Smoothie: Banana Chocolate PB "Milkshake"

My new morning obsession is smoothies. I have one every day for breakfast and I love them because they fill me up but aren't too heavy and they're a great way to get some fruits (okay... and maybe some veggies too) in the morning.

Here's a recipe for my new favorite- banana chocolate peanut butter!

Step 1: In a blender combine: about 1 cup milk (I used chocolate coconut here, you can use any kind you like), 1/2 cup yogurt or cottage cheese (non-dairy yogurt would work as well), 1 spoonful peanut butter (or other nut butter, try roasted and shelled peanuts for a more chunky texture), and 1 Tablespoon flax meal/ground flax seeds (you can't taste them and they add fiber and omega 3s!). Blend these together until the consistency is smooth. 

Step 2: Add 1/2 of a banana and a few handfuls of spinach. I promise, you can't taste the spinach because the flavor is way overpowered by the banana-chocolate-peanutbuttery goodness. The spinach just adds a dose of veggies (one serving for the day that you don't have to worry about) and makes the smoothie thick- just like a milkshake. Blend these with the first mixture until it gets smooth again.

Step 3: Add 3-5 ice cubes depending on how thick you want it, and blend until smooth again (or until your blender stops making clunky ice-chopping noises). I usually add five cubes because our blender chops them up really fine.

Step 5: Pour and enjoy! My mom is always happy to drink the extra smoothie (especially this one). This is seriously my new favorite thing. Next time I want a milkshake, I'm just going to make this. It's like a milkshake without the heavy-yucky-sluggish feeling afterwards. 

Next time I'm going to try this with frozen coffee cubes instead of ice cubes for more of a mocha "milkshake" smoothie!

Enjoy today,

Addie

Reorganization! (one of my favorite things)

I wanted a way to simplify this blog. All of the posts were jumbled together and each one had numerous different labels. After thinking about it for a while, I had a brain blast. Now, I am excited to introduce to you the new style of this blog.

Everything that I want this blog to be about can be summed up in four genres: healthy living, joyful living, creative living and simple living. Sometimes, posts may overlap multiple themes, but everything I write can be organized into at least one of these categories. 

At the top of this blog, you'll find tabs that take you to a page for each section. Each page contains all of the posts for this theme. 

These four categories represent the four focuses in my life. I can't wait to continue to share with you.

Enjoy today,

Addie

DIY: Stained tank to hand-stamped tank

I really don't like to throw things out, or buy new things when what I have is in good condition. So when I noticed a stain one of my basic camisole tank tops, and the white one at that, I figured I could do something to cover up the stain. This characteristic in me most definitely comes from my grandmother on my mom's side- she sews buttons on her shirts and pants to cover bleach stains.

This is my tutorial for the modern take on button-covered bleach stains.

Step 1: Acquire target stain.

 Step 2: Pick a design. I thought balloons might be nice, and they would make an interesting pattern peeking out from under a shirt or sweater. Cut the design out of craft foam sheets using scissors and/or an exacto knife. I bought the thickest foam for maximum stampability. Make sure you're aware of how your design will look when reversed, or put the "up" side against the wood of the stamp later if you want it to look just like it does now.

Step 3: Using thin hobby wood from your local home improvement store (sold in lovely pre-cut pieces like this one) measure how big you would like your stamp to be. Make sure your foam piece fits on the wood you are going to cut.

Step 4: Cut the wood! I used our hand crank clamp and a Japanese saw. After cutting, check and make sure you still have all ten fingers. Yes? Good, let's move on.

Step 5: Get out your handy-dandy glue (I used Gorilla Super Glue) and glue your stamp to the cut wood piece. Make sure you know which side of your stamp gets glued so you don't reverse your design.

 Step 6: Brush on fabric paint. I use a brush because it gives a uniform coat, unlike dipping it in paint which can leave blobs oozing where you don't want it.

Step 7: Test stamp on paper. This one is self explanatory, I think.

 Step 8: Begin stamping, reloading your stamp with paint each time. I put thick paper between the front and back of the top just in case the paint bled through. It didn't, but better safe than sorry.

 Step 9: Finish your design, making sure that you covered any stains (if that was your goal to begin with).

 Step 10: Add additional details with a paintbrush. I wanted my balloons to have strings, but then they needed something to attach to. So I painted a fence all the way around the top (including the back).

Step 11: Allow to dry as recommended on your paint bottle, wash as recommended, and wear!

I love how this tank top turned out. It looks cute on its own with yoga pants for a Pilates class (as shown above) or layered under a shirt for school. The only thing I had to buy for this project was the foam, everything else I had as leftovers from various projects. I've already used the leftover foam for a Valentine's Day project, stamping hearts onto the envelopes of Valentines for my friends.

I'm so happy to have saved a tank top from being tossed away and to have saved the stress of finding a new one (they don't carry them anymore where I bought it). I certainly love a project as well.

Enjoy today,
Addie