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!

Leo & Daddy

It's so fun to see Leo's personality starting to emerge.  He's busy, determined, fun-loving.  He has smiling, mischievous eyes…and he always laughs along with us, like he's in on the joke.   He's both energized and comforted by music.  He adores his daddy and is mesmerized when Billy makes beats on his legs. Today…the drum came out and he couldn't wait to join in the fun.  

I think I'm in for years of noisy rhythms in this house.  I couldn't be happier.  :)

$650 Giveaway. Winner takes all.

My pal, Jami Nato, is giving away $650 worth of fabulous goodies on her blog today and I'm excited to be a part of it!  So head over to thenatos.com to enter to win this red ikat Stella & Dot bag worth $89 among UH-Mazing prizes that will just make your year.  

Good luck!  Hope ya win!  

Want to see other Stella & Dot Bags and accessories?  Shop here!

Cute, huh?

Family Photo Sesh

It was high time for some real family photos.  So far we mostly have just iPhone photos and Instagrams. I really want to get better about documenting, printing, and ORGANIZING our life in photos.  Organization is not my spiritual gift.

So we had a mini session with our talented, beautiful friend, Sionnie LaFollette. She is currently in India capturing amazing stories with her camera and the Joyn organization.  Follow her amazing travels on Instagram and at http://joynltw.squarespace.com.  

Thanks for the fun photos, Sionnie!

 

I love Sionnie's sense of humor.  This may need to be our Christmas card.  lol.