Am I Hungry?®

It was inevitable that I would eventually write a post about this topic matter–to eat or not to eat, (that is the question). I have a really involved relationship (and history) with my hunger and food. In the world of relationship statuses, ours would most definitely be ‘it’s complicated’. 

I have been a size 2, a size 12 and everything in between. I have starved, binged, restricted, dieted, cleansed, detoxed, meal-prepped, over exercised, under exercised, eliminated sugar, carbs, gluten, caffeine, and so on. In essence, I am a pretty typical woman.

So when my sister, Julie Reisler (a wellness and life coach)  offered me a spot in the newest nutrition course she was teaching alongside her colleague Robin Goble , Am I Hungry; Mindful Eating, I instantly and without hesitation agreed to give it a go. I will be tracking my journey, through this 8 week course and sharing any insights that I stumble upon. I want to stress that this is not a diet, rather a deeper look in to what we eat, why we eat, how we eat and when we eat.

I know this is a hot topic for many women (and men), especially post-baby. I would be lying if I said I didn’t hope to lose a few pounds during this journey, so I will be tracking all and any weight loss as well. This may (or may not) include progress photos. You are welcome to join me in this journey, (or just cheer me on!) There is a free webinar that kicks off the course tomorrow, (January 18, 2015), at 7:30pm EST / 4:30pm PST. You can register here, and will be emailed a link once you have registered.

The course break-down is as follows:

• Sun, Feb 1^st – Sun, March 22^nd from 7:30 – 8:30 pm EST / 4:30 – 5:30 pm PST (sessions will be recorded in case you miss one)
• There are 8 sessions in the program – The cost is $40 a session for 8 sessions and includes the Am I Hungry? Program materials (‘Eat What You Love. Love What You Eat’ by Dr. Michelle May; the AM I Hungry? Program Workbook; the Participant Portal; and coaching support. – valued at $50).
• During the workshop, we use Dr. Michelle May’s book ‘Eat What You Love. Love What You Eat’.
• Each workshop runs 1 hour (plus Q&A).

SPECIAL OFFER for my readers: use the promotion code MINDBODYSPIRIT, for $50 off. “As you know, weight and body image has been a life long journey. Through this program, I learned what my triggers are, to recognize why I am overeating and when I’m really hungry, and make conscious choices to eat or not. This program is changing my life. It is not a quick fix – as Robin said for herself, she certainly didn’t gain the weight overnight – but she has learned what is underneath all the overeating and she is very grateful for that.” ~ Julie & Robin

xo, Em

No-Bake Chewy Granola Bars

The other day whilst perusing the aisles of Target (sans grocery list), I began grabbing random items from the grocery aisle, and tossing them in to my giant, red shopping cart. (Clearly I cannot be trusted without a grocery list.) In addition to my usual, aimless home-goods browsing,  I was looking for a few easy on-the-go snacks for Ayden.  I am not one of those perfectly raw, organic moms (although I wish I was), but I do read labels. My typical shopping guidelines are as follows:

• If it grows out of the ground, I try to buy organic.
• No sugar in the first 3 ingredients.
• No high fructose corn syrup (to the very best of my ability.)

Like I said, I do this imperfectly. However, these guidelines are what matter to me most days, when it comes to feeding my family.  Anyway, back to Target. I was walking through the snack aisle, about to throw a box of granola bars in my cart. I checked the label, like I do, and noticed all sorts of disturbing corn syrups, ‘modified this’, and ‘modified that’. I thought to my self, ‘Self, I bet we can make this from scratch using real food’. So I did, and here’s how. 

Stuff you will need:

• 1/2 cup raw or brown sugar
• 1.5 cups honey (After making this recipe, I would cut it to 1 cup of honey)
• 1/3 cup real butter or coconut oil
• 1/4 tsp salt (sea salt if you have it)
• 1 cup 100% crunchy peanut butter
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 cups rice crisped cereal
• 2 2/3 cups old fashioned oats
• 2/3 cup ground flax seed
• 1/2 – 1 cup chocolate chips

How to make it:

In a large bowl, combine oats, rice cereal and ground flax. Stir until well combined, and set aside.

Measure out sugar, honey, Butter/coconut oil and salt into a sauce pan. Heat over medium, and bring to a boil. Stir the entire time, and let boil for one minute so sugar dissolves.

Take off heat, add vanilla extract and peanut butter, stirring until smooth.

Pour wet mixture over the dry ingredients that you set aside earlier.

Stir until well combined.

Set mix aside for 5-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare a large cookie sheet (12.5 x 17.5 x 1 inch) with parchment paper. (Trace bottom of pan on to paper, cut along lines and it should fit perfectly in the bottom of the pan).

Pour the granola mixture on to the lined cookie sheet.

Make sure you distribute the mixture evenly. Then get another piece of parchment paper and another cookie sheet, place on top of mixture, and press down to help set the bars.

Sprinkle chocolate chips on top, and repeat pressing technique.

Allow bars to fully cool, (either in fridge or on counter).

Cut bars to desired size, serve and enjoy!

***Original recipe was found on the Happy Money Saver blog.

xo, Em

Discovering: I Am Not Less of a Mom

There’s something I have been wanting to write about, but have been putting off. I think I have been avoiding it because I know some feelings are sure to arise. I am not a big fan of being publicly vulnerable, but I am a person who processes feelings through writing. My intention for this blog, has always been to be relatable to others, and to keep it honest. Which brings us to this post–a touchy subject for some folks.

A funny thing happens when you start dating someone–people start asking you if or when you plan to get engaged. Then you get engaged, and people demand to know if you have set a wedding date. You set a date and get married, and then everyone wants to know when you will be having kids. (Ok, in my case we didn’t go in this exact order, but stay with me here). Then you become pregnant, and people want to know the baby’s gender and name. Baby is born. Life changes–you cross over in to the parenting world. And then people start asking when you are having another, since your first is so cute and all.

It is actually a bit exhausting, and if you don’t have some solid internal boundaries, it can add up to a lot of pressure. I blame human nature and our desire to inquire. (I am most definitely guilty of some of these inquiries.) But with that being said, I am going to tell you what may (or may not) be going on, on the other side of these questions.

After Mike and I had Ayden, our world was rocked, (and that is putting it mildly). No one was getting much sleep at night, Ayden was a difficult feeder, she liked to party at night and  only wanted to be held. Mike was working full-time and in school full-time. Money was tight. Emotions (hormones) were wacky. Life was hectic. That aside, Ayden was also an incredibly happy and smiley baby, who hit all of her fun milestones crazy-early. One thing was for sure, life was in session in the McAllister home.

A couple of months in to parenthood, we started getting the inevitable questions about when we would be having more kids. Most people had an opinion about the matter telling us things like, ‘You don’t want them too far apart’, or ‘You don’t want her to be an only child–then she won’t have anyone’, or ‘Don’t wait too long!’ To be honest, these comments felt intrusive and presumptuous, though I didn’t fully realize it at the time.

And then there were the comments from other moms (of two or more children), ‘One is so easy’, or ‘You only have one?’ Granted, this was not my interaction with all moms of multiples, but there were a few and it caught me off guard. I don’t believe that these comments were meant to be malicious, and I have learned to try not to take others personally (operative word being ‘try’), but if I am being honest, (I am), it felt a little passive aggressive.

Once upon a time, when being parents was just pillow-talk between Mike and I late at night, we planned on having two children. We each grew up with a sibling, and it seemed the natural thing to do. We also had very strong beliefs about exactly how we wold raise our hypothetical children. We were strong in or convictions. We would never raise our voices, never let our baby ‘cry it out’, never allow our child to throw tantrums in public, would allow for only minimal TV watching, never use modern technology (iPhones / iPads) as a means of child supervision, make all of our own baby food, etc, etc. We were so sure. And we were so wrong. If I have learned one thing from becoming a mother, it is that plans change quickly after a baby is born.

Cut to: Ayden’s 2nd Birthday, (the time of year we had planned to begin trying for baby #2.) We sat at or dining room table, us two. The conversation began. And then it happened; Mike had changed his mind. I couldn’t believe what he was saying; was he allowed to do this? Was he allowed to change his mind mid-game? I won’t go in to too many details about why, because this is my story to tell. I am speaking from my own experience, and it would be unfair to my husband if I attempted to write his story.

I will say this; that conversation led to more conversations, arguments, tears, praying, debates, soul-searching, a counseling session (with a not-so-great shrink), lots and lots of writing, weighing of options and eventually over time, acceptance. For the sake of my marriage and family, I had to come to a few conclusions:

1. If I believe in a higher power (which I do, and choose to call it God ), than I am not really in charge of the whole game-plan. I cannot impose my will on anyone else; even my husband. If we are meant to have another child, then it will happen. If we are not meant to have another child, then we won’t. God is either everything or nothing. So in a sense, this situation was forcing me to dig deeper, spiritually.
2. I was not willing to deceive or trick my husband in order to become pregnant again, and I was not willing to leave the marriage over it. This meant I needed to find a way to be ok with his change of heart. I didn’t have to like it, I just had to find a way to be ok (for now), with it.
3. In order to become ok, I needed to find a deep sense of gratitude for the blessings that I already had in my life. I had to focus on all of the beautiful things, people and experiences that I am lucky enough to be afforded. I had to recognize that Mike and I are jackpot winners, when it comes to Ayden. I had to remember that not everyone who wants children get children, that some people lose hildren and that I have been blessed beyond measure in becoming a mother. I found that when I stay busy focusing on loving and appreciating what I have, I spend less time worrying about what I don’t have.

This doesn’t mean that some days I don’t drift in to the worrisome head space where I compare myself to or feel envious of others. And on those days, when I feel extra sensitive about it all, I do my best to be gentle with myself. I write a gratitude list about my life, I write down 5 things that I love and appreciate about my husband, I forgive him all over again for not always being perfectly in line with my desires and I remember that nothing is set in stone.

And some days, I am so content with our little trio, that I could explode with joy. I feel a deep sense of closeness between the three of us that is more fulfilling than I am capable of putting in to words.  I feel lucky. I feel full.

Sometimes I feel like the only person in the world that has experienced this with their spouse, which makes it even more daunting to write about. But the chance that someone may read this and relate, forces me to write my truth. Also, I have learned that when my feelings are fear-based, they’re usually off-base.

At the end of the day we really don’t know what other families are going through; whether it be fertility issues, losing a child or situations like mine. What I do know, is that it is never safe to assume. What I have decided to learn from this is that I can be happy. I can be happy if our parenting journey begins and ends with Ayden, or if we go on to have more children. And quite possibly the most important thing that I have learned is that either way, I am not less of a mom.

xo, Em

Orange Picking in Orange County

Growing up on the East Coast, I have many fond memories of going apple picking every Autumn. I especially loved climbing the tall, wooden ladders (reserved only for ‘big kids’), to pluck my desired apples from the tree. Once our bags were full, we would wander through the orchard’s shop, where everything smelled like fresh apple cider and musty wood.

Living in Southern Orange County affords us many luxuries; sunny weather year-round, beautiful sandy beaches, but no apple picking, (unless you want to drive a few hours). So you can imagine my excitement when my Mother-in-law, Loretta, suggested we go orange picking!

If you didn’t know, we are currently staying with my in-laws, as our home is undergoing some repairs. Their community hosts orange groves, and a little birdie (their community news letter), told us that the trees were full of ripe oranges. We made a girls-day adventure of it, loaded the wagon with Ayden, her scooter, picnic goodies and a few other odds and ends, and we three were off to the orange colony.

Have you ever smelled citrus fruit straight from the tree? If I could, I would make this a scratch-and-sniff blog post, so you could experience the fragrant freshness firsthand. But since I can’t, I will do my best to translate it in to words. (For starters, Ayden and Loretta peeled open one of our oranges, and from about 30 feet away, it smelled as if someone had peeled it right under my nose.) When we reached the grove, we were a bit set back by how picked over most of the trees were, but we were quick to find a silver lining–the fruit at the very tops of the trees were not only untouched, but perfectly ripe as well.

You may be saying, “But Emily, you are only 5’3″, how did you reach those oranges?” Ahh fear not grasshopper, when there’s a will, there’s a way. (Also, it doesn’t hurt that my Mother in-law is 5’9″). We McGyvered the heck out of those trees, and made out like orange-bandits.

That’s me. With a shovel. Standing in the wagon.

That’s Ayden crashing my Real Housewives of Orange County, moment.

Below are some photos from our orangey-adventure. If you have never picked fresh produce before, I highly recommend trying it. There is something instinctive about picking fruit. It makes me feel of the earth, and connected to nature.    

Ayden picking flowers for Loretta

 

Lemons!

Digging for gold… obviously. #CaliforniaGoldRsh2015

     xo, Em

The Best of Pinterest

Alright crafty friends, (and wannabe crafty friends). It’s a new year and the DIY possibilities are endless. So let’s talk about Pinterest. Pinterest offers an infinite abyss of clever DIYs, beautifully styled homes, delectable-looking recipes, insanely cute outfits and pretty much anything else your inner idealist could hope for. Let’s be honest, it’s fun to lay in bed, scrolling through images of ‘ideas’ (or ideals). In fact, one could even argue that it is like a virtual vision board, helping you to manifest a life you desire… Am I pushing it? Regardless, it is fun and a great place to get ideas for projects.

When I joined Pinterest a few years ago, I made a non-spoken agreement with myself, that if I was going to play in this perfect little fantasy-land, I had to at least attempt to execute some of these projects. Otherwise, it seemed like a huge waste of my time. Through a lot of trial and error, (and a few epic fails), I have selected what I believe to be the best DIY projects of Pinterest. Some I have recreated, and some are still on my to-do list.

My criteria for this are as follows:

1. Easy to execute and emulate.
2. Fun.
3. Functional.
4. Realistic.
5. Within a reasonable budget.

Button Magnets

Hey you! Yeah you, the one with the pizza delivery and taxicab magnets (that you got for free in the mail), adorning your fridge; this one’s for you! It really doesn’t get much easier than this, and the finished product is nothing short of adorable. All you need is some buttons, magnets and your hot glue gun.

Scrabble Art

I am a bit of a self-admitted word-nerd, so obviously I love me some scrabble art. Wouldn’t this make for a cute gift? I made a piece of art like this, but I used an actual scrabble board as my canvas. It included my family’s names, with words like ‘family’, ‘love’ and ‘home’ woven in perpendicularly. It currently resides in our humble abode.

(We also used my scrabble creation as wedding decor) Photo cred: Sarah Field Photo

Earring Holder

Here is another genius idea, and happens to be one of my very first successful Pinterest DIYs. I love a functional craft! To spruce things up, (and because I didn’t have chicken wire or screen on hand), I used black fishnet instead. I use my earring holder for my larger, dangly earrings.

 

Scrabble Coaster

Love. These. Coasters. These are on my to-do-someday list. The word possibilities are exciting and endless.

Mason Jar Chandelier

I think the proper words for this rustic chandelier are, “I die”. In fact, my super talented friend, Steph, has one of these puppies hanging over her dining room table, and I assure you, it is even better in person. Steph’s home is one of my absolute favorite design spaces, and if she lets me, I will be doing an upcoming blog post, spotlighting her beautiful home.

Memory Jar

Every year I say I want to start a memory jar–this is MY year. I am doing it, people. Come December 31, 2015, The McAllister family will have a jar full of memories to read!

Stencil Pillow

More crafts with more words. Seems easy enough, right? Plus who doesn’t love a throw pillow?

Ticket Keepsake

I am one of those sentimental people, that saves every show ticket I have ever been to, (even down to my very first concert; The Grateful Dead, Fall 1993 Tour.) When I stumbled upon this DIY, I knew it was fate and quickly proceeded to create my own ticket collage. If you’re a romantic (like me), these could make for a really cute anniversary gift.

Animal Silhouette 

Craft paper, scissors, tape/glue and a frame. Quick and easy nursery, (or in my case, bathroom) art.

Sharpie Mug

Really, the ideas for this one are never-ending. So easy. So cute.

Faux Zinc Letters

Remember my tutorial on these babies? I love my faux zinc letters. And you will love yours too! #pinterestdoesitagain

 

DIY Nightstand

A spray-painted trash can turned upside down. Definitely one of those ‘why didn’t I think of that’, moments.

$1 Chalk Sign

Easiest chalk signs ever. You can buy trays like this (and other various shapes), at your local dollar store. Slap some chalk board paint on them, and you have instant party decor. I have used these for many a party. (You can see an example in my gallery from Ayden’s 1st Birthday Party, here.) 

Painted Table

I am in love with this whimsical, space-saving idea, aren’t you? You could even mount a mirror above it and make it in to a vanity. Ideas, ideas…

Menu Board

Need help meal planning and staying on top of your grocery list? Make a menu board. Game-changer, and pretty darn easy to make.

Revamped Folding Chair

I have two folding chairs just begging for a makeover. Stay tuned for a step-by-step in the near future.

Glitter Shade

Sparkly is my favorite color. If it’s glittery and shiny, I like it. This one is a yet-to-do for me, but I am sure that I will find a lampshade (or two) to try this on.

Numbered Drawers

I gave our boring old dresser a super easy makeover, using this idea. It gave our dresser a whimsical, personalized touch.

Painted Drawer Interior

Cute, cute, cute! I love a pop of color; so many options with this.

Gold Mug DIY

This combines 2 of my favorite things; coffee mugs and gold. I love how the gold sharpie turns metallic when baked in the oven! (I will be putting this to the test, asap).

Gold Letter Magnets

I have a zillion of those multicolored, kiddie, letter-magnets. A coat or two of gold spray paint, and you have magic.

Gold Rock Book Ends

(Told ya I liked gold).

Fabric Garland

I love me a garland, a bunting, a banner and pretty much anything cute and hang-able. How darling are these? Don’t feel like making one? Buy one from my friend, Shanna.

Available at: Neni & Co.

Jello Playdoh

I want to make this. The end.

Gold Dipped Feathers

You thought we were done with the gold, didn’t you? Wrong. I have a ar of my own sparkly, gilded feathers on my computer desk. They inspire me and they’re pretty. ‘Nuff said.

I will continue to collect fabulous Pinterest DIYs for you guys, so keep an eye out for a sequel to this list. I’d love to see your creations, so pretty please show them off to me!

xo, Em

My Resolution to You

January 1, 2015. Nice ring to it, eh?

Happy New Year, you beautiful creatures, you.I am writing this as a sort of intention, or manifesto for the coming year, to my readers. I had a long conversation with my hero, (my big sister), yesterday, about vulnerability. About transparency. About authenticity. It became very clear to me that one of my hopes and intentions for this blog, was to open up a bit more, and let you in. 

I often talk about the power and the magic of truly relating to each other, and now it is time for me to walk that talk. I still plan to share fabulous and fun DIYs, events and recipes, but I am also hoping to incorporate some more #realtalk.

I am so excited and honored that you have decided to join me on my blogging journey thus far, and I can’t wait to bring you so much more; cue music, “We’ve only just begun…”

xo, Em