Inspired: DIY Peanut Butter Breakfast Shake!

Good Morning All!

I have a breakfast shake I wanted to post about that's super easy and fast!

I was inspired by my friend Melissa who owns the blog "Freeing Imperfections"

Here's her version: 

http://freeingimperfections.com/off-to-colorado-pb-smoothie/

I was oddly craving peanut butter this morning so I thought I'd try my own version and see how it turned out. I figured I had enough ingredients so why not give it a whirl! 

Here's my particular version and what you'll need:

1. You'll need 1 cup of any milk of your choice

(I use vanilla coconut or vanilla almond since my son can't digest cow's milk)

2. 1/2 cup rolled oats

(Let soak in milk for 10 min or so)

3. A big dollop of vanilla yogurt

(Optional)

4. Take any desired amount of each ingredient above and put in a small glass bowl.

(Don't go crazy on the coconut oil ;)

5. Microwave until melted into creamy goodness!

6. Add this mixture to your yogurt, milk and oats 

7. If desired add a half to full scoop of whey, vanilla (or chocolate) protein powder and blend until smooth!

It should look frothy and creamy like this:

(Please ignore the nails! I am trying to get in for a mani asap! ;)

It's thickish but a hearty shake to be sure.

**Anything with oatmeal should never be drank at a snails pace. Trust me on this.

Shakes really help for busy mommies or for anybody who's in a rush but still wants some nutrition feeding their body. A wonder for blood sugar levels too!

Give this a try and enjoy :)

Shannon <3

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DIY Easy Organic Cold Kicker!

A dear family friend txt me this info the other day and I decided I'd give it a shot seeing as I've been struck with a cold and would like to be better since the baby is due ANY day now!

Besides, who wants to feel crappy anyway?

Hmmm Nobody!

Here's how you mix it:

1. Half a mug of filtered water heated for 2 min

2. Roughly an oz or so of Bragg apple cider vinegar mixed in

3. Healthy spoon full of organic, raw honey

4. Lemon slice

5. Let it cool to taste then drink!

Sure it's kinda of strong in smell and maybe taste for some but I don't mind it.

**Just make sure you have something in your tummy BEFORE you drink this and DON'T brush your teeth for at least 30 min after. Try to have it twice in one day if you can.

The honey is a huge flavor helper so if you need more just add it! Raw honey is awesome for you so you're not going to hurt the mixture by any means. It's jam packed with B6, thiamin, niacin and riboflavin. (Of course volume of each nutritional aspect depends on the flower it's derived from.)
It's also a fantastic antioxidant!

I was also told it's great to use as a cold deterrent if you feel something coming on.

Have a wonderful day,
Shannon <3

Skin Diary! Keep track of your skin...

I woke up thinking of this after I had tried a brand new night product and loved what my skin looked like when I looked in the mirror! Now these results never just come from a jar, you need to check yourself internally and mentally as well. This means how much water you drink, what you eat, do you workout enough, what's your stress level, how is your nightly sleep routine etc...

This study was inspired by my favorite educator in school!

He was not only someone who helped me grow as a budding Aesty back in the day but he also showed me how life went on during a pretty crappy time in my life. Nobody likes to have finals in school and try to deal with a broken engagement at the same time... Learned a lot but never again!

Anyway.

I told him I didn't understand what was going on with my skin and he told me to keep a dairy and track my "True skin" each morning. At the end of a week he'd look at my face and give me his professional feedback. Sounded like and awesome plan and it really showed me a lot! 

So what is "True Skin"

True Skin is when you wake up first thing in the morning and look at yourself in the mirror.

Your body will show you through your skin how well you slept, how hydrated you stayed the day before, your stress level and or all of the above! It's kinda cool but it's also scary because sometimes we just don't like to look at the person staring back at us.The most effective way to see your True Skin is to of course cleanse your face properly the night before! No skimping if you want honest results ;)

Have you noticed after a really good night's sleep, a low key day and some basic hydration that your acne you might be suffering from looks a little calmer the next morning? 

It's your skin trying to show you it can in fact heal!

**Now sometimes when you wash your face after looking you may notice some inflammation but this is from blood stimulation/circulation as you just cleansed and you're waking up your body. It'll ease back down if you have the right products for your skin type, not using a pore clogging makeup and/or calm and drinking water, esp lemon water throughout the day...

Here's where we start to get REALLY honest with ourselves!

Keeping a DIY Skin Diary.

You want to see if you can do some pin pointing on your own?

I lost mine so I can't show you a picture but I can tell you how to set one up!

Here's what you need:

(You can either do this by hand or type it out.)

1. Get a notebook or a document on your computer to keep the log.

(You'll be keeping track for 1 month straight!)

2. Type or write out the following and keep this log in order to get the best results!

. What time did you go to bed and what time did you rise?

.. How did you sleep? How many hours?

... What did you/do you do for both your daily and nightly skin care routine?

.... What did you eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner?

..... What did you snack on?

...... Did you workout? How long?

....... How much WATER did you drink?

........ How much caffeine did you have?

......... How was your stress level?

......... What did your skin look like upon waking and going to bed?

(10 Q's total)

3. Leave yourself a space after each day to make any extra notes.

i.e.

"I bought a new eye cream and I'm not sure if the puffiness was from my intake of salt the day before or if it was something in the cream I'm reacting to. I'll make sure to watch my salt intake over the next few days and see what happens..."

"My skin looks great today! I need to really keep better track and see what I did right... Esp since it looked awful 2 nights back..."

"I woke up looking just okay, I think my 2 a.m. wakeup call with the baby must've had something to do with it. I did however still look hydrated!" 

**Make sure to date each page!!

So there you have it :)

This will help you see and maybe answer some things that have been puzzling you.

A good Aesthetician can also help you out if you're seeing one.

showing her this log can help her understand why maybe one product didn't work as well for you when it worked wonderful for you best friend when you both seemed to suffer from the same issue. 

Or in general help give her better insight on how to treat your skin each visit.

We love inside information!

Hope this helps and that you have a wonderful day!

Happy diary keeping,

Shannon <3 

(DIY) Easy chicken dinner!

Helloooo!

I got the basic idea for this chicken off of Six Sisters and decided to kinda tweak it a little....

It turned out rather yummy so here it is!

What you'll need:

I used roughly 6 boneless chicken breasts

A glass baking pan
(This can also be grilled or cooked on the stove)

Butter

Cutting board and knife

Cookie sheet and paper towels

Medium to large bowl and whisk

Measuring cups

Little bowls

Honey

Honey Dijon Mustard

Spicy Brown Mustard

Scallions and garlic

**Since this was my first time making it and my poor pregnant body was telling me I had done too much already it took me almost an hr to prep. Can be prepped much faster than that. :)

Chopping/Mixing/Baking:

1. Preheat ovan to 375 and melt some butter in you glass pan, cover bottom well.

2. Place a layer of paper towels on a cookie sheet and use a secondary layer for when you lightly press your chicken between them to make sure you chicken is dry before trimming and cutting into strips. Then set your chicken aside.

3. Grab 2 small bowls and use them to hold your chopped garlic (About 4 cloves)
and scallions (6 or so) Set aside.

4. Grab you measuring cups, bowl and whisk...
A. Make sure you use equal parts of the honey and dijon mustard! (I used 1 cup of each)
B. 1 tablespoon (or 3) of the spicy mustard, really depends on your personal taste.

5. Add scallions and garlic to your mixture and whisk well.

6. Toss your chicken into marinade and toss the chicken in and make sure each pc is coated well then add to glass pan. Place extra sauce over once all of your pc's are in and waiting.

7. Bake uncovered for 50 min (Roughly)

8. Remove from oven and serve with the rest of your meal!
(We had leftover sweet potatoes and corn from Thanksgiving + rolls)

**Feeds about 6 adults :)

And no... I didn't get an a picture! :( Sorry guys!

**This was a yummy little dinner that has several leftover options.

i.e. The extra chicken (If you have any) can be used on salad, pasta etc...

I took this idea from another site like I said and adjusted it as I went so if you're like me you do a lot of cooking by using your eyes and taste buds!

Enjoy!

Shannon <3

Thanksgiving DIY!! (Stovetop Potpourri)

On our stove today is the most glorious DIY scent ever!!

If you want your house to not only mingle with the scent of your cooking or cooked Thanksgiving Day meal, here's a quick and easy option that will last you a month if used properly......

What you'll need:

1. An older pot you that don't care if it has something sitting in it for a while. Small.

2. Fresh orange peels, as many as desired. 

(Or whole orange sliced if they're the kind you can get in the bag and usually aren't the best for eating.)

3. Whole Cloves, small handful or as many as desired.

4. Cinnamon sticks, about 4 or 5.

5. Fresh or dried cranberries, small to med handful. 

6. Water.

Place all of these items in the pot and pour water over and set to a soft boil then turn down to a simmer once you see more than just a few bubbles at a time. This makes your house smell absolutely WONDERFUL!!! I've seen this done before but had yet to try it and we're so glad we finally did. 

**Just remember to never let the water get too low when doing this! Always keep full.

The aroma is quite therapeutic and rather stimulating so you feel a drive to go about your day and enjoy it! Or if you're lighting vanilla candles as well it'll be a relaxing scent that lulls you into a state of euphoric peace. Reading or organizing some holiday crafts may be what you desire at this point...

Either way,

Try it, 

I know you'll love it :)

Blessings,

Shannon <3 

DYI In a rush or too tired cleaner for spilled milk!!

Ever spill some milk on the carpet and felt too tired to really clean it up the way it should be?

That happened to my husband and I the other evening...

Plumb worn out from a VERY long weekend and looking at a bowl of spilled cereal I told my husband to clean up the actual particles and then I'd grab something to take care of the mess until I could scrub the floor. This not only prevents oder, but it lets you rest calmly if you're too tired or too busy at that very moment. i.e One of the kids does this right before they need to be on the bus and you need to be headed off to work! This will save sanity, money and precious time if you're in a rush. 

Here's how I cleaned it:

1. I had the cereal itself pickup and tossed 

2. Grabbed a couple towels and salt, then I loaded up area with salt and placed towels on it over night.

(The salt helps keep a sour oder away while soaking up any moisture.)

3. Take your sweeper the next day and remove towel to vacuum up the salt.

4. Grab some dish soap and hot water with a sponge or scrub brush and soak but not SOAK the carpet and scrub away for 2 min or so. Maybe less. 

5. Sprinkle baking soda over and replace a fresh towel over spot. 

(You can leave for the next day to clean for added assurance of a dry carpet.)

6. Vacuum 24 hours later and call it good :)

There won't be a smell and it's a safe non-toxic way to clean if you have kids or pets! Plus it's cheap.

I don't like strong smells with cleaners unless it's bleach haha I don't know why. 

**If you desire, you can use a homemade fresh scent spray (Which I will post a DIY later for that) over the area when finished, actually over the room for a super clean and therapeutic aroma! 

That's all for now, have a great day!

Shannon <3

DIY Fruit Fly Killer!

Ever notice how fruit flies multiply so quickly?

They hide in your kitchen and in your bathroom.

Well, we eat a lot of fresh produce in our house and noticed these little guys coming around lately...

YUCK!

Here's a DIY method that's non-toxic and doesn't have those awful fumes.

What you will need:

A clean mason jar

Apple cider vinegar

dish soap

Steps to prep:

1. Grab your mason jar, apple cider vinegar and dish soap.

2. Add 1 cup apple cider vinegar to jar then a few drops of dish soap

3. place in a location out of reach of children and traffic and let the trap do it's thing

It's nice cause it doesn't stink and it took me less than 5 min to make!

It's been under 30 min and it's already claimed a few lives, truly wonderful. :)

Shannon <3