What To Pack: Northern California

September 15, 2015 by Scott in Uncategorized

I am in full preparation mode here since our trip to Northern California is around the corner. I clearly am a visual learner because before I started packing for this trip, I laid out different outfits via Pinterest. You guys, doing this step makes me giddy. I love dreaming about what to wear. From my time living in Southern California, I know that there is a casual presence and cooler temperature especially at the beach and at night. Our plan is to fly into San Fransisco and from there travel to Monterey for the first night, Big Suf for the second night and then drive up to Sonoma for our last night. I can't wait to share with you our adventure. For now, here are the pictures from my Style board that are inspiration for my outfits.

My goal is to only use a carry on. I love a challenge! I hope to take black jeans, white jeans, one pair of shorts, denim jacket, green vest, navy dress, 3/4 sleeve lightweight sweater, lightweight casual top, chambray shirt, gingham shirt, sneakers, sandals, and booties. All of these items will mix and match well. Its all about layering.

Here is an idea of what will be in my bag.

What to Pack: Northern California via SurvivngSarah

I will likely throw a swimsuit in my bag, too, just in case. I can hardly wait to see the beauty of the west coast. Its been many, many years since I've been to that part of California. What would you recommend to pack?

Meal Plan (gluten free, dairy free) August 24-29

September 01, 2015 by Scott in Uncategorized

Deciding on what to eat each week can feel overwhelming. My recommendation is to find a couple of weekly meal plans or a handful of recipes and simply serve them up every week. This will help you greatly if you are a busy family or have to cook around food issues. Knowing what is coming and having the confidence in certain recipes will help build your success in the kitchen and around the table. That is one reason why I am not a food blogger. I find comfort in the routine of it all. You could even go as far as to say: Marinara Mondays, Taco Tuesdays, Breakfast Wednesdays, etc. And I bet if you have small kids, they will love this idea. I say all of that to say that even though I like the routine of our tried and true recipes, I can get quite bored with our food. So to remedy that, I will have some weeks where I basically try new recipes every night--which can lead to some failures and noses turned upwards. This was one of those weeks. Sunday - We were invited to dinner at our good friends' house, so we grilled up some Greek Chicken beforehand to have as leftovers later in the week. Now, before you start to think that I am super girl by planning ahead, you need to realize that I was FORCED to cook ahead because the chicken had thawed in the fridge. It was a must cook situation. The dinner was a last minute surprise and I didn't want the chicken to waste. For the chicken, in a medium bowl, coat chicken in 2-4 Tbsp. olive oil, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper. Marinate 30 minutes. You can add a squeeze of lemon juice if you want, too. Then, we simply grilled it for about 8 minutes per side.

Monday - I honestly tire of chicken really easily so I decided to cook Steak Stir-fry and instead of using frozen veggies which I normally do, I cut up fresh peppers (both green and orange) and a white onion. I cooked those in some olive oil and while those veggies softened, I grilled a flank steak seasoned simply with salt and pepper. I felt like a profession chef given that I used 3 burners at once. This is the recipe I loosely followed for the stir-fry. I always use Tamari Sauce since it is GF. Scott and the girls ate it over white rice and I omitted the rice altogether to make it grain free. The girls didn't love the veggies (what's new?), but they really enjoyed the steak.

Tuesday - We ate the leftover Greek Chicken with a salad and a side of frozen green peas.

Wednesday - Over on Pinterest, I have several recipes that involve sausage. I decided I really needed to try one--maybe its because we had a "cold" front move into Atlanta (weather in the 80's). I made White Beans with Spinach & Sausage. Y'all, my house smelled incredible! This was definitely tasty, however, it wasn't enough food on its own. I probably should have made a side salad, too. Scott enjoyed it layered over leftover rice and a fried egg on top. My girls turned up their noses.

Thursday - I decided that after having two meals this week where both girls really didn't eat what I cooked that we needed a tried-and-true meal so Breakfast For Dinner was the solution. The girls were so excited that they decided it should be a fancy dinner. Sinclair sat the table including candles. I would rather make waffles but the girls really wanted pancakes. I really don't like making pancakes. (I wish I had a griddle.) I found a Coconut Flour Pancake recipe to give a try. It met all our needs and only need about a tablespoon of maple syrup. I felt like a true cook because I had to first separate the egg whites and then whip them. What?! I have truly arrived on the cooking scene. Before you get too impressed with me, you need to realize that it took me 30 minutes to cook pancakes! I actually never sat down at the fancy meal. I cooked our turkey bacon in the microwave and once enough pancakes were made (silver dollar size) for the girls, I scrambled their eggs. It turned out to be more like a progressive dinner. And the kitchen was a disaster. So much for an easy solution dinner. All in all the girls loved it.

Friday - I was off the hook for cooking. Glory! The girls spent the night with Scott's parents so that we could have a date night with some of our best friends from Tennessee. We tried Muss & Turner's in Symrna mostly because we wanted to get into the secret restaurant in the back called Eleanor's, but it was full. M&T has been on our must-try list since we moved here so I was happy to try it. I didn't really enjoy my pulled pork sandwich--I should have ordered the burger.

Saturday - We still had leftover rice so I paired it with Dijon Chicken and green beans. My friend served this for us and it was easy and tasty. For the chicken, I combined equal parts melted butter, honey and dijon and poured it over the chicken. Then, baked it in a glass dish for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

These are frozen green beans from Trader Joe's. I simply steamed them in the microwave. While they were steaming, I melted some DF butter in a pan and added some minced garlic. Once the garlic was slightly brown, I added in the green beans and tossed for a few minutes.

I hope you enjoy these easy, delicious meals to try this week!

Missing In Action

June 08, 2015 by Scott in Uncategorized

Have you ever arrived at your destination only to have no clue how you got there? You drove the car, but can't recall the turns you made. Has that every happened to you? That is kind of how I feel today. I can hardly believe how long it's been since I last talked to you guys. Forgive me for my unexplained absence. Life simply took over. I'm pretty sure that May turned out to be busier than the Christmas season. I arrived at June 7 and have no recollection of how it arrived. Let me try to give you a snapshot of the last couple of months for us.

Scott and I went to Cambodia. I really should post about our time there, however, that feels like it happened about 8 months ago. One of Scott's clients is an organization that built an ENTIRE city for a displaced people group. How amazing is that? Clean water? Check. New infrastructure? Check. Market? Check. Homes? Check. The list goes on. This was a three year process of building so we went for the celebration of the completed city. I've loved that we have been apart of such an endeavor.
Not sure if you know this about me, but I work for an organization called Orange. We want to give kids a better future, one where three things happen: wiser choices, stronger relationships, deeper faith. We basically create resources for the people that lead people. We train and influence those who influence the next generation. I was brought on last summer to help launch their new middle school curriculum called XP3 Middle School. This has certainly been a labor of love and I must say that the finished product is really exceptional. I spent March, April and May buried in deadlines trying to birth this curriculum.
The girls both had dance recitals. Rory did ballet and tap while Sinclair did hip hop (takes after her mom). These dances were amazingly cute.
Rory graduated from preschool! #cheers I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I really can't believe that she is going to Kindergarten.

Sinclair wrapped up the First Grade. My baby is going to second grade. There are no words. And I'm pretty sure I have tapped out on math homework which is completely pathetic.

I have been helping some people decorate their houses in my spare time ;-) It has been really fun and challenging. I love pulling together rooms for people and helping them figure out how to love the home they have. I will show you some idea boards in the coming weeks of what I pulled together for them.

We went on a family vacation to Florida the day after Sinclair got out of school. The girls got to fly on an airplane for the first time EVER. The past two years we have vacationed on Memorial Day weekend. Will someone please make a note to remind me NOT to vacation on that weekend? It is always crazy crowded. We had a fantastic trip despite our first night at a horrific hotel/motel. You guys, it was so bad that it was comical. Think about the movie Summer Rental and you have seen what we experienced. Thankfully, the Lord shined His light on Scott and we booked a new condo in Clearwater Beach. I wore a new swimsuit from my favorite place, Albion Fit. They have incredible style and comfort for swimsuits.

Sinclair celebrated her 7th birthday. I can't even believe we have made it to seven. I decided to throw her a party which turned out quite beautiful. I am all about simple parties because I am simply NOT crafty. Each girl brought her favorite doll and we made bracelets for dolls and girls, had a photo booth (made of tablecloth and accessories from Hobby Lobby) and Gluten Free/Dairy Free cake from Gluten Free Cutie (the best cake ever!) with popcorn and festive popsicle drinks. I followed the Nestor's instructions for a simple yet fancy drink. I scored major cool points with the girls.

And now, we are at the beginning days of summer where the weeks are long and the days are even longer. Survival is definitely on the agenda. I saw this picture and quote of Bill Murray on Pinterest last night and it really resonated with me. I have actually been talking to Scott about how I need to RELAX more. I need to cut back on my agenda and schedule and plans and simply relax. I need to allow our kids to relax. To some, that may come easy, but relaxing has never really been my jam.

Bill Murray said, "The more relaxed you are, the better you are at everything: the better you are with your loved ones, the better you are with your enemies, the better you are at your job, the better you are with yourself." I really do think he is on something here. Maybe we could call this my half year resolution. RELAX. Maybe, just maybe, that is a key to surviving summer.

Surviving A Strong-Willed Child

March 04, 2015 by Scott in Uncategorized

I am sharing today over at Ungrind about parenting. I'm not necessarily giving you answers but letting you know that I'm in the trenches with you. No matter what people share on social media, YOU are not alone. You aren't the only one whose buttons get pushed or have a child that fights you around every corner. Talking about raising these humans today. Join me in the conversation here.

Meal Plan (Gluten Free, Dairy Free) Jan 4-10

January 13, 2015 by Scott in Meal Plans, Uncategorized

Here we are, going on 3 weeks gluten free + dairy free for the girls. I finished my first week of grain free + sugar free and I am feeling really good--sleeping well, not hungry throughout the day, stopped night time snacking, drinking more water and exercising. Granted I have done this diet before, but this time around has definitely been easier. It does help when I make my mind up about something. Are you like that, too? The girls have been superstars with their diet change. I took Rory to a homeopathic doctor last week because I was TIRED of her getting sick so much and doctors continuing to treat symptoms without looking into why she keeps getting sick. We discovered that she has candida, large intestinal stress and immune deficiency along with food sensitivities to dairy, wheat, soy and pork. SOOOOOOOO, we are working to get her body healthy by continuing the gluten free and dairy diet along with eliminating sugar. (PRAYERS ARE WELCOME) It is hard for me to limit my sugar intake and I'm an adult so imagine how hard it is to do that for a picky 4 year old. It's amazing how much sugar is in things--even some fruit has a lot of sugar. Along with diet, she is taking some supplements. We go back in one month to see her progress.

We really enjoyed this week's meals. I knew I needed to start with recipes I loved while kicking off the grain free + sugar free diet. That really makes all the difference. I planned out my meals in my new DIY planner (which I will share soon!)

Sunday - chicken zucchini poppers EPIC FAIL. Ya'll I almost gaged while preparing them. I don't really like dealing with raw chicken as is so I don't know if the chicken smelled or the combination with the zucchini but none of us could handle it. So the back up plan was scrambled eggs + bacon.

Monday - Advanced Plan Chili

Tuesday - leftover chili

Wednesday - Turkey burger patties + coleslaw + avocado slices + roasted broccoli (baked fries for the girls). I am by no means a good cook. In fact if I could have one luxury in life it would be a personal chef. Sweet Rory watched me prep this dinner and said, "Mommy, when you grow up, you should be a chef! You look like one and act like one." Presh.

Thursday - Breakfast for dinner: Pumpkin Coconut Flour Waffles + scrambled eggs + bacon + fruit. The waffles were a big hit. I used the slightest amount of maple syrup in the batter and only put dairy free butter on their waffles. We made these again (per the kids request) on Saturday morning and froze the leftovers to use throughout the week.

Friday - leftover chili + baked potato (for Scott). I made GF spaghetti with marinara sauce + GF Udi's toast for the girls. For the record, my girls do not like chili which is such a crying shame because it is DELISH.

Saturday - Taco Salad/Burrito Bowls. For me, I started with a base of romaine lettuce and topped with taco turkey meat, black beans and grilled onions + peppers (inspired by Chipotle). All my avocados were bad so I couldn't make guacamole. Tears. Scott added rice and corn to his bowl and the girls basically had a deconstructed burrito bowl. To make the taco meat, I simply brown the ground turkey (or ground beef), then add the following spices for 1 pound of meat: 1 t chili powder, 1 t cumin, 1/2 t paprika, 1/2 t garlic powder, 1/4 t salt. I usually add my black beans into the meat.

I tried making Banana PB Breakfast Cookies but the girls turned their noses up at them. I thought they were pretty tasty. The girls pretty much ate GF cereal, bacon, GF waffles, & fruit for breakfast. Their lunches included items like rice cakes with PB, chips, fruit, chicken salad, almonds, cucumbers, tomatoes, GF lunch meat, & GF granola bars/Lara Bars. For me, my go to lunch this week was my homemade Chicken Salad on a bed of spinach. I also ate a leftover turkey burger one day. My other tasty lunch was chopped up granny smith apples (1 1/2 small ones) with almond butter and sprinkled shredded coconut on top. I snacked on dry roasted almonds, raw pecans, peppers, celery and berries.

I hope that gives you some inspiration for what you can eat this week!