Blog Archives

Healthy Pancakes with Vegan Caramel Sauce

10/24/2015

I found a simple pancake recipe online, and tweaked it a bit so that it's super healthy, and so that I can feel good about eating them, and serving them to my husband!
So here is my recipe for moist and delicious pancakes, that will make you happy to be awake in the morning!

The most delicious healthy pancakes you've ever tasted;
Serves 7-8 large pancakes
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup white flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon raw sugar
1 and 1/4 cups almond milk
1 egg
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla

Stir together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Add milk, egg, butter, and vanilla to dry ingredients. Whisk until a smooth batter forms.

How to make pancakes that don't stick to the pan!
My Momma taught me this trick, because I was getting soooo frustrated that I couldn't ever make pancakes without them sticking to the pan!
Heat a skillet over medium heat until it's hot (you will know it's hot enough, when you put a splash of water in the pan and it sizzles!). Add olive oil, wait until it's warm. Then you can pour 1/4 cup batter into circles. Flip once bubbles appear and sides are lightly golden.

This batter even keeps overnight in the fridge! I made a couple pancakes on Sunday morning, put the batter in the fridge, and I made the rest on Monday morning!

To complete this delicious breakfast, put the pancakes on plates, then drizzle them with Hot Cakes Totally Vegan Caramel Sauce from Uncommon Goods. You can find it here.
I have actually completely replaced sugary, unhealthy, and disgusting pancake syrup with this sauce!
It is made by hand, using completely vegan ingredients, including organic evaporated cane sugar, organic coconut milk, hemp milk, and brown rice syrup.
This stuff is absolutely amazing! I've already used my entire jar I just got! I have been putting it on everything; french toast, vegan ice cream, oatmeal, and of course pancakes (just a side note, if any of you are looking for Christmas gifts for me, I will take jars of this!)!

French toast with vegan caramel sauce instead of syrup.

What goes better with pancakes than coffee? Nothing that I can think of!
I also got the Coffee Explorer Set, here, from Uncommon Goods.

This exotic coffee set includes:
-Fruity Single Origin Coffee (berry, fruit juice, caramel tasting notes)
-Classic Single Origin Coffee (cocoa, nuts, cane sugar tasting notes)
-Balanced Single Origin Coffee (dark chocolate, honey, orange peel tasting notes)
-Bold Single Origin Coffee (cooking chocolate, cherry, cashew tasting notes)

This complete set includes four exotic single-origin coffee beans from Ethiopia, Brazil, Colombia, and Honduras.

Grab yourself a jar of Uncommon Goods Vegan Caramel Sauce, and the Coffee Explorer Set today, and get excited about mornings!

Peace Love and Pancakes
Jess <3

*Disclosure*
I was given this Vegan Caramel Sauce and Coffee Explorer Set, and these are my thoughts on them.

2 Comments

Destination Weddings with Coco Melody!

10/19/2015

0 Comments

ven though I am already married, I am still absolutely obsessed with wedding dresses! I ogle them whenever I get the chance, and briefly consider renewing our vows (of only 5 months!), just so I can pick out and wear another gorgeous wedding dress!
If I'm being realistic though, we wouldn't renew our vows for another couple years (probably about thirty years down the road!), and since one of my favorite things in the whole world is traveling, I imagine we would have it on a dreamy tropical island somewhere (helloooooo Maldives!).

Since I figure you probably feel the same way as me, today I have combined some of Pinterest's best travel photos, with Cocomelody beautiful destination wedding dresses!
Get ready to travel around the globe, and imagine your dream destination wedding, and the perfect dress that goes with it!

Our first stop is Santorini, Greece. Is there any place on earth more beautiful, and more fitting for a glowing bridal goddess than in Greece?!

So on your big day, if you want to look like a Greek Goddess, head on out to Santorini, and wear this dress fit for a goddess!

Imagine having your wedding in the city of lights, with the Eifel Tower as the background! Could there be anything more romantic?!

If you are going to be wed in the fashion capital of the world, why not have an equally fashion forward dress to wear! This dress oozes fashion and sophistication, much like the city of lights!

From what I've seen in pictures, Barcelona Spain has some pretty exciting and funky architecture!
If your style is funky and exciting, imagine being married in Spain!

This dress, much like the buildings of Barcelona, is designed with some very fun and funky elements! The tiered design fits in effortlessly with Spain's architecture!

For the wild bride, just admit it, you've always fantasized about a wild and crazy elopement in Vegas!

This destination wedding is not for the faint of heart, so the dress shouldn't be either!
This dress is perfect for looking like a rock and roll bride while being married, and for right after, partying the night away!

Now, what do most people think of when they think of destination weddings? The Beach!
That's because, whether you get married in North Carolina, Jamaica, Florida, or the Maldives, beach weddings are the quintessential romantic destination wedding.
What do you need for a beach wedding? Beach Wedding Dresses!

Coco Melody has a large selection of tea and ankle length dresses (like the above dress), which are, in my opinion, the perfect beach wedding length!

They also have a wide variety of the long billowy dress (like the one shown above), which is probably the most popular dress style for beach weddings.

So no matter what your style, or where your dream destination wedding spot is, Coco Melody will have the perfect dress for you!
And now! They are having a huge sale! $20 off $200, $40 off $300, and $60 off $400!
Go to Cocomelody now, to take advantage of this great sale before it's over!

Peace Love and Destination Dresses
Jess <3

*Disclosure*
I was selected for this writing opportunity by Cocomelody, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

0 Comments

Outfit of the Week; Library Card Socks!

10/12/2015

0 Comments

Today's Outfit of the Week is one of my favorites!
I am sort of a nerd; I often wear my thick framed glasses, I will spend hours at the library, and books are some of my best friends!
My husband took these pictures and I absolutely adore them!

What I Wore;
- A Blondie T-Shirt
I got this tee at a thrift store, and I cut the neck to make it a scoop neck.

- A black and white striped sweater.
I got this from a thrift store also, and I don't know what brand it is.

-A skinny belt.
Every girl should have a skinny belt in their possession! It is a really great way to cinch your waist in, and I sometimes like to put it over a sweater, which is what I did here.

- A black skirt.
This skirt was a hand me down. It is by Paris Blues.

- Black booties.
I bought these at The Salvation Army Thrift Store for only $4. I absolutely love them!
They are Bcb Generation.

and last but not least....

Library Card Socks!!!
Are you serious, could these even get any cuter?!! I absolutely adore these! Like I said before, I love books, reading, and libraries, so these are soo perfect. And I actually remember checking out books from the library and using library cards! For you young folks who don't know what this is, it's what libraries used before computers when you checked out a book. The card was located in a pocket in the front of the book, and on it, they wrote the book title and author, and also your name, the date you checked the book out, and the date it was due to return! So cool! I got these outfit-making socks from one of the coolest websites I've seen in a long time, Uncommon Goods. You can purchase the exact pair I'm wearing here!

I hope you don't mind if I show you a couple more pictures from our shoot, these are just too cute!

Oh, and have I mentioned yet how awesome Uncommon Goods is? Seriously, this is one of the coolest businesses I have seen in a while! Uncommon Goods is a privately-owned retailer that endeavors to feature unique designs and handcrafted gifts created in harmony with the environment and without harm to animals or people. They run all their operations out of the historic Brooklyn Army Terminal, including their warehouse where the lowest-paid seasonal worker starts at 50% above the minimum wage! So cool! They make it their mission to support and provide a platform for artists and designers; in fact, half of what they sell is made by hand. Supporting small businesses? You know I'm on board with that! Most of the products they carry are created right here in the USA, and about one-third of their entire collection incorporates recycled and/or upcycled materials! That's what I'm talking about! At the core of their company is a great respect for the integrity of the creative individual and the belief that it is their responsibility to use their business to impact the world in a positive way. Also, as an independently-owned business, they have the freedom to support causes they believe in and positively impact the world. With every purchase, they will donate $1 to your choice of our not-for-profit partner organizations! Since they started their Better to Give program 15 years ago, they have donated over $1,000,000 dollars to charities around the world! Holy moly, this company is so much aligned with my beliefs and purpose in life, and is exactly what I strive for in my own business. This is how a company should be!

Ok, are you ready to see more socks now? I thought so! Check out these socks I got for my husband from Uncommon Goods!

Da dum. Da dum. Da dum da dum da dum! That's right! Shark socks!!! He absolutely loved these, and they are so cool, he gets compliments whenever he wears them!
You can purchase these here!
Pssst! Guys, need ideas for Christmas Gifts for the wifey? Lookhere!

These socks make such great gifts for the upcoming Christmas Season! They are so unique, and, they also have... avacado socks, taco socks, artichoke socks, banned books socks, strawberry socks, and lots more!
They even have something for Dad (who in my opinion is usually one of the most difficult persons to shop for)!

Peace Love and Uncommon Goods
Jess <3

*Disclosure*
I was given these socks, and these are my thoughts on them.

0 Comments

7 Ways to Make Your House Halloween Ready!

10/5/2015

2 Comments

Hello ghouls and ghoul-etts!
The Halloween Season is upon us!
Cult Classic Horror Films, the Monster Mash, Blood, and Haunted Houses are here! I am so excited!!! Is your house ready? Well, here I have for you my 7 tips for making your house Halloween ready! Yaaaay!

Before you do anything, first you must turn on Pandora, and turn it to "Halloween Party" Radio! This is the greatest collection of Halloween, and creepy music! Coin Operated Boy, Thriller, Nightmare Before Christmas, even Witchy Woman by the Eagles, and I Want Candy by Bow Wow Wow, how cool! And of course, Little Shop of Horrors!
So turn on the music, get in the Halloween Spirit, and start decorating!

Candy Dishes.
During Halloween you absolutely must have at least one candy dish sitting around!
For something very different and cool looking, I use record bowls!
Check out how groovy they look!

I actually make these awesome record bowls, and you can buy them on my Etsy Shop, only $13.99 for a set of five!

Fake spiders and skulls!
Fake spiders and skulls are great, inexpensive ways to add a little spooky-ness to your house!
I bought this skull (the eyes light up and change colors!) at Dollar General a couple years ago after Halloween was over, for only $5.00, and my husband bought a pack of fake spiders this year at Dollar Tree for only a dollar!

Zombie Sheets!
This is one of my favorite way to decorate for Halloween, because they are so versatile! You can put them on your bed, on your couch, or even on a chair! Take a look!

We used the sheet and two pillowcase set and arranged them on a chair, to get this chair to be the focal point of our living room!

Throw the Zombie Sheet over your couch to get this simple and awesome look!

And here are the sheets on an actual bed!
I hand paint these great sheet sets, and you can purchase them starting at only $49.99!

Creepy Pictures.
Holographic Halloween Photos!
I don't care if these things are cheesy, I love them!
We have three of these in our house! We bought two of them at Dollar Tree for a dollar each, and I bought the other one at a flea market.
Etsy is also great place to find creepy paintings and prints!

How to make a creepy standing figure.
I love this little guy! He's super creepy, and super cool!

-Get a tall lamp stand, and take the light bulb and shade off of it.
-Get a long dress or nightgown (I had this when I worked at the Factory of Terror. I got it at Goodwill for a couple bucks after Halloween was over a couple years ago).
-Leave the dress on the hanger, and hang it over the lamp stand.
-Get any mask that you have laying around (believe it or not, we already had this mask!), and place it over the top of the lamp stand, so that it covers the hanger.

And there is your super cool and super creepy standing figure!

^^^Having trouble finding Halloween decorations you like? Check these out!!! ^^^

Take a look around your house for things you can re-purpose and make into Halloween Decorations.
Me and my husband are both very kooky people, so we used a lot of items that we just happened to have laying around; they weren't even originally for Halloween decorations!
So take a look at some of the things we found and used for our decorations, and see if you have anything similar laying around that you can use, or think of your own original and crazy ideas!

-Mannequin Heads
I own two mannequin heads. Don't ask me why, but I love them! I use them when I'm vending at a festival to show off my headbands, and I just leave them around the house 'cuz I think they look cool!
You can find mannequin heads at beauty supply stores, or get one from someone who attended cosmetology school.

-Old Suitcases
I got mine at a thrift store, and my sister bought me one from a vintage store. They were already out in my living room, so I just put a mannequin head, a fake hand, and some fake cobwebs on it to make it look creepy and old.

-Fake Cobwebs
There is no easier way to Halloween-ify a room than with fake spiderwebs! We bought a pack at Dollar Tree for only one dollar! And that one pack went far! Just pull it apart, and put it everywhere!

-Old dried roses
I dry all the flowers that my husband gets me, and they look great put into a vase and set out with all your Halloween stuff.

-Black Roses
We used fake black roses for our wedding, so we just dug out those!

-Old Pictures

-Posters from haunted houses, bands, and concerts.
I have posters from when I worked at a haunted house, and my Misfits poster that I mounted on an old frame.