpa (Oliver is the 5th generation)! 

I will post some photos below for safe keeping and for journaling reasons! If you want to follow along with my cute family and our day to day lives, follow the blog!

If you follow me on social media, you've probably seen these pictures before. I am posting them to look back on and my post more photos from this year just to catch up. Don't forget to click on the link for Oliver's birthday video! 

It feels good to be back! 

OLIVER'S BIRTHDAY: https://youtu.be/zWrMQWeI7hk 

DIY Bath Bombs - Lush Inspired

Hi, again! Can you believe that it is almost Valentines Day? I feel like it was Thanksgiving yesterday. However, I say that every year. I just want time to slow down a tiny bit! Especially since I now have a little human who is a constant reminder of how quickly time moves!

We are thinking of small gifts to give our loved ones and thought that bath bombs are perfect! Who doesn't love a good bath bomb!? We are a little obsessed with them at our house. The price tag of Lush bath bombs are not my favorite though and I wanted to save a bit of money. I tried a few recipes and ended up making this one and I have been dying to share it with you!

Ingredients

• 1 cup baking soda
• 1/2 cup citric acid
• 1/2 cup epson salt
• 1/2 cup corn starch
• 3 tbsp. melted coconut oil
• 1/2 tbsp. water
• 2 1/2 tsp. essential oil 
• Molds
• Food coloring
• Mixing bowls
• Gloves
  Here is a bit of advice - splurge on medal molds. I used plastic molds and they broke after about 2 or 3 uses. And if they didn't break, they were a pain in the butt and wouldn't cooperate the way I wanted them to. You're welcome in advance. :)

Directions

1. Whisk together all of your dry ingredients until it is as fine as possible.
2. Mix together wet ingredients including the essential oils of your choice. My favorite essential oil mixtures will be down below!
3. Using your whisk, mix your ingredients together S L O W L Y! I did a couple drops, whisked as fast as I could, then would do a few more drops. The batch prior I mixed the ingredients a little too quickly and had to throw the whole thing out. If the mixture starts to fizz too much (meaning you can hear it fizz after you mix it), you've activated the ingredients and you will have to start over.
4. You may not need to add all your liquid, use your best judgement. Your mixture will feel like damp sand, you don't want it too wet. You're looking for a texture that when you grasp a bit in your hand it will stick together.
5. If you decide to color your mix, separate your mixture into separate bowls and add a couple drops of food coloring. I used a ton my first batch and they looked beautiful, but freaked me out and I felt I would stain my bathtub. So the second batch (pictured) I only used 1 or 2 drops per mix. 
6. Fill those molds! This is the funnest part (if you don't get the plastic molds)! Fill the molds with your favorite color combo and think about how they will mix in the tub! You don't need to pack the mix in too much, just a firm press will work perfect. Fill it a bit over the top on one side of your mold so that when you press the sides together they have a little extra to stick to!
7. Keep them in the mold for a minimum of 1 hour then tap mold to get bath bomb out of mold. Let sit and dry for 24 hours!

Use them for yourself or wrap them in some fun packaging like tissue paper and ribbon and give as a gift! If you did buy plastic molds, they usually come with a little place to tie a ribbon, so you could just leave them in the mold for the gift! 

Remember to have so much fun making these! Invite your friends over or make them with your kids. Pop toys in the middle if you're making them for your kids and have them help you with the scent combos!

Current Favorite Essential Oil Combos

Eucalyptus & Peppermint - Relaxes muscles and clears sinuses (We all had colds! This was a huge bonus!)

Lavender & Bergamot  - Relaxation and sleep

Lemon & Rosemary - Clears your mind (good before mediation)

Grapefruit, Bergamot, & Peppermint - Energizing

Lemon, Orange, Bergamot - Mood Boosting

If you try this, tell me how it goes in the comments down below! Thanks again for reading and I hope you enjoy your bombs as much as we enjoy ours!

Cashew & Broccoli Rice with Breaded Soy Chicken

Hi, wonderful people!

As some of you may or may not know, I started my journey of cooking about a year ago. I didn't know how to cook anything super technical or anything layered in flavor. I had only ever been taught how to cook comfort food, which was fine, when I decided I need to step up my game. 

This last year I have grown so much as a cook and the people around me are pretty dang happy about that! At this point in my progress I am learning huge lessons with each meal that I cook. After I make these meals, I am going to post the recipe, including the alterations I should have made so your dining experience is a little bit better than mine. I hope to continue to post my journey here for you to all share with me and to try learning along with me! If you try this recipe and you notice other changes that need to be made, let me know! I would love it if you helped each other improve this year. 

Okay, on to the recipe!

Are you from Utah? Then I am sure you are experiencing the same amount of snow we are. I feel like we have been snowed in for a week or two, and going out for almost any reason seems reckless. We were hanging out this morning, playing games and enjoying each others company when we started day dreaming of Chinese food. Two things: No one is coming to or from our house with the amount snow thats on the ground, and we are trying to eat healthy. So I decided to try my hand at making rice and chicken with what we had in our fridge. The result? To quote Andrew, "This meal is phenomenal."

Ingredients

• 4 boneless chicken cutlets or tenders
• 2 farm eggs
• 3 scallions
• 1 cup Jasmine rice
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 pound broccoli
• 1 1-ince piece ginger
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cashews
• 1/4 cup soy glaze*
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons black and white sesame seeds (to top the meal with)

Instructions

1. Preparation. Wash broccoli and cut into small florets. Grate ginger and mince garlic. Slice scallions then separate the white ends from the green. Put eggs in a small bowl and whisk until thin. 
2. Bring 1 1/4 cup water, a big pinch of salt, and rice to a boil on high, then reduce to low and cover with a lid. Let simmer 12-14 minutes or until rice is tender. Fluff with a fork.
3. In another pot, bring a water to a boil. Once boiling, put broccoli into water for 3-4 minutes or until tender and full of color. Drain and set aside.
4. Salt and pepper chicken on both sides, then cover in flower. In a skillet, heat a dash of sesame oil, 1 garlic clove, then place chicken in pan. Cook on both sides 4-7 minutes or until browned and cooked through. Put the remaining soy glaze in pan with chicken and cool another 2 minutes, periodically spooning glaze on to chicken.
5. In a deep skillet, put in a dash of oil (sesame or olive is fine), 3 garlic cloves, ginger, whites of the scallions and heat until fragrant. Put cashews in once fragrant for 1 minute. 
6. Put cooked rice and broccoli in the skillet and mix. Once mixed, pour in eggs, sesame oil, and 2/3 of the soy glaze. Cook for another 2-3 minutes, salt and pepper, sprinkle with garlic powder, then set aside. 
7. Plate chicken and rice, top with green scallions and sesame seeds. Serve hot. 

Soy Glaze* - I could not find soy glaze anywhere, so I just kind of made up my own. Then I realized there are probably recipes out there for this. I found this one that looks similar to what I did if you need a bit of a guide: Sweet Soy Glaze Recipe from Olgas Cooking

Enjoy!

2017 New Years Resolutions

Happy New Years, fellow readers! Bringing in this 2017 new year was the first time I felt a bit of sadness saying goodbye to a year. 2016 was seriously the best year of my life bringing me a new baby, a new house, a new business, and new challenges. But with all the challenges it brought, it has taught me so much. It's taught me not to be so hard on myself, to let things go, and to push myself just a bit further than I thought possible. As I laid Oliver down one last time in the year he was born, I got a little bit emotional and held him just a little bit longer. 

Then I started thinking about all the great things that are to come in 2017. I will get to watch Ollie grow into a little toddler, grow our business even more, and strive to make 2017 better than 2016. So in an effort to kick off the new year on the right foot, I am starting with a blog post of my top 10 new years goals. I say goals and not resolutions because, in my mind, resolutions are intentions with no accountability, no laid out plan, and nothing to really check off. I like the term "goals" because it feels more tangible to me. I know I can write down a stretch goal (bigger goals) for the day and the year along with smaller goals to get there. So here we go. Top ten goals:

1. Blog more.

I have seriously been slacking with my blog. This blog has brought me so much joy this year and I need to take more advantage of it. I need to post as many personal blogs as I do "how-to" blogs and keep it as a sort of journal. My goal is to blog at least once a week with an additional two through out the month on family updates.

2. Read more.

When I was younger I used to read a ton. But for some reason I haven't been able to get into my reading groove again. Then I discovered audiobooks and I think that I can change the way I read. I have an hour commute to and from work each day and at that rate I could bust out books so quickly. I set my goal at 20 books for this year. That doesn't seem like a lot to most people, but its a lot for me. And if I can meet my goal of 20 books this year, next year I will double it. Finding time to read is so dang hard sometimes, right?! But lets all set reading goals together here at Good Reads! Add me and lets keep each other accountable! -- and also, share your favorite books with me! 

3. Stress less.

I stress. A lot. I stress about my house not being clean all at once (like that will ever happen again) and I stress about work. I am learning to not get so worked up and to not let the things I can't control get to me. Breathing more before reacting is something I have always struggled with and I need to step back and realize somethings are out of my control. Stress causes frustration. And frustration ruins relationships and causes everyone around you extra stress. I've gotta stop and appreciate what is good. Always. 

4. Learn Spanish. 

I started this goal last year but stopped. This is a goal that everyone in the house needs to do at the same time otherwise it's ridiculously hard, and Andrew and I were never doing it at the same time. So this year, we are all doing this together. Oliver, Andrew, and myself will finish all of Spanish Michel Thomas  (which I highly recommend) and then start Rosetta Stone. 

5. Count Macros.

I am generally pretty good at eating healthy, but sometimes I lose track of what my body needs. Counting macros helps me reach weight and health goals by remembering for me. This is something I highly recommend to anyone who is interested in eating better. :)

6. Exercise. 

I don't exercise. Like, at all. I have a huge space in my home for work out equipment, yoga, and free weights. But once it turned into sweater weather, I didn't seem to care more. And somehow sweater weather happened the same week as Thanksgiving ;). But this year I am setting the goal to work out 4 times a week including yoga twice a week. I need yoga for my mind and body, who doesn't?

7. Meditate. 

As stated above, I stress a lot. I also need a space to work on myself without disruptions. Your mind is a muscle and needs exercising, too! Mediation can be used for calming, setting goals, sleep aid, you name it. All you need is 10 minutes a day. The best place to get started is an app called Headspace. Thanks, Tanner, for the recommendation. I love this app! 

8. Play more games.

I love games. For those of you who follow me on Instagram and ever watch my stories will know that me and my family are avid gamers. Everything from Magic the Gathering to Resistance. The best thing about games is that it brings me closer with the people I play them with. Andrew and I bond so much when we play Magic together, it's the best game I have ever played, and I want Ollie to grow up playing. I need to prioritize spending time with my family in this manner instead of doing meaningless tasks around the house. I should really add "clean less" to my new years goals.. :/

9. Grow our business.

For those of you who don't know, Andrew and I started a social media company. That is part of the reason I haven't blogged much or posted on my insta too much. All of that effort is going to a few companies we are helping grow and it is taking up so much of our time. Its so fun and rewarding, though. But most importantly, it gives us the ability to keep Ollie at home and not in a daycare. We want to double or triple our business this year and become a stay-at-home family. We love everything about our business and what we are able to do for other companies. But it's time we step up our game to the next level. 

10. Cook with new ingredients.

If you remember correctly, this time last year I didn't really know how to cook. I was learning and learning slowly. So I decided to set a goal for 2016 to learn to cook. And guess what? I knocked this one out of the park. I am now getting compliments along the level of, "You could be on Master Chef." That is amazing, right? So this year, along with working on becoming an even better cook, I am going to really step out of my comfort zone and cook with a new ingredient every month. Now, I may cook with more than one new one a month, but at least one is what I am shooting for. I will document my adventure here (I need to post my recipes more on my blog) and maybe you all can help by recommending new fruits and veggies! 

I hope these new years goals gave you ideas for a couple new ones for yourself. Tell me what your goals are and lets help each other in 2017! 

Happy Goaling!