Hello world!!!  April 22nd is one of my very favorite days every single year!  Today is the day my sweet mom was born.

Somebody look at that smile!!!

It also happens to be Earth Day, which is so symbolic.

Anna Beard loves flowers, trees, gardening, window boxes, animals, mostly squirrels, dogs and birds, a good breeze, the beach, the mountains and everything else Mother Earth has to offer.  My mom is the sweetest, kindest, most helpful, loving, caring, loyal, beautiful on the inside and out…this list could go on forever!!!  So it is always a joy to throw her a birthday party and make her feel as special as she makes everyone else feel.

I meaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan….how adorable are my parents!?  Hello fountain of youth!

And y’all know I love an excuse to cook for my loved ones!

Today on the menu was a lovely spring salad:

https://pin.it/hxn76b4wlwuljs

Fried Okra from my new Faberware Air Fry:

I put the air fryer on 400 for 7 minutes a batch, lightly tossed whole okra in 1 tbsp avocado oil and shook the fryer basket every two minutes then tossed in sea salt!

These super savory sweet potato waffles:

Boil, remove skin and mash 2 sweet potatoes (or get the microwave kind to save time. Toss this and the rest of the ingredients into a food processor

1/2 can unsweetened coconut milk (I use Trader Joe’s)

1 cup cashews (I use roasted and salted)

3 tbsp 4th & Heart original ghee

3 eggs

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 sea salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 tsp Trader Joe’s Everything but the Bagel seasoning

1 tsp garlic powder

Blend until combined and use spray coconut oil to grease waffle iron, cooks in 5-7. Let cool completely then package in a baggie and lay flat in the freezer.  Reheat in toaster, once on highest setting then once again on lowest to make sure the center is fully cooked.

And, the easiest, most amazing salmon that I can’t stop making:

https://pin.it/xhe7v5zuhzcdnu

http://nestingwithgrace.com/favorite-healthy-dinner/

Somebody look at this feast!

After lunch we sang, blew out candles and made wishes:

And ate the most delicious little sweet potato blondies!!!

https://pin.it/xttawab3ghhrc2

And also, can you guys EVEN with these new plates and serving dishes from Anthropologie!?!  Wait, what??? What did you say???? Sorry, my dining room just got a lot louder (bahahahahahahaha, I am so funny to me), you’re going to have to speak up! I love bright colors and bold prints, I am so here for this!

Then we celebrated with cards, gifts and my mom’s favorite…flowers!

Then we enjoyed this Earth Day/Birthday on my cozy little front porch!  We told stories and snuggled and took all the cutest family pics!

Overall it was the living best day with the OGB’s:

I literally can’t even with this pic!  I just love my little family so much, can’t wait to celebrate mom and Kelly for Mother’s Day…I’m already menu and flower planning!

This month overall has just been really amazing.  I have been cooking up a storm and keeping it so interesting.  I have been trying all the new grocery stores and gasp, actually shopping for myself instead of InstaCarting!  Just look at all this yumminess!

I’ve also had all of the dates with Ben!!!

We can’t take a good pic to save our lives but it has been so nice spending alllllllll the time together!

I’ve also gotten so much family time…and it’s been so quality I don’t really have many pics!

Jenny and I have had so much QT together and literally a million dates this month!

These last three pics are of a foot detox we went and did…and it as EVERYTHING!!!  It was so fun, but very spa like which doesn’t match with our loud, laughter filled dates…we felt it right away and couldn’t stop laughing!

We were only shushed twice, so victory…we will def go again!  Look at all this fun!

Then we spent the rest of the day together indulging my newly found green thumb

Looking for paint swatches for my mini-reno

And cooking the night away and playing with Baby Tatum!!!

Tatum is just the sweetest little nugget.

It remains to be seen whether this video will work yet, so if you see a black box of nothing…it didn’t work! Hahaha!

My mom has also been helping me get my thumb a little greener.  She helped me plant these gorgeous flowers from my client Camber..

And she helped me start an herb garden!!!

We’ve got basil, rosemary and cilantro!!!!  I love all of this getting back to nature stuff…I am a self professed “Indoor Girl” but something inside of me is dying to dig in dirt and be the hippie that I know is in here!  I’m feeling so grateful everyday for all that I have and all of the people that I get to share it with.  Mom!!!  Happy birthday!!!  I love you so much that it hurts!  And Mother Earth, happy day to you too!  I love you all…see y’all next week!

By the by…I’ve lost 61 pounds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Eating healthy is working!!!  Time to make some more beautiful food! Xoxo