Love is Alive

Exciting things are happening with Billy's non-profit, Steps of Faith Foundation.  Things with celebrities.  And I probably find celebrities way more exciting than the average person.  ha.  What? Yes.  I admit it.  But I know how to play it cool, don't worry.

SOF had their first Nashville fundraiser at the restaurant/private club The Standard. It's an amazing, huge, old mansion that has has dining rooms, meeting rooms, private lounges, bars...and literally...a hidden wardrobe to Narnia.  I'm not kidding.  We got VIP access for the night.

Wynonna Judd (!!!) was so kind to lend her golden pipes to this event.  She has a special connection to our cause because her husband, Cactus Moser, lost his leg in a motorcycle accident.  Cactus is on the SOF board of directors and is an amazing testimony of where prayer and positivity will take you after tragedy.  They are an awesome couple.  And those SONGS!  Her new ones are fabulous and the old ones really stand the test of time.  It was such an honor to see her perform in such an intimate setting.  I was a total nerd when I met her and got sweaty when I told her I was a big fan.  She was incredibly sweet to me anyway. Warm fuzzies all over.  We have been singing in our house ever since.

Love is alive          
and at our breakfast table
every day of the week
Love is alive 
and it grows every day and night
even in our sleep...

Invite by Simply Smitten Designs on Etsy.  

Makena Pendant Necklace by Stella & Dot.  Shop with me here!  

We were also ECSTATIC to see our pals Jason and Olivia on NBC's Hollywood Game Night.  Jason was able to play in the final round of the episode and chose Steps of Faith as his cause. What?! It was so exciting to hear the name of the foundation and what they do on such a big platform like this.  Some very kind people across the country heard about the foundation on the show, found the website and sent donations.  Very cool stuff.  Click here to see a video of Jason behind the scenes mentioning SOF.  See the full episode here!

Photos courtesy of Hollywood Game Night on Facebook

Leo Turns One

When you become parent, every other parent tells you that time flies when you have a baby.  And it gets really, really annoying. But they're right.  And then you realize…you are now that parent that says it to your pregnant friends.  ha!  It IS hard to believe that it's been a year since we had our tiny, fragile Leo and now he's such a big, strong, smiling, funny, smart little boy.  He loves to play with toys that make noise and music, eat leaves and tiny pieces of paper off the floor, rock back and forth to Stevie Wonder, make beats on his high chair tray, take dirty bottles out of the recycling bin, empty the office trash can, rip up important documents, unplug power cords, change the channel to CSpan on the TV, chew on straws, make funny noises, play Peek-a-boo, push buttons on Daddy's laptop, say Da Da when he's happy, and Ma Ma when he needs something. 

People that know me…know I LOVE a good theme.  January themes are hard!  Snowmen?  But I found inspiration for this Airplane Themed Birthday Party on Pinterest and loved it.  Then I started pinning away and getting grandiose ideas of remodeling our house.  It's a lot of pressure to try to be Pinterest Perfect.  I had many projects in mind that I was sure I would have time to do (i.e. gluten-free Cloud Sugar Cookies) that either completely bombed or I ran out of time for.  It's just not realistic and I my poor tortured husband convinced me at midnight (after folding 40 paper airplanes) that it was time for bed.  OK.  You win, Stupid Pinterest.

Once I let go of the fact I couldn't pull off a donut tower with Leo's face taped onto toothpicks…I relaxed and had fun.  I loved having our first "kid party"!  We had 4 couples and 8 kiddos come over to play and celebrate with us.  It is so wonderful to have friends in Nashville that feel like family.  Thank you Sullivants, Knowles, Mitchells, and Chaffers for being in our lives!

The thing about Leo's birthday that I toiled over the most was his cake.  I know it's tradition to let kids have their first taste of sugar on their birthday…but I just couldn't do it.  He's never had sugar (other than fruit) or any grains. He also has an egg allergy.  I did a lot of researching on gluten-free, vegan, paleo, sugar-free blogs and still couldn't find a cake that didn't have something in it I wanted to avoid.  So I concocted my own.  It's not pretty…and it's not sweet…but it looked like a cake and did the trick.  ha!  Leo loves bananas and will pretty much eat anything that you put in front of him at this stage in his life...so he enjoyed it.  And mama was happy.  (See recipe and other links below)

Leo's Banana Smash Cake Recipe

grain, gluten, egg, dairy, sugar, and nut free

Preheat oven to 375

Grease cake pan with coconut oil

Cake

1/2 cup organic coconut flour 

1/4 tsp. salt

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup organic coconut oil 

1 banana

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

4 Tb. potato starch 

1 tsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Melt coconut oil.  Then put coconut oil, banana, applesauce, lemon juice, and vanilla in blender to puree'.  Add to dry ingredients and mix on low speed until smooth.  Bake in small round cake pan (I did 2 thin layers but you could also do one)  for 20-25 minutes until firm on top.  Texture will be more like a muffin, not a fluffy cake.

Icing

11 ounces of Culinary Coconut Milk (aka Coconut Cream)

1 Banana

1 tsp vanilla

1 drizzle of local honey (optional)

Blend until smooth in blender and put in refrigerator for at least 1 hour until thick.  Ice cake within 1-2 hours of serving.

Happy Birthday, Sweet Boy!  We love you to pieces!

Theme Inspiration:  The Vintage Pearl

Paper Airplane Wall:  Printer Paper & Duct Tape

Paper Airplane Onesie:  Dirty Hippie Studios on Etsy
Party Invitation:  Room 1117 on Etsy
Round Helium Balloon:  Shindigs & Celebrations
Instagram Prints:  Printicular iPhone App (prints to Walgreens)

Summer Breeze...Makes Me Feel Fine

"Yacht Rock" is a mythical genre of music that includes soft rock hits from the late 70's & early 80's.  For people of my generation...it includes songs you know but didn't really know that you knew.  Ya know?  They were the songs that your parents listened to on the radio when you were a kid.  Think Michael McDonald, Linda Rondstadt, Kenny Loggins, Christopher Cross, Hall & Oats.  Songs that make you want to sip a Pina Colada on a large boat, perhaps.  But...also make you wanna sway, and groove.  There's some funk behind the smoothness.  haha...How's that for a description?

Billy and I actually have a Yacht Rock cover band called Summer Breeze that we started about 5 years ago.  Don't laugh!  Cover bands can be cool, people.  :)  The band that includes some of our closest friends who also happen to be exceptionally talented musicians.  We all originally lived in the KC area but now we are spread out to Nashville, KC, and Texas.  Now we play once or twice a year plus private events.  It has evolved into such a fun thing.  We actually have fans!  Fans who love yacht rock jams, wearing captains hats, and coming out to sing and dance their hearts out to songs like Rosanna and Rich Girl.

We just had our best show yet.  We had an after-Christmas show on December 28th and it was awesome to have so many friends, family and fans come out.  Our audience has outgrown our beloved Record Bar in KC, MO so we have relocated to the amazing Kanza Hall in the suburbs.  Our great friend Jason (who you might recognize from film & TV) happens to be a big yacht rock fan as well.  He loves to sit in with us for a song or two (and throw in a little Nate Dogg rap) when he's in town for our shows which makes it an extra special treat for us and the audience.

Here are some great photos by p.binder photography.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Donuts

Let's be honest.  Donuts are just an excuse to eat wheel-shaped brownies for breakfast and not feel wrong about it.  Ha!  These are a little healthier than your average donut since they are baked, have less refined sugar, and don't contain bleached wheat or GMO oils.  So enjoy one! Or three!


Gluten-Free Chocolate Donuts
(Adapted from Cooking for Isaiah Cookbook)
Makes 12 Donuts
2 Tb coffee (I used Trader Joe's Iced Coffee Concentrate)
3/4 cup water
2 eggs at room temp
6 Tb of organic coconut oil (melt before adding)
1 Tb vanilla
1 1/2 cups of *Gluten-Free Flour Mix 
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp. aluminum free baking powder 
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup of organic coconut palm sugar
1/4 cup of granulated sugar (can be left out to make less sweet)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease a 6-donut baking pan with coconut oil. (Let eggs and coffee come to room temperature before adding.)  In large bowl, lightly beat eggs with a wooden spoon.  Add coffee, melted coconut oil and vanilla. (Don't worry if coconut oil clumps a little. It will melt when baking and be delish).  Then stir in all other ingredients.  No need to even get out your electric mixer.  Easy!  

Fill donut cups about 3/4 full and bake until springy to the touch, about 18 minutes.

Optional - add glaze, caramel, frosting, powdered sugar, or sprinkles.  They are so sweet and good without anything extra in my opinion.


* (the best recipe I've found and tested for an all-purpose flour mixture is here.  But I ran out…so I used Trader Joe's All Purpose G-Free Flour Mix I had for a backup.  It worked great for this recipe!)

Zak & Erin Photoshoot

These are my super, hip, talented friends Zak & Erin and their little dog Fancy.  Aren't they cute?  They were sweet enough to allow me to use them as models to practice my photog skills.  We had fun getting some shots around their house last weekend.  

Erin & Zak are both talented musicians.  Erin is a singer-songwriter.  Zak plays bass.
Listen to Erin's music here.

Healthy Party Recipes and Thrown-Together craft

Last night we had a few friends over for a little gathering.  I decided to spruce up our porch for Thanksgiving.  To be honest…I don't have a lot of motivation to decorate my house unless someone besides me is going to see it.  I thought about skipping right ahead to Christmas decor…but I decided to jazz up our little pumpkin we picked at Gentry's Farm last month. I also repurposed some cute bunting that my friend Leslie made for Leo's "Sip & See".  Good thing I'm a borderline hoarder and don't throw things like that away.  I took off the letters that spelled "shower" and stuck on some little letters to spell "thankful".  See what I did there?  Added to a clearance wreath from Michaels and voila.  I feel like Martha.

 

For the pumpkin...I used white acrylic paint I had on-hand and a sponge brush.  Then I applied tacky glue all over the stem while the paint was still wet.  I pressed glitter to the stem and then sprinkled glitter on the white paint keeping it heavy at the top and allowing it to fall lightly around the bottom.

I literally did this in a box in the middle of my living room while Leo was uncharacteristally enthralled with a new toy.  Then I dragged the box outside and vacuumed all the leaves and glitter off my rug.  Of course…glitter is now still appearing in random places all over my house…like Leo's head.  But that's the sacrifice you make for art.  I just pretend like Ke$ha and her backup dancers came over for coffee.  Because Ke$ha likes glitter.  Get it? And coffee? Oh never mind.

Roasted Veggie Dip
This dip is packed full of flavor and nutrients.  It's great for a party because it's covers all the bases for high-maintenence people (myself included) with food allergies and dietary preferences these days.   It's Vegan, Vegetarian, Paleo, Gluten-Free, Dairy Free, Nut Free…you name it!

Preheat Oven to 400 degrees
1 red onion
2 red peppers
3-5 garlic cloves
1 eggplant
1/4 cup Olive Oil
3-4 Tbs. Tomato Paste
Sea Salt

Cut veggies into uniform pieces - about 1 inch thick.  Spread on a baking sheet, drizzle with EVOO & salt.  Bake at 400 for 30-40 minutes.

Allow roasted veggies to cool.  Then transfer to food processor and add EVOO and tomato paste.  Add more salt if needed.  That's it!

Enjoy with carrot sticks, or healthy chips like these sprouted sweet potato chips.

Lemon Sparkler
This is a great alternative to soda for a party or just everyday.

Juice:
1 lemon
1-2 apples
1/2 inch ginger
Add juice to a pitcher of Sparkling Water
(If too sour for your taste…add 1 tsp local honey to sweeten)

Enjoy!