Embracing the Seasons

Hello Minnesota! Hello Fall! 

See you later summer! Our time together was great!  So we really enjoyed our summer around here. We spent time with family and friends, discovered Austin, Minnesota, visited Boston, enjoyed the sunshine and even moved to Minnesota at the end of August... just in time for the fall. 

The move to Minnesota went really well. We have moved into our new house and are really excited to make it our HOME!  Though we are extremely excited to have moved and feel so blessed all the pieces came together nicely, it's bitter-sweet to move away from family and friends. When I get nostalgic about being away from close family members, I remind myself that this new chapter in our lives will be a great adventure and I'm really excited for that. 

Excitement for sure is the sentiment that fills my heart in this season of life. I'm excited for the family-life-work balance we now have and I’m ohh soo excited about what we will do with the extra time we now have ( #1 reason we made move).  Allan has been in his new role for 2 months now and he loves the work, the people he works with, and most of all he loves being able to spend more quality time with us. I have been very fortunate I am able to work remotely from home. I love waking up in the morning knowing that I will get to spend my day in close proximity to my son. I get to see his bright-brimming face more often, I get + give him more hugs and kisses, and absolutely adore when on occasion he “breaks-into” my home-office with a huge smile on his face as he calls out "mamiii!!” 

We look forward to slowly decorating and adding our personal style as we make our house a home.  Most importantly we will be focusing on being more present, enjoying every moment we have together, laughing more, loving more, dancing more, savoring the journey, enjoying the big and the small moments, appreciating the mundane and seeing the beauty in each and every day, learning and growing, leading by example, being more grateful and kind… Just living life and making memories. 

Hope you also had an amazing summer! Embrace this season of your life with LOVE! #loveisallyouneed

Xx,

Rocio

Life Lately

So June came and went faster than I could blink, not literally,  but it went really fast. Nonetheless, June was a super busy-crazy-exciting month for us. Lots of new exciting things happened in June which resulted in a summer of big changes for our family.

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Xander started the infant program at our local Montessori on June 1st. He was extremely excited to start until he realized Mami and Daddy were leaving him there. It was a rough start-- but with time, he adjusted quite well.  

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My Mami, Xander's Abuy, went back home in the middle of June,  after spending a few months we us. It's always great having mom around-- she really spoils us with love and amazing food. The photo below was taken at the Mother's Day brunch I hosted.

                              Look at that face... so much personality for such a tiny person.

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In June, Allan was recruited to join the legal team of company. He explored the opportunity, interviewed for the job, was offered the job and so we decided to seriously consider it. Did I mentioned the job was in Minnesota? Yup!!  So, up to  Minnesota we drove, to explore the area and determine if this would be a good move for our family.  

After much consideration and weighting pros and cons, we decided to take a leap, accept the job, and move to Austin, MN.  I fell in love with the birch tree pictured below and decided to take a family photo without knowing this would be our first family photo at our soon-to-be home. 

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And if this much excitement wasn't enough, we culminated June by visiting family in Massachusetts. Our godson/nephew, Dash, turned two on June 29th and we wanted to be part of this special occasion. 

We had an amazing time in Mass and it was awesome to see Dash and Xander interact + play together. We visited the beach towns of Gloucester + Lockport, and  soaked up the sun at Crane Beach.

We also caught a Red Sox game at Fen Way.

Andrea and Greg showed us an amazing time and we hope to be back soon!

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June was record breaking month of new exciting changes, decision-making and great travel. Up next, we gear up to make the move to Minnesota.

Xx,

Rocio

Recipe | White + Rustic Birthday Cake for a Wild One

I just knew it would be really special to make Xander's first birthday cake. I love to cook, but I'm not a much of a baker. So I was on a mission to find a recipe that was yummy, easy to make and clean... free of gluten and refined sugars. One of my mommy friends suggested a recipe by Danielle Walker. I took Danielle's recipe and made it my own. Check out what I came up with!

 My vision for a white + rustic birthday cake for Alexander's Wild One came to life and I was very pleased.  Raspberries were Alexander's favorite fruit at the time, so I knew I had to make a raspberry cake.  

Ingredients

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2½ cups blanched almond flour

¾ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon sea salt

⅔ cup maple syrup or honey

⅓ cup coconut oil, melted

4 large eggs, room temperature

1 tablespoon lemon juice

⅓ cup of coconut milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

½ teaspoon lemon zest

½ cup roughly chopped raspberries

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Frosting

   3 ripe bananas

1 ½ cups of unsweetened coconut flakes

--use coconut whipped cream if banana mash is not your thing --

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Filling

1 cup of frozen raspberries

2 tablespoons of coconut sugar

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F

2. Lightly coat 2,  8 inch round baking pans with coconut oil

3. Combine the maple syrup, coconut oil, eggs, lemon juice, vanilla,  coconut milk and lemon zest into a blender and puree until the mixture is smooth

4. Add the dry ingredients and blend until the batter is very smooth. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the blender and blend again until the mixture is fully incorporated and smooth.   Gently fold the chopped raspberries in by hand

5. Divide the batter evenly into the 2 pans

6. Bake for 16-18 minutes. Insert a toothpick into the middle of the cake and if it come out clean, the cake is done

7. Let the cakes completely cool down before frosting

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Filling & Frosting

8. Combine the thawed raspberries with the coconut sugar

9. Blend the bananas until fully smooth

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Assemble

10. Place the first layer of cake on the cake stand

11. Spread the raspberry filling on top of the first layer

12. Place second layer of cake on top of the first layer

13. Spread the banana frosting evenly on the top and the sides of the cake

14. Sprinkle the coconut flakes on the top and the sides of the cake

15. ENJOY!!

Xx,

Rocio