4/29/18

Acai Bowls Recipe

I've been sitting at my laptop for ten minutes trying to type something that adequately articulates my family's obsession with açaí bowls. And more specifically, açaí bowls from the tiny California chain Banzai Bowls. They are PHENOMENAL. Ohhhh the things my sisters and I have done for these açaí bowls. When we're at my parent's house in Laguna, we visit Banzai Bowls at least daily. Sometimes twice. In high school and college when we road tripped over monthly from AZ it was literally the first place we stopped. Every time. No point in getting to the house when we could be eating Banzai first? We researched their ingredients and drove to multiple grocery stores to find the exact açaí packets and granola they use. And just this last summer my younger sister even worked there! So this long explanation is to show that we know a good açaí bowl when we see one, and today I'm sharing our copy cat recipe! 




A few things: 

You really need to use a good blender in order to get the right consistency. The key is minimal liquid, which heavy duty Vitamixes and Blendtecs can handle.

On a similar note, you do have to blend these just one at a time or else your blender will be too full and not work great. So these are individually made with love!

Also if we had to guess *wink wink* we'd say that Banzai uses THESE Sambazon açaí packets from Sprouts or other specialty food stores. But I always use Trader Joe's açaí packets because they're cheap and similar!



Classic Açaí Bowl
(Makes one large bowl)

Ingredients:
- 1 packet açaí (Trader Joe's or other)
- 1/2 cup frozen strawberries 
- 1/2 cup frozen mango or pineapple 
- 2/3 frozen banana
- 4 oz apple juice (or hemp milk for less sweetness)

BLEND!!
Pour into a large bowl (or large empty yogurt container) and add toppings.

Toppings:
- hemp granola (HERE, found at Walmart)
- shredded sweetened coconut
- banana slices 
- strawberry slices 
- blueberries 
- kiwi slices 
- honey 

Enjoy!



4/24/18

That Time I Wanted to Punch All the Moms at the Zoo

Last week we were having one of those days, you know the type. Kids seemed instantly tired from the second they woke up, I made four different breakfasts for Lydia, I was pulled out of my gym class because Cannon wouldn't stop crying at daycare - just one of those. So we met up with friends at the zoo thinking the kids could burn off some steam. OUR BAD. They were terrible. Cannon screamed unless he was eating and Lydia sprinted away from us any chance she got. At the zoo's park Lydia kicked and yelled and refused to keep her shoes on, and suddenly I realized we'd created a nice little audience! No less than ten moms and dads were sitting silently on the benches staring at our circus. So the kids decided to carpe the freakin diem and put on a whole fancy show. YAY! Cannon was screeching and twisting and resisting anything I gave him. Lydia was shouting, "NOOO! NOOO MOM!!" and throwing in more of those lovely kicks as I tried to reason with her. All ten super parents were amused and beaming that it wasn't their kids. So then I felt silently pressured into following through with my stern time out threats and now they got an even better show as I tried to force Lydia to sit in a corner. At the zoo. HAHAHA. Meanwhile all twenty eyes saw Cannon pour the entire ziplock of goldfish onto the ground and then all twenty eyes immediately darted to me to see if I was going to pick them up. (I did not. Oops.) I was so bugged by everyone just watching smugly, I was this close to saying, "It will be yours tomorrow so stop staring!" Buuuuut instead we just hightailed it out of there as fast as possible, screaming kids flailing in the stroller and goldfish crumbs flying behind us. HA. Oh guys, we are one HECK of a class act these days ;).


TOP (similar) //  JACKET (similar) //  DENIM // Shoes  HERE or  HERE

4/23/18

10-ish Graphic Tees I'm Loving



I can't resist a good graphic tee. I love the versatility and effortless vibe (since I typically err on the side of trying way too hard, ha). But it's surprisingly hard to find ones that A) don't say something embarrassing and B) aren't completely sheer. I've rounded up a few of my current faves that work for moms and kids alike! (My fashionista college sis approved of all these. ;) )

1. The PLAYFUL RAINBOW TEE I'm wearing here is currently less than $5! Run!

2. Always a fan of foreign phrases like SALUT because I don't have to worry about their meaning, ha.

3. I'd take this casual cotton NEWPORT TEE or the THERMAL version.

4. My mom and I used to blast '8 Days a Week' while driving her old convertible, this BAND TEE brings back all the memories.

5. It doesn't get more ICONIC than Levi's, also in REPEAT style.

6. I have this FRENCH SLOGAN tee and wear it weekly.

7. Also a fan of THIS and THIS for some French (I'm pretty sure?).

8. Can't tell if this BRIGHT SIDE tee is depressing or inspiring but I like it.

9. Really loving this sweet and simple HONEY tee.

10. And finally, FRIDAY can never come soon enough. (Just kidding it's all the same in medical school. ;) )


TEE // PANTS // BASEBALL HAT (similar) // VANS // BAG

4/21/18

Spring Stripes & Summer Schedules

This week was chock-full of one of my favorite activities - scheduling! I love anything involving intense planning (events, traveling, etc) and always joke to Michael that I would make a KILLER personal assistant. Few things in life bring me as much joy as writing on our giant wall calendar. Even scheduling out my gym classes for the week makes me SO HAPPY! Haha. I think I like the possibilities. I could do Monday body pump and Tuesday spin? Ooh or I could do Wednesday spin and Tuesday barre? It's about as mathematical as I get these days, trying to plug in everything ;).

So we're heading into Michael's final year of medical school (already?! finally?! mixed feelings here...) and we've been spending lots of super romantic late nights standing around the wall calendar, trying to coordinate board exams, family trips, multiple away rotations, babysitters, birthdays, preschool breaks and so on. And GUESS WHAT I LOVE IT. Give me alllllll the blue pens and let's make some plans baby! (Not to be confused with baby plans. None of those quite yet.)

And as you can tell by my white legs we are DESPERATELY ready for dress weather!! Bring it on, Spring!





4/20/18

Where I Shop for Kids Clothes

Pretty sure it's science that anything shrunken down is 10x cuter. Baby leg rolls? ADORABLE. Mine? Questionable. Same goes for skinny jeans, tiny pretend Birkenstocks and miniature puffer jackets. I love dressing toddlers! Today I'm sharing exactly where I buy Lydia and Cannon's clothes, when I buy them, how the sizing differs for each brand, etc.

Also I'm trying to be better at kid capsule wardrobes! So now I only buy them each 6-8 outfits that I LOVE and they just repeat them every single week instead of having drawers stuffed with clothes.

Here's the breakdown:

TODDLER GIRLS

Tops - Zara for tees/blouses/sweatshirts. I always buy Zara during end-of-season sales and stock up for the next year! You have to guess a bit on sizing but it saves a TON of money. Generally I've found Zara girl TOPS run shorter so size up.

Leggings - Cat & Jack LEGGINGS from Target. So many colors, cheap, durable. True to size.

Jeans - The only DENIM I've found that fits Lydia's thin legs are H&M. Makes sense since their women's clothes are sized for barbies.

Dresses/Rompers - For church dresses Target and then once a year I splurge on a fancy ($20-30) dress from Zara. PLAY DRESSES are really cheap at H&M or Old Navy. At Old Navy always buy up a size (or two!).

Jackets - H&M and Old Navy for PARKAS, Gap or Zara for warm puffer jackets.

Shoes - Old Navy! Cutest STYLES at the best prices. And if they get hammered at the park I won't cry.

Underwear - If you need tiny sizes, H&M panties start at 1.5-years-old. Old Navy's are the thickest, Carter's UNDIES are the all around best quality. Target undies don't start till size 4. (Can you tell we've had way too many poop accidents.)

Pajamas - Walmart for $4! Because who cares what they sleep in and I actually think some of their sets are pretty cute?! And BONUS Cannon fits in a 2T and Lydia's in 4T so I make them match. :)

TODDLER BOYS

Tops - Zara's boy tees are DARLING. Buy during sales. These run more true to size than the girls but when in doubt buy up. Target for BASICS.

Leggings/Shorts - Old Navy! Cheap and BASIC.

Jeans - The only JEANS that are truly skinny on Cannon are from Zara (where else, haha). BEWARE their sizing is way off. Cannon is 13 months, average sized and currently wearing both their 6-9 month and 9-12 month jeans. Weird.

Church Clothes - Pants from H&M, DRESS SHIRTS from Gap or H&M.

Jackets - I got Cannon his bright yellow amazing PUFFER jacket on sale from Zara for $17 with free shipping! Literally he wore it every. single. day. this entire winter. Best purchase ever. True to size.

Shoes - Again, Old Navy is the BEST.

Underwear - HA just kidding we're not potty training him till he's 12.

Basically this whole post was an ode to Zara and Old Navy but for me it's helpful to break it down by item! Kids clothes add up FAST since they outgrow them every 6 months but I try and stick to a few quality pieces that I won't get sick of, only buy on sale, and then wear the heck out of them!






Lydia's Outfit - TOP (similar) // LEGGINGS // SHOES
Cannon's Outfit - TOP // PANTS // SHOES

4/19/18

My Current Favorite Accessory


What do I do if I need to look magically look pulled together in thirty seconds? BANDANAS friends. Instant outfit upgraders. Bulky scarves always feel too complicated for me. Do I loop it? Twist it? Wear it open? But simple kerchiefs are sly and mighty! A basic tee and jeans suddenly becomes pinterest-worthy, and my mom adds kerchiefs to polish off her sweater/chinos/ballet flats combo and always looks very Audrey. See how versatile? I'm obsessed. 

A few of my favorites: 

1. I'm a sucker for anything in this  COLOR

2. How sweet is this  EYELET for spring?

3. I may have to get this darling  BEE print for my mom for mother's day!

4. Love the larger size of this  FLORAL one.

5. I have this in  RED, the  BLACK is cute too. 

Dress similar  HERE,  HERE, OR  HERE //  BANDANA //  HAT //  JACKET //  SHOES

(Everything I'm wearing is thrifted or sold out so here are similar options!)



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