Getting Away, Again

Get through the week: check
Pack up the tent and sleeping bags: check
Gather up food for 12 people: check

So what's going on this weekend, you ask? We're going camping! And I have to admit, as overwhelming as back-to-back weekend trips can seem, it's a wonderful thing to get away for a little R&R. Plus, Chris and I have been hankerin' to go camping since we've been married. That's two years, people!

I am anxiously anticipating catching up on some good reads, plenty of hikes, fishing (for the boys), campfires and of course, smores! And this weekend we get to bring our pooch. She's going to love it!

See ya next week!

image/cutestdateever

Currently Loving

Just a few things for the home that make my heart go pitter patter...

Anthropologie always has the most unique and whimsical assortment of dishes. I've had my eye on this serving bowl for quite some time. After all, I have the matching individual bowls and would just love to complete the set.

Being a girl who is always in search of new ways to keep my house fresh, I love the idea of Scentsy's flameless candles. They have some really wonderful scents {ahem, can we say coconut palm!} and now the base comes in these super cute plug-ins! I would love this gray one for the living room.

And this turquoise one for our bedroom.

I won't claim to have been an avid reader of the fabulous Domino magazine {gasp}, but I did love to browse an issue here and there for inspiration. This book seems like a great compilation of past issues and is bursting with gorgeous interiors!

Have a lovely Thursday!

Swoon: Amy Butler Bedding

During a recent outing to Bed Bath & Beyond I discovered Amy Butler's new bedding collection. In a word: adorable! Definitely made me wish I had a room to decorate!

Being a fan of all things Amy Butler, especially her new fabric designs, I was instantly drawn to the playful, fun color combos she is famous for.

The bedding comes in several patterns, as well as bath towels and shower curtains to compliment. Check out all the goods here.

I am personally smitten with this blue, peackock inspired set below. Lovely!



image/designerlinenoutlet

A Sweet {Potato} Twist

I recently came across this tasty looking Sweet Potato Hummus. Doesn't it sound intriguing? I love finding a new twist on this old favorite. Can't wait to test it out next week! Well done Martha, well done.

image/wholeliving

A Day at the Museum

Just wanted to share some pictures from our weekend! As I said last week, my Moms birthday was on Saturday and she wanted to go to the California Academy of Sciences for the day. I should start off by saying that we are total museum geeks, so there wasn't much need for convincing!

The California Academy of Sciences is so cool and you can literally spend all day exploring! My favorites are a tie between the Planetarium and the Rainforest (where I ended up taking way too many pics of butterflies).

We ended the day with dinner and spent Sunday at a few wineries. It was lovely!

Mom and Dad

Touching the starfish!

Cheers!

A Balancing Act

If I'm being really honest, sometimes when I share about my "splurges", I get scared of being judged. Being someone who makes a living teaching people to live healthier lives, I fear you may think I don't practice what I preach. But believe me, it is of utmost importance that I am doing the very things I encourage others to do, which also means occasionally enjoying not-so-clean foods!

So I can't tell you how happy and relieved I was to read this today. Tosca Reno, the queen of clean eating, Oxgen's fabulous fifties colomnist and one of my biggest fitness inspirations, shares about taking a break from CE while in Paris for a few days! Seriously, she does that too?! Thank you Tosca, for being honest and such an incredible model of health and balance!

image/via

Weekend Getaway

Happy Friday! Are you as ready for the weekend to be here as me?

I am so excited to be getting away for another little weekend trip, only this time it's to celebrate my beautiful mother's birthday (we do love to celebrate birthdays in this family)!

The Hansens and both of our parents will be leaving for San Francisco early tomorrow morning for a day by the Bay. We're staying overnight and then making our way to Napa on Sunday for some wine tasting. Definitely looking forward to a little getaway with the family!

And to end the weekend, we will be going over to the {almost} Van Unen's new home for dessert!

Hope you have a lovely weekend!

image/horizon-virtuel

Perfect Summer Fare

I've attempted to make this dish for three weeks straight, but it seems everytime I put it on our menu something else comes up. Doesn't it look positively yummy?! I read somewhere that it also makes a perfect lunch the following day, you've gotta love a meal that can multi-task! Maybe next week will be more successful.

Do you have any good-lookin' meals that have been sitting on the backburner, just waiting to be used?

image/myrecipes

Going Green

Ever since I started this blog (almost 2 years ago!) I've wanted to post about green smoothies. For some reason or another this post just never came to be. How I have never shared my love for something like this is beyond me, but this week I decided that needed to change! Allow me to pass on the stealthy trick that is a green smoothie.

Basically, it's a super simple way to incorporate more leafy greens into your diet. I actually love them, especially spinach, but I could always be eating more. How about you?

The first time I saw a list of ideas on the Vita-mix website I was curious. Mostly because I couldn't imagine a smoothie, which is typically a breakfast item, tasting at all decent with vegetables in the mix. But I was so wrong! Amazingly enough, their flavor is masked by the sweetness of the added fruit and actually gives it a cool, refreshing aftertaste.

Believe me on this one. I have turned many people to the green side with recipes such as this:

Going Green Smoothie
recipe adapted from Vita-mix

1/2 apple

1/2 cup (78 g) pineapple

2 cups (60 g) fresh spinach

1/2 ripe banana, peeled 1/2 orange small sliver lemon and lime

1/2 cup (120 ml) water

1 cup (240 ml) ice cubes

Next time you whip up a smoothie, throw in a large handful of one of the following:

spinach
kale
collard greens
lettuce
parsley

and start reaping the benefits of more greens in your diet!

Sweet Treats

It came to my attention last week that homemade popsicles are all the rage this year and I had not yet hopped on the bandwagon. But after reading about them here and here and here I decided enough was enough and we were no longer going to endure these triple digit days of Summer without some popsicles for comfort!

And true to form, I also wanted these super cute Tovolo molds everyone was using, even though I have some multi colored ones I picked up at a garage sale a few months ago (never used!). But these were so much cuter! Deciding though to use my better judgement and save my $13 + shipping for a rainy day, I settled on using what I had.

That is until we came across them at Nordstrom Rack this weekend. And for only $9.96! To my suprise, Chris was the one who insisted I buy them. I'm pretty sure he's been hankering popsicles since I mentioned them last week. So we purchased some. And I couldn't be happier with the results!

That night I made strawberry, nectarine and blackberry pops (aka: the fruit the was about to go bad in the fridge) and oh my, they are so refreshing and so easy! The splendid thing is, they are a healthy alternative to store bought and the possibilities are nearly endless!

Next I would like to try some kind of watermelon mint combo! YUM!!

Berry Nectarine Popsicles
6 ounces strawberries, hulled
2 nectarines, pitted
3 ounces blackberries
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon agave nectar

Weekend in Photos

{the glasses are because we saw Toy Story 3 in 3D}

An awesome date night that included taking cheesy pics in a photo booth, seeing newborn livestock at the state fair, lots of sunshine and dress shopping where I purchased this dress plus two others and shoes to go with makes for a perfectly wonderful kind of weekend!

Happy Monday!

State of Mind

While visiting one of my daily blog reads, The SOHO, I came across this sweet cloth tote! It's covered with pictures of food each individual state is know for. So charming and educational!

Summer Weekend

Happy Friday, lovelies! Any fun happenings this weekend?

Our plans include:

Date night at our favorite sushi place and Toy Story 3 (that boy sure does know the way to my heart!).

Having a garage sale, which is so not as fun as going through other peoples junk. But the extra cash and de-cluttered home are always a bonus! Plus, Mom and I might try to sneak away for a bit to hit the farmer’s market.

Then, the State fair! We are indeed braving the brutal triple digits and the crazy crowds on opening weekend since it's our only free weekend for a while.

Not that I'm complaining because the next few weeks include a trip to San Francisco and Napa for Mom's birthday, camping with the extended family and a visit to the Midwest for my cousin's wedding. I love this time of year!

Have a lovely, summer weekend!

image via

Clean Eating Snack Ideas

As I explained here, Clean Eating entails eating 5-6 small meals a day. Which means you should be eating about every 2-3 hours. Great news, right?! This will keep a constant flow of energy to your body and help you feel full and satisfied all day long.

I realize to most people this sounds like a whole lot of food, but trust me, when you begin to feel the benefits of steady energy throughout the day, you won't want it any other way!

I wanted to share some quick and easy clean eating snack ideas. The important thing to remember with your meals and snacks is to pair quality protein with a complex carbohydrate. This will ensure you stay full until your next meal!

Here are some of my favorite combos:

greek yogurt + fresh berries
cottage cheese + a few dries apricots
veggies + spicy hummus
apple slices + 2 tbsp natural peanut butter
tuna + Wasa crackers
almonds + grapes
air popped popcorn + 1 serving fruit
vanilla protein powder + blueberries + skim milk = smoothie
ww tortilla + 1 tbsp natural peanut butter + banana sliced
ww tortilla + grilled chicken (sliced) + shredded carrots and lettuce + hummus
hard boiled egg whites + old fashioned oats

As you can see, the options are endless and portable, making it easy to take them with you throughout the day!

{I Wish...}

photo: taken at our wedding by Stephen Ludwig

Between getting a late start this morning and not feeling fully prepared for the long day ahead of me, I could really use a little vacation!

If I had just one wish, it would be to catch the next available flight to Hawaii (with my husband, of course!). I feel certain the sandy beaches and salty ocean breeze would make all my troubles melt away...

Dress Decisions

With three weddings coming up later this season and an upcoming photo session with the lovely Sarah Dawson(!), I would love to add a few summer dresses to my wardrobe. Naturally, I've been stuck on Anthropologies website and am absolutely loving their selection! I'm thinking this one is definitely an option! Don't you love the back?!

I Miss This

Two years ago, on a morning such as this, I would have woken up about 6am, worked out, made lunch for my husband, woken him up and spent a little quality time together before he headed to work. And then I would have leisurely enjoyed oatmeal and coffee before starting my day.

This morning has been that very way, and you know what? I miss it! It's funny because two years ago I was looking for work and didn't appreciate the time I had and now I am working two jobs and longing for more time like this. Crazy how your circumstance can make the same situation feel so different.

Don't get me wrong, I love what I do, and I wouldn't want to not be working, I'm simply trying to strike a healthy balance.

This morning I am preparing to teach my first yoga class tonight. I am so excited! I've been practicing and practicing the past few months in hopes of looking like I really know what I'm doing;)

I will say, compared to the first fitness classes I taught 2 years ago, I am now way more confident in my ability to teach well! And I am LOVING yoga more than ever!

And with my last swig of coffee, I'm off to perfect my Warrior 4...

Merry Monday!

ps~check out my pretty dahlias!

3 Years Ago...

we brought this little 7 lb. pooch home from the pound!
Adorable, right?!

And 3 years, 52 pounds and LOTS of chew toys later, she is still our favorite thing to come home to!

Happy "birthday" Abby girl, or should I say, "Happy day you became a Hansen"!

Some Kind of Crazy

Hello there! This week has been some kind of crazy, so my apologies for the sparse posts. It just occurred to me as I had a minute to sit still that it's almost Thursday! My oh my, where has this week gone?!

Hope it's been a good one so far! Here at Casa de Hansen we've been enjoying the magnificent summertime-y weather, eating lots of homemade strawberry sorbet via our wonderful Vita-mix, trying to get in a habit of enough sleep (since that's my goal for the month!) and of course, working a whole lot.

I'm definitely looking forward to a new week and a more regular posting schedule!

In the meantime, we're about to savor a delicious pasta dinner and take our Abby girl for a walk!

I'll leave you with the lovely farmers market blooms we've been enjoying all week!

Happy Holiday Weekend!

Via

How deliciously refreshing would this be on a blistery hot afternoon?

Mmm, yes please! Doesn't this dish look like summer on a plate?

I think I finally have the perfect opportunity to whip up this cake I've been dreaming about for months!

Let's give it up for a long holiday weekend! Hope your plans include kicking off your shoes, fun in the sun and grillin' up some tasty food!

Have a lovely 4th of July!

{Delightfully} Unexpected Date Night!

We aren't the type to go out much during the week, especially with our hectic schedules as of late. But last night we made an exception and had a lovely date night at The Melting Pot!

Seeing as a gift certificate we purchased at a youth auction several months back was about to expire and every attempt we had made to go during the weekend had failed, we decided to do the unusual and go on a mid-week date.

And even though I had been up since 4am, worked all day, exercised and trained clients, I managed to make myself look decent and had a wonderful time with my sweet husband having all kinds of yummy fondue. We were even seated in a cute little private booth!

Totally unplanned and completely perfect!

We enjoyed artichoke cheese fondue, a dark and white chocolate dessert fondue and even a few glasses of champagne! It was quite the splurge!

{The best part about fondue!}

Creating Healthy Habits

Well, June is over and it's time for a fresh new challenge! Sweating once a day served as a wonderful motivation booster for many of us, but why stop there? If you decided to take it on, good for you! You should now be in a habit of doing some type of exercise on a regular basis!

The funny thing about good habits is this: they always seem easier to break than they were to begin. So let's keep it up!

And why not add to it? Through the month of July I want to put another challenge out there. Let's create another healthy habit! This will be different for everyone, whether it's getting 7-8 hours of sleep each night, flossing every day, eating breakfast regularly or getting to the gym in the mornings, let's make the month of July about creating healthy habits!

Let me know what you want to tackle this month. I love to hear from you!