Apple Crisp (gluten, dairy & refined/proceed sugar free)

Happy September 1st! 

Something about everything apples and pumpkins makes me happy!

I made a glutten, dairy and refined/processed free apple crisp this week and it was gone in a day. Hence the photo below of an almost empty pan!

I found a smilier recipe on a random instagram account a few years ago and have made it every fall since. It is so yummy and is great for a breakfast or dessert option. 

The follow recipe is one that I have tweeted and made my own

Bottom layer:

Wash, core, peel and cut 6 organic apples of your choice ( I used gala ) and thrown into a mixing bowl. 

Combine 3 TBL of pure organic maple syrup + a dash of water + ( 2 drops ) lemon essential oil or (1 tea spoon of fresh lemon juice) + cinnamon ( this amount is up to you, depending on your flavor level). 

Pour over cut apples and mix around. Pour into the bottom of an 8x8 baking dish.

Topping:

Combine 1 cup of almond flour + 1/2 c sliced nuts of your choice (almonds, walnuts, pecans) + 1 tea baking powder + 1/2 c gluten free oats + 1/4 c coconut oil + 3 TBL Pure maple syrup.

Use a spatula or finger to mix (you want a crumble type consistency)

Crumble the topping over the apples in the 8x8 dish and over with foil

bake at 350 for 40 mins

remove foil

bake another 10 mins

Enjoy :)

Essential Oils

Hey Guys! YL Essential Oils are a big part of my families life and have really helped us on our journey to a more natural and chemical free home.

I wanted to share with you, my personal experience with Young Living Essential Oils in hopes this helps or inspires you in your own journey. This can seem like a long journey but I can testify to having these YL oils bring so much health and healing into our everyday needs.

2015 I was pregnant with my daughter, Aviyah. New life seem to have a way of making you want to eradicate all impure or toxic things in current routine. I knew I wanted to have a more "clean" and "all natural" home. I spent many months researching and seeking out natural Dr's, books and videos. I started to learn that all these healing and natural remedies had ONE thing in common and that was  Essential Oil's.

A few months after I had my daughter I was introduces to the Young Living brand of oils. I ordered the starter kit and fell in love, even started to make my own beauty serums, creams and baby products. I have ordered and tried out many oil brands and I will testify to the quality and purity of Young Living. Once I switched out the conventional oils and started using Young Living I notice a dramatic difference in the quality of Young Living compared to the generic oils I had been previously purchasing.

Their seed to seal guarantee is one of the main reasons I choose Young Living.

Seeds are verified and identified for the particular botanical

All YL Essential oils are unadulterated, uncut and totally free of chemicals, pesticides and metals

YL has 3rd part tests done on all their oils to provide authentic 100% pure therapeutic grade oils.
(ps... did you know, there are no regulations when it comes to essentials oils in the U.S. meaning: a company can put 100% pure therapeutic grade essential oil on the label yet the actual oil itself may only contain 1% lavender (using lavender as an example) and the rest of the bottle can be filled with artificial fillers and oils? That is why it is SO important to do you research and KNOW the brand of products you are using.)

I am so thankful for these oils and products that Young Living provides and hope you try them and experience the benefits for yourself.

Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions you may have.

If you are interested in getting started with Essential Oils and want to purchase your own Starters Kit you can click on the link below.

Purchase your own Young Living Starters Kit HERE 

Your kit will include all of the products below

Any suggestions made on this blog are very specific to Young Living essential oils and should not be used with oils from another source. Statements made on this website about Young Living Essential Oils have not been evaluated by the FDA. These products and information are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Anyone suffering from disease or injury should consult with a physician. If you are currently on medication, please do not stop.

Back2School Old Navy Edition

   

Pre-school starts in less than two weeks over here and I think we are still a little bit in shock that we have a preschooler on our hands! I remember back when I was a kid and back2school shopping was one of my favorite things to do at the end of every summer! My parents made a whole festive weekend out of it. We would snag all of our back to school school supplies, clothes and shoes all while having awesome family time made such fun families memories doing it! I knew I wanted start that tradition with my kids when they were old enough, so a few weekends ago I took Aviyah to old navy and let her pick out a few things for preschool. Currently Aviyah is obsessed with swing and twirl dresses. Old Navy had a ton of awesome fall dresses and .... are you ready they were $8.00!! Hope you enjoy :)

Jean Jacket || Tutu Dress || Mustard Dress || Jersey Leggings || Mary Janes || Dot Dress

Southern Charm at the Farm

This past Saturday I took my oldest daughter on a "mommy and me date". We hopped in the car and ventured down to Tanglewood Park for Southern Charm at the Farm. It was an outdoor market with over 200 artisan trunk shops featuring vintage, handcrafted and re-purposed items. 

 Talk about creative home decor heaven! We found so many amazing unique finds. Aviyah had so much fun and I love watching her creativity grow, this girl seriously has a gift when it comes to finding and paring decor together.

 They also had food trucks on site offering an array of southern goodies. We snagged some old fashion kettle corn and cheeseburger chili ranch french fries :) when in Rome right? More like when your down here in the south. It felt like it was 90 degrees outside (our northern blood is still getting use to this southern weather) and of course there was a lot of people but we honestly HAD A BLAST :)
Whether you are looking for a girlfriends day or a family outing, Southern Charm at the farm wouldn't disappointed! I would highly recommend checking out their next event this fall. You can follow their Facebook page for all their details.

Hope you all are having a great week! 

Myrtle Beach Getaway

There is nothing quite like a spur of the moment getaway that can jolt excitement into your life. But when you attempt this with two toddlers under 3 & a half, you might just be crazy :) My adventurous hubby suggested that we find somewhere on the beach over Easter weekend and have some much needed soul refreshing at the ocean. I don't know about you, but whenever we get a chance to be by the ocean we jump on it. It is amazing how the beauty and power of the sun, sand and surf all collide and order out  your priorities "oh so well"  all while filling your heart with gratitude and love for Gods creation like it was the very first time.

We ended up booking two nights on Myrtle Beach a day later we hopped in the car and made the 4 hour road trip down south. The ride was amazing!!! North Carolina you seriously are beautiful. Spring time here literally bursts with every imaginable hue of green. While wild flowers and plants spring up so fast yet gracefully, it makes you want to snag them up and decorate every square inch of your house with flowers, or at least it makes me want to :) 

We stopped by Savannah Playground enabling park. I have to say IT IS A MUST if you are planning a visit to the Myrtle Beach area with children under 12! My kids were so sad to leave. They had so many awesome modern slides, mist machines, huge swings that were on tracks making them literally like amusement park rides! The ground was synthetic turf, which makes running around a play ground ten times more enjoyable.

Once it was time to check into our hotel we threw our bags into our room and booked it right to the beach.

We ended up having a pretty laid back time. We would wake up, make our 18 cups of coffee :) and head out to the beach each morning, this had to be my favorite time each day. I love seeing my girls take in all the excitement of the sand & water. Daddy helped make approximately 10,000 sand castles and zero survived two little girls and their new found love of knocking them all down :) 

But the best part was making unforgettable family memories (like the one pictured below) 

p.s. the ladies matching sweatshirts are from Childhoods Clothing and are THE BEST sweatshirts I have found. (this is not an advertisement for them, we just love their quality items)

Horne Creek Farm

A few weeks ago my two toddlers and I packed a picnic lunch and headed up to Pinnacle NC. We visited the historic Horne Creek Farm. Between the breath-taking views, as you make your ascent up to the farm and the beautiful landscape full of rustic farms, tranquil grazing horses and tobacco barns, its easy to see why we will remember this adventure for a while!

As we came closer to the farm the views became unbelievable. I stopped off the road 4 different times to stop and take in the sights! You can see Pilot Mountain off in the near distance making this drive its self worth the trip!

Once we arrived at the farm we made our way into the large visitors center. The center is divided into two sections. One side had many local goods for sale like pickled veggies, honey, canned fruit and candy as well as "old fashion" children toys and trinkets. On the other side of the center we found a living history museum full of real artifacts, photos, clothing and furniture all found in and around the original farm.

The staff warmly welcomed us and gave us a brief understanding into the farm and Hauser family. 

Our "tour guide" personally took an hour out of her day to walk us around the farm. She explain daily life as the Hauser family knew it to be back in the turn of the century. The house and barns had been restored back to the original era, it was literally like walking back to 1898 as soon as you set foot on the property. 

I appreciated the passion and hospitality of the staff at Horne Creek. They literally made the experience so special!

After touring the farm house, exploring the animal barns and asking a thousand questions to our guide we made our way back up to the visitors center where we ate our picnic lunch outside. I loved seeing my children venture around the farm. I am a firm believer in kids being kids, so getting them out and encouraging exploration of creation is so healthy for their little souls!

If your local to the Piedmont area or even live further out this beautiful living piece of history is well worth your time. They offer many weekend activities as well as special seasonal events and hands on festivals for the whole family. Admission is free and donations are appreciated. You can find more information on their website or on their Facebook page!

(farm building photos)

Be My Valentine

Happy Valentines Day everyone!! I love this day, and when you have littles it seems to be ten times better. As a child I loved all the fun and creative things my mom would do for us at home! Now with my own little peanuts I am trying to make these "Special Holidays" memorable for them. Which means I can easily get caught up in the "perfection side of planning and making things "perfect", but my children have the sweetest way of bringing me back to earth to savor these messy, adorable, can't get enough, fleeting moments. This will be my last year with my oldest, Aviyah, at home with me all day. So I plan on soaking up these memories with her every chance I can! With that said we are having a pretty "low" day around here (which will include lots of chocolate, outside play, picking out some fresh flowers for our house and naps, fingers crossed on that one)

This year we are 1,000 miles away from our families back in MN so the ladies and I made some valentines to send back home for a special "i love you". They had so much fun coloring notes on the insides and putting as many stickers possible on each card :)

Love these books I was able to snag for the ladies as part of their Valentines.
Reading is a huge hit at our house as of late.

                                            

       

Plant a Kiss  ||  Olive My Love 

We were just introduced to this adorable shop!

 Pippa & Indy they have the cutest bows and the are all $4!!! 

This heart burst is so stinking cute. Check them out.

I also love these Nutella Heart Pies, recipe here, they are so easy to make and are fun for toddlers to help out with!

Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.

Hope you all have an amazing day!!

xo

Love Photo via Pinterest