I met Marla of Family Fresh Cooking! Marla and I have been online and blog friends for almost a year now. I “met” her right after I moved to Arizona. Now that I am back home in San Diego, it was time to finally meet Marla! We’re both moms, we both love working out and making healthy food choices for our families, and we both love shopping. About halfway in between where Marla lives in the OC and where I live is the Carlsbad Outlets. Perfect. We met there and had a great time getting to know each other, browsing, trying to not spend a fortune, and it was a great afternoon! Bebe, Juicy Couture, Lucky Jeans. Banana Republic. Went in there to see if I could find a replacement for my sweater that was stolen from my gym. No luck though finding sweaters this time of year. Crate & Barrel and Le Creueset Here’s the Three Girls posing for a picture Marla had her son she affectionately calls, Nugget, with her. Her older daughter didn’t make it today. Nugget will be 4 in December and Skylar will be 4 in February. Skylar is a head taller. I am 5’11” and Marla is 4’11” so to be expected. I felt like a giant when I was standing and talking to Marla so we sat for our photo op. Marla is a doll and she runs on coffee on all 8 cylinders, all the time. Kinda like me. She is energetic beyond belief, bubbly, driven, a multi-tasking queen (aren’t all moms though!) a total sweetheart, and I can’t wait to meetup with her again! Marla also brought me two bags of clothes for Skylar that her daughter outgrew. I was floored with the amazing array of clothes for Skylar I just inherited! True Religion jeans in Toddler Size 4. Wow. Skylar now has nicer jeans than I do. And cute shirts and hoodiesgalore! Skylar’s middle name is Lotus. A Lotus Shirt. And matching Hoodie. Too cute! Marla’s generosity has left me speechless. Thank you, my friend! Skylar is set for the fall. Now if only my wardrobe could be has as nice as my 3 year olds! The only thing I brought for Marla was a jar of mango juice-infused homemade kombucha. While I was unpacking all my wonderful loot from Marla, I decided to put two of these very ripe bananas to good use [print_this] Chocolate Coconut Princess Smoothie (vegan, GF) makes about 12 ounces 2 Ripe Bananas 1/4 C Cocoa Powder 1/4 C Sugar (omit or use another sweetener if you prefer) 1/3 C Water 1 Tbsp Coconut Oil 2 C Ice Cubes (about 10) Optional: 1-2 Scoops Protein Powder, Cinnamon, Stevia, Agave, Dates, Maca, etc. Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Serve immediately. [/print_this] Blend And Serve it Up, Princess Style Remember all those Sale BananasI found? I put them to good use with Dessert: Vegan GF Peanut Butter Banana Bread What do you make with your ripe bananas?
