Breakfast at Courtney's

It's Monday which means I get to welcome you again to Breakfast at Courtney's...
Such a beautiful morning for this delicious family breakfast. Open windows, cool breezes, Scripture, worship hymns, birds singing along.

I shared tea and conversation with my man while we ate Toasted English Muffins with Coconut Oil & Sliced Strawberries On Top.
I would share the recipe but I think you get the idea. It's all in the title baby! Today I find myself counting an abundance of blessings from my Heavenly Father. God is so very good. His mercies are indeed new every morning. Great is His faithfulness.
Mug - Target
Plate - Ikea 
Bible - Barnes & Noble
Coaster - The Velvetleaf Boutique
Food - Vons

Thanks for dropping by dear friend.

Love,

Staying Healthy and Getting Fit

I've been drinking a bit of raspberry Emergen-C to boost my immune system and to replenish energy after workouts. So refreshing...
Did you notice the heart-shaped cubes? I really should've shared these photos around Valentine's Day now that I think of it.

I'm writing this post to get me thinking about fitness and health. What a privilege it is to take care of our bodies through healthy eating and exercise. I fall off that wagon far too frequently. But the good thing is I do my best to jump back on as quickly as possible?

Now that Jack is three months old, I know I am more than capable of strenuous exercise once again. I've been easing into it for several weeks now with walking and some 20-minute toning exercises. I think it's finally time to get a bit more serious. This week I plan to develop a set fitness routine and jot down some fundamental guidelines for my diet. If I come up with anything brilliant I will most certainly share it with you.

In the meantime, I'd love to hear your fitness and diet strategies. What's been working for you these days?

Breakfast at Courtney's

It's that time again. Breakfast at Courtney's. I started this series last week (you may remember) as a way to motivate myself to eat a variety of healthy meals each morning. No more monotonous cereal for this girl.

This week's noteworthy breakfast?  

Avocado Egg & Onion on Toast  

My new least favorite. I know you're all thinking you could've told me that before I even started prepping. Who puts mashed avocado with scrambled eggs and onion? I was going to add tomatoes. But they were a bit wilted.  

Pretty sure tomatoes wouldn't have changed my mind about this dish anyway.

 (Side note: I apologize if avocados eggs and onion on toast just happen to be one of your favorite combos).

In all fairness, it wasn't the worst thing I've ever eaten. And it was a healthy choice. And it did use up the ingredients I had in my fridge that needed using. So I could almost call it a success.

Thanks for stopping by for Breakfast at Courtney's. 

I hope you'll come again next Monday.

p.s. Linking up with Keeping it Simple, Craft-O-Maniac, and Made by you Monday. 

Sweets

I got to go to the cutest baby shower last weekend. The hostesses used a 'Candy Theme' because "babies are just so sweet." They blew me away with their creativity. Aren't these cake pops adorable? 

 And tasty too I would imagine. I'm proud to say I maintained strict discipline and only allowed myself some of these yummy Trader Joe cookie dunkers. I think I could become addicted. They were that good.

One of my favorite details? The cool hanging ornaments made out of tissue paper. Not sure who came up with this idea but it made for a really fun atmosphere. 

I also got to meet a fellow blogger and talented craft maker named Sam. I wish I had pictures of the baby carriage she carved out of a watermelon and used as a fruit bowl!

Holding Hands

 On our way to the Farmer's Market about to buy some deliciousness...

Recipes Organized? Check!

This idea is stolen from none other than my smart and talented sister, Candace. Until I saw her design-it-yourself recipe book, I didn't know what on earth to do with all the recipes I'd collected. I always thought that someday I'd get every single one written out on a little recipe card and stored neatly in a cataloged box. All I can say is that wasn't happening. Does anyone else have this problem of unorganized recipes? 

Making your own recipe book is really rather easy and it allows you to store all kinds of recipes whether they're printed on neat little cards, scrawled out on random sheets of paper, or beautifully typed but don't fit into your recipe box. 

All you need is:

 A 3-ring binder (preferably a pretty-looking one)

Some fun paper that looks cool on both sides

Dividers with tabs (and preferably with a folder slot to store the recipes you have yet to glue into place)

Clear storage sleeves with three holes punched

Scissors

Glue stick

Pen or pencil

I won't give you all the details of assembly because part of the fun is creating your own style and figuring it all out, but I will promise you you'll love the end result. 

One of my favorite recipes in my book is from Betsy at part of the main. You seriously have to try your hand at making her "Scones That Taste As Scones Should Taste." They're delicious for breakfast or with afternoon tea or as a bedtime snack or really at any point in the day. 

Isn't that fun!

Muffins or Cookies?

I thought I was making muffins the other day when to my great surprise and slight chagrin they came out of the oven looking very much like a batch of cookies. I got it right the second time around by not filling the muffin cups so full, but you gotta love the look of these: 

The Original Morning Glory Muffin of Pam McKinstry

Needless to say, the taste was delicious and I would recommend the recipe to anyone who wishes to know it. My other cooking experiments of late have been...

Farm Stand Greek Salad with (homemade) Classic Red Wine Vinaigrette

And...

Fresh Tomato Pizza with Pesto, Goat Cheese, and Arugula

And, last but not least...

Grilled Shrimp with Tropical Salsa

All these recipes are taken from The Earthbound Farm Organic Cookbook: Food to Live By. The authors are Myra Goodman, Linda Holland, and Pamela McKinstry. Of course it would be nice if we lived in an area where organic produce was a little less expensive and little more accessible but we're making due with the goodies we can afford at the present and as far as the recipes, we're loving them so far.