Juicers 101...

I've had a lot of people ask me advice on juicers so here's my two cents in case you're on the fence on doing something wonderful for your body.

There are so many kinds to choose from and a lot also depends on what exactly you will be juicing. If you're interested in  juicing citrus (I would just buy a citrus juicer), making nut butters, making coconut milk or just plain juicing fruits & veggies there's one out there for you. 
I started out with an Omega juicer years ago and it did the job and didn't break the bank. (I pretty much stick to the basics on juicing...nothing fancy and out of the ordinary.) You can find these at Target, Macy's and a slew of other places.

• On the light side so it moves around a little when juicing
• Smaller opening which = taking time to cut fruit/veggies
• Doesn't come with a juice receptacle = have to place your glass under spout
• Doesn't come with a brush to clean the blade but any dish brush will do
• Using the paper filters you can purchase extra makes clean up easier

Here's what we use today

Breville Juice Fountain Elite

We found ours at Williams-Sonoma not sure if anyone else carries them but here's why we love it

• It has two speeds
• Extra wide feed tube-no need to pre cut your fruits & veggies
• Juice is dispensed in pitcher which is nice when making a glass for you and your sweetie
• Comes with brush for cleaning and mesh basket filters the pulp-no paper filters 
• Commercial quality without the commercial cost
• It extracts 30% more juice than traditional models

Hope this helps in your decision making-These are the only two I can give an honest opinion on so Cheers to Juicing For Life!

Fashion Friday by Jack...

As soon as Jack came down the stairs this morning I couldn't help but make him my Fashion Friday. 

Keep in mind that his class is going to Seven Lakes High School this morning to see a performance of Gustav Holst's "The Planets" and their school colors are orange and navy.

And no I didn't pick this out for him...

Love this kid.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

Throwback Thursday-Life During Baseball...

A friend/ex-teammate of Mark's came across this article of the Rockies winning the Hall of Fame game in 2002 and I wanted to share a slice of life during baseball! Funny that I can remember this like it was yesterday...

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Tuesday, July 30, 2002Rockies win Hall of Fame Game

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The Associated Press        COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Mark Little had five hits and four RBIs as the Colorado Rockies set records for runs and hits in the Hall of Fame Game, beating the Chicago White Sox 18-10 Monday.
        In the 56th annual major league exhibition game at Doubleday Field, the Rockies surpassed the previous mark of 16 runs scored by the Cincinnati Reds in 1953 and matched by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1997.
        Colorado got 24 hits to break Los Angeles' record of 21 set that same year.
        The teams also made a trade Monday, with the White Sox sending catcher Sandy Alomar Jr. to Colorado for a minor league pitcher.
        Ben Petrick, Greg Norton and Terry Shumpert homered for the Rockies, who made their first appearance in the Hall of Fame Game.
        Jason Dallaero went 2-for-3 with two home runs, three runs scored and four RBIs for the White Sox, who fell to 1-7-1 in Cooperstown.
        Little had the first five-hit game in Hall of Fame Game history, going 5-for-6 with a home run. Bryan Peck added four hits, including a homer, as the Rockies scored 13 runs in the seventh and ninth innings combined.
        At 2 hours, 51 minutes, it was also the longest Hall of Fame Game in history. At-bats for major league regulars were scarce. Colorado's Todd Helton, and Chicago's Frank Thomas and Magglio Ordonez were among the numerous starters who sat out.
        Paul Konerko was 1-for-3 for the White Sox before leaving in the seventh inning after getting hit in the left elbow by a pitch from Chris Buglovsky.
        Buglovsky got the win despite allowing six runs — four earned — in three innings.
        Jason Stumm gave up six runs in one-plus inning for the loss.
        The 28 runs broke the record of 24 set by the Dodgers and San Diego Padres in '97, and the 35 hits combined established a new mark.
     

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Looking forward to the day when the Spartans will have the opportunity to play in the Cooperstown Dreams Park Tourney when they are twelve.

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Mark was back hangin' with the boys of summer for a night...can you name the two guys in the picture with him? I'll give you an atta boy if you can name them both?

NILS...

I saw the NILS at Ikea and I made it my own! 

I don't like wasted space and I always try to make it as useful as I can. I have this black console table that is behind my couch and I thought the space underneath it needed something...didn't know what but something that was unexpected and functional.

This was about two years ago when I was browsing through Ikea and I saw these stools that might work.

I wasn't really crazy about the legs (Ikea's furniture is too modern for me) but I did want something that was clean and not fussy. But I thought for the price it wasn't bad and the  cover is removable so I could take it off and make it my own by having an L embroidered on it. Done Deal!

So I bought two of them and placed them under the table.  Believe it or not they actually have come in handy multiple times and I'm still loving them there after two years! They also blend in nicely with my other furniture that doesn't have an ounce of modern in it. 

Try It Tuesday...

I can't even believe that Memorial Day is coming upon us this weekend. How can this be? 

So I figured I needed to post this awesome snack that's great for Memorial Day (or whenever really) that even my kids love.

It's not the most healthiest but there's worse right?

I had this waiting for my kiddos when they came home from school (yes they are still in school) yesterday.

So all you need are three simple ingredients which are

Sour Cream of your choice

Brown Sugar of your choice

Strawberries

I have to apologize because I don't have exact measurements to give you.

According to how much you want to make just put your sour cream in a bowl and add the brown sugar until your taste buds tell you to stop! It's that easy and that good. I didn't reinvent the wheel with this one...my mom has made it for years but it's a nice change from the cream cheese and marshmallow cream fruit dip!

I put this dip into star condiment holders with a striped napkin for the kids to get them excited about Memorial Day weekend!

How are you getting ready for Memorial Day Weekend?

Try It Tuesday

♥Her Mudder was a Mudder...♥

I celebrated my 11th Mother's Day yesterday and they just keep getting better!

Coffee in bed, scavenger hunt, lox & bagels, bike ride (with all my babies), a dip in the pool (...well if you know me at all, you know that I never dip until the temperature gets above 95˚) equals a perfect day with my family! 

Hope all of you mudders had the perfect day with your loved ones.

Is it really Monday already?

Power To The She...

@kmlrunner...I did it!

Last night this happened!

I ran my first official 5k and I'm not sure I'll run another one!

With one minute to spare and dark skies over us we made it to the race site just in time.  Yes I know it's only a 5k...but to me it was like running a marathon! It was a beautiful run and I enjoyed it even though I was sucking major air at the finish line. At that point I was thinking I would rather be in a serious vinyasa flow on my mat sweating my arse off. That thing that's called a runner's high...I've only had it once and it was during my training. Not sure if I'll feel it again...

I don't know if my Nike app is incorrect or the peeps that laid out the race course were playing a sick little game called, "let's make the 3.1 mile race a 3.68 mile race" but, I didn't train for a 3.68 mile race. I don't know if anyone else has experienced this trickery but I was not prepared for the extra distance (especially at night!!!). Maybe I should have trained a couple of times during the evening to better prepare for this one?

Either way, It's a good feeling checking this race off my list.

   

Thanks to my friend Karen for motivating me and putting me on a running program that I stuck with! Thanks to my friend Rebecca for actually getting us to sign up and to Marcie and Kara for racing too!

Power to the She ladies!

Rockin' It Out...

Love this look for a night out on the town. I think you can put a gray sweatshirt with any style to make it your own! #addictedtograysweatshirts

Rockin' It Out by charitylittle featuring forever 21

L Agence hoody
$195 - avenue32.com

BLANKNYC faux leather shorts
nordstrom.com

Sam edelman shoes
heels.com

Forever 21
forever21.com

Stella Dot leather studded bracelet
stelladot.com/charitylittle

Stella Dot anchor jewelry
stelladot.com/charitylittle

Stella Dot bracelet bangle
stelladot.com/charitylittle

Stella Dot silver jewelry
stelladot.com/charitylittle

Stella dot jewelry
stelladot.com/charitylittle

Try It Tuesday...

My lasagna roll-ups were a huge hit last week for dinner!

 I wanted to have another meal that was meat free that everyone would enjoy. So out with the beef and in with the spinach. 

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Here's your ingredients:

1 box of lasagna noodles

1 box of frozen spinach, thawed and drained

(I didn't use the whole box...didn't want to overwhelm everyone so I used about 1/2 of it)

1 1/4 c of cottage cheese

1/2 c parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2-1/4 tsp (to your liking) oregano

1/2-1/4 tsp (to your liking) basil

nutmeg (I used my micro plane and grated a little in my mixture)

mozzarella cheese to sprinkle on top if you so desire

1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce

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Preheat your oven to 375 and spray a baking dish with non-stick cooking spray

Just like lasagna, spread a little sauce on the bottom of dish

Cook your lasagna noodles-I cooked the whole box because more than likely you'll have a few that break

While those are cooking mix together your cottage cheese, cheese,  spinach, about a cup of your spaghetti sauce and all of your spices

drain noodles and roll out on a cutting board or any flat surface

Spread mixture (I didn't measure just spooned it on there) on each noodle like this

Roll up and place in dish seam side down. Do this for each noodles and pour your remaining sauce over noodles.

I did 1/2 with cheese on top and 1/2 without

Bake for about 30 minutes.  Cover with foil for about 20 minutes and then remove and bake for an additional 10 or until cheese is melted!

Ole...

We had a great weekend...full of sports as usual! 7 on 7 Friday night and then 4 baseball games the rest of the weekend. We did manage to get a few things done around the house and also sneak in a 'rita between games on Sunday to celebrate Cinco de Mayo!

Have a great week!