Tasty Tidbits

Isn't she beautiful in this light? This was at the very beginning of our painting, so she looks relatively clean. Now, a few days later, she has paint on her one leg & lots of little carpet pad fuzzies everywhere. We've been trying to keep the floors swept, but the pieces just keep flaking off. And then she drags it everywhere! I can't wait to get the carpet in (scheduled for Sept. 4 & 5!!!!) & then to clean the whole house.

So August is over...where did it go? I love fall so much, but it just seems like summer went by before I realized it was happening. I'm excited for all things fall, but also not ready to give up fresh peaches & zucchini & gorgeous tomatoes.

Enjoy the long weekend!! Happy Labor Day!

Here's what we've been eating in the last week:

Breakfasts

• Tina's Paleo Granola made un-paleo by the addition of rolled oats. For mix-ins, I used flaked coconut (my newest obsession!) & raw sunflower seeds. - I love this SO much! I don't think it was W's favorite of the granola's I've made, but he does like it too.
• Crumbled Cookin' Canuck's No-bake Zucchini Bread Granola Bites with almond milk
• Zucchini Baked Oatmeal with pb
• Lisa's Gluten Free Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes - This is our favorite pancake recipe to date, aside from these whole wheat sourdough ones, which I can't currently make because my starter died. They're light & fluffy, just like they should be! I usually double the batch because it makes so few. Better to have leftovers than not enough! 
• Ashley's Basic Vegan Buckwheat Waffles - These were denser than many waffles (probably partly because I should have ground the buckwheat finer), but they had the perfect crisp outside & soft inside. We topped them with apple butter & banana pb sauce. Yum!
• Bananas, fresh figs, & peaches

Lunches

• Sandwiches
• Leftovers
• Shredded Brussels sprouts, sauteed
• Sweet potato tortilla chips with salsa
• Carrots
• Pesto hummus
• Canteloupe, apples, & watermelon

Dinners

Saturday:
Picnic Dinner with Church Friends

• Easy Three Bean Salad
• Italian seasoned pasta salad
• Fresh veggies with dip
• Pretzels
• Stuffed hot peppers (man these were HOT!)

Sunday:
Dinner with Mom & Pops, grandparents, & aunt

• Whole wheat spaghetti with fresh tomato sauce
• Stuffed hot peppers - Dad made these (same kind as on Sat. night). They are SO HOT! But also delicious. No one in my family ever thought I'd start enjoying spicy food, but here I am. Lips.on.fire.
• Green salad

Monday:

• Nourished Kitchen's Tomato Provencale - The flavors in this are fantastic! It's so simple, but seems fancy. It was perfect with pasta because it was very juicy.
• Whole wheat angel hair pasta with basil pesto (I used pumpkin seeds instead of almonds & nutritional yeast instead of parmesan)

Tuesday:

• Jessica's Grilled Corn Summer Breakfast Hash - I made a few changes by removing the bacon (I used cocont oil for the cooking), adding a minced jalapeno, & using half white potato/half sweet potato. Also, we put guacamole on top instead of egg. Aside from the chopping, it was a super easy meal & it was SO flavorful! Plus it made great lunch leftovers.

Wednesday:

• Whole wheat spaghetti with sauteed greens & peppers
• Carrots & cucumbers with pesto hummus

Thursday:

• Pizza with this crust, three ways:
• 1. Carmelized onion & fig with olive oil & garlic
• 2. BBQ sauce with thinly sliced zucchini, mushrooms, baby cherry tomatoes, & pepper
• 3. Fresh tomato sauce with diced zucchini, mushrooms, & fresh basil

Friday:

• Dinner out on the way to the cabin

Treats

• Minimalist Baker's Vegan Brownie Chocolate Ice Cream - I can't stop making this. It's so good!
• Joy's Fresh Fig & Almond Breakfast Cake (made by my mom) - She varied it slightly, using whole wheat flour, unrefined sugar, & some applesauce for some of the oil. It was really good! My only wish was for more figs in it.

Still Under Construction

We're getting there! Saturday was priming day.

Somehow this photo merged itself & when I was sorting through what I had, I was really confused. It's kinda cool though. W watching himself work...

Sunday was ceiling day.

Tuesday evening was living room walls. I was so excited to paint the gray! We love it!

There was a crazy grasshopper that kept leaping up at the windows. It hit the top ones! Tink loved watching, and it kept her occupied instead of being underfoot. She thinks she's helping, but she's wrong! :-)

It's cool to watch it dry. You can see the different shades here. I was edging while W followed behind with the roller.

One wall finished! Actually, the whole room is painting now. We have the baseboards & wood-work for the other windows painted & ready to hang. Then we'll finish painting the den. Whew!

Big thanks to my parents who came over twice each to help paint. We'd still be painting the living room if it weren't for their help.

Vegan Cuts Beauty Box

So you may have missed it, but last week I posted on Facebook about this really great lip gloss that came in my Vegan Cuts beauty box.

I discovered the beauty box because I'd previously gotten their Snack Box for 2 months. That was delicious & I'll share more about that in another post.

Let me preface all this by saying that I'm not a fancy person. I don't wear lots of makeup & I don't really want to start. I just want to change some of the normal routine (read shampoo, conditioner, lotions, etc.) items that I use to make them better for both myself & the planet.

I signed up for the box 2 months ago to start trying more natural beauty products. Not only are these natural, they're also all vegan, meaning totally cruelty free! I've been very impressed with the contents! At first, I thought I'd try it once & then maybe again in a few months. But then I couldn't help it & had to get it again!

They've since asked me to become an ambassador for them! I'm really excited, because that means that I can promote something that I truly love. I look forward to getting surprise mail each month. It's also nice to know that I'm not locked into anything. If I'll be away when the box is going to be delivered, or I just want a month off, it's easy to cancel & then return to it when it's a better month.

Some cool stuff I tried so far:

Schmidt's Lavendar & Sage Natural Deodorant - You apply this with your fingers, so it's not great for reapplication later, but right after a shower it's really nice! I love the scent & it holds up well. I've tried a lot of natural deodorants that don't!

LVX Nail Lacquer in Deco - This stayed on for a long time! I have trouble with nail polish chipping & was very pleased. Plus, the colors are gorgeous! They have a line of fall colors, just out.

Lippy Girl Extra Virgin Lip Gloss - In addition to the Fanciful Fox lip tint, I got this lip gloss (it was actually in my first box). It goes on smooth, gives a nice shine, & isn't sticky like a lot of glosses I've tried. I don't usually like shiny lips for myself, but this is a good one!

If you want to sign up, you can use this link.  If you don't want to sign up for a box, but want to purchase something, you can do that too!

Disclaimer: This is an affiliate link. That means that if you choose to purchase a box or an item, I will make a small amount due to your purchase. Thanks for the support to both Vegan Cuts & me.