Double Date Night

Peter and I had the pleasure of going out last Saturday with a couple we met when we first joined Mars Hill.  Dan and Krista Briley were our Community Group leaders at a time when we were fragile and going through a lot in our marriage.  They were instrumental in shepherding us, coming alongside us and guiding us through some growing pains.  We spent a lot of Saturday nights at their house, having a meal and digging into issues/discussions that we needed help with having.  As a result, we have grown to love and appreciate them in a deep way and feel indebted to them for all the help they provided us.  We truly would not be where we are today without their presence in our lives/marriage.

  Last Saturday we all got babysitters and went out for a nice meal and then some pool afterwards.  It was so fun to be with them and celebrate how much Jesus has done in our lives over the past few years.  

I got this dress online and it was the perfect chance to wear it so I decided to snap some pics and give their website a shout out.

Of course I had to get a close up of the shoes!  I love these shoes and wear them with a lot of different things from shorts to dresses and everything in between. 

Dress:  The Nest On Main Boutique

          

Shoes:  ShoeDazzle.com

XOXO

Joy

Labor Day Weekend

We spent last weekend camping with friends up in Washington. The setting could not have been more perfect with a site right on the water and a boat to enjoy all weekend.

 Unfortunately the weather was not the greatest and camping in the rain with a toddler is NOT ideal. :) However, we did have some good times and I got some cute pictures that I thought I would share.

A boy, water and sand

Dinner over the fire

Waking up to RAIN

Mr. Ken watching boats with Simon

Throwing rocks

Pulling his wagon

So proud of himself

Well that was our Labor Day weekend.  Needless to say, even thought it was fun, I was pretty ready to get home.  I hope you all had a wonderful, relaxing time with your family!

XOXO

Joy

Ray-Ban SALE!

You guys, I had to tell you about this huge sale going on right now! If you have never heard of Ray-Ban sunglasses you are seriously missing out. Not only are they super stylish, they are made very high quality which means no scratching etc. But because they are so high quality and a pretty posh brand, they are usually in the $200's for ONE pair. Uh yeah, I have never owned a pair for that reason!

However, they are having a huge sale on all their 2014 models. Are you ready for this???

I just ordered these lovelies for (drum roll please):

$12.99!!!

Here is the link for the website:

http://rb.inbluewave.com

Have fun shopping! 

Xoxo

Joy

Favorite Shopping Websites

I thought I would share with you guys some great websites that I have been enjoying lately!  Most of these are fairly new for me and I have not made purchases off of all of them but I will share what I do have.


www.jane.com
This website is almost like etsy in the fact that it compiles different deals from different vendors.  It is mostly womens clothes, jewelry and clothes for little girls.  I got my cute, red dress from there and if I remember right, it was about $20 (including shipping!).  The dress ran true to size and it has been a summer staple of mine. Sign up on their website for emails of their daily deals.

www.piperstreetshop.com
My sister introduced me to this place and I am so excited to find some great deals here!  So far, I like what I see style wise and they seem to have a good variety.

www.wayfair.com
This sight has lots of homegoods like furniture, rugs, decor etc.  They usually have things for around 70% off plus they offer 10% off on your first purchase. I love browsing their deals that they send me.  (sign up on their website!)

www.jossandmain.com
This is similar to wayfair.  They also offer homegoods/furniture and it's a little more pricey than some but super cute stuff and it would be a better price than Pottery Barn or some places like that.  They also will have deals going on that you can sign up to hear about.  Look for those and you'll definitely get a good price. I currently have my eye on a couple of headboards to "makeover" our bed.  =)

www.rugsusa.com
A friend introduced me to this website and I recently purchased this rug from there.  I got it for around 70% off and it is a great quality rug (with no weird smell)!  They will also have deals going on certain rugs so if you sign up on their site, they will email you their specials going on.

New Rug

Have fun shopping!

XOX

Joy

Quinoa Chickpea Burgers

I recently came across a recipe that sounded so amazing that I had to try it. It was chickpea burgers with roasted red pepper. I didn't have roasted red pepper but I did have quinoa and regular peppers so I decided to go for it and boy, they did not disappoint!

I started with peeling and cubing a medium sized potato. I then cooked it by placing it in a frying pan with about 1 inch of water and cooking it with a lid on for about 10-15 mins. I wanted it soft enough to mash up but not completely without form.

Once that was cool, I put it in a mixing bowl along with 2 eggs, about a cup of cooked quinoa, dried parsley (fresh OR cilantro would have been better!) and a can of mashed chickpeas (drained but save some of the juice!).

I then took one, chopped red pepper and sautéed it til it was soft. I added in 3 gloves of fresh garlic right at the end as well as some chopped adobo pepper (for spice).

Once cooked, these were added to the bowl of chickpea mixture along with the above spices and 1-2 tablespoons of the chickpea juice and mixed in.

Next I formed the mixture into burgers and fried them in some coconut oil til crispy on each side and cooked through.

These were served on toasted whole wheat buns with all the fixings and wow they were tasty! These burgers stayed together surprisingly well and we all enjoyed them.  We will definitely be having these again.

Quinoa Chickpea Burgers:
1 medium size potato
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp chili powder
1 15 oz can chickpeas (drained but save some of the juice)
1/2 red bell pepper
3 cloves garlic
Adobo pepper or jalapeño for spice
2 eggs
1 cup cooked quinoa
2 tablespoons fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon pepper

After cooking the potato, mix the above ingredients, form and fry up!

Enjoy!

XOXO

Joy

Today's Trend: Layered Eyeliner

Have you girls heard of this latest trend? Layered eyeliner is making waves and I've found one particular look that I am enjoying lately.

Using bright eyeliner as a pop of color became a trend a few years ago, like this:

Then it morphed into using a bright liner on top paired with either a muted liner on the lower lash line OR a lighter version of that same color on the lower lash line. (People also did this the opposite way - bright color on bottom and lighter on top.  The basic principle was only bright on top or bottom - not both.) Like this:

Currently, bright eyeshadow is trending as a double layered look meaning that it is layered on top of a darker liner (brown or black etc). Like this:

I am loving this trend because you still get the fun pop of color while having that dark definition around the eyes.  Sometimes colored liner can look to 80's style or too teen-age appropriate for grown women (if not done correctly) but having some layered over a darker line eliminates both of those problems.  

Tips for acheiving this look:

1.  Keep your eyeshadows neutral as the focus is on the liner and having bright eyeshadow with bright liner will not only compete with each other but will definitely make you look like an 80's hot mess.

2.  If you are going for a 2 line look (like above), only do your top line.  If you are going to layer directly over the line, then you can do both bottom and top if you choose.

XOXO

Joy

Tasty 10 Minute Waffles (gluten free)!

This is our new favorite waffle recipe because it's tasty, fast and healthy! I make these a couple times a week as Peter and Simon both love waffles. The best part about this recipe is that it's all made in my Vitamix so I literally just throw everything in there and blend.

 This recipe can be partially made the night before and then left on your counter overnight to soak the grains or you can make it all at once and skip this step.

  Combine the following ingredients in your blender:
  1 1/2 cup of buttermilk. If you don't have any, you can easily make some by mixing 1 1/2 tablespoons of Apple cider vinegar with 1 cup of milk and let it sit for 5 minutes.
   1 1/2 cups of gluten free oats (whole, rolled oats).
   1 teaspoon of vanilla
   2 tablespoons grape seed oil (or whatever oil you choose)

Blend thoroughly - 3-5 mins - always keeping a vortex in the batter. Once blended you can now let this sit on your counter overnight to soak the grains. Again, that is optional.

 Add in while blending (to avoid chunks) and maintaining a vortex in the batter:
  1 egg
  2 teaspoons baking powder
  1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  Pinch of salt

*If the batter is too thin, just allow it to sit in the blender on your counter for a few minutes and it should thicken.

Now just pour into your hot waffle maker and cook the usual amount of time. Enjoy!

XOXO

Joy