Happy Monday, everyone! Did you know that last Friday was national
peanut butter cookie day? Seriously! So, of course I needed to make some
pb cookies! But….I’m trying to stick with my Trim Healthy Mama plan for
the rest of this pregnancy. I decided I would make this (almost)
THM-style!
Yum! Don’t they look delish?
Ingredients:
1 cup no-sugar added peanut butter (or other nut butter)
1 egg
1 cup stevia (or other natural sweetner)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup sugar-free chocolate chips
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375. Mix the first 4 ingredients together in a bowl.
Shape into balls, and slightly flatten with your fingers. Press some
chocolate chips on the tops of each cookie. Bake for 10-15 minutes. Let
cool before moving them. Enjoy!
Did you enjoy peanut butter cookies on Friday?
Sincerely,
Hannah Diane
About
Hey there! I’m Hannah Diane. I am married to my best friend, Luke. I
have a horse, and we have two kittens. I love my Saviour, Jesus Christ,
and have a love relationship with Him first and foremost. I am a book
lover, and a lover of all things simple and old-fashioned. I wish I
lived in the 1800s. I love blogging about my life….fitness, healthy
living, recipes, DIY projects, horse training, what the Lord is teaching
me in my life, and being a wife. I hope to make many friends along this
journey…won’t you join me?
That there is my Handsome Man, Luke. He’s the best. He’s my best friend,
encourager, leader. He’s so sweet and such a hard worker. I don’t know
what I would do without him. We met when I was 15 and he was 19. We
started courting when I was 17 and getting ready to start my senior year
in High School. He proposed on Christmas Eve when I was 18 and we got
married the day before our two year anniversary.
I love working out and eating right. Wow! I never thought I’d say that.
My struggle with being healthy and at a healthy weight has been
life-long. But I seriously love working out! Lifting weights, biking,
running and yoga are some of my favorite things. I
love my Ameera. She’s amazing. We’ve had our ups and our downs. Being a
horse owner and training your two year old filly from the ground up can
be difficult, frustrating, fun, exciting, but always rewarding. I’ve
had Ameera for over two years now and we’re finally to the point of
riding. I learn something new every time we work together.
And my favorite….I blog about life. My relationship with Jesus Christ.
What He has taught me and what I am learning. He’s my all in all. I
would be nothing without Him. He took my dirty, nasty rags of
self-righteousness and traded them for His spotless ones so I could have
a relationship with my Father. To Him, I owe my life.
I hope you grab a cup of coffee (or water) and stay to chat. Let’s get to know each other, okay?
~Hannah Diane
For those of you who
don’t know; we moved this weekend! It was a bit of a process, but we
made it, and we are now all settled in our beautiful new home. It’s so
lovely!
Now, I thought I was well prepared for the big weekend, as I had made lots of snacks for the kidlets, and I had packed all the necessary cooking
utensils in an easy to access box. The best laid plans huh….I forgot
my kids have bottomless pits as tummies, and that moving is hungry work
for mum and dad too. So the snacks didn’t last long. I also forgot to
tell my husband that the box needed to be accessible…so it was only
found and unpacked last night.
Ahhh, thank goodness for takeaway
Now we are (somewhat) unpacked, I have gotten back into the swing of
things, and our fridge is full of real food again. Yay! I find it so
hard to make good choices if I haven’t prepped for the week, so it was
all falling apart for a while there.
This meal is delicious. I have had it for second breakfast
brunch twice this week already, and my husband requested a double
batch, so he could take some to work again today. My husband requesting
spinach…unheard of!
It takes a maximum of 10 minutes to prepare (if you have pre-cooked
your quinoa) and it really packs a punch flavour-wise. The perfect dish
to serve up for brunch as it looks quite fancy and cafe-ish with a
perfectly poached or fried egg on top, but is a cinch to prepare. I do
make it quite heavy on the garlic, so adjust up or down depending on
your preferences.
Hubby has suggested it would be perfect with a nice piece of fish
nestled on top. I wholeheartedly agree, and will be trying that out this
week How would you eat it?
I would love to hear what you think!
Fragrant
garlicky quinoa with wilted spinach and lemon zest - fantastic for
brunch, with a perfectly poached or fried egg on top. Or make it for
dinner and serve with a nice piece of fish.
Ingredients
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup chopped spinach (or whole baby spinach to make it even quicker)
1 tsp lemon zest
1 cup cooked quinoa
2 poached or fried eggs (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Heat
cooking oil of choice (I used avocado oil) in a medium sized saucepan
(with a lid) over medium heat. When hot, add in the chopped garlic. Cook
until fragrant
Add in the chopped spinach and lemon zest, pop on the lid and leave for 2-3 minutes, until the spinach has wilted
Add
in the cooked quinoa and stir to combine. Cook until just heated
through and remove from the heat (I added in about a tablespoon of olive
oil here to keep things from drying out)
Serve up, salt and pepper to taste, and add a perfectly poached or fried egg to the top. Enjoy!
Meet Donna
Food was not
something we worried about in our house when I was growing up. Don’t get
me wrong we definitely ate plenty of it and we ate as a family as often
as we could but food was, for the most part, something we ate just
because we had to. Except for special occasions….and Friday nights. My
parents weren’t into health or nutrition in any big way so food just
wasn’t that big a deal. I remember helping my mum bake in the kitchen on
the odd occasion, but it was always for a special treat, not something
we did often.
My school lunches were filled with rubbish (sorry mum). Not literal
rubbish of course but I’m talking chips, chocolate, a carton of juice, a
ham sandwich and a wee piece of fruit. Mum wasn’t doing anything
unusual, in fact, pretty much all of my friends had a similar packed
lunch. I do remember having one friend who would come to school with
these little homemade pork pies, salads and raw veggies and every time I
saw her lunch I would thank god it wasn’t mine!
I moved out of home for university at seventeen and not much changed.
The first couple of years of my degree were fuelled by 2 minute
noodles, bake at home rolls with melted cheese and mashed potatoes. I
can’t even claim the ‘poor student on a budget’ excuse as I worked a lot
through uni and always had money….I just preferred to spend it on beer
and music – priorities guys!!!
Then something happened…I met a boy (who would have guessed). He was,
in my naive opinion of the time, the ultimate foodie. He had been one
of those ‘weird’ kids who had been eating raw veggies and hummus for
lunch and had eaten McDonalds maybe once a year. He cooked, he knew
about all of these foods I had never heard of (wonton soup?) and food
really excited him!
He cooked for me an embarrassing number of times before I finally ran
out of excuses and was guilted into cooking for him. Having never used
the internet for food research purposes I was way out of my depth in
that field and ended up having to borrow a bloody cookbook for the
occasion! Needless to say it was pretty average and being the
competitive person I am I decided I was going to have to figure out this
cooking thing.
Anyway we travelled the world and ate everything in sight and my
foodie horizons broadened beyond my expectations. I became a little bit
obsessed with all things food and spent a lot of time mastering my
culinary skills. I thought I was pretty awesome….until I had my babies.
As soon as I became pregnant and suddenly responsible for the health
and nutrition of someone other than myself I had to re-evaluate
everything I knew about food! Sure I could cook all these lovely meals
which I would never have dreamed about a few years back but they still
contained a fair few ingredients I couldn’t in good faith give to my
little people. Plus a lot of my lovely recipes called for a couple of
hours in the kitchen….haha as if thats going to happen with two kids!
Overnight I became the women in the shop who scrutinises every label
before putting anything in the cart, the women who literally dreams of
ways to make favourite unhealthy foods into healthier and better
versions…I am now even that mum who supplies the ‘weird’ food in the
playground! But I will have you know that weird food is so
yummy and popular my daughter has to guard her snacks very carefully
(she is 2 and she literally guards her food – it’s pretty cute)! Plus I
need to be able to make them while wearing one baby and entertaining the
other. Oh how life has changed.
My foodie dream in life is to make sure our bellies are beautiful things filled with lovely whole foods that taste amazing
Happy eating!
I have made that joke about the shotgun. You know, someone says to
the father that his daughter is beautiful or that she’s growing up fast
or that she’ll be a heartbreaker, and the father smiles knowingly and
says, yeah, he’s already shopping for shotguns. He’ll spend his
daughter’s teenage years sitting on the porch and cleaning the sucker
all day, just to make sure every boy who comes by sees him.
Because, of course, a daughter is a father’s property and he needs to
protect his property from being stolen and potentially defiled by
another man.
As parents, sometimes we find ourselves in a tough situation. We
don’t always have the tools we want or think that we need. Sometimes it
feels like we are up the creek without a paddle.
So what do we do? We get creative. We ask for advice. We brain storm.
We talk with other parents. Most of all, we keep our sense of humor!
We are parents who are still working on figuring out this crazy job
of raising kids. Join us, if you want to share the ups and downs of
parenting, work, marriage and life.
Hey y’all I had so much fun
painting these Mason Jars !! It’s so easy ! I will show you how step by
step with explanation + a chance to win a set!
Jars. Paint. Glitter (if you want). Spray glue for glitter. Sand paper to make it rustic a little bit. Sponge brushes.
That’s all !!!
1) Clean off the jars and make sure they are dry.
2) With the sponge brush, paint the jar. (Repeat this for about 3 coats. Wait 20-30 min in between coats.)
3) Using sandpaper or a sanding block, distress the words and areas that would seem to get naturally scuffed.
4) Enjoy ya’ll it really
was that easy !! I know the directions seem small and they are but it’s
easy so you can do it !! Just try a few tips to look at down below.
I did this whole set in less than
2 hours. At the end i did spry with a clear coat just to seal them you
don’t have to but i wanted to protect the glitter.
Now a few tips & tricks that helped me along the way:
– A lot of people say paint the inside of the jars I did NOT do this I did’y find that it was needed.
– I simply put my hand in
the jar it wouldn’t go all the way in i just put it enough to paint the
whole thing and move it around a bit as needed.
– When adding glitter to
the rim if that’s the style you want don’t spray the glitter on it gets
all over. I sprayed my sponge brush with the glue then applied where
needed. and then sprinkled the glitter.
– The longer they dry between each coat the better.
– When applying the 2nd
coat you will notice a but of paint “peeling” don’t stress it’s okay
cause on coat 3 it covers it up & then when you distress with the
sand paper it looks like it’s supposed to be that way.
– I used three different paints two were satin finish and one was matte the matte one honestly looks and works better.
– All my pictures will show my setup and what all i used as well.
– All you need is a tiny piece of sandpaper… go over the words and a few areas around the jar VERY lightly.
– Anytime i post a DIY craft you can ALWAYS ask me questions if i’m not clear on something
– If ya’ll like these as much as I do you can enter the giveaway at the bottom to win a set.
Hey Yall !!
This is my journey to make a blog inspire and find an outlet to be
creative. I am new to this world of blogging and will not be politically
correct nor will I please any English teachers out in the world (sorry
sissy). I am 30 years young and married with 2 kids. With that being
said that didn’t come easy I am not the ready made wife and PTO mom. I
have a very colorful past full of hot mess that most southern belles
would frown on. But that made me who I am and personally think made me
more opened minded than most people you will run into on a daily basis.
Sometimes I cuss to much and have to pitch myself and say hello is that
how you want your almost 2 and 5 year old to talk ??? Umm no who does?
But hey life gets in the way when you stomp your toe on the door frame
and step on a hot wheels car. I have one bi-racial child my oldest
Ca’Rin Shine that is already so hard headed and determined it’s insane
maybe those two things will go great together when it’s not me trying to
contain her to what a normal healthy 5 year old should be doing. Is a
bi-racial child a great thing in the south I would think not but in the
Carlson house hold its amazing and for the sun worshiping goddesses me
and my sisters are we may be a little jealous of that year round pecan
tan summer glow. Please go on this journey with me with an open mind
let’s have fun and raise a little heck. - See more at:
http://sequinsinthesouth.com/me-me-me/#sthash.5IPYupCV.dpuf
Me Me Me
Hey Yall !!
This is my journey to make a blog inspire and find an outlet to be
creative. I am new to this world of blogging and will not be politically
correct nor will I please any English teachers out in the world (sorry
sissy). I am 30 years young and married with 2 kids. With that being
said that didn’t come easy I am not the ready made wife and PTO mom. I
have a very colorful past full of hot mess that most southern belles
would frown on. But that made me who I am and personally think made me
more opened minded than most people you will run into on a daily basis.
Sometimes I cuss to much and have to pitch myself and say hello is that
how you want your almost 2 and 5 year old to talk ??? Umm no who does?
But hey life gets in the way when you stomp your toe on the door frame
and step on a hot wheels car. I have one bi-racial child my oldest
Ca’Rin Shine that is already so hard headed and determined it’s insane
maybe those two things will go great together when it’s not me trying to
contain her to what a normal healthy 5 year old should be doing. Is a
bi-racial child a great thing in the south I would think not but in the
Carlson house hold its amazing and for the sun worshiping goddesses me
and my sisters are we may be a little jealous of that year round pecan
tan summer glow. Please go on this journey with me with an open mind
let’s have fun and raise a little heck.
XOXO LC
♡●♡●♡
- See more at: http://sequinsinthesouth.com/me-me-me/#sthash.5IPYupCV.dpuf
Me Me Me
Hey Yall !!
This is my journey to make a blog inspire and find an outlet to be
creative. I am new to this world of blogging and will not be politically
correct nor will I please any English teachers out in the world (sorry
sissy). I am 30 years young and married with 2 kids. With that being
said that didn’t come easy I am not the ready made wife and PTO mom. I
have a very colorful past full of hot mess that most southern belles
would frown on. But that made me who I am and personally think made me
more opened minded than most people you will run into on a daily basis.
Sometimes I cuss to much and have to pitch myself and say hello is that
how you want your almost 2 and 5 year old to talk ??? Umm no who does?
But hey life gets in the way when you stomp your toe on the door frame
and step on a hot wheels car. I have one bi-racial child my oldest
Ca’Rin Shine that is already so hard headed and determined it’s insane
maybe those two things will go great together when it’s not me trying to
contain her to what a normal healthy 5 year old should be doing. Is a
bi-racial child a great thing in the south I would think not but in the
Carlson house hold its amazing and for the sun worshiping goddesses me
and my sisters are we may be a little jealous of that year round pecan
tan summer glow. Please go on this journey with me with an open mind
let’s have fun and raise a little heck.
XOXO LC
♡●♡●♡
- See more at: http://sequinsinthesouth.com/me-me-me/#sthash.5IPYupCV.dpuf
Me Me Me
Hey Yall !!
This is my journey to make a blog inspire and find an outlet to be
creative. I am new to this world of blogging and will not be politically
correct nor will I please any English teachers out in the world (sorry
sissy). I am 30 years young and married with 2 kids. With that being
said that didn’t come easy I am not the ready made wife and PTO mom. I
have a very colorful past full of hot mess that most southern belles
would frown on. But that made me who I am and personally think made me
more opened minded than most people you will run into on a daily basis.
Sometimes I cuss to much and have to pitch myself and say hello is that
how you want your almost 2 and 5 year old to talk ??? Umm no who does?
But hey life gets in the way when you stomp your toe on the door frame
and step on a hot wheels car. I have one bi-racial child my oldest
Ca’Rin Shine that is already so hard headed and determined it’s insane
maybe those two things will go great together when it’s not me trying to
contain her to what a normal healthy 5 year old should be doing. Is a
bi-racial child a great thing in the south I would think not but in the
Carlson house hold its amazing and for the sun worshiping goddesses me
and my sisters are we may be a little jealous of that year round pecan
tan summer glow. Please go on this journey with me with an open mind
let’s have fun and raise a little heck.
XOXO LC
♡●♡●♡
- See more at: http://sequinsinthesouth.com/me-me-me/#sthash.5IPYupCV.dpuf
Me Me Me
Hey Yall !!
This is my journey to make a blog inspire and find an outlet to be
creative. I am new to this world of blogging and will not be politically
correct nor will I please any English teachers out in the world (sorry
sissy). I am 30 years young and married with 2 kids. With that being
said that didn’t come easy I am not the ready made wife and PTO mom. I
have a very colorful past full of hot mess that most southern belles
would frown on. But that made me who I am and personally think made me
more opened minded than most people you will run into on a daily basis.
Sometimes I cuss to much and have to pitch myself and say hello is that
how you want your almost 2 and 5 year old to talk ??? Umm no who does?
But hey life gets in the way when you stomp your toe on the door frame
and step on a hot wheels car. I have one bi-racial child my oldest
Ca’Rin Shine that is already so hard headed and determined it’s insane
maybe those two things will go great together when it’s not me trying to
contain her to what a normal healthy 5 year old should be doing. Is a
bi-racial child a great thing in the south I would think not but in the
Carlson house hold its amazing and for the sun worshiping goddesses me
and my sisters are we may be a little jealous of that year round pecan
tan summer glow. Please go on this journey with me with an open mind
let’s have fun and raise a little heck.
XOXO LC
♡●♡●♡
- See more at: http://sequinsinthesouth.com/me-me-me/#sthash.5IPYupCV.dpuf
Me Me Me
Hey Yall !!
This is my journey to make a blog inspire and find an outlet to be
creative. I am new to this world of blogging and will not be politically
correct nor will I please any English teachers out in the world (sorry
sissy). I am 30 years young and married with 2 kids. With that being
said that didn’t come easy I am not the ready made wife and PTO mom. I
have a very colorful past full of hot mess that most southern belles
would frown on. But that made me who I am and personally think made me
more opened minded than most people you will run into on a daily basis.
Sometimes I cuss to much and have to pitch myself and say hello is that
how you want your almost 2 and 5 year old to talk ??? Umm no who does?
But hey life gets in the way when you stomp your toe on the door frame
and step on a hot wheels car. I have one bi-racial child my oldest
Ca’Rin Shine that is already so hard headed and determined it’s insane
maybe those two things will go great together when it’s not me trying to
contain her to what a normal healthy 5 year old should be doing. Is a
bi-racial child a great thing in the south I would think not but in the
Carlson house hold its amazing and for the sun worshiping goddesses me
and my sisters are we may be a little jealous of that year round pecan
tan summer glow. Please go on this journey with me with an open mind
let’s have fun and raise a little heck.
XOXO LC
♡●♡●♡
- See more at: http://sequinsinthesouth.com/me-me-me/#sthash.5IPYupCV.dpuf
Until I moved into this house, I had no experience with tile floors. I had bathroom tiles, but they were always sealed and easy to clean. This new flooring presented a very big cleaning challenge: keeping the grout looking nice.
I've tried a multitude of cleaners, both commercial and homemade products. I'd even tried using straight bleach to get the grout back to its original color! But nothing seemed to work. I was resigned to scrubbing it by hand with rags and special brushes, and never truly getting it clean.
Until, on a whim, I decided to try toilet bowl cleaner. I don't know why- I was desperate. And it worked! It was wonderful! It cut my cleaning time in half and did a much better job than I ever had. I'm a true believer now, so I'll share with you how I do it.
I've tried several different types and brands of toilet bowl cleaners, and by far the best has been the Target brand generic cleaner.
The process is pretty simple. Squirt the cleaner directly into the grout. If you get some on the tiles, it's fine, but the floor will be slick until cleaned off, so be careful.
Cover all the grout you wish to clean. I don't have the patience to do my entire kitchen at one time, so I split it up into sections and work on it over a few days. I like to leave the cleaner on for at least 20 minutes, so I wait until the kids go to bed and get to work. I just cover the grout in the area I'm working on, then go take a shower or put away some laundry for a while.
You can see the cleaner start to bubble as it works out all the dirt. Because the grout is very porous, it holds onto dirt and crumbs. This bubbling really helps dig it all out.
Next, I just take a towel and wipe it off. You'll be amazed at the dirt and grime it picks up!
While the grout is still wet, it will appear darker. But rest assure, it's much cleaner! If you are worried about residue on the floor, or have pets and toddlers who eat off the floor, a quick rinse with a wet rag or sponge mop will clean it up.
I
love my Ameera. She’s amazing. We’ve had our ups and our downs. Being a
horse owner and training your two year old filly from the ground up can
be difficult, frustrating, fun, exciting, but always rewarding. I’ve
had Ameera for over two years now and we’re finally to the point of
riding. I learn something new every time we work together.
