October Things

This time of year is so interesting here. It's was into the 90's over the weekend, but down to the 60's at night. Some fall weather sounds so lovely! I think we're getting more fall-like temps this week which I'm looking forward to. 

I made this surprisingly tasty meal (click link to be taken to the recipe) this week I wanted to share with you, even though my pictures don't make it look appetizing. 

Baked butternut squash (I think this was my very first butternut squash experience?! I was impressed with it. It really seemed like potatoes to me.).

Garbanzo beans with tahini and seasonings

Mixed together. It's way better than it looks. The recipe also had onions in it and fresh parsley I think. Those things would add variety to it, but I recommend giving it a try. Even as a tasty side to your meal. 

I got to hold a sweet friend's baby last week. Melted my heart. All babies do - they're so small every time and holding them is just the sweetest thing. Life seems to be put into perspective a bit when you're holding precious cargo :)

 I had extra veggies from our produce co-op last week I didn't know what to do with. I googled zucchini recipe, and thought I'd try sautéing them. They were so good! Why haven't I done that before? They soak up the flavors so nicely. I flavored them with salt, pepper, garlic powder and cumin. We had them with cumin chicken and enjoyed it. 

Mr. Ranger has been under the weather for a few days which breaks my puppy mama heart. We got some pumpkin for him and he scarfed it with his food (which he hadn't been eating much of his food since he got sick), so hopefully he's on the mend. I've been getting extra cuddles in the mean time. 

I ate a delicious brunch at Brewed on Saturday with great company {one was a friend I met at the flourish retreat!:)}. This place was so cute - the atmosphere was so fun and the food was so good! 

Here was my brunch. So delicious. 

For my oil loving friends who haven't purchased the premium starter kit (what are you waiting for?!:)), here's your last chance to get it with Valor and Peace & Calming! 

If you have questions, you can email me at eatexploreenjoy@gmail.com and if you want to order your kit, the steps are at the bottom of this page>> Young Living Starter Kit Sign-Up. Plus, once you get your kit, you'll be on our Essential Families team where we all share ideas and ask questions, you'll get a welcome package from me, and we can be on this awesome oily journey together! 

Today's Pinspiration:

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Lately

We had family in town a few weeks ago and got to enjoy a day at the Texas State Fair together. It was so lovely!

Big Tex! You always have to see Big Tex when you're at the Texas State Fair. You can also see our trips to the Texas State Fair in 2011 and 2013. 

Dad and I giving our legs a rest. 

We watched a really cute wild west dog/animal show. They had a bird show here for years and it retired last year - this was still entertaining! 

I couldn't resist getting Ranger a treat at the fair:)

He loved his peanut butter heart. 

I made minty triple chocolate cupcakes for a work fundraiser too - so tasty! I used the triple chocolate cupcake recipe and added peppermint essential oil to the cupcake and buttercream frosting. 

Our team is so talented at making cupcakes - it wasn't until I came to this team that I even learned howl to make them, and how to make my own buttercream from scratch. I got caramel apple, pumpkin pie, s'mores, sea salt caramel, red velvet, Elvis (banana, peanut bitter & bacon), pumpkin with cream cheese frosting, raspberry & german chocolate. I couldn't eat these (since I don't eat gluten & dairy), but don't they look great?! 

I recreated a meal I loved from my weekend at the Flourish Retreat too. I could eat all of the meals that weekend and it expanded my meal ideas for delicious gluten and dairy free meals. This one is like a Mexican salad. Flavored ground beef, refried beans (I made them myself- yay!!), Mexican rice (made that myself too - I was so proud of this meal), salsa & I added corn we had in our produce batch that week. There is a lot of protein and it's so tasty. 

Sweet potato fries (olive oil, salt, garlic powder & rosemary). We had sweet potatoes in our last co-op farm batch, so I knew I wanted to try these fries. They were delicious! 

I tried making zucchini chips also. 

#fail 

The non-burned ones still had good flavor, but I maybe got 3 "chips" out of the deal, the rest were burned or just cooked (not crispy) zucchini with flavor. 

We've been enjoying beautiful weather lately and some gorgeous skies. I hope you have a great weekend wherever you are! 

Today's Pinspiration:

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{Flourish} Retreat

Friends, I'm so excited to share some photos with you of my weekend away at the Flourish retreat. I was so thankful to have won a spot at this great getaway. It was refreshing. So much quality girl talk - new friendships - time to clear my mind and connect. Everyone should make their way to this retreat - it's SO worth it. 

It's also beautifully put together. The girls have such a sweet eye to make it so fun and inviting. 

The night we arrived, we had a strong storm roll through. Strong winds - near 60-70 mph in some areas, hail (though we didn't get hail thankfully), and power outages. A few girls got stuck on roads with trees down and others couldn't land at the airport, so had to re-route their travels, but thankfully we all made it eventually - and the weekend shined like a beautiful rainbow after the storm.

Candle light dinner the first night since the power was out all evening. We joked we got to know each other pretty well in the dark! Thankfully 3-4 hours later, the power kicked back on (with a LOUD kick I must say that caused all of us to scream and crack up laughing!). 

I enjoyed a foggy sunrise over the lake. 

 Quiet time and down time. My soul needed that. 

This lake house was also beautiful!

 Some of my new friends. We went to a cute downtown for lunch and antiquing on Saturday and a lady asked the 3 of us if we were sisters. It was a little funny since we just met a few days earlier, but we are soul sisters. I loved meeting new friends! 

 Sweet Emily (from The Anderson Crew blog). I loved more time with this girl. I enjoyed sweet conversations, heart to hearts, awesome food (that I could eat!) and time flourishing with her and each of the girls. Emily and KK started this awesome retreat a few years ago and this is their 7th retreat. I'm so thankful for their honest, open hearts to share this place and experience with so many other women. What a beautiful think they're doing! I'm thankful to be doing life with women like this. 

The ladies I enjoyed this experience with. So much beauty inside and out! 

This place was just gorgeous. I was on cloud 9 the whole time, surrounded by peace and beauty. Quietness, connectedness, and so much love.

My heart is filled with beauty, love, and is renewed. I pray wherever you are, you can find some quietness and renewal in your day too. 

Today's Pinspiration:

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