Must Have Been The Roses

While picking out a necklace for the spring fashions I plan on rocking... I found this beautiful jewelry shop on etsy: Tamar's Shop: Nest Pretty Things!  Etsy is sooo overwhelming because there is just so much to choose from and everything is so inspiring.  This shop has captured my spring mood: the whimsy, floral, soft, and fun!

Next step... breaking open my piggy bank and buy one of these banging necklaces.

Fashion Ideas Organized

I stumbled across this great site that lets you organize different ideas and outfits together so you can see how it looks before taking the big plunge with your wallet.  I compiled my spring lounge around outfit and some pieces I already own so I can just see that it's my style and that it would work on me.  You can also add some unique things that you find while scouring the internet.

Visit Polyvore.com and start dancing!

Sweet Tomato Relief!

Ok, ok... I know I'm supposed to be making everything from scratch.  And lordy, I'm trying!  But upon hearing about Mario Batali's pasta sauces I knew I had to try it.  You see my husband and I fell in love with Mario while we were in Vegas.  We ate at Carne Vino and enjoyed the Caprese Salad and Gnocchi with Marinara sauce so much I think I will always remember it.  (we couldn't afford any wine ironically while we ate there but B did have a glass of pink beer which was pretty hilarious).  The music was great while we ate too (Radiohead, Coldplay... really like we were eating at home but 1000 x better)!

So, we tried it (the marinara)... and after 9 years we have finally agreed upon a tomato sauce!!!  I mean seriously this is BIG!  It's like $6.50 a pop at Hannaford... but the ingredients are all what I've been looking for sans preservatives, hoooray!  I will give myself this little 24oz of relief!  Thank you Mario, thank you.

A little more about the sauce via the store:

Mario Batali Marinara Pasta Sauce: Why do Mario Batali sauces taste so fresh and pure? Mario Batali Sauces are crafted from San Marzano Italian plum tomatoes from the Sarnese-Nocerino area in Italy, and are purely produced with all fresh chopped onions and fresh garlic. They are made with all fresh herbs and spices - no paste or puree added, and are made exclusively in a green facility. In an effort to honor his commitment to both good food and green living, Mario is thrilled to announce all four recipes will be produced at Summer Garden Foods' green facility. Certified as organic and environmentally friendly by both state and national organization, Chef Batali and Summer Garden Foods is an ideal partnership having shared philosophies regarding the creation of food products. (Item #197930) w3

Product Characteristics: Main Ingredients:   Tomatoes, Onions, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Carrots, Garlic, Sea Salt, Italian Parsley, Thyme Size/Capacity:   24-oz.

Glorious Ball-Orrific Necklace!

It has become quite clear to me that I absolutely love multiple groupings of balls.  It most likely began with Megan's  wonderful wreaths, but it is now showing up all around me.

This necklace was handcrafted by jewelry artist Kristina Klarin.  I am absolutely loving how big it is and that you could basically wear just a plain tee or tank and wear this necklace with it and feel totally hip to be square.  Her color combinations are spot on too!  via: constant changes

Dreams Do Come True!

I have two pairs of TOMS sneakers one pair in red that my grandmother got me for my birthday, and one pair in army green that I wore everyday last summer.  I love everything about them especially the fact that they are so comfortable, but also the fact that for every pair of shoes you buy through them they give a pair to a child in need.  That is just too good to be true, but it is!

WELL WHAT DO WE HAVE HERE!!! Coming soon to my closet are these absolutely adorable wedges courtesy of TOMS!!  I mean they do not come cuter! via: adored austin

Fry 'em Up!

I am attempting to eliminate processed foods from our diet.  Taking little baby steps here and there.  Mostly really reading ingredients.  The same food that you grandmother was eating... may have the same label and taste the same... but the ingredients most likely are not the same (preservatives, high fructose corn syrup,  and a whole bunch of other words that you won't understand)!  I'll take food that may rot quicker any day.  It always pains me to throw out or be wasteful, I have the compost going but I can't really put a lot of food products in because we have a lot of raccoons and skunks in the neighborhood... but the more you cook the more you learn the quantities you should buy.

That being said.  I'm still not all that healthy!  And Owen really likes French Fries!  I figured making them myself would give me some advantages:  I can see exactly how many potatoes I was using, and give myself the ability to portion out appropriately.  I can buy my own potatoes and we prefer organic and local it makes us feel better.  I can add my own spices and use whatever oil I want.

But let's be real... I still fried the crap out of them!  Next time I'm going to try an experiment with baking them and see how that turns out.  I'll keep you updated on the results.  But for now feast your eyes upon these:

My husband's eyes opened really wide and he said "they are way better than McDonald's."  All lies but hey it made me feel good.  And just a quick note... if you have a picky eater that actually likes them to even look like fast food fries... you don't have to cook them as long as I did, that's it!

Breakfast Bars from Scratch

My entry in the Outside the Box Challenge:

I have been really making a greater effort to make what we eat from scratch. But my biggest desire and hurdle lately has been trying to eradicate Nutri-Grain Bars from the cupboard.  Both my husband and son (2yrs) absolutely love them.

I scoured the internet trying to find a suitable replacement replacement and it was pretty difficult to find something but I came pretty close when I saw this recipe on Smitten Kitchen.

I made a few edits:

*Substituted Whole Wheat Flour in place of All Purpose Flour

*I only had 10oz of Organic Raspberries in my freezer so I added 6oz of a mixed bag of berries including, blackberries, blueberries, and strawberries.

I’m going to attempt to freeze these and see what happens because the ability to pull them out whenever would be a plus.  I’m also going to really play around with the recipe now that I see how it works and try and make it more of a fruity nutritious bar instead of a sugary treat…  It’s nice to have the taste of grains in the morning.