A little while back, I was contacted by Sun Cups about trying out their sweet goodies. It was a no-brainer. {Chocolate, duh!} Plus, I’ve always been interested in nut-free, allergy-friendly alternatives to food because we have extended family & friends with peanut allergies. Sun Cups sent us one each of their four varieties to sample and we loved each one more than the next. They’re good, really good.
The story of Sun Cups… In 2008, a man knocked on the door at Seth Ellis Chocolates with a jar of sunflower butter and a challenge: create a candy cup his peanut-allergic son could eat. The chocolatiers got to work, inspired by the idea of a peanut butter cup for everyone. A jar of sunflower butter, a handful of test batches and a day later, they had cracked the code. Sun Cups were born.
Being a peanut butter cup for everyone is no small task. It calls for unseen levels of nut-free, gluten-free, Certified Kosher deliciousness. And being the overachievers they are, the chocolatiers also made their creation all natural, using cacao from Rainforest Alliance Certified™ farms. That means the chocolate in Sun Cups comes from farms that look out for their workers and the planet. Sun Cups wouldn’t have it any other way.
Milk Chocolate and Dark Chocolate Sun Cups debuted in 2009. And in 2011, they added Milk Chocolate Caramel Cups and Dark Chocolate Mint Cups to the lineup to spread the love to even more dessert-earners worldwide.
Today, the Sun Cups Boulder chocolate factory is buzzing around the clock churning out chocolate safe for nut allergies.
All four varieties were delicious, but the Dark Chocolate were my favourite. If you’re looking for an allergy-safe, planet-friendly sweet treat, look no further. You can keep up with Sun Cups on their Facebook page for all of the latest & greatest in sweetness.
Over the weekend, we took a little trip to the North Pole to have Roman’s 1st pictures with Santa Claus taken. We met my sister & my sweet nephews there, too. It was so much fun to see Roman visiting with that jolly old fellow! We were so nervous that Roman would start crying when we sat him on Old Saint Nick’s lap, but instead he lit up for the camera when he spotted his Mama & Papa beside the photographer.
I’ve always been completely in love with the magic of Christmas; but getting to experience the magic with my baby boy makes it all the more wonderful. We are completely in the spirit around here. We finished decorating — inside & out — today, and there are Christmas carols playing around the clock in this house. (Thank you Pandora Christmas Music station!)
I am ever-so-grateful to be enjoying this holiday season with my beautiful, little family. If you’re looking for me… you’ll find me drinking eggnog, singing Jingle Bells, decking the halls, or participating in some other such Christmas delight. xo
Roman has always loved being read to. At just 3-months-old, he would sit quietly in amazement as I read entire books to him. Now, at 7-months, he is even more fond of his books. At my baby shower we had asked for books for the “Wishing Well.” I am so glad that we did, because we received the most beautiful, little library.
At the moment, Roman’s favourite book is, Where Is Baby’s Belly Button? (A Lift-the-Flap Book). He lights up at the fun, bright colours in the illustrations and gets so excited every time I lift a flap to reveal a piece of baby. I hope that he always has such a love for books. I’ve always been a book person myself. I was an English major in college and one of my favourite jobs was at Border’s bookstore. There is nothing like a good book, I say. Reading with Roman has been one of my greatest joys in motherhood so far.
^^^ Don’t let my light clothes fool you — there is snow & ice outside. It’s just toasty warm in our little house because of our wood-burning stove! ^^^
^^^ How gorgeous are Roman’s blue eyes against our yellow bedroom walls? ^^^
What a difference a month makes! The differences in Roman’s abilities from six-months to seven-months have been the most profound yet. On December 1st, he started sitting up on his own. On December 7th, he started pushing himself up into a “crawl” position. And the next day, December 8th, he broke his first tooth and then crawled (well, scooted) for the first time! What an extraordinary couple of weeks it has been. His development is picking up speed at a rapid pace. It’s so exciting around here. It’s beautiful & scary, happy & sad, all at once. I see my baby turning into a boy every day and it makes my heart hurt a little bit. But he is interacting with me in wonderful, new ways, too, and that makes my heart swell with joy & love. This motherhood thing is more of a roller-coaster than I ever could have imagined & I’m grateful for every moment of it.
My sweet Roman! You are seven-months-old. You are the wildest spirit. You are incredibly strong. You try your Mama’s muscles & nerves. You make your Papa beam with pride. You are the light of our lives. Every day I sing, “You Are My Sunshine,” to you and every day I mean it even more. Hugs and kisses forever & always.
The winner of the Goose Waddle Blanket Set Giveaway has been randomly selected using Rafflecopter! And the winner is:
Jessica M.!
The winner of the Poppy Rose bib giveaway has been randomly selected using Rafflecopter! And the winner is:
Vivian Sun!
Thank you to everyone who participated in these giveaways. Remember, there’s still time to enter my Konjac Sponge giveaway! And I’ve got lots more fun giveaways coming up really soon! xo
Just a few gift ideas for a special lady in your life — inspired by my own Christmas wish list. I’ll be sharing a few more gift guides in the coming days. Next up — a gift guide For Him. And the last guide will be For Baby, of course! Have a lovely weekend. xo
Back in October, our microwave died. It was a week before our Halloween party and I was a little bit panicked thinking that I would need a microwave for party prep. We had intended to replace it, but things got hectic and then the party came and went. No microwave, no problem. The dead microwave remained in its place on the shelf. Weeks came and went. We pretty much forgot about the dead microwave. Then, last week, I had a craving for popcorn. Whatever would we do? I decided to get a bag of “old-fashioned” kernels. I put a little bit of oil in the bottom of a medium pot and then added the kernels in. Put a lid over it and turned the burner on to medium heat. It was so fun to listen to that popcorn popping and eventually pushing the lid right up off of the pot. I put it all in a big bowl, added a little bit of olive oil & salt, et voila! It was the most delicious popcorn ever. That night we decided to say goodbye to our microwave. It had been well over a month since it’d crapped out and we didn’t miss it.
The debate over whether microwaves are dangerous or not has been raging for awhile. There are strong arguments on both sides. Personally, I’ve always felt a little “icky” using the microwave. Perhaps it was all in my head but I didn’t like to stand in front of it when it was on — fearing that micro-waves would penetrate my body. (Too much sci-fi!?) I was also told by our pediatrician, and confirmed with further research, that I shouldn’t microwave breastmilk because it breaks it down and destroys its nutrients. I wonder if microwaves break down any other foods/nutrients.
Ultimately, we didn’t decide to get rid of our microwave for health reasons. It died of natural causes. But we don’t plan to replace it anytime soon. The delicious stove-topped popcorn is a bonus.
^^^ My boys waiting patiently for some popcorn goodness ^^^
This week I definitely had one of those “oh-my-goodness-my-baby-is-not-a-tiny-little-baby-anymore” moments. It hit me like a ton of bricks. I don’t remember what we were doing but I was just looking at him & bam. He is so big! I can’t even deal. And then, to top it all off, he started sitting up on his own on December 1st.
^^^ His new silly face ^^^
Seriously? I mean, really! How did I ever get to be so lucky? A dear friend of mine has been visiting for a couple of days. Last night we went out for dinner & a drink — my first night out in a year! — and the conversation came around to motherhood. I started to explain M.’s and my relationship with Roman and the only word that I could use to describe it was obsessed. We are just so in love with this boy. If I had a dime for every time that we sit around staring at him, saying he’s so cute and he’s so smart… I’d be filthy rich. ♥
spices of choice (I used: sage, dill, garlic salt, salt, pepper)
2.5 cups cooked rice
(extra virgin) olive oil
1 egg (optional)
Directions
Mash chickpeas with a blender or a fork. Add chickpeas to a large bowl. Add onion, spices. Pour in about 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Mix together with spoon. Slowly mix in rice. Adding an egg at this point is optional. It will help with consistency. To keep this dish vegan you can skip the egg and add some extra olive oil. Knead all ingredients in the bowl with hands. Make sure that everything is mixed together and one, even consistency. Use hands to roll mixture into balls. Balls should be about the size of a golf ball. Place balls on a greased baking sheet. Drizzle a bit of olive oil over balls.
Place balls in oven and bake at 450 degrees for 25 minutes or until balls are crisp and slightly browned.
Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before removing from tray. Serve with your choice of side. I paired ours with homemade creamed spinach/kale. It was delicious.
Bon appetit! Click here to have a look at some of my other recipes. xo
This month, we completed the installation of our new wood-burning stove. This is one of our first, and most important, steps toward sustainable living. Wood-burning stoves are one of the most energy efficient and environmentally-friendly ways to heat the home. Wood burners outperform both solar panels and ground source heat pumps. The type of stove that we chose — a double combustion wood burner — enables 90% of smoke and particles to be converted to heat, keeping emissions to a minimum. Additionally, the wood that we use in our stove is all sustainably harvested (by my husband) from fallen/dead trees.
We’ve been using the stove for about a week now and are already appreciating the benefits. Our dog Bella is the stove’s #1 fan. You will find her in front of it all day & night. This is a joy for Roman because he just adores her. Matthew loves the stove, too. Chopping firewood has always been a favourite activity for him. And I love it because it is beautiful to look at, friendly to the environment, and drastically decreases the money we spend on our winter gas bill.
I am really pleased with this addition to our home and grateful for the work that Matthew did to secure the best stove at the best price. There is nothing like cozying up to the fire with my family on a cold winter day.
If you’re looking for an allergy-safe, planet-friendly sweet treat, look no further. You can keep up with Sun Cups on their Facebook page for all of the latest & greatest in sweetness.
. He lights up at the fun, bright colours in the illustrations and gets so excited every time I lift a flap to reveal a piece of baby. I hope that he always has such a love for books. I’ve always been a book person myself. I was an English major in college and one of my favourite jobs was at Border’s bookstore. There is nothing like a good book, I say. Reading with Roman has been one of my greatest joys in motherhood so far.
