Family, Lifestyle, Travel

Finest Playa Mujeres Vacation Recap

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Finest Playa Mujeres

At the end of July, my family and I took a vacation to Mexico. The fact that we took a trip to Mexico, and stayed at a resort, deserves a bit of a back story…

For starters, we are not really beach people. My husband and I don’t like sand. It gets everywhere, lol! I like to listen to ocean waves, look at the beach from a pool nearby, take walks on the beach, and that is about all I like about the beach.

However, last year when we were in California my husband and I realized that our kids love the beach and playing in the sand! How did this happen!?! They played on the beach in California even though the weather was mild and the water was cold.

So, when it came time to plan a summer vacation we decided to give the whole beach/resort thing a go. Our thinking was that if the kids wanted to play on the beach at least we could go to a place where we could relax on beach chairs, watch the kids play, read a book, and have drinks delivered to us, ha!

We stayed at the Finest Playa Mujeres and it was heavenly. This is a family-friendly all-inclusive resort. They also offer an adults-only area if you aren’t traveling with a family.

Our Room

We stayed in a Finest Club Family Suite that had a rooftop terrace with a plunge pool. The suite was great because there was a separate bedroom for the kids with two twin beds. The rooftop terrace was a wonderful place to relax and let the kids swim even more after being at the pool or beach all day. 🙂

Food

We weren’t expecting much from the food when we booked the trip. Our assumption was that since it was an all-inclusive resort the food wouldn’t be the greatest. However, we were pleasantly surprised. The Finest offers 12 different restaurants, and 15 different bars and lounges. We didn’t have a bad meal while we were there. One of our favorite places to eat was Las Dunas Beach House. We could easily grab food from there while we were at the beach or pool. Plus, the food was always delicious. My daughter’s favorite place had to be The Sweet Corner. She wanted ice cream every day!

Activities and Service

From the moment we arrived at the resort we were treated so well. We were offered moist towels, champagne, and fresh-squeezed orange juice for the kids. Throughout the entire resort, the staff was extremely friendly and helpful. My husband mentioned during check-in that my birthday was coming up and they delivered chocolates and balloons to our room while we were out one day.

The resort offered several activities throughout the day and evening. There was always a game to play at the main pool, and my kids and husband played soccer on the beach. Each night they also had different entertainment. We saw a Michael Jackson show, a magician show, and an acrobatic show. We didn’t take advantage of the kids club though. My kids would not have any part of that. They wanted to be by us the whole time, ha!

Overall, we had a wonderful and relaxing time at the Finest. We would definitely go back!

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Breakfast, Recipes, Snacks

Overnight Oats

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Overnight oats have been around for a while now. They have a great creamy consistency and leave you feeling satisfied for a long period of time.

You may be thinking, “There’s no way I can eat cold oatmeal!” I used to feel that way too. However, I have come around over the years. 🙂 When I first started eating overnight oats I would heat them up a little bit in the microwave. Then, I started leaving them to sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before digging in. Now, I will just eat them straight from the refrigerator. Any way you choose to eat them will be delicious!

My favorite place to buy overnight oats came from Source Juicery in Edwardsville, IL. Their oats were thick and creamy without being dry and clumpy. Since we’ve moved to Colorado, I can no longer get my overnight oats fix from Source, ha! That’s when I decided to create my own version so I wouldn’t miss them as much!

Getting the oats to chia seeds ratio was the first thing I needed to figure out. I like when my overnight oats have lots of chia seeds because they are a great source of protein, and they provide an almost pudding-like consistency. My first attempt had a bit too many oats, so I added more chia seeds on my second attempt. After that, it seemed like a good ratio.

Next, I needed to figure out how much liquid to use. I knew I would use my homemade cashew milk because it’s my favorite! 😉 This was a little easier to figure out because I just used a 2:1 ratio like I do when I make oatmeal. I like when my overnight oats are still creamy, but not too liquidy. If they get too thick I always add a little extra milk right before eating them.

Since I loved how Source topped their oats off with blueberries and a dash of cinnamon, I decided to do the same. I just add frozen blueberries on top and they are thawed for you the next day. However, this recipe is so versatile that you can really add any topping that you wish. Some toppings that I have used in the past include bananas, peanut butter, cocoa nibs, strawberries, toasted coconut, nuts/seeds, maple syrup, apples, etc. The possibilities are endless.

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Overnight Oats

  • Author: Amber
  • Yield: 2 Servings 1x
Print Recipe

Description

Overnight oats are great for a quick and easy breakfast; especially when you are short on time. These oats will fill you up and make for a nutritious breakfast, or snack!

Ingredients

Scale

1/2 cup gluten-free rolled oats (not quick oats)

2 tablespoons chia seeds

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons maple syrup

1/4 teaspoon sea salt (if using table salt you will need to reduce this amount)

1 cup cashew milk (or any milk of choice)

frozen blueberries (optional)

Instructions

  1. Add all ingredients to a bowl and stir or whisk to combine.
  2. Chill in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.
  3. After chilling for 10 minutes, stir again.
  4. At this point, you can leave it in the bowl, or divide into 2 smaller containers.
  5. If dividing, top each individual portion with some frozen blueberries and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
  6. Chill overnight.

Did you make this recipe?

Share a photo and tag us — we can’t wait to see what you’ve made!

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Family, Lifestyle

A Look Back at 2018…

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2018 Year in Review

Side note: I started writing this post back in late January, and I’m just getting around to finishing it. Sometimes life just goes by too quickly!

As the new year has come and gone my husband and I made a discovery. We looked at the tray sitting on our island and started to laugh. We laughed because, with each document or item we sifted through, we were remembering different events that happened throughout the year. It was almost like a time capsule of 2018.

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House Remodel, Lifestyle

First Floor Remodel

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I’m going to end this remodeling series with the remodel of our first floor. Well, that is until our basement is done (fingers crossed it’s before Christmas). Then I will share that project too!

Hopefully, you’ve had a chance to see my posts on our laundry room and bedrooms. If not, you should check them out! 😉 My main goal for the overall feel of the house was light and airy, and I think we achieved that. When I say “we” that includes our designer because this remodel wouldn’t have happened without her help!

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House Remodel, Lifestyle

Bedroom Remodel

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Now that I’ve shared our laundry room, I’ll give some idea of what the rest of the bedrooms look like upstairs. Throughout the entire upstairs we changed the following, along with some additional items that I listed below with the pictures:

  • new flooring
  • new doors and trim
  • new windows and shutters
  • new lighting
  • repainted
    • kids’ bedrooms: Sherwin Williams Agreeable Grey
    • master bedroom and hallway: Sherwin Williams Anew Grey
    • trim: Benjamin Moore Cloud White
    • metal banister: Sherwin Williams Urbane Bronze
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House Remodel, Lifestyle

Laundry Room Remodel

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This post is long overdue and will be first in a remodel series. As some of you know, we moved to Colorado July 2017. The house we bought wasn’t really our style so we wanted to do some updating. We worked with an interior designer to help us with the remodel since it was such a big project, and we were doing a lot of the planning while still living in Illinois. I had promised some family and friends that I would share pictures of the house, but I never did! So, I thought I’d kick things off with one of my favorite rooms in the house…the laundry room.

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