A simple top knot

True story: my husband does my sock buns. So what am I to do when he isn't with me and I am too lazy to straighten my hair and fight the NC humidity? A messy top knot! I am the world's worst at doing hair, so I guarantee that if I can do this, you can too! It's super easy and gives you a put together, dramatic look that you won't have to touch all night long.

Step 1: put your hair in a high ponytail.

Step 2: tease the mess out of it! I use this teaser. Take small sections of your ponytail and tease until it looks like you stuck your finger in an electrical socket. The bigger the better!

Step 3: twist and pin. Just wrap your teased hair until it looks like a bee hive and stick lots of bobby pins in it. Since it is teased you shouldn't have many fly-aways or loose pieces.

Step 4: hairspray to hold it. So easy!

Crockpot Quinoa Mexican Casserole

I am always on the hunt for new healthy crockpot recipes. It makes dinner a million times easier and less stressful when I can throw everything in the crockpot and come back in 6 hours to a fully cooked meal. This one was a hit and we will definitely be having it again soon!

Crockpot Quinoa Mexican Casserole

Ingredients:

-1 tbsp olive oil

-1 lb ground turkey

-1 medium yellow onion, diced

-1 cup uncooked quinoa

-2 10oz cans Old El Paso Enchilada Sauce (medium or mild)

-1 15oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

-1 15oz can diced fire-roasted diced tomatoes in their juices

-1 cup corn, fresh or frozen

-1 red bell pepper, diced

-1 green bell pepper, diced

-2 tbsp chili powder

-1 tbsp ground cumin

-1 tsp garlic powder

-1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese

-For serving: fresh cilantro, diced avocado, sour cream, tortilla chips

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in large skillet then add the turkey and onion. Cook and stir until turkey is no longer pink then transfer to the bottom of crockpot. [I highly recommend purchasing these crockpot liners; they make cleanup a thousand times easier]

2. To the crockpot, add the quinoa, enchilada sauce, black beans, tomatoes, corn, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder and 1/2 cup water. Stir to combine then cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours.

3. Remove lid and stir. Stir in 1/2 cup shredded cheese then sprinkle remaining cheese on top.

4. Cover and cook another 15 minutes, until cheese melts.

5. Serve hot with any desired topping! I chose avocado, a little more cheese, and some tortilla chips for scooping. Delicious and so easy!

Girls trip to Key West | House Tour

I am back from a long weekend in Key West with my mom and little sister. We had such a great time! We ate, drank, laid in the sunshine, explored, slept and relaxed. Major thanks to my amazing husband for holding the fort down while I was gone! I missed my baby girl so so much but it was so great to recharge my batteries (and get 10 hours of uninterrupted sleep each night).

jeans

++

I've mentioned before that my dad recently bought a house in Key West and I had lots of people request a house tour so here it is! The 4-bedroom house was built in 1880 and still has the original hardwoods and wooden walls, giving it a very historic, Key West feel. It is 2 blocks from Duval Street and is the absolute cutest. We have 4 bikes and a golf cart that make traveling around the island so convenient and fun. The pool is surrounded by palm trees which makes it feel private and tropical. I know this home will hold such special memories for my family for years to come!

 The downstairs bedroom; the previous owner used it as a library so there are no doors on it. We may add them in the future because it makes it tricky sleeping in there because you can hear everything going on in the house.

The downstairs hallway that leads to the front door/front bedroom

The downstairs hallway from the other angle; walking from the front door into the kitchen/living room

The first bedroom upstairs

Hallway to the other bedrooms upstairs

The second bedroom upstairs

The master bedroom

 The porch off of the master bedroom, overlooking the backyard and pool

 The living room

 Looking into the kitchen and bar area from the living room

 The dining room off of the living room and kitchen

 The house from the back yard

The house from the front street

I am already looking forward to our next trip back!

Great Pumpkin Dessert

I don't know about you, but as soon as October arrives I'm all about pumpkin everything. Candles, coffee, pumpkin covered pretzels, you name it. When I saw this dessert I knew it would be perfect for our Sunday family night dessert. It was the perfect amount of pumpkin flavor, not overwhelming but definitely tastes like fall. And a warm dessert topped with vanilla ice cream will always be my favorite!

Great Pumpkin Dessert

Ingredients:

1 15oz can pumpkin

1 12oz can evaporated milk

3 large eggs

1 cup sugar

4 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 package yellow cake mix

3/4 cup butter, melted

1.5 cups chopped walnuts

Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream for topping

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, beat first five ingredients until smooth

2. Grease a 9x13 baking dish and pour mixture in

3.  Sprinkle cake mix over mixture

4. Drizzle cake mix with melted butter and top with walnuts

5. Bake at 350* for 1 hour

6. Top with ice cream or whipped cream

Coffee talk

If we were sitting down to chat over a skinny pumpkin spice latte here's what I'd tell you... 

\\ I have to start off by saying that the tragedy in Las Vegas is simply heartbreaking. It is truly sad that I fear going to public places these days but my hope and trust rests in God. Through all of this tragedy and hate, I cannot fathom not knowing the Lord and who holds my future. These hard times our country is facing make me long for heaven and they are teaching me that my sole purpose in this life is to teach my daughter about God and how to love others and treat everyone as she would like to be treated. I saw this little graphic and it spoke straight to my heart.

\\ I recently got these jeans from Old Navy for just $25 and I'm in love! The step-hem gives them a fun twist and I know they will be on repeat with booties all fall.

\\ My husband came home from the grocery store last weekend with these pumpkin cinnamon rolls (I swear he knows my love language) and they did not disappoint! They were delicious and such a yummy weekend breakfast treat.

\\ All my local NC ladies... I am hosting an Anchor Beads trunk show on October 18th. You guys have heard me talk about Anchor Beads and the meaning behind them many times on my blog. It is a cause so near and dear to my heart. If you're local, email me for the address! Nothing better than cute necklaces and 10% of the proceeds go towards childhood cancer research.

\\ I posted this picture on my Insta stories last week and had so many people ask me where her onesie was from. I've linked it here! Target for the win... super cute and so cheap!

onesie here

\\ I am leaving tomorrow for a girls trip to Key West and I cry every time I think about leaving my baby. The mom guilt is real! This is my first time leaving her overnight and while I know she is in great hands with her daddy, I am so scared she will forget me or need me while I'm gone and I won't be there. I know the world will keep spinning and she will never remember me leaving, but gosh it makes me sad. Veteran mamas, will leaving her ever get easier?!

Homemade Baby Food

I am 1.5 months into the baby food making journey and so far I have really enjoyed it. I love the fact that I know exactly what she is getting, which is organic fruits and veggies mixed with water. No additives, preservatives, etc. Also, it saves so much money! It is a little bit time consuming but if you set aside an hour a weekend, you can knock out a few batches that will last you weeks. I found a few blog posts very helpful when I was first starting out so I thought someone else may find my tips helpful.

So far I have made:

sweet potatoes

butternut squash

broccoli

green beans

pears

apples

avocado

peas

carrots

peaches

blueberries

pineapple

prunes

mango

To prepare the fruits and vegetables I clean, peel, then chop them into cubes if needed (butternut squash, carrots, apples, sweet potatoes, etc.). Then I throw them in this steamer over a pot of boiling water until they can be pierced easily with a fork. Then into the Baby Bullet they go. For the soft fruits and veggies like avocado and peaches, I just put them directly into the Baby Bullet without steaming them. Honestly, if you don't have a Baby Bullet already, you don't need to go out and buy one. Any high powered blender would work just fine but we were gifted one and have used the heck out of it. Plus I really like the containers and gadgets that came with it.

Once the fruit/vegetable is in the Baby Bullet, add some water. Always start with a little because you can add more if needed but you can't take any out if you make it too thin. For the vegetables that I steam, I add the water from the boiling pot. I blend and keep adding water until at desired consistency. Then the purees go into these baby food storage trays and into the freezer. Once frozen, I pop them out of the trays and put them in labeled ziplock bags. They will stay good in the freezer for 6 months. Every night I decide what I want her to eat the next day and I take cubes out of the freezer and put them into individual containers and into the refrigerator to thaw for the next day. The food stays good in the fridge for 3 days. So easy!

We started out with sweet potatoes and every three days we added a new fruit or vegetable to make sure she wasn't allergic. We also started with just one "meal" a day which consisted of two cubes of a vegetable at dinner time. Then we added two cubes for lunch and then two cubes for breakfast. Now she gets three "meals" a day, each consisting of about six cubes, usually three different fruits or veggies at each meal.

A typical day of purees for Vivi looks something like this:

Breakfast: prunes, pears, mango

Lunch: broccoli, butternut squash, apples

Dinner: peas, carrots, sweet potatoe

Veteran mamas, what tips would you add?! What other fruits or veggies should I introduce?