Author: Brittaney

The Intention Project

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Hello party people! I’ve missed y’all! It’s been a season and I’m super grateful to be back. For the longest while,  I’ve been sitting on “What’s going to be the BEST post to jump back into it?” I was driving myself crazy with my feeble attempts at putting myself back out there with something mind blowing for all of you lovely folks. Nothing was good enough. Or creative enough. Or exciting- why weren’t my ideas exciting?! Then, while I was entertaining these ridiculous thoughts, I looked up and realized I had neglected us for four more months than I intended! Yikes! And big cyber hugs for that. Well, God is good and he sent me a friend, who I hadn’t seen in about that much time, to nudge me along. She welcomed me to join her Intention Project. A post-a-day of your daily intention. This is very much a practice in imperfectionism and vulnerability. Guess what? I’m on Day 2 and it’s incredible – I had to share this with y’all!     My youngest son …

May the Fourth Be With You

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Happy Fourth, everyone! Today is one of my favorite holiday non-holidays! And for this exceptionally awesome day, I thought I’d share our Star Wars Birthday party I threw for the boys a couple of years ago. The location was a rock climbing gym which made for a simple, Tatooine-ish planet. Then etsy helped us out with their abundant assortment of SW themed anything you could possibly imagine and then some.   Easy Yoda ears on kid friendly Izze’s.    Force Fuel  water bottles to keep the young Jedi’s hydrated!   Jedi Robes – take one yard of  basic brown cotton fabric and fold it in half horizontally. Cut out a half circle for the head. Fold into a nice square and wrap the party favor up with white rope or chord (also doubles as the belt) and there will be a plethora of happy young Jedi’s running around.    Because you just have to.   Light saber popcorn holders.    Don’t worry- thermal detonators were chocolate covered cherries in disguise.   Two gluten free chocolate …

THE Tortilla (Paleo, Gluten Free, Vegan)

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Being from Texas, I LOVE Mexican food. Tex Mex, not so much, but real, honest to goodness, homemade, straight from the heart, Mexican food. I have been blessed to know and love several women from Mexico and we have shared time in the kitchen – laughing, loving and creating feasts. Before my Paleo days, I got schooled on the beautiful art of creating homemade tortillas, flour and corn (o arina y maiz). Through many torn, burnt and brick hard attempts, my family was extremely grateful when a friend gifted me a tortilla press. My tortilla rocks turned into consistent, soft and much tastier palettes of deliciousness. When I decided Paleo was a good fit for my life, I quickly realized I would no longer going be able to enjoy homemade tortillas. Cue sinking heart. And then my kitchen game face took over. My mission was to turn all foods I once loved into a healthier version for my family and myself. Of course, without sacrificing the taste! This has been a project in the works but I think …

A Minute with God

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Have you ever tried to spend one still minute with God? Not praying or talking but simply silent and still with Him. I tried this morning. Alone in my hotel room, it should have been easy. But it wasn’t. It was unsettlingly hard. All of the thoughts I wanted to share with Him. I was that kid. The one on pins and needles, ready to explode three seconds into 1-2-3 Quiet & Still. I’m pretty sure I didn’t last much longer than that before attempting to start over again in my stillness with God. And again. But that’s the amazing thing about God. His Grace starts over again and again. And again. Over the last few weeks, I feel like God has gently been nudging me to “Rest.” I’m not sure why there is so much guilt associated with resting. Embarassingly, I’ve been one to judge and envy stay-at-home mama friends or someday parent friends who take these things called “siestas” or “naps” while their toddlers slumber or just because they’re tired. Wth?? And it makes …

Travel Hacks!

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Tis the season for traveling! Whether you’re skiing, camping or beaching it, these travel hacks will surely make your vacation a little smoother. Read, sit back and relax! Rent It Like It’s Hot Anytime we can airbnb, VRBO or HomeAway it over over a hotel, that’s the route we go. We pack half a week’s worth of clothes and wash and re-wear. Cooking versus eating out every meal makes for a fatter wallet and slimmer waistline! Plus, more room for the kiddos to runaround always seals the deal for me. Dump, Stir and Bake This hack is my new favorite- shared by a wise friend and fellow baker. If you have access to a kitchen, you can easily bake up some of your favs without lugging or buying all of your ingredients there. Simply layer all dry ingredients your recipe calls for into a plastic baggy. Write on the baggy all of your wet ingredients you need to add With a sharpie and baking temp and time. Dump, add wet ingredients, stir and bake! I …

Quinoa Power Balls (Grain Free, Vegan)

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How’s Spring Break everyone?! Ours has been oh-so lovely. We haven’t done anything spectacular (yet!) but have simply had a really beautiful time doing a lot of nothing together. This week we’ve been snacking on these super easy Quinoa Power Balls (quinoa is pronounced keen•wah; it took me forever and a half to figure that one out). I love any and all protein balls. They’re packed with such goodness and provide an incredible pick me up throughout the day! Plus, you can’t beat all of the amazing flavors and combinations you can make with them. I’ve made these little nuggets of goodness with oats, without oats, raw, cooked, smashed them into bars, etc etc. Our current fav is grain free (quinoa is technically a seed, not a grain!) and pumps us full of omega 3s from the chia and flax. They’re moist and delicious and we think you might just fall in love! Quinoa Power Balls ingredients 2 cups of cooked quinoa 1/2 cup of nut butter (peanut, almond, sunflower) 1/4 cup of sweetener of …

SXSW: Pow! Wow! Hawaii and SprATX Artists Please Stand Up

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Didn’t see that one coming, did ya? Move over delicious delicacies and make way for two tasty artists I have had the extreme pleasure of doing life with. These two profoundly talented, yet extremely different, friends are scaling the art + life scene in our uber creative Austin. I have been blessed to witness both of their journeys from arriving into the city to career moves and leaps of faith. They are changing the streets of Austin by spreading joy, passion and love to all they meet and all who meet their work at any given turn through the city. Lucas Aoki + Mike (Truth) Johnston. Brothers of Life. Brothers of Art. Today, Mike and Lucas join me for lunch to share a bit about the beginning of their journey, what inspires their art and their brotherhood. LoveJoy: Share with me the first time you two met. Truth: We met in NYC more than 10 years ago – Erin (Mike’s wife) and I were in town for the marathon. Ellen (Lucas’ wife) brought us to a bar and I remember speaking very …

Paleo Banana Bread

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Oh, for the love of the weather! I don’t know about you but around here it is cold today, hot tomorrow. This time of year in Texas it’s quite confusing. In my closet and in my kitchen. When it’s cold, I love to make soups and loads of baked goods. When the weather warms up, get ready for greens and lots of veggie dishes! I believe the rest of this weekend is going to be chilly so here’s what we’ll be snacking on. My (easy peasy) Paleo Banana Bread is so moist and buttery you can’t even tell it’s gluten free, much less Paleo. I’ve played with the recipe several times, subbing in coconut flour for some of the almond flour. Coconut flour is a tad bit cheaper than almond, but also a tad bit more finicky. It’s a tricky flour to nail down but I’ll keep at it and share my results! But for now, enjoy the all almond flour original and our family’s favorite of all of the Banana Breads tested. Paleo Banana …

Baby, It’s Cold Outside…A (Paleo) Shepherd’s Pie Worth Squealing Over

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Okay, so it’s not so cold here right now but when I started working on this post it was freezing. Welcome to Texas, folks! One of my favorite people in the world came to visit last month and I was delighted! My extended family has always lived half way across the country so we see each other maybe once a year. Twice was a really good year! Needless to say, I was thrilled that my Aunt was coming for some sister time with my Mama and the kids and I decided to plan a feast for her. My cousin is one year and a day younger than me and we have always joked that they switched us as babies because our personalities definitely resemble the other’s parent. Remarkably so.  Now, my Mama has always guided me spiritually but my Aunt and I have this different connection. When we start sharing about God – thoughts, experiences, feelings, we’re on this crazy multidimensional plane as though our Spirits are sitting together, drinking a cup of tea and nodding …

A Present of Presence + a Simple DIY for Valentines

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How’s everyone feeling? Lovelier? Lighter? Crazy and tired? Yep, me, too. Wrapping up our (almost) two weeks of love spreading, I subconsciously focused the first week on friends and strangers. This week I realized there were a few people who could use some extra impromptu love right under my roof! I started thinking about what kind of Valentine surprises and treats I would make for the kiddos and Joe when God hit me with a big – Your presence is the best gift they could receive. Wow. Ok. Got it. After that very loud whisper I began consciously leaving my phone and laptop in our bedroom or in my purse. If it’s not out, I’m not perusing mindless activity that has nothing to do with the current moment I’m sitting in or who I’m with. And guess what? It worked! I’ve had a really lovely week with my children and my husband. Nothing mind blowing. No fireworks. We kept our quota of crazy, hair bending moments, too. But there were loads of extra hugs and laughs …