Chia Seed Chocolate Truffles

These are the perfect little morsels for today. Happy Valentines Day all you pretty people! As you know, my diet is pretty restrictive due to my allergies, so these are gluten-free, vegan, low-carb truffles! They are pretty filling because they are pretty much all healthy fat. And those of you who still think fat is the enemy--its not! If you want to cut something out, let it be carbs/sugar. Anyways, who wants to talk about all this stuff on Valentines Day? I hope you all are having such a beautiful day! Brennan is in Guatemala, learning how to become a better chiropractor, which I am so happy for  but I do miss him desperately. He is going to graduate now in less than a year! Crazy how much time flies...he travels outside the country to get more experience. When he is at clinic he'll see about 5 patients a day, whereas when he travels to Mexico or Guatemals, he'll see 30-40 a day, so he gets so much more practice. He is going to be gone for almost two weeks and before he left, I wrote him a letter for each day that he is gone. They were filled with encouragement, verses, and love notes ;)... I gave them to him right as he was walking out the door and right when I did, he reached out of his backpack and gave me a handful of letters for me to open that he wrote each day he was gone too! It was so funny and so perfect :). Today I opened his letter, with words that made me cry and some money to treat myself to something fun. He is the most precious husband and probably the most amazing person I've ever met and I get to spend the rest of my life with him...pretty fantastic, if you ask me :). 

I made these truffles for my Anthropologie girls today! Hope they love them. Here's how you make them: 

Base: 

2 tablespoons coconut oil

3 tablespoons coconut cream

2 tablespoons almond milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

2 tablespoons chopped walnuts

Toppings:

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

3 tablespoons chia seeds add crunch! yum! 

1. Place all the base ingredients into bowl and mix together. 

2. Place bowl into freezer for 10-15 min. 

3. Take the bowl out of freezer and form tablespoon sized mounds and form into balls. 

4. Take the truffles and then roll them in the cocoa powder and chia seed mixture. 

5. Freeze/refrigerate until they are ready to be served. I like them best frozen. So good! 

xo

Valentines Day Decorating Ideas

My wedding day was the most memorable day I have; I will always hold it close to my heart. These beautiful photos, captured by, Lauren Ristow, will be forever cherished and remind me of what joy, blessing, love, and excitement this day held. I've been slow to post them all at once, so I've been posting them in little increments. This bunch I think were perfect for this time because its so close to Valentines Day. Pink is such a beautiful color. I wanted a soft blush pink and gold for the wedding and then at the reception, I branched out a bit, introducing more rich pinks, mints, golds, ivories, and whites. As most of you know, the wedding was hosted at my home, on the ranch where I grew up. The wedding was held amongst the tall green trees, with the sunshine peaking throughout them And the the reception was across the creek in an open green grass field, framed with the tall oak trees that were wrapped with bunting and lights. I got ready in my house, the Pink House, we call it. My family  grew up in the rock house that was built by my great-great grandfather, but when my sisters and I were growing up, we added on another house for us (because the rock house was so little). This house, the Pink House, my mom decorated with all the colors of my wedding, which made it a perfect backdrop for photos on the day :). 

Whether you may be viewing this post to see the wedding photos, or if you are perhaps looking to get some Valentines Day Decoration ideas, inspiration, or tips, my advice would be to:

1. Group objects in odd numbers. 3 and not 2. It always looks balanced this way. 

2. Use vintage trays, baskets, or plates to give a boundary for your grouping/vignette. This gives more layers, which is pleasing to the eye, plus it gives more importance to the objects...think of it like a frame. Things that could be used to "frame" your vignette are old trays, mirrors laid down flat, wooden trays, or old cafeteria metal trays.

3. When creating pretty home scapes, use varying heights. Always add height and different sized objects to make it more pleasing to the eye. It creates movement and balance. Things that you can think about by adding height are: cake plates, pretty mugs to hold pencils, paint brushes, or flowers, candles, candle holders, tall-cut-out letters, vases, gum-ball machines, any nick-nacks that make you happy :). 

4. Use different textures. Brennan is going to make fun of me for this because I am the "Queen of Texture" I love texture in my foods, in my house, with my outfits...I love mixing textures. So same goes with V-Day decor or any type of home decor. Place flowers, next to an old patina frame, with a smooth book stack on top of a glittered or tulle tablecloth. Things that add texture can be: a coral piece, seashells, pretty rocks, pretty vintage teacup/ saucers, tablecloths, (tulle, glitter, soft cotton, etc), ornate frames, or antlers.

5. Move upward. A vignette doesn't have to end on that specific table...you can move upward to the wall and continue the look. For example, if one was to create a beautiful grouping on a table that is against a wall, continue the grouping by moving it up on the wall. One of my pet peeves though, is when people hang things on the wall too high. So if you are wanting to move the grouping on the wall with artistic prints, photos, or a frame grouping, you can start hanging them pretty close to the table surface. This way your eye will have a natural progression from the grouped vignette up the the grouping on the wall. Does this make sense? Things you can hang are, of course, frames, artistic prints, watercolors from my etsy shop ;). Out-of-the-box ideas would be Macrame', vintage plates, horse shoes, tassels, inspiration board/frame, or butterfly cutouts.

Hope this helps sparks some of your inner-decorating vibes. I hope everyone enjoys their Valentines Day. I'm going to be flying solo, since Brennan will be out of the country in Guatemala adjusting and helping people feel more healthy and happy! He's amazing. I think I like him. 

A quick note: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, if sharing any of my photos on this site, please link back to me. No photo stealing, cause that's just mean. Okay thanks! 

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xo