Life's Changes

As I go through all of my pictures of the leaves changing colors, it got me thinking about how much my life has changed over the seasons. Most people take New Years as a time to think back to what has happened over the past year, but for some odd reason, I have always looked back at my year towards the end of fall. It must be something to do with the leaves changing, that gets me thinking about everything that has changed for me as well. This is also the time I usually make changes with my hair (chopping it off or tweaking the color), but that will not be happening this year. Over the past year, I have matured, ended toxic relationships (both friendships and a relationship), and found a new pathway to go down. I have never been one to really talk about religion, it just kind of scared me if I am being completely honest. Throughout the years I have been pulled every way, when it comes to religion, some of my friends are quite devoted in their faith, and then I was in a relationship where he was completely against organized religion. After ending that relationship, a few months later I was thinking, and came to the conclusion that I needed to accept God into my life and that was what was the missing puzzle piece was in my life. The first time going to church, I expected to be intimidating, but once I entered, I could feel this weight lifted off of my shoulders. My entire life I have had major anxiety that goes from extreme to minor, but it is always there. What was amazing to me was when I went to church, all of my anxiety was gone. That is when I knew I was where I belonged. If you are looking for a new church to go to, or even just to start going to church, that is the feeling you should feel when you are at the right one. Feeling comfortable and at home, is the best feeling in the world, especially for someone with anxiety. After going to church, I have made friends with some amazing people who are just as excited as I am to see where God is taking us in life and have accepted Jesus in their hearts. It has also allowed me to deepen friendships with people I have known for years. Having this major change in my life has also lead me to look at other aspects in my life, but it is slowly all coming together. Different changes are being made, that are healthier for me in my life. I am a person who has focused on other people, which is great, but it has been hard because I then never think about myself and what is best for me. This is the start to a new year for me, even though New Years is still a little over a month away. But I am beyond excited to see what else is to come in my life!

Field Trip to the Tree Farm

About a week ago, one of my dear friends asked me if I wanted to take a little road trip. Of course I said yes because I am always up for road trips, and once I looked at the pictures of where we were going, I knew I could not miss out on going. The tree farm we went to is called GreenWood Tree Farms, and it is about two and a half hours from Portland. What is unfortunate is that soon the beautiful trees at this farm are going to all be cut down, and we will lose this picture perfect place. I had to dress according to the season because I knew that we were going to be taking plenty of pictures while we were at the farm. My go-to jeans at the moment are the Wedgie Levi's, which happen to be the best fitting jean I have worn in a long time. If you try these, I recommend sizing up since these are very fitted jeans, and mine did not stretch out very much. A turtleneck is very appropriate for the season, and black is my color that I always wear. This is definitely a staple to have in any wardrobe. Pairing the turtleneck with a scarf, is something that is easy to complete the outfit and tie it all together. I was not sure what I wanted to do with my hair that day (per usual), so I threw on a floppy hat and called it good. Since it was going to be a little muddy at the farm, motorcycle boots were an easy choice. If anyone has the chance to road trip out to this tree farm, I HIGHLY recommend it, especially before they cut down all of the trees.

Xtend Barre

On a Sunday morning in Oregon, when it is grey outside and raining, there is nothing better than staying snuggled in my blankets watching Netflix with a cup of tea. But I have found something that is equally great, if not better than that! this is something that I will recommend to everyone I know because it has seriously changed the way I look at working out. Xtend Barre is different from other Barre classes because it incorporates more dance-like movements that include faster pace movements. This works particularly well for me because I do better with a faster pace workout, as opposed to something slower like yoga. There is a studio down the street from where I live, so it was perfect for me to try out. Below I will have a link to their website.

Having done a little bit of ballet when I was little, some of the key formations were familiar to me, but if someone was completely new to the class, it would not be difficult to jump right on in. At the beginning of the class, there was written on the mirror what things we needed to grab for that class. For the class I was taking, all that was needed was; weights, ball, and a resistance band, which are all provided by the studio. What I found interesting was that the weights they had were one one pound and two pound weights, since you are mostly using your own strength during the workout instead of relying on weights to help your workout. The first about 10-15 minutes of the class were warmup, which definitely warmed me up. I was already sweating after just the warmup, which was a good sign since that's my indication that I am getting a good workout. The music that accompanied the class was upbeat, and honestly not the music I would have expected to hear during a barre class, which is not a bad thing at all. It was a great mix of classic Lady Gaga and Ke$ha throughout the class. After the warmup, it was time to jump right into the class, and start learning what this workout was all about. As the class continues on, the instructor would make sure everyone knew the ballet moves that were incorporated, and that everyone's formation was correct, so that they would not injury themselves. I personally find this very helpful and a benefit of taking a class, because at the gym, there really is not anyone there to tell you if you are doing something wrong, which is why it is not uncommon to hear of people injuring themselves at the gym or tweaking something. I have been to workout class before, where if I was doing the movements wrong, the teacher made me feel like the odd man out, but this instructor was very caring about it and made sure you did not feel like you were an outsider. Halfway through the class, I already felt where I was going to be sore the next day, but I love feeling sore after a workout. By the end of the class, I knew for a fact that a good majority of my body would be sore, since you are using muscles that you didn't even realize you had. This is also coming from someone that works out about 5 times a week. I would highly recommend this workout class and studio to anyone looking to tone up their body, but have fun while doing it. My workout goal is to tone up everything, instead of gaining lots of muscle or focus on losing weight. i used to focus on the number a lot, but realized that for me that is not healthy because I become obsessed with the numbers. That is also why I cannot get caught up in counting calories. This studio promotes a positive body image and is all about empowerment of women. For anyone able to find a studio near them to take a class at, I would suggest to try it. It is also the most adorable little studio, so just being there makes you feel great!

Peanut Butter, Caramel and Chocolate Drizzle Popcorn

If that title does not make your mouth water, then ignore this post. I was watching one of my favorite cooking shows a few days ago, Dinner at Tiffani's, when I saw she was making this great concoction. Since my little cousin spent to the night a few nights ago, I showed her the recipe and she immediately wanted to make it. This was no surprise because this little girl has the biggest sweet tooth. It was also a great way to teach her how to read the measurements since she is now in first grade. The recipe is really simple and does not require a ton of ingredients. I will have the step by step instructions below! I just took the recipe from the actual website! To see it entirely, here is the link! Ingredients: 1/2 cup corn syrup 3/4 cup sugar 1 cup peanut butter 1/4 cup honey 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped (The recipe calls for cashews also to be added, but I opted out of using them) I have a hot air popcorn maker, so I used one scoop of kernels for this recipe. Spread out the popcorn out on a baking sheets. In a saucepan, combine the corn syrup and sugar. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes; remove from heat. Carefully, add the peanut butter and honey. Stir until the peanut butter is melted, then add the vanilla. Working quickly, pour the mixture over the popcorn, and use two rubber spatulas to evenly coat the popcorn. Set aside to cool completely. Fill a saucepot halfway up with water; set over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Turn the heat down to medium-low. Add the chocolate to a glass bowl and place the bowl over the pot of simmering water. Melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally. Using a spoon or spatula, drizzle the popcorn with the chocolate. This mixture, when left out, will harden like a caramel corn, so make sure it doesn't clump up too much! Your teeth will thank you!

Pumpkin Patch Take 1

Every year, I take my little cousins to the pumpkin patch to experience all it has to offer. We try to go to a different pumpkin patch every year, so this year I decided to take them to The Pumpkin Patch on Sauvies Island. I am not sure how I have lived here my entire life and not been to Sauvies Island, but even after going there, I don't feel like I was missing out on too much. If you are taking little ones here, make sure to pack them a snack and something to do if you are driving over 30 minutes. I made sure to pack a water bottle, but forgot granola bars, which was a mistake. We played the license plate game in the car and jammed out to music to help the time pass by. It was raining the entire drive there, so it was a regular Sunday in Oregon. Once we parked, we headed over to the main area to see where to go for our hay ride to the field. In the main area, there is a market with produce from the fields, an animal barn where you can see a variety of farm animals, and gift shop. If you are looking for food to eat there, they have the typical kettle corn, hot dogs and caramel corn, carnival kind of food. Since I have dietary restrictions, there was not anything that I could eat or that looked appealing to me at the time. Both girls had a hot dog, which was a sufficient snack while there. After looking at the animal barn (we have chickens and live semi close to the country, the girls were not too impressed with the selection of animals), we got in line for the hay ride. The hay ride was only a couple of minutes long, but takes you through the field of huge leafed lettuce. Out in the field of pumpkins, it was completely covered in mud. We all had thick layers on mud on our shoes, and both girls slipped in the mud. Eventually I had one on each side and held their hands to try and help them from falling in the mud again. The rule since I was little, was you can only choose a pumpkin that you can carry yourself. So once we were out looking for pumpkins, the girls could not find any smaller ones that they could carry. Back on the hay ride we went to head back to the main marketplace to find smaller pumpkins that the girls could carry. All in all, this was a great first trip of the pumpkin patch season! I am going again Saturday morning with my best friend to then get my own pumpkin finally.

Lazy Girl's Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread

On my most recent trip to Trader Joe's (aka heaven), I came across one of the best things I have ever seen there. Gluten free pumpkin bread/muffin mix. I didn't think that was something that would ever happen, finding a gluten free pumpkin mix. But thank goodness I found it at Trader Joe's because that meant it would be guaranteed to be delicious. It is also great for the person who doesn't want to make something from complete scratch, or the person who isn't the world's best baker. I have known people who just don't have the touch for baking, which is more than ok. The recipe only required three ingredients that most people already have in their kitchen; vegetable oil, eggs and water. I have to admit, I made sure not to get my hopes up about the bread because gluten free baked goods can be super hit or miss, so I have learned to just wait and see how it is. BUT this bread was absolutely amazing! It was fluffy and honestly if you didn't already know it was gluten free, you would never guess it. Even the mix itself, before baking, smells great! You are able to smell all of the wonderful spices in it, then once it is in the oven, the aroma just fills the house. This boxed mix is HIGHLY recommended for everyone out there!

Feeling Like A Gilmore

A few days ago, back when it didn't look like the end of the world outside, it was a gorgeous day in Portland. So I decided to take a little trip down to Reed College with one of my friends. Ever since the first time I discovered this magical place, I have been obsessed with it ever since. What is so special about this campus though, aside from being tiny which I love, is that it looks exactly like the scenes of Yale in Gilmore Girls. As you all have figured out, I am obsessed with Gilmore Girls, so much that I was rematching the show to quickly and needed to force myself to take a break. I started rematching Friday Night Lights to slow me down from finishing Gilmore Girls too quick. The funniest part about gushing over a college campus, is doing it with actual students of that college around. It was interesting when people would see us just sitting on a bench drinking our coffee (my friend's drink) and my chai. We got lots of interesting looks, most likely because we stuck out in the sea of Birkenstocks and hemp clothing. Reed College has always been known for being very granola campus, so I always know going there to not dress too "city like". The outfit I chose to wear was a very toned down fall little ensemble, but I didn't think that I stood out THAT much. Now you can all admire the pictures I took while there!

Pumpkin Spice Everything

As you could all tell, I have a slight obsession with pumpkin, as well as pumpkin spice. That makes fall one of my favorite seasons because that is one of the main events, is being able to indulge in them! In the past couple of days I have done a mini grocery haul, to find all things pumpkin spice, but that are also gluten free. This ended up not being as difficult as I thought it would be. I had assumed that I would not find hardly anything that was gluten free, but to my surprise, most everything was! The best place to find a fair amount of gluten free items, that isn't going to break the bank, would be Trader Joe's. Trader Joe's just happens to be one of my favorite places ever, it brings me much excitement to go shopping there. Some women are excited to go to the mall to shop for clothes, and then there is me, who gets excited to go shopping for food at Trader Joe's. I am definitely one of a kind. I will admit, I did a rare thing and stepped foot inside the mall a couple of days ago to go to Bath and Body Works, to stock up on a couple fall candles. Let's all take a wild guess at what scents I got. The first is one of my all time favorites, leaves, and the other was of course, sweet cinnamon pumpkin. As I write this post, I just happen to have the sweet cinnamon pumpkin candle burning, and let me tell you, it smells fantastic. But let's get back to the food. A couple of days ago I was hanging out with one of my good friends, and it was a torrential downpour outside, along with huge gusts of wind. It basically bordered looking like the apocalypse. That being said, we wanted to stay in an make lunch, that included something seasonal. What we decided to make was a pumpkin sauce with gluten free pasta. I will do another post about this one and give you all the recipe that we used. Back to today's shopping adventure. After work I rushed over to Trader Joe's (conveniently 5 minutes away from my work), to see what they had to offer for my pumpkin obsession. I follow the Trader Joe's Instagram account so I have been keeping tabs of everything they have been getting in, and making a list of what I wanted to for sure buy. First and foremost, was the pumpkin O's cereal, since I am a huge fan of the Joe's O's cereal. When I am having breakfast at home, I either want something simple and healthy when I work early, or something I can eat in the car. When you wake up at 5am or 6am for work, you don't have much energy to put into something to eat for breakfast. The cereal is something healthy and easy to have in the morning, along with my coconut almond milk in it. As if regular Joe's O's couldn't get better, they did it somehow! What I like is the cereal is not sugary, but you still get the taste of the pumpkin, which happens to be real pumpkin. That is rare now to find in anything at the grocery store, so I greatly appreciate it. Next on the list was the pumpkin soup crackers, which caught my eye right away. I was intrigued by the fact that they looked like a sweet cracker but were named to go with soup. What is even most incredible, is these little crackers are actually filled with soup. I know you are asking yourself how that could be. But what they did was infuse the crackers with pumpkin soup, giving it that wonderful pumpkin taste. You can be eating this cracker and tell people that you are having soup and crackers, but don't have the actual liquid soup. It is clear genius. Pumpkin spice caramel corn was the next thing to catch my eye. I don't know how someone could pass up caramel corn, let alone caramel corn that has pumpkin spice in the name. Basically the deal with this caramel corn is that it has pumpkin seeds in it, as well as the pumpkin spice. I mean what more do I need to say. With that first bite comes a burst of cinnamon and nutmeg, then you get the subtle bite of the pumpkin spice within the caramel mix. For anyone with a tooth that desires sweet and salty, this should be your go to snack. It comes with rave reviews, along with everything else. I wouldn't suggest anything ghastly to you guys. The last pumpkin themed item that I picked up at Trader Joe's they harvest blend herbal tea. I am a sucker for tea, I drink it every night. This tea is perfect for a chilly fall night, when it is pitch black at night and you want to wear a face mask, fuzzy socks, and watch a Rom Com. There is a nice aromatic eruption of cinnamon and ginger, but you can also definitely taste the apple in it. While it may not have pumpkin in it, it is a great fall drink to have. The last item I just had to get were these dahlias I had seen when I walked into the store. My favorite color since I was 4, has always been black. I know, it is very strange for that to be a child's favorite color, but it was and still is mine. These dahlias were the one of the only flowers I have ever seen that are as close to black as they can get. They are this gorgeous dark purple color that is just mesmerizing. So I had to leave with them in my bag.

I bought one other pumpkin item at Target since I knew for a fact that they would have it, pumpkin spice Hershey's Kisses. Little known fact, Kisses are actually all gluten free! We can all rejoice in that fact now because so much chocolate contains gluten! I have been snacking on these like crazy because they are honestly so addicting. So keep that in mind and it might encourage you to buy more than one bag of them. Now I can let you guys know, I have accepted the fact that I am obsessed with pumpkin spice and encourage you all to be as well!

Flourless Pumpkin Muffins

It is officially fall!! Yay!! As you all know I have been waiting for this to happen, and it is finally here! That being said, I stocked up on pumpkin puree, and put it to good use this morning by making flourless pumpkin muffins. You can definitely make these muffins with flour, but since I am gluten free, I did that version of the recipe. It is one of the easiest recipes since it is basically a dump of everything. There is no science to it or really strict instructions. Below I have the recipe link and pictures of the batter and the finished product!

First Farmers Market Finds

This last weekend I finally had a Saturday morning off, which meant I was able to head to the farmers market. Honestly, it is one of my favorite places to go for the simple fact that it is always such a great environment. Since my dad was off that day as well, I asked if he wanted to join in on the fun. Keep in mind, it was one of the first rainy days in Portland, which was much needed for us all. Once we got there, I did my typical route, I go around the market once to take a look at all of the stands, then go back around to buy the items that stood out to me. Having samples are always a must as well, because it gives you the chance to try the different vendors' items to see which ones you actually want to buy. The first stand that I bought from was of course my flowers, since my favorite thing is to have fresh flowers in my house. I asked the vendor if she could make me a custom bouquet, that included eucalyptus leaves, as well as the darkest flowers that they had. I am not really one for really bright flowers, and especially pink. Roses have also been a huge dislike for me, my entire life. The bouquet that they made could not have been better, it was filled with dark purple dahlias, which were perfect since they are in season. That is another great thing about the farmers market, you only get things that are in season. The next stop was to get artichokes, which are actually cooking in a pot right now. What's funny is I have never cooked artichokes before, until I went over to one of my really good friend's place where she and another friend, showed me how to make them. Since I now know how to make them and they were a really good price, I thought that I might as well get them! Last but definitely not least, was the distilleries there. It is easy to go to the market, try every sample there and definitely feel it afterwards. If you do decide to do that, definitely eat breakfast before or you will be grumpy and not feel good. Trust me, I have taken people there before who did not eat before, and I had to deal with the aftermath of that. There are so many different types and flavors of alcohol to try and see while there, but my favorite by far is Wild Roots. They have a tasting room downtown, which I need to still go to since I have a free tasting. But the next best thing is their stand at the farmers market. They have all different flavors of vodka, which is funny because I am more of a tequila girl myself. What's nice about their flavors are they are not too sweet (I cannot stand sweet drinks). and they taste more natural. They don't taste like the typical ones you buy at the store and taste like processed stuff. The flavor that caught my attention was the apple cinnamon infused vodka. I am not kidding when I say that this is one of the best drinks I have ever had. You know your re having a good alcohol, when you can mix it with something simple like club soda or ginger beer, and it still tastes excellent. That is exactly how this one is, I could sip on it with ease and enjoy every last drop of it. If you are able to get your hands on any Wild Roots vodka, I highly suggest you get it.

Of course the best picture I was able to take in the moment of getting these treasures, was on snapchat.

Put Forth The Effort

In the recent weeks, I have discovered that I have been putting my efforts in life, in the wrong places. People who I shouldn't give so much attention to, had been getting it, and I had not been putting myself first (shocker). That is something that I have always been known to do since I was little, is not put myself first and ALWAYS worry about other people way too much. There are a handful of things that have sparked me to realize that this change needed to be made, and I have tried lots of different things to figure out what works for me and what doesn't. First and foremost, do not put more effort into relationships, than the other person in the relationship. That goes for friendships as well, which is where I have realized I have been going all wrong. There are friendships that I put about 90% of the effort into keeping in touch and getting together, but the other person puts in about 10% of effort in. The problem with that, is friendships, along with relationships, are a two way street. It can't be one sided or else it will fall apart once the person taking on the entire relationships realizes it. How I have decided to change this in my life, is to distance myself from friendships where I realized I am putting in much more effort than I thought the other person was to keep in touch. It has definitely proven that I was putting in much more to keep in touch, because we either rarely talk, or it has forced the other person to get ahold of me. So I have kept in mind and know now, which friendships I should give me effort to. As for myself, I have recently started doing more things for myself, and have ironically found out more about myself. I know that is super cliche, especially for someone my age to say. Being 23 and finding yourself, is basically the title of that chapter in the book of life. But I am more than ok with it happening now because I am able to do it without being dependent on other people. I know plenty of people who have become completely dependent on other people, which is not what this time in our lives is about. This is the time where we can finally figure out who we are and what we like. Going through this journey, I have realized that I like being in bed by 10:30, waking up at 7:00 in the morning, and working out daily (it helps me decompress. Gardening and flowers are something that comfort me, which explains my newest addition, my little baby succulents now sitting in front of my window. I am more than content being on my own, in fact I enjoy it most of the time. This is finally the time in my life where I have realized that I am completely content with being single. Yes, I was always that girl who needed a guy in my life, and went through lots of different frogs over the years. So now, I am waiting for my Prince Charming, but not constantly searching for a guy who will semi fit the mold, instead of just being patient and coming across someone who completely fits the mold. This goes hand in hand with being independent and not having to rely on another person. I know people who definitely have a dependency on guys, and once one doesn't work out, they are moving right on to the next guy. Instead of realizing that even though they might want a guy, they do not need a guy. They will survive and be perfectly ok without a guy in their life. Some other things I have been focusing on more now, are my health since I have discovered health problems, and making sure I am the healthiest person I can be, physically and mentally. Here below, are my new babies!

Hello Gluten Free!

Recently my mom found out that she is gluten free, aka I am now gluten free. I have now not eaten gluten for so long, that when I do eat it, I feel sick. But good news for all of you gluten free people out there, all of my posts will now be gluten free! Wooooo! 

One of my best friends is in town, and is also gluten free, so I had to show her one of my favorite vegan places which also is mostly gluten free. Canteen is the best if you want something healthy and fresh. I get the same thing literally every time I go there. To eat is always a parfait, which has granola, fresh fruit and cashew cream. This will seriously fill you up on its own. My go to smoothie there is the apple ginger greens, which has exactly that in it. If I could drink it everyday I would. But I highly recommend anything and everything on the menu. 

After breakfast, I wanted to show her and our moms (they were with us) Portland nursery to get some succulents. I have been wanting to jump on the bandwagon and get succulents for a while now, so I got three. I will do another post to talk more about my new babies. 

Later in the day, my mom and I decided to go into Lake Oswego to go to Kyra's Bake Shop. This bakery only makes gluten free dessets and she won Cupcake Wars, so you know you have to try one cupcake. But I was a rebel and got three cupcakes which included, strawberry cream, citrus cloud, and a pumpkin spice latte cupcake. There was no way I could pass up the pumpkin spice cupcake, being that I am obsessed with pumpkins and pumpkin spice. This cupcake could not be made any better, it was fluffy and not dense, which tends to happen with gluten free dessets. I highly recommend a stop here even if you do eat gluten. 

Plus, it is finally going to start consistency feeling like fall here in Portland. So everything from here out will be fall!

Mind Your Own Biscuits

One of my best friends is finally visiting Portland, and I always take her out to somewhere new when she is in town. Since she has dietary restrictions, it can be a little more tricky to find a place we can go to. BUT I always find somewhere, and this time we ventured to Jam on Hawthorne. Ever since the first time I came across this glorious place, I look forward to each time I am able to go back. The funny thing is, I get the same thing every time, and that would be biscuits and gravy. Finding a place with good vegetarian biscuits and gravy is hard, but Jam on Hawthorne does a great job on theirs, and it doesn't leave me with a stomach ache afterwards. Another plus to it, is the leftovers still taste so great, and that is another rarity, is finding somewhere that has good food that makes good leftovers. My brother claimed it was too early to start having cocktails (it was 10am, but I really wanted a Bloody Mary) so I opted out on having one this time. Just a disclaimer, I am currently eating my leftovers from this morning. But here is a picture so you all can drool while I sit here and eat it.

Goodbye Summer Celebration

In Portland, it appears that summer is coming to an end, since the rain is back along with the grey skies. I can't say I am complaining about it since I am fully ready to embrace the fall season. As an end of summer celebration, my friends and I decided to do a little beach getaway, so we could all enjoy the last little bit of summer. Being Oregon, our beaches are different from the beaches you are probably imagining; ours are filled with grey skies, crisp ocean air, and the highest the temperature will ever get there is 65 degrees. Layers are your best friend at the Oregon Coast, since you can never be too sure about the weather. Back in May, I came up with the idea to have an end of the summer weekend getaway with my girlfriends in Lincoln City. I knew we would all need a little break before fall started, and this seemed like the perfect way to do so! My family has always rented houses for our little in state vacations, so I thought that would be a fun idea to do. We always go through to rent houses, so after looking through tons of houses for about two weeks, I finally found one that would accommodate everyone! After booking the house, it was then time to wait for the weekend to come. Since I knew none of us wanted to spend a ton of money on our getaway (we got a great deal on the house), I suggested that everyone pitch in money for food and drinks, then I would grocery shop the morning we planned to head down to the beach, and we could just cook our own meals! Breakfasts would be easy (they had muffins, while I had overnight oats), and lunch would be sandwiches or salads. Dinner would be the main event, and I definitely make a big deal out of it. The first night was Italian, which consisted of pasta, salad and one of the best baguettes I have ever had, rosemary and sea salt from New Seasons. That night after dinner, we just relaxed and played at lot of heads up (I highly recommend this app, especially with a cocktail in hand).

On our second day at the beach, we started our day with breakfast (stated above what we ate), and got ready for the day. On the agenda was going to the beach, and going to the outlet stores, since they are in Lincoln City. At the outlets, it is hard to keep a group of six people all together, so we split up into groups, which were determined by which stores we all wanted to go to. I did not end up buying anything because I am stocking up on fall items, and they were having end of summer sales. The beach on the other hand, was the same as usual, cloudy, cold, and there was tons of mist in the air. But it was exactly what we all needed, since back in Portland it was 90 degrees still. Of course, there were tons of pictures taken on the beach, because we are millennials and girls, so we have to document everything.

Our Saturday night dinner was of course, Mexican, because that is my favorite big meal to do and is the most fun themed meal in my opinion. I made the full spread; taco bar, rice, beans and margaritas. We all devoured that dinner, and rightfully so since we are a group of girls who love food. It was also entertaining having me cook the dinner since I don't eat meat, yet cooked ground turkey for the tacos. So I had to keep asking my best friend to taste it and let me know if I needed to add anything to it. Unfortunately we did not take any pictures of this spread, only a snapchat video. But just imagine Spanish rice, black beans, refried beans, ground turkey with taco seasoning, lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, avocado, tortillas, sour cream, chips and salsa! Aka there was a ton of food that night. The next morning, we just relaxed (I worked out that morning, since I can't miss a workout), and had a full breakfast. I cooked hash browns, eggs, sausages, and toast, for a classic American breakfast for us all. On the way back to Portland, we stopped at Mo's, since it is a cliche restaurant to go to when at the Oregon Coast. I was the boring one and ate a grilled cheese there since there was literally nothing else that was vegetarian on the menu, which was expected. All in all, it was a successful last weekend of summer for us all! While my mother still insists on rejecting the idea of fall being here, I am fully on board with it!

Unofficial Welcome to Fall

Over the past couple of days, the official fall weather has made its way to Portland. While I would usually be dreading this and wanting summer to come back, I have been anxiously awaiting fall and all that comes with it. The colder weather, fall outfits, and pumpkin spice recipes that I have acquired over the years are just a few of the things I have started to embrace. Since baking is one of my absolute favorite things to do, I of course had to start off the new season with baking something fall themed. What better way to welcome in the change, than with chocolate chip pumpkin bread! I have a complete obsession with anything pumpkin or pumpkin spice, it makes its way into so many different meals during this wonderful season. I know that having this obsession would make me a "basic bitch" but I will gladly take on that name and embrace that I am like so many other girls in that sense. Today, the recipe that I decided to make, and would set the mood for the rest of the season, is the chocolate chip pumpkin bread. Below is the link to the recipe I used, and a picture of how it turned out! I mean let's get real, food usually looks the best when its all finished, so I gave you guys the pretty version of this bread.

I just tried a piece of it, and there could not have been a better recipe to kick off fall with! Also a side note, I let my bread stay in the oven for an extra 10 minutes because it was not done when the timer went off at the time the recipe said. Just play it by ear after it has been in for an hour!

New Age Dating

I know I have taken another hiatus from blogging, but I promise that this time there will be a constant feed of my life events. This time I have decided to take a different approach to blogging, and have it be an entire lifestyle focus. That being said, I have dipped my foot in the dating pool, and it has been quite the experience. Let me set the scene for you first though, I am currently laying in bed, it finally feels like fall in Portland, and I am re-watching Gilmore Girls on Netflix. After being in a serious relationship, I was very wary of getting back into dating, because I honestly, just despise dating. I don't like the way dating has turned, because instead of being able to go out to a bar and having a guy approach you, we now have to get on these dating websites and apps, in order for a guy to talk to us. Even then, there are apps like Bumble, where the girl has to approach the guy first. I am traditional in the sense that I want a guy to approach me like a gentleman and ask me out. It is extra difficult at my age, to meet a guy who is ready to settle down, and not run around the town acting like a fool. Considering I am clearly not supposed to be my age, because on weekends I would rather go to dinner, maybe see a movie, and be in bed by 10:30. This past weekend, my best friends and I went to the beach for a little end of the summer girls getaway. While there, they pushed me to sign up for one of these dating apps. Can I just say that these apps take a lot of time to fill out a profile, yet I doubt most guys even look at a quarter of what you wrote about yourself. A picture is what I noticed usually does it for them. After being signed up for this app for no joke, an hour, I had hundreds of guys who apparently wanted to meet me, and around a hundred messages from different guys. I can completely understand the appeal of these apps and websites, because what girl does not feel immediately better after seeing that many guys are interested in her? But the catch is that you have to constantly be on the app, or the amount of people that collect themselves on your profile, becomes way too overwhelming. Needless to say, I did't give my number out to anyone, and deleted the app after around 24 hour of creating it. Instead, I have decided to try something completely different for dating, I have signed up to be on the next season of the Bachelor! Yes I said it, I am going to try being on a show to meet my future husband. I figure, that I might as well try it, especially since I have a huge crush on the guy who is the next Bachelor. That being said, I will be doing future posts on my road to getting ready for it and will let you all know if I indeed get on the show! I have to kick my butt into tip top shape, which I needed to do anyways, but this gives me a timeline to get it done and makes sure that I actually get it done and don't stray off of this new lifestyle. I can't wait to share this new journey with all of you!

Gluten Free Lemon Cake With Honey Lavender Whipped Cream

Lately I have realized that like many other people, I might have a problem with gluten. I know what most of you will think when I say that, "is everyone gluten intolerant?", but the answer is no, not everyone is gluten intolerant. The problem with gluten in present day is that it is filled with chemicals, therefore things we should not be putting in our bodies. Your body is only as good as the way you treat is, so everyone should treat it that way. With that being said, you don't need to deprive it of all of the delicious foods there are out there, because I know I am not about to deprive myself. While at New Seasons a couple of weeks ago at their wine night, there was a vendor their who caught my attention. The first part that I loved was that it was a charming little stand with a 1950's vibe. The second part that caught my attention and immediately helped me fall in love, was that their cake mixes are gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free, nut-free, soy-free and vegan! All in all, anyone can eat these, and once I tried the sample, I wanted to buy every kind that was available. The first kind of mix that I bought from Julie's Original was their white cake mix. Julie actually happened to be at the stand, so I decided to pick her brain about different recipes she had for this particular mix. She told me about how to transform it into a lemon cake, since that is what she had to sample that night. One element that is so great about her cakes are that all you have to add to the mix, is a non-dairy milk and oil. Below I will have directions how to make the cake, and how to make the whipped cream!

As you can see, the packaging for this cake mix is so delightful to look at and just makes me want to bake in a cute polka dot apron. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

To the mix, I added 1/3 cup of melted coconut oil and 1 1/2 cups of soy milk (we ran out of our usual coconut almond milk). I wanted to have this be a lemon cake so I added 1 teaspoon of lemon extract and the zest of one lemon. If you want it to be a basic white cake, add 1 teaspoon of vanilla instead of the lemon extract and zest. Once those are added to the mixing bowl with the cake mix, beat for 15 seconds or until all blended and smooth. I wanted to make this into a two layer cake, so I divided the batter two 8 inch circle pans, and did not grease them. My pans are non-stick, therefore they don't need to be greased.

Place in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until cooked all of the way through. Stick a toothpick in the middle to check if they are finished or not. Mine took about 32 minutes.

After the cakes are finished baking, let them rest and cool. While those are cooling, start making your honey lavender whipped cream. In a small sauce pan, add 1 cup of heavy cream and 1 tablespoon of dried lavender. Allow this to heat for about 30 minutes on medium-low heat.

Once this is done cooking, use a fine mesh sieve to strain the lavender out. Allow your lavender cream to cool. You will add 4 tablespoons of honey, zest of 1 lemon, and juice of 1 lemon to the lavender cream. Beat this all together with a electric hand mixer until light and fluffy.

Now you are ready to assemble the cake! For mine, I laid down one layer on my cake stand, then spread a layer of the whipped cream on top, making sure there was an even amount. Then, set your second layer of cake on top. Your extra whipped cream will be used as a substitute for frosting on the cake!

Enjoy everyone!