Recipe // 3 Health-Filled Smoothies

If you follow me over on Instagram, you know one of the gifts Tim and I were most excited about this past Christmas is our Vitamix. We've been testing out various smoothie recipes, some we like, some we still need to refine ;) So today I wanted to share 3 of my favorite recipes so far. There's nothing better than a good smoothie, don't you think?

1. Leafy Greens Smoothie

This is one of my all-time favorite combos because of its simplicity and perfect balance between sweet and salty. Here's what you'll need:

• 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 tablespoon PB2 (powdered peanut butter)
• 1 banana
• 1 cup spinach
• 1 cup kale and chard mix
• 3-4 ice cubes

2. Berry Green Smoothie

This one might not look like much, but the combo between leafy greens and berries makes it taste absolutely amazing! Here's what you'll need:

• 1/2 cup strawberries
• Handful of raspberries (I didn't measure this, but 1/2 cup is probably about right)
• 1 banana
• 1 cup spinach
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 3-4 ice cubes

3. Mighty Mango Smoothie

This mango smoothie is amazing! It ended up with a thicker texture, so it might also be good served like an acai bowl with berries and coconut flakes on top (as I'm writing this, I'm planning my next trip to the grocery store to buy coconut flakes - yum!). Here's what you'll need:

• 2 tablespoons Chia seeds
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1/2-2/3 chopped mango

When I was making these yesterday, beautiful, fluffy snow was falling almost all day. It made me feel a little silly making ice-cold smoothies, but they were certainly a delicious treat, even in the below-freezing temps ;)

What are some of your favorite smoothie recipes? Share them in the comments below!

DIY // Essential Oil Perfume & Cologne

I am beyond excited to share this post with you all today! Ever since I dove into essential oils this past summer, I have been wanting to experiment with creating my own perfume and helping Tim create his own cologne. We finally did it and they turned out amazingly! If you also want to make your own, here are the supplies you'll need:

• 10mL roller bottle (we got ours from Whimsy & Wellness and customized the labels to say "Hers" & "His")
• At least one top note oil, one middle note oil, and one base note oil. If you're not sure which oils are considered top, middle, or base, check out this website.
• Fractionated Coconut Oil (FCO). I love this one.

DIY Essential Oil Perfume

The perfume I made has a citrusy, floral scent with fresh, woodsy undertones. It smells amazing. When I was deciding which oils to use, I took out all of the oils I had that I thought would fit well in a perfume and separated them into base, middle, and top note categories. That allowed me to play around with combinations easily. To test it, I combined one drop of each oil in a small container.

Here are the oils I ended up with:

• Base note: Sandalwood (15 drops)
• Middle note: Cardamom (15 drops)
• Middle note: Lavender (17 drops)
• Middle note: Balance (15 drops)
• Top note: Bergamot (15 drops)

Some websites will tell you to combine your essential oils for your perfume using a certain ratio of base, middle, and top notes. I liked how my fragrance smelled when I used equal drops, but wanted to enhance the floral scent just a bit, so I ended up with equal portions for all oils except Lavender, of which I allocated only 2 additional drops.

Once all of your oils are in the bottle, top it off with FCO and place the roller onto the bottle to seal. It's normal for your oils to separate, just give the bottle a little shake and the oils should combine nicely.

DIY Essential Oil Cologne

Tim wanted his cologne to have an earthy, woodsy spice to it. He was actually able to find the recipe he used right on doTERRA®'s website, but customized it just a bit by adding Sandalwood.

Here is the combination of oils he ended up with:

• Base note: Sandalwood (5 drops)
• Middle note: Clove (10 drops)
• Middle note: White Fir (20 drops)
• Top note: Bergamot (40 drops)
• Top note: Lemon (5 drops)
• Topped off with FCO

To view the original recipe, visit doTERRA's website.

It's one thing to say that we each liked our own roller bottle creations, but we both loved each other's as well! Which is good... I don't want my husband hating my perfume and vice versa ;)

To learn more about essential oils, check out past essential oil blog posts or visit my essential oil education page.

Happy oiling!

Holidays // 2017 New Year's Resolutions

Happy 2017, friends! 2016 taught us a ton - we both grew a lot, especially related to honing what we want out of life and defining our goals for our family. I can't wait to continue working toward those goals in 2017.

New years have always been considered a time to refresh and hit the restart button. 365 more days, 365 more chances. While I'm of the belief that you can start over at any time in the year, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day provide a conscious reminder to hunker down and really define who you are now, who you want to be, where you see your dreams taking you, and what steps you can take to get there.

I think it's common knowledge that you're more likely to stick to your goals or resolutions if you share them, so here goes nothing! Here are my resolutions for 2017 and beyond:

1. Marriage. Tim and I fall more in love with each other with each passing day. We're always having fun together. For us, it matters that we're best friends and that we wouldn't want to confide in anyone else. That doesn't mean we don't have hard days (for whatever reason - external or internal). What it does mean is that we support each other through those hard times and come out even closer. My 2017 resolution for our marriage is to continue putting each other first and to make even more time to adventure and experience new things together.
2. Personal Development - Work. I love to learn and grow. At our yearly reviews at work, we're asked to rate how satisfied we are with our jobs on a scale of 1-10. I've never put a 10 and I don't think I could ever put a 10. Don't get me wrong, I love what I do and I'm blessed with some of the best coworkers. But I could never put a 10 because I'm constantly thinking, "What's next? Where can I expand my knowledge and expertise and help my team do the same? How can I improve upon services?" My resolution for 2017 is to continue developing my knowledge in my field and continue growing my leadership skills.
3. Personal Development - School. The other part of personal development I want to commit to is going back to school for my master's degree. I did some major research in 2016 about programs and universities in our area and still have more research to do. I don't know when I'll be able to go back to school, but I do know going back to school is in my future. I want to do everything I can to advance our family and continue building our network. I truly believe that if I've stopped learning, I need to move on and find another path to continue expanding my knowledge.
4. This Dainty Life. My life has been a whirlwind of ventures. I'm always looking to try new things - some work, some don't. But what has always been a theme in my life is writing, blogging in particular. I've always had a blog in some form - whether or not it was consistently updated is another thing. But there's something different about this blog; I can feel it in my bones. I'm at a point in my life where, although there's still a lot going on, things finally feel settled enough that I can focus on what I'm passionate about in my down time. For me, that's growing this blog. I want to be an educational resource about essential oils and holistic health, provide the cutest DIY projects for you to try at home, and keep friends and family updated about our lives. My resolution for This Dainty Life is to post at least 2 blog posts a week to start and continue growing from there. It won't be easy, but I do know it will be worth it. (Was that too cheesy? I don't think so... I mean, I am writing about my resolutions for goodness sake ;))
5. Buying a Home. Okay, so this one may not fully happen in 2017, although we sure hope it does! We're saving, saving, saving and can't wait to call a house our home. We don't know where it will be or what it will look like yet, but I want to put it out into the universe that this is a major goal for us in the next year or so. We're so excited!
6. Health - barre3. I'm obsessed with barre3. I first tried an unlimited month of classes over summer and truly felt like it changed my life. Unfortunately, it wasn't in our budget at the time to keep attending classes, but I was just able to add it back into our budget and I'm feeling great! The whole body workout it provides leaves me feeling strong and amazing after every single class. And, if I'm being honest, it's nice to get a workout in without having to think about what I'm doing ;) Having a trained instructor tell me what to do is just what I need after a long workday or week. My resolution is to attend classes at least 3x per week.
7. Health - Food. Tim and I do a pretty good job about eating healthy, but also balancing in some sweets and cheat days every now and then. My resolution for 2017 is to continue moving in a direction of 80-90% whole foods and sharing some of my favorite of those recipes on the blog. I'm super excited to use our new Vitamix my mom got us to assist us in this effort!
8. Decrease Screen Time. 2017 is going to be an interesting year balancing all of these resolutions ;) Growing my blog will definitely require screen time, but I also want to decrease screen time in our down time. Less scrolling through social media and watching TV until we fall asleep and more reading, crafting, and adventuring.
9. Grow in Our Faith. Tim and I hold our Catholic faith near and dear to our heart. I want to continue growing in our faith and become more involved with our church in 2017. Tim's mom gave us a book for Christmas called Head & Heart: Becoming Spiritual Leaders for Your Family and I can't wait to dive in!

That's all I have for now! Are you thinking about your resolutions today? I'd love to hear them! Share in the comments below.

In case you were wondering, the amazing planner in the photo above is from InkWell Press. I'm so excited to use it to make 2017 our best year yet!