Coffee Talk #4: a chance to catch up on the little things in life. š July 2018.
Hi there! Itās that time of month againā¦ well, not that time, but the time in which we catch up and have a little chat-a-roo. Iāll say some things, youāll say some things (in the comments below, I hope!) and weāll share a few fresh-baked cookies and perhaps a fresh pot of tea. You ready? Letās do it!
Dylanās Graduationā¦ My very soon to be five-year-old nephew just graduated from preschool. As his momma, Jenny, always says, āHeās all growns up!ā Let me tell you, autocorrect sure gets sassy whenever I try to type ācrowns.ā Okay, that was supposed to say āgrownsā and not ācrownsā. . Anyway, Dylan aka PB has a super special place in my heart because heās my first nephew! He officially made me an aunt. I saw him the day he was born, rubbed his mamaās belly before he even arrived, and have had the amazing opportunity to see him grow up, bit by bit. It was surprisingly/not-so-surprisingly emotional seeing him walk across the āstageā aka dirt path to his graduation. He was all smiles and even a generous side of sassy as he and his class performed graduation-inspired (or something hehe) dances.
His mama (my sister) is gettinā good and ready to bring him to his first day of kindergarten in a couple of months, but we both agreed that it wonāt get too āreal worldā until he hits 2nd grade, which we know is BRUTAL. š Heh heh. J/k! Obviously, middle school is when things really get real. Lol.
My heart was bursting seeing him up thereā¦ and when he was handed his graduation certificate, Erik and I screamed/cheered his name loudly, to the chagrin of nearby families. Oh well!
Erik, PB and me. .
Hawaii Tripā¦ We went!! Which island you may be asking? Kauai. We went on the recommendation of a few of you readers and my sister Penny. She absolutely loves that island and always gushes about it. We had a super chill time, just focusing on relaxing, jogging a bit, going to the beach, and just generally taking things nice and slow. It was our first vacation without a ton of work obligations happening 24/7 throughout the trip, so that was really, really nice.
Sometimes, you just have to unplug, ya know? Anyway, Erik and I decided that the best way to prioritize our self-care and decrease the work madness is to start planning our next vacation. It might not happen for a while, but at least we have it in mind. š Weāre thinkingā¦ somewhere in Europe next since weāre so close here in Boston. What do you think about Oslo, Norway? We saw some seriously good deals on airfare there! (Like, half the price of flying from Boston to California… dude!)
Also, when we were in Kauai, we ran into HURLEY FROM LOST!!!! How cool is that?!? Hereās a selfie (mostly bc Erik was brave enough to approach as I casually pretended to read a menu and lurk nearby). Also also,Ā why is that when you’re presented with a mandatory surprise photo opportunity,Ā that’s the day you choose not to look fresh? Shoot… .
Monicaās visiting!!! My sister Monica (I know, it seems like I have hundreds of them haha) is visiting!!!!! Iām BEYOND EXCITED! I donāt get to see her much, so when I do, itās an extra special treat. My mom and my sister Jenny, who both live pretty close to me, are all in a tizzy for her arrival. Weāre all trying to clean up our places as best as we can and perhaps find some delightful mid-century-inspired home decor to wow Monica with. (Sheās a huge fan of mid-century stuff.) Iām trying to decide what we should go do with her, where we should eat. Suggestions, readers from Boston? I mean, I live here and all, but there are waaaaaay too many places to keep up with! š
Paleo Chocolate Almond Butter Fudge Cups
Popular Recipesā¦ You know, I share the current popular recipes on Beaming Baker every month with you and Iām still surprised that they change so much, month to month. Here are a few of your current faves:
- 1) 3 Ingredient No Bake Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
- 2) Paleo Chocolate Almond Butter Fudge CupsĀ (seen above): this guy came out of nowhere! Itās pretty popular normally, in the Top 20-30 usually, but these past two weeks, itās been going crazy!
- 3) Ultimate Paleo Fudgy Vegan BrowniesĀ – IĀ love the comments I get on this recipe. It’s popularĀ and folks leave nice comments! Love it!
New + Risingā¦
- 1)Ā Healthy No Sugar Added Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream (this one may have broken the record for Most Views on its First Day)
- 2) 3 Ingredient Strawberry Coconut Sorbet
- 3) 4 Ingredient Peanut Butter Swirl Ice Cream
Oldie, but a Goodie (Current Faves of BB Classics)ā¦ Here are my and your current BB faves, from the archives:
- Coconut Chocolate Chip Vegan Ice Cream – 1,000s of views every day, lots from Facebook
- Paleo Vegan Coconut Chocolate Truffles
- Paleo Almond Joy Ice Cream – currently trending like crazy on Facebook!
For some reason, folks are really loving chocolate + coconut right now. Let’s just say, Grams approves! š
In the Kitchenā¦ Iāve started testing new recipes for back-to-school and the fall. Letās just say itās raining pumpkins in the BB Test Kitchen. Things have been going pretty well, but thereāve been just enough bumps to keep me on my toes. Iām planning quick breads, muffins and some decadent fall delights. Any flavor requests? Cinnamon, Pumpkin Spice, Oatmeal Raisin? Pears or Apples?
Sneak Peekā¦ Can you guess what this yet-to-be-published Beaming Baker recipe will be? Coming very, very soon.Ā Update: The recipe is out! Check out these amazingly tasty and wonderfully easyĀ 5 Ingredient Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites Recipe!
Signing offā¦ As always, itās been wonderful catching up with you. Howās your summer going and what big or small plans do you have for all of this warm weather? Let me know what youāre up to below! I love hearing all about it. š Here are a few past Coffee Talks, in case ya need to catch up: June, May, April, Catching Up 2, Catching Up 1.
Sending you all my love and maybe even a dove, xo Demeter ā¤ļø
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Wow! A lot had happened in month!! Glad you had a wonderful month. Love those treats and I can’t wait for more new recipes!
Hehe! Right? Seems like a lot and a little all at once. Thanks Sandra! š
I really enjoy your posts – it’s like hanging out with my girlfriends! #1 on my travel bucket list is Iceland! You should research it, they have so much going for them over there – such beauty, the Northern lights, geo-thermal lakes, happy people…
I am a peanut butter/chocoholic, so really wanting to try your Choc/P.B. ice cream, the no-bake choc p.butter bars; and now those choc/almond butter fudge cups look amaze! I found your site because I try very hard to be as close to vegan as possible, and pay attention to what I eat – so I appreciate your “healthified” versions of desserts – but I’ll never be able to make/eat even one tenth of what you post, lol! Thanks for adding a little sunshine and chuckles to my day; have a great weekend!
Aw, thank you Rhonda! š It was so much fun reading your comment. ā¤ļø Oh wowāI totally have to look into visiting Iceland now! It sounds incredible. I canāt wait to hear what you think of my recipes. š Heheātake your time and weāll see… š Hope you had an amazing weekend. I so appreciate you stopping by and commenting. xo
These would disappear in our house!
Haha oh you know it! .
So glad you were able to unplug and have a great vacation! This is encouragement and motivation for us to do the same!
Thanks Sabrina! š Yes, please do make some time for fun and relaxation. Thatās so important. ..
Can’t wait for the recipe for those… (hopefully no-bake) chocolate chip cookie dough balls?
Yeah!! You are totally right and theyāre out today in the blog. š
Those Paleo Chocolate Almond Butter Fudge Cups are calling my name!
Oh yes! They are soo good! .
These are some great pictures!
Thanks so much Delaney!
Awesome!I love the family pic. Am enjoying your recipes healthy and taste great! Tried the chocolate coconut ice cream, mmmm in this weather hits the spot!! Tweekd it a little and made a batch of vanilla,turnd out great. š
Thanks Marie! š My nephew is the CUTEST!! āŗļø So happy youāre enjoying my recipes. Oh gosh, the vanilla one mustāve been amazing!!
Thank you for sharing. A hearty congratulation on your graduation Dylan š
Thank you, Vicci! š Heāll be so pleased when I read your comment to him. āŗļø
I can’t believe you ran into Hurley!!! SO COOL! And of course it would happen in Hawaii LOL
RIGHT?!? lol ok!!! I was like, where Daniel Dae Kim?! .
These pictures that you’ve shared look amazing! I’m inspired to check out other posts on your blog!
Thank you so much, Danielle!! Hope you enjoy!
Those Chocolate Almond Butter Fudge Cups look to die for — definitely need to try them!
Theyāre the BEST!!! Canāt wait to hear what you think!! .
My husband and I were such big fans of Lost! So cool that you ran into him (not to mention got to vacation in Hawaii)! And I cannot wait until pumpkin season. I never get tired of it. Enjoyed your post.
Woohoo!!! I was talking to my sister the other day about how no one talks about Lost anymore. .āāļø We were SO excited to see him! Thanks for stopping by, Jill. .
I love planning a vacation! I’ve been to Norway myself. Oslo is OK but I highly recommend visiting Bergen and maybe renting a car to get to see the beautiful scenery and the fjords!
Haha yes! Itās almost as much fun as actually going on one. . Ooh thanks for the Norwegian recommendation Julia! .
What a beautiful family photo and love these delicious candy and cookie treats!
Thank you Claudia! āŗļø It was such a touching day.