Let Me Be Your Witch Doctor

Not long ago, I used to tease Marcus about how cautious {read: paranoid} he was about safety, not just safety as in not doing obviously dangerous things like jumping off cliffs or riding on motorcycles, but smaller things, like using a seasoning that might have MSGs, holding the phone to your ear, or getting X-Rays at the dentist. He was raised with a mother that made him ultra aware of these types of dangers, and I was raised with almost the complete opposite of a mother, who basically believed bad things only happened to you if they were supposed to happen to you, so no need to stress too much.

But a funny thing happened to me.

Last year, I got pregnant.

I had just found out and we hadn't told anyone yet. I was at my mom's house microwaving a bowl of soup. The time was almost up, so I walked over to the door, getting ready to open it up once it beeped and suddenly I was sure the waves were pulsing straight into my belly, radiating my tiny fetus. I quickly jumped back from the microwave and waited til it had beeped and cooled before I could convince myself I was being crazy (but not totally convince myself, as I have avoided standing by microwaves ever since! HA). Since that experience, I find myself somewhere in the middle of my two mother's beliefs, as I don't think it's healthy physically or emotionally to spend too much of your life stressing about every little thing that could cause your body some bit of harm, but I also believe we have a responsibility to take care of our bodies and learn the things we need to be able do so.
Pregnancy/the discovery of the coolest/most eye-opening app called Think Dirty, led me to set a goal of a toxin-free home. At first I felt overwhelmed--making meals was hard enough with a new baby, now I was going to be making soaps, deodorants, cleaning supplies, etc....but I will say, my career aspiration as a child was to become a Witch Doctor when I grew up, so this was kinda in line with that. YAY!

As I started looking up recipes and deciding what were the most important things to go, I realized, most of these things only took a few minutes to whip up! Most of the supplies could be ordered on Amazon (thank you Prime!) And most of them worked awesome (and looked way prettier too!). Plus, news flash! I'm not the only one who desires to live this way, so there are lots of small businesses you can support, if you don't want to do it yourself!

Something I haven't branched out in trying to make myself, is facial products (although I think it would be fun, and hope to experiment with in the future). But I found Klurskin on IG and I just had to give them a try. They're products are 100% natural, organic, with no artificial fragrances (but they smell so FREAKING GOOD! like a lemon dessert!) I tried several of Klurskin products, but my absolute favorites were the Organic Fusion Radiance Oil and the Hyaluronic + Vitamin C Serum. They give you the perfect dewy glow under your makeup and have cured me of that pesky flaky skin I always had around my nose, plus you only use a few drops, so they last for quite some time! The woman behind the brand is a total GirlBoss from LA and I love supporting her as she lives her dream, but mostly I love that I'm respecting my body, by ridding it from chemicals and toxins!

I'll be sharing my favorite tried and true natural recipes and products on here from time to time. I hope it inspires you to take baby steps to a cleaner life. Feel free to Pin anything that looks interesting and share with me any great recipes/brand I should try out!

You can see some of my favorite recipes on Instagram under the hashtag #swapitoutsaturday

{foodie} friday: toad stools

i had these at my sister-in-law, Reachel's, party i couldn't stop eating them.

now they're a regular snack here at the Nielson home.

since i've taken these photos, we've started serving them with a balsamic reduction.

it's no wonder i like them, they combine three of the finest things on earth--cheese, fresh basil and tomato! sometimes i just can't forgive myself for taking so long to love tomato.

 i simply cube jack cheese, slice a basil leaf, and half grape tomatoes.

stack and impale with a toothpick, then you can drizzle or dip in a balsamic reduction or eat alone.

{foodie} friday: snack time for grown-ups

bruschetta is one of my favorite foods in the world--i crave it all the time. 

in tempe there is a place called la bocca and it has the best bruschetta of all time, but since it's kind of far and i'm not made of money sometimes i just have to make it at home. 

so here's one of my favorite little snacks:

slice up a mini baguette

toast it in a toaster oven or broil it in the oven

cut fresh tomatoes and fresh mozerella cheese in small cubes

slice fresh basil leaves into stripes

smear a small spoonful of pesto on the warm toast

pile on the toppings

drizzle a balsamic glaze over top

enjoy!

+i got my mini baguette from fry's for 99 cents and it's quite yummy

+pesto was from trader joe's, you can find it in the spagetti sauce section and it's delish

+to make a balsamic reduction simply pour a cup of balsamic vinegar in a saucepan over medium heat, bring vinegar to a boil, turn the heat down to a simmer, stirring occasionally. simmer until the reduction is about half the amount you started with--but make sure to keep the heat down or you'll get a rather stiff reduction and it will be hard to drizzle.

anyone have a great pesto recipe i should try?

{foodie} friday: berry goddess

my favorite brunch-time snack:

plain 0% fat fage greek yogurt

fresh berries and a drizzle of honey

(and when we have it, vanilla and almond granola!)

+if you live in the valley, there's a place down main st. called superstition ranch market--insanely good prices on fresh produce, i got 4 lbs of strawberries for $1

{foodie} friday: island oatmeal

 this may be totally old news to everyone else, but while i was in hawaii last week, my cousin made us oatmeal, she cooked it with milk instead of water and then offered us coconut to add in along with a bit of brown sugar. i felt like i was eating something completely new and delicious and as soon as i got home i got the supplies to make it myself. it was just as good the second time! i've even started eating it for dessert by adding a little sliver of bluebell vanilla ice cream :)

give it a try and let me know what you think.

what do you put in your oats?

newtown.

so happy to be spending time with the precious little lives i have around me this weekend.

i've been thinking and talking about the terrible tragedy that happened on friday all weekend and a rush of sadness goes over my body thinking about it now. So i wanted to share these two articles/videos because they opened my eyes to a huge importance that we're not addresses (at least not adequately).

this first video is delivered a little harsh, but at least listen starting at {1:40} because i think it's time we make a change in what we support as news viewers. 

i understand that we need to be educated on what's going on the world we live in, but perhaps our stories can be focused almost entirely on the heros and a celebration of the lives of the people who were lost, rather than becoming strangely infatuated with every detail of the killers life.

or as this incredibly touching and eye-opening article clearly points out, perhaps we could spend time, energy, and resources on figure out a better way to manage mental health issues.

I'm praying for the families who were affected so deeply by this, I'm proud of those teachers who sacrificed their life and safety for others. I hope we can figure out a way to prevent these things from happening ever again. 
I know that God loves His children and can offer comfort to anyone who seeks it--may we each seek it.

23 1/2...

Something to think about while setting our New Year Goals: