10.31.2019

TRICK-OR-TREAT

One of my favorite things about Halloween is creating costumes for my littles, it gets my creative side going and it's so much fun to come up with ideas and bring them to life, the best part of course is seeing how much they love their costumes.

This year I wanted to choose designs that were more eco friendly, we've only ever purchased one Halloween costume for Bella, when she was almost 2 years old she wanted to be Princess Anna because I've always really enjoyed making them myself. I love that costumes, especially princess costumes are great for pretend play (which is what the Princess Anna dress became for awhile until it ripped), but since we have limited space and I didn't want to buy something that might potentially sit in a toy box or rip after a few months of play, I had to rack my head for some different ideas. While it would have definitely have been easier for me to just buy a costume, I always like a good challenge, so here we are, with a honeybee costume for Bodhi and a jellyfish costume for Bella.


Bodhi's wings were made with re-purposed cardboard that a package had come in and that I hand painted, his onesie was a white nearly too small onesie that I pulled out of our donation box (instead of buying a new one) and dyed it with turmeric (such a fun experience and I think I'm now addicted to dying all the things), I hand painted stripes onto it after it had dried and he just wore dark colored pants and a shirt underneath. Bella's was made from tissue paper with one gigipip straw hat as the base, I sprayed a thin layer of clear glitter spray for a fun touch, and the rest is crepe paper streamers (I cut some scalloped edged onto each side on some, and the rest I just scrunched), and ribbon, we paired it with a pretty white nightgown and white tights (both things we already owned)! It was for sure the most unique costume I saw on our trick-or-treating adventures and they both turned out even better than I had anticipated they would. What did your little ones dress up as for Halloween this year?

10.27.2019

CREAMY WHITE BEAN CHICKEN CHILI

As soon as the weather starts cooling off I always start craving warm soups, give me all the soups... and chili of course. I've been wanting to try white bean chicken chili for practically forever and finally whipped up a pot of it the other day and I am obsessed now. It's SO GOOD, plus it's pretty easy to make so that's another plus for this busy mama! I had a ton of people ask for my recipe after I shared a peek of hat we were having for dinner in my Instagram stories, so for everyone who asked, here ya go! Let me know if you make it! :)


3 chicken breasts (precooked and shredded)

1/4 extra virgin coconut or extra virgin olive oil

1 onion (diced)

3 coves garlic (minced)

32 oz. chicken broth

1 to 2 cans of great northern beans (drained)

1 cans diced tomatoes with green chiles

1 can corn (drained)

1 teaspoon pink himalayan salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon cumin

3/4 teaspoon italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro

8 ounces sour cream

1/4 cup heavy cream

Cook chicken breasts in coconut or olive oil in a skillet, season to taste with himalayan pink salt, fresh ground pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. Once chicken breasts are cooked through, shred and set aside. In a stockpot or soup pot, add about a tablespoon of coconut oil to caramelize the diced onion. Once caramelized, add in your shredded chicken, minced garlic, chicken broth, northern beans, tomatoes with green chiles, corn and seasonings (salt, pepper, cumin, italian seasoning, and chili powder) and bring to a boil. Once it boils, lower stove temperature and simmer for 1 hour or until thickened. Add in fresh chopped cilantro, sour cream, and heavy cream and cook for another 10 to 15 minutes. Serve and enjoy!