OK in a box

Hey friends! I'm so very excited to share something special with you today! Last week, I got a very special package in the mail from a new local company here called "OK in a box". Here's how it works:
OK in a box is a monthly subscription. Every month you get all sorts of fun local goodies from all around Oklahoma delivered right to your doorstep. Every month has a new theme! The box I received, I'm proud to say, is their first month's box! Being their first month, the theme is appropriately titled "Landrun". So great, right?

In my box this month, I got:
-Cinnamon Sugar Pecans from Valley View Pecan Co. in Shawnee, Oklahoma (that's my hometown ya'll) 
-Gourmet Apple Spread from Southern Okie in Edmond
-Onion and Garlic instant meat marinade by Daddy, Hinkles in Cleveland, Oklahoma
-Spunky Spuds Potato seasoning mix and Holey Guacamole! guacamole seasoning mix from Maria Rae's in Enid, Oklahoma.

As you can imagine, I couldn't wait to bust out these treats! For dinner last night we had steak and asparagus: seasoned with Daddy Hinkles, potatoes: seasoned with Maria Rae's spunky spud seasoning, and biscuits with Southern Okie apple spread. After our fantastic dinner, we munched on our Cinnamon Sugar Pecans while we cheered the Thunder on in their first game of the season. 

It was all incredible. I would highly recommend any of these treats, but getting them all together in this box was an even better treat. Go. Sign up for Ok in a box now. I'm tellin' ya.  The best part is, OK in a box ships to all 50 US states. You'll see on their website you even have the option to give this as a gift. What a perfect gift for anyone you know may have moved away and might be homesick for the homestead. (<-- I couldn't help myself)

I'm going to give a subscription to my grandmother for Christmas. She's the woman who will spend hours digging through every ornament in Wal Mart to make sure she bought one that was 'made in the USA' (not many are, folks.. not many at all)  The closer to home it is, the more she loves it, so I know this will be a perfect gift for her.

Wait, there's more! OK in a box is so generously offering all of my readers who subscribe, $10.00 off their first order! All you have to do is CLICK HERE and your discount will be applied when you check out.Now that's a real sweet deal. You have the option to subscribe to 1, 3, or 6 months.

Guest Post: Sweet Lavender Bake Shoppe

Hello readers! I'm back! (kidding. I'm not) I'm probably freezing my buns off in Colorado with my HUSBAND! (I promise to update when I return) I'm writing this up 2 weeks in advance, because I am a tricky tricky organized lady. (kidding again, I'm not. organized, that is... or tricky.) Have you been loving these sweet guest posts from the most amazing ladies the past couple weeks? I'm so so very blessed to have such amazing and talented women in my life who would allow me to interrupt their week just to guest post for me while I'm gone. Aren't they just the best?

Today the guest blogging continues! I know you've heard me mention Sweet Lavender Bake Shoppe before, when Fern and I over-cooked her yummy organic apple rings.  Christina is one of the most talented people I know with food. Which is absolutely the way into my heart. She has agreed to share with you lovelies, some of her very own fun fall recipes. Get excited, because when I saw what she was sharing with us, my whole heart got so overwhelmed I almost cried. It sounds very dramatic, I know... but just you wait. Prepare your heart my friends, and feast your eyes, and appetites, on a few of Christina's favorite fall recipes:

Holy Cow, right? You can find some of the above recipes, linked below. 

Recipes like:

-Christina's Favorite Apple Almond Phyllo Tart

-Delicious donut muffins with cinnimon sugar

-Ridiculous yummy sweet potato, zucchini+crimini mushroom gratin

and

-Amazing pumpkin pie seed granola 

What's that you say? You want more? OF COURSE YOU DO! And you can have more! She's even organized them for you in the following categories: "Apple inspired recipes", "Autumnal veggie recipes", "miscellaneous fall recipes", and "pumpkin recipes". 

Visit Christina's "27 Fun Fall Recipes" post to get ALL of the yumminess your heart can stand. Leave Christina a little note to let her know if you plan on trying, or have tried any of them. I know she'd love to hear from you. 

Organic Apple Rings: by Sweet Lavender Bake Shoppe

Because we're all into buying groceries these days, and eating healthy, (well, healthier) I chose to feature a little recipe by one of my lovely sponsors, Christina, from "Sweet Lavender Bake Shoppe".

The kiddos will not only  l o v e  this yummy treat, but  you're also not loading them with sugar and a bunch of synthetic ingredients, and that's something you can feel good about. Plus, you only need 3 ingredients that you probably already have in the kitchen. That's my kinda cookin'.

The above picture is what they're suppose to look like. Christina did a great job. I totally over baked mine, which you can see in the photos below. They were a little crunchier, and in comparison, don't look near as yummy as Christina's, but Fern (and our room mate Melissa) still ate them! ... all of them! So that really tells you something.

All you need are Gala Apples, cinnamon, and nutmeg. That's IT! Christina's are cored, which look so lovely. I'm lazy and dont have an apple corer, so I just sliced mine and removed the seeds. 

These little Apple Rings were the PERFECT mid-day snack.
I put Fern down for her nap, sliced them, put them in to bake, forgot about them (which wasn't in the directions), and by the time nap time was over, I had a great treat for Fern to wake up to.
She absolutely loved them. I love that I gave her something she loved that was really healthy.
I can't wait to try this again and really perfect the timing.

If you want the full recipe and directions, head over to Christina's Organic Apple Rings post.
While you're there, stay a while and look around. This lady not only has some very unique and fabulous recipes she shares on her blog, but she's also such a sweet lady, with a great eye for design. I'm happy to share her with you.
I'm a big fan of hers, and I know you will be too!

Paleo

Okay, confession straight up: I'm not going on the Paleo diet anytime soon. Not because I don't want to, but because I just don't have the kitchen space at the moment to be cooking in, and storing my own ingredients, as we are living with Tristan's mom.  But! I will say, it is a distant goal of mine. My sweet friend Tillie, of "Hello Tillie",  has started a blog about her efforts to be a healthier version of herself, and I'm telling you what, guys. I'm so proud and inspired by this lady. I'm so excited about this blog, because this girl has good taste in food, and she's going out and finding, and tweaking recipes to fit into her new paleo lifestyle and they look AMAZING. She actually makes me feel like... maybe I could do that... one day.

 If you know me at all you know I have a mouth full of sweet teeth. Paleo just didn't sound like it would be down my alley. Let's get real, I love the idea of being healthy, but I love the idea of cake and brownies more.. sooo.. there's that. But now, with Tillie's wonderful recomendations, and recipe shares I really feel like Paleo and myself could have a beautiful friendship in the future.

These cookies are made with almond milk, dark chocolate, coconut oil, honey, and holy moly me oh my.

Good job Tillie! You're rocking this. :) 

If you're interested in Paleo, or just interested in the goings on of a sweet and motivated friend, you should go check out Tillie's blog. I'm just the biggest fan of this girl, and I know you will be too.


Have any of you tried Paleo? What do you think?