HOLIDAY GIVEAWAY: WEEK 4 + WEEK 3 WINNER

Good morning!  I hope you all had a fantastic holiday weekend!  I am still easing back into the swing of things, but for today, I am here to announce the winner of the Holiday Giveaway for Week 3!  Congrats to Amelia L.!  I will be contacting you shortly to ship you your Himalayan Sea Salt Lamp.

For my final holiday giveaway, I am raffling off a super sweet journal.  I received this journal for Christmas, and I LOVE it!  It is called Start Where You Are: A Journal for Self-Exploration by Meera Lee Patel.  Sounds lovely right?  Plus, the artwork is gorgeous!  Enter below for a chance to win!

ENTER HERE

Best of luck, and I will see you all on Wednesday!

xo.  Jen

INTERVIEW RECAP

Happy Friday, friends!  I thought it would be fun to do an interview recap post today, for those that haven’t read them, and for those who want to read them again (ME!!).  Take a peek below at some of my fave Q+A’s with some incredible, powerful, and stunning women!

Ashten Giardine from Just Go Left

Rev. Bonnie Rose from VCSL

Raquel & Marisol from She Arises

Raven Pinsker, Professional Make-Up Artist

Helya Naghibi from The Studio

Stephanie from Love Living Whole

I hope you all enjoyed this round-up of interviews with some spectacular women!  Aren’t they amazing?!  Sending you all love, and hope you have a fantastic weekend!

xo.  Jen

P.S. Don’t forget to enter Week 3 of my Holiday Giveaway for your chance to win a gorgeous Himalayan Sea Salt Lamp!

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

Good morning!  How was your weekend?  Normally I do a Weekend Recap on Monday, but I spent so much time in the kitchen this weekend that I decided to share a recipe instead.  Sound good to you?  This Butternut Squash Soup recipe is creamy, rich, warm, and super simple.  It only has TWO ingredients (plus a few others from your pantry)!  Can’t get any easier than that! Plus, it is naturally gluten-free and vegan.  Win-win!

• Servings: 8-10
• Time: 1 hour
• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

• 1 butternut squash
• 2 16 oz. cans on coconut cream
• 1 tbsp. sage
• 2 tbsp. coconut oil
• Salt & pepper, to taste

1. Begin by cutting squash in half, removing the seeds, then slice in half again (quarters total).
2. Put a little coconut oil, salt, and pepper on squash, then bake at 350° for 45 minutes, or until soft.
3. When squash is almost done, place 1 tbsp. coconut oil and sage in a stock pot, and lightly brown.
4. Once squash is done, use a spoon to scoop out squash then add that, plus the coconut cream to the same pot.
5. Time to cream the soup!  I used an immersion blender, but if you do not have one, a standard hand blender or food processor will work great.
6. Season to taste, and enjoy!

I served this along side cornbread for a meal, but it would also be great along side salad, or as an appetizer for a holiday gathering.  Not only is this soup simple, but also delicious and nourishing on a cool day.  Doesn’t get any better than that!

xo.  Jen

P.S.  Don’t forget to enter my holiday giveaway for a deck of Gabrielle Bernstein’s Miracles Now Affirmation Cards!

HOLIDAY GIVEAWAY: WEEK 2 + WEEK 1 WINNER

Hi friends!  How is your morning treating you?  I had such a tough time waking up this morning.  Not as much the waking up part, but the getting out of my cozy bed part.  Ever feel that way?

As I mentioned last week, I am hosting a giveaway here on The HHB for four weeks (we are now going on week two), just as a simple way to express gratitude to my special readers.  It is absolutely free to enter, and I am having so much fun with it!  Week one’s winner of Danielle LaPorte’s book, The Desire Map, is… Casey M.  Congrats, and I will be contacting you soon!

For the second round, I have decided to giveaway a deck of Gabrielle Bernstein’s Miracles Now affirmation cards.  You all know that I love my affirmations, and Gabby introduces affirmations in such gentle, and fun way.  PLUS, the cards are beautifully designed!

ENTER HERE

Simple rules:

• You can only enter once, but there are three ways to earn points.
• This giveaway will run until 12/16/15 at 12am.
• Unfortunately due to shipping costs, this giveaway is only valid for residents living in the United States.

Best of luck, and I will see you Friday!

xo.  Jen

WEEKEND RECAP #36

Good morning!  I hope you all had a nice weekend!  Mine was spent relaxing, running errands, decorating, and soaking up the holiday cheer.  I absolutely love this time of year!  It feels so crisp and magical to me, like everything is sparkly and filled with wonder.  Plus, a little decorating never hurt anyone, right?  Today is short and sweet, so I hope you enjoy!

Our pretty, sparkly, simple tree.  We love it!

The cutest pup in the entire world, AKA Charlie!  Seriously, how sweet is his face?  And no, I did not have him pose.  He is just naturally that adorable!  HA!

Also, a reminder that my holiday giveaway of Danielle LaPorte’s book, The Desire Map, ends tomorrow at 12pm PST.  Enter here!

Okay, one last thing: with the holidays here, I will be sharing different traditions, recipes, as well as ways to stay calm around food, while still enjoying yourself (HELLO holiday parties).  If there is anything in particular you would like me to write and share about, please let me know!

xo.  Jen

HOLIDAY GIVEAWAY: WEEK 1

Good morning, friends!  With the holidays upon us, I really wanted to do something FUN as a way to express my gratitude and love for my readers.  I decided to host a giveaway (absolutely free) here on the blog!  For the next four weeks, I will be hosting some sort of simple, sweet giveaway.   Each week it will be different, and each week there will be a new winner!  So fun, right?!

This week I am giving away a brand new copy of one of my favorite books, The Desire Map by Danielle LaPorte (not sponsored).  This book is super special because it is inspirational, boosts creativity, and assists in acknowledging your core desires.  Great book, which you can learn more about here.

ENTER HERE

Simple rules:

• You can only enter once, but there are three ways to earn points.
• This giveaway will run until 12/9/15 at 12am.
• Unfortunately due to shipping costs, this giveaway is only valid for residents living in the United States.

Doesn’t this sound fun?  It’s certainly fun for me!  Happy entering!

xo.  Jen

 

 

WEEKEND RECAP #25

Happy Monday!  A little later than usual, but the post is here!  How was your weekend? Holy moly, mine was busy!  Such a filling weekend, though.  Full of family, friends, good food, yummy treats, and lots of outdoor time.  Yay!  Let’s jump into it!

I didn’t take any photos of Friday evening, because I made it a point to turn my phone completely off (something I’m going to do more often).  Anyway, Greg and I had happy hour (cocktail for her, beer for him) at Roy’s, followed by a stroll downtown.  We made it back near where we started, and shared a gourmet pizza at Settebello.  SOOO good!  Highly recommend it!

Saturday morning we grabbed coffee, and hit the road to Ventura for the weekend.  These pretty flowers caught my eye outside of Pete’s, so of course I snapped a photo.

Once we got to Ventura, I met my bestie Emma at Cafe Nouveau for lunch.  We hadn’t seen each other in a month, and even though it felt like an eternity, we picked up right where we left off.  Don’t you love friendships like that?  I am so blessed to have a few as special as that!  🙂  I digress…we each has a super refreshing strawberry hibiscus mimosa, and I had the Thai Chile Chicken Wrap, sans chicken, with a side salad.  I was really craving greens, and I got it!  So delish!

The photos above are from Saturday night.  My parents had a small gathering to celebrate their 30th anniversary, and I officiated a vow renewal for them.  It was very impromptu, but I thought it would be a fun surprise for the guests, and my parents agreed.  It was very sweet, and I am so glad to be in the presence of such love.

Sunday we spent the day at the beach with family.  We barbecued, laid in the sun, went sea glass hunting, and had so much fun together.  Isn’t the rainbow cloud beautiful?  #lovealwayswins

Alright my friends, have a great rest of your day!

xo.  Jen

P.S. Have you signed up for my FREE giveaway with SunBasket yet?  Enter HERE.  🙂

 

SUNBASKET GIVEAWAY

Happy Hump-Day!  I have something super exciting for you today!  Have any of you ever used a meal delivery service?  I never had previously, but have always wanted to.  So, when SunBasket got in touch with me, I definitely said yes!

When I received their shipment in the mail, I immediately smiled.  I mean, how cute is that box?!  All of their food is whole, fresh, and pre-portioned (two servings).  Also, they include really great recipe cards with each meal so I can make it again.  🙂

I simply chose three recipes off of the menu portion of their website (they have new meals weekly), and they shipped it to me.  Below are the three recipes I chose:

Spicy Vegetarian Pozole

I made this the first night I received my shipment, and split it into four portions, along side tostadas.  I loved this pozole!  It was so different than anything else I have every had.  It was nutty, spicy, flavorful, and filling.  So good!

Seared Salmon with Corn, Cherry Tomato and Basil Salad

OMG!  This was amazing!  Seriously, I am recreating this ASAP.  The salmon was so fresh, and the corn salad with sweet and crunchy.  So friggin’ good!

“Shakshuka” Eggs in Tomato Sauce

I am so glad I chose this option!  It is something I normally wouldn’t make, but it was delicious!  Savory, and full of warm spices!  Plus, aren’t those colors gorgeous?!

Is SunBasket something you would like to try?  Well, I have good news for you!  SunBasket is providing one lucky reader their own box of goodies, filled with three meals!  Fun, right?  Enter at the link below.

Click this link to enter: SunBasket Giveaway!

Best of luck!

xo.  Jen

WEEKEND RECAP #24

Good morning!  Wow, I have missed blogging!  I’ve missed my readers, too!  Hope you are all having a beautiful day!  We are fully moved in, unpacked (that happened in 2 days, ha!), and adjusting to our new adventure in Pasadena.  I will talk more about that in upcoming posts, but we are doing well! As for today, I have a simple Weekend Recap to ease back into the swing of things.  Stay tuned, because later this week I have some fun posts, including an AWESOME giveaway!

Here’s a peek into my weekend…

Friday evening Greg and I walked around Pasadena, where I ended up getting this refreshing, light, and absolutely delicious cocktail.  It had fresh watermelon juice, jalapeño, sparkling water, and gin.  It was soooo good!

Saturday morning we packed up the car, and headed to Ventura.  I had mock panels for my upcoming Practitioner license, and we were also visiting for Father’s Day.  We stopped at Urth Caffe in Pasadena on our way out, where I got a yummy juice (beet, ginger, carrot, celery) and the most delicious bread-pudding muffin.  I ate about 1/2 of it in the car, and saved the rest.

Saturday evening after my panels, we had family over (at my ‘rents house), where we chatted, ate tapas, and sipped light cocktails.  I made this yummy, light, and refreshing grapefruit (fresh) and vodka drink.  It has been so warm lately, that this was perfect!

Sunday morning I made a special Father’s Day breakfast for my Dad and Greg (and everyone else).  I made two type of egg dishes (one vegetarian, and one with sausage), a big platter of fruit, and some foccacia bread (thank you TJ’s).  The roses are from my parents’ garden.  So pretty!  It was a delicious breakfast, filled with love.

In honor of Father’s Day, my dad and I.  I was about three.  🙂

After breakfast, we went to church, then out to lunch with Greg’s son.  I didn’t take any pictures, but I always love being around the two of them.  So much love!

Sunday afternoon before we left, mom and I planted a bunch of herbs (basil, peppermint, dill, cilantro, and chives), tomatoes, and re-planted a ficus tree that she and my dad bought Greg and I.  We also bought a hanging strawberry plant.  So excited!  Here is a peek at our patio after I put everything out there.  Minus the AstroTurf, isn’t it cute?  Ha!

Really glad to be back at it!  Thanks so much for reading, and stay tuned this week for more fun/new stuff!

xo.  Jen

 

 

FREE MEAL PREPPING SPREADSHEET

Good morning!  Recently on Instagram, I have had several people ask me about meal prepping/planning.  I have a previous post that is really helpful, but thought I would give you all my FREE Meal Prepping Spreadsheet again.

This spreadsheet is extremely helpful in assisting me with planning out my week.  For instance, I fill it in as best as possible (including leaving blank the times you may be eating out), then write a list of my ingredients, cross reference with what I already have, then grocery shop.  It only takes a few extra minutes, but really keeps me mindful of what I am eating, as well as saving $$$. Win-win!

Download here: The Happy Healthy Balance Meal Prepping Sheet

Also, if you aren’t already following my on IG, follow me here for extra tips and fun photos!

xo.  Jen