P.I.N.K. Method Girls

Since I started the P.I.N.K. Method, I have found incredible support from literally HUNDREDS of women on the same path. We have an awesome page on facebook where we share our triumphs, our downfalls and our deepest secrets. I have never been part of such a large group of absolutely supportive and encouraging women before.

This group of women have shown me that it IS possible for women to get along, motivate each other and not have ANY of the gossiping~~back-stabbing~~or negativity. It is BEAUTIFUL!!

My best friend also started the P.I.N.K. Method after seeing my success and happiness and we've had so much fun sharing our new lifestyle, foods and JOY over the pounds we've 'released'! (We don't say 'lost'~~~we don't want to ever 'find' them again!!!)

Last weekend, I was lucky enough to meet a couple of the girls from our P.I.N.K Method Support Facebook Page! We met in downtown Asheville and had lunch at the Laughing Seed Cafe on Wall Street.

We took pictures, we talked, we laughed, we shared ideas & recipes~~~and best of all?? We got to 'know' each other, in a face-to-face way. Sharing honesty, fears, feelings and understanding.

It was an incredible afternoon and I am so thankful for these awesome friends I have created. I'm looking forward to May, when hundreds of us P.I.N.K. girls will descend upon L.A. and walk the PINK carpet!!

Thank you, Diane, Mary and Amanda for such a FUN Saturday!!!

Amanda, Mary, Me & Diane

Mary is taking a picture of me taking a picture!!

This is Diane's *yummy* salad!!

Amanda, Mary & I had the Raw Spinach Manicotti....OMG!!! Can you say---"lick the plate clean"???

What a *lovely* table of healthy foods!!!

Diane, Me, Mary & Amanda at The Grove Arcade in downtown Asheville, NC. Just love this picture of the four of us!! Between us, there's over 50lbs of 'released' weight and LOTS of inches gone!!

Thank you, my P.I.N.K. girls for your inspiration, your motivation & your true caring and support.

The P.I.N.K. Method & Me

As so many of my friends and family already know, I've been using the P.I.N.K. Method for losing weight, eating healthier and getting into much better shape. {You can go to www.pinkmethod.com for more information on the program}

I started on Jan. 2nd and so far, I've lost 18lbs. and about 12" off my body. It's been a process of learning to eat healthy and whole foods~~~and enjoying them!

I've been asked for recipes, so I decided to do a blog on some of the most requested *yummies*!

First, here are some of my favorite veggie 'chips'.......

These are beet chips and crispy spinach. I had a 'slight' problem while slicing the raw beets....lets just say that I've learned to ALWAYS use the vegetable 'holder' while using my mandolin!! :)

Recipe for Kale/Spinach Chips:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Rinse and pat dry vegetable "leaves". Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Lightly spray with cooking spray or with your own oil spritzer. {I use the "Mister" filled with my olive oil.} Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper to taste. Bake in oven for approximately 10-15 minutes, or until 'browned' and crispy.

This photo is the VERY scrumptious sweet potato chips and surprisingly good kale chips! The kale is very crunchy and delish!!!

Recipe for Veggie Chips:

Ingredients: 2 cups veggies (can use beets, parsnips, sweet potatoes, russet potatoes, squash, carrots, etc. or mix and match!), washed and thinly sliced 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil Celtic sea salt, to taste Directions: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place veggies in bowl and pour extra virgin olive oil on top. Mix until veggies are well coated. Sprinkle lightly with Celtic sea salt. Arrange slices in a single layer on baking sheet and bake until crispy and slightly brown on edges.

My new favorite treat is the Cauliflower Poppers~~ I SWEAR they taste like you're being 'sinful' and eating fried potatoes!! So very, very decadent!!!!

Recipe for Cauliflower Poppers:

2 heads of cauliflower 1/4 cup of olive oil 1 1/2 teaspoon of salt 1 teaspoon of pepper Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees Wash and clean the cauliflower. Cut off and discard the stem. Cut the cauliflower up into small pieces. In a large bowl, combine the olive oil, salt and pepper. Add the cauliflower pieces and thoroughly coat each piece. Place cauliflower pieces onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for one hour and turn 3 times during cooking until each piece has a nice brown coloring. The browner they are the better. Remove from oven and enjoy!

This was my dessert last night.....banana "ice cream".....such a simple creation and soooooo good!!! And the easiest 'dessert' I've ever made!

Recipe for Banana Ice Cream:

Slice 1 banana, place in a baggie and freeze.

When ready to eat, place in your food processor and blend until creamy.

*THAT'S IT!!!!!

Let me know if you try any of these recipes! You'll never believe you're eating 'healthy' or 'diet food'!!

Craft Room Completion!!!

Here it is.....TA DA!!!! My office/craft room has been decluttered, reorganized and repainted!!

From one of my most favorite blog/shop, I got the beautiful ombre wreath for the door to my office. {Also the beautiful clay 'tags' that hang from wreath} You REALLY should check out Linda's blog and her shop. http://burlapandblue.com/

So, we'll start the photo 'tour' off with some views of the wreath and door......

I love how this wreath looks....and it just reminds me to be happy and creative upon entering!!

I love the added tags to remind me of the importance of dreaming, loving and finding my joy!!

So, this is a shot of the computer area....I don't "decorate" too much in that area, as the hubby uses this area a lot. So, I try to keep it as clutter free as *possible*!!

This is a photo of the scrapbook & crafting area. I bought the jars and bottles to organize the "stuff" that was floating around in some of the drawers!

This is a larger view of the crafting area.....remember what it looked like in the *before*?? Here it is......

UGH!!!!!!!

I used a pants-hanger that I had in my closet to organize ribbon and tape! Easy to get to, easy to return to it's 'proper' place!

Created my own "art" to hang on the walls....favorite sayings and motivational words! Much needed with my current goals and aspirations! (Nice blue wall color, eh??)

With these homemade "prints", I can change them out and create new ones as needed! CHEAP DIY!!!

This one was fun to create....using different fonts and some clip art! I saw one *sorta-kinda* like this, but some of the words didn't apply to me, so I created my own! {You can, too!!}

The closet has been *mostly* organized....it took me forever to go through all of the scrapbook paper and "catagorize" it~~~according to color, striped, patterned, etc... {And, yes, Daisy is investigating!!}

Scrapbook "packet" projects and 'notebooks' of scrapbook papers.

Loose, but, organized scrapbook paper....if I buy ANYMORE paper, I could open up my own store. ~GEESH~

Also, note the new wall color!! A softer blue!! The chair is awaiting reupholstery....I have the fabric and now I have the *space* needed to work on it! YAY!!!

So, there is my promise to myself and ~the hubster~ that this room WOULD get done! It was just ONE of my resolutions for the New Year.

How are you doing with YOUR resolutions?? Any luck in sticking to them? This was actually one of my resolutions last year! So~~I feel pretty good about completing it!

BTW~~Here is how my crafting area looks tonight....I'm working on a wedding project~~~{for a friend}.

Confusion & Clutter in the Craft Room

Here we go.....

Time for me to 'fess up and show you the utter chaos that has been the Craft Room/Office. After school, home improvement projects, scrapbooking and Christmas crafting~~I am embarrassed to share this with you all, but I know that we all have our "secret" mess!

My promise to myself and to my hubby was that I WOULD organize and clean this room, so that it is a usable space~~~~NOT an overgrown-closet or storage room.

The following are my "before" photos. I am about 3/4 of the way finished and will post a new blog when the room is complete!!

Upon opening the door, you are greeted with the above!

This is "supposed" to be my crafting counter...*ahem*....not so much, eh??

And this area is supposed to be the computer/office work-area.

Paint cans, paint supplies, empty boxes, etc....cover the floor!

I'm so excited about the progress I've made....today is going to be the big day where I actually paint some. I love the chocolate brown on the computer & craft counter walls, but I have never cared for the 'goldish' color on the window & closet walls. So, I'm going to paint over those!!

Wish me LUCK!!!

Paper Flowers

The Christmas decorations have been put away, so it's time to think of what to do with the foyer table! {again}

I decided to create my own 'art' and make some paper flowers out of extra tissue paper left from wrapping Christmas gifts. {we ALL have that, right??}

To start, I cut the paper into strips, about 3-4" wide.....

Starting at one end, I folded the paper~~~

Fold the paper all the way to the end, cutting off any excess that is left. Trim the end into an oval, a "point", or you can create many cuts in the end of the paper. You then begin rolling and scrunching it together to create the flower petals. {This took practice for me!!}

Once I had the shape I wanted, I twisted the leftover end, creating a "stem" and wrapped tape around it to hold it.

I created different shapes by making different cuts at the end of the folded paper. Here is a 'rose'......

Here is how the table is looking....

Yesterday, I started adding some red roses to the arrangement....still not sure if I like it. What is your opinion??

Christmas Trays

Pretty Little Shelf!!

I think I *finally* have the living room shelf just how I like it!! The final additions were the absolutely CUTE love birds from http://www.etsy.com/shop/homeforhire The wonderful benefit of purchasing from this etsy shop is that 25% of each sale goes to a family in the process of adopting a child!!

The framed print comes from http://www.freshwordsmarket.com/ There are many inspiring gift and home decor items from this site; including journals, cards and prints!

Be sure to check out the Home for Hire etsy shop! There are fantastic gift items, home decor pieces and holiday gift tags!