Girl Mom

Warning: I was not paid for this post. The opinions are mine, and free of charge!

 Girl Mama Friends, this post is for you!

Over Christmas break I was rolling through Etsy and Facebook and happened to see the cutest little shop that offered some unique bows and headbands for little gals, SimpleSassyandSweet. If you've ever been around my daughter, it is highly likely she was sporting a slightly large obnoxious bow. I honestly just can't help it! We have been practicing wearing bows since she was a wee three pounds! I honestly may or may not have bought a box of bows to hide before we knew Baby Cain was indeed a sweet little girly girl.

I did some research and waited until this sweet little shop was open. First off, I had some questions and concerns about how to tie these unique wraps. The owner, Brooke was super helpful and tagged me in a tutorial video. I went ahead and placed an order for two wraps. With a few practice rounds and chasing sweet girl around.... our first wrap was a success!

Calla wore this wrap a good bit over Christmas and received so many compliments! Calla's hair is quite unique and I absolutely love love love it! However it can be a slight task to tame. That's why we love bows. We can let her hair be...

The wraps are very easy to tie. Calla doesn't mind at all. I did practice tying them on my leg a few times... but it was a very simple process. I also love the messy look! You really can't mess these up!

Right before Christmas Santa was looking for Calla's "Something you can wear" gift when Brooke posted these way too precious leopard headbands. One word. Perfection.

It's just the perfect bow for our wild day trips to check on the animals!

My favorite part of this small business is it's a mama, making precious bows for precious babies while she is home with her precious babies. I love supporting a good small business.

The prices are very fair. The shipping was extremely fast. She also is very responsive to any questions. I mean.... does it get any better? Go over to her Facebook page. Like it, and when you place an order... Tell her Calla sent you! :)

Love love,
C^2

Crockpot Love

I'm setting my timer and only spending 25 minutes on this post because I promised my kids I would grade their writing tonight!

 I have cooked 30 meals in a row over the last 10 days and I wanted to share! (Well, technically I haven't cooked 30 meals. What I mean is we have not eaten a meal out in 10 days.) This is HUGE for us. 2017 is going to be our year.... and we made a goal to not eat out for 30 days. Our breakfasts are the same through the week, I cook one big dinner, and then I split the leftovers for our lunches. Calla eats what we eat, unless I am feeling super nice, then I'll make her one of her favorite dishes.... broccoli cheese rice.


 I should also add that I am a HUGE fan of loaded potato soup and many other recipes that call for cream of something. I've just had to break up with all that. I spent a good part of Christmas break researching ways to use my favorite kitchen tool without the cream and junk. We've been very successful.
 So..... here is what we've been having: (JUST THIS WEEK!)


All of these meals are from the Crockpot:

Chunky Veggie Soup (Not my recipe) 
Vegetable broth
diced tomatoes
onion
celery
carrots
sweet potato
green beans
bell pepper
garlic
parsley
salt and pepper
(You could add beef or turkey)
Chop everything, dump it in, cook on low for 6 hours.

See... nothing bad here!

We had this the day it snowed. Only it didn't snow. It rained. It was amazing and made a TON. We got 4 lunches and 2 dinners from one pot. I also just cleaned out my fridge and put all kinds of stuff in there.


Cilantro Lime Chicken and Salsa (not my recipe) 
Chicken breasts
1/4 cup of lime juice
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1/4 cup cilantro
1/2 teaspoon cumin
salt and pepper

cook on low for 4 hours

I served this with an avocado salsa I made:
4 avocados
1/2 cilantro
lime juice
1/2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
garlic
I just mixed everything in my Ninja

It was super creamy! I served it over riced cauliflower and veggies. It was so good! My co-workers tried it too and loved it!

Again, nothing too bad here!

Slow Cooker Pork Lettuce Wrap (Coach did not wrap his in lettuce. It was too much for his Coach-y- ness.)
4 pound boneless pork roast
chili powder
cumin
salt
pepper
juice from two limes
onion

Pat with the spices. Drizzle with the oil. Cook on low for 4-6 hours.

Y'all. This was SO SO good! Again, two dinners and two lunches. My coworkers were commenting on how good it was smelling!

BBQ Chicken
Put 4 boneless chicken breast in the crockpot. Dump 1 cup of sauce over it. Cook on low for 4-6 hours. It literally takes 5 minutes. I literally spent 20 minutes on the veggies.

Now, before you wonder about the sauce... I spent 25 minutes of my life reading labels and searching for one with NO SUGAR and all natural ingredients that I knew what they were. Sorry, Kraft... it wasn't you! I found a great one that I love and will buy about 10 bottles next time. It's kinda $$$ but I was trying to stick to natural ingredients.

Let's talk about sides. I am currently obsessed with riced cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and sweet potatoes.
I have been roasting the sprouts and potatoes. I cut the sprouts in half, toss in olive oil, cover in black pepper and sea salt. Roast at 425 for 12-15 minutes. I PROMISE I hated these things just the other day. But now....  They are so so so good!

I don't know how folks make it without a crockpot.TIP: If you are leaving it in the crockpot for a long day, freeze the meat and place it frozen in the pot on low. This keeps if from burning all day. That was a free tip that I found back in the coaching 5 sports days... :)

Did I seriously just write a post about food?!?! YES! And you just read it...


Love love,
C^2