January was an absolute crap month for me - I was dealing with deadlines, travel and being so overwhelmed with my daily life that I wasn't able to do my typical meal prep / planning.  I didn't work out, I didn't spend anytime on my pilates practice and my morale was in the crapper.

It's no longer January - the month of bad decisions ... It's February which means I'm back to my normal routine.  Thankfully.

Meal Planning & Prep is a huge component to my success but I don't have a ton of free time so I need easy and delicious go-to's that I enjoy and keep me on track.
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Nothing is easier or yummier in terms of creating easily portable and Keto friendly meals than Egg Cups.

Most Sundays I make different versions of Egg Cups as I find if I have them at the ready, come Monday morning, I can just grab a portion and head out the door.  This reduces the chance I'll grab a ketosis killing snack at the office. 

Anyone that works for a software company is familiar with the typical start up company kitchen - they are always crammed full of pop, snacks, sweet treats, beer, etc. Combined with lunch being brought in many times a week - there's temptation at every turn. 

With a bit of planning I can stay on track - these are one of my favorite items to have on hand.

Today I made Sausage & Ricotta Egg Cups:

Ingredients: 

• 6 Eggs
• Spicy Sausage - 1/2 package (tube)
• Whole Milk Ricotta - 4 oz
• Cream Cheese - 4 oz 
• Parmesan Cheese 
• Cheddar Cheese
• Heavy Cream - (1/3 Cup)
• Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder
• Spray Oil (coconut or olive)

How To:

• Combine Eggs, Cream and Ricotta together using an emersion blender.  This is the preferred way for me as I like to have a really smooth consistency - additionally it adds a great amount of air to the mixture creating a very light and airy texture. 
• In a muffin / cupcake tin, spray with oil to prevent sticking
• Add sausage 
• Pour in Egg Mixture - I actually mix everything together in a bowl and transfer it to a large measuring cup to make it easy to control the amount I'm pouring into the tin.  These rise a lot so I usually fill them about 3/4th of the way
• Add cubes of cream cheese - I usually do two cubes per egg cup
• Sprinkle with Parmesan and Cheddar Cheese 

Tip:

• Place your muffin tin on a sheet pan just in case you overfilled them.  This will prevent any spill over
• Adjust the ratios to your liking - like sausage?  Add as much as you'd like.  Hate Cream Cheese?  Don't use it ... 
• I make so many different variations of these - the only thing that remains the same are the eggs & heavy cream ... everything else I switch around depending on what I have on hand and what I'm in the mood for!

Place in a preheated oven (375) and bake for about 30 mins. 
​You'll know they're ready when they have risen, are firm to the touch, and the cheese is a beautiful golden brown.

For those of you that have shared that I use too much cheese - I think you may need to take a step back and really evaluate your life through a critical lens.  Something is wrong.  I'm worried about you.

​I announced I was going gray 15 months ago.  Woman have to announce such things as people will become concerned that we have abandoned all self care if our roots become too long.

So, this was me - 15 months ago on the day I announced I was going to just let my hair go gray.
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By this time my home had been chemical free for years - I make most of my cleaning supplies yet I was still coloring my hair, religiously, every 3-5 weeks.

​I didn't go in for just touch ups - I went in to go from black to gunmetal gray or to color the underneath layers a bright color such as pink / blue / green, etc.

I loved changing my looks, I loved how it made me feel, I loved people's compliments & reactions. I always loved how a new look could make me feel fresh and new when perhaps things weren't going so well and I didn't much like certain aspects of my life, at the time.  Color is like the "Break Up Hair Cut" only not as hard to grow out.

That said, I was having a really hard time reconciling how uncomfortable I was using chemicals in my home but I was still slathering them all over my scalp / hair.  It just seemed like I should be more concerned with what I put on and in my body than what I used to cleaned a toilet.

I made the decision after thinking about it for a bit so I texted my hair stylist Jenna and we came up with a plan!

Once we had a plan, I shared my plans on a few social sites and with people at work. I found people were very divided on the topic.
Here are some of my favorite comments / concerns:

• "You're so incredibly brave" ...

That's right - it's me and first responders in terms of bravery - they save lives and then there's me; a woman brave enough to look her age which I guess for a woman can be heroic.  But why is it brave for a woman to look her age?  It may have something to do with the following comments I received:

• "You're going to look like you're in your 40's" 

​I am in my 40's ... I'm not a zygote ... what else should I look like?  Maybe they were worried I was letting out a massive female secret.  Like someone would see me and then slowly glance over to their partner in a moment of realization that maybe she looks like that too?  Am I divulging something that women don't want men to know about? 

• "Aren't you worried no one will find you attractive" 

​GFYS - No - why would that even cross my mind?  I don't think a man has every looked at me and thought "if only her hair was a little darker, she'd be okay"

• "Oh I would absolutely LOVE to do this but my husband would be repulsed"

Of note: the woman who said this is drop dead gorgeous with a husband that looks like a troll and has ear hair that can be french braided but HE'D be repulsed.  Okay, that's reasonable.

• "I have a job interview coming up so it's just not a good time to look like that"

Are you interviewing to be a teen hair model?  Because if not - your hair color has NOTHING to do with your ability to kick ass in the work force. Though it's interesting - I had an interview 6 months into my grow-out and it never occurred to me to be worried about my hair.  I remembered thinking I looked especially great that day. I got the job and still look cute as a little button each and every day except that one day I wore a ponytail and a coworker hated it. 

Few concerns aside, I found most everyone to be super supportive.  Strangers stop to tell me how much they love it.  A few days ago a guy stopped me in a stairwell to tell me how great my hair looked - he thought I colored it!  On the way to Boston a woman at Starbucks ask how long I had been growing it out and I could see her working those numbers in her mind so perhaps I'll bump into her in 15 months and we'll be twins!

I do get a good bit of "I'd love to do that, but ... " and I always ask why there's hesitation.  If you love it - do it.   Many just say that they can't ... maybe they are worried about not being found attractive or maybe they don't want their gross troll husbands to be repulsed?
Girl, Go Gray If YOU Want.

Anyways - here I am as of today - I was standing in a bathroom with the harshest light ever and I looked in the mirror and I had a moment where I realized just how much I love my hair. 

​I love it.  I love the way I look, I love how gorgeous the silver and white bits are.  I love how it all blends together and looks as though I have strands of Christmas tinsel woven into my hair.


​Best Decision Ever ... AND ... I have saved nearly $4000.00(WHAT?)
Transition Tips:

• Come up with a transition plan with your stylist.  I texted Jenna and told her what I was thinking.  At the time, my hair was recently dyed black.  I had been coloring my hair since I was 16 and had no idea how much gray there'd be. 
• You have 3 main routes:

1. Cut your hair short and just go from there.  Get rid of your color and just let it grow out.  We decided against this one as I had just grown out a pixie cut with a shaved side.  I didn't want to do that again but I did consider this option seriously.  Jenna and I talked about this and decided this would be our last option.
2. Just stop coloring your hair.  This was actually my initial route but I had a really harsh line of demarcation between what was coming in and the dyed section.  I wasn't thrilled with the thought of looking at that for 15-24 months.  
3. Have your stylist remove the color from your hair. I believe we used a Prana color remover (corrector) that can be used up to 3 times without damaging your hair.  Whatever color it can get out is where you land basically.  Between each application, Jenna used a deep  cleanser to open the hair shaft a bit to maximize the efficiency of the color remover. We then used a gray toner to remove any yellow tones in my hair.  This will not work if you have box-dye on your hair.  So if you have color on your hair that came from a box this option is unfortunately off the table for you.  I absolutely loved it.  In fact the photo at the top of this post is the result of that appointment.  

• The longer your grow out becomes, the more edges you can remove.  During my last appointment (August) we cut about 4 inches off.  At this point, my hair is entirely natural with out any remaining color or odd ends. Because my hair is so healthy and my layers are growing out so well, I actually haven't needed to go back since that cut.
• If you're in Denver / Boulder - call Jenna at Boulder Beauty Bar.  Please tell her I miss her.
• Use purple shampoo and conditioner.  If you are worried about your gray looking dull - there are many shampoos made for gray hair that makes it super shiny and neutralizes any yellow tones.  I actually haven't used one in a long while mostly because I ran out and have been too lazy to order more.  I also haven't noticed a dullness or lack of shine. But I have tried many and found two that I really like: 

Clairol Shimmer Lights 
Viral Gray or Light Blue 

That's it!  I hope if you're considering making the leap - this helped a bit.  I'd love to hear of your progress!!

I LOVE to make most of the products we use around the house - it's shocking how easy it is to make body scrubs, deodorant, lotions, facial cleansers, household cleaning supplies, etc. 
One of my absolute favorite items are Lotion Bars and it's funny because I hadn't thought about them in a while until my friend Niki gave some of the ones she made (shown above) for Christmas!
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I can't even properly articulate how much I looooove these bars.  I get a lot of compliments on how soft my skin is which sounds a lot more "Buffalo Bill'esque a la Silence of the Lambs" than I intended, but I do. 

The thing is, I don't have soft skin - I have really DRY skin since moving to Colorado.  I use A LOT of lotions and potions to keep my skin in great shape.  That said, Lotion Bars make it so incredibly easy to not look like you're a human / lizard hybrid.  

I have no idea what Niki used in her magical lotion bars but you can start making your own with a handful of ingredients.

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup Coconut Oil
2. 1 cup Shea Butter (this is what I use for lotion bars and in my deodorant recipe) you could use cocoa butter as well
3. 1 cup beeswax
4. Essential Oils (I use Doterra Religiously)  Ones I like for lotions: Lavender, Peppermint, & Lemon

Directions:

1. Measure Coconut Oil, Shea Butter, and Beeswax in large glass jar.  I use mason jars.
2. Place jar in saucepan - I usually do about 1/4 way up the jar as you don't want water spilling into the mixture so keep it low enough it doesn't boil into it.
3. Once completely melted - Let rest off the heat for a few mins.
4. Add essential oils and stir.
5. Pour mixture into silicone mold.  
6. Let mixture harden two to three hours. Store until ready to use.

You'll absolutely LOVE these - they are so easy and it blows my mind these fell off my radar - Thanks Niki!!

Additional Tips & Tricks:

• You can actually pour these into empty deodorant containers that you can buy online
• I actually ran out of shea butter once and just used the Coconut Oil and Beeswax
• I have also added oatmeal to the bottom of the mold before pouring in the mixture to make it a bit more exfoliating. 

• You can do so much with this base recipe, it's really hard to mess it up.  By swapping out a few ingredients you can have a deodorant bar!  It's very cool to make things for yourself and your friends & family where 1. you can pronounce everything in the product and 2. everything is natural and chemical free.