Let there be Cupcakes

Well hello there! Nice to see you! I’ve missed our little chats. Over the past 2 months I’ve spent a little a lot of time focusing on what’s important and less no time blogging. Don’t you worry I’ve written some hella brooding and serious mommy posts that I may or may not one day share with you all. Cue unbridled excitement. Calm your pits, Becca, I probably won't… I’ve also been working on a little, nay, huge project with a few of my favorite people, can’t wait to share that with you soon! Oh yeah, and we are moving. 2 thumbs down. But mostly, I’ve been watching Rocco grow and learn and eat and sleep through the night!!! #WINNING So after many a disappearing acts, I’m back. With cake. Yes, that’s right. This sugar free health nut is back WITH CUPCAKES. A few months ago I met the lovely Cori Larsen of Heaven Cupcake at a baking lesson and I watched her make beautiful fluffy cupcakes that I couldn't eat. I was, of course, filled with sadness. We decided to have a cupcake making party and try our hand at vegan baking. We all know I'm not a baker, which Cori, a seasoned Cupcake Wars pro, can attest to but we basically filled in vegan ingredients to her perfectly delicious recipe and we arrived at a kid-approved and man-approved finished product. I call that a win. Check out our recipe!!!!! Makes 12 regular or 24 mini cupcakes.

[Cori prefers mini cupcakes, perfectly pop-able]

2.5 cups of flour

1.5 cups of sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons salt

1 1/3 cup oil

1 teaspoon vinegar

1 cup almond milk

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 teaspoons egg replacer mixed with 4 tablespoons warm water [enerG brand is the bomb]

Preheat oven to 355. Mix dry ingredients and then wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Cori is a HUGE fan of her Kitchen Aid mixer, so if you have one bust that puppy out and slowly pour the wet to the dry ingredients until well combined. Don't over mix!!!! Then [using a tiny ice cream scoop, genius!] fill the lined tin and pop in the oven for 15-18 minutes rotating the pan around 6 minutes. See!? The brilliant tips keep coming.

Our attempt to recreate her famous cream cheese frosting with vegan cream cheese was sad… I didn't think it tasted awful, but it was a pretty yuck texture, so we opted for a basic buttercream. Cori googled a few Food.com recipes and we came up with this.

Vegan Buttercream | 2 ways

4 ounces Earth Balance, softened

3 tablespoons almond milk

1 cup confectioners sugar [more if you like it super sweet, I do not]

1 teaspoon vanilla

[For a special something, something add a pinch o cinnamon and a splash of almond extract]

[Optional] 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder! We added it after we iced half of the cupcakes with the vanilla. I personally LOVE the chocolate/vanilla swirl!

Cream all ingredients together with a stand or hand mixer. To make your cupcakes look oh-so-pretty use a frosting bag and a star tip to instantly elevate your creations to PROFESH levels. It also doesn't hurt to strategically place your sprinkles… That's not at all what we did… Okay, it totally is.

Enjoy and be sure to check out Cori on Insta, Twitter, and her site Flour & Coco.****

Journey Back to Confident.

Lately I feel like my confidence has been taking a good swift punch to the nuts, like daily. I look in the mirror and see a body I just don't recognize. It's hard to explain, but I just lack the muscle and tone that made me feel strong and sexy before Roc was born. I also feel blah and tired and bleh like ALL. THE. TIME. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for my body. It created, carried, and birthed my favorite little nugget. It's amazing, but as anyone who's housed a tiny human can atest it does some GNARLY stuff to your parts. I always had something negative to say about my pre-baby body and now I'm like, "dude, that body was the shit!" But here's the thing, feeling uncomfortable in your body and feeling like you want to be better is not reserved just for those who've had babies. As women, we are constantly wishing we had smaller this, bigger that… I don't want my son to hear me talk about my body that way. I want him to have a strong and confident mama no matter what size my jeans are! But here's the thing, I also need to feel good and for me that's getting back to eating clean [vegan with no refined sugar or wheat] and exercising regularly [20-40 minutes daily].

I know it can be tiring and time consuming to meal plan but for me that is the secret to lifestyle change success! Planning so you don't ever find yourself in a place where you are starving and without good options. I need a plan, I need lists. I am old school, so I use cookbooks. Like a TON of cookbooks. I love Gwyneth's It's All Good, Giada's Feel Good Food, detox4Women, and any and all Kimberly Snyder books. I also have some favorite recipes from my favorite blogs and Pinterest, some of which I will be sharing with you! I have a membership to The Dailey Method which is amazing and an unbelievable way to slim down quickly in a super fun class surrounded by wonderful and inspiring women!! I also have a child that doesn't like to be predictable and likes to nap through any plans I make so I am using online resources like the brilliant FREE videos from the Tone It Up babes and my trusty Tracy Anderson dvds so that I can get my sexy back without having to wake nugget from a much needed nap [le sigh].

Every week or so, I am going to be checking in with you to let you know my progress, set backs, recipes, workouts I've loved, workouts I've hated… The whole shebang. Maybe we do this together. I would love for this to be a place were we can openly share our struggles and triumphs of feeling confident in the bodies we have!

Moms Everywhere: I'm sorry I judged you…

I'm sorry I ever judged you for being late, canceling, or asking me to be ridiculously "available" so we could meet for lunch because I didn't realize how delicately a good day and a bad day rested on an extra 15 minutes of nap time... Blasted nap time. I'm sorry I ever spoke the words, "if they don't create flexibility in their babies life they will never learn!!" I'm clearly an idiot who needs to be flogged. Flexibility!? HA! You are lucky if you can find some semblance of a routine with a baby, you are entirely flexible, but it's about knowing how your baby will thrive and that trumps just about everything… Including a much needed meal of food with friends. Sorry boos.

I'm sorry I ever scoffed at a 5pm dinner request. Heck, is 4:30 too early!?!?

I'm sorry I judged that you didn't have all wooden and bpa-free shit for your kid to play with. Who was I kidding!?! What do you want!? What will make you happy!? Plastic? Toys with sharp edges!? TV!? Hell, I'll give you all of that!

I apologize for ever uttering the words "non-toxic" or "organic" in your presence. Self explanatory. See above.

I'm sorry I ever assumed that after you had a baby you were right as rain when even those with the healthiest mental fortitude are filled with so much emotion that can be downright exhausting all on it's own, no mind you also have a tiny person to keep alive.

I'm sorry I ever judged you for being absolutely exacerbated and annoyed by this creature that you "supposedly love and cherish." Dude, there are days where you are so absolutely NOT enthralled with being a doting mommy. It's exhausting and sometimes infuriating. And on top of never quite knowing what your spawn needs, you are so exhausted you don't even know what YOU need. Have I bathed today? Brushed my hair? My teeth!? Have I lost all ability to use proper personal hygiene!?!

I'm sorry I ever said, "I'm tired" in front of you because I had probably gotten at least 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep the night before and I'd probably get it again that night. So basically I was a dick head.

I'm sorry I ever shot you a judgmental sideways glance as you donned yoga pants and a top knot, AH-gain because I assumed you care what others think. That's not to say you don't care about your appearance, but there are days were your outfit and coiffed do take a major back seat to a catastrophic blown out diaper or a disaster of a nap time. And guess what, that's okay!?!?

I'm sorry I didn't write this sooner! I know I've written similar posts, but this one has been on my mind for a few months, but it's just now finding it's way out of my head over the past week. After talking to my mommy friends there seems to be an overwhelming feeling of inadequacy amongst Mothers, that needs to end now. I know it's hard. I daily find myself wanting to do something better or have to more patience or to be more present in the moment… I am trying to remind myself that each day is a new day and when something doesn't work today, I can start over fresh tomorrow. But what none of us needs is pressure to live up to anyone's unrealistic standards, sometimes even our own.

Love them. Cherish them. And for the love of geez-o-petes give yourself a break!

Dressing Your Post Baby Body

photo via Kelsey Erin | [jacket] ancient Zara [sweater] H&M only 20 bucks! [jeans] Paige Premium [booties] Cole Haan on MAJOR sale! [on Rocco] Gap

Congratulations. You've made, housed, and birthed a child. You are amazing. Take a second to mentally pat yourself on the pack, or hell, actually pat yourself on the back… Better yet, have someone give you a pat on the back followed by a serious back massage because your back aches all. the. time. amIright!?!?! Let's be honest. Having a kid totally wrecks your body. Like come on… Apart from all the crazy stuff that happens whilst exiting a person from your lady palace, you are left with this completely foreign body. I mean for me, my hips were/ still are extra wide, my tummy was/still is just pudgy and loose, and the nursing boobs… oh the massive boobs…  It's hard to not compare yourself to your pre-baby bod or friends and celebrities who seem to shrink back down to a tiny miniature version of themselves, walking out of the hospital in their skinniest skinny jeans. Betches!! Remember, you are a magical goddess who CREATED a life inside your body, try to cut yourself some slack. Plus, I guarantee those skinny-minnies have post baby insecurities just like the rest of us. So while I figure out this new body of mine I'm going to report back my findings to you! Today we start with absolute must have for dressing your pbb!!!

[Basics Felicity Slimming Nursing Cami]  Slimming nursing tanks have become my best friend, my favorite is from good ol' Target. It's 25 bucks and makes my mid-section happy. We all know that I am anti-nursing bra [still not a fan] and thus far, I have yet to purchase one but I looooove these slimming tanks.  They are perfect for layering under baggy shirts, sweaters, and dresses. I wear them under errything and they make the tatas super accessible and make me feel much less muffin-toppy. The easy access is clutch because let's be awesome your boobs are really the star of the show if you choose to nurse. [Side note: Breastfeeding Musts] I had some trouble nursing in the first 3 weeks and even had a scare with mastitis. I ended up pumping a lot so I had to run out to get milk storage bags. Yeah, didn't know that was a thing.  And because the ladies hurt so badly I used these awesome boob pads to help with clogged ducts and engorgement. UGH, what a gross word… And for the nips, The Honest Company nipple balm was a lifesaver early on! I would lather that stuff up and because it's food safe there's no need to wipe it off before feeding the munchkin.

We have much fun to discuss, so stay tuned for more of my tricks to dressing that post baby body!!! Here are a few of the tips you can look forward to in the upcoming months. [loose dresses that don't look like a sack] [rocking high waisted yoga pants] [a new pair of skinny jeans] [the art of the baggy tee] [mom shoes] [leather leggings for the cool mom] [the "i only got 4 hours of sleep, but want to look alive" 5 minute face]