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!