daytripping

This my friends is what our February looks like on the North Coast of Northern California. Its not Maui but its not Alaska(which will be our new home in 6 months). I will miss our mild winters and all the outdoor adventure we find. There will be no surfing in February for us up in Kodiak Island but for now we have this magical place to live in and live in is. 

valentine

Craft time! Little B got his class list for Valentines so we busted out the art supplies and heart cut-outs for the old fashion version. It took a lot for me to not want to design them and have "cool" ones to hand out to the class kiddos. Minted has some really cute ones that are all designy and such. Instead, the ones Little B is making are truly out of love as he picks colors and images for each classmate. Love is our theme at home for the next week and a half and we had some fun conversations as we worked on this project. My goal is to show the kiddos that love is just not romantic but how we should live most days of the year instead of just Valentine's Day. We are picking three random acts of love to complete in this time frame. Remember we ALL need Love!

snow day

We found the snow over the weekend in the hills and busted out the sleds. The boys LOVE snow! It was the perfect day with two feet of fresh snow and the california sun on our faces. The sledding skills are getting better and a little more harry carry. We brought out a thermos of Hot cocoa and enjoyed sipping in the sun!

glitter snowglobe DIY

Materials:

An object like a tree or animal (I used this white glitter tree made of candle wax)

super glue

a small jam jar or mason jar

glitter or fake snow

I picked up this tea light candle at a store for $3.00. I already had the other materials around the house and estimate the total cost if I had to but it all new would be less than $10. Once I saw this little tree my craft brain was on a roll to make "something". Little B asked for a snowglobe the other day and since we have northern California cost winters, we lack snow of the real variety. I figure why not craft some snow for the kiddos. Here are the really simple steps in creating this DIY snowglobe.

1. Super glue the object (tree) to the inside of the lid. I would let it dry for 15-20 minutes.

2.  Put fake snow/glitter in the bottom of the jar, at the most 1/3 full.

3. Fill with water almost to the top leaving room for the object to not overflow the jar.

4. Put super glue around rim of the jar and secure top.

5. Bam, you have a super cool snowglobe.

winter greens salad

Our winter garden and CSA is putting out mostly greens with a few root vegetables. This is a massaged kale salad with cilantro, baby carrots and a parsley and olive oil dressing. Simple, simple, simple.

GF and Dairy free Pumpkin Pie recipe

I could not celebrate Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie! Besides Turkey, its my favorite part of the holiday feast. I searched Pinterest and the world wide web for the perfect recipe but I found one via a friend that is GF also. Did I mention that Big B and I took our first two night getaway from the kiddos?! We spent two nights in Sonoma and had an absolute blast. On the trip we meet another couple that is also gluten free. We talked CSA's, food blogs, and swapped Thanksgiving recipe plans. Its really nice to connect with those who "get it". This new friend gave me this simple crust recipe. I used a modified Grandma's Pumpkin Pie recipe for the filling. I will keep this one for the books!

Praline Pie Crust-GF

2 tablespoons vegan butter 

1 tbs of cinnamon
1 tsp of celtic sea salt
2 cups chopped pecans
1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds
2 tablespoons organic light brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup(grade B)

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 9 inch tart pan. Place all of the dry ingredients into a food processor and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse sand. Add in the vegan butter and mix several times in until the crumbs are moist and begin to fall away from the sides of the bowl. Remove the mixture from the processor and add the maple syrup, stirring until fully combined.

Dump the mix into the tart pan and spread evenly. Using your fingers firmly press the crumbs across the bottom and up the sides. 

Bake in the center of the oven for about 9 minutes. 

Remove the pan and set aside.

You could easily omit the sugar and use pastured butter for a SCD version.

Grandmas Pumpkin Pie Filling-Adapted Diary Free

1 1/2 cups canned pure pumpkin

2 large eggs

1 cup unsweetened original coconut milk

1/2 cup pure maple syrup (preferably Grade B)

1 tablespoon flaxseed flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 tsp. celtic sea salt

Preheat oven to 350°. Whisk canned pure pumpkin and eggs to blend well in a medium bowl. Add coconut milk, maple syrup, flaxseed flour, cinnamon, ginger, and sea salt; whisk to blend well. Pour filling into the pre-baked crust in the tart pan. Bake pie until center is just set, 55-60 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool. 

holiday inspiration board

My inspiration board for a natural white holiday card over at minted.com. What are your favorite holiday cards this season?

natural noel forest board by Potluck Design. See more holiday cards