Cinnamon Roll Overnight Oats

Hello loves!!!

I don't know about you guys but freaking LIFE gets straight up 

C. R. A. Z. Y. at times and right now we are in the 

deep depths of f*cking, legit CRAZY!!

Even though school is virtual right now, we are preparing for hybrid to start up and to

just have kids back on campus in general.

Go ahead add on the upcoming wedding hoopla which is approaching

SUPER fast mixed in with the day to day life grind, and you have the recipe for a REAL shit show.

Maintaining my sanity is a challenge to say the LEAST (just keeping it real, so you don't think I'm sugar coating shit like Willy Wonka over here) so I love when I can be prepared ahead of time.

Enter OVERNIGHT OATS!

Overnight oats are such an AMAZING invention and time saver. They were thrown together in only a few minutes and voila morning comes and those beauties were ready to be enjoyed!

I have made other versions before but this recipe mixed things up a bit and I was 

truly intrigued. 

They did NOT disappoint! I seriously think they tasted like a YUMMY cinnamon roll!

Give them a try if you want to save yourself some time in the morning

and basically dominate at life for that day! ;)

INGREDIENTS:

2/3 cup plain Greek yogurt

1 1/3 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp cinnamon

pinch of salt

2 tbsps chia seeds

2 tbsp maple syrup

1 cup rolled oats

sliced almonds

DIRECTIONS:

1.  In a large bowl, mix together the yogurt and almond milk until well blended.

2. Add the remaining ingredients and mix altogether.

3. Portion the oats into jars with lids and refrigerate overnight.

4. Enjoy either hot or cold with sprinkled sliced almonds on top.

The Great Crush

 Did someone say GRAPE GREAT crush?!

Guys....if you live in AZ, like literally anywhere in AZ you have to and I mean
 ABSO-FREAKING-LUTELY

have to make a trip to beautiful Southern Arizona to the 

CUTEST, FUNKIEST, BEST VIBE WINERY 

that your little toes will ever have the pleasure of visiting!!!!

AZ Hops & Vines is a women owned and operated winery in Sonoita, AZ and it's by far

the most unique winery experience you will EVER encounter.

From the moment you pull up you can seriously legit feel the funky-ness.

From all of the cute vintage conversation areas made out of pallets, the vintage metal tables all mismatched in the most amazing way ever, to Frank - the Winery Peacock, ducks (who put on an x-rated show), goats etc. There literally is something for everyone.

Walk inside and it gets EVEN better. First off....the STAFF!

Never have I ever, just immediately vibed with women who are not already your friends

like I have at this FANTABULOUS spot. 

(because let's be honest...women can be TOUGH)

Shannon & Alexandra are our regulars who take care of us, but honestly

you can't go wrong. Everyone is flipping WONDERFUL!

Oh and make sure you take a much needed "break" in their

SUPER eclectic BATHROOM. (you will NEED WANT a selfie, I pinky promise)

I got way off track telling you how much I LOVE this winery that I didn't get to the point of this post.

So last year we went to the GREAT crush and had such an amazing time

that we decided to make it an ANNUAL gig.

No, you aren't going to be drinking the wine everyone's toes are in....don't be GROSS!

But, you will have a crazy ass experience that you don't get to have

every day! So go ahead LIVE a LITTLE!

You will NOT regret it.

Obviously this year was a little different due to Covid but it was still

the same amazing time we had last year.

Live music, food trucks, beautiful scenery, amazing wine.....

What are you waiting for!!!!???

Here's a little bit of our day:

Here she is...my absolute FAV...

Shannon, one of the Wine Goddess Owners

So yeah as you can tell the day completely SUCKED!!! 

LOLOLOLOL

No it was literally picture perfect!

Thank you to Arizona Hops & Wines for continually

bringing the best freaking EVENTS ever!!

Seriously if you need something different to do for the day...pack a picnic and head out there

you will NOT be disappointed!

And tell them I sent you! ;)

(no I don't get paid to promote them...I just abso-freaking-lutely LOVE them and now more than ever you need to LIFT people up! OH, and don't be JELLY, I am a WINE CLUB MEMBER...no big deal!)

Here is their website: https://www.azhopsandvines.com/

The Billie

 Ok ok guys! 

I jumped on the razor VIA mail service band wagon. 

Um, one because quite frankly I do LOVE the convenience, two because

I was INTRIGUED and wanted to see if this little baby lived up to all the HYPE and three because

freaking razors are EXPENSIVE!!!

Not only are those little beeoooches expensive BUT they never give this HAIRY Italian lady a 

SMOOTH shave that lasts!

So I thought, what the HELL, I'll give them a try!

The first thing I will say is they are marketing geniuses. Like mother effing GENIUSES because 

let's face it, they know their demographic and they KNOW damn well their demographic 

likes pretty things.

Their packaging is pretty and eco friendly so really what more does a girl want?!! (uh, yeah I hear ya, a CLOSE, nik free shave!...I'm getting there)

    I  kinda suck because I never took a pic when I first got it!!! So yeah, this is LEGIT mine, don't you use those judging eyes on me! ;)

The starter kit comes with the Handle, the Magic Holder (that's right peeps it's MAGIC) & 2 Blades

I'm not going to LIE, I kinda love that "magic" holder because it keeps my razor

out of the way and nice and neat for my OCD heart.

(They have a few different colors available for the handle I did DREAM POP because I felt like living on the edge that day and TBH I LOVED the name!)

Are you READY for this??!!!

$9 + FREE SHIPPING

Like what in the actual EFF U CEE KAY!???

I didn't believe it either but the SHIT is LEGIT!!!

I am in LOVE with this razor! I have not cut myself ONCE!

I have been using it for about 3 months now. 

The other really nice feature of this automatic delivery service is YOU can personalize how often you need the blade refills delivered.

I'll tell you that I was going to do every other month, but I switched to every 3 months because I don't need them as often.

It was super easy to adjust my delivery so that was a HUGE perk to me. I didn't want 

to have issues when I didn't need more blades.

So the refills come in a 4 pack and it's ALWAYS free SHIPPING! 

Holler!!!

  Here is how the blades are packaged. All nice and neat with their little protective cover in 4 sleeves. 

I love that the packaging tells you to please recycle me or compost me. 

Adorbs!

So Long PRICKLES!! LOL

Love it!

Anywhoooooo I think it was TOTALLY worth it and I am going to keep on 

having those beauties delivered to my door. One less trip to the store = SCORE!

Go check out their site! My Billie

They have some other fun products as well. (dry shampoo, lip balms, skin wipes and more)

I haven't tried any of their other stuff yet, but it's definitely on my to do list after this wedding.

(hellllooooo spending FREEZE right now till this amazing day is over!) LOL  ;)

Baked Chicken (or Ground Turkey) Tacos

Well hello loves!!! It's been a HOT minute 2 months since I put a recipe on here so I figured it is about TIME! Not to mention Tuesday's dinner was freaking BOMB!  But peeps I have to be HONEST, I am NOT 100% comfortable in cooking effing Mexican food when I am literally ENGAGED to a Mexican!!! (SMH) I don't need that judgement, LOL!

That man can cook me some Mexican food.... like make you drool Mexican food. So I kinda hate that I no longer want to make my skinny "white" girl Mexican food, but let's face it, A LOT MOST of the time I'm home wayyyyyy sooner than him. The choice is make Mel's Mexican food when I'm craving it or no Mexican food. 

UGH! The struggle! You guessed it, I cave because girlfriend has NEEDS. ;)  We have been doing soooo flipping good with our eating and working out these last 3 months, so I'm very conscientious of the meals I plan out. Not because we are starving ourselves....hell NO! (I LOVE to eat!) Honestly we are feeling soooo much better with our eating habits and we both are in such good shape, it's CRAZY. The beauty of these little tacos though is that they fit in line with our meal plan we follow. (if any of you are doing portion fix this is the recipe for you) 

Super simple, super yummy, and NOT completely fall off the wagon bad for you!!! SCORE!

Give it a try and let me know how you like them. I have made them both ways shredded chicken and ground turkey and both are AWESOME! 

Oh and my hot Mexican freaking LOVED them!!! He wants them EVERY Tuesday in honor of Taco Tuesday! #LookAtMe #NoBigDeal

INGREDIENTS:

Chicken Breasts (cooked in crock pot and shredded)

1 tsp olive oil

1 jar of salsa (I used Pace Picante Sauce because I prefer that over chunky stuff)

1 packet of low sodium taco seasoning

1 box of Taco Shells (I used the stand and stuff because they are soooo much more convenient)

Shredded cheese (your choice)

Shredded lettuce

DIRECTIONS:

1. For the chicken ones I cook the chicken in my crock pot all day 

2. When it's done I shred it and then add the salsa and taco packet, mix well

3. Spray a glass baking dish with nonstick spray and then fill the shells with the mixture (if you are following the portion fix, you can use your RED container to measure the shell filling)

4. Top each taco with cheese (use BLUE container if following the portion fix)

5. Bake at 375 for 10 - 15 minutes until cheese is melted and browned.

6. Top with shredded lettuce

YUM!

Two tacos count as 1 yellow, 1 red, 1 blue, 1 green

Enjoy!!!! Don't forget to let me know how you like them!!! :)

Shoes, Dresses, Decorations......oh MY!!

 Ok like SERIOUSLY.....

how is it September 2nd already!?
You won't hear me complain about that part....not one little bit because 

hellllllloooooo

FALL!
Pumpkin EVERYTHING!

Don't even bother judging me because you do you boo! 

I LOVE LOVE pumpkin coffee, pumpkin scones, pumpkin candles. 

eeeeeekkkkkk!

Guys I wish I could totally get down with decorating for Fall right now

BUT even pumpkins can't keep my mind preoccupied because

it's like LEGIT the month before our BIG day!

It's crazy to me how QUICKLY that came.

Like WTF?!

So now my skinny ass is scrambling to get all our goodies put together and get our

asses in GEAR!

It's unbelievable how much work goes into a venue when YOU are doing 

the decorating and the venue is literally just the location.

It's going to take some MAN power to get all of our "shit"   beautiful decor to the venue. 

No, seriously this wedding is like a DREAM.

I just did my final alterations on my dress a couple weeks ago. 

I. CAN'T. EVEN. 

I've been working my ass off every week, 5 days a week to make sure 

I do that dress justice! LOL

(fingers crossed I'm successful!)

My shoes just came in the mail and I am in LOVE but I think my favorite part of this WHOLE ensemble (besides the dress) is 

the absolutely PERFECT clutch I ordered.

My aunt has a fabulous photo idea in mind to really accentuate all of the pieces.

Think antique settee and then let your imagination run WILD!

(I can't give too much away...my guy reads this little outlet of mine) 

All of our vendors are secured and we are going to have an AMAZING videographer which 

I can NOT wait to see what he produces.

Rings are ordered. Officiant was proposed to. Photographer all lined up. DJ done.

One of our close friends is making a special table top for us. 

I "think" we have it all ready to go.

Now it's the little details of assembling everything so my decorating team has

ALL that they need for that day without any confusion.

The little details of this day have my heart just pitter pattering.

I really think that this wedding is going to be an absolute BLAST. A GORGEOUS, fabulously delicious, BLAST. A celebration of a love story in the making with ONLY those friends and family closest to us and who have been our biggest supporters.

This time around is ALL about us! Selfish???

Nah, REAL. HONEST. UNAPOLOGETIC.

There's something so refreshing KNOWING what you want this time around. 

If you have been listening to our podcast or you follow me on social media you 

know I've been through some "stuff".

Gone is the people pleasing Melanie.

Toodles BITCH....byyyyeeeeeee!

Independent, Strong, Zero Fcks Melanie is the new Bitch in Town. LOL

On that note it's time for me to go brew up a cup of pumpkin spice and kick my heels up.

Happy September!!!!

(and because I can't not have pics on my post here is a pic of my dress fitting crew and me and my love because well he's adorbs and needs a shout out for how amazing he's doing in our fitness challenge group!)