I know it’s been a while and I have so needed to post, but don’t worry that is about to change! We are finally getting settled in to Arizona and I am LOVING it! I have a fun post in the works about some of the fun things we have found here and also big changes that are about to come.
First, I need to tell you all about the Refresh Summit that is coming up in less than 40 days in Tennessee at Deer Run Retreat center and the thought of it brings a huge smile to my face and my eyes start to get welled up with tears. You see the minute the front door opens and I see the women walk in, I know GOD is about to do great GREAT things and he shows up like no other!!
Alright so what is the Refresh Summit? Well if you don’t know anything about it let me start from the beginning. God put it on my heart over 5 years ago to do a retreat for women that combined faith and fitness in a whole new way. To gather women together under one roof to sweat, worship, eat, laugh, pray, cry and dance together! In short the Refresh Summit is a time to get away with friends old and new, to be inspired to live a life rooted in Christ and to find a healthy balance of fitness and faith!
This year’s theme is HOME….mind, body and soul….. where is your Home?
Here is a short breakdown of this year’s tentative schedule :
Check in is on Friday November 4th and check out is Sunday November 6th around 11am. When you first get there you can enjoy a massage, foot soak, stillness on the porch with a good book, or go for a walk in the forest. Deer Run is tucked into the most beautiful woods of Tennessee and if you don’t get a real fall where you are at (I don’t) than it’s a perfect time to see what real fall looks like. I am already excited about busting out my scarves and boots!
This year we are hosting a Friday night GNI (girls night in). Ladies can get dressed up if they choose for a fancy dinner in, but then quickly change into their cozies for the rest of the evening!
After dinner we will gather in the living room around the cozy fire for worship with Jessica Lamb and a message from Amia Freeman.Â
Right after dinner we will enjoy some HOLY YOGA by candlelight and probably fall asleep at the end 
After Holy Yoga it’s free time where we stay up late into the night chatting about life!
Saturday morning begins with, “Coffee with Jesus”.….some quiet moments with the Lord before we start the day with sweat! Â We begin the day with worship and then get right to workouts and different sessions. This year we will have the following sessions from 9-3pm with a yummy lunch in between:
Bootcamp- with Lindsay WrightÂ
Kickboxing- with ME!
Zumba with- Amia Freeman
Hike/Prayer Walk -with Etta Gibson
Body Image Freedom- with Alice MontegeroÂ
Nutrition with-Â Dr. Megan LittleÂ
When God’s Plans Aren’t Your Plans- Savannah DavisÂ
After the workshops is PURE FREE TIME!!! To rest, relax, get a massage, paint, read your Bible, share a cup of coffee with a friend, go for a walk….it’s whatever you need TIME!
Then we gather for another amazing meal and then enter into a beautiful time of worship and hear from Amia. After our gathering we get ready for a fun night of GLOW ZUMBA PARTY!!!! This year we have a super fun theme planned for the attendees and we can’t wait to see the costumes that come out! Last year was 80’s themed.
Sunday morning comes and no ones wants to say goodbye 
Seriously we have all become sisters by the end and it is so hard to say goodbye! We will start the morning with some deep stretching and worship. We have one last session with Amia and finish the summit with prayer, a continental breakfast, Â and a sweet raffle!
Well that’s the weekend in short…but there is so much goodness packed in there. We would love for you to join us, you can register here!  We have a few spots left and don’t let money be a reason you can’t make it, we do have scholarships available. JOIN US!Â
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This past weekend I gathered twelve of my closest girlfriends (my little women tribe) around my dinner table for a “Healthy Home Dinner Party”. I don’t know about all of you, but I am pretty sure I get invited to some kind of multi-level marketing party every other day. Don’t get me wrong I am all for helping out my friends make some extra money on the side, hello we live in CALIFORNIA, I just don’t have the time to go to all of them. But I want to support my friends that are working hard and promoting products that I truly believe in and use myself. If it’s anything to do with health, simplifying life, making life easier or helping others, I am all in.
Well that is how my Healthy Home idea was born and it was a way to have the perfect girls night in 
 I invited a few local ladies who’s businesses I truly support, to share their passions with my friends over a four course dinner. Cause everything is better with food and wine right?!
I invited my best friend Ginger with Crafted Gatherings @craftedgatherings to come over and do the fall tablescape for our dinner and once again she did a fabulous job! I feel like we could have had a wedding reception in my dining room. It was perfectly fall and welcoming, better than I could have ever imagined.
We started the evening with a little yoga in my garage lead by my beautiful friend Heidi that works at a local yoga studio in town. It was the perfect way to kick off the evening!
Then it was time to enjoy some food. I invited my friend Justine Campbell from @alowellness who is an R.D. and Holistic Nutritionists to help me prepare a four course healthy and delish dinner! It was so fun cooking with her in the kitchen and learning some fun new recipes. We paired each meal with a wine and everything tasted amazing.
As we sat around the table we played a few fun games to get to know each-other a little better, because it’s always fun to have prizes at a party! I found these two games on Pinterest.
In between courses we enjoyed a little very casual chat about oils from my friend Cynthia @kitchenblogger (go follow her on IG)Â and she was burning Young Living’s seasonal scent throughout the house the whole time and it made me want to curl up on the couch with a cup of coffee and just get cozy.
Lastly we heard from my friend and business partner Megan, @themegababe about Norwex cleaning supplies, if you haven’t heard about them you are missing out big time and they have changed my life!
We finished the evening talking around the table till 2am! It was truly a beautiful refreshing time of being still and chatting about all things LIFE and health. I couldn’t have pictured a more beautiful night and I am already planning our next Spring one!
Question: What is the last multi-level marketing party you went to?Â
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This is by far my favorite season of the year. Â I just LOVE IT! I love the smells and the weather is just perfect. Â I wish that it was a bit cooler here in So Cal, but I will take that it will only be 80 today! I am hosting a Fall Healthy Home Party tonight at my house that I can not wait to share with you all next week, stay tuned!
Question: What are you looking forward to this fall season?Â
]]>Once again I was more then inspired by Pinterest. I have always wanted to make a versatile wreath that I could change with the seasons! When I saw this one on Pinterest ……
…..and clicked on it it took me to Etsy where it cost WAY MORE then my budget called for. It looked simple enough, so I thought what the heck why not give it a try, I used to be pretty good with a glue gun!
Turns out I still got it! Now I wished I had an awesome step by step post that told you ever single step of how I made this wreath, but sadly I have two full time jobs and have to have time to make fun things like this so I don’t! But I will do my best to tell you how you can make one of these cute wreathes on your own! You ready??
What you will need:
- One giant branch wreath from craft store
- Two different color burlap fabrics ( about 1/4 of yard of both)
- Fun garland and or flours for decor
- One wood letter
- Hot glue gun and glue
- Time!
- Little wood sign
- Twin like rope (under the letter)
- Chalk board spray paint
- Chalk
Question: What are you looking forward to most this fall season?Â
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Monday also was the start to my third annual Holiday Shred and how is it a week away from Thanksgiving?! Just wanted to pop in and see how you all are enjoying this holiday season? We are in the south for two more days and I am soaking up time with our in-laws on the farm. RJ is loving all the love and fresh air!
]]>Friends have been asking about my Fall wreath, so I thought I would share a post I did about it last year:)
I saw this super cute wreath on Pinterest and clicked on it it took me to Etsy where it cost WAY MORE then my budget called for. It looked simple enough, so I thought what the heck why not give it a try, I used to be pretty good with a glue gun!
Turns out I still got it! Now I wished I had an awesome step by step post that told you ever single step of how I made this wreath, but sadly I have two full time jobs and have to have time to make fun things like this so I don’t! But I will do my best to tell you how you can make one of these cute wreathes on your own! You ready??
What you will need:
- One giant branch wreath from craft store
- Two different color burlap fabrics ( about 1/4 of yard of both)
- Fun garland and or flours for decor
- One wood letter
- Hot glue gun and glue
- Time!
- Little wood sign
- Twin like rope (under the letter)
- Chalk board spray paint
- Chalk
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Who else is excited about fall?! I know I sure am. Ok, the weather in Southern California is still in the 90’s, but I can pretend it’s cooling down right? Thought I would kick off this beautiful fall week with some super yummy Pumpkin muffins. Not just any pumpkin muffins, but healthier (but still taste amazing) muffins. I haven’t played enough around with coconut or gluten free flour, but I bet you could replace the all purpose flour with a GF flour. I am gonna give coconut flour a try next week! Did I mention they have NO OIL and no cane sugar?
Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins
Serves:Â 12 or 16 in my caseÂINGREDIENTS
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup Love Grown Super oatmeal (or whatever oats you have on hand)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup honey or agave nectar
- 2 egg whites, slightly beaten
- 2/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1 cup canned pumpkin (or throw in the whole can I did)
- 1/3 cup unsweetened all-natural applesauce (or oil)
- 1/2 ripe banana, mashed
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips, plus 2 tablespoons-I used non dairy, non soy chocolate chips
- Extra oatmeal, for sprinkling on muffins
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line 12 muffin cups with paper cups or spray with nonstick spray. If you use muffin cups, make sure to spray the inside of the cups.
- In a large bowl mix flour, oatmeal, pumpkin pie spice baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. In a separate bowl combine pumpkin, mashed banana, honey, almond milk, egg whites and applesauce. Add the flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture and stir to combine. Gently fold in chocolate chips.
- Fill each muffin cup 3/4 full so that each is even. Sprinkle a tiny bit of oatmeal over each top of the muffins. Place into the oven and bake for 23-28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center of muffins comes out clean. Muffins are best served warm. Reheat in the microwave for 20 seconds and spread with topping of your choice!
*These pair perfect with a big cup of pumpkin spice black coffee! These would also make a great gift for a friend in need
Question: What is your favorite pumpkin baking recipe? Leave the link to the recipe in the comments and I will do a round up on the blog!Â
]]>I told the Hubby that I wanted to start fresh with the dining room and guest room. I wanted to sell everything and start new, so he gave me the challenge to use all the money I made from selling things to purchase everything new I wanted or to get creative! Well I shifted into major resource mode and I have been selling a lot of my clothes on IG and a lot of our furniture on Facebook.
Here is a shot of our dining room before. I really did like it , but it was just too crowded and with a 10 month year old who is about to get MOBILE, it was time to make this a more family friendly (or should I say toddler friendly) space.
Here is what we are going towards…(from Our Vintage Home Love). I love everything about this space! I want to paint the wall that the fireplace is on with chalkboard paint and add this cute saying as well as make that adorable wine display!
So first I cleared out the room. I am not gonna lie; I danced in my socks for a while and even thought of just making it a yoga space!
I really love the look of Farm House tables. They are very family oriented and as much as we host we just need a big table! Our other one was big when you added in the leaf, but when it was open completely it took up most of the room. Since I am on a tight budget, I started looking for some DIY tables on Pinterest (everyone makes it look so easy) and I found a few.
But then I remembered that my parents have a table that is a lot like the one we like, so I gave them a call and they were all for switching tables as long as I agreed to host Thanksgiving every year! So we said farewell to our pub table of 6 years (great memories)….
and said HELLO to our new-to-us dining room table! Well, that was easy! We still want to add some wood to the top and make it a bit more rustic, but this table will so do for now. I also want to paint the chairs. I’m just not sure yet. I also want to make a bench for it as well. I moved our two comfy brown chairs to the side of the fireplace and I like the look a lot better. My goal is to score two smaller chairs to replace them. I also would love to find or make a single chandelier and get rid of the two fans.
This weekend RJ and I did a bit of yard sale shopping, thrift shopping, and went to some of our favorite bargain stores (aka: Marshall’s and Ross). I scored this wonderful rug with just the texture and look I was going for!
I pulled out my Owl Shakers and it kind of got me excited about the FALL!
I really have just been going through the house and switching things up a bit, the cheapest kind of redecorating there is! We have a long way to go, but I am really loving the open space so much more. We also took a trip to IKEA because I did make some money selling some clothes and furniture and I have a guest room/playroom/office to decorate!
RJ loved looking at everything with us! Ok, maybe not but it was a fun family outing!
P.S. I have a lot more changes to show you. I can’t wait!
Question: Nesting: love or hate?Â