Go Greek (Yogurt)

Everything around my house is perpetually covered in yogurt. Toys. Shoes. Walls. Floors. TV stand.  Banister. ME.  I find yogurt EVERYHWERE (even my bra, people.)

My two-year-old is not an adventurous eater but he does eat yogurt without a complaint.  Because he is so finicky when it comes to food that isn't in cookie form, I do what I can to sneak in extra nutrients and protein into foods he will actually eat.  We go through a lot of greek yogurt in our house.

Here's the thing about greek yogurt: you can go BROKE on it in a hurry especially when you have a voracious pregnant woman and a wild child wolfing it down every day.

I stumbled on a DIY greek yogurt recipe during one of my ins-MOM-nia episodes last week.  Having forgone a trip to Mc D's for a medium Coke and small fry earlier that day (still craving, BTW) because I had just restocked the yogurt supply and was feeling B-R-O-K-E, I was like, "Yeah, girl.  We pinning this recipe for sure."

This past Saturday I set out on my greek yogurt experiment, fully expecting it to be total failure because who makes yogurt at home that doesn't suck anyway?!  To my shock and delight, my forray into the world of yogurt making yielded ONE GALLON of edible if not incredible greek yogurt.  It was ridiculous easy and it cost under $6.00 to make.

I want to pass on this good thing to my fellow yogurt enthusiasts! 

I still kinda can't believe it worked.  I waited 3 days to try it because I was legitimately scared. Realness.

Because why wouldn't you SnapChat making yogurt?

The recipe I used was featured on this lovely little blog.  Jillee posted a recipe for "Foolproof Crockpot Greek Yogurt."  I was drawn to the recipe because it was simple, easy to follow, and though the process was time consuming, it requires so little hands-on effort.  Plus, I typically have all of the 3 ingredients (yes, only 3) this recipe calls for in my home on a regular basis.  So convenient.

To make Jillee's Foolproof Crockpot Greek Yogurt you will need the following things:

• Large crockpot
• Thermometer (I used a meat thermometer)
• 1 gallon of milk (I used whole milk)
• 2-3 cups powdered milk (I used 2)
• 1/2 cup of plain, greek yogurt (I used Chobani; once you make your own yogurt, you can use 1/2 of that for your active culture going forward)
• Storage containers for the yogurt

I followed Jillee's instructions exactly.  It took probably around 5-6 hours in the crockpot for my milk to reach 180 degrees and then about another, oh, 3 hours for it to cool down to about 115 degrees.  The longer the yogurt is in my fridge, the creamier it seems to get.  The consistency is thick and creamy.  It does get a tad runnier when you start stirring it and adding mix-ins.   I'd say at worst, the consistency breaks down to "regular" yogurt but it's certainly still satisfying.

I experimented with the yogurt this week to see how it stacks up to store bought by using it a few different ways in the kitchen.  It's AWESOME as a replacement for sour cream.  It's DELICIOUS as a veggie dip. It also performed ADMIRABLY in baking.

At left: Banana Chocolate Chip Greek Muffins; At right: Greek Yogurt Veggie Dip

My personal recommendations:

• Though I find this yogurt to be thick enough to pass as a greek, next time I make this I will up my powdered milk to 3 cups to fortify it further and make it even thicker.
  
• The next time I make this, I will attempt a half-batch.  The shelf-life of Jillee's recipe is approximately 10 days in the refrigerator.  Since my toddler is refusing this yogurt (such a bummer) I don't know that I can handle a solo gallon+ of greek in a week. I think I'll need to make and freeze more muffins as to not waste this batch. I'll let you know how my small batch turns out when I attempt!
  
• If you choose to use Mason jars to store your yogurt (like I did,) I recommend wide-mouth jars.  I used small-mouth jars and regret it.  It's just difficult to get the greek out...and frustrating.

Let me know how your yogurt turns out and if you like it, love it, or even loathe it.  I'm also looking for recommendations on how you jazz up your plain greek yogurt.  Share the goods, people!  Maybe we can all move to a hippie farm together and exchange ideas?  :)

Mani Monday

Even though the official start of fall isn't until tomorrow, I've been celebrating the season for weeks.  I switched out my summer wax warmer scents to decidedly more autumnal scents.  I hauled out my fall stash of decorative owl friends (which are different than my year-round decorative owl friends.)  I baked apple crisp (with bourbon) and had a Maple Spice Latte from Copper Rock Coffee. 

By the way, I really love Copper Rock's fall creations and if you like maple and you like coffee and you like warming your body from the inside out with tasty, delicious autumn in a mug, I recommend checking out their seasonal brews while they are still here. I suppose, also, "if you live in the Fox Valley."

Full-on immersing myself in fall is a head to toe process which, of course, involves autumnal manis and pedis.  I typically don't limit myself seasonally to mani/pedi colors.  I generally just go with what feels "right" at the time.  Sometimes that means brown in May and sometimes that means pink in December.  I mean, who cares?  There are no rules, really.  I do find myself gravitating towards darker, more brooding hues once the chilly air moves in.  Maybe subconsciously I think darker polish will keep me warmer?  

I was gifted the 2014 Essie Fall Collection Cube by a very sweet, very thoughtful, very wanting to be anonymous family member a few weeks ago.  A package arrived for me and I was worried my son had accidentally bought a Rolex or something when he last was screwing around on my Kindle.

I was very relieved and very, very genuinely surprised and touched when I opened it to find this little beauty!  

Still swooning.

I've always shyed away from getting the seasonal cubes from my favorite brands.  I always think, "Well, they are mini-sized so that's good for like, what, two applications?  I should just buy the big size in my favorite new color." I've been wrong, friends.  I've been very, very wrong.  In fact, cubes are now my new favorite thing.  You get to try four shades for the cost of two and honestly when is the last time you used an ENTIRE bottle of nail polish in a season or even used up half of it? I think these mini bottles will probably even get me through a year of use if not more.  I'm sold on these. 

Many brand make cubes and cube variations including OPI, Butter, and even Sally Hansen. 

However, we already know I'm partial to Essie.  I'm working on branching out.  Promise.

I couldn't pick what color to try first so I tried two!
Essie, Take it Outside/accent nail also Essie in Partners in Crime

Take it Outside is a warm neutral.  It's a taupe/grey polish with almost a hint of pewter to it.  It's a gorgeous neutral.  Partners in Crime is a rich espresso.  It may sound silly but I felt like my little accent nail was a friendly coffee bean and it made me smile. A lot.

I had an unfortunate run-in during work last week when a scissors razored off my mani on two nails so over the weekend I did a quick mani to get over my OCD about having chipped nails.

Essie, Sable Collar
This color is from a winter collection.
I was also gifted this rich, velvety crimson/blackberry hue (which just a hint of iridescence)

It's the Christmas 2013 gift that keeps on giving!

What nail statements are you making this fall?  Any recommendations? 

Chic Thrill: $5 2-for1 Infinity Scarves

People, fall is right around the corner.

I'll be real with you: I legit had a four-paragraph post drafted for this blog entry about how I love fall and how the weather in fall is hormonal in Wisconsin and how I hate summer and more about how I (again) love fall.  But, honestly, I don't want you to waste time reading when you could be using that time to GET IN YOUR CAR IMMEDIATELY, SUCK UP YOUR PRIDE, AND HEAD TO WAL*MART.  Because, girlfriend, where else can you find transitional, lightweight, fun and chic infinity scarves for FIVE DOLLARS.  FOR TWO SCARVES. WHERE?!?!  Apparently, Wal*Mart.

Infinity scarves have blown up over the past 4 years so much so that they aren't hard to find. What is hard to find is an attractive infinity scarf that costs you under $15 bucks.

So I was SUPER STOKED to find that Wal*Mart is selling 2-pack (YES, 2 PACK) infinity scarves for $4.96.  UNDER 5 BUCKS FOR TWO SCARVES. SHUT UP.

My current scarf arsenal.  Obsessed.

I'm obsessed with them and have already been asked by strangers a few times where I got my "great scarf."  It would be wrong not to share this find with my cyberspace friends!

Scarves are located by the accessories department.  I bought three packs (six scarves for the average cost of one) for the season.  I am thrilled with the selection and wear of these scarves by NoBoundaries.

These are so lightweight and breathable that they remain comfortable even on warm, humid days.  Yet, they still are able to keep the neck and chest chill away when the cool, evening air sets in.

Let's be honest, they probably aren't built to last.  I'd say they are on the same page as Forever 21 garment construction.  But for under $2.50 per scarf, WHO CARES?!  Life's short.  Have fun with it.

Check these chic (and cheap) little thrills out for yourself.  A fun, printed scarf is paired with a neutral which I feel makes your purchase even more versatile and conservatively cool. Buy a pack.  Buy more.  Keep one in your car for a last minute outfit "upgrade."

Chilly Packer game with my man

Hot day with my men at the Shawano County Fair.

Cute, right?!

Happy shopping, babes!

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

Cauliflower pizza crust came into my life last summer.  I was fresh off reading the book, "Wheat Belly" by Dr. William Davis.  I committed to removing most wheat and grain from my diet in hopes I would have more energy, less tummy troubles, and maybe even a smaller booty.  Cutting out wheat and grain wasn't as painful as I expected (really, it wasn't.)  However, I was jarred out of my "no-carb" cockiness when I had an overwhelming craving for pizza.  Crap.

I frantically flipped to the recipe section of the book and found one for pizza crust made out of cauliflower. CAULIFLOWER.  I ran out immediately to gather ingredients.  I was so excited!  Everything looked promising in the oven but all I was left with was glorious, saucey, cheesy, meaty pizza toppings laying on a bed of cauliflower goo.  FAIL.  Been there?

I didn't give up on cauliflower crust as I continued to eat limited wheat and grains but also continued to love pizza.  A few months ago I was referred to Danielle Walker and her cookbook, "Against All Grain."  Danielle believes in nutritional healing and creates DELICIOUS recipes that are Paleo, Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, but never taste-free. Learn more about Danielle HERE

Danielle's cauliflower pizza crust is my favorite crust thus far.  It is like the Holy Grail of cauliflower pizza crusts because it does crisp!

Follow this link to Danielle's website for the full recipe: Danielle Walker's Cauliflower Pizza Crust

Having tried several recipes in the past, nearly all resulting in mush, I found a common denominator that doesn't exist in Danielle's recipe: mozzarella cheese (and sometimes cream cheese.)  I feel what really sets Walker's recipe apart and helps make it crispier than others is that she uses "hard" cheese in the crust instead of "ooey, gooey" cheese.  Using a grated cheese like parmesan helps to "dry out" the crust.  She also incorporates coconut flour which is gluten-free and won't add more moisture to the dough like a traditional wheat flour.

Here's how I go about my cauliflower crust-making business.  If you want to know my tips read on!

Alison's Steps for executing Danielle Walker's Cauliflower Pizza Crust:

1. Wash cauliflower.  Remove florets. 

2. I opt not to grate cauliflower as that sounds like a lot of Band-Aids to me. If you have a powerful blender or a food processor, I recommend throwing your cauliflower florets in one of those and pulse and pulverize until you are left with cauliflower that looks as though you have riced it.

3. Recipe calls to steam cauliflower over water.  I threw my processed cauliflower into a microwavable steamer (like this one from Pampered Chef) and popped that into the microwave for 3 minutes. No water required.  We are trying to eliminate moisture, not add to it.  Drain out excess water.  Works like a charm!

4. Line a baking sheet with paper towel.  Thinly spread steamed cauliflower on top of the paper towel. Let sit for as long as you can let it sit.  Getting the most moisture out of the cauliflower as possible while still retaining some moisture is key to getting your crust to crisp.  I typically let it rest on the paper towel in the kitchen for a minimum of 20 minutes, at most, an hour. 

5.  Transfer the strained and drained cauliflower into your mixing bowl and add the rest of your ingredients.  I mix with my hands.  Give that dough a hearty massage.  Treat it right.  It will still have a damp feel to it, kind of like fresh, homemade Play Dough before it cools. 

6.  I do not use parchment paper but that's just because I rarely have it in my house.  I do use an aerated pizza pan which helps crisp up the crust.  I lightly mist it with olive oil or cooking spray and then use my hands and a greased rolling pin to delicately roll out the crust.  I would say I roll it out to about a little less than a quarter of an inch.  The thinner, the crispier.  However, the thinner it is, the less stable it is.  It's a fine balance you just need to sort of play with.

My pizza pan of choice from Air Bake

7.  Brush top of crust with olive oil.  Bake the crust at 450 degrees for about 15 minutes.  WATCH THE CRUST!  Depending on how thin you rolled it, the edges may start to burn and if the edges start to blacken, get that baby out of the oven stat.  There is such a thing as drying out the crust too much and it won't be able to bear the load of your toppings without breaking in half.  

 I've found that even when this crust doesn't get crisp-crisp (nothing is perfect,) it still has a nice, al-dente texture that you can cut with a fork which, in my book, is much preferred to spooning a pile of pizza mush into my mouth.  Gag.

8.  Let the crust cool about 10-15 minutes before loading up your toppings and finishing the pizza off under the broiler for a few.  

This crust has such a rich, cheesy flavor that I find the best toppings are classic like meat, tomato sauce, cheese, veggies, etc. I made one last night with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, chicken, zucchini, kalamata olives, basil and feta and it was damn delicious.

I baked this batch in a traditional baking pan to see how that worked.  

The crust did not get as crisp but was more al-dente and akin to a flat bread.  Still not mushy!

Let me know if these tips end up helping make your cauliflower pizza successful! 

Happy S'morth of July!

It's the 4th of July tomorrow, 'Merica.  Do you have plans?  My family is going to my parents' house for an afternoon of BBQ and backyard games.  I'm bringing these s'mores bars to the party. TO DIE FOR.

 I found the recipe on Pinterest when I was pregnant and wanted s'mores ALL OF THE TIME.  You lose your center of gravity when hauling around a human child so it makes roasting mallows rather cumbersome and a little bit dangerous.

These bars are such a fun, sweet treat year-round! They are all the ooey, gooey goodness of traditional s'mores but a lot less messier and a lot more portable. Plus, you don't have to scramble for sticks in the dark or deal with stale graham crackers or hard mallows or even worry about forgetting your Hershey bars in your car trunk and then have to spend hours the next day cleaning it out of your upholstery (I've been there.)

 I've followed the recipe from Creations by Kara dozens of times and it has never let me or those I'm sharing the bars with down.  So, in case you're still scrambling for something to bring to your festivities this weekend, I advise you to exercise your freedom to indulge and make these bars!!!!

Bonus tip:

*The recipe makes enough graham mixture to save a little for the freezer. I like to leave lots of "cracks" for the marshmellow fluff to expand and toast through.  If you freeze about 1/4 cup, the frozen bites of graham dough are AWESOME in a homemade s'mores sundae.  Add a few frozen bits, some chocolate chips, and a drizzle of fudge. YUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.

Have a safe and happy Fourth of July, everyone!

Quickie: Mac hack!

I'm a mom of a toddler.  I perpetually have microwaveable mac & cheese in my house.  Microwaveable mac isn't an everyday food in our house (no judgement if it is in yours...I'm contemplating a Pop Tart with Nutella for breakfast right now.)

I like having it around for a couple of reasons:

• It's a quick meal in a bind and fool-proof to make (ie: it makes life easier for daddies and babysitters)
• My kid is guaranteed to eat it so on days when he refuses to eat, at least I can get some mac in him.

Here's the thing about microwaveable mac: it is molten-lava hot.  My kid gets so excited when he sees me making it and then there's about 7 minutes of tantrum-throwing because "NO YOU CAN'T EAT THE HOT MAC!"  It's cruel, really.

I usually sneak veggies in mac & cheese.  The veggies aren't fooling anyone.  In no way do they make the meal healthy.  BUT, I loves me an opportunity to get some extra veggies in my kid's diet by flying them in under the radar.

Here's a Mac Hack I thought of that will cut cooling time in half AND get some fiber all up in your kiddos:

Toss frozen veggies in the mac, straight out of the microwave and after you mixed in the cheese. That's it! 

The heat of the mac thaws out the veggies and at the same time the cold of the frozen veggies cool down the mac. Give the mac and veggies a few stirs and take a bite yourself so you can be sure it's safe for the little in your life.  And let's be real, you don't have to have kids to love microwaveable mac.  Try this hack yourself!  It's delicious and slightly more nutritious:)

This hack also works well using microwaveable oatmeal and frozen fruit, by the way!

Homemade, fresh ginger cooler

I'm obsessed with ginger root.  I love the peppery, floral taste.  I love the fresh, clean, energizing scent.  I also love that as an added bonus, ginger root has a long list of health bennys.

If you do a quick search on "Health Benefits of Ginger," you'll get a host of websites from different resources detailing the power of ginger.

 The common denominators of ginger benefits (I find) are as follows:

• Promotes good digestive health (ie: helps induce appetite, reduces intestinal gas, alleviates nausea, rids body of bloat)
• Serves as an anti-inflammatory agent
• Aids in clearing sinuses
• Helps the body absorb nutrients

I can vouch for all the above.  I have IBS and fibromyalgia.  Since incorporating ginger into my diet, I have seen marked improvements in the severity and frequency of both my IBS and fibromyalgia flare ups.  When I have tummy troubles (especially when I was pregnant with my son) chewing fresh ginger totally helps reduce the intensity of those nasty, symptoms.

I brew a lot of tea-like drinks at home in an effort to thwart cravings for sodas (I miss you, Diet Coke!)  One day I decided to try and make a ginger drink with some of the extra root I had on hand in my freezer. The experiment was successful by my standards and now I regularly make this ginger cooler and personally find it to be incredibly refreshing and dare I say, spa-worthy.

Try it for yourself!  It's stupid-easy to make.

What you need:

• 7.5 - 8 cups of water
• Pot to boil water in
• Fresh ginger root, peeled and sliced*
• Honey, Stevia, Truvia, or Sugar in the Raw (or regular sugar, if you like) I use about 1.5 tablespoons of honey in my cooler for a very mild sweetness.  Play around with amounts of sweetener to please your pallet.  

*Use as much or as little as you'd like depending on how strong you want the ginger taste to be in your cooler.  I generally use a root as big as my hand and about as wide as but my thumbs pressed together.  That translates into about 1.5 cups sliced. The thinner you slice the ginger, the stronger the flavor will be as well. I generally slice mine about .25-.50 inches thick

How you make it:

Put ginger and water in a pot.  Bring to a boil.  Boil for about 5 minutes, full roar.  Turn down the heat and let simmer anywhere from 10-15 minutes.  Add your desired sweetener and mix with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat.  Allow ginger to steep in the mixture as it cools.  The longer you simmer, the longer you steep, the stronger the ginger flavor will be.  

Hello, gorgeous.

Remove ginger from pot with a slotted spoon before allowing mixture to cool if you want a more subtle flavor.  I, personally, let the ginger slices steep upwards of 45 minutes sometimes as it cools.  Do remember, though, I'm a ginger freak.  The spicier the better!  

Once cool, transfer to a container that is easy to refrigerate.  I'm partial to large, Ball canning jars with their plastic, reusable caps.  Should yield about 5.5-6 cups of ginger cooler (depending on how long you boil.)

I mean, everyone will wonder what the big jar of
urine in your fridge is all about but that means
more ginger cooler for you, right?

One batch keeps about 2-5 days in the refrigerator.  Serve over ice.  Throw in some fresh-squeezed lemon or lime juice and a few wedges of your desired citrus for an extra element of refreshment.

Cheers to good health and sunny, summer days!

Chic Trick:No-sew Sundress

Raid your mom's, grandma's, great-grandma's closets immediately.  I'm going to show you how to turn a long, "Old Lady" shirt into a sassy little no-sew sundress!

You need two things and about 30 seconds to create something fresh out of something frumpy:

1. "Old Lady" skirt

2. Belt

Let's chat about what an "Old Lady" skirt means to me.  I define Old Lady skirts as follows: long, sometimes with buttons, sometimes with pockets.  Emphasis on long.  Unflattering in its natural state.

I love thrift shopping. It's an adventurous, economical way to keep your wardrobe interesting especially if you have an open mind and an outgoing attitude.

About 3 years ago, I was struggling to find something 80's in my closet for my cousin's bridal shower.  I pulled out an Old Lady skirt I thrifted (for the attached blouse) about a month prior.  The skirt's waist was a little too big on me but I wasn't going to wear it anyway at the length that it was (long and gross.)  I decided to just hitch the skirt up over my boobs and belt it to see how that worked.

STYLE REVOLUTION!

At left: me and my "dress;" at right: my adorable sister

Since that divine moment of fashion intervention, I never leave a thrift shop without scouring for Old Lady skirts as they make sassy little sundresses.  So cute!  So cheap!  So chic!

Dress: Sag Harbor, thrifted at Goodwill Outlet/ Belt: Gap

Tips:

*Skirts with a partial elastic waist fit more comfortably and stay up more easily
*Look for skirts without pockets
*Extra adorable points for buttons and prints
*Wear over a tank top or t-shirt to switch up the look of the dress

BONUS: Depending on how well-endowed you are, your no-sew sundress might even surprise you with a trendy, high-low hemline.  You can play with how low you wear the back to get the high-low effect as well.

I mean, so adorable!

You can easily dress up or down your no-sew sundress by changing up belts, adding jewelry (or taking jewelry away,) mixing it up with jackets and cardigans, and playing with different shoe choices.

Here's me wearing the prescribed outfit in real life.  

I wore it to our friends' daughter's birthday party Memorial Day weekend.

This is an example of "dressing down" the no-sew sundress.  I wore my trusty Chaco flip flops that day because we were doing a lot of walking that day.  When I have less miles to put on during a summer outing, my sassy shoe of choice is a wedge.

I accessorized with little bluebird polymer clay earrings to bring out the blue in the dress and, I suppose a Hugh Bob & The Hustle beer coozie.  You don't want to upstage a birthday girl on her big day!

Do share if you try this Chic Trick out yourself! I'd love to see your look!

Now, get to hunting and hiking
(as in hunt for Old Lady skirts and start hiking them up over your lady lumps!)

Mani Monday!

I do not excel at DIY projects often.  I get so excited at the prospect of making or doing something awesome all by myself and 90% of the time, I run out of enthusiasm about 5 minutes into the project.  After years and years of trials and errors, I'm confident that I know what my niches are.  I don't feel guilty about leaving my technical shortfalls to the professionals out there.

There are a few DIY things that historically I'm not so craptastic at.  For instance, I made a baby one time and he turned out to be pretty awesome. I'm clutch at making dinner out of a nearly-empty pantry.  My husband thinks I have a real talent for SnapChatting.  So, though I don't claim to be at the top of my field in any of those aforementioned arenas (certainly there is always room for improvement, ) I mean, give credit where credit is due.

If there is one DIY activity that I kill  it's manis. I've been doing my own nails since I turned 11. In my 19 years of at-home manicuring, I've only gotten better through trial and error.  My aresenal has grown stronger.  My obsession with everything mani accelerates with every debuted "new color collection" each season. It's my thing.

Current mani featuring Eye Popping Poppy by Ulta. 

My attitude towards my nails is much like my husband's attitude towards food: purist.  My husband likes his cheesecake plain, his pizza with meat and cheese (NO BBQ! NO WEIRD STUFF!.) I like my nails candy-coated with lacquer.  24/7. The world of at-home manis is expanding.  I know a lot of people who last year were really into gel manicures.  This year, Jamberry is blowing up.  And, without trying either of them, I can say confidently that neither one of them is for me.  "But how can you rule out something you never tried!?!?" I'll tell you how I can rule it out. I can rule it out the same way I've ruled out doing other things in life without trying them: I've educated myself enough on the options to know that they just aren't for me. I mean, I've never tried lighting my hair on fire but I feel confident that it's not on my Bucket List. But I guess never say never, right?

More to the point, I like having a flirty relationship with my nail color.  I'm not looking for anything long-term. Nail color commitment scares me. I'm in it for fun, little flings.  I'm married.  I have enough monogamy in my life.

I 100% enjoy my little nail ritual.  I enjoy it so much that even though I can get my at-home manis to last a solid seven days+ (no, really, I can) I switch up my color at least twice a week.  My mani routine, from start to finish, takes about 30 minutes (including dry time.)  I usually do a mani right before bed or right before a run (but after putting on my sports bra...trust me on that one.)

One of the best little finds in recent years came through a referral by my friend Alissa.  Alissa and I worked together for a few years and bonded instantly over our love of nails.  She has the same attention span towards and lust for lacquer as I do. She told me to check out Essie 3-Way Glaze, an all-in-one nail primer, basecoat, and topcoat.  It has proved to be the most valuable weapon in my mani arsenal since 100% acetone industrial nail polish remover.

I apply 3-way to clean nails after I've done the prep work (ie: remove prior polish, file, smooth, buff, shine, remove cuticles, wash hands.)  Once dry, I apply 1-2 coats of lacquer.  Once that coat dries, throw on a quick topcoat of 3-way, give it a quick spray with a drying agent, and baby, you have some gorgeous nails going on.  What I super like about 3-way is that it primes nails in a way that even lower-end polishes like Wet 'n Wild, and NYC cover better and last longer. Who says cheap can't be chic?  I love mixing high/low beauty products!

Here's a peak of my basic mani kit.  I rarely cut my nails with a trimmer, mostly just filing since I do my nails so often.  There's some good stuff in there, ladies.  Check it out!  Have a fabulous Mani-Monday!

Basic Mani Kit by amateur-life-and-style featuring sally hansen nail care

Essie nail care
nordstrom.com

Sephora Collection manicure tool
sephora.com

Nail polish
target.com

Sally hansen nail treatment
target.com

Manicure tool
ulta.com

Sally hansen nail care
target.com

Nail care
walmart.com

Salon Formula Nail Lacquer
ulta.com

pancakes with a punch

These pancakes.

I've made these pancakes for about 8 years now.  I got the recipe from a personal trainer friend of the family and over the years I've streamlined it and put my own little spin on it.  I have since learned that Jillian Michaels has a similar recipe in The Biggest Loser cookbook.

  

These pancakes are full of energizing and satisfying protein (5.1 grams of protein per pancake) and they are low on fat and carbs (if you're watching that kind of thing.)  They also are gluten-free if you use certified gluten-free old fashioned oats.  Furthermore, they are delicious.

I won't tell you they taste like regular pancakes because they totally don't.  They are not fluffy but they are moist.  My son loves them which is awesome.  It's hard for me to get my 19 month old to eat protein so I like to sneak it in his diet as often as I can.

Protein Pancakes Recipe 
yeilds 16-18 small pancakes
-1 cup Cottage Cheese (4%, 2%, low-fat--doesn't matter.  I use 4% but have had just as much success with other varieties)

-1 cup Old Fashioned Oats
-1 cup liquid egg whites (or 6 egg whites)

-1 scoop Vanilla Whey Protein (I had Body Fortress Super Advanced in the house for this batch)
-1.5 tsps cinnamon (omit if you don't like cinnamon)
-1 tsp Truvia

Prior to being gifted a Ninja Blender for my baby shower, I made small batches of these pancakes in my other favorite kitchen helper the Magic Bullet.  Now, I make a large batch in my Ninja...in seconds.  The ingredients are easy to blend so I'm sure any blender you have lying around will work for this recipe.

Throw all ingredients in blender and blend until batter reaches a pancake consistency

Heat electric griddle to 300 degrees.
Grease with non-stick spray, coconut oil, butter, whatever your fave is.
Make about 6-8 pancakes on griddle at a time.
Flip when tops are bubbling (per standard pancake rules)

Here's how I enjoyed mine this morning

These are so versatile.  You can top with fruit, jam, syrup, granola, whatever you love!

I even have one with peanut butter for a post-workout snack on occasion.

These keep well in the refrigerator about a week, longer in the freezer.  Honestly, I've never had any of these pancakes leftover for more than a week so if you have them lying around longer, let me know how they fare.  I really don't think you'll have a chance to test their longevity because these pancakes are great!

Good stuff. Enjoy!

referral culture & a fantastic greek salad

I used to work in corporate recruiting for a national insurance company.  I really enjoyed recruiting.  I mean, despite the fact that it is a soul-sucking, incredibly demanding, pull-your-hair out career, man, you can really have a lot of fun doing it.  No other career I've had so far aside from being a parent has ever challenged me or been as rewarding as my time spent as a recruiter.  But it is easy to look back on it and have the warm and fuzzies when I'm not in a cubicle, banging my head against the wall because I have to recruit 36 students by September (AND WHY ARE YOU PEOPLE WEARING AFFLICTION SHIRTS TO INTERVIEWS?!) I digress.

One of the more influential things I learned from recruiting was the importance of cultivating a referral culture.  The basic virtue of a referral culture is that some of the best ideas and moreover the best candidates from people a person networks with, people a person trusts and respects.  I would trade five solid referrals from one of my top interns for a hundred cold-sourced resumes mined from campus databases.

This blog has a referral culture, kids.  If you've never interacted with me before (or even if you have,) I don't expect that you have established a trust or healthy respect for me or what I do.  It's cool if we're not there yet.  By reading this, you're at least giving me an opportunity to prove myself and for that I am grateful.

Moving along, I spend time on Pinterest every day.  Pinterest has a referral culture.  You follow the people you have interest in, persons that probably have similar likes and interests and from time to time, you re-pin stuff those pinners pin because you think, "Hey, if so and so is giving it a shot, I'll probably be into it!" Three-fourths of the time I'm spending it just stalking on the pins from users I follow.  Now, I do realize that not every pin from every user is tested, approved, and "thumbs-upped" just because they are pinned.  I mean, come on.  How many pins do you have collecting dust?  Probs a ton.  I do. But, hey, if my sister is willing and able to tackle a recipe or craft, I probably should look into it because there's a high likelihood I'm going to be at least moderately into it.

So a lot on my blog will be referrals to good stuff out there.  I hate writing "how-to's."  I don't have a fancy camera to pepper my posts with tons of cool pictures (so sorry/not sorry  if I post a picture of cookies without a thousand preceding pictures of the eggs in a bowl, etc.)  I do enjoy it when other people go through the trouble let's be real, I'm not going to follow through on it.  Plus, other bloggers do an awesome job with photographing their recipes so why let their hard work become redundant and cheap?

Here's to a healthy referral culture!  MAKE THIS GREEK SALAD RIGHT NOW!

This recipe was featured on http://www.thegardengrazer.com/ on April 14, 2014.
Link to full recipe is here: Ultimate Greek Chopped Salad

I jazzed it up a little bit by adding the following:

• 1.5 cups of cooked (and cooled) quinoa
• 1/3 cup of feta cheese
• Roughly 10 Kalamata olives, chopped
• 1-2 tsp. of balsamic vinegar

Notice I also threw an avocado on there but that's just because I had a delicious avocado on hand.  This is a great summer salad that has Italian flare and loads of health benefits.  I served this baby at a pizza party last week and loved it so much I made a second batch yesterday.  It's great in a bowl on its own but I like throwing a cup or so worth of the salad on top of a bed of spinach.

I recommend serving with a slotted spoon.  As the salad rests, the veggies start to juice and you get that little puddle of dressing and veggie "stuff" at the bottom of the bowl.  Chow down, friends!

first.

Hey!

Welcome to the launch of Amateur Life & Style.  In my 29 years of living I'm learning more and more that though I am fairly decent at a number of things, I am novice at the majority and professional at very, very little. I don't have all the answers.  I don't have lots of ideas, but I do have some.

I am a big supporter of sharing information and thus that is wholly the purpose of this blog: sharing information. Information is good stuff, people.  I want to make this a chill, authentic place in cyberspace full of "good stuff."  House stuff.  Food stuff. Fitness stuff.  Mom stuff.  Girlie stuff.  Music stuff. Adventure stuff.  Stuff that I've actually tried in real life.  Things I love and things I loathe (like the first post in a new blog.)  My goal again is to share the good stuff with hopes that maybe you'll check in from time to time and find information of value to you.

 This isn't my first blog but I'm far from professional. I don't get paid for maintaining this baby.  I am an amateur, after all.

I welcome you to stop by anytime.  I'd love to see you around this joint!

Alison