I'm BACK!

Hello beautiful friends! I'm back :-) I have been embracing and celebrating the sweetness of life in all it's precious glory. My heart is warm and brimming with gratitude for all the sweet, amazing blessings in my life. Life is truly so sweet that it practically makes me cry when I focus on all the beauty there is. 

I hope that I still have some readers even though I've been absent from blogging for a while! And I hope that you all are enjoying the summer and celebrating your very own sweetness of life. 

Well, before I tell you about my recent adventures, I want to entice you with a new muffin recipe ;-)

Spicy Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

1 1/4 Pamela's Gluten-Free Baking Mix (or baking mix/flour of your choice)

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp cayenne (or less depending on your tolerance for spiciness)

1 cup finely grated zucchini

1/2 cup applesauce

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl whisk together the baking mix, cocoa powder and spices.

3. In a separate bowl combine the zucchini, applesauce, maple syrup and vanilla. Mix well.

4. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients.

5. Fold in the chocolate chips.

6. Lightly oil your muffin tins or just fill muffin tin liners about 3/4 full.

7. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. 

These muffins are awesome! They are super healthy, low fat, low in sugar and SPICY! If you haven't guessed already, I used zucchini from the garden. I am going to have to bust out all kinds of creative ways to use zucchini this summer because our plants are going OFF! 

Now, let me tell you about High Sierra Music Festival! I love this festival so much. It's one of my favorites. When I'm there, it kinda feels like I'm home because I've been going every year since 2004. The only year I've missed since then was 2009. (I was in Hawaii that year...wooohooo!) It's such a beautiful festival with the most amazing, sweet, friendly people ever! And such good, clean vibes, incredible music, FUN, yoga, pilates, hula hooping, poi, daily parades, crazy late night shenanigans...I could go on and on. :-) But instead, how about I show you some pictures from all my years of going to High Sierra. 

 (In 2006, on the way home from the fest, my friend Brady's truck broke down near Belden Town. We drank beers until a tow truck arrived. We ended up being stranded in Quincy for a few days while Brady's truck got fixed! It was crazy.) 

 Once Brady's truck finally got fixed, we hit the road, but we had to stop and pick some blackberries on the way ;-) 

 I loved the sweet, playful innocence of these precious twin boys :-) 

 This Year:

 Our home for four days :-)

 The kitchen ;-)

 Just waking up on the first day of the fest. I definitely NEEDED that yerba mate!

And yoga :-)

 Yummy breakfast. Granola, almond milk, bananas, blueberries, strawberries and almond butter.

 Woody flexing his "beer muscle." Haha :-) I was reading a book and came across a recipe for Beer Mussels. But, when I said it out loud, Woody thought I meant beer muscles. So, it became a joke that continued for the rest of the weekend. 

 My beer muscle :-) 

 Hehe, Woody is "cheating" by using the sierra nevada to pump up his bicep! 

 I wish I had more pictures from this year but I was seriously having so much fun that I kept forgetting to bust out my camera! 

Some of the musical highlights for me this year were: Ween, Yonder Mountain String Band, MaMuse, Elephant Revival, Taarka, MarchFourth Marching Band...just to name a few. 

So, tell me: what kinds of fun have you been having this summer? Have you ever been to a music festival? If not, do you ever want to go? (YOU SHOULD!) :-) 

I have lots of blog reading to catch up on now! I have missed you all <3 Much love and many blessings, friends. Next time, I'm going to share some new garden pics with you :-) Until then, LOVE!

<3