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My Secret to Gluten Free Baking

July 14, 2020

Hey, babes! Honest check-in: How are you doing?

I am… barely hanging on in a lot of ways. I had a breakdown this week. I cried in my bed for an hour and needed my husband to convince me to get out. JUST BEING HONEST. I am so uncomfortable, deeply disappointed I was having contractions for two weeks and still don’t have a baby *and now hardly having any since getting on an antibiotic*, and sad about how divided the world is. SO MANY EMOTIONS. But, all in all, we are good. In the words of Paul, he said, “Honestly, I am shocked you’re only just now crying.” HA! It’s been a stressful few weeks around here.

However, I know there is SO MUCH to be excited about, thankful for, and just generally aware of how lucky we are. To choose joy, I made cookies with Knox yesterday. He LOVES being in the kitchen, and it’s fun as he gets older to see the way he is able to actually help. I had him on mixing duty yesterday. And, aside from sneaking licks of the spatula every time I turned away, he did a really great job! I love including him in as much as possible to help him stay active AND find things he’s good at. I have shared TWO cookie recipes in my IG stories recently that were out of this world. I wanted to re-share here and also answer a few questions!

If you don’t know, I am gluten-free (not by choice). I found out about 5 years ago after years and years of seeing doctors who basically said nothing was wrong with me that I am allergic to yeast and gluten. Like a for real allergy… not just a sensitivity. And I had lived with it my entire life. I had white spots all over my body from yeast overgrowth and my brain was swollen! So many things in my life made sense all of a sudden, and all from a simple food allergy that had gone undiagnosed for over 20 years. Anyways, I love cooking and baking, but obviously things had to change drastically when I found out. It’s been a long journey of figuring out the best brands or how to bake for myself. But, I have a secret that’s been a game changer for all things baking…

Bob’s Red Mill 1-1 All Purpose Flour

Both times I have posted my cookies in the last couple of weeks I have received multiples messages about how the heck I got them thick AND gluten free. THIS IS THE ANSWER. For years, I have struggled to make cookies that are any good. They were either tasteless or crumbly… Plus, gluten free baking can be expensive when you’re trying to do all the fancy recipes with almond flour and potato starch and… all the things. This All Purpose GF flour just basically combines all that for you and you can replace it into any recipe you do/love to make it gluten free. And the best part is that NOBODY will know it’s gluten free. Bob’s Red Mill also has the baking powder and other various ingredients I need, but this flour is what changed my baking game forever. I have also been out of baking soda, so I have discovered you can replace it with baking powder in a 3-1 tsp. ratio. So for example, the Big Fat Cookie recipe below called for 1 tsp soda and 1 tsp powder. So I ended up doing 4 tsp baking powder and they were perfect. I did the same for the regular chocolate chip cookies!

SO, whether baking gluten free or gluten filled… Here are the cookie recipes you NEED TO TRY ASAP.

Big Fat Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies: With a name like that… how can you refuse? These are SO yummy. I did a batch a little doughy, right on the 13 minutes, and then a little crispy… and they ALL are so good. So no matter how you prefer your cookies, these hold up. I definitely lean toward doughy/just done enough.

Soft Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies: I am not a baker by any means. My sister… she’s a professional pastry chef. I didn’t get that gift hehe. BUT, these cookies sure did make me feel like one for a hot second. They taste just like my FAVORITE cookie from Sprinkles Cupcakes! NOT KIDDING. To make them large, I used our ice cream scoop and then flattened them before popping into the oven.

Enjoy baking, friends! If you try these out, let me know. I wanna see!

xoxo

IG Outfits & Nordstrom Anniversary Sale!

July 7, 2020

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, y’all! Like… for real. I have been thinking about the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale for weeks and it’s inching closer. This is the best sale of the year, and one of the only ones I truly cover and go “all-in” on, because it really is just that good. You get to shop the upcoming season’s best and newest releases for MAJOR discounts. We are talking fall’s best new items for 40% off or more. This is the time of year I shop for fall, purchase heftier ticket price items, and think through the colder months. It feels funny to shop for colder weather items when it’s 100 degrees outside… but I just like to set the mood with a fall candle and turn the AC way down with some Season 1 Gilmore Girls on. 😉 If you know… you know. That’s legit my happy place.

You can learn more about the sale here! Previews and early access BEGIN July 24th, but the whole sale goes public on August 19th.

Things to Note:

You get early shopping access with the Nordstrom Credit Card, which is really worth it if you can. But, it’s NOT ever necessary. If you know yourself and know a credit card isn’t wise, don’t do it. The benefit of one is that all the best stuff sells out in the first week with the early access shoppers. And although many items do get restocked for the public access on August 19th, there’s just never any guarantees.
You can create wish lists and looks with a Nordy Club Member account. This isn’t a credit card or anything like that. You can just earn perks and whatnot as you shop, and you can gain Nordstrom status with points (which means you could earn early access without a credit card!)

In other news… I am still pregnant. I have legitimately been in labor for days. But my contractions aren’t close enough to be admitted. Last night, we labored every 7-9 minutes until 3:30 AM. Honestly, I am exhausted at this point and the baby isn’t even here. But, I know we can make it through this and Baby R is worth the fight. I have included a quick round-up of most clicked items and my IG posts for you below just in case shopping with LiketoKnow.IT isn’t for you. You can also always shop without the LTK app through “Shop my Insta” on the main page of my website, here.

Get the Look:

Most Shopped Items:

Baby-Ready with HelloFresh

July 1, 2020

Well, we are truly counting down the hours, seconds, moments until Baby R. As we get closer to my due date (in the DEAD of Texas summer), getting out to the grocery store is an endeavor- especially with masks required/heat advisories/and being so pregnant I can barely walk… So with all these factors combined, having my family dinners delivered to my front door is just the best thing that could ever happen to me right now hehe.

I know I talk about HelloFresh a lot y’all, but I promise you it’s because I love them so much. I think it’s important to remind y’all we actually were HelloFresh customers FIRST before ever partnering with them as I have had the opportunity to do over the last year. Working with brands my family actually uses is a top priority to me as an influencer, and integrity is a core value to my family. We will never post certain types of photos for likes, work with brands we don’t trust, or talk about a product we don’t actually love and believe in just for a paycheck. That’s not my job. My job is to create marketing content for brands I love! I think it’s important to share that from time to time to help anybody new around here truly get to know why I do what I do. I love sharing things that I love or make my life easier for the sake of helping you out. Try this brand, not that one. Save some money and avoid testing out products – I did it for you! Buy this quality brand vs. that one – it’s worth the splurge. Or, buy this product instead of that over-priced one! … Whatever the scenario, I love being a resource for you to make educated purchases for your family.

With that said, I AM TEAM HelloFresh! It’s truly so convenient and helpful, and I love trying out recipes I would have never used otherwise. This month, you can click here to get $80 off your order on me (including free shipping on the first box!) from HelloFresh!

Some restrictions apply- purchase is required!

Summer Dresses (Great for Newborn Pics!)

June 29, 2020

Holy smokes, y’all. How am I still pregnant? Who the heck knows… hehe. I am technically 38 weeks now, however my body has been prepping for weeks. At 35 weeks I started having pre-labor signs *super painful evening practice contractions!* and now I am about 2 cm dilated and over 50% effaced… so I am just a walking ticking time bomb at this point. Currently having contractions… pray my water breaks lol.

To be honest, my anxiety has been pretty high the closer I get to delivery. I have had a couple breakdowns about how different this hospital experience will be from Knox’s birth. I will have to wear a mask at any point a doctor or nurse is present, which makes me really anxious to be honest. I have a really hard time with a mask on my face, which is why I have generally just chosen to stay home so much through the last couple of months. Second, I decided months ago that in order to hopefully have a successful VBAC, I will be getting an epidural to calm my body once I arrive at the hospital. I am incredibly anxious about this. I don’t do well with needles or hospital settings in general, so I am just really nervous. I will be laboring from home for as long as possible, though, as long as things progress well! If you weren’t around here for Knox’s birth, I had a birth plan for non-medicated birth in the hospital. I labored for 9 hours with almost no progress, so I was forced to get an epidural. I still ended up with an emergency c-section and we discovered Knox was cord wrapped THREE TIMES and would have never come vaginally. So, God was incredibly sweet and protected us all 29 hours of labor to bring that boy into the world. Lastly, I can’t have my mom present this time around and Knox can’t come meet Baby R. I have dreamed of that special moment my son walks into the hospital room with a gift to meet his brother. I know it’s small in the grand scheme of things- but it’s still a dream I have to let die. It’s just all really different and nerve-wracking, and I am having to let myself grieve it all. But, at the end of the day, however this boy decides to come and whenever… I just want a healthy baby in my arms when its all said and done. I have to keep reminding myself that.

Today, as I am prepping for labor (and praying it’s TIME) I am also thinking through all things post-labor, including newborn pics! I rounded up some favorite summer dresses currently available in my favorite shops that will photograph well AND be perfect for postpartum. ALL of these are non-maternity and great for everybody! I just made sure to pick ones that are friendly to that postpartum belly. 😉

The Dresses:

Baby R’s Nursery:

Creating a Master Bedroom You Love

June 18, 2020

I can’t believe we moved into this home three summers ago. It was a LONNGGGGG process figuring out how to get into a home, but also a total God story when we found this exact one. It had just hit the market and was ours in less than 24 hours! AND we bought it for way under asking price. It’s crazy how easy things are when God says “YES.”

Ever since I was a little girl, I dreamed of having a home of my own. Decorating it, styling it, and making a cozy space for the people I love. The last 3 years I have slowly filled this home with pieces I love to make it our own -seeing my dream come true-and replacing our newlywed hand me down furniture as we could.

Our master bedroom is my favorite spot to be. Ever since growing our family, it’s been priority to make our room a retreat. I wanted to create a neutral space that felt like an oasis without losing touches of my personality. Pops of pinks dispersed throughout our room on neutral tones with black & gold metal accents has created a chic and mature space that both Paul and I love. Our big cozy chair in the corner used to be in our living room, but we swapped it for two leather chairs (these!), making it the perfect fit for our nook that I wanted to create for us to do our quiet time in.

I am a huge believer in slowly creating rooms you love in your home with QUALITY pieces rather than spending a bunch of money at once on poor quality furniture that you’ll have to replace in just a couple of years. Because of this approach, we have filled each new space we’ve lived in slowly over the last 6 years of marriage with items I LOVE. Each new apartment/home required adding a bit as we gained more space, and it’s worked out really well for us. I linked every item *or similar ones* in our room for you to create your own oasis!