Loving Lately

Friends! It has been a bit over a week since we last chatted.

But it’s for good reason: I was on vacation with my family! 

We go to the Outer Banks, North Carolina every year, and it’s always an amazing opportunity to just unplug. Not gonna lie, you guys – life has been B U S Y lately, so taking the week off was much needed.

But I’m back! And I feel nice and refreshed and super duper excited about getting back into the groove of things.

And to start off this new groove, a life post! All about the things I’m absolutely crazy for at the moment.

1. Vegan Ice Cream

Okay. I’m typically not a huge ice cream person. I mean, it’s delicious, but it’s certainly not the dessert I reach for (that would be this, this, or this). That being said, I have fallen hard for ice cream this summer – specifically So Delicious Mint Chip and Coconut Bliss Vanilla Island.

Oh. My. Gosh. I love both of these flavors so much! Mint chip is my all-time favorite, and I’ve always preferred white mint chocolate chip ice cream over the green stuff. It’s amazing. And the Vanilla Island flavor is great for topping with all the things! I really like it on this recipe for grilled pineapple sundaes!

2. Clay

Yep. Because so much of my time has been spent in front of my computer lately, I decided to buy a few chunks of clay at the store. I got 4 or 5 colors, and it cost me less than $5, but it has been so fun. Just having something in my hand to play with as I’m working has been a great way to keep my focus!

I made this cute little flower out of the stuff one afternoon, and I was kind of amazed at how quickly time passed as I was putting it together {p.s. if you know of any fun pottery places in Pittsburgh, please let me know!}:

3. Cake Videos

You know all those cake decorating videos on Instagram? Yeah, I’m pretty obsessed with them. I spend way too much of my free-time scrolling through my Discover feed, looking for awesome cake decorating skills.

I also really love How to Cake It on YouTube! She makes some insane cakes – the cakes are certainly not vegan, but the videos are so much fun to watch!

4. Work

Yep, I’m seriously loving work lately. If you guys don’t know, in addition to my work here at Fooduzzi, I work for a company called Food Blogger Pro.

I’ve been able to connect with so many awesome bloggers through this job. Plus we’ve had so many fun events – from open enrollment to new courses to a bootcamp event -, my position has seriously challenged me (in a good way) these past few weeks. I love working when I’m a bit overwhelmed with everything I have to do – I feel like that’s when I really thrive!

5. My Herb Garden

I cannot believe I have an herb garden. I so do not have a green thumb. Like, at all.

But our herb garden? It’s bonkers.

We have parsley, basil, mint, thyme, rosemary, green onions, and lavender growing at the moment, and all of them are growing like crazy. We’re having some trouble with beetles (they like the basil as much as I do), but for the most part, the herb garden is a success. So far, we really like making mint-lemon water, Ginger Thyme Lemonade, and homemade pizza with them!

6. Homemade Granola

I make a batch of it every week, and I can’t get enough! I mostly use it for my smoothie bowls, but I’m definitely not opposed to munching on a bowl with almond milk for dinner. In fact, that happens quite a bit.

Regardless! It’s one of my favorite things, and it makes our apartment smell amazing. This Lemon Chia Granola is my all-time favorite recipe!

7. Tuesday Trivia Night

Okay, so I don’t go out much. I’m a huge introvert, so typically after a long day of work I’m just ready to relax at home. BUT. My friend Gretchen invited me to trivia night at a Whole Foods bar near us, and it has seriously been the highlight of my week!

I’m definitely not a trivia pro, but I love hanging out with Gretchen and her husband, Dan, drinking awesome beer, and testing my knowledge on a Tuesday night. I def. recommend you check out some local trivia nights near you!

8. Beer

For a mostly gluten free blog, this may be surprising. But summer and beer just go together for me. I’m seriously loving IPAs, Modelo, and Leinenkugel’s Grapefruit Shandy these days – the grapefruit shandy was my beer-o-choice at the beach last week!

Are you a beer person? I’m typically a wine gal, but beer is totally winning for me this summer.

9. Bread

I know. 95% of the time, I eat gluten free. I feel better when I eat whole foods, and most of the time those whole foods are gluten free.

But. Every once in a while, I’ll get really hungry for bread. So I’ve been experimenting with trying to add it into my diet. I don’t eat a ton of it, but every once in a while, I’ll indulge my bread cravings.

If you’re local, I really love Loafer’s Bread if you’re going store-bought (their Struan is my fave). There’s also a local pizza place that makes a sourdough crust that is TO.DIE.FOR. Plus, I’ve been experimenting with baking my own bread!

Would you be interested in non-gluten free bread recipes on the blog? Like I said, 95% of what I eat, and therefore 95% what I put on this blog, is gluten free. Just interested to hear if you’d like some non-gluten free goodies thrown in every once in a while :)

10. Cinnamon in Coffee

I’ve recently started drinking coffee again, and I seriously look forward to it every morning. Right now, we use an Aeropress to brew our coffee, and we really love it.

Before I add water to the coffee (I really like TJ’s French Roast), I add in a small sprinkle of cinnamon and it really makes all the difference. I top it off with some unsweetened vanilla almond milk, and it’s pretty much the best thing ever. Ob-sessed.

11. Planning Trips

I have a few really exciting trips planned for the second half of 2017, and I’m pumped. I’m going to Baltimore with Gretchen, Portland with Mark, and a few other smaller trips, but I’m so excited to get out there and put myself into new environments.

If you have any vegan / plant-based recommendations in Baltimore or Portland, please let me know!

12. Peanut Butter

I know, surprise surprise. But recently I just can’t get enough. I love it by the spoonful most, but I literally just made a batch of delicious no-bake cookies about 20 minutes ago. I used this recipe and divided it into 12-ish cookies for portion control.

It’s possible I’ve already eaten a 1/3 of them. Whooooops. :)

13. Mark and Maya

Obviously.

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And that’s that! What are you guys loving at the moment? Any fun foods you’re obsessed with recently?