Sakroots for Life

Let me tell you a secret not so secret. I am all over the place. All. The. Time. I'm hardly ever home. I commute to work. I'm out and about on weekends. At any given time, I am probably carrying a planner or a notebook, my purse, a water bottle and a coffee. My hands are quite full. Literally.

If you're like me and feel the need to be prepared for everything at all times, I have a solution!

 

The Sakroots Flap Backpack. This backpack is amazing. It has a flap top, a cinch, tons of pockets, and even a pocket on the back for easy access to all your important stuff! It also comes with a pencil pouch. (I may or may not have a pen problem.)

I can use this bag to hold all the things. I can use it for work, for day trips, as an overnight bag, or for work trainings and classes. Perfection.

Remember that pen problem I briefly mentioned? Add a planner problem on top of that. I love planners, but I'm soooo picky. I want the right size planner, with lines to write on, with the right amount of room for each day, and a color scheme I won't get sick of. (Insert other ridiculous requirements here.)

Surprise...there's a Sakroots Agenda! And I love it. It's perfect. It has a hard cover with a strap. All my random lists won't fall out when I stuff them in my planner! The colors and prints are adorable. The writing space is just the right size and there's lines. Eeeeek. There is also stickers inside! A sheet of fun ones and event type ones.

But wait, there's more. Sakroots Artist Circle and their #chooseyourkarma campaigns work together to do big things. The adorable print of my bag (True Love) actually represents a charity! The sweet (and scary) honey bee. Each print represents a different charity close to the artist's heart.

shout out to my model bff, Beth!

With my backpack and planner, I am unstoppable. You can be too! Sign up for Sakroots emails and get 15% off your first purchase! If you're a college student, you can sign up to be a Sakroots ambassador too!

Which print would you choose?

Crema // Pacific Grove, CA

Well, hello there!

If you're hungry, leave now. This post is about to get real delish, real quick.

This past weekend, J and I went with our roommates to Crema in Pacific Grove (PG). I actually worked across from this adorable restaurant for MONTHS when we first moved to Monterey and since they were technically competition, I never ate there. I have one word for you. Regret. Holy crap, this place is good.

Crema is a cafe/restaurant/coffee shop/catering company. They have it all. It's set up in an old house and feels really homey. Not cluttery or anything - simple and comfortable.

We went for brunch on a Saturday. There was no wait. The staff was friendly. I had to decide between 5 things on the menu. That never happens to me. We all got something different and we were all very pleased.

I had the Good Morning Sunshine Breakfast Sammy. It was grilled texas toast with fried eggs, cheese, bacon, and hash browns! My dream. The bacon was thick and delicious. The hash browns were perfectly cooked. The toast was golden brown. The cheese was cheesy and delicious of course.

Jarad had the Chicken and Waffles with Spicy Sausage Gravy. I had a bite and it was great!!! I was worried about the meal being soggy, but it wasn't at all! The chicken was boneless, which I love. The gravy was perfectly spiced without being burn your mouth off hot.

Evan had the classic quiche Lorraine (spinach, mushrooms, ham and swiss) with a strawberry spinach salad. He described the dish as "pleasant" to eat. The quiche came with a side of homemade salsa. Yummmm.

Beth had the Cheddar and Bacon Biscuits and Gravy. Those biscuits looked SO GOOD. You could see the chunks of real bacon! I'm talking dime sized pieces of bacon. The gravy was the same as Jarad's and delicious. She had potatoes with hers and they were yum! They were perfectly cooked. I can appreciate that.

We were all really impressed with our meals. Our total before the tip was $65. Four meals, two medium lattes, a cup of coffee, and a pot of tea! I think that's an awesome price.

Plus, we spotted this deer family on our way in. It doesn't get much better than that.

Guacamole with Strawberries and Mango!

I have a confession. I am not guacamole obsessed. I do not pay the extra $1.75 at Chipotle. Or anywhere else for that matter. I ask restaurants to leave it off the dish if it comes with it. You get the idea.

I have another confession. I've been wrong for 23 years. I'm the type of person that likes to make up my mind by myself on my own time. No amount of convincing can actually convince me.

My best friend has tried for YEARS to show me the light and FINALLY, I've opened my eyes. She would make guac for taco night or when we were eating chips and dip. I slowly would dip my chip in the bowl - the tiniest amount of guac on my chip. Not anymore! I've officially dove in head first!

My mom and I came up with this super delish guac that I have to share. We added strawberries, mango, and chopped jalapenos. GAME OVER.

This is the perfect summertime side dish. It would be amazing on fish tacos!

There really isn't a recipe for this either. (surprise) If you couldn't tell, my family doesn't really do recipes. We just experiment and stop when we're satisfied with the taste.

We used:

• 2 avocados
• one slice of mango 
• a fresh jalapeno (chopped) 
• a little bit of purple onion 
• a few strawberries  
• salt and pepper

Next time, I plan on adding another jalapeno, because I love spicy!

What's your go to guac recipe? I would love to know! Who knows, maybe I'll love it!

Delicious White Wine Sangria

My lips taste like thissuperdelicious sannngrriiiiiaaaaa!

This past weekend, I decided to try my hand at sangria making. Let me tell you, it's fun stuff! We looked up some recipes online and decided to make our own. This is what we came up with.

Originally we started with only one bottle of wine, so that's how I'll share the recipe. We ended up tripling the alcohol though :)

FYI: the definition of glug is when you pour a liquid and it makes the glug glug glug sound

Here's what you need:

1 bottle of Chardonnay
3 ounces of Brandy (or 3 glugs)
2 ounces of Triple Sec (or 2 glugs)
4ish glugs of club soda (Sprite can be used in place of this)
1 nectarine
A bunch of strawberries
A bunch of green grapes (halved)
2 kiwis

I cut up all the fruit into slices. I halved the grapes. I put everything into a pitcher and stirred. We threw in a couple ice cubes for funsies. I was real technical. You can use whatever fruit you want and however much you want! It does not need to be super specific at all. This is just what we had on hand. It ended up tasting great and I looooved the fruit combo we chose. I want to add some pineapple in there next time!

two glasses in...hahaha.

What's your favorite sangria combo?

the boys loved it!

Target Home Decor Deals!

Hi hi hi. I'm moving in 22 days! Eeeek! This past weekend, I was at my momma's and we went shopping. Home Goods, Target, all the stops.

I found some serious deals  STEALS at Target. So you should probably read this as you're driving to Target, so you don't miss out. Okay, that's dangerous. Grab a friend and have them read it while you drive.

I've been stalking some items at Target lately and I am not ashamed. I can't justify spending full price for things when I KNOW FOR A FACT they will get marked down. So, I've been waiting for weeks! Every time I needed something at Target, I would speed walk to the aisles holding my beloved sought after items. And finally, my patience was rewarded and I hooked myself up.

If you spend any time at Target, you may have seen those hot pink book ends with the gold anchors? Well I paid $7 bucks for those babies! I don't have a picture because I left them at my mom's house. (we are moving close to her, so she is holding all my new things for me until we move)

I scored this Nate Berkus picture frame for $3.88! I just saw they have a new lavender one out just like it. I will be keeping an eye out for the sale on that one as well.

This end table was on super sale! (or is it a stool?) I didn't buy it though. I'm hoping it'll go a tad lower. $48.98

This adorable little lobster pillow unfortunately does not go with the theme of our new apartment, so I left it behind. $7.48

This matchy matchy rug also doesn't match our apartment, but SO CHEAP. $7.48

This rug was super adorable, but J didn't like it. It was only $5.98.

My sister scored one of these Threshold lamps for $14.08. They were 70% off! She chose the yellow one. I might have to go back for that navy blue!

There is nothing more satisfying to me than getting an amazing deal on an item I really want! J said he was super impressed with my bargain shopping (swoon!)


I also scored a maxi skirt for $9.99. Thanks, Cartwheel!