Kale Yeah!

So I have two salads that I have been making over and over again and my family and friends are loving them so I thought I would share!

Lemon Pecorino Kale Salad

Ingredients you'll need:

1 big bunch of Kale

1 shallot

4 tbsp of fresh squeezed lemon juice 

Salt and pepper

2 tbsp. champagne vinegar

4 tbsp. olive oil

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1 cup Pecorino cheese

To make this salad here is what you need to know:

Finely shave the kale avoiding the ribs and stems into a large bowl. The finer the better! Add the slivered almonds in the bowl as well. 

Then in a small separate bowl combine minced shallots, lemon juice, vinegar, olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.

Massage the kale and almonds with the dressing then add the cheese! I use a micro plane to shred the cheese finely. 

Any Pecorino will work! This is just the one I chose! 

The key I have learned is to get your hands messy and massage the salad! It softens the kale and blends the flavors really well! I hope you enjoy! 

I have another one that is great too! 

Kale, Apple, Walnut Salad

Here what you'll need:

1 big bunch of Kale leaves

1 apple

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped and lightly toasted

3 to 4 tbsp. crumbled blue cheese

2 tbsp. olive oil

1/8 tsp. Salt

2 tsp. Apple cider vinegar

1 tsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice 

You can use curly kale like I did on the one in the pic but, I like the Lacinato kale too. It pulls easily off the ribs making it super easy to ribbon. I alternate between the two!

Combine olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, and salt in a separate bowl. 

Get your hands dirty again and massage the mixture into the kale leaves. 

Throw in apples, blue cheese and walnuts and toss. 

I love MayTag blue cheese for this salad. It is my favorite but it is really strong so I use a Danish blue as well that is a little softer, less intense. 

The nice thing about both of these salads is that they can keep in the fridge and taste even better the next day because the dressing softens the kale but doesn't make it soggy like a traditional salad! I usually make it as a side for dinner then throw leftovers into a mason jar and have it for lunch the next day with a protein! I don't eat much dairy but I love these two salads and the cheese definitely makes them so I can't give that up! I hope you love them as much as I do! 

Kale Love, 

Lauren 

Workout Around Town Series

I have always been physically active my whole life. When I was young I danced, was on swim team, played basketball, soccer, ran track, was a cheerleader. Then I started wake boarding and competed for 10 years.  I never thought too hard about what all the physical activity was doing for my mind and body. I just did it because I liked it. It was fun and pushing myself to be better was exciting to me! It was just my lifestyle. 

Then I got married, started coaching wake boarding, and had two kids back to back. I barely worked out during that time. For two years I was pregnant and teaching wake boarding so by the time I got out of the boat everyday I was too tired to put in a good workout for myself. I didn't realize what it was doing to my mind and body until after I had JD. I didn't realize what I was missing. 

That was when I decided I needed a gym membership. I had two kids under two years old and I had recently decided to go full blown stay at home mom status. I was struggling with how I looked, I was struggling being home all day with two kids. I needed adult interaction and I needed take care of myself. I also really needed to not feel guilty about it! 

 I started at one gym which was ok but they didn't have great kid care so I switched to my local YMCA because I had heard great things about their kid program and in particular there kid care director Tara. I also had some good friends that were members as well. So it seemed like a good fit. 

I started going everyday. The kids would go to their classes and I would go to mine. At our Y they have a new activity for the kids every 15 minutes like play dough, crafts, songs, etc. and they have cardio kids classes for them so I would work out guilt free knowing they were getting something out of that time as well. 

In the beginning I would check the kids in for one hour even though they allow you two hours. I was way out of shape and there was no way I could work out that long. One day, I was on my way to pick up the kids when my friend who has 8 children and runs marathons, she grabs me and says, where are you going?!? I tell her to  pick up the kids. She lets me know I have another hour left until I have to go get them. I was dripping sweat and exhausted and was like there is no way I can work out any longer. She hands me a magazine and says there is a comfy couch in the locker room go sit and read a magazine. "This is your time! You need this time. You will be a better mom! I promise you!" I took her advice, I mean I would be a fool to not to listen to the marathon mom of 8! Side note, her kids are mostly grown. Two of her kids have sweet babies of their own and she is a mom I totally respect and love. So I took her advice and made it part of my regular everyday! 

About that same time my friend Leah and I started working out together. We never really officially said it but we basically became workout partners. We started showing up together and holding each other accountable and have now for 4 years. 

 Leah and I show up most days. If we can't be there for some reason we text each other. We aren't perfect. Some days we work harder than others. We still indulge in margaritas, wine, and Donut King! Only Donut King sometimes, right Leah!! 

There have been days where one of us is going through something and we just walk next to each other on the treadmill and talk it out, encourage each other, be with each other in hard stuff. Parenting, marriage, illness, life is just hard sometimes.  We have laughed and cried together countless times in the middle of that gym! 

Our goal was originally to change our bodies, which has totally happened.  I think it has been so much more than that. We could go to a nicer, fancier gym but we have made really great relationships. 

It has changed now. I no longer check my kids into the kid care unless it is summer because they are now both in school in the mornings. Although I still go by and say hello to Ms. Tara. I feel like I wouldn't have survived the young years of my kids lives without her! She saved me so many days! I hope she knows what she does everyday really does change peoples lives for the better! My kids still run to hug her every time they see her and always ask if I think Ms. Tara misses them!! 

Leah and I take classes together and run. But we have friends we have made in those classes too!  We take a strength class, a high intensity interval class, and Zumba. We used to spin a lot and haven't as much recently. We have changed and adapted our workouts as we have changed or the schedules have changed but we haven't stopped showing up! 

I think the thing about working out is you have to find a workout you enjoy or someone you enjoy working out with. I think if you do that it can make all the difference and you are much more likely to stick in through! 

I feel the same way about working out as my husband does about tattoos. He says it is nice for someone to like or appreciate the art you put on your body but at the end of the day it doesn't really matter what they think because the tattoo is for you.  He says I love it and enjoy it so I don't really care if they like the tattoo or not. To me working out is similar. It is really admirable to run a marathon but if you hate every step and never want to run again after then was it really for you?!? At the end of the day, it is for you, so you need to really love and enjoy what you are doing regardless if anyone else does or not! If you want to prove to yourself you can run a marathon do it, but don't prove it to anyone else. 

 For me, I feel best in lots of areas of my life when I am moving in some way. Sometimes I get tired of working out indoors...so I have started surfing when I can, I run outside, or ride bikes with my kids outside.  You just gotta find what works for you. I don't think their is really a cookie cutter way to do it, this is just what has worked for me! 

So in light of that I thought it would be fun to give you a glimpse of the classes I usually take as well as check out different ways to workout around town and let you know what I thought of it. Let you know what to wear. What is the time investment? What is it gonna cost you?? Then you can decide for yourself if you wanna try it! 

I am calling it Workout Around Town! 

Stay posted!

Much Workout Love,

Lauren 

Splurge vs. Save

There are tons of adorable slip on sneakers out there that are so perfect for summer! I keep seeing them everywhere. They are fun and casual to run around during the day in!

I was at Bloomingdales and fell in love with two Via Spiga pairs but I didn't fall in love with the price. $155

                   

                            

Then I found these at H&M for a fraction of the price. I gotta say,  you could have fooled me! $39

                     

 I think splurging on pieces that you know will last and will be staples in your wardrobe then I am all for it, splurge and you will love and get good wear out of them.

Fun shoes like this, I am all about the savings but still getting the look I want! Pretty good huh?!?

                

Enjoy!

Blueberry Picking

So we may have skipped school today to go blueberry picking!  I felt we needed a fun day, a reset, a break in the monotony of schedules, and the weekend just didn't feel long enough. I have to say it was absolutely 100% worth it! We woke up when we wanted, had breakfast and headed to Lake Catherine blueberry farm.

 We have been going and doing this for the past three years but this year the kids actually were really into picking. They were on the hunt for the biggest and bluest and every other one was "the best one so far!"

We came away with a great supply! 

We will freeze lots for smoothies and snacks and we will be making, many times over, a staple in our house, blueberry crisp! I found this amazing recipe from Shauna Niequist's book Bread and Wine.

 We eat it by itself a lot, but we also have it on top of our plain Greek yogurt in the morning or with a scoop of Greenwise vanilla organic ice cream for a special treat!!

I know lots of my friends have been hitting the farms so here is the crisp recipe. You can really use whatever your favorite fruit is or as we do, whatever is in season for the base. It is so simple and so good! Even Taylor knows how to make it!

Ingredients


4 cups blueberries 

Crisp topping:

1 cup old fashioned oats

½ cup pecans

½ cup almond meal (available at Publix, Whole Foods, health food stores, or made by putting almonds in food processor until fine, but before they turn to almond butter)

¼ cup maple syrup

¼ cup olive oil

½ tsp salt

Instructions

Pour four cups fruit into 8×8 pan. Spread crisp topping over the fruit. Bake at 350 degrees 35-40 minutes, or longer if topping and fruit are frozen, until fruit is bubbling and topping is crisp and golden.

Serves 4
 
Much Blueberry Love, 

Lauren

Happy Birthday Mojito

As I promised here is the grapefruit mojito I made for the adults at Taylor's birthday dinner! I picked grapefruit because the color matched her decor but they turned out great! 

It felt right to post this today because it is my sweet friend Sarah's birthday and we are celebrating her with friends, soaking up the Florida sun by our pool! Adults only! Sarah is preggers so we will all be having cocktails on her behalf. It is a tough job but we just love her so much, so we are more than willing to do that for her. Anyways, here it is!

Grapefruit Mojito Recipe:
(Makes 4 Drinks)

Juice of four limes
Two cups of fresh squeezed Grapefruit juice
Six ounces rum - light or dark
1/4 cup mint simple syrup (recipe below)
Soda water
Ice
Fresh mint leaves for garnish

Mix lime juice, grapefruit juice, simple syrup and rum in a small pitcher 
Fill four tall glasses with ice then fill glasses 3/4 full with juice mixture
Top off with soda water
Garnish with mint

Mint Simple Syrup
1 cup sugar, 1 cup water and 1 cup mint leaves
Heat in saucepan on medium high heat until sugar is dissolved
Add mint leaves, cover and let seep for 30 minutes to 1 hour
Strain out mint
Store syrup in refrigerator (keeps for several weeks)

Happy Saturday and cheers to whatever or whoever you are celebrating!

Much Mojito Love,
Lauren

She leaves a little Sparkle wherever she goes

 Our smart, beautiful, spirited, loud, loving, full of life baby girl turned 6! Our hearts are so full because of her! We spent the whole weekend celebrating with our girl. It was so much fun!

This year she was turning 6 on the 6th so because it was her "Golden" birthday we had to incorporate gold in the color scheme and decor! I spent the whole week making fun decorations! It is always a lot of work but I really love celebrating people and especially my baby girl! She gets really into the decorations and appreciates it and loves it so much, so I love to do it for her! Her little face lights up every time I show her something I made!

 She picked the menu and it turned out great! Jon grilled burgers and hot dogs. We had caesar salad, her favorite, and a kale salad, my favorite, plus corn on the cob! I also made grapefruit mojitos for the adults! You need the recipe I promise you. So I will post soon!

This year she didn't want a cake but wanted to have ice cream sandwiches instead so I let each kid pick what kind of cookie they wanted and what flavor ice cream and then they loaded them with sprinkles and hot fudge...I mean loaded them!

As always the best part of the whole night was the people who were there to celebrate her!

A few of the cuzzies spent the night. 

Saturday we relaxed by the pool with our friends and Taylor spent some time with her little friend Sydney!

Sunday we woke up on her actual birthday and headed to Winter Park for brunch at Marlow's Tavern just the 4 of us! Then we took Taylor to paint pottery! Her choice!

I think she felt loved and cherished and that was our main goal so I think it was a success!! Happy Golden Birthday baby girl!


Much Birthday Love!

Spring Photos by Michelle Morris

Every once in a while I meet someone who inspires me like crazy because the minute you meet them you feel like they are doing exactly what they are supposed to be doing in life! They are inspiring because they are so so good at what they do. They are so natural they make it look effortless and fun that you almost for a second you think it could be easy.

Months ago I started stalking photographer Michelle Morris on Facebook and Instagram. She went to high school with my husband but moved to Savannah, GA with her high school sweetheart and three out of this world cutie patootie boys! I had never met her but I just loved her work. She catches the simple moments of life in a way that is so beautiful and raw. I couldn't wait for her to photograph my kids!

Jon and I opted out of being part of the session this time because we have done many before and we both end up hating how we look. We always feel like awkward family photos. We love how the kids look and get super critical of ourselves. I always feel way to uptight and unnatural. However, I wish we would have thrown back a few shots of Patron and jumped in! Next time we most definitely will!

I let her take the reigns and I am glad I did! She has a way of engaging with the kids and keeps them having fun all the while getting great moments of them! I couldn't believe how well she manages the whole thing!

I could really go on and on but I will let the photos speak for themselves! I was going to only select a few to share but I really couldn't pick so here they ALL are!