Blackberry Granola Mini Breakfast Pies

These Blackberry Granola Mini Breakfast Pies are simply adorable. I made them for Nora's second birthday and she absolutely loves them. They're semi-healthy and perfect for any special breakfast or brunch.

So, like I said, these puppies are semi-healthy. Since I was making them for my baby girl I used pure maple syrup in the blackberry filling and in the granola topping to keep things natural and lower in sugar. Feel free to add more sweetener to the filling. Just mix and taste adding in more maple syrup until it's as sweet as you like.

Grain Free Granola

So I've been making a grain free version of my favorite granola recipe that I just had to share with y'all. We were playing around with the idea of going grain free for a while last year. While we didn't make the switch, we did fall in love with this mostly nut version of our favorite granola.

Try this grain free version of our favorite granola recipe!

This version is lower carb, higher protein, and we are in total nut heaven over here. The hubster eats this granola almost every day over plain whole milk yogurt. How he can eat the same thing every morning is beyond me, but at least it's a delicious and healthy meal.

Field Trip Scrapbooking

We're going through a homeschool metamorphosis this year. At some point I realized that we were spending a lot of time and energy just trying to get through the material without losing it and experiencing very little enjoyment and excitement over new information and acquired skills. Next year we'll be shifting what we do and how we do it and possibly switching over to year-round school (gasp). One of my goals/hopes is to get more joy out of learning for all of us. I've already made some attempts to shift the scales with some project focused learning.




One of our new undertakings is scrapbooking our field trips. We usually come home with great pictures, brochures, free kid stuff, stickers, etc. What better way to put everything together than in a scrapbook. Thanks to Grandma, the boys already had scrapbooks ready to house their work.

Easy Carrot Cake

Ever feel like eating homemade carrot cake, but don't wanna go through all the hassle of whipping one up? Well say hello to my Easy Carrot Cake.

My Easy Carrot Cake is not only the easiest carrot cake you will ever make, but it's absolutely delicious too!

This carrot cake is sweet and moist, filled with plump golden raisins and a touch of cardamom, frosted with classic cream cheese frosting, and topped with loads of toasted walnuts. We do "loads" of nuts here at the Loverbee residence. I put mine on top so I can pick them off for my youngest guy - he's anti-nut.

Mini Easter Treat Baskets

We've been raiding the recycle bin again, and just in time for Easter fun. The boys and I put together these simple little Easter treat baskets for giving away sweets. We love turning boxes into all sorts of wonderfulness - especially for giving away.

These Mini Easter Treat Baskets are made out of tea boxes.

These Mini Easter Treat Baskets are just perfect for giving out your favorite Easter cookies, candies, and goodies.

Mexican Hot Chocolate Cupcakes

I'm desperately trying to enjoy what's left of California's chilly weather. I love being cold and all the fun things that come with it - sitting by a fire, snuggly blankets, a mug of hot tea in the middle of the day, and warming up with a batch of these Mexican Hot Chocolate Cupcakes. Of course, I'll settle for the cupcakes any day.

Warm up with these delicious Mexican Hot Chocolate Cupcakes!

I made these cupcakes with a doctored chocolate cake mix, filled them with a creamy dreamy marshmallow filling, and topped them off with sweet and spicy milk chocolate buttercream and a grating of Mexican chocolate. The perfect treat to enjoy in front of a cozy fire with a steaming mug of whatever you like.

Caramelized Banana Bread

The hubster looooooves him some banana bread. He's all about the muffins and quick breads, but banana bread packed with nuts is his very favorite, by far. I have several recipes that I like to use, each with it's own subtle nuance. I bake whichever I'm in the mood for or whichever I have all the ingredients for at the time. This caramelized version is one of our favorites.

The toffee flavor in this Caramelized Banana Bread is a total winner!

What I love about this Caramelized Banana Bread is that it only requires two bananas. Well, that and the fabulous caramelized flavor the bread gets as it bakes. The bread is soft, moist, and fluffy, with subtle notes of caramel - not to mention, the huge and plentiful chunks of toasted walnuts.

Budget Talk & Meal Prepping Sunday Brunch

We've been moving our money around (she says mischievously as if she had an offshore account somewhere). Well, in a virtual sense anyway. The hubs and I are trying to increase certain areas of our budget (more on this exciting endeavor at a later date). To do that we've gotta lower other line items and eating out, for us, is a real doozy. That big fat budget item just had to pay up. So, we took a deep breath and went for it. Geronimo!

One of our biggest spending days is on Sundays after church. We've made a delightful, yet pricey, habit of going out to eat after church every week. Pre-kids, it was a great time to connect with our church community. Post-kids, it's a special time for us to connect with each other and enjoy being together as a family. It's also a wonderful time of enjoying the delicious food our local restaurants have to offer. We've scoped out where to get the best burgers, the best nachos, the best omelettes, etc. 😍 We're suckers for a great mom-and-pop and we love our Sunday brunches!