Recipes We LOVE - Ginger Tomato Salmon with coconut jasmin rice

I am constantly looking for new recipes to try out and My local Publix supermarket has become my new go to source for some inspiration. I am not the best at cooking so finding recipes that are simple are my only hope. ( Gigi took all the cooking skills). I have been loving Salmon lately and I usually just throw it in the oven with some salt and pepper along with some roasted veggies but I think my husband can agree that we need some variety.   I tried a sample of this recipe and immediately fell in love and had to recreate it myself.  Its so simple and delicious that you must give it a try! Hope you enjoy it. you can find the recipe on Publix's Website HERE

Ginger Tomato - Salmon

Ingredients:

2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons ginger spice paste
1 cup chicken stock 
1 cup coconut milk
1 1/2 lb salmon fillets, skin removed
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 (14.5-oz) can petite diced tomatoes, drained
1/4 cup pre-sliced green onions 

Steps

1. Chop garlic. Preheat large sauté pan on medium-high 2-3 minutes. Place garlic, ginger, stock, and coconut milk in pan; bring to a boil. Meanwhile, season salmon on both sides with salt and pepper (wash hands).
2. Add tomatoes and salmon to sauce, then reduce heat to medium-low; cook 8-10 minutes, basting fish with sauce occasionally, or until salmon is 145°F (or opaque and separates easily). Place salmon and sauce on rice; sprinkle with green onions and serve.

         

                                                                                            Coconut Jasmin Rice

Ingredients

1 cup jasmine rice

1 1/4 cups chicken stock

3/4 cup coconut milk

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1/4 cup pre-sliced green onions

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 

Steps:

1. Place in medium saucepan: rice, stock, coconut milk, and oil; bring to a boil.
2. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer rice 18-20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender. Fluff rice with fork; stir in green onions and salt. Serve.

The coconut rice is so delicious but if you don't have time to go through this step you can always substitute some instant brown rice. My favorite is Uncle Ben's 90 second Whole grain rice bags.

I hope you guys enjoyed this post and definitely check out Publix's Apron recipes to find some other great meals

xoxo

Elle

SEPHORA' GIVE ME SOME LIP KIT

Hello beauties!

I went to sephora the other day and came across this awesome lip kit. The 'Give me some lip" kit comes with 6 sephora lip favorites in perfect pinks and natural nudes! I absolutely love this kit because you can create so many different looks. I also love that these are trial/travel size so they easily fit in your clutch! This kit also makes for a great gift for any of your girlfriends. In my case I got a few for the holidays. For $25.00 you get all these high end brands to try. There is a color choice for every complexion on here and you can even mix them together to get your perfect shade! I am more of a nude lip girl so my absolute favorite is the Laura Mercier gloss! its the most perfect nude that will not wash you out! I cant wait to experiment with some of the darker colors for the fall season!

Please let us now if you've tried any and which is your favorite!

xoxo

Elle

Forever21 finds!

Hello beauties!

I was browsing online to get inspiration for a fall wardrobe. Forever 21 has come out with pretty nice pieces for fall/holiday season! Cute cocktail dresses for those holiday parties, nice chunky sweaters and coats! Below are some of the items that I'm loving right now.
You can find these pieces at forever21.com under the new arrivals tab.

Happy Shopping!

Gigi

Gigi's Birth Story

Hello beauties,

Finding out I was pregnant was the most amazing, exciting and scary feeling I ever experienced ! I was so happy to know I was pregnant but so worried and scared at the same time.
Not sure why I felt so emotional, everything made me feel like crying.. but then all just felt like it was meant to be.

I have to say I had an easy pregnancy. No morning sickness! yes I was one of the lucky ones to eat and eat and didn't feel like running to the bathroom.
I gained a total of 30 lbs. My pre-pregnancy weight was 115 lbs, my weight gained was not consistent one month I gained 5 pounds and another not even half a pound! Gained most of my weight my first trimester.
Being this my first baby everything was new and scary, thinking about the delivery got me stressed out and nervous! I just kept thinking .. 9 months to get prepared, I can do it!

Pregnancy was smooth.. all the tests came back OK and so far no complications with it. So I was happy.
I did everything I could to change my diet and eating habits (not that I had bad habits).  I wanted to treat my body the best way possible to give my baby the best nutrition.
I tried to eat organic as much as I could although it could get pricey! I ate lots of veggies and fruits.. I also added quinoa to my diet. Quinoa is a grain packed with vitamins and protein.
The ultimate goal was to have a healthy baby!

9 months came and went at my 39 week appointment I was 2 cm and 60% effaced.. I was excited to know that my body was working it's magic and that my baby will soon be with me, although I had not felt any contractions, I was hoping soon my body would work on it.

My due date July 12th came and nothing happened.. I felt disappointed but I knew that lots of women never have their babies on their due date and prayed that on the following days I would start having contractions and avoid an induction.

I went to the hospital 4 days later as I felt some discharge, I was not sure if my water broke so I called my doctor and was advised to go to labor and delivery.

Once at the hospital the nurse confirmed that I had a "rapture" and that they will have to break my water and stay at the hospital. Once they broke my water I got an IV and they gave my Pitocin to start the contractions. Everything happened so fast.. I was about to be induced!

Pitocin worked pretty quickly.. I started to feel the contractions and the pain was getting worse and worse. I was able to get my epidural at 3 cm and it felt amazing! From that point on no pain. I was able to sleep and relax.

I was pretty scare to get the epidural, I read so many horror stories about it.. but to be honest all I felt was a pinch and then i could feel the medicine going down my legs.. It felt like warm water running to my veins.. the rest is history.

I was in labor for a total of 22 hours.. I started pushing at 10:00 PM and had my baby the next morning at 6:15 am.
I pushed for hours but the doctor found out that my baby's head was facing up making a vaginal delivery difficult.. who knew, after hours of pushing I ended up having a c-section.. I kinda knew that was going to happen.

They nurse took me to the OR and I had my baby via c-section. I was very scared.. that was something that I feared all through my pregnancy.. "what if I end up having a c-section?".. Oh well it happened.. If you are feeling fear and stressed because of it.. don't be.. you can plan all you want.. but at the end god is the one that will have the last word.. just enjoy the ride and try to remember every single thing that happens in that room..the drugs make you sleepy and you will not remember a lot of stuff.. I'm still trying to remember what happened on those 22 hours in the hospital! :)

Once I heard the doctor say "here is the big boy" 8lb 7 oz and 19 1/2 inch long baby boy.. I broke down to tears.. "this is it" I said.. the moment I have been waiting for .. I will soon meet the person that has been living in me.. the little person I felt kick and move for 9 months is finally here.. words can't described the feeling of hearing the first cry...All I heard was my husband saying " Hun he is beautiful"! Then the nurse put the baby on my chest for a little bit.. I touch his face and said "wow.. I'm a mom now!!!!

having a baby is miracle, I feel that god blessed me with such gift. A lot of women these days are dealing with miscarriages and not being able to conceive is another problem.. I'm truly blessed to have a healthy baby boy.

Below are some pictures of me pregnant.

Like I said before, enjoy the ride -sometimes bumpy but the destination will make everything so worthy.

My next post will be my before and after pictures and what helped me go back to my pre-pregnancy weight.

Hope this post helped some of you that are about to give birth, feel free to let me know if you have any questions.

xoxo

Gigi

Elle's Birth Story

Hello beauties!

While I was pregnant I must have read over 100+ birth stories and watched all the seasons of TLC's a baby story. I thought by reading other women's experiences I would be more prepared for that special day, and In a way it actually helped! I knew what to expect and i became more confident on the whole process. Gigi & I are pretty excited to share our story and as you will see they are very different. I had a very easy pregnancy did not have any morning sickness or complications. I gained a total of 29lbs. I ate pretty good throughout my pregnancy but also indulged when my body needed it.. that meant daily panera bread creamy soups..I always thought I would deliver early! Don't ask me why...I just did. So when it was the day before my due date and there was still no baby I was pretty bummed out. That day I decided to get ready and go to the mall for a Long walk! Hubby came along in case it was show time. After 4 hours of walking, smoothies and MAC shopping I was home with swollen feet and no signs of labor. I had my 40 week appointment the next morning and we would be discussing the option of getting induced. But I never made it to that appointment. At exactly midnight I started having contractions which at that time I thought was just a bad stomach ache.I tried to sleep it off for a few hours until it became worse and worse. I never had any back pain like the baby books said and I wasnt sure if i was actually in labor.  At around 2:30am I decided to download a contraction app on my phone to time the "contractions". At this point it was a little uncomfortable but I could still handle it. the contractions were pretty spaced out so I decided to go back to sleep. At around 4:00am the pain was coming more often and closer so I called the hospital. They told me I could come get checked out when my contractions were 5 min apart. We arrived at the hospital at 6:00am and although I had Pre-registered they made me fill out a million forms!. They went to check me and honestly i felt like the pain had stopped, so I really hoped this was it and that they wouldn't send me home.  at that point I was only 2cm dilated. I never had any signs of labor such as discharge, loss of mucus plug etc. After numerous walks down the hall at around 9am I was 5cm and they gave me my own room and broke my water. To my luck the maternity ward was completely full and my nurses disappeared at times. I wanted to get the epidural and they told me the anesthesiologist would come ASAP. I think this was the hardest part because the contractions were so close together and lasted so long that I didn't get a break. 2 hours and 8cm later I got my epidural. The nurses told me i could have gone natural at this point but the pain was pretty intense and knew it wouldn't get easier. As the drugs sank in I started to freak out  because only my right side was numb! After turning on my opposite side over and over my left side became numb as well, what a relief! at around 3pm I was fully dilated and effaced yet my doctor was no were to be found, apparently he was at the office seeing some patients. At around 4:30pm my doctor arrived and it was Show time! I remember being so scared to push even though I knew that the worst part was already done and i couldn't feel a thing . I got this panic attack right before we started and i started feeling nauseous. As silly as it may sound i was also a bit embarrassed and scared to push something out while in labor. After a few moments and much ice chips I took a deep breath and followed my doctors instructions. It really was easier than i thought and by the nursers remarks i did pretty well. I pushed for about 30min until my doctor felt the umbilical cord around my babies neck. i had an episiotomy and seconds later there she was, the sweetest cry I will never forget. On march 11 at 5:30pm I met my beautiful angel. So many people would tell me their story and it would really intimidate me. All I can say is that it will be different for everyone. But one thing for sure is that you will only remember the good parts and once you see and hold that beautiful baby you will forget all the rest!

xoxo

Elle

 

39 Weeks/3 weeks post partum

Welcome!

Hello beautiful readers and thank you for stopping by!

Elle and I are two sisters that recently became moms, we are excited to start this journey with all of you. We are here to share everything mommy related as we transition into this beautiful new stage of our lives.
We are now both staying at home getting used to being full time moms.
Some of the topics you'll find here are: fashion, makeup, fitness, healthy eating and relationships.

Below a little bit about us:

Gigi- 33 years old, mommy of a beautiful 3 months old baby boy. Living in sunny orange county california. Loves to cook, makeup and fitness. Gigi has been married for 8 years.

Elle- 24 years old, mommy of a beautiful 7 month old baby girl. Lives in south florida, loves the beach Home decor and fashion! Elle has been married for a year.

The next post will be our birth/labor stories to share with all expecting moms. Is really important to be prepared and informed before you go into the moment that you have been waiting for the past 9 months. Not every delivery is perfect, you just have to make the best of it! But trust us, once you see your little bundle of joy's face you'll forget all about it.

Stay tuned!

Love,

Gigi and Elle