Month in Review: September, 2016

October 3, 2016September 30, 2016Leave a comment

Ian and I spent the month of September saying goodbye to summer. Our weekends were filled with beach days, boat rides, and attending local events. We tried to soak in as much warm weather as we could before the changing leaves brought a chill to the air. Here are some of our highlights!

The Badgers traveled up to Lambeau to face off LSU early in the month. With the streets flooded with fans decked out in red, we felt like we were back in Madison for the day! It was nostalgic to dust off our college gear and tailgate with friends. My brother was even in town, so the day was extra special!

Over Labor Day Weekend we drove up to Door County and enjoyed one last beach day. It was bittersweet to sit on the sand, watching the sun set, and knowing we were close to closing the chapter on another season.

We couldn’t leave Door County without hiking to the shoreline filled with balancing stones. There is something magical about this hidden beach and it pulls us back every time we are in the area. After taking a few moments to soak in the view, we wandered around searching for the perfect stones to construct our own creations.

While searching for events in our area I came across a campus preview day that listed boat rides and horse-drawn carriage tours. That was enough to entice me! We spent the afternoon strolling around the courtyards, eating lunch from the food trucks and listening to live music.

Towards the middle of the month Ian and I packed up the car and drove down to Madison for my friends wedding shower. It was lovely to see many of my high school friends and reminisce when we lived close together! My sister and I even snuck in some quality time and I left with a full-heart and sore cheeks from laughing.

While the Pokémon Go craze is slowly dying down, every once in awhile Ian asks to walk downtown to take advantage of lures. Luckily, the walk weaves along a riverside path that ends at the love-lock bridge. With beautiful views like this there is not much to complain about!

Our month ended with an event I had been anxiously awaiting – the Alpaca Open House!! Yes, that is right! Ian and I were able to spend a day at an alpaca farm feeding the animals, cooing over the babies, and listening to music. While browsing the gift shop I found these giant fluffy alpaca slippers and fell in love! Sadly, they were $85 so I had to leave without them, but we had a great time learning more about these cute animals.

For a closer look at our month watch the video below! Enjoy!

Strawberry Donuts

September 28, 2016September 26, 2016Leave a comment

Up until Monday I had been enjoying lunch outside. It was refreshing to leave my desk and listen to the rustling leaves while I ate. With temperatures dropping, I’ve had to settle with eating by a window as the crisp air billows fallen leaves into an atumnal dance.

The change in weather has me longing for summer. I know we have just entered fall, and I should be overjoyed pumpkin spiced lattes are back, but I needed to savor the flavor of summer one last time. Just as a final goodbye.

So I made strawberry donuts. No, the strawberries were not hand picked from a patch – but they did the trick. For one last hurrah, my taste buds were tickled with the fresh flavor of summer.

Now the pumpkin spice craze can commence:)

Strawberry Donuts

Ingredients:

Donut Batter:

1 C. flour
1/2 C. coconut sugar
1.5 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
4 Tbs. coconut oil, softened
1/2 C. milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 egg

Glaze:

1 Tbs. milk
1 Tbs. strawberry purée
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 C. powdered sugar
pinch of salt

Directions:

Donuts:

Grease your donut baking pan
Preheat oven to 350˙
Stir together the dry ingredients and set aside
Whisk together the wet ingredients and slowly incorporate them to the dry ingredients
Stir until well combined
Pour batter into donut tin and bake for 12 – 14 minute
Pull out of the oven and let cool

Glaze:

Mix ingredients together until smooth
With a butter knife, spread an even layer of the glaze over each donut
Garnish with a strawberry slice

Five Ways to Improve Your Self Care at Work

September 26, 2016September 25, 20161 Comment

Knowing success doesn’t come to the lazy, we put in long work hours and make sacrifices. Unfortunately, our self care is often the first thing pushed to the side. While not taking breaks or skipping lunch may seem like an efficient use of our time, these daily choices can pile up and increase our risk of burning out. It’s important to recognize that in order to be our best self at work we need to put our self care first.

Here are five tips for increasing your self care in the office.

1. Listen to music:

Bring a pair of headphones to work and listen to your favorite radio station or Spofity playlist. The soft music playing in the background will help get your creative juices flowing and prepare you to take on the day’s tasks.

2. Go for a walk:

Sitting behind a computer all day can take a toll on your mental health just as much as your physical health. Make time for a quick 15 minute walk each day to refresh your mind and get your blood flowing!

3. Use the Calm app:

Regardless of how much you love your job, there will be stress. Instead of ignoring the situation, it’s important to acknowledge that you need to take a moment to breathe. Calm, a meditation app, allows you to choose timed mindful exercises to relax your mind and body. So sneak away from your desk and find a quiet place (maybe just in a bathroom stall!) and plug in your headphones for a quick 5 minutes of relaxation.

4. Decorate your space:

You might not want to go to the trouble of decorating your office space, but you spend a lot of time at work! It may seem insignificant, but curating your space with bits and pieces that make you feel at home will increase your mood at work. My favorite accents: framed photographs and plants!

5. Don’t eat lunch at your desk:

I know, I know! It’s easy to get wrapped up in a project and think eating at your desk is a great time saver, but it’s important to step away and take breaks. After eating lunch outside or in the break room you will come back to your project with a fresh set of eyes – and may even finish it stronger than if you had sacrificed your lunch break!

What do you do at work to increase your self care?! Leave it in the comments below!

Beauty and Blooms

Beauty and Blooms is a Midwest lifesyle blog featuring food, DIYs, and travel.

Month in Review: September, 2016

Strawberry Donuts

Strawberry Donuts

Five Ways to Improve Your Self Care at Work