Simple Summer Uniform

 Skirt: American Rag Cie (similar)     Top: H&M (similar)    Jacket: Old Navy    Bag: Anthropologie     Shoes: Rampage (similar)     Lips: NARS     Sunglasses: Stella McCartney

This post is essentially "Julia in her natural habitat (Whole Foods), wearing her natural clothes (fave denim jacket and wedges for height), with her natural hair (kinda frizzy, very wavy)'.  Who knew that the produce section at Whole Foods had great lighting?  It would seem that I forgot to blog for the past week.  Fellow bloggers- have you ever spaced out on your posting schedule?  Some days I just can't find the time, and other days it's nowhere near the front of my mind.  Anyways, I'm back now and I have quite a few posts that I'm excited to put up in the next few days!

All jokes aside, this outfit, with variations, has pretty much been my summer uniform- tank top, miniskirt, wedges, sunglasses, and my favorite jean jacket.  I love this vegan suede skirt from American Rag Cie- it's a nice contrast of texture with the denim and lace, and I love the neutral colors.  

What's your summer uniform? 

Loving Lately // Cocoa in the Coffee Maker

Brewable Cocoa:  Crio Bru ℅       Scoop- Williams Sonoma

Lately Loving #1-   Crio Bru Brewed Cocoa Beans

I was so intrigued when Crio Bru first came to my attention.  It's not coffee, even though it looks like coffee and brews in the coffee machine.  It's actually ground up cocoa beans that brew in the coffee maker to make a delicious drink with natural energy and all the antioxidants of cocoa. The energy isn't all caffeine, so it won't cause a spike-and-crash, but rather a gentle boost.  

My favorite way to drink it is with a tiny bit of unsweetened cashew milk, a packet of stevia, and just a pinch of sea salt.  It's wonderfully aromatic when brewing, and there are definitely chocolate notes in the taste.  If you're a fan of bitter coffee and bitter dark chocolate, you'll love it plain.  Otherwise, it's wonderful with some add ins. 

Thanks so much to the team at Crio Bru for sending this cocoa my way!  I've been brewing it up almost every morning.  The Ghana beans are my favorite!

Lately Loving #2 - J. Crew Excursion Vest

It's finally excursion vest season!  The most popular is the legendary herringbone of course, but the navy, buffalo check, and black vests are all classics and stylish bets.  Try out a fun color, too!

 Lately Loving #3-  Kate Spade Home Collection

I've been waiting for a Kate Spade home collection forever.  I fell in love with just about everything when I browsed through the line, and of course a few items landed on my wishlist.  I'm only disappointed about one thing- where's those bow pillows they have in the store?

My Favorites:

Harbour Stripe Bedding Set (above)

Calypso End Table

Dickinson Large Pendant

Cat Nat Pillow

Places to Go, People to See Coffee Table Book

via Atlantic Pacific

Lately Loving #4- Self Portrait Clothing

I'm a lover of all things ultra-feminine, and Self Portrait's guipure lace and intricate details are a winner for me.  Blair Eadie has been rocking the line for a while now, and it's slowly becoming a favorite with celebrities.  Shop a few of my favorites below.

What are your current favorites?

Fall Recipes - Seasonal, Healthy, and Delicious

Holiday Stuffed Pumpkin     {via Green Kitchen Stories}

The shift into fall not only means new clothes to wear and new weather to face: I love turning around my kitchen to add an autumnal twist to things.  When someone says "fall food", most people think pumpkin.  I love pumpkin, but I also love using butternut squash, cinnamon, sweet potato, blackberries, and all kinds of delicious fall produce.

The following recipes are from a few of my favorite food blogs, and they use some of the best ingredients to really capture fall in your kitchen.  Enjoy!

Vegan Earl Grey + Chocolate Shakes   {via The First Mess}

I'd never though of using tea in my smoothies before, but it sounds amazing!  This shake from The First Mess is an amazing indulgence, and a subtle caffeine boost.

Maple Pumpkin Quesadillas  {via Healthy Happy Life.com}

Doesn't that just look so good?  Crisp tortilla and a delicious harmony of white beans, maple, creamy pumpkin, and pure goodness make this quesadilla autumn perfection.

Butternut Bliss Salad   {via Healthy Happy Life.com}

Basically, heaven in a bowl.  

A Pizza Party {with Flatout}

{find the recipes below!}

Flatbread is like pizza's elegant cousin.  I often order flatbread at a restaurant when I'm in the mood for pizza, since it's less messy and easier to pick up.  And I love whipping up my own at home!  You can go crazy with the toppings or keep it simple, use fancy ingredients, or make an easy and basic recipe, and usually it'll taste great either way. 

Flatout makes a line of flatbreads with an assortment of styles ranging from artisan thin pizza crusts, fun "foldit" buns, and classic wrap style flatbreads.   They even come in fun flavors, like rosemary, garlic, or black pepper.  And they are all delicious and healthy!

The kind team over at Flatout sent a few of their flatbreads for me to try out, and I'm happy to say that I loved them all.  Now I have some fun recipes for you guys!  There's something for anyone: whether you're in the mood for a Neopolitan flatbread pizza, a delicious burger, or even nachos.

All the recipes are vegetarian, and can be made vegan.  Enjoy!

The Flatout Recipe Collection

Simple Margherita Flatbread Pizza

Red Pepper Balsamic Pizza

Vegan Burger with Sweet Mustard Aioli

Flatbread Nachos

Special thank you to the Flatout team!
Follow them on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest!  Find them in stores here!

This post was brought to you by Flatout Bread.  I was sent products by the Flatout team for review and feature.  All opinions are my own. :-)

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread Mini Muffins {Vegan}

Baking is one of my favorite things to do.  It calms me down, helps me unwind, and keeps me occupied.  I loved whipping up different healthy treats (with varying results!).  I'll admit to some epic kitchen failures, but these Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins are my favorites.  If the concept of zucchini in a muffin sounds weird, don't worry.  You can't taste it, it's just a great way slipping in some veggies!

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins

Vegan, Can be GF if GF flour is used 

makes 9
-

1/3 cup almond butter (I used homemade- recipe below)

1/3 cup shredded zucchini

1/3 cup granulated sweetener (I used Stevia in the Raw baker's bag)

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3 tbsp flour of choice

2 tbsp chopped chocolate chips (I used Sunspire)

drizzle maple syrup (about 1/4 tsp)

pinch salt

Steps {as appearing in the video}

Add zucchini to a mixing bowl.  
Add in the almond butter, then the flour and granulated sweetener.
Give it a light stir, then add in the tiny bit of maple syrup and the vanilla and stir again.
Add the baking soda, stir in.
Sprinkle in the salt, stir in.
Finally, pour in the chocolate and fold the chips in.
Divide batter into the muffin tin and bake at 350 F for 10 minutes.
Take them out and cool for 20 minutes.  During this time they will firm up.  

Easy Homemade Almond Butter

makes 1/3 cup

-

1/4 cup water + more as needed

1/3 cup almond meal

Just mix until you get an almond butter texture!  If you add too much water, put it in the microwave to make it a little thicker.

This is great because I don't have almond butter in my house.  This is easy to whip up and works perfectly in baked recipes!  If you want an almond butter more like the store-bought in a can, you can add some sweetener to taste like maple syrup.

Hope you guys liked this video and try out the recipe!  Let me know what you think.  :-)

*do not use coconut flour

San Francisco Snapshots {Part One}

via my Instagram

Started the day off healthfully with an acai bowl at Blue Hawaii Acai Cafe.  Acai is a delicious superfood packed with antioxidants and vitamins.  I enjoyed the Simply Blue bowl, topped with bananas and a little granola.  

We walked down Lombard Street, the "crookedest street in the world".  There were gorgeous hydrangeas and cute houses lining the sides of the famous street, and the view at the bottom offered a gorgeous sight of San Francisco's bay and city.  

Walking around the area of Lombard Street, we discovered so many gorgeous homes, beautiful architecture, and pretty plants.  If you're a hydrangea lover like me, you would be in heaven in SF.  They're everywhere!

Macondray Lane is a hidden gem of a street.  It's lined with fairy-tale like houses and it is a quiet escape from the bustling streets.  This little lane was a bit hard to locate, but I'm so glad we found it because walking down it was one of my favorite parts of the day.  

We made a quick stop at the Palace of Fine Arts, which is absolutely gorgeous.  If you want to be awed by architecture, definitely stop here.  

For a delicious and healthy lunch, we sat down at La Boulange as per Julia's recommendation.  I enjoyed an open faced hummus sandwich, complete with avocado, tomato, sprouts, and cucumber on multigrain bread.  It was fresh, vegan, and really REALLY delicious.

We were in Pacific Heights, so I browsed around the shops.  I ducked into a farmer's market (my favorite) and admired all the fresh fruits and veggies, making a mental note to buy beets when I got home.

We checked out a cute bakery, and I almost bought a confetti dusted meringue cookie just for the sake of an Instagram post.  Not even kidding, it was so cute.  

Checking out the Painted Ladies and other victorian houses in the area was a lot of fun.  It was so cool to see such a famous sight (flashbacks to Full House included) and I cannot describe how much I want to live in one of these houses.

We capped off the long day of exploring with a dinner at Kuleto's in Union Square, which was right by our hotel.  I had the roasted beet trio salad which had fresh chèvre and truffle sea salt.  It was so refreshing and delicious!  I also shared the truffle salted mushrooms, which were great.  For dessert I had pineapple sorbet, which almost reminded me of Dole Whip!  

It was a wonderful meal and a wonderful end to a great day in San Francisco.  

Banana Colada Shake + Giveaway {With Quest}

Rich, creamy, sweet, and tropical, you'd never guess that this shake was protein packed and low in sugar.  With my first sip, the coconutty and banana flavor reminded me of all my Hawaiian vacations.  Mmm, sipping a shake on the beach in Hawaii... sigh.

This shake starts with Quest's Banana Cream protein powder, which is the newest protein powder flavor alongside Salted Caramel.  Then all you need is coconut milk and ice!  You can also add in a spoon or two of shredded coconut flakes!  I used about 1 teaspoon of these.

Super rich, creamy, foamy, and all other delicious adjectives.

Banana Colada Protein Shake

Serves 1

1/4 cup Quest Banana Cream Protein Powder (about 2/3 of a packet)

1 cup coconut milk

1/2 cup ice

pinch of salt (brings out flavors)

Blend all ingredients together until smooth.  To chill it after blending, refrigerate for 20+ minutes or put it in the freezer for 5 minutes.  You can also drink it immediately!  

Protein: 14 grams - Calories: 112 - Fat: 4 grams - Sugars: 1 gram
*Nutrition info depends on the milk you used.  This was calculated with Pacific Unsweetened Original Coconut Milk. 

So you can experience this fabulousness yourself, I'm giving away two packets of the Banana Colada flavor protein powder!  The giveaway lasts for 1 week (until next Monday!)  You can enter in the Rafflecopter giveaway below.  Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This post was brought to you by Quest Nutrition.  I was sent samples of Quest protein powder for sample and review.  All opinions are honest and my own.

Summer Treats with Halo Top Creamery

There's something about the idea of a "quintessential summer" in my mind that involves cold, sweet, frozen treats enjoyed in the sunset on an American summer day.  Ice cream is one of the most-loved treats in the world, and not just for summer. I mean, it's a year round thing, right?

I love finding healthier alternatives to creamy, decadent ice cream.  One of my favorite healthy ice cream alternatives is homemade vegan nicecream, which is just a frozen banana whirled in a blender with your flavoring of choice, which magically creates a creamy soft-serve!  Yeah, nicecream is delicious and all, but I can get tired of the banana taste.  I was craving a delicious, creamy, sweet ice cream that was also better for you.  That's where Halo Top comes in.

The kind team over at Halo Top Creamery was so kind to gift me some delicious pints of their healthy ice cream to try!  Halo Top's ice cream is all natural and has anywhere from 240-280 calories a pint, plus 6 grams of protein!  When I read their ingredient list, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I recognized every single ingredient.  One of my food philosophies is that I should be able to pronounce every ingredient on the label. ;-)  Halo Top really is a delicious treat that you can feel GOOD about enjoying.

Oh, and it's amazing.  I've tried healthier ice creams that just couldn't get the texture right: they are usually too icy or crystalline.  Halo Top is incredibly creamy and rich.  It definitely didn't taste like any other healthier ice cream I've tried.  I've never had Ben and Jerry's ice cream before, but I have had Haagen-Dazs, and the texture is almost spot on to that- smooth, indulgent, and silky.

I chose the vanilla bean and chocolate pints.  I loved them both!  I'm a huge fan of good quality vanilla bean ice cream, and I loved that you can actually see flecks of vanilla bean in the Halo Top.  Some people say vanilla is a boring flavor, but I think it's a delicious classic.  Halo Top's vanilla bean was extremely flavorful and I will definitely be having it again.  The chocolate was rich, decadent, and absolutely wonderful as well.  I'm a chocoholic at heart, and I loved the fudgy cocoa flavor.

Of course, as a fashion blogger, the first thing I noticed was that the pints were super cute!  I love the gold accents and adorable design, especially the golden "halo" on the rim of the lid.  Each flavor has a different color scheme.  The strawberry flavor is the cutest pink pint, the mint chip is a pretty pastel green,  and words do not describe my love for the rainbow polka dots on the birthday cake flavor!  

Halo Top is carried at many stores, I've seen it in Whole Foods (my favorite!), Haggen markets, and the natural products frozen section in Ralph's.  Use their locator to find a retailer near you.

Have you heard of or tried Halo Top before?  I'd definitely recommend checking them out!

  

This post was brought to you by Halo Top Creamery.  I was provided with Halo Top Ice Cream for sample and review.  All opinions are honest and my own.