A Fun Get-Away

Ever feel like you need a break? Like you just need to get away from the house for a few days? Well, that's just what we did. Easter vacation is a great time. We went right up Pacific Coast Highway which has the most beautiful views of every beach California has to offer!

This is a section of Malibu.

We finally made our way to Solvang which is a cute, little Danish village! They have windmills

cute buildings

and this clock!

But one of the best parts is the amazing pastries! The danish folks have perfected them!

They use a lot of almond, which I love, but this mocha roll was SO good! Good thing it was small, ha ha ha!

May I also recommend the raspberry macaroon which I didn't get a photo of but it was awesome. And I will leave you with this mocha square that was even better than the mocha roll! The mocha square is from Mortensen's pastry shop in Solvang.

Have a happy, Danish kind of day! Taniya

Mochaccino Nails

I'm taking a quick break to show you guys today's nail color. It's Mochaccino by Borghese from the Rapido line.

I took this photo in the sun to see if the pinky shimmer would be visible in the bottle like it is in person. But you can't tell and it really doesn't matter because once it's on your nails, there is no shimmer of color at all. Just it's milk chocolatey-ness! Happy, relaxing Sunday to you! Taniya

Snow and Alligator Meat!

We are having a bit of vacation time and decided to spend some of it in Big Bear, California! There was plenty of snow for a great time without being too cold.

Snowball fight!

Alani and her dad built this snowman.

And I built this one.

Luke built the tiny one next to it! Ha ha!

What in the world is the alligator meat thing about, you ask? This is what we found in one of the local shops.

Yes, it is alligator jerky! At first bite you just taste a lot of the stuff they flavor it with and it's not much different from beef jerky. But if you have a big enough piece and have it in your mouth awhile to get it all chewed up, it does taste like something that's been in swampy water. We got turkey jerky too which I liked much better! Before I go I have to tell you about this amazing little tea house called The Tea Exchange. The drink I got was called Pirates Bounty Tea Latte and it was SO yummy! In a base of black and red teas they put a light chocolate, vanilla, and coconut. Then they made such a lovely, thick layer of foam on top that I was in tea latte heaven!

We also had a strawberry and banana crepe that was so big that all five of us shared it! Wish I had gotten a photo of that! More to come very soon as our vacation days have just begun. Taniya

A Little Dr. Seuss

Today we went to the movies! Which we don't do that often, but we're having some vacation time and this is one thing we thought would be fun to do. Can you guess what we saw?

Dr. Seuss is kinda weird but I like his books anyway. Ha ha ha! And his movies are fun too. Now I want a Truffula tree. Many Truffula trees!! Have a great day. Taniya

Stormy Days

A cold, blustery storm has hit So. Cal. and it's been raining for two days! Which is wonderful, because all this rain is going to make all the wildflowers grow all over the hills. This is my attempt at some stormy looking nails:

Grey clouds with sparkly raindrops and on my third finger is Gunmetal by Jesse's Girl. The solid light grey is a no name from Tilly's, and the L.A. Colors is in Sparkling Diamonds. (I've featured both of those before)

I found Buttons laying in the sink last night so I will leave you with this parting shot.

May the rain bring YOU arm loads of flowers! Taniya

It's A Great Day To Be Irish And Go To Morp!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! It's a great day to make a corned beef brisket. I'm not a big meat eater but making this every year is something I do for my family and everyone loves it!

First I place my brisket in my roasting pan and add some water. Then I cut up one whole red onion and put it all over and around the brisket. Then I do the same thing with a whole head of cabbage and lots of potatoes! My family loves potatoes so I have to make sure there's plenty. You can use the small red potatoes or just regular Russets, peeled, and cut four ways. I always add one carrot too because it is said to take any bitterness out of the cabbage.

Have the oven on 300. I cover the whole pan with heavy duty foil and cook about 4 hours. Mine ended up taking longer and I think it was because I didn't have a lid. I used two pieces of foil so there was that seam where steam could escape. Here is the end result:

It's so tender and yummy! And those potatoes were sitting in all those juices and have such a great flavor.

This evening I also took my daughter to "Morp" which is backwards prom. All the high schoolers dress in funky, fun, florescent clothing and have a dance. Here's some photos of Alani with her friends.

Pretty cute and so fun!! Hope today brings you a pot of gold! Taniya

Icy Blue

Here's the other nail color I promised to add! This would be great for Easter too. It's by Pure Ice and it's called "Splash".

Such a pretty color!

We're supposed to be getting a big, rainy storm tonight and tomorrow, so have fun in the rain making a "splash"! Taniya

What Are Wednesdays Good For?

CUPCAKES!! We ran out to do some shopping and ended up here. Oh dear!

And ended up taking home these little babies.

The one I'm holding is called "Whiteout" and I LOVE this one! It's vanilla bean cake with light, fluffy, vanilla bean buttercream frosting. I haven't tasted them all but I know that I also love the one called "Strawberry Hill", which is devil's food cake with strawberry buttercream frosting. But the others here in the box are "Pucker Up", a light lemon cake filled with lemon curd and topped with light lemon cream cheese frosting, and "Blackout", devil's food cake with dark chocolate buttercream frosting. I plan on trying ALL the flavors and will blog about them later! If you eat healthy most days, there's nothing wrong with a treat now and then. Hope you can enjoy one soon! Taniya

Oh My Workout!

Well, I just finished up a fantastic workout! I go to Bodyrock.tv and always get one off of there because they're fast and effective. I try to do 5 a week but it doesn't always turn out that way. Ha ha ha! These workouts are guaranteed to make you sweat. Then I always need lots of water afterward. And green iced tea, SO refreshing!

An ancient Chinese proverb says, "Better to be deprived of food for three days, than tea for one." Green tea has been used by the Chinese as a medicine for at least 4000 years! In recent years it has been discovered that green tea inhibits the growth of cancer cells. It also helps lower cholesterol. Sounds like a winner to me! But keep in mind that adding a bunch of sugar to it is going to work against those good benefits. So if you want it sweet try Stevia. It's all natural because it's from a plant but doesn't raise blood sugar levels. I get mine at Trader Joe's.

Also agave is great because of it's low glycemic index

or good old honey is even better that table sugar.

So let's all get more green tea into our bodies and healthier sweeteners. You will feel better for it!

Happy drinking! Taniya

Egrets and Hiking!

A few days ago, in the field by my house, my husband saw an egret off in the distance. He wasn't even sure if it was an egret and thought it may have been a goose! Which was very funny because the rest of us could see that it was NOT a goose! So now if we ever see an egret the children will say, "Look Dad, a goose" and all break out laughing! Since that day we saw the one, there has been an increasing amount of them coming to the field until yesterday there were six!

See them all out there? I got some close-ups too.

I think they're pretty! Well, today we had an adventure with my mom and went hiking.

Off into the wild!

Some pretty flowers.

Luke even claimed his territory!

Here's to having a great day and going out there to claim your OWN territory! Ha ha ha! Taniya

Cookie Thursday!

It's been awhile since we've made cookies, so I thought today would be a great day! I made one batch of chocolate chip (healthified with wheat flour & less sugar).
Then I made another batch with some yummies added like unsweetened shredded coconut. It tastes just as good without the sugar! Also some dried cranberries.
Luke wanted to make one giant cookie so of course we did because it's even more fun to experiment.
Here they are all finished. Regular
and coconut with cranberries!

Now the whole house smells wonderful!

A Healthier PB&J!

The good old American staple, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich has been known for providing some protein to our diets but most jelly is so full of added sugar. Oh dear! So what can we do to make it healthier? Try having some almond butter or cashew butter instead of peanut butter! Cashew butter provides magnesium and copper and almond butter has lots of magnesium and manganese, and has strong anti-inflammatory properties.

Also be sure to have some bread loaded with whole grain. The more grains the better I say! And how about a reduced sugar jam? You won't notice the difference in taste. Better yet, make your own jam at home! Then you know exactly what's inside. I'll make some homemade jam very soon and show you every step. Won't that be fun!? Here's to healthier eating everywhere! Taniya

Three Weeks.

Do you know what this means?

When you see these cute, little, marshmallow bunnies and peeps you know that Easter is just around the corner. It's only THREE weeks away! What will YOU be doing on this special day? Here is a fun shade of nail polish that would be perfect for Easter!

It's Pure Ice in New Lilac. They also have some other pretty pastel colors too. I'll show you another one soon! Have a day as sweet as marshmallows! Taniya