Amanda

Lamberts Take London: Day 6, Does It Come with Food?

March 16, 2025March 11, 2025AmandaLeave a comment

Day 6 we woke to the most beautiful view! Breakfast overlooking the pond is something I will cherish forever. While we ate, a couple and their dogs walked through the meadow behind the pond. I love that the land is for everyone here.

On this day, we drove to Blenheim Palace, Winston Churchill’s birthplace. He was born in the coat closet! They had a spectacular exhibit going ahead of the Coronation, highlighting the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough and their long history with the Royal Family starting with Queen Anne.

I had yet to watch Bridgerton, so I did not have a full appreciation for the costumes and Whilstedown style letters throughout the exhibit. How fun to look back, especially when watching the Queen Charlotte spin-offs to see the locations where we were! Blenheim Palace was used as the set for Buckingham Palace in the series.

On through the exhibit were costumes from The Crown and Victoria on PBS. I was in heaven! The gown used for the Coronation scene was made by Swarovski. It was absolutely covered in Swarovski crystals and dazzled like I never dreamed. I always thought it was just embroidered, since the televised Coronation footage is black and white.

We learned so much about Winston Churchill, including that it took him several tries to get into Military School, and also to find a wife! Clementine was his third proposal… They did a beautiful job capturing his life from birth through to his time as Prime Minister.

We had tea at Clementine’s on the Lawn (The Orangery was under construction). This was Austin’s first time for Afternoon Tea. I giggled when he asked the waitress, “does this include food?” His eyes lit up when they brought the tiered tray full of delights. He may have even gotten us seconds…

We wandered the grounds for hours, there was so much to see. At one point, we did the maze and quickly realized mazes were not for us… We slipped through a side door in desperation, only to realize we had to slip back in to be able to get out. Whew, we avoided all mazes after that.

After seeing the Palace, we drove to Bourton-on-the-Water to see the Miniature Village. It was… not worth the rush back… But the town was so lovely. We walked down the lane, past the river and brick homes and came upon a step ladder over a nearby fence for a public walkway through a meadow. I truly love that the land is open, unlike Texas. Walk through our land and you might meet an unhappy end. It was an inspiration for simply hospitality.

If we ate dinner, it was not memorable. Back to the Christmas Cottage to get ready for the next day!

xo, Amanda

Lamberts Take London: Day 5, Diddly Squat

March 15, 2025March 11, 2025AmandaLeave a comment

Bath, England, you beautiful city! We began our morning with a little breakfast. Austin tried his first official “full English breakfast,” of which… he was not a fan. The man loves beans, but the sausage is what got him. Then we walked back to the Gainsborough Bath Spa for our spa treatments. He had a massage, and I had a full body scrub. After our treatments, we sat and sipped tea before it was time to shower and pack our things.

After loading our car, we walked back into town to tour the Roman Bath House. This location is the only place in the UK with a fresh, hot spring. My family lives near Hot Springs, Arkansas, so I thought it was interesting that there is only one spot for a hot spring in the whole country!

It was amazing to tour the bathhouse, learning about Roman culture. Rich and poor would visit the bathhouse for healing and exercise. Austin was especially enamored with the ancient coin collection, with coins dating back to Jesus’ time and beyond. I found the wax tablets used to write curses to the goddess Sulis-Minerva the most interesting. My husband is a Christian minister, and often when I have been taught about the verse “bless those who curse you” (Luke 6:28), it’s often with the idea of explicit language. But Roman people would write their complaints against you and request that the goddess curse you. One man wrote hoping a curse would fall on whoever stole his cloak, either the pagans or the Christians. Wild!

We loved walking around the town, and did not realize the rich history until we were back home. We would definitely come back to Bath, and you know I’m already scheming toward that end!

Next stop: The Cotswolds! I could not wait to drive the winding trails of the English countryside. Austin had been watching a show called Clarkson’s Farm. The Diddly Squat Farm Shop was created by Jeremy Clarkson, and was on the way to our destination in Great Wolford. They had a quaint little shop, with many items to choose from. We were too late for lunch (sensing a theme?), but they had little savory hand pies and drinks. So we sat at a picnic table and took in the scene.

We stopped in Chipping Norton at Chequers to eat. I had the meat pie and Austin had a burger. We were starving and it hit the spot! We loved the atmosphere, with the big fireplace and classic, English pub vibes.

We finally made it to our beautiful VRBO, the most precious barn called the “Christmas Cottage.” The hosts were incredibly kind and knowledgeable, and had some food for us in the little refrigerator. The garden and pond were spectacular. Check out the view from the bedroom! Dreamy.

We took a stroll down the lane into the little town. We wandered through the church courtyard, and met a local with two adorable dogs. The birds sang as we took it all in. Magic.

A really beautiful day.

xo, Amanda

Lamberts Take London: Day 4, Wait, That’s Stonehenge!?

March 14, 2025March 11, 2025AmandaLeave a comment

Ah, Day Four. The day we learned (unknowingly) learned that the Brits do not play games when it comes to driving.

We had a few firsts that day, including our first British taxi ride with the kindest driver. Our goal for the day was to get our rental car, avoid the high toll areas, and get to our first stop of the day: Windsor Castle. It started easily enough, with a long wait at the taxi stand. Austin decided he needed to drive a Mini Cooper in England, so that’s what we rented. What we didn’t know was that this would lead us to a “dodgy” (the taxi driver’s word, not ours) part of town. He was kind enough to make sure we made it to our stop safely. The gentlemen at the shop were so kind and funny, and they had a beautiful selection of cars.

So, off we went, the law breakers we are, into the English countryside on our way to Windsor Castle.

Windsor Castle was an awesome experience. There are limited areas for photos and you have to be searched prior to entering, since it’s an actual royal residence. But the grounds were so well kept and beautiful. We skipped the dollhouses and toured the Royal Apartments. I had to sneak a few photos in St. George’s Chapel where Prince Harry and Meghan were married. Also in that chapel were the newly made tombs for QEII and Prince Philip, heavily watched over by staff.

We walked into town for a burger at Honest Burgers . I had the Pesto Chicken Sandwich with the Rosemary Chips and mmmmmm. We walked around town a little, and then headed out.

Like I said in the planning post, sometimes you don’t realize how much time you will take at a stop. So when we left for Windsor for Bath, we realized that Stonehenge was going to be closed. You can’t just walk up to it anymore, it has opening times and fencing around to protect it. But I, for whatever reason, didn’t change the route set on the GPS even though it was a longer route. We were driving along, admiring the countryside, when all of a sudden, “is that STONEHENGE??” Sure enough, there it was!! My new iPhone 14 was able to get a great video of us passing by. Hey, we can say we saw it!

Now, if you have not driven in a foreign country, you may not think about how small the roadways are in town… The city of Bath was a stressful little drive. It’s set in hills, with tiny streets. But once you ditch your car, it’s a lovely city.

We stayed at the Gainsborough Bath Spa. Our goal of our one night in Bath was to relax after what we knew would be very fast paced days in London. And Gainsborough did not disappoint! They have their own spa circuit in the hotel, with a mineral water pool, hot tubs, saunas and, my favorite, a lavender ice bath. They also have hot chocolate on tap to drink while you do the circuit. It was divine. We have never felt so relaxed. The next morning we got up, had breakfast and a massage before heading out. We both wish we had stayed another night, and plan to go back just to Bath. I want to go for their annual Jane Austen Festival! I have almost convince Austin, as long as he doesn’t have to dress up as a Red Coat, ha!

xo, Amanda

Lamberts Take London: Day 3, Crowns and Calling

March 13, 2025March 13, 2025AmandaLeave a comment

Day three was another busy one! We started with pastry and coffee from Victoria Station and headed off to The Tower of London! At this point, we were feeling really good about our ability to navigate public transport. They truly do make it easy.

Tower Bridge looks over the River Thames, and the Tower of London (or White Tower). This site, full of so much history, is really a must-see. There was a menagerie (where a woman had her hand bitten off by a wild lion), a prison, a chapel, and my favorite, the Crown Jewels.

To view the Crown Jewels, you walk into a dark building and into a room where spotlights dance on gold and silver and diamonds and rubies and emeralds and all else you can imagine. Step onto the moving sidewalk for a close, but not too close view of the suite of crowns and scepters. I, unashamedly, rode them forward and back five times. The Imperial State Crown was not on display, as it was being readied for the Coronation. Queen Victoria’s tiny diamond crown sparkles so much more than I imagined from just seeing photos. It was breathtaking.

Along the wall were solid gold coronation spoons, and salt cellars and punch bowls, and other items used for Coronation Banquets. Gaudy as they were, the craftmanship was very impressive. I’ll never forget the punch bowl with a serving ladle made to look like a conch shell.

On the grounds, there is a memorial made to those executed at the Tower of London, including Ann Boleyn.

We wandered through the other towers, where my favorite spot was the chapel for the Yeomen Warders (AKA “Beefeaters” or Royal Bodyguards). It was so beautiful! The Yeomen Warders still live there in little houses on the edges of the tower grounds. We had lunch in the New Armouries Cafe inside the Tower of London. It was a great spot to pick up grab and go sandwiches, soups and sweets, as well as a coffee for our next adventure.

As you may or may not know, my real job is being a nurse. Does one choose to be a nurse, or, just as in medicine or religious work, is one called to be a nurse. Any guesses on our next stop?

The Florence Nightingale Museum was one of my non-negotiables on this trip. What a treat to learn about the woman, who by God’s calling, left her privileged life and changed the face of nursing forever. She began the area of nursing research. She was why so many survived in her battlefield hospitals during the Crimean War, where more men died from infection than from actual war. She revolutionized the ideas of cleanliness, working with the emerging Germ Theory to create better outcomes for all her patients and staff. Clearly, this was a very meaningful stop for me on our great English adventure!

Our next stop was Floris London, the oldest English perfumery. They made perfumes for Queen Victoria, Winston Churchill, Marilyn Monroe, just to name a few. They were also a favorite of Florence Nightingale. If it’s good enough for Florence and the Royal Family, it’s good enough for me! The shop was such a fun experience, and we were able to smell some of the fragrances made for the famous figures named above. They also have a design-your-own fragrance experience, but we did not have the time. We settled on our new signature scents (Tuberose in Silk for me, and Mulberry Fig for Austin), and headed out again.

Fortnum and Mason is another great, very English stop! We did not realize they also have a restaurant and Tea Room on site, and will have to visit again. But their selection of teas, cookies, candies and food items were amazing! We may have stocked up a little too much but how much is really too much? The tins make such great gifts!

And finally, what is a trip to London without visiting the famous Harrod’s? It was so large one can barely take it all in. The food hall was a delight with so many options! Who buys milk from Harrod’s?? Not us, but I guess someone does!

We had Italian food that night, and then back to the hotel to pack our things for our next leg of the trip! We walked just shy of 11 miles on Day 3. Be sure to pack good shoes!

xo, Amanda

Lamberts Take London: Day 2, Double Decker Bus

March 12, 2025March 12, 2025AmandaLeave a comment

The joy of a new day in a new city after much needed sleep is one of my favorite feelings. Up and at ’em, we left the hotel for our first full day in London. We set off to find a bakery I had seen (a true Millennial follows the ratings), giving us our first ride on a double decker bus. How clever we felt, giddily climbing the stairs to the top floor! Surely the locals know just how lucky they are? One of the best things we did to help find our way was to download the CityMapper app. This app has all the public transport routes downloaded for major cities, and follows you stop by stop. All we had to do is say where we were and where we wanted to go, and it gave us several options of how to get there. Hop on a bus or train, and it will guide you through each stop, with warning that your stop on the route is about to arrive! So, so easy. A godsend.

The bakery we wanted didn’t impress, so we walked a bit to a cafe, Loka Lounge. The french toast was perfect. It was a lovely breakfast and just right for a start to a very busy day. Afterword, we walked to Kensington Gardens.

Did you know that Kensington Palace is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays? Neither did we. See, mistakes are inevitable. Much like my trip through Moscow, sometimes you win and sometimes it’s closed. Oh well. The gardens were lovely. We had ample time to see The Albert Memorial, to walk through Hyde Park, see Royal Albert Hall, make a pit stop at the Royal College of Music, and make our way past consulates and other stately homes. Then, we hopped on a bus to visit Westminster Abbey.

The Abbey, Westminster Hall, and the illustrious Big Ben all stand together on the same block. How exciting to walk into Westminster Abbey, where men and women are made Kings and Queens. Where I watched Kate become Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. Where so many are buried and remembered. So much history it was overwhelming. I truly had no idea that people were buried inside the abbey… I found it so odd, and to just walk on top of them felt so… wrong? Anyone else go the long way in a cemetery just to avoid walking on top of someone’s grandma? In the walls and on the floor were tomb after tomb. It didn’t feel spooky like a cemetery or catacomb, it just felt like an old building.

And there it was, the checkered floors made famous by royal weddings, and the rows of seats with little lamps. Magic. All of it.

Walking through the tombs of Queen Elizabeth I, and Mary, Queen of Scots was so moving. The stone reminding us of those before us who were doing their best to serve God and honor Him. Those are thoughts for another post.

The Abbey has an exhibit for Queen Elizabeth II on the top floor called The Diamond Jubilee Galleries of Westminster Abbey. Photos were not allowed, but it was worth the extra $10 to visit. I was brought to tears by this portrait of QEII, wearing her red coronation robe, which was painted in honor of her Diamond Jubilee in 2012. The look on her face, heavy and worn. The grandeur of an empty Abbey. The light shines through the window as if God Himself looks upon her. It felt final, and sad. The world, as I gazed upon this painting, was readying itself for a new English monarch. In fact, they were painting and applying gold leaf to the Abbey while we walked around. The Coronation Chair was being readied, the world was moving on. And yet, here they stood, she and God alone in the Abbey, the end of 70 years of faithful service.

The Coronation Theatre: Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II by Ralph Heimans

Next, we headed to The British Museum. I had no idea why Austin wanted to visit a museum about England, but quickly found out this was not a museum about England at all… We saw collections from Ancient Egypt, Babylon, Greece, Rome. The Rosetta Stone, and the stone with the first written depiction of the Flood from Genesis. All controversy aside, this free museum was an incredible stop!

After, we stopped by Buckingham Palace. What I expected to feel overwhelming, was not. They were setting up for the Coronation, lining the streets with flags and stands. It was so fun to watch the Coronation after we returned home to say, “I stood right there!”

We ended the evening with dinner at our hotel restaurant The Soak. Austin had the Fish and Chips, and I tried the Black Prawn Dumplings. All were good, and it was nice to just walk back upstairs to go to bed. We walked over eight miles this day!

xo, Amanda

Lamberts Take London: Day 1, Heath-who?

March 11, 2025March 11, 2025AmandaLeave a comment

Anyone else experience the pre-vacation panic? Austin and I always get cold feet before a vacation. “Do we really need to go?” Every second before boarding the plane is full of anxiety. But once we take off, we are ready to party! It is so funny to me that no matter how many times we travel, the scenario is the same, and we always come back so glad that we went. So, if you feel anxious about travel, know you are in good company!

For our trip to the UK, we had a red eye flight from DFW to Heathrow. It was delayed about an hour, but we arrived right on time. Now, I cannot sleep on planes. On my trip to Central Asia, I was awake for around 30 hours just simply because I cannot, no matter how exhausted, sleep on a darn plane. Knowing this, I purposefully got us two seats by themselves so maybe I could actually sleep enough to enjoy day one. It was only slightly successful.

Getting through Heathrow was not terrible. Busy, but it’s one of, if not the busiest airports in the world. Find the tube to get out of Heathrow finally required asking for assistance. You have a few options when leaving: tube, express tube, and taxi or hotel shuttle. Our hotel did not offer a shuttle, so we took the tube, which got us to city center in about an hour. Don’t forget your Oyster Card! I’ll never forget the almost silent tube ride through residential areas and finally, into town.

We stayed at The Claremont, Victoria hotel, which is attached to Victoria Station. This was wildly convenient to main attractions, like Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey, and to all other buses or tubes to get everywhere else. We walked in the rotating doors to the most beautiful fresh flowers and sweeping staircase. After a shower and nap, we set off to find dinner.

Let me tell you, Cyprus Mangal was everything we didn’t know we needed. The food was so fresh and abundant. We both ordered the Mixed Doner and ate almost every bite. We were starving! And took Baklava back to the hotel for later. I still think about this meal…

Then, off to bed for Day 2!

xo, Amanda

Lamberts Take London 2023: The Itinerary

March 10, 2025March 12, 2025Amanda2 Comments

A little late to the update, but I couldn’t not share the details for our trip to England last spring. If you know me in person, you know that I am obsessed with the royal family. My sports are State Dinners, Trouping the Color, and all other events where Catherine, Princess of Wales (AKA Kate Middleton), makes any sort of debut, especially involving a tiara. We were in a semi-close area, and could have made the trip to see her and Prince William out and about, but forewent the opportunity and survived. I won’t, however, let myself live down missing The Princess of Wales when she came to Boston later that year… Tragic.

Since this post is not an update on all things royal, we’ll move on. We’ve been asked multiple times: why England? Well, my sweet husband and I had not, at that point, traveled outside the U.S. together, except for our honeymoon to St. Lucia. We don’t always travel well together (two first-borns… need I say more?), and wanted to get our international feet wet without the added stress of a language barrier. We have each traveled to non-English speaking countries, he to Peru and I to Central Asia, but never together. So, we made it easy on ourselves.

Using our American Airlines miles we booked flights in April. We love to travel during shoulder seasons, as flights are cheaper and there are less crowds. It was perfect. Cold, but perfect. I highly suggest England in Spring, especially if you love wildflowers. I was enraptured by wildflowers and bright yellow fields. Magic.

When it comes to planning any sort of itinerary, you need to decide a few things. What is the purpose of visiting this place? How much time do you have? What are major area attractions, and will there be any added disruptions such as cruises, sporting events, festivals, or concerts? Do a quick scan of the local town website to get a good idea of what may be going on, or what major sites you don’t want to miss. Trip Advisor is a great resource for things to do.

London is a great city to visit because of the incredible variety of things to see and do, all reachable by public transport. I do not recommend renting a car until you are leaving the city, and then perhaps rent one as far from the city center as possible, as there is a strict area of increased tolls/fees, and the traffic cameras are a little too good. That’s a story for later.

After that, consider a drive to the beautiful Cotswold’s and beyond. Driving on the other side of the highway can be stressful, but it can be done! If you aren’t feeling up to it, most of England can be reached by train or bus. Toto, we are not in Texas anymore!

Our Itinerary starts where every good thing starts: Microsoft Word. Good for party planning, as seen here, as well as itinerary planning. This is the rough draft outlining each day, where we start to where we finish. Clearly we did not make any dinner reservations… It all worked out, and no one went hungry.

It is tempting for some to start planning the nitty-gritty, moment by moment details of each day as you go. My advice: don’t. Start with a very basic idea of where you start and where you end the day, and fill in later. Trust me, too many details too soon can cause some burnout. First, plan flights. Then transportation, then hotels, then any concrete activity reservations (unless you’re going for a specific reason: concert, sports event, etc., then purchase those first).

When it comes to filling in the details, guesstimate how long each attraction will take (reddit is a great place to find this information). We grossly underestimated how long we would take at various points of interest… A supposed two hour trip to the Tower of London really took us four. Maybe it was my five trips around the crown jewels. Maybe it was him reading every. single. sign in the sword and armor rooms. Who really knows? But, live, learn, and give yourself more time next time. Lifelong learning, isn’t that the goal?

Okay, below is our detailed timeline of events. We stuck to this fairly well, although we did not do the Robin Hood Tour or Warwick Castle. My best advice is to always start your day earlier than you think. Most crowds start lining up around 10am, so if you get up and get going, you can see what you really want to before having to fight someone else to see it. Austin kept saying, “man, our timing is so perfect!” Thank you, remember that tomorrow when we are up at 7am!

There, of course, is so much more to see in London and beyond. We missed quite a few sites in Bath simply for lack of time and knowledge. Our goal for Bath was to relax and soak up the mineral waters. Next time, I would see more of the historical sites, and obviously, any and everything Jane Austen. I hope this helps you in planning your next adventure!

xo, Amanda

In the Beginning: Chocolate Gravy

March 6, 2025December 9, 2025AmandaLeave a comment

Does it have meat in it? Do you mean “brown gravy”? The two most asked questions when my friends and acquaintances are met with the idea of Chocolate Gravy. I always chuckle lovingly as I explain the treasure that is my very large, very loud family’s favorite breakfast.

My dad is one of six siblings who are all very close. I grew up spending every summer at Ouachita Lake, Arkansas where my family, including 15 first cousins, gathered at the Highway 27 Fishing Village. So famous were we that they welcomed us on their sign out front. Truly, we are a humble crowd…

During our summer gatherings, Family Christmases and weekends together in between, one memory remains the same: my Aunt Jeannie standing at the stovetop stirring Chocolate Gravy.

I have tried a few blogs before (remember Xanga?), but never published because it felt so daunting. What to do with a blank page? So many thoughts, but where to start? Beginnings and endings are rough, right? The good stuff always seems to happen in the middle. So, as I thought of what I wanted this space to be, I decided to start at the beginning. Those early summer mornings filled with the people I love and that glorious saucepan full of Chocolate Gravy.

Now, before we go further, I must confess that I found out I memorized a different version of Aunt Jeannie’s recipe when she made a family cook book last year. Where this recipe in my head came from, I have no idea. I had often thought it was the extra love and the fact that I didn’t have to wash the pan that made hers taste better than mine. But I am here to report that it’s the extra butter. And so I will give you both recipes, both of which carry their own cult followings.

A few tips:

Serve with hot, buttered biscuits. As I said earlier, more butter simply makes it better.
If it runs over onto your eggs, bacon, sausage or other items, don’t be alarmed! It tastes good on everything. Trust me.
Patience is key. In my college days, I tried to speed the thickening process by adding more flour while heating the gravy. Don’t do this unless you want still runny gravy with chunks of flour in it. Your friends won’t eat it.
Leftovers will keep in the fridge for a few days, but if you’re making for more than 2 people that likely will not be an issue.
Can this be made gluten and dairy free? I’m sure gluten-free will be no issue. I can give no guarantees about dairy-free butter. I have made sausage gravy with soy milk and gluten free flour and it worked well, but I did not use butter or a substitute. Let me know how it goes!

Amanda’s Version

2 cups Milk
1 cup Sugar
2 heaping Tbs Flour
2 level Tbs Cocoa Powder
2 Tbs Butter
1 tsp Vanilla

Warm milk in a medium saucepan over low-medium heat
Combine dry ingredients into a bowl
When milk is warm, pour enough of the warm milk into the dry ingredients to make a syrup. Mix until the dry ingredients are dissolved.
Pour the syrup back into the pan with the milk.
Continue cooking over medium heat, stirring constantly until gravy is thick. Be patient 🙂
When gravy is thick, remove from heat. Stir in butter and vanilla and continue stirring until butter is melted.
Serve warm, preferably over warm, buttered biscuits.

**12/09/25 EDIT: I realized I transposed the milk and sugar quantities. The recipe has been updated to reflect the correct amounts. My apologies if you had very thick, very sweet gravy!**

Aunt Jeannie’s Version

2 cups Sugar
2 Tbs Cocoa
1/3 cup All Purpose Flour
2 cups Milk
1 tsp Vanilla
1/2 stick Butter

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
In a saucepan, heat milk over medium heat just till warm.
Pour a small amount of warm milk into dry ingredients to make a syrupy mix. Pour this back into the sauce pan, with a whisk stir till thickens.
Remove from burner, add butter and vanilla, stir till butter is completely melted.
Serve over hot buttered biscuits.
Leftovers can be stored in refrigerator, and reheated.

xo, Amanda

Nightshade & Vinegar-Free Marinara

February 21, 2023March 11, 2025AmandaLeave a comment

For those who don’t know me, I’m a Type A. Blood Type A, that is! Have you heard of the blood type diet? I first heard of it through my cousin, who used it to lose several pounds and inches. Now listen, I’m not a Nutritionist, health blogger, or fad dieter. While I have a few pounds I wish would kick rocks, I am really interested in whole health, starting with addressing unnecessary inflammation. The only other diet I’ve done consistently was Weight Watchers. I did have success with this approach, but, to be honest, struggle to even consider doing again. The app is expensive (but very easy to use!), and I don’t think I can eat another spoonful of yogurt. So. Much. Yogurt. Nope, can’t do it.

Well, there might be a good reason to why the thought of yogurt makes my stomach turn! Blood Type As are not friends with dairy anything. Utilizing this pdf, I did a two week run of sticking to this list of beneficial/neutral foods and it was eye opening! I was already avoiding dairy milks, but taking it further by eliminating things like potatoes and bananas that I was eating almost daily, I noticed a marked difference in how I felt. The best word to describe it is lighter. I didn’t feel like I had a brick sitting in my stomach after every meal.

Now, as stated earlier, I did it for two weeks. This list can feel almost impossible to sustain, especially if you eat out many times a week. In my small town, healthy options are not plentiful. Much planning has to go into this, which is why I have started to slowly eliminate harmful foods. Luckily, my husband is on board to eat anything I cook, and has been very supportive in this endeavor. Mostly due to this recipe!

We love pasta! But a quick look at the harmful foods list will tell you that NOTHING involved in the pasta dishes we love is beneficial, or even neutral! My lifesavers have been lentil pastas, favorites being these penne noodles, and these lasagna noodles. Throw these noodles together with this marinara sauce and some ricotta (a neutral!), and you’re in business! *chef’s kiss*

Thanks to Nicole at Heal Me Delicious, I had a great jumping point for this sauce. Hers is perfect if you can handle vinegars, and a little tweaking will make yours Type A compliant. See her Nomato Sauce recipe here. I also add pumpkin (a beneficial food), which is a staple in a lot of my cooking (pumpkin chili, anyone?).

Let’s get started!

First, feel free to use fresh ingredients. I am the worst at using fresh produce before it goes bad. I work second shift, and our personal lives are so busy that I’ve learned to lean on canned and frozen produce when I can. I keep all these items on hand, and always pick up a few cans when I grocery shop.

Next, I use the Instant Pot Gem Multicooker (I have now learned it’s been recalled, which is a shame because I love this little appliance!). Using a multicooker has saved me time and dishes by allowing me to sauté the onions, garlic and celery before changing over to the slow cooker mode. Then just add your other ingredients and slow cook on high for 4-6 hours. I love the flavor that happens when you cook this sauce for longer periods of time, and a slow cooker prevents me from burning or splattering my white kitchen with beet juice. If you trust yourself more than I do, feel free to do this traditionally with a stock pan or dutch oven over low heat. I have made this sauce in a shorter amount of time, but the texture is not as smooth.

An immersion blender is my other best friend. It allows me to blend right in the pot and doesn’t require the sauce to be cooled before placing in a blender or food processor. I have used both a Blendtec blender and a food processor, and prefer the immersion blender. Just be careful not to splash! Remember, beet juice…

Voila! A beautiful, Type A compliant sauce that is sure to be a hit!

This recipe makes several batches in one sitting. I was able to get four 24oz servings out of it. I then freeze it in a quart bag, leftover jar, or these containers and use within 3 months. You could probably store it longer, but I am not a freezer or canning expert. Three months seemed to be the sweet spot from articles I read. I also love to prep freezer pastas for quick dinners!

Worried about cost? When I did the math, barring spices and oils, the total came to be about $3.15/jar! More than Ragu, but less than Rao’s. Feels doable, right? We can do this!

Nightshade & Vinegar-Free Marinara Sauce

Makes (4) 24oz Servings

2 10oz bags Butternut Squash, frozen
2 150z cans Beets (sliced or whole)
2 15oz cans Carrots
1 29oz can Pumpkin Puree (or 2 15oz cans)
1 Onion (fresh or frozen, yellow or white), chopped
1 cup Celery, chopped
4 cloves Garlic, pressed
1/2 cup Lemon Juice
1/3 cup Water
1.5 tsp Basil, dried
1 tsp Fennel Seed, dried
1.5 tsp Oregano, dried
1.5 tsp Italian Seasoning, dried
1.5 tsp Salt
1 tsp Sugar (not essential, but adds pizazz)

In your multicooker on “saute” or in a skillet over medium heat, warm some olive oil. Add diced onions and celery and cook until transluscent. Add garlic and saute until fragrant.

Add remaining ingredients to pot and mix together.

Simmer (stovetop) or cook on high (slow cooker) until vegetables are soft. Preferably 1hr or more on stovetop, stirring occasionally. 4-6hrs on high in a slow cooker.

When veggies are softened, turn off heat. Season to taste. Carefully blend with an immersion blender. If using a regular blender or food processor, let sauce cool completely before blending. The heat can cause your machine to explode.

Place 3 cups of sauce in each container, leaving space for sauce to expand in freezer. Use within 3 months.

Let me know how it goes! Next up, I’ll share my favorite Type A smoothie recipe to take to work.

xo, Amanda

Peter Rabbit Baby Shower: The Party

January 19, 2023March 11, 2025AmandaLeave a comment

A little bunny is on the way! On my last post I shared with you the master plan for my brother’s Peter Rabbit baby shower. Well, all that planning was a success if I do say so myself. Everything went so smoothly, and I am so grateful for the many hands that made it work! Now, let’s get to the good stuff!

The shower was hosted at my brother’s church. They just acquired a new building and remodeled, which made for a beautiful, clean place to host a shower. Fun fact: my husband and I met at this church while we were in college. After we got married and moved away, my brother started going to there and that’s where he met his wife! It was such a fun, full circle moment to have all the people we love in one place.

First things first, the day before the shower I asked one of our college students for some assistance in making the balloon garland. Both easier and harder than you think it’s gonna be… My living room smelled like latex for two days! I eventually shut them in a bathroom with the vent fan on in an attempt to remove the smell! I set up the backdrop on my PVC pipe stand to make sure everything fit, and did have to attach some velcro to the backdrop to attach to the stand (I have permanently attached a strip of the rough side of velcro on the stand).

Aren’t those rabbit balloons just darling!?

I also prepped the party favors, table signs, and decor. For the favors, I placed the stickers from Etsy onto small square envelopes, filled them with a carrot cake teabag, and then attached the shovel shaped teaspoon. They were a hit!

The printables I bought from Etsy made life so much easier! I printed the double sided ones onto cardstock and cut them out. Then I used little clear stands to place them on the tables. They were a little top heavy, so some were a little ornery, but most of them stood upright the entire shower.

How cute is little Peter!? Can you tell I was smitten with him the entire day? I am not ashamed. Finally, I used the other printables to make these signs in Microsoft Publisher. My favorite trick is to pick a pretty, script font for a heading, and then a regular font for the body.

That night, my husband and I loaded the truck so all we had to do was shove the balloon garland in in the morning and head to the shower! I am not a morning person, so I find that it is most helpful to do whatever I can to prep so that the morning is less stressful. Now to the good part!

Welcome to the shower! We welcomed guests with this adorable set up of fresh florals and treats. Our sign in book was a beautiful hardcover edition of a children’s book that will now be filled with notes from loved ones. We asked guests to print their addresses onto thank you card envelopes to help mommy-to-be in these last few weeks. We also placed the party favors on this table to be sure everyone got one.

Walking in to the shower, you were greeted with the smell of hydrangeas and eucalyptus, which were set in mason jars painted white with a touch of gold. Just wonderful! Our white tables were draped with dusty blue chiffon runners for an elegant look. Who says Peter Rabbit has to be completely rustic? Garden Chic is more like it.

And finally, our piece de resistance, the food table. Is it possible to be in love with a food table? I say a resounding yes! The backdrop was perfection, surrounded by the balloon garland. A small word of warning, be cautious not to place the balloons too close to a light… it will pop right in the middle of your event… All popping aside, balloon garlands are a great way to hide the edges of a backdrop. Everyone loved the carrot floral arrangement. All the florals were put together by my Aunt Kim and her daughter Angelina. What a labor of love!

If you have ever read Peter Rabbit, you know that while trying to escape from Mr. McGregor, Peter gets caught by the fence and has to shimmy out of his sweater. So we recreated that scene with the perfect picket fence and a 12-18mo sweater, attaching the sweater with thumbtacks.

The food was so good, and there was hardly a crumb left. Especially of the cake, masterfully created by my Aunt Dana, who makes all our family cakes. She made our wedding cake that is still talked about to this day. Check out those trees! They are rice crispy treats!

My cousins were so kind to follow my crazy Pinterest ideas for a carrot shaped cheese ball (I need this recipe, it was to die for!) and chicken salad stuffed cabbage! Last minute, we decided to nix hollowing out a real cabbage and use a cabbage bowl, and I think we both breathed a sigh of relief! The ladies who did the drink table went all out, using leftover carrot stems and other greenery to make a garden of tea and punch. Check out that ice ring!

It was such a beautiful day. I hope that my brother and sister-in-law know how loved and supported they are. We are ready for you, Elliott!

Never able to get a good picture with this ham… But we love him!

xo, Amanda

The House on Ladd

Musings from a little white house

Author: Amanda

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Peter Rabbit Baby Shower: The Party