Happy December!!

I’m sitting here sipping some low FODMAP hot cocoa (recipe coming soon!!), listening to a mix of Michael Buble and Pentatonix Christmas music, watching my puppies cuddle in their Christmas sweaters, and totally feeling the holiday spirit.

November was a fantastic month, and went too fast (as usual).  Here is a glimpse back at some of my favorite things from the month!

Products I am Loving:

• Pinch of Yum’s Tasty Food Photography e-book

It’s no secret that having stellar photography is pretty essential in the blogging world these days.  This is something I enjoy learning more about, but definitely struggle with.  After reading a few positive reviews from blogger who I think have wonderful photos, I decided to purchase this inexpensive e-book and I am SO happy with it.

The book has detailed descriptions, photo examples, and showcases how you can use everyday equipment at home to achieve beautiful photos.  When applying the principles from this book, I notice that my photos look much better than before!! I’m still working on making things consistent (some days I’m super happy with my photos and other days things just don’t work out), but overall I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to improve their food photography.

• Pompeian Olive Oil Spray (with no propellants!)

The folks at Pompeian sent me this olive oil spray a while ago, and I have absolutely loved it.  First of all, I love the fact that the only ingredient is olive oil.  It’s very similar to utilizing a misto with your own oil.  I used it for spritzing vegetables before roasting, misting salads, and spray pans before cooking and baking.

• Now Foods Essential Oils

Prior to Thanksgiving, I blended orange, nutmeg, cinnamon, and clove for a warming and festive scent.  Now that we are in post Thanksgiving holiday mode, I am blending together balsam fir needle, pine needle, peppermint and clary sage for a mix that smells like an evergreen 🙂

• Kite Hill Ricotta Cheese

I’m always a bit skeptical when I see non-dairy cheeses, and recently I feel like I’ve seen Kite Hill popping up all over the internet!

This past weekend, Brian requested homemade pizza for dinner one night with ricotta cheese as a topping.  That sounded delicious to me, but ricotta cheese is not low FODMAP and after enjoying a very indulgent (and not low FODMAP) holiday I wanted to navigate back towards a low FODMAP diet to make sure I was feeling my best for the start of the holiday season.  Almond milk is considered low FODMAP by Monash University and since Kite Hill is made from almond milk, I thought it may be an ok substitute.

I tried this cheese, expecting something just so-so and was literally blown away by the flavor and texture that were wonderfully delicious and reminiscent of real-deal ricotta.  We topped our pizzas with the “cheese” and enjoyed every single bite!

• Headspace App

This year, a goal of mine was to be more present and try to stress less.  There are many things I have done to work on this lofty goal, but one of those things was to start meditation with Headspace.

It’s an app that offers a free 10 minute guided meditation, discusses the benefits of meditation, and offers the opportunity to purchase a year membership to the app for other meditation options.

While I haven’t meditated nearly as much as I would like to, it’s a start!  I totally notice a difference in how I respond to situations, go throughout my day, and treat others when I meditate (the changes are all for the positive!)

Moments I am Loving:

• Getting a new puppy!

You can read more about Rooney in my introduction post, but in short…we are in love with her (including Bernie!) Rooney is growing like a weed, learning so fast, and has so much personality.  It’s so fun to see her relationship with Bernie develop too.  Honestly, they are like two little peas in a pod.

I realize that all the photos I share are of the pups sleeping, but let me just explain that this gives a very skewed view as to what owning a vizsla (or two!) is like.  They are both super energetic, curious, loving, and playful.  The reason I don’t share many “play” pictures?  They are all just blurs because the dogs move SO fast!! 🙂

• Thanksgiving 2016

This year, Brian and I hosted several of our friends, my sister and her boyfriend.  It was a wonderful day full of laughter and people that are close to us, but I’ll be honest in saying that I missed my parents and Brian’s parents.  This was the first year since living out in Denver that we didn’t have parents or grandparents visiting for the Thanksgiving holiday.  While I missed my family dearly, the day was still wonderful and full of memories.  Heading home for Christmas in a couple of weeks is just THAT much more exciting this year!

• Fall Baking

I always love baking, but there is something special about baking in the fall and holiday seasons.

If you are looking for a fun new recipe to try, I highly recommend my Delight Bars or Walnut Ginger Cookies!

• Visitors

While we didn’t have visitors for Thanksgiving day, we did have quite a few visitors in November!  Our friends Caitlin and Dave visited from Chicago and Brian’s mom visited.  We are so thankful to have people visiting us out here in Denver all the time.  It makes being far from home a tiny bit easier 😉

I hope your November was wonderful!

Question of the Day:

• What is one highlight from YOUR November?