Category: Family

Family, Food, pregnancy, Uncategorized, Women

Exploring a little bit of D.C.

Hannah Lucio

Yesterday we went to Washington D.C. to check out one of my husbands job site’s that he is working on. He has about 4 that he is working on.  Since we are not really into the city stuff that comes along, for example paying for parking and traffic LOL I was hesitant to go. But, I am glad we ended up going! We went to the job site and me and Maverick walked around, went to Starbucks and watched the workers at the job site. It was interesting to just watch the city people for a little bit but I am so thankful not to live in that environment. Anyway, we got back to our car and we had a ticket! Ugh the parking spot we parked in apparently was a spot you cannot park in until after 9:30am. Shoot! There goes $100 ha ha ha This was proof of why we don’t like all the city stuff that comes along. Apparently, we also need to read ever fine print HA

We put into the Garmin a destination and well…..we missed an exit so we had to circle around again. HA HA We finally got to our destination and it was interesting. You do not have to pay for parking, thank goodness! I think we have paid enough HA We were able to walk to a few spots and Ill have to tell ya, I am horrible at history tourism. I had/have no idea what these places are called really. And, its sad. So I will be brushing up on my history here shortly. But I will share a few photos of the places we went.

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We saw more stuff but I forgot to take pictures. My favorite place to go was a cupcake place. I used to watch D.C. cupcakes on TLC and never thought I would be close enough to go. I was also hoping that they tasted good. When we go there it was raining and there was a line. We still waited and it was totally worth the wait 🙂 We will be back!! And I do not mind paying $4 a cupcake HA HA!

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If you are ever in the D.C. area it should be a must to get a cupcake. These are THE best cupcakes I have ever eaten. Seriously!

Well, that was our exciting morning. And, I believe because I am pregnant and have 10 weeks left….it left me exhausted.

 

Live happy and live simple.

Family, Hair, pregnancy, Uncategorized, Women

I FINALLY found my favorite Shampoo and Conditioner

Hannah Lucio

I have been on the hunt for a great shampoo and conditioner for the last 2 years! I have tried expensive brands that don’t have the best ingredients. I have tried to use coconut oil on my hair. It took me almost two weeks to recover from the coconut oil. It wrecked my hair! I have tried homemade shampoo and conditioner. I could not even brush my hair it dried my hair out so darn bad. I have tried Alba which is a little better but I would have to apply the conditioner twice and I still had a ton of tangles. And, many more products. So I was at the end of trying to find a sulfate and paraban free shampoo and conditioner…..and then my husband went to Costco by himself and got a Kirkland brand shampoo. IMG_7185He doesn’t look for the ingredients, he just grabbed it and that was it. I noticed it was Sulfate and Paraban free. I was shocked. I used the shampoo and noticed my hair felt softer! So I went to Costco asap and got the conditioner and there is NO turning back! This shampoo and conditioner are MY absolute favorite! My bleach blonde hair does not get wrecked, it shines and it feels so darn soft! If you are searching for a color treated friendly, Sulfate free and Paraban free shampoo you need to try this brand. Hope this can help at least one person out there that has the same issue 🙂

 

Live Happy and Live simple

Family, Food, pregnancy, St Pattys Day, Uncategorized, Women

Green Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Hannah Lucio

These cupcakes are so delicious and moist! They are a must make for St. Patty’s Day.

 

Cupcake Ingredients:

1 Box Milk Chocolate Cake Mix (I used Pillsbury)

1 1/3 Cup Buttermilk

1/2 Cup Oil

3 eggs

1 Ounce Green Food Coloring

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place cupcake liners in muffin pan.

Combine Buttermilk, oil and eggs in medium bowl and mix well. Add cake mix and food coloring; mix well. Put batter into muffin cups and bake for 20-22 minutes. Cool completely before topping them with frosting.

 

Frosting Ingredients:

1 (8 ounce) Package Cream Cheese, softened

1/4 Cup Butter, softened

2 Tbsp Sour cream

2 tsp Vanilla

1 (16 ounces) Powdered sugar

 

Directions:

Combine cream cheese, butter, sour cream and vanilla in a bowl and mix until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in powdered sugar. Spread on cupcakes. 

 

Super easy and very tasty!

Enjoy and live simple. 

Family, Food, pregnancy, St Pattys Day, Stay at Home Mom, Uncategorized, Women

Irish Egg Rolls and Guinness Dipping Sauce

Hannah Lucio

Just in time for St. Patty’s Day! When I was searching for an appetizer to make for my husbands work I came across this recipe. It sounded good so we tried it. Oh My goodness…they are so delicious. The hubby said these should be a tradition, amen to that! I hope you try this recipe out and love them as much as we do.

Ingredients:

8 Ounces Chopped corned beef

2 Cup shredded steamed cabbage  (Steam the cabbage with the cooked corned beef water to add flavor)

2 Cup diced cooked potatoes (Cook the potatoes in corned beef water)

2 Cup shredded carrots (steam in the cooked corned beef water)

1 Cup thinly sliced onion (steam in the cooked corned beef water)

1 Pack of Egg Roll wrappers

Vegetable oil

 

Directions:

  1. Heat the oil up on the stove in a deep pan. I used a cast iron pan.
  2. In a bowl mix all the ingredients together.
  3. Lay the egg roll wrappers out on a dry and clean surface one at a time. Dip your finger in water to the edges of the egg roll wrapper, put in as much of the ingredients as you like. The bigger you make them the more likely they will rip when you roll them up. Roll the wrapper up according to the directions on the package and wet the edges again.
  4. Fry about 5 at a time if your pan is big enough. Cook until golden brown, the time will vary. Remove from pan and dry on a paper towel.

 

 

Guinness dipping sauce Recipe

Ingredients:

1 3/4 Cups lightly packed brown sugar

1 3/4 Cups Guinness beer (extra stout or draught)

 

Directions:

Combine brown sugar and Guinness in a medium saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour or until liquid is reduced by half and mixture has thickened slightly. Remove from heat and cool slightly.

Egg roll dipping sauce

 

 

Enjoy and live simple

 

Family, Food, St Pattys Day, Uncategorized, Women

Exciting new recipes in the making

Hannah Lucio

My husband has a St Patrick’s day party at work tomorrow. They are having it a bit early. I was trying to figure out which recipe to make. But I wanted it to be an appetizer and still have corned beef. After searching I found a recipe that sounded so darn good. Irish egg rolls. Now hear me out. In egg rolls you normally have carrots and cabbage and some sort of meat. Well why not Corned beef egg rolls? Yum! Then I was trying to figure out the dipping sauce. You cannot eat egg rolls without dipping sauce. Since the sweet and sour sauce we normally eat with our egg rolls sounded gross. I searched and found the perfect dipping sauce recipe……Guinness dipping sauce! How appropriate! Since I had just bought the hubby Guinness this week it was an easy choice. And then I am going to make a dessert. They did not ask me to make a dessert. And, the hubby doesn’t know I am going to make them yet. He will not know until I bring them to his work tomorrow 🙂 I saw on Pinterest a recipe for Green velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. Who does’t like cupcakes? And why not try a new recipe that sounds yummy! I will be posting all the recipes tomorrow after all the fun and yummy cooking/baking are done. I cannot wait! At the moment the Corned beef is cooking (it smells so yummy) and all day I will be prepping for the egg rolls. I will not make the egg rolls until an hour before his party so I can make sure they are fresh 🙂 Stay tuned for all the recipes and how they turned out. Apparently at my husband’s work I am the chef wife….I feel honored 🙂

 

Live happy and live simple

 

Christmas, Family, Food, pregnancy, Uncategorized, Women

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Waffles

Hannah Lucio

I made this recipe for breakfast today and it was so yummy. Everyone enjoyed them and ate a lot. That is a really good thing since I experimented with changing the original recipe and made it a little healthier.

 

Ingredients:

2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour

2 Tbsp Ground Flaxseed

2 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 Tbsp organic raw sugar (next time I’ll use 1 Tbsp to cut down on sugar)

2 Cups low-fat buttermilk

3 large eggs

3 Tbsp melted Organic Butter

 

Directions:

Plug in the waffle iron to preheat it.

Combine the flour, flaxseed, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar in a medium bowl. Stir to blend, set aside.

In another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and eggs. Stir in the melted butter. Pour into the dry ingredients and stir with wooden spoon until combined.

I do not use oil in the waffle iron. I use cooking spray and it worked great for me. Spray the waffle iron each time before you add the batter.

Pour about 1 cup of batter into the preheated and sprayed waffle iron. Cook until golden brown.

 

 

Enjoy and Live simple!

 

 

 

 

 

Family, Food, pregnancy, Uncategorized, Women

No bake Healthy Bites-Toddler Approved

Hannah Lucio

I have been trying to get our family back on track to eating healthy. Especially our two year old. I have had this recipe for a few years and absolutely love them. I made this recipe not thinking that he would even try them. But, I made them and he absolutely loves them. He even ate 3 in a row! That’s amazing!

 

Recipe:

1 Cup (dry, regular) Oatmeal

2/3 Cup Coconut Flakes

1/2 Cup Peanut Butter

1/2 Cup Ground Flaxseed or wheat germ

1/2 Cup Chocolate Chips or Cocoa nibs

1/3 Cup Honey

1 Tbsp Chia Seeds

1 tsp Vanilla

Directions:

Mix all ingredients and chill in refrigerator for 30-60 minutes. Take out and roll into balls. And, done. IMG_7093

 

Super easy and fast.

 

Enjoy and Live Simple

 

 

 

Family, Food, pregnancy, prenatal, Uncategorized, Women

My favorite Breakfast and Prenatal Vitamin

Hannah Lucio

I am SO thankful that this pregnancy is better with the food department. The first pregnancy I seriously could not stand anything but muffins for a very long time. This time around I am able to eat a lot healthier and for that I am thankful! My favorite breakfast right now is a piece of Ezekiel bread topped with half an avocado and one-two eggs. The eggs really depend on how hungry I am when I wake up HA HA This is what I have in the morning on a typical day-IMG_6842

It tastes so good and has a lot of nutrition. I do not get the low sodium Ezekiel bread because I typically do not have a lot of salt in my diet already. So the added salt is ok for me. I always start with a cup of black coffee-nothing added. Eat my breakfast and then have a half cup of black coffee after. It is the best way for me to start my mornings.

 

I also take my favorite prenatal every morning with my breakfast. I have found that this prenatal is THE only prenatal that does not make me sick to my stomach. I start this pregnancy taking Nature Made Prenatal…and let me tell you, horrible! I was sick and wanted to throw up all the time. I finally found a store around here that carried the prenatal that I took with the last pregnancy. Once I switched to this prenatal I did not have a sick stomach anymore. I was so happy and also surprised that I made that big of a difference. This prenatal-IMG_7008

has been a lifesaver! If you have a sick stomach maybe try to switch your prenatal brand and see if it makes a difference. This prenatal I used to find in California super easily. But here in Virginia, its hard to find. I hope this helps you! It helped me 🙂

Eating 80/20 (80% healthy/20% who cares) is really a great way to live. I cannot cut everything out, nor do I really want to. I am still healthy, not gaining a lot of weight fast this time around. And, I feel human still. In pregnancy there are times that you may have a big craving that you cannot ignore. But, I have found that I have been able to curb my ice cream want with pineapple, strawberries and blueberries. Try it out and see if it works. If not, oh well HA just try not to indulge all the time 🙂

 

Live healthy. live simple

Family, pregnancy, Uncategorized, Women

Pregnancy Pilates and Happy 20 Weeks!

Hannah Lucio

I have been wanting to do more at home pregnancy workouts recently. I have been doing yoga a few times a week for the past month but want to do more. I do go to the gym 5-7 days a week, but there are days where I just do not want to go. I like home workouts because I do not have to go anywhere. And I can do the workouts while our son naps 🙂  I finally found a Pilates workout that is really good! At first I was not sure if I could finish the whole 30 minutes but I pressed on. It works you really good, especially while pregnant. I finished the video 1 hour ago and I feel absolutely fantastic now! Try it out and make sure to listen to your body. If you feel pain or discomfort just modify or stop. I am not a personal trainer or dr so make sure to do any workouts at your own discretion.

Here is the link: Pregnancy Pilates. Hope you get to try it out!

AND

Happy 20 weeks to me! IMG_6885[1]We are half way through, YEAH! I feel great….so far. I am just not a fan of gaining weight. Ever. Last pregnancy it was completely different. I only could stomach carbs and Mexican food. Fattening! I could not stand the thought of eating anything green. I stopped working out, almost cold turkey. I gained weight fast. It was all things that you shouldn’t do when pregnant. HA! This time around I am trying to continue working out, eating 80% healthy. And, I have gained a healthy 13 lbs so far. That is great because I am right on target. Of course I had my Dr appt at 11 am so I have eaten a few times and drank a ton of liquids. So I might have only gained 10 lbs so far. Either way it is not bad. I was telling my husband that this is how much I weighed when we met. He asked if that was good or bad? I told him…..well, you liked it before.  HA HA. A fact about me: I weigh less married 🙂 Opposite than what most people complain about. I want to look good for my hubby, not lose control of my weight.  Anyway, I am able to feel our little boy more and more. And, I cannot wait until the hubby and son get to feel the baby! I still have not had any “real” cravings. I think things sound good but nothing that I have to have. I am sure Ill get some sort of craving in the next month or so.

Well, I have to start getting our house in winter shape. It was -1 degrees this morning outside. Brrr We are NOT in California anymore HA HA  I have to make more window coverings and door draft stoppers 🙂 Until next time!

Live Happy and Live simple!

 

 

 

Family, pregnancy, Uncategorized, Women

We are having….

Hannah Lucio

IMG_6857[1]

 

Another boy!! 🙂 We are super excited! As much as I was wanting to have a girl, I am kind of relieved to be having another boy. Now I can get on to preparing for a baby boy. We donated all of Mavericks baby clothes so we do have to start over. But, I really do not mind. It’s awesome to shop for baby stuff 🙂 The hard part is going to be a name……maybe Goose…since his brothers name is Maverick. Haha

Happy Thursday!

 

Live happy and live simple