Guac-Bar Greatness
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sure, i've heard of guacamole bars, but i finally witnessed my very first one in person last week at The Preserve's grand opening! (more on that lata)
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welcome, fit foodies!
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FIRST FAMILY VACA! SAN ANTONIO 2017
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goin’ on a trip in our little rocket ship! finally. it was time to take the family vaca we had all been waiting for. side-note: how have i been living/traveling without a backpack all this time!? it’s so my style and frees up both hands. duh. thanks, Marissa . wanted to be casual and…
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the day we planned to head out, Sonny and i loaded up the truck while the boys slept. they were under the impression that we were headed to church, just like we do almost every Sunday morning. once we were all buckled in, we headed in the direction of church but passed it right on up and eventually made our way onto the freeway. we drove for a good hour before they even noticed our new route!! in their defense, we let them bring their Samsung galaxy tabs so they were pretty distracted. Chiso is very observant and catches things rather quickly, but this time Sonny had to instruct them to look up and ask if they noticed anything different, haha.
i made plans to stop by a place i hadn’t visited in over 15 years en route to our destination. i have seen Monument Hill randomly in my dreams for years now and once there i remembered everything like the back of my hand…. except for how things looked leading up to the park . i guess i was always hanging out with my brother in the 2nd row of our astro van and not paying attention to my surroundings until we arrived as a child! driving there myself (Sonny was napping and still recovering from dental surgery 2 weeks prior) was new for me but nothing GPS couldn’t handle.
everything looked exactly the same! such a nostalgic experience and blessing to be there with my own little family.
k, you guys ready to go do some really fun stuff!?
ok then!
we made eeeeeet! Kosi did a mighty fine job getting through her first road trip. to my surprise, she stayed up 90% of the 3 hour journey cooing, screaming, and playing with her brothers. she finally fell asleep when we were almost to the hotel, naturally. the boys did alright too; we stopped about 4 times along the way for potty and stretch breaks.
checking in to the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort & Spa! there was a huge bowl of complimentary apples on the counter and Dego immediately asked me for one. this boy loves his apples. he has eaten 1-2 every day for like the past year.
i can be the most unorganized person ever but these daily itineraries were appreciated.
we might have a budding photographer on our hands! i’m not complaining; that’ll be one less blogging expense for me, ha. i’ll pay him in food.
gettin’ dirty at Pat’s Playground on the hotel grounds.
the boys love tennis and badminton and play on the Wii at home all the time. i think they’d agree it’s a lil’ tougher in real life though.
the hotel buffet was incredible; my hangry cell phone picture doesn’t do it a bit of justice. no idea how many trips i took there and back to my seat but just know i got our money’s worth! great variety and quality.
i see these shower caps weren’t made with big natural hair in mind!
best way to start my day, even on vaca. especially on vaca!
i took the opportunity to give my new Athleta Be Bold Wrap Front bra a try. if you haven’t taken advantage of their workout guarantee, you totally should. these crops are my favorite to date; i have them in both dark blue and black. they are super flattering and the high waist is everything! try the full exercise circuit i completed here.
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taking in the peaceful scenery on my way back to the room. i almost rented a bike and rode around the property solo but i knew the kids were up driving Sonny crazy by now.
yep. good morning, Egwuatu-lings!
Sonny and i have a little friendly wager going on. i believe Kosi will be walking by 10 months but he doesn’t.
i know my baby! lol
Cat & Jack outfits continue to steal my heart along with this lil’ girl of course! shopping for Kosi has been dangerously fun.
remind me not to go impulse shopping up in Target the day before we leave though.
breakfast buffet. the fruit was just there for decoration, y’all, trust. this bacon egg white omelet from the omelette bar was so good i had two in one sitting. every morning.
and plenty of these.
all they kept eating and asking for was bacon!
next we hit the pool for a couple hours of fun in the shade.
found and tagged a similar suit below but i love this breastfeeding-friendly, stylish one piece.
silly goose!
Sonny napped in the room most of this day because of his tooth and we truly missed his presence. floating on the lazy river looked fun, but we’ll have to try it next year cause i didn’t even want to attempt to try and keep an eye on everybody while solo. time to go check on Papa in the room!
“i want to push her!” “no, i want to push her!” #workitoutguys
Dego checked out in the middle of dinner on us. he ‘swam’ his lil’ heart out that day.
sonny headed back to the room after dinner with the other two sleepy heads, so Chiso and i went to go have some more fun together. we roasted marshmallows, made and ate smores, and shared a blanket while viewing Transylvania 2 out on the lawn. loved spending solo time with my big boy.
no more pics of movie night because i didn’t want to annoy everybody with my flash.
back for the breakfast buffet and another full day of activities!
it doesn’t take much to make kids happy. it’s more about presence and experiences together than presents. that said, i packed my camera up for the remainder of the trip to just emerse myself in the moments without trying to always capture perfect shots. i will forevercherish the vacation memories i have with my parents and older brother and i pray our kiddos do the same.
thanks for the memories, San Antonio & Hyatt Regency Hill Country!
vanilla banana bundt cake
/well. heeeey fit friends! i took a teeny, tiny break and recharged my blogging batteries and to put max effort into something i’m ridiculously crazy excited about. 6 days from now a dream that dropped into my spirit back in 2012 will become a reality. like, in real life!!! God continues to blown my entire mind throughout this process. i’m celebrating early with this here dairy-free, flour-free, low-sugar cake healthy vanilla banana bundt cake!
like you ever need a reason to eat cake tho.
i can say with full confidence that we (mostly me lol) are transitioning into a completely dairy-free household and it has never been easier these days. sooooo many options and alternatives out there now vs when i was growing up. heck, even just a few short years ago. that said, let’s talk about this super easy, non-dairy, 2 ingredient vanilla pb icing first
i took some So Delicious Coco Whip (i suggest using the regular version and not the light…it’s way too airy and doesn’t set as well)
and mixed it with this Peanut Butter & Co Vanilla powdered pb I walked up on randomly and couldn’t leave the grocery store without.
i combined a tub of the Coco Whip with about 2 heaping tbps of the powdered pb.
add more or less depending on your taste buds! i didn’t want the pb flavor to overpower the cake, so that amount was perfect. set it in the fridge and get crackin’ on the cake.
Vanilla Banana Bundt Cake
a dairy-free, flour-free, low-sugar healthy treat for my peanut butter & banana lovers!
Servings 12 | Prep Time 10 | Cook Time 30
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cup oat flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 whole eggs
- 1 cup ripe, mashed bananas
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup dairy-free vanilla coffee creamer
- 1/2 cup coconut oil
- 1/3 cup agave nectar
Servings: 12
Instructions
preheat oven to 325 degrees
combine oats, soda, powder, cinnamon, & salt well. (if you are making your own oat flour, add everything to your blender and blend until combined). dump into a large mixing bowl.
in a medium mixing bowl, combine agave nectar, coconut oil, bananas, creamer, vanilla, and eggs well.
add the wet ingredients onto the top of the dry ingredients. fold gently yet quickly until just combined.
pour mixture into your greased or non-stick coated bundt pan
bake for approx 30 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean
Recipe Notes
let cool completely before inverting onto a flat plate.
i usually put my pan into the fridge to speed up the process if need be! #cantwait
coat cake with icing and top with pecans (optional)
adapted from here.
Busy Mom Life Hack - ClickList & Kroger
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Convenience is a necessity for me these days! anything that can make my life run even the tiniest bit smoother, reduce stress & anxiety, and allow me to spend more time with my fast-growing family, i’m all for it. speaking of my fast growing family, we eat a lot, so i cook… a lot! i’m in the grocery store every single week shopping for either my family or for our meal prep clients. unlike everybody i know, i actually enjoy the grocery shopping experience, haha. realistically though, i can’t always take my sweet time and stroll down aisle after aisle, especially when my kids are present. some days i literally need to run in and out, and just getting in and out of the car can be a big deal with young kids. then once we get inside, that’s a whole new ball game :) .
This is why i love and depend on ClickList. it’s an online grocery ordering service from Kroger that’s crazy convenient and works with my busy, mom of three lifestyle. follow my Instagram Stories today to see how easy it is to use or check out the YouTube video (to be uploaded soon!). i normally create my grocery list on Sunday evenings or Monday mornings when i’m getting my life together for the week, and schedule to pick up our items the following or the same day. Kroger welcomes the use of digital coupons and the product prices are the exact same as if you were shopping in the store. the 4.95 service fee is waived for your first three orders, and there is no minimum or maximum amount to spend! love. that. my grocery hauls range in size depending on the number of clients i have that week, and we normally need the same basic items at home. ClickList lets me save a particular grocery list and i am able to reorder it as needed with the click of a button. it’s one less thing i have to worry about and can allocate that time to my family or the other 2 billion things on my never-ending to-do list.
after logging into my account, selecting my saved list or creating a whole new one, i simply pull up to the ClickList parking spot at the pickup time/location i selected, and call the number posted on that designated spot. i let Chiso do the honors this time.
super quick wait, and the associate promptly comes out to greet us. he/she goes over any changes or substitutions on my order, loads up my groceries, and we're done! let's say i specifically ordered half a dozen eggs. if there were no more half-dozen cartons available, i would be upgraded to one dozen eggs, and i'd pay the half carton egg price. win-win! check out the ClickList FAQ page for more details. Kroger has proven that quality is their top priority by hand selecting all produce, meat, and/or seafood items with great care. quality is a must and is extremely important to me! i require the freshest ingredients for my clients and my family’s meals, and unblemished produce is needed for my food photography and blogging. i can trust that my items are stored appropriately until pickup time rolls around.
now i can get right home to cook, sit down, and eat dinner with my family with the time i would have used shopping in the store. now that is time well spent in my busy mom book.
Q: would you utilize the ClickList service? if you are already familiar with it, share your experience below!
