Blueberry Gingerbread Spice {ICED TEA}

I've become some type of a tea fanatic in the recent months, which means I've accumulated ALOT of different flavors in the process. Thinking about the warm spring/summer months ahead I've been getting creative with my tea drinking. With that said...Welcome to my iced tea series. In the coming weeks I'll be sharing with you some of my favorite blends. 

Blueberry + Gingerbread Spice = AMAZING! This blend of teas creates a nostalgic feeling, like you are taking your favorite pie and creating an amazing tea out of it. I choose not to sweeten my teas, so the flavor remains light and not too sweet. 

How I brew my iced teas:

1. Boil water in your tea kettle

2. Pour boiling water over tea bags & stir a bit

3. Place in refrigerator over night

4. Sometime the next day remove tea bags, pop in a couple iced cubes and enjoy!

*If you are going to add honey or sugar I recommend doing this while it is still hot 

Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Joanna

SPRING FASHION WATCH

1. Keds/Melon Coral Keds >> 2. P.S. I Adore You/Turquoise Clutch >> 3. Target/Fit & Flare Dress >> 4. Pac Sun/Ombre Bleached Western Denim Top  >> 

5. Story Company/Camari Necklace >> 6. Swell/Lowers Sandal >> 7. Minnetonka/Maui Poppy Sandal >> 8. Urban Outfitters/Urban Renewal Chambray Tent Dress >> 9. Billabong/Dreamscaper Maxi

Anyone else in the Midwest dreaming of Spring? Don't get me wrong, I love winter, but it is mid-March and I'm ready for a change. Here are a few items I've got my eye on for this Spring. They include pops of bright colors mixed with some feminine denim. I've already purchased #9 and I'm lovin it! 

Joanna

DO SOMETHING THAT SCARES YOURSELF

Do something that scares yourself. This phrase kept running through my mind when I accepted the job to photograph a skyscraper downtown Chicago last month. 

If you know me, I photograph people, not buildings. Everything about this session was different from anything I had ever done. There was no such thing as high aperture or beautiful natural light. Instead it was all about being able to zoom all the way in and see how excellent every room in this building was maintained.

Doing something that scared me forced me to learn things about my camera and myself that I never knew. And I now have a new confidence in my photography capabilities that I didn't have before. 

All this to say, I challenge you to do something that scares yourself. Find a way to stretch yourself creatively. Find a way to step out in faith and say yes to the thing you have always been too insecure to say yes to. I'm pretty sure anyone who is amazing at what they do is where they are at because they did things that scared themselves. 

Comparison is the thief of joy. Don't let other peoples talent hold you back.

Joanna

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY LOVE

It's the husband's 24th Birthday today! I love to celebrate, especially when it is for someone so near and dear to me. Since we have many big things planned for this year, we are laying low and will be enjoying a fun dinner out with the Meyer family. So many things to be grateful for...

Joanna

MEAL PLANNING

Once upon a time, I was at the grocery store everyday just to buy one or two items. My food budget was hardly ever achieved and cooking was becoming stressful.

Then I discovered meal planning. Now I go to the grocery store once a week, I never have to frantically decided what to have for dinner and my food budget actually is achievable!

There area lots of different methods you can use to do meal planning. I won't go into detail on those. 
But I do think you should give meal planning a try if you sound like my once upon a time scenario. And to help you get started you can download my meal planning template. I don't know about you, but if something is cute and functional I will use it.

What are your thoughts on meal planning?

Click here to download the free template

Thanks for stopping by!

Joanna

GOLDEN HOUR

Golden hour is a time that I can't resist, the intensity and beauty of it makes my heart melt. Today it was perfect to capture my 18 week bump. All I can say is I'm grateful for my husband and our little miracle. 

Remember to capture the little things,

Joanna

CANDIED CROCKPOT PECANS

Anything that has brown sugar as a primary ingredient is a winner in my book. These candied crockpot pecans were soo delish and easy. See below for the recipe. 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 C. Sugar
1 1/2 C. Brown Sugar
3 Tbsp. Cinnamon
1/8 tsp. Salt
1 Egg White
2 tsp. Vanilla
3 Cups Pecans (and any other nut you want to add)
1/4 C. Water
1. Mix together in a large bowl sugars, cinnamon, and salt.
2. In another bowl with a whisk, mix together the egg white and vanilla until it is frothy.  Add the pecans and coat thoroughly.  This will help the mixture stick to the pecans during the cooking process.
3. Prepare your slow cooker by spraying it with cooking spray. Put the pecan mixture into the crockpot and turn it to low.  Stir in the cinnamon sugar mixture until all the pecans are coated.
4.  You want to cook for about 3-4 hours.  Stirring every 20 minutes.  In the very last hour, add 1/4 cup water and stir well.  This will ensure a crunchy coating and help the mixture to harden.
5. Line a baking sheet with wax paper and spread the pecans onto the sheet to cool.  The pecans should be pretty sticky so be sure to seperate them the best that you can and let them cool!

A few tips...The candy on my pecans didn't harden very well, so they are pretty sticky. I forgot to stir every so often and I think I added to much water in the end. I am also someone who doesn't follow recipes exactly, so there are a lot of variables that could have gone wrong. But they were a success in my mind because they taste so amazing! After letting them sit out for 24 hours they turned less sticky. If you make them, let me know how they turned out!

Recipe originally found here.

Have a great Friday!
Joanna