Loving Minneapolis!

It definitely feels like home here. We went out to Ikea and got a few key items to dress up our home and make it feel ours. We love how it turned out! (Stay tuned for pics.) We're getting to know our neighbors and having people over, and it's awesome. For awhile I thought that Natalie would keep us from being able to have people over at night, but it was totally fine. We played games and when it came time to put her down, I did, and then we continued our night! We're making it a goal to have people over more often and be more outgoing as a couple. John really enjoys having spontaneous moments like that.

So, I discovered something amazing...John's video camera!! :) Yes, we've had it all along, but it was put away for a long time and I never used it to record anything from our married life, and that makes me sad. Now that I know how easy it is to record things, then put it onto your hard drive to make more space...I'm recording every cute little thing that Natalie does. It's so fun to document those milestones, and I'm excited to watch them and reminisce with her in later years.

So, for all the Jamba Juice fans out there, I successfully reinvented the Chunky Strawberry topper using homemade granola. It's amazing. John says it's "way better than Jamba Juice." :) It's a complete, healthy breakfast that is fast and easy once you have all the ingredients together. I tried to make the granola as close as possible to the kind you get at Jamba Juice because I'm IN LOVE with it. Here's the recipe:

4 cups rolled oats
1 cup ground flax seed
1/2 cup honey powder (or brown sugar)
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp sea salt (or regular salt)
1/3 cup canola oil
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup water

Mix dry ingredients together in large bowl. Whisk wet ingredients together in smaller bowl. Pour wet ingredients over dry and mix until well incorporated. Spread over a greased 9x13 baking pan. Bake at 300 degrees for about 50 minutes or until evenly toasted, stirring every 15-20 minutes. Let cool before storing in airtight container.

Here's Valorie's chunky strawberry topper recipe:

1/4 cup milk
3 tbsp light yogurt
2 tbsp peanut butter
1/2 banana
1 tsp honey
1/4 cup homemade granola
1/2 cup frozen strawberries

Add first 5 ingredients to blender, blend on low setting. Add granola and strawberries and pulse a few times until it's at a chunky consistency that you like. Top with more granola and other half of banana, sliced. Enjoy!