Crispy Kale Chips

For a few months now, I've been loving the leafy green veggie of {kale}. Although it just looks like romaine lettuce, you can do so much more with it - like for example make chips that are a whooping 30 calories! Double win!

How do I know how many calories they are, you ask? Well, I have been imputing my daily intake on the My Fitness Pal app for the last six days and am really loving it! It's so simple-enter your weight + the weight you want to be and taaadaaa it will give you the exact amount of calories you are allotted each day! Then you can begin: enter everything you eat so that you can either see how far off you are, or you can try to stay within your new calorie count!

For now mine is 1200 a day and to be honest, I have gone over each day- but no worries, every day is a little closer!

Kale Chips
2 to 3 cups of kale (it will shrink down drastically)
pinch of salt/ pepper
2 tsp olive oil
pinch of garlic powder (optional)

1. rinse and chop the kale
2. pat dry
3. place on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil
4. sprinkle spices over kale (you can add any that you like)
5. drizzle olive oil all over & stir around
6. place in a 425 degree oven
7. bake until crispy - make sure to move around on pan to cook both sides

And that's it! Eat it, pack it - whatever you want! They are amazing! Whenever Gabriel travels for work, you can bet I'm eating this for dinner - I still haven't converted him ;)

Sweet Day! Make sure to come back tomorrow for Wedding Wednesday- Bridal Suite edition!

A Day To {Love}

Although February 14th seems hated more than liked, I love Valentine's Day. There is just something special about red, pink and white all over that makes my heart sing.

Yesterday was Valentine's Day at school (since today marks the first day of winter break) and it was a blast! Watching my students laugh and jump over the sweet messages they wrote each other was priceless. Even the boys got into it - I guess at six, pink is still acceptable.

......

Today when we woke up, hubby and I enjoyed a strawberry, blueberry pancake morning. It was so sweet - especially since our handy man (still in renovation mode around here) joined us ;)

Tonight we will be going out to a cozy little spot we first went to while dating.

Whether you love this holiday or not, use it as a day to be thankful for those that you love and that love you!

{Happy Valentine's Day from the Diazes}

Our Wedding Ceremony

This week, I'm going to talk about the ceremony of our wedding. While planning the ceremony, Gabriel and I knew we wanted to keep it traditional christian - minus the church and the alter of course. At first, I was a little hesitant on the idea of not getting married in a church, but when I sat back and thought for a sec, I realized... the "church building" isn't what's important, it's the people in it.

So, under the oak tree it was and God sure joined us there too!

To be honest, from the moment I walked onto the property of the farm (a year before) I felt the Lord's presence there more than ever. There was something about that farm that was so surreal and tranquil.

.....

Our ceremony was held mid afternoon (1pm) on a Sunday. We choose to have our wedding in the middle of the day for several reasons:

a) we love day light
b) we wanted our wedding to end at sunset
c) warmest part of the day

And so it began...

------> look at that hunk right there waiting for his bride ;)

Some extras:
-Verse read: during 3 chord strand demo (Ecclesiastes 4:12)
-Communion was partaken just by bride & groom and My Beloved was played during
-I walked down the isle to How Great Thou Art
- We wrote our own vows

By far, the ceremony was my favorite part.  It was a very intimate time with my hubs, yet shared with those closest to us. I will never forget Lord's presence, peace and blessing over us out there under that tree.

.....

If you have any more questions about our ceremony, don't hesitate to ask! Even though the ceremony was my favorite, it was one of the hardest parts to plan. Don't let it overwhelm you. A few months after the wedding, you won't remember half the stuff you were worrying about. 

-----

 "Though one person may be overpowered by another, two people can resist one opponent. A triple-braided rope is not easily broken." Ecclesiastes 4:12

Want some more of Wedding Wednesday?
Story behind my dress
Bridesmaid Attire
Tips on Registering
Our Wedding Flowers 

Renovations Currently

If I told you our house was in a complete state of chaos, I thought you might not believe me.

Are you a believer now?

Here's what's going on... the kitchen had to be taken out and put into the living room in order to lay the floor under the cabinets. The washer and dryer have made their way to the dining room. The office has become the pantry and the guest bath has been emptied.

How do you like the floor? We are loving how they look with the wall colors.

I can't wait for winter break to get here at the end of the week so I can work on getting our little house back into a home.

Up Next?
Our bedroom tile
Our bathroom redo
Laundry room tile
Guest bathroom vanity/ toilet
Baseboards
Window moldings
Living room lighting
Paint

Mhhhhhm. I can see the finish line from here.

How has your week been thus far? 

Don't forget to pop back in tomorrow for Wedding Wednesday. I'll be sharing the details on our ceremony.

Have a blessed day!

HF4F

It's been a while since I've linked up with High Five for Friday. This week has flown by! I am really looking forward to next week's winter break. It's almost funny calling February's break here in Miami, "winter break". We have been enjoying a lot of sunny beach weather lately. I have high hopes of spending some of this break at the ocean- let's see what happens.

Top 5:
1. Bought some new spring nail polish colors!
2. Caught up on some reading out on the golf course while hubby was practicing.
3. Soothe sailing in renovations- we are on day 8.
4. Got to spend  good quality time with my hubby after some long work days.
5. Had our first Secret Valentine exchange today at school - look what I walked in to :)

I am so looking forward to the weekend- tonight we have a date night planned and other family/friend festivities throughout the weekend!

Have a sweet weekend :) Enjoy the weather!