Thrifting and Biffing

I've been long searching for some sort of seating for my family room because the only thing that currently resides there is a white futon, though adorable, barely ample for seating as it has zero comfort.
I went thrift store shopping with a budget of $20.  And after my long searching, I finally found two matching chairs with no wear n' tear that fit my style! I claimed them, paid for them and then I drove around back to pick them up. That's where the 'biffing' came into play...But now that I think about it, I really could have prevented such a tragedy.

Problem #1: I was wearing a pair of crocs, yes the rubbery formidable footwear. It was raining. My crocs were wet. The nice man that was going to load my chairs into my tiny compact car couldn't seem to find my recently purchased merchandise, and he asked if I would come show him which ones they were.

Problem #2: I agreed. As soon as I stepped into the back of the store with such nice dry glossed cement flooring, my crocs couldn't handle such polish and they wavered. And I biffed it. I biffed it super uncoordinatedly hard. It was all slow motion. My feet were slipping every direction. As soon as I would try and catch up with one foot the other would falter. And I continued like this for quite some time. 

Problem #3: I grabbed at anything that might be my salvation. I grabbed and grabbed and grabbed, but everything kept falling on or around me. Shelves were knocking over in a domino like fashion, I grabbed and pulled at a pulley cart that shot across the room and collided right into the nice man and another shelf. At some point I smashed my knee into the floor and then finally...FINALLY landed on my back. 

Though I was completely discombobulated and lying under everything, I still came out on top with two cute chairs for $10 each!

My husband thinks it's his homework chair...
(Don't you LOVE the suspended seating?)

But you won't hear me complain because... he's doing my dishes while I blog...

What we've learned today: Don't combine rubbery crocs and thrift shopping.

Love you all-
Linds


P.S. No one was seriously injured (including myself) in my unfortunate fall. My knee is a little black and blue, but bendable! 

Happy Snt Patty's

My kids were a LITTLE freaked out that a Leprechaun might give them a pinch if they didn't surround themselves with green. We had a 'sick' day from church today after spending a morning cleaning up puke and washing sheets. Thank you oldest son, (and thank you red strawberries) :P

 I saw this printout at Dating Diva's but I don't have color ink so I made my own. My husband is THEE best person I've ever known, and so instead of making a printout and giving it to him, I'm putting it up here for EVERYONE ELSE to see How LUCKY in love I am! 

I have a super-husband. He had a church meeting at 8 this morning & at 9 and another one at 10, then church from 11-2 and then rush home and off to work.
Thanks for being you, and I love you Josh.
Leap Year Movie night tonight and a foot rub for the Man of the Year!


P.S. Yes my husband looks like Elvis! He's a hip shaking hotty-pa-totty!

Vibrant Living Granola Recipe

It's to die for. You can eat it so many different ways. It's healthy, but no one would know it was sugar free. It makes your house smell like YUM on a stick and EVERYONE will compliment your house aroma and may even start licking the air. IT'S SO GOOD. SO SO GOOD.

It's amazingly versatile! 

You can have it as a sweet-tooth snack, you can add add-ins for a trail mix, it's a delicious cereal all on it's own, put it on top of ice cream, over a baked apple or baked pear (wholly yum), on top of muffins or bread in the oven, on hot oatmeal, on fruit crisps instead of flour/sugar/butter, and our all time FAVORITE way to eat it...

Some honey yogurt & some fruit.

Breakfast of champions.   Parfait of Deliciousness. 

Vibrant Living Granola

INGREDIENTS:

3 c. Old Fashioned Oats

1.5 c. Unsweetened Shredded Coconut

2 c. Mixed Seeds/Nuts (See below for what I prefer)

1 tsp. Cinnamon

1/4 c. Real Butter

1/8 c. Coconut Oil

1/2 c. Honey

1 tsp. Vanilla

1/4 c. Chia Seeds (optional)

1: In a large bowl, mix the Oats, Coconut, Seeds, and Cinnamon. 

2: In a medium sauce pan, warm the Butter, Oil, Honey, and Vanilla. When it's all melted, (don't bring it to a boil or anything) mix in the Chia Seeds.

3: Poor the wet into the dry ingredients and stir until well distributed. 

4: Spread granola onto cookie sheet and bake at 185 degrees for 3 hours and then turn off the oven and leave it in the oven over night. 

4a: If you have a large crock pot, you can put ALL the ingredients into it and cook it on low for about 6-8 hours or until golden crispy. Stir occasionally. It really turns out GREAT, but I enjoy the 'toast' of the oven a touch better. But crock pot is less cleaning up afterwords! 

{I double the recipe and place onto 2 cookie sheets and put them both in the oven and bake for 4 hours. We go through the granola quite quickly, so this allows me to freeze some and it keeps me from having to make it once every week}.

Seeds/nuts in a bowl:

I use raw pumpkin seeds, raw sunflower seeds and little bit of sliced almonds

 Coconut:

 Old Fashioned Oats:

 Cinnamon: 

 Warm and liquify the other ingredients:

 Read with son while it warms:

 Remove from heat and pour in Chia Seeds:

 Pour liquid over mixture in bowl:

 Bake!

Below are two big containers I put in the freezer and one I refill and keep in the cupboard for daily use.

You won't be able to get ENOUGH of this stuff!

Recipe Regulars-

Pinterest is a great go-to source for so many things. It's the new GOOGLE.  But my all time favorite is finding recipes that I wouldn't have found otherwise. I love that! I have definitely found some duds, that I wouldn't suggest to anyone. But then there's the list of recipes that have made our list of Recipe Regulars! I thought I'd share some of that list today! A list that I would give each a 4 or 5 star (out of 5). It includes dinners and snacks etc...

I should also mention that, tho we're not vegetarians, we're also not big meat eaters specifically just for our health. You could call us flexetarians. Maybe Vegeflexians? No...probably not. How about flexivegians? Ok. I'm done. Here's some recipe links:

1. Sweet Potato Veggie Burgers
2. Butternut Squash MacN' Cheese
3. Sweet Potato Quinoa Chili
4. Green Grilled Cheese Sandwich
5. Quinoa Black Bean Burrito Bowls
6. Chicken Nuggets
7. Roasted Garlic/Caramelized Veggie Tostada
8. Roasted Garlic Chicken Pesto Pizza
9. Chicken Fajitas
10. No Bake Energy Granola-Balls
11. Baked Pears
12. Gluten Free Pancakes
13. California Sandwich
14. Pesto
15. Vibrant Living Granola: {Recipe Coming tomorrow}

1. I add an egg and also mix in the bread crumbs instead of coat. Then I bake instead of fry

2. I use any stinky cheese I can find, I don't use fritata

3. I bake the sweet potatoes and add them at the end. 

4. Yum

5. I put it all on a tortilla and forget the bowl

6. I bake them instead of fry

7. YUM

8. I make my own crust and pesto, and add more toppings!

9. YUM

10. I add more add-ins like mini choc chips, craisins, and pistachios

11. YUM

12. YUM

13. I use Pesto for the sauce. It's a must and delicious.

14. We put this on EVERYTHING. We even put it in spaghetti sauces and soups. Seriously everything. We also add spinach with the basil. 

15. Can't wait to share this recipe!

Do you have MUST TRY 

RECIPE REGULARS?

Share in the comments below...

WARNING: I may add to this list anytime at random :)

-Linds