Nine Favorite Things…

Nine Favorite Things | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

{above: vanilla bean iced coffee}

Hey, hey! Happy April! Have the flowers started to burst up out of the ground where you are yet? Over here it’s still pretty much looks like winter, but it’s OK, because inside I am surrounding myself with all the flowers I can get my hands on…okOK in reality they’re just a bunch of edible flowers (because I’m obsessed), and some slightly droopy tulips, but still, I’ll take em!

I don’t know about you guys, but I’m pretty excited April is here. Or wait, I am excited, but then I also wish time would slow down! Anyone feel the same? With April comes longer days, new produce (spring strawberries and heirloom tomatoes), and Easter! I have a lot of fun stuff planned for this month. Easter recipes will be showing up in full force starting tomorrow (I’m talking appetizers, sides, desserts, brunch, the whole thing!). After that it’s Mexican Cinco de Mayo all the way…which yes, I have already started planning for, it’s probably one of my favorite “foodie” holidays. <–get ready it’s gonna be good! Taking a break from recipes today I am back to sharing some of my favorite Sunday reads! Hope you enjoy, and see ya tomorrow for a serious appetizer platter!

1. As I mentioned, the weather here in Colorado has not been very spring like. Most years I’m okay with this, only because I know snow in March, April, and even May is just what you get when you live in the mountains. BUT this year it’s really bugging me. For some reason I am just craving sunshine, flowers, and green grass like no other. The one thing that has really helped to brighten up my days, and even my mood, has honestly been having some fresh flowers in the house. Whether they’re edible and used for cooking, or the real deal sitting on the corner of my desk, they all make me happy. The only flowers we seem to get up here are roses, tulips, gerber daisies, and if I’m lucky some chamomile, but I absolutely LOVED reading this post on 16 flowers to try for spring. My two favorites are the Straw Flowers and the striped Japanese Ranunculi.

2. Staying active is a big part of my everyday routine. Everyday I get up and head out the door for a hike, it’s one of my favorite things I do for myself, and honestly, it’s when I come up with my very best and most creative ideas. I’m definitely a cardio kind of girl, but recently I’ve been wanting to try to incorporate some strength training into my routine. As embarrassed as I am to admit it, I found this article on Kendal Jenner’s 11 Minute Workout routine pretty awesome. I did the workout yesterday and thought it was the perfect quick hit of strength training…which is great for me because, let’s be honest, I don’t really want to do more than 11 minutes. On this same topic, I’m super curious about trying out boxing. Cait (my brother’s girlfriend) took a class the other day and said it was really fun. I love that it’s high energy. It would be great to find a class to try. Does anyone else box as part of their workout? Dying to know your thoughts on this!

3. My favorite spring style inspiration: classic jean shorts, flowy bohemian dressesmini skirt + sneakers, massive flares, and spring braids.

4. Four of my most used kitchen items this month: these pretty glasses (for this smoothie and an upcoming recipe!), spiralizer (for this noodle bowl), this citrus juicer (for these tacos), and Melissa Clark’s new cookbook Dinner: Changing the Game. <–if you guys do not have this book, GET IT. I am in love, and just like the tagline suggests, it totally changes the dinner game.

5. New video: Green Goddess Zucchini Pasta with Fried Halloumi…aka spring pasta!

6. On a more personal topic, I dealt with some online haters/bullies this week, and you know, I just don’t get people who want to tear other people down. Typically, I keep these things to myself, but this last experience just left a really bad taste in my mouth. Maybe it was because it came from someone whom I thought to be an empowering person, or the fact that there was zero truth in what was being said, or the fact that someone could even say such things without ever speaking one single word to me. It really just sits with me in such a bad way. Normally I can shrug these types of things off, but this one just got to me, and I can’t lie, it completely ruined my day/night. To move forward, I actually came across all these quotes on haters. A lot of them came from Taylor Swift and can I just say, that girl is inspiringly smart. Her words brought me outta my funk. And with that…

“you never look good trying to make someone else look bad”

“dear haters, I have so much more for you to be mad at, just be patient”

“they don’t like you but they still find the time to watch everything you do”

“SHAKE IT OFF” ?

7. On a more positive note, you guys seem to be loving my weekly Facebook Live posts! I’m thinking it might be really fun to do a live Q&A. Would you guys be into that? If so, what kind of questions would you like answered? Leave any that you have in the comments!

8. Favorite pin of the week: concrete kitchen counter tops <–LOVE

9. This week’s dinners: 15 Minute Garlic Butter Ramen NoodlesTuscan Tuna Sandwich10-Minute Creamy, Buttery Herbed BucatiniOne-Pan Spring Quinoa BakeHawaiian Hula Pork Fajitas with Pineapple Slaw + Coconut RiceSuper Green Pea and Asparagus Burrata Pizza.

Strawberry Coconut Carrot Cake with Mascarpone Buttercream | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

{one of my favorite photos from Friday’s Strawberry Coconut Carrot Cake}

Check out all the past Favorites posts here.