New Smoothie

So maybe I should rename this blog to Shirley and Smoothies, because that's pretty much all I ever post about.  I just discovered a new smoothie the other day and even though I probably say this a lot, this is my FAVORITE one!

Choco-nana P. B. Smoothie 

(Like my clever name for it? )  

Ingredients:

1 frozen banana

1/2 cup almond milk

1 tsp carob powder

1 tsp honey

1/8 cup peanut butter

1 or 2 ice cubes

Directions:

Throw it all in a blender and blend until smooth.  

Drink up and enjoy!

One More Recipe

Here's another drink recipe for you.  It's the perfect 4th of July drink so I'm sorry it's a little late, but you can use it next year.  Or you know...whenever you want.  Thankfully I found out about it on July 3rd, so my mom, Emily and I had it that night.

Have you ever heard of a French soda?  Like anything French (mostly) it's just a tad classier than an American soda.  Especially when you add a fun pink chevron straw at the end.  (The original recipe can be found on Everyday Reading.  I tweaked it ever so slightly.)

4th of July French Soda

Ingredients:

a handful of blueberries
ice
perrier
half and half
black cherry fruit concentrate

Directions:

Toss a few ice cubes in a glass, throw in the berries on top of the ice, fill the glass 2/3 with perrier, stir in two tablespoons of half and half and about a tablespoon of the black cherry fruit concentrate.  (More if you like your soda sweeter.)  Stir with a cute straw and enjoy!

Banana Date Shake

I promised you a recipe and I am here to deliver.

Ready?

1 frozen banana

2 or 3 pitted dates (I go for 3) 

1/2 cup almond milk (or coconut milk - I personally like coconut milk for a more refreshing version)

Blend until smooth and that's IT!

Seriously it's my new ice cream.  Kwacha and I were eating it every night for dessert but it isn't necessarily low calorie so we're cutting back to only every other night at the most.

The banana makes it creamy, the dates give it the needed sweetness and the milk makes it a shake.

Enjoy!

(Sorry, no picture.  It's gone too fast!)

Eureka!

Yes, I've found it.  When you discover something amazing, don't you just want to tell everyone?  I mean that's how it should be with the gospel, right?  As most people know, it means "good news".

Side note: If you are reading this and don't know the good news about Jesus, (who He is and what He's done for us), PLEASE email me and ask! acsimwaka@gmail.com.

Anyway, today's good news I'm sharing with you is amazingly less important.  I mean the two can't even be compared.  But it's still pretty great.  It's just a recipe and it's my new favorite thing.

The Oatmeal Cookie Dough Smoothie!

Originally found here, I've made very tiny changes.  It just amazes me that something can taste so much like oatmeal cookie dough without any added sugar.

So without further ado, the recipe:

1 frozen banana

1/4 cup raw oats

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder

1 Tbsp peanut butter

1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

Throw it all in a blender and blend until smooth.  Like the original author says, it's best when you have to eat a smoothie with a spoon, right?  ;)

This smoothie is filling enough (and healthy enough) to stand in for lunch.

Enjoy!

Winter Cleaning

Ahhhhh...a clean room.

It's sadly something I hadn't experienced for quite some time.  At least not a thoroughly cleaned room.

You know when life gets so busy that you don't even have time to do the simple things?  Okay, probably not. Any mom reading this blog is most likely thinking, "just wait, kid."  I know, I'm pathetic.

Well, whether I'm pathetic or not, I decided that today, in the midst of my week off work, would be cleaning day.  And, like usual, it paid off.  Here is the finished result.  (Notice, the black sky outside.  Yes, it took all day.)

Pictured below are the baskets full of clothes, shoes, purses and other miscellaneous items that I purged and am giving to Goodwill.

And, the picture that inspired this post.  I found out that I have 31 scarves.  Yes, 31 scarves, one for each day of the month.  I don't know about you but I think I'm set.

Really.  I truly do think that a scarf is a nice gift, and if you've given me one in the past, I'm much appreciative.  But please.  No more!

Below are the ones I am keeping, in order by color, which kinda fizzled at the end there.

And the rejects.  I'm very sorry if you see one that you gave me.  I just don't have room!

Cleaning your room can be profitable.  I found a ten dollar gift card to In-n-Out and my favorite nail polish!  A gold star for you if you can guess the name of the shade.  ;)  If you have really good eyes, you may be able to read it.

Wow, I found a desk in my room!  Now I can sit down and write someone a note with the notecards I received for Christmas.  (And a side note: that box you see on the left is filled with recipes.  I found it at a garage sale and I can't wait to try some of them out.  They sound really good.)

This next pic isn't too thrilling but I am happy that those drawers are organized!

And while I'm at it, the super cute camera bag that Em got me for Christmas, with fun houndstooth lining!

And below, an organized mess of books.  They are waiting for a new, taller bookcase...

...that will replace this one.  I mainly took this pic to show off the poster Em also gave me for Christmas.  And in the background you can see the door to my closet.  I am the most happy about that part of my room.  The floor is home to mainly just my shoes now!  And they are in order.  The clothes have been weeded through and even though the shelf looks a bit cluttered, I know where everything is.

Mmmm...another contented sigh.  I recommend winter cleaning for anyone!

Pinteresting Wednesdays

Well, I planned on having another post up inbetween this and the last one, but I just didn't get around to it. My life needs to be a tad more interesting! Ha. Right now it's clearly just pinteresting. Ba doom ch!

Anyway, here are my weekly pins!

I've always wanted to get married in a church, but this idea just may have me changing my mind. I never thought about having an outside wedding at night!


This week, I found a grown up tent! I don't how I will accomplish this, but someday I WILL have one of these in my house.


I love the outfit ideas you can find on Pinterest. When I don't know what to wear I usually open my computer to this board and find some inspiration.


Um. Do I need to write any words about this? I think not.


So fantastic.


There's just something so well...romantic about twinkle lights.


I would want this birthday party even at this age!


I like this simple idea for a bookmark. I'm always in need of a bookmark.


Aren't these the cutest? Who says someone needs to be getting married to break these out?


The twist braid. Wish I had more time in the mornings.


Hehe...does this make me a nerd that I like this so much?


Two words: yum and my. I haven't tried these yet, but my friend Ashley has and she said they were amazing!


Perfect DIY for the oncoming Autumn weather!


Who doesn't want to know how to make their own Frosty??


There is something so whimsical about this.


There was more but you'd get tired of it. Until next week!

Pinterest!

I'm sure a lot of you...or ahem..the few of you who read this have by now heard of the phenomenon called Pinterest. It's a lovely little time sucker! For those of you who haven't heard of it, I'll explain (via Pinterest's own "About" section):

"Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes.

Best of all, you can browse pinboards created by other people. Browsing pinboards is a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests."

For about as long as I can remember, before my mom gets rid of the magazines she receives in the mail, she goes through and rips out pages which contain ideas that she wants to remember, then she files them away in various colored folders. As you may guess these are now stuffed to the max! Well, Pinterest does all that for you in just a few mouse clicks! Wow, I sound like an ad.

Anyway, I am going to start a new series of posts in which I post some of my favorites from Pinterest for the week, starting today! I'm going to call it "Pinteresting Wednesdays."

Here are a few to start off!

Under Style:


Under Hair:


Under Things I Love:


Under Fitness:


Under Home and Decorating:


Under Funny:


Under Hostess:


Under Dessert:


Under I Want to Make This:


And under Someday:


As you can see, you can leave a comment, you can "repin" someone else's cool find, you can make many different categories of your own choosing. It's great! And I might be a tad...obsessed. :/

If you're like me and you haven't joined Pinterest, you might want to go join right now. You have to request an invite first, or, the faster way is to have someone invite you. If you'd like for me to invite you just send me your email address.

As Pinterest would say, "Happy pinning!"

"That'll be the day..."

Photo credit: The Pioneer Woman

That John Wayne quote would be a direct response to, "Amanda in the kitchen". (Well, let's be honest here; I was found in the kitchen plenty, just not as cook.) Yet it's true; I've joined masses and masses of women and fallen prey to the Pioneer Woman. A section of her site is devoted to The Tasty Kitchen. It's kind of like the online version of "A Taste of Home" in that readers add their own recipes to the site. My new diet has forced me to be a bit more creative with my food and it has renewed my excitement over cooking!
I've already tried a couple of recipes from the site. Rosemary Gorgonzola Chicken and Provencal Tomatoes. (Tomatoes stuffed with all kinds of good stuff including gruyere cheese.)

Maybe it's just me, but I think the above dish looks delicious. Pad thai...mmm! It IS called Pad See Ew. Maybe not the best word to go along with food, but I'm sure it means something else in Thai! Only one way to find out. :)

Update: Guess what one thing would stop me from not making the above recipe? Not being able to find the ingredients! I went to Trader Joe's and Albertson's after working out, and by that time, I had no more energy to go to an Asian grocery store. Oh well.