Nine Favorite Things.

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Cinnamon Grilled Peaches with Mascarpone Ice Cream | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

{Cinnamon Grilled Peaches with Mascarpone Ice Cream + Video}

Thanks for joining me for another Nine Favorite Things post!

Hey, hi! Happy Sunday! My family and I are in Cleveland for my Nonnie’s memorial service, and while it’s definitely a sad time and a time for reflection, it’s also fun to be back “home” with family and friends. I’m speaking at the service tomorrow, so today will be spent finding something to wear, and working on what to say. I’ve already been working on my speech, but it’s not the easiest thing to write-up. Tips anyone ?

On a much happier note, tonight we are having a surprise birthday party for little miss Asher who turns eight years old on August 30th. The little girl is big on birthdays so my mom decided to do a surprise party while all of our family is in town. Asher has spent her whole life in Colorado, so she’s never had a family birthday party…she is going to LOVE it! If there’s anyone that would love a surprise party, it’s Asher. Girl loves a party, especially one all about her. I’m pretty excited to see her face!

Note: my mom just told me Asher is turning 9…how can that be…NO!

On the blog front, it’s going to be a big week! We have a very exciting post going up, it’s something I’ve been dying to share, but with my being out of town I’m still not sure what day it will be. I also have a fun cookbook announcement (this was actually supposed to happen last week), an easy end of summer dinner, and a peachy treat that will have you begging for seconds. It’s going to be fun and delicious week.

What are you guys up today? Hoping you’re all soaking up these last days of summer by doing something fun! If you happen to be hitting the farmers market be sure to check out my dinner plan for the week at then end of this post!

Here are today’s favorite. This is slightly shorter version, next week we will be back will my usual long as ever post! Have great Sunday and enjoy all the fun reads!

1. Anxiety, do you guys have it? As mentioned in Friday’s post, anxiety has been something I’ve struggled with since I was a kid, and while it’s been pretty mellow the last few years, I had a major flare up this past week. There’s just been a lot happening over here, with a lot of moving parts. I didn’t even realize I was so anxious, but then it hit me, and hard. Suddenly I could not turn my brain off and it was a constant slew of anxious thoughts. After many years of dealing with almost consistently feeling anxious (mostly school anxiety), I have found a few natural ways to cope. Getting outside and hiking, eating plenty of fruits and veggies, and just talking it out with someone…aka mom, are some of my coping strategies.

This time around I tried a few new to me things. First, I cut out coffee for the week. I read online that coffee can be a stimulant for anxiety, so I decided to cut that out for a little while. I don’t think it’s plays that big a factor for me though, so I will definitely be drinking coffee again, and soon. Second, I decided to write down all my thoughts of what was making me anxious and why. From there I wrote down if I thought I had control of the situation or not. This really helped, not only to just get my thoughts on paper, but also to see what I could do to change things and what I could not. Third, I started taking vitamin B12, which are proven to naturally help with stress and energy levels. Lastly, I actually ended up heading to the doctor, just for a check up, and just to be sure that nothing else was causing all of this sudden anxiousness. I really did not want to go, but I’m glad I did because just going and getting checked out and hearing the “you are in perfect health” bill made me feel one hundred times better. I can’t say’s my anxiety is gone(…um because tomorrow I am speaking in front of a ton of people), but I am feeling much better and ready to take one a new week.

I’d love to hear if any of you have dealt with serious anxiety and what you have done to cope. It will always be something I’ll have to deal with, so if you guys have found things that help, please let me know!

Here are a couple of anxiety related articles I found that were really helpful this last week…

–> what to eat for breakfast to help ease your anxiety…all about those berries and eggs.

–> the one vitamin that benefits your mood, energy, heart, and skin…B12.

{the photo that makes me smile every time}

2. Heading Back to School? three healthy snacks your kids will actually eat FYI…you’ll love them too!

ps. these blueberry nutri grain bars are my favorite homemade snack for back to school!

3. Cindy Crawford: As a kid I didn’t really know much about Cindy Crawford, but I love her daughter Kaia and after watching 72 Questions with Cindy Crawford I am now just a little obsessed with them both and their very cool family. First their house is stunning, second there could not be a cuter mother daughter duo, they are twins! This is such a fun video if you’re into Cindy and/or beautiful houses.

ps. she still looks the same as she did twenty years ago!

pss. I love Kaia’s name.

4. Fall Fashion Trends: 5 trends from last fall that will carry over to this fall.

5. New videos:

–> Caramelized Peach + White Chocolate Oatmeal Skillet Cookie Pie…umm, fair warning, this is addicting.

–> Heirloom Tomato Cheddar Tart with Everything Spice…simply the BEST.

–> Blender Pancake Muffins…the perfect on the go breakfast.

–> Cheddar Cornbread Waffle BLT…aka the life changing BLT.

6. Into 90’s Fashion? chokers are back and here is how to pull them off.

7. Three Late Summer Peach Recipes:

–>Gingered Peach Bourbon Thyme Smash