Weekend Getaway

This past weekend Jeremy and I packed up the jeep and headed for the North Shore to celebrate our fourth anniversary. We stayed in a one bedroom condo right on Lake Superior. It was just what we needed and we had such an amazing time. We spent a lot of time relaxing and just enjoyed the simple pleasures of life...it was divine!!!

 

Our condo

Taking in the scenery

View off our deck

Coffee with a view

The resorts mascot, Jackson

Where we spent at least an hour every morning.

Temperance River State Park

Temperance River Gorge

Temperance River State Park

Temperance River State Park

Devil's Kettle Waterfall at Judge Magney State Park

Outside our condo

Best dinner!!  Catch of the day...Herring. 

Lake Superior

Lake walk from resort restaurant to our condo

We made smores every night in our room with the smore kits they handed out...so fun!

 

We decided to make this place an annual trip!

Decorating

I LOVE fall, and I LOVE decorating for fall! I've been browsing pinterest on a daily basis it seems looking for new fall decor ideas...there are so many cute, crafty projects!! One of them I found seemed quite simple and not too involved and with being a bit short on time lately I decided to try it out!

All you do is pick out some fall colored scrapbook paper that you like and two different sizes of frames.  I got my frames from IKEA for really cheap.  Print each letter on the desired scrapbook paper and place it in the frame...easy right?!?!  AND, super cute!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful day!

Puget Sound Artichoke Salad

We have a huge abundance of kale in our garden and today I re-discovered a really yummy salad recipe with kale.  I had found this recipe last year, but forgot about it and when I remembered it the other day, I couldn't find the recipe anywhere.

Ingredients:

* 1 can non-marinated artichoke hearts
* 1/2 of a Green, Red and Yellow bell pepper
* 1/2 Red onion
* One bunch of Kale
* Kalamata olives (I usually get them in bulk and only buy 1/4 lb or less...they are really pricey)
* Feta cheese
* Safflower oil
* white wine vinegar
* Salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste

I really just guess when making this salad...I usually add enough kale til it looks about the right size of salad I want, then add everything else until the ingredients look equal.  When I add the safflower oil and white wine vinegar, I just drizzle enough to coat the salad, then season, taste and add where need be.

Enjoy!
  

One Step closer...

Last Wednesday, Jeremy took the CCA Exam (Comprehensive clinical assessment).  It's basically a hands on cumulative exam of everything they have learned in the past two years.  When sixth trimester rolls around, each student must take and pass this test.  Last trimester, out of the 55 that took the exam, only 10 passed!!!  Crazy right?!?!  Being that Jeremy is in his sixth trimester, it was his turn to take them...AND HE PASSED!!! 

One step closer, one more hurdle jumped!!!  Way to go Honey!!!

Door County

This past week, our family headed up to Door County, Wisconsin for our annual family vacation! We enjoyed the gorgeous weather, beautiful beaches and sunsets, indulged in nummy food, and just plain enjoyed each others company!!!

Kangaroo Lake, where our condo sits

Playing frisbee

Enjoying a nummy breakfast out...

We went to "The Farm" and had fun petting and feeding all kinds of animals



Multiple animals to choose from, but it's the broom that is most intriguing

Our cousin Nathan, his wife Aprille, and their sweet little girl Shylah stopped in for a visit!

Look at those blue eyes!!!



Waiting for the fish boil over

Boil over!!!

Sunset beach



A bit blurry...I really need a tri-pod

Wilson's...the BEST ice cream

Hanging out on our last night before bed

Can't wait for next year!!!

Banana Muffins

Jeremy and I have been trying to avoid wheat/gluten and sugar for the past couple weeks.  We found out a while back that both seem to affect me in a negative way and we both just feel much better if we avoid them completely.  We've been trying quite a few new recipes...some of which we really like and some of which we don't.  We found a muffin recipe that we really like and you'd never know there wasn't any wheat flour or sugar in them! 

Banana Muffins

3 Ripe Bananas (spotted like you'd use for banana bread)
1 1/2 Cups Roasted Unsalted Cashews (You can roast them yourself if you can't find them already roasted)
1 Cup Almond Flour (you can usually find this in any organic section at the grocery store)
2 Tbs Walnut Oil (I used 2-3 Tbs coconut oil, melted it, and added this instead of the walnut oil)
2 Eggs
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Vanilla
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Salt
Coconut Oil (to grease your muffin tins)
Chocolate chips and sliced almonds for the tops (Optional)


Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. Mash bananas and set aside
3. Grind cashews in a food processor until you get a fine cashew meal.
4. Add walnut oil (coconut oil) and blend until well combined (making cashew butter)
5. Next, add the bananas and blend until it forms a sticky paste.
6. In a medium bowl whisk eggs, then add cashew/banana mixture along with almond flour, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Mix until it forms a batter.
7. Pour batter into greased muffin tins and top with chocolate chips and sliced almonds
8. Bake for 12 minutes or until muffins are cooked through
9. Let muffins completely cool on a rack before storing.

A special visit...

Last week Mom, Mindy and sweet little Sam came for a visit.  We had so much fun and of course the time flew by way too fast.  For some reason, the only pictures I took were of Sam...not too surprising looking at how cute the subject was!!!

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Pretzel Bites

I found this recipe on pinterest and made it for a group of friends that were over last night.  A little bit of sweet AND salty.  They were really nummy and quite easy to make too.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons butter, softened
½ cup powdered sugar
¾ cup brown sugar
mini pretzels
2 cups milk chocolate chips
Course salt, for sprinkling (optional)

Directions:

Line a baking sheet with wax paper and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix the butter and peanut butter until combined. You could also use a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Scrape down the bowl, add sugars and beat until combined. You should be able to roll the mixture into balls without it sticking to your hands. Add more powdered sugar until you reach a consistency that is easy to roll.

Roll the mixture into small balls, about 1 teaspoon of mixture for each ball, and place on the lined baking sheet. Sandwich the balls between two pretzels and place in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or a bowl over a pan of lightly simmering water. Stir occasionally until smooth, and remove from heat. Dip each pretzel bite halfway into the melted chocolate and place on the prepared baking sheet.

Sprinkle lightly with the course salt before the chocolate hardens. Chill in refrigerator until chocolate is set. These melt quickly so store them in the refrigerator or freezer until you are ready to serve.

Source: adapted from Live, Love, Pasta