Snickerdoodle Bliss Bites

Hello hello! 

Welcome to the start of a new week. Am I an insane person for saying I actually enjoy Mondays? I mean, I can comfortably say that I am an insane person, but whether or not that's solely related to my being okay with Mondays, not sure. I'll get back to you on that one. 

Most of the time a new week leaves me feeling inspired and motivated for all of the potential that lies ahead. This week Josiah and I have the entire week to work on our camper renovation. Up until now we've just been working on it here and there, getting things accomplished as we had time, BUT this week it's going to be all about the camper. I'm trying to manage my expectations though because the amount of things I think we can accomplish in a day are generally way more than is possible. Josiah will be there to help keep me in check. And these snickerdoodle bites will be here to keep me from having a hangry meltdown between Home Depot runs. They're full of fats and nutritious enough to justify as a snack, but sweet enough to satisfy a sweet craving. All wins in my book. Make them up today and have them on hand all week! 

Snickerdoodle Bliss Bites 

Makes: 10 

• 3 tablespoons coconut butter
• 2 tablespoons ghee, melted and cooled
• 3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted and cooled 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla 
• 2 scoops collagen
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon 
• 1 cup almond flour 
• 2 teaspoons maca, I used Trader Joe's 
• a pinch of salt 

Combine the coconut butter, ghee, coconut oil, and vanilla in a medium sized bowl. Mix the collagen, almond flour, maca, and salt in another bowl. Slowly add in the dry mixture to the wet. Scoop the mixture into 1" balls and place onto a baking sheet covered in parchment paper. Place the bites into the freezer for approximately 20 minutes or until the bites feel firm. As soon as the bites feel firm, enjoy! Store in the freezer. 

Our Favorite Coffee + Food in Paris, France

After spending three days in Amsterdam and enjoying all of the incredible dairy-free and gluten-free options they had to offer, I was initially a little underwhelmed with Paris' food scene. That's not to say I didn't find amazing places to eat foods that I enjoyed, but it was much more difficult to find a coffee shop with almond milk or oat milk to put in my coffee. This meant often times just drinking it black, which I'll admit, is't the end of the world. But after a bit more research I came across a handful of places that seemed worthy of time. I'm happy to report that after all of that searching we landed on a TON of great places that I will probably be dreaming about for years to come. This guide includes a few cafes and restaurants that have gluten-free and dairy-free options to make traveling with dietary restrictions not only less stressful, but exciting and enjoyable. 

Holybelly

This place was so fun! It reminded me a lot of a place we like in Chicago called Hutch. It's a very trendy brunch place and the line was pretty long to get in, but the food was totally worth the wait. I had a poached eggs, kale salad, and sausage, which is super simple, but was so, so satisfying and delicious! The only thing I wasn't a fan of was how close we were sitting to other people, but I would definitely still go back to this place. It is for sure one of those places though that if you go at prime brunch time then you are going to have to wait a very, very long time to get a table. We went on a weekday and waited maybe 20 minutes around 9am. 

Blackburn Coffee

This place was great! They had super cute hipster vibes going on and their espresso was amazing! The staff was very friendly and I would totally go back. I was planning to get drip coffee, but unfortunately they did not have any non-dairy milks and black coffee is not my favorite so I opted for espresso (which I do find tasty without any plant-based milks). 

Bob's Juice Bar

This place was super fun and very, very tiny. They have a pretty small menu, but everything is reasonably priced and what we tasted was delicious and refreshing! The little shop has a very west coast DIY feel that I found charming and the staff was very sweet. 

Ten Belles

I loved the little upstairs nook that this shop had! It was so cute! The coffee here was very good, but I was a little disappointed they did not have any non-dairy milks so I tried to drink it black and it was still great. 

Chambelland

This was my favorite place that we ate at in Paris and I would fly back again and again just to try each and everything in their display! The entire bakery is full of gluten-free goodies, but my favorite was their gluten-free breads. They're homemade daily they even use special flour mills that they've created themselves! While I wait to book my next trip to get some of their breads I might have to buy myself a gluten free bread cookbook to make some myself! Their date and nut bread was my favorite! 

O/HP/E

This place doubles as a cafe / decor shop and it has the cutest Scandinavian / modern kitchen tools and home decor. I wanted to buy literally everything they sold! I did treat myself to a little mug and saucer (as if I don't already have enough mugs) and everything time I use it I think of our wonderful trip! This is definitely a fun place to pop in, look around, and then grab a treat to mucnh on. 

Dose Dealer de Cafe

This coffee shop was close to our air b and b so we frequented it daily. I loved how the maintained the charming classic Paris atmosphere, but offered some trendier options. Their regular coffee as well as their almond milk flat white were great. They were super fast (which I definitley appreicate when I am getting my first cup of the day!) but they also had a cute outdoor seating area that you could sit and relax for as long as you wanted and not feel rushed. 

Le Guynemer

This was a nostalgic visit for us. When we were in Paris for our honeymoon we frequented this cafe because it was close to our hotel. Going back there was super fun! It's one of those places that gives you a truly authentic Parisian experience. It's located just outside of the Luxembourg gardens and is the perfect place to grab a late breakfast and espresso. 

Coutume

This is the restaurant that inspired me to start incorporating a salad into breakfast. I order the salmon, poached eggs, and avocado and it came with SO many greens! It was so unbelievably tasty and it felt so good to fill up on greens so early in the day. Josiah had toast with pickled beets, cauliflower, hazelnuts, and some sort of honey sauce drizzle. It's a very hipster brunch / lunch place, but it really did live up to the hype. Definitely add it to you list to visit! 

Thank You My Deer

I definitely would give this restaurant a 10/10 based on their amazing customer service. The owner greeted us so eagerly and kindly made sure that our every need was not only met, but anticipated. She was so, so very thoughtful! This was our last meal in Paris before heading back to Amsterdam and I can't think of a better way to be sent off. They have a very good gluten-free menu. We kept it very basic and just went with eggs with gluten-free bread. They had great coffee as well! We also ordered a carrot, strawberry, grapefruit juice that was delicious! It was so light and the perfect way to spent our last morning in Paris. 

Our Favorite Coffee + Food in Amsterdam, Netherlands

This past spring Josiah and I spent a week in Amsterdam and had the best time ever! We loved the culture so much! I wanted to put this list together and I hesitate to call it a guide because there is no way I can sit here and tell you I know the ins and outs of all there is to know about Amsterdam, but I can tell you a lot of awesome places we went so that you can add them to your list when you are planning your next trip! So think of it more as an inspiring outline of what we did while we were there and a little guidance to get you started. If you have any additional recommendations I would love to hear them! 

COFFEE

BLACK GOLD

This trendy, hipster's dream of a coffee shop-record shop combo was so fun to visit. It worked perfectly for the coffee-lover in me and my record-enthusiast husband. It's a former laundromat that is naturally lit with a neutral color palette and as you would expect from any vinyl shop, eclectic decor.  I ordered an oatmilk latte (which was basically my order at every single coffee shop in Amsterdam) and grabbed a seat in the back where I was surrounded by greenery in a cool bench area in a cutout window while Josiah flipped through all of the records. 

De Koffieschenkerij

This is actually a coffee shop we didn't get to visit when we were visiting, but it has really great reviews and it is in one of Amsterdam's oldest buildings so I am certain it will be on our list the next time we are there.  Below you can see their outside patio area and it looks so, so cute, 

White Label Coffee

This place had one of the most unique coffee shop set ups I had ever seen. When you first walk in you will immediately notice that the shop is broken up into multiple levels with the barista station being at the very top (see picture below). It was such a fun vibe and the coffee was so amazing. A lot of restaurants around Amsterdam carry White Label coffee, but I definitely recommend going to the shop to get the full experince of their brand.

Scandinavian Embassy

This coffee shop served up an amazing oatmilk latte! It's located right off of an adorable little park that Josiah and I spent a beautiful afternoon hanging out in before grabbing a little caffeine pick-me-up. My favorite part about this coffee shop was the fact that we could easily find a seat and didn't feel rushed to leave. Scandinavian Embassy boasts an award winning barista which was super fun to see too! 

FOOD

Hearth

I don't think Josiah and I are being dramatic when we describe the dinner we had at Hearth as one of our favorite meals we have ever eaten. This innovative, vegan restaurants really made us think differently about vegan cuisine. We had vegan sushi that quite literally blew out minds! The sushi consisted of quinoa, cucumber, roasted red bell peppers, and avocado rolled up with seaweed and topped with a spicy vegan mayo. We also tried a vegan pasta dish that consisted of ravioli-like pasta pieces filled with eggplants, red bell pepper, and zucchini served with a potato sauce and parlsey compote. We finished of our meal with a vegan tiramisu that we tried to eat as slowly as we possibly could. No matter how slow we went, it still was gone too quickly! I can not recommend this place enough! 

The Meets

This was one of the many places that came up when I searched "healthy eats in Amsterdam" so naturally it made my list of "must visits". When we arrived here the first time we were kind of still full from breakfast, but not quite ready for dinner so we ended up getting what they called "the meets platter" which consisted of falafel, beet bites, and sweet potato chips with a few different dips. We also ordered a slice of cashew acai cheesecake because when you're dairy free it's impossible to not be tempted by any and all treats you can have. We also made a second visit for dessert another evening during our trip because I HAD to try the vegan twix. Although we only tried a very small portion of their menu  I definitely would highly recommend this place!

CT Coffee & Coconuts

If you go to Amsterdam and can only visit one restaurant/coffee shop, this is the one to go to. It's located in an old movie theater that was built in the 1920's and brings funky, chill island-like vibes together to create a relaxing and entertaining experience. First, their drink menu alone is incredible! They have a million smoothie options along with some incredible coffee and cocktail options. My favorite was the coconut coffee. It's basically espresso blended with a banana, coconut milk, and chocolate. It's so dreamy and maybe eventually I can recreate a version to share here. Oh also it's three stories and it's GORGEOUS! We went here twice during our visit and if time would have allowed you better believe there would have been a third. 

Lavinia Good Food

This was hands down our most frequented place during our visit in Amsterdam. It was definitely delicious, but it was also convenient from where we were staying and included a ton of gluten-free and dairy-free options on their menu. Their service (despite what a lot of yelp reviews said) was so amazing! It was fun to have the same waitress every single morning that we went there for breakfast and she was a total gem. I absolutely loved the flatbread pizza that we got here and their avocado toast with lox was so, so good. I love that their menu included a lot of items that both tasted amazing and left you feeling great! 

Parallel

This place was recommended to us by our air b and b host as a nice place to go for a slightly fancy, but not too fancy dinner and she could not have been more spot on. We ordered five different tapas and all of them (except maybe one) were gluten-free and dairy-free. I loved how vegetable forward the dishes were and how they presented ingredients in a way I would never have imagined! They had a whipped coconut cream horseradish dip served with vegetable spears that I still think about all the time. This place was so fun and I would for sure go back again the next time we are in Amsterdam. 

The Avocado Show

This place made it to my "must-see" list before we left because my mother sent me a link to it and I immediately knew I had to go! As the name might lead you to expect, their menu is full of all things avocado. They have so many unique uses avocado that it makes this place a really cool experience. I got the avocado toast and Josiah got the avocado matcha pancakes (served with avocado between the pancakes!). It was super good! Fortunately we went during the week at an atypical meal time (2pm), but during the weekend and brunch hours it can be a multople house wait! 

 Bagels and Beans

This place might rank so high with me personally because it was the first place we ate in Amsterdam. After our long overnight flight it was the place that provided the caffeine I so desperately needed as well as a delicious breakfast. Although I was caffeine deprived and would probably have been thankful for even a dunkin' donuts coffee, I was blown away by how good their coffee was! I think almost twelve times while we were there I exclaimed how amazing it was! To eat, I ordered a prana bagel (low traces of gluten) with avocado, hummus, sprouts, dukkah, and lettuce. It was so delicious and I'm actually sad that we only made it here once during our visit. There are multiple locations throughout the city. There are so many in fact that I started to wonder if it was the starbucks of Amsterdam. Whether it is or isn't, their food and coffee are damn good and I highly recommend it. 

It's okay to not be okay

This year has been a tough one. It feels like shit will hit the fan and then we won't even finish cleaning it up before it strikes again.

Just in the past couple months months I've had to deal with two tooth infections, had an emergency wisdom teeth surgery,  got in a car accident, and I found out I had rheumatoid arthritis which left me unable to use either of my hands for a whole week (a photographer's nightmare!). On top of that Josiah had kidney stones that warranted an ER visit. It's been a lot. 

The event that did me in though was two months ago when we were forced to move out of our home after someone came and shot into our windows. Although we don't know all of the details on the case, the police are treating the situation as a targeted occurrence and strongly suggested we move out of our home. This would have been devastating whether or not we had just moved into that apartment or not, but we had only been living there for 6 months. We spent a month bouncing between friends and family and during that time I was held it together. I was okay. 

One of the friends we had been staying with reached out to take the urgency off of our apartment hunt and offered to let us stay with them until we found a place. Soon after moving in with them the idea of staying in Chicago started to feel less appealing. Details are still being improvised on our next move, but I can fill you in on that as we make it up. Now I'm sitting two months past the day we had to move out of our apartment with less of a plan for the future than I did before. I can not for one second forget to acknowledge how generous our friends and their offer are, but the unsettledness of it all in combination with all of the other things going on in our life is really getting to me. I like plans. I like goals. And right now I feel like I'm in a middle season of loss. Loss of safety. Loss of security. Loss of inspiration. Loss of joy.

I want so desperately to be okay. But I need to remind myself it's okay to not be okay. And right now, I don't feel okay.