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5 Ingredient Raw Vegan Brownies

I am not a baker. But seriously, every vegan dessert I try fails (except these beet muffins – yum!). So when I came across a recipe for a simple, raw vegan brownie bite recipe, I jumped at it. I made some slight adaptations to the version I found online, and both Sasha and I love the result! These have five ingredients – raw cashews, organic honey, pitted/chopped dates, coconut oil, and unsweetened cocoa powder. They take five minutes to prepare (minus recommended refrigeration time) – and they are healthy-ish (no refined sugars!). Perfect tiny snack to fill your sweet tooth cravings!

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Ingredients: 1 cup of plain cashews, 1 cup of pitted or chopped dates, 1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder, 1.5 tablespoons of coconut oil, 2 teaspoons of honey

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Step 1: Add 1 cup of raw, unsalted cashews to your blender and pulse until finely chopped

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Step 2: Add pitted or chopped dates to cashew powder and pulse until completely mixed (should get kind of solid)

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Step 3: Add 1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder

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Step 4: Add 1.5 tablespoons of coconut oil and 2 teaspoons of honey to the blended mixture – may have to stir with spoon vs. blend (depending on how strong your blender is!)

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Step 5: Lay down stick-free parchment paper or aluminum foil and make into small brownie bites

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Optional (but I recommend) Step 6: Add to fridge for an hour so the coconut oil hardens – then enjoy!

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If you try them, let me know how they turn out!

A Weekend Well-Spent

Sasha and I headed to Austin at the crack of dawn on Saturday, after spending Friday with one of my best friends, Kirby, who flew in town from Oklahoma City for her baby shower (she’s due exactly 4 weeks after me!). We had plans to meet my childhood best-friend – Alisdair, (we met before we were one years old in Scotland), who came to live with us in Texas for his senior year of high school, then ended up going to The University of Texas at Austin with me and married an Austinite! They moved back to Scotland last year, much to my dismay, and I only get to see him once a year, so I was anxious to hug him and Erica. We stayed with another best friend, Sophee, at her gorgeous house (where we spent my bachelorette weekend!). She recently got engaged to Johnny (who took many of these wedding preview pics) – they are the sweetest, most attractive couple ever (see pictures of them at our rehearsal here). I am over-the-moon excited to be one of her bridesmaids next March. Her invitation was perfect (see picture below!).

In the late afternoon, we went to one of my good friend’s wedding – Eric and I have been close since fourth grade! Him and Alisdair also became best friends during our senior year, so we’re one big happy family. Stephanie, his bride, looked radiant. I love weddings! The reception was held at Thurman’s Mansion, just south of Austin. The venue couldn’t have been prettier, neither could the weather.

We had a big family breakfast at Kerbey Lane on Sunday morning, then headed back to Houston. I had a bit of a scare in the car, as I suddenly felt nauseous and then fainted while Sasha was driving. I am a big fainter (errh, fainted at the altar), and have passed out during every pre-natal appointment that involved needles, but this was the first unprovoked fainting, which is a bit concerning. I have my 36 week appointment today and plan on checking with my doctor. Fingers crossed!

I hope you had a good weekend! Happy Cinco de Mayo and first year wedding anniversary to my sister and Carl (pictures here and here).

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the back view of thurman mansion in austin // sasha and kenneth getting rather competitive with bean bag toss (‘cornhole’)

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sophee’s amazing bridesmaid invitation – obsessed and so excited // mother-son dances always make me cry

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shameless selfie with my new ray-bans (after mine got stolen) and haircut (long overdue) // most amazing photo album from ryan ray

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32 days from my due date (feeling ever-so-swollen) // dad and sasha being competitive per usual

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post-breakfast at kerbey lane with dad // wedding selfie in the hot-hot texas sun (think 90+ degrees already)

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outside kerbey lane with my childhood bestfriend/brother and his wife (vising from scotland) // belle is petrified of our stroller… so we’re practicing

A Very Hoppy Easter

It is rare that Serbian Easter and Protestant Easter fall on the same day, since the former follow the Julian calendar versus the more common Gregorian calendar. Last year, Serbian Easter fell on the same day as my older sister’s wedding, so we weren’t able to go to Galveston to celebrate; however, this year we got to spend time with both families on the same day, which was so fun (and utterly exhausting).

The weather was absolutely amazing – super sunny, as evidenced by my very red shoulders today! We went to Sasha’s family’s church in Galveston (see pictures of a previous visit here), then headed to his mom’s beach house nearby for lunch and an Easter egg hunt with the kids. I love the excitement over finding eggs, and cannot wait to add Isla and Ana (Mila and Lazo’s sister who will be born one month after Isla) to the festivities. Around 3pm, we headed to Katy to celebrate with my family, where we found Easter baskets of our own. You can never be too old! We ate dinner, then headed home at 8pm after a long and exciting day. I love Easter so much, as it is the day to remember that Christ is risen and alive in us today (which reminds me of this song).

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34 week bump! So excited to only have 44 days left!

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“Oceans” by Hillsong

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I love Hillsong United so much (last referenced here). One of my favorite songs of all time is “Oceans” from their most recent CD. My friend, Brooke, sent me this live version, and I have watched it more times than I could count. Whenever I feel overwhelmed, I listen to this song – “You’ve never failed, and You won’t start now.” What could be more encouraging than that? I highly recommend this song – whether you are religious or not.

I hope you all have an amazing Easter weekend. 2014 is one of the rare years when Serbian Easter and Protestant Easter align, so we are heading to Galveston to celebrate with Sasha’s family, then jetting back to spend the rest of the day with my family. What Easter traditions do you have?

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1m_sWJQm2fs]

Stunning Floral Announcements

Oh So Beautiful Paper is one of the four tabs that opens every time I launch Google Chrome. It’s the best way to start a day – but getting a daily dose of beautiful paper. Yesterday, I opened my browser and literally got 6 inches from my computer screen in order to gawk at these gorgeous pink and gold invitations (a color combination I declared my love for many moons ago). I made a note to save and post them the following day – then opened my browser hours late and fell in love all over again, this time taking a second to absorb details. “2132 White Oak Drive?” I thought to myself. Wait, I know where that is. Then I looked at the names on the invitations… Riley Conaway? She was the creative genius at Papellerie behind our wedding stationery, and I love her and her work! It only makes sense that she would design the most amazing floral wedding announcements (an elopement, how exciting!).

Congrats, Riley – a million times over!

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Design and Calligraphy: Papellerie

Printing: Infovine

Photo Credits: Chelsea Davis Photography