IKEA GIVEAWAY!!

 

Yesterday was one of those days where I woke up with the motivation to get things done! Lately it doesn’t seem like I have these days as often, so I embraced it and whirred around the house like the Tazmanian Devil checking ‘To Do’s’ off my list!

Dusting: Check!

No dust bunnies here! I dusted every surface in our house, which took over two hours!! Here’s a tip: When an English major marries a Poetry major, you end up with WAY MORE books than one couple will ever need! Donate, donate, donate! Otherwise, it will take you over two hours to dust!

Capiz Chandelier hung: Check!

       

I FINALLY hung this gorgeous capiz chandelier in Parrish and I’s bedroom! Now I just need to take down the paddles on the fan and give them a neutral coat of paint.

Hat hung: Check!

        

Last weekend I was able to choose one of my Papa’s hats and I chose this truly awesome white cowboy hat. If you had ever had the pleasure of meeting my Papa in person, most likely he would have been wearing a super cool hat like this. I love it.

Portfolio Finished: Check!

I am finished with my Creative Writing class! I had to turn in my portfolio of completed works (one non-fiction, one fiction, and one poem) by Tuesday. Since I’m a NON-TRADITIONAL student who has a full-time job, I went ahead and banged it out yesterday! Woo hoo to not waiting until the last minute!

Grocery List for the week: Check!

         

I love making menus, and while this week isn’t the most exciting week of meals, it is going to be easy! I start training my replacement at work this week, so the days are going to be a bit longer. Easy suppers will make that less stressful.

After making the menu, I went to the store and bought the necessities. Once home, I went ahead and sliced and diced all our veggies for the week. It’s so much easier, and I love it when I have the time to make that step happen.

Delicious Supper: Check!

Kale Chips with The BEST gluten free chicken nuggets ever!! This is what happens when you’re so busy getting things done that you forget to eat lunch! But seriously, I love those nuggets!

So how was I able to stay so motivated today? How was I able to harness that much energy?!

COFFEE!!

       

Yummy, FROTHY coffee that kept me running all day. I bought a little $2.99 frother at Ikea last weekend. BEST purchase. Yum!

And of course, when I bought one for me, I also bought one for you!

GIVEAWAY!

You could win an Ikea frother and make your own deliciously frothed treats at home! Not only for coffee, this little whiz also makes your homemade dressings perfectly assimilate!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED.

The Winner #11: Carli Goeman! Congrats Carli! Email me to claim your prize

Share Your Story with Gluten Hates Me

May is Celiac Awareness Month!

AND as a person who has Celiac Disease, I can honestly say that I LOVE hearing other people’s gluten stories!

WHICH is why I am now looking for guest posts!

Email me a gluten story.

It can be how you were diagnosed, a funny incident, a life changing Celiac moment…whatever! Be creative!

And I’ll share it with everyone on the blog!

Visit the Contact page for email info and I can’t wait to hear and share your stories

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Happy Friday!

I got my hair did!

Ummm I LOVE my new hairdresser! He’s amazing. I went in and told him to chop it all off because it was just too dang heavy. Instead he took out all the weight a bit of the length but left me with an easy cut that’s not hard to style!

Better pictures soon

Hidden Valley Ranch is Gluten Free & Other Confessions

Confession: I impulse bought $10 animal print flats at Target…

AND I love them! Even though they totally show off my scar from wearing cheap Old Navy flip flops all the live long day.

Confession: I was so distracted by this week’s episode of SMASH that I accidentally stayed on the Step/Liptical for 50 minutes…

and burned 560 calories and nearly ate my arm at lunch. But seriously: I love that show.

Confession: I also LOVE the new show Best Friends Forever

Source

Seriously, I want to move in with these hilarious ladies and be the third best friend. Q is amazing.

Confession: I’m getting my hair cut today….like CUT cut.

Adios long a** hair that is constantly tangling, getting caught in my bra strap, and weighing a ton.

Confession: These Udi’s Muffin Tops are just plain delicious. That’s really less of a confession and more of a fact.

Confession: I planned BLT’s for supper last night and then I realized that I had forgotten the L and the T’s were moldy. So all I had was the B. OH and we’re out of cheese. So bacon on gluten free bread sans everything?

Nope.

Confession: I ate a giant cheeseburger for supper last night…

and it was delicious. Only Burger on an Udi’s gluten free bun.

Good thing I spaced on that machine and burned those calories.

Confession: When I read this press release about Hidden Valley dressing labeling their gluten free products…I squealed. Out Loud. In the middle of a coffee shop.

PRESS RELEASE

Oh, don’t worry about me professional business lady waiting for your morning latte. I’m just waging a war against gluten and winning some Ranchy battles. No big.

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CONFESS!

Comfort Food and GLEE

I was talking to bestie last night about how we’ve both been cooking nothing but WARM comfort food.

Maybe these chilly temps have something to do with it…

or maybe it’s the MOUNTAIN of stress that’s sitting on my shoulders from my upcoming HUGE LIFE CHANGE?!?

Maybe both.

Either way, I followed up Monday night’s Alfredo with another plate of warm comfort!

Cheesy Chicken Wild Rice Casserole

This was a recipe from Pinterest that I’ve been dying to try. You can find the FULL RECIPE here.

Changes I made:

- I only used 16 ounces of wild rice cooked

- I used 1/4 cup Gluten Free All Purpose Flour for the cheese sauce

YUM.

Cheesy, Creamy, Chicken-y

This supper really hit the spot. And I took advice from many of you, and I ate this on a salad plate.

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Any GLEE fans out there?!

Holy cow. Last night’s episode was so dang sad!! Whoosh. Hard to believe it’s been 10 years since I graduated high school….

Gluten Free Creamy Alfredo

Yesterday was a LOOOONG day. Going away for the weekend was cuh-razy fun but now I’m up to my eyeballs in laundry and gunk that needs to be cleaned! Not to mention a BIG project at work that needs to be finished by Wednesday.

By the time I made it home last night I wanted COMFORT food! It was a chilly, gray day in Durham, so I was of course craving carby goodness.

Creamy Alfredo with Sautéed Mushroom and Kale

I know what you’re thinking. Man Marlow, I don’t see much about pasta on the blog.

Yep. You’re right. There’s a very good reason for that. Pasta is delicious and it turns me in to a Carby Monster who eats half a box and regrets it in the morning. So I make it sparingly. And when I do make it, I start with a salad and pump it up with veggies.

I wanted to add roasted tomatoes to this dish, but alas, they were moldy

Best part about the above bowl? It took less than 30 minutes to throw together!

I used Schar Tagliatelle gluten free pasta and Classico Alfredo Sauce for short cuts. Sauteed the mushrooms on low for 15 minutes and then threw in the kale.

The key for me with kale: Chop it up! I chop it tiny, so the bites are more mellow and less bitter.

Have you tried Schar pastas? I found this when I was at bestie’s house. Her Earth Fare stocks the best gluten free products. They are slowly but surely becoming my new favorite brand for carbs! Between that gluten free baguette and this noodle, they’re making their mark!

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Off to the gym! I’m going to need that energy!!

Award Winning Recipe: Gluten Free!

       

Guess who’s side dish won first place in the BB competition this past weekend!?!

            

Who says gluten free food isn’t yummy?!

That’s right friends. Yours truly won the Mama’s Blue Ribbon Fancy Fixin’s Competition this past weekend with a gluten free recipe; with over half the votes, I don’t think anyone actually realized it! And yep, BIL won for the TOP PIG award!

It was a version of THIS Loaded Baked Potato Salad recipe, with just a few small tweaks. Instead of 100% Greek Yogurt, I did half yogurt – half light sour cream. I also added crisp bacon and used bestie’s fresh chives instead of scallions. I’ll share the new version here, with pictures, soon.

Funnily enough, the sides dish competition is in honor of my Grandmother and I came up with this recipe when she was being moved to hospice and I needed a dish that would travel well. She must have been looking out for me!

I wish I had pictures of the amazing food we had at our Competition, but I was too busy snapping pictures of my beautiful family. These are the memories I’ll want to have for years to come.

Cousins Chloe, Lil’ Gluten Loves Me, Gabriel, and Liam

Baby Liam is SERIOUSLY photogenic!

My sister Susan and her beautiful family

My Sweet Aunties

Marlow Siblings! Uncle James,Auntie Suzanne and Jeannie, My Dad, & Auntie Carolyn

Precious time spent with little ones who grow too fast!!

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Happy Monday!

It was SO hard to get out of bed this morning!! We’ve had a little bit of a cool front here in NC. That means TWO cups of coffee

Fitness Fridays: Sweatin’ to the Oldies

 

Exercise is definitely something that I have grown to love in my life. I love the way it makes me feel, and I’m always looking for new ways to get in a good sweat session.

Keep it fresh right? Otherwise I get bored EASILY.

And even though I’m always trying new things, there are some exercises I would love to try but haven’t gotten to yet.

Workouts I WANT to try:

                AND there are some workouts that I absolutely DO NOT WANT to try!

What about you? Are there workouts you want to try? Have you tried some of my wants?

Have you tried some of my don’t wants?

Days like these…

that start with an Isn’t She Lovely waffle in five minutes flat!

            

Oh yes baby! This breakfast is back and MORE delicious than I remembered!!

Days like these where you’re able to cram in a really good sweat session:

          

My Y got these new elliptical/stair climber hybrids. Oh boy.

remind you what you wake up early for!

Days like these,

where you further prove that the world does NOT need bread (or gluten for goodness sakes),

         

That’s right! I wrap my meat in cheese and dipper in mustard. Done and done.

are like tiny triumphs at lunch time. Tiny delicious triumphs!

Days like these, where my husband is a good sport, and accompanies me to a musical…

            

even though he doesn’t like musicals. AND halfway through he whispers to me, “There are too many songs!” To which I whisper back, “Honey. It’s a MUSICal!”

         

But in the end, we both loved it! It was positively hilarious and peppered with AWESOME cheer stunts! Really a great show.

And the perfect way to end the day.

Because days like these remind of how lucky I truly am. Simple things in a day that measure up to a happier, healthier me.

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Happy Thursday! It’s my Friday today, and by the time we chat tomorrow morning I will be with bestie, BIL, and Lil’ Gluten Loves Me!

FAMILY TIME!!