Mozzarella Arugula Pumpkin Seed Bruschetta Recipe

What one word, when spoken as the summer heat starts to fade, immediately reminds you that Fall is coming? Pumpkin, of course. From lattes to microbrews, when the pumpkin is upon us, Fall has arrived.

Pumpkin Seed Oil, however, is a new one for me. Nutty in flavor, rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids, pumpkin oil is big on flavor and health. Why had no Fall season before informed me of this product?!

When Emile Noel offered to send me one of their non-GMO, organic, fair trade bottles of oil, I chose PSO because I had never seen it on shelves before! (Recently, I saw it at Trader Joe's, however, during the great pumpkin wave.)

Then I went to the farmer's market and the bread guy had loaves of Gilroy garlic bread. My favorite greens purveyor had beautiful arugula. My fridge had some leftover fresh mozzarella from a pizza we made the night before. A recent health kick provided some pumpkin seeds tucked away in my pantry.

This, my dear friends, is the result.

Mozzarella Arugula Pumpkin Seed Bruschetta

Ingredients:

8 slices of garlic sourdough

1/4 cup of olive oil

2 cups of arugula

8 slices of fresh mozarella

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

2 tablespoons pumpkin seed oil

2 tablespoons of honey

1/2 tablespoon of mustard

3 tablespoons pumpkin seeds 

Look at that garlicky goodness.

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat a grill pan on high heat. Slice garlic sourdough in roughly the same size as the mozzarella slice. Brush each side with olive oil. When the pan is hot, place as many slices as will fit onto the grill pan. When desired darkness of grill marks is reached, about 3-5 minutes each side depending on the heat of the pan, flip each slice over and repeat. Continue until all the slices have pretty grill marks on each side. 

Grill marks for days.

2. Place all slices of garlic sourdough on a cookie sheet or baking pan. Layer mozzarella slices on each of the bread slices. When oven reaches 350 degrees, place the cookie sheet in the oven. Leave in the oven for 10 minutes or until the mozzarella is slightly melted but not bubbling. 

3. While the mozzarella is melthing, whisk together the white wine vinegar, pumpkin seed oil, honey and mustard into a dressing. Throughly coat the arugula in the dressing. Top the melted mozzarella slices with the dressed arugula. 

4. Garnish the top of the toast with pumpkin seeds. Serve immediately.

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Happy Halloween

We celebrated our son's first trick-or-treating experience with a low key dinner at our place. Happy Halloween!

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Leather Nova Leather Conditioner Review

This is a supplemental product to the Leather Nova review I previously posted here. Because Leather Nova sent me the products separately, I am reviewing them separately but really, this works best with the Leather Cleaner. It can, however, be used alone with good results, unlike the Leather Cleaner. 

Regardless, I cannot say enough good things about this leather conditioner & restorer. It is a must use after deep cleaning leather. It truly creates a supple, almost new feeling leather without the expected greasiness many other leather conditioners leave behind. It is also non-toxic and environmentally friendly!

I do have to note that if you are looking for something that will restore well worn leather, this will not get your leather item back to a well finished or buffed looked. Once the leather takes on a worn, almost suede like consistency, the Leather Nova line, nor likely any leather cleaning/conditioning product will restore it to new. I didn't lower the rating based on this but it's an important point to know about leather care. 

I recently learned how important it is to maintain leather goods to get the most out of high end leather handbags and this is a perfect product for that purpose. Also, it is great on car interiors. My leather seats have taken a beating in the California sun and this leather conditioner has been amazing at giving those seats new life!

Rating: 5/5.

Before pictures can be found here.

After: Leather Nova Leather Conditioner

Cleaned and Conditioned

Looking vintage in style but not in age. 

Deep luster and color restored to areas of the shoes not completely worn down.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

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Leather Nova Cleaner and Conditioner & Cleaner Review

Something about becoming a mom flipped this cleaning switch in my head. All of a sudden, I've been buying all kinds of cleaners and cleaning products. Maybe it's that now there's a little person making sticky little messes in places I didn't even know could get sticky. How does a toddler manage to create so many glue like substances?

When the nice people at Leather Nova offered to send me their entire line of products to try, I jumped at the chance. If you saw the interior of my car or the milk stains on the little clutch I put in my diaper bag, you would too. 

But wait, you can. I took a few different leather items from around the house to test out the cleaners.

Before Any Cleaning or Conditioning

Scuffed Vintage Envelope Clutch

Worn in the Rain Rockports

Milk Stained Coach Wristlet

After: Leather Nova Conditioner & Cleaner


This is a great product for monthly leather maintenence for well finished leather. I tried it on a dirt stained pebbled leather Michael Kors bag (not pictured), a milk spotted Coach leather wristlet, and a scuffed vintage leather envelope clutch. I recommend it on smooth, untextured leather because it really takes out stains and scuffing perfectly on these types of surfaces. It makes well finished smooth leather supple and new. On brown leather, it brought back the deep color that fades as the leather dries. 

It's not as effective at removing stains on pebbled textured leather but if I had maintained the bag with monthly cleanings instead of trying it on aged stains, I think it would have prevented a lot of staining issues. I wish I could get a clear picture of the before and after of the pebbled leather but it just didn't display the differences very well.

Overall, I am very pleased with how easy and effective the 3 in 1 is and will be using it regularly on my handbags, leather ottoman and leather car interior as it can be applied and left. The product is one of the few leather conditioners that doesn't leave an oily finish (very important when dealing with leather seating and accessories because oil stains are a nightmare on clothes) and is advertised as non-toxic environmentally friendly!

Rating: 5/5 

After: Supple and clean!

After: Removed a lot of scuffing and put back dark leather luster.

After: Leather Nova Cleaner


This is a great product for deep cleaning leather. I would recommend spot testing the product on a part of whatever leather item you are cleaning because it can be tougher on very soft leather. Also, the product label recommends spraying directly on the item but I found applying the solution to the included microfiber towel and then rubbing it in a circular motion on the item you are trying to clean to be more gentle on the leather.

The reason I am not giving it 5 stars is because I tried it on grey pebbled leather and it caused some discoloration in the test area. But when I tried it on Coach leather and vintage leather, it worked incredibly well, especially in combination with Leather Conditioner & Restorer from Leather Nova.

Also, this is not a stand alone product. To get desired clean, supple, new looking leather, the Leather Conditioner & Restorer is a MUST. Otherwise, this is a FANTASTIC deep leather cleaner. It's non-toxic, which is very important to me since I have a toddler at home and often put my leather goods in my baby bag.

It's also superior to Armor All for cleaning car interiors. It is exactly what I was looking for to clean handbags, shoes, furniture and leather car seats!

Rating: 4/5

After Cleaner, Before Conditioner. Must use the conditioner!!

After Cleaner. Clean but dry. 

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

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Motivated to Get Fit

There seems to be a progression in mom life where we go from becoming new moms and taking care of our new babies and one day, we wake up and realize that breastfeeding didn't take off all the baby weight and we're going to have to do something about it.  For me, luckily, this coincided with a few goodies coming to me for free, as though the universe was telling me that I really should lose that pouch.

Here are a few of the things that are really motivating me to make some healthy changes.

Garmin Vivofit Fitness Band
I received this for my birthday off my Amazon wishlist. Among all the fitness trackers, like Fitbit and Jawbone Up, this is the only one that doesn't need to be charged or have the battery replaced for an entire year! Do you know what that means? It means no forgetting it on the charger only to be left off for months.

It is also waterproof, not just water resistant, which means that pool time heart rate monitoring is a go. Also, it includes a chest strap heart rate monitor.

The calorie tracking syncs from My Fitness Pal (MFP), which I think the best calorie tracking app and website. It also does calorie output adjustments in the MFP database so it will correct erroneous exercise calorie counts to what is actually burned!

FlavFusion 26 Oz Infuser Bottle
I received this from FlavFusion to try and will review in detail later. Water is so very important for health but especially so when starting a new fitness routine or wanting to lose weight. Often, however, water is boring, espeically for those used to sugary drinks. Infusing water with fruit and herbs is a great way to make water less boring without adding sugar. 

Victoria Secret Incredible Sports Bra 
This came as an Influenster Vox Box along with sport leggings. I had always heard that dressing well for the gym or workout is motivating but stuck to my yoga pants and t-shirts gym uniform while the Lululemon clad ladies strutted their stuff through yoga class. It was a mistake to understimate the movitating power of looking hot while working out because, let's be honest, part of the getting fit picture is a bit of vanity. Embrace it. Everyone wants to look their best.

The Incredible is simply amazing. Comfortable, doesn't cause a uniboob, and is so extremely figure flattering. It also comes in specific bra sizes so it will cup and hold the "girls" perfectly during a workout. The capris and tights are also phenomenal. Even during the heatwave last week, a walk in VSX black tights was cool. Plus, the fabric has a light weight spanx feel and really shapes the legs and butt in a flattering way.

I also stopped into my local Victoria Secret to see what else was new and was surprised at how much Victor Secret has changed. Aside from having an entire PINK store for VS clothing across the path in the mall, the store is so much more than just lingerie now. Swim suits, comfortable sleep wear and a wide variety of workout clothes offerings caused me to walk out with a few more items of sports clothes than I expected!

Now I'm off to get a short walk in because my Vivofit is telling me that I've been sitting for too long. 

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Fall Beauty Buys

I have fallen into the mommy frump mode. Actually, that's putting it lightly. I have not been taking care of myself in the least. I haven't bought new shampoo and conditioner so I'm left with using this Everyday Shea that makes my hair oily and stiff or my husband's Clear Men's shampoo, which leaves my hair tangled and lifeless.

Pantone Scanner

My dog ate my face brush so I've been exfoliating with my typical aspirin scrub but not doing a good job of face washing since I've also run out of face wash. All my BB cream has been used or lost and I just don't have time to layer moisturizer under sunscreen plus primer or powder or whatever multistep process I used to use to create the illusion of flawless skin.

My scanner results

When I found myself at Target and the mall this weekend, I stocked up on the bare essentials, realizing that I would going to have to build up my beauty basics this fall.

I also found out that Sephora has a skin matching system that finds the foundation and creams that best match a user's skin tone using a pantone scanner! I ended up getting to try a few that were just perfect. No more guess work. And since it's my birthday month, they gave me a little birthday present of Makeup Forever samples too!

CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser: This is a very affordable cleanser that is highly rated and leave my skin feeling soft and supple after washing. Experts recommend not spending too much on cleanser because it's only on the skin for a minute before being washed away. $10.40 - Amazon.

OGX Thick and Full Biotin and Collagen Shampoo and Conditioner: This shampoo does a great job of thickening while also staying light weight. I did not expect that for such a low price. $5.74 - Amazon.

Facial Cleaning Exfoliate Brush: Everyone is using a Clairsonic these days but I am terrible at charging things! I haven't made the leap so I'm staying analog with this fine bristled brush that does pretty well. $8.99 - Amazon.

SEPHORA COLLECTION Pro Allover Powder Brush #61: This brush can be used on wet or dry cosmetics and when I tried it in the store with BB cream, I ended up using less BB cream than I normally would if I had just applied by my hands. I figure this splurge is going to save me money in the long run. $46 - Sephora.

Benefit Cosmetics BIG EASY Better Than BB: This was the big winner in the Pantone-Scanner-Match-My-Skintone Game because it matched, boasts a 35 SPF and had great light coverage. Just enough to balance my skintone while being light enough not to notice it is there. $41 - Amazon.

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Creamistry in Cerritos, CA

My little suburb has quickly become a southern California food destination where the latest and greatest in food innovations can be had in a couple of square miles.

Creamistry, a customizable made fresh with nitrogen ice cream shop, had a soft opening right around my son's first birthday. Naturally, his first bite of ice cream was going to come from this event.

Let's talk about how to order. Anyone who has ever been to Cold Stone creamery is likely familiar with the idea of making one's own ice cream flavor. First, pick a size. Second, pick a base. Then, pick the mix in and toppings. You can even make a float, ice cream sandwich, sake, whatever.

Now, many people might experience sticker shock when they see the prices on the cups. I have to bring this up because the comments on the price in the store were audible, despite the fact that it didn't stop anyone from actually ordering.  I'd like to say that you get a lot of ice cream for the price. You don't. What you get is extremely fresh ice cream, made to your flavor specifications with high end ingredients. And a reminder that ice cream is a sometimes food.

At Creamistry, there's a choice of 4 different base types. Original or Signature Premium, as they like to call it (very creamy), organic (less creamy but non-GMO), fruit sorbet (real fruit, no dairy) and wait for it... Dole. Yes, as in the same Dole that tastes exactly what goes into a Dole Whip Float at Disneyland. It's like Disney food without an entertaining way to walk off the calories.

This is where the signage is a little confusing. The creamy and nutty flavors can only be had with the Signature Premium or Organic base. The fruit flavors can be had in Signature Premium, Organic or Sorbet base. These bases are only the flavor listed and do not include any mix-ins. For isntance, the Captain Crunch base only tastes like Captain Crunch cereal but does not actually have crunchies in it... yet.

Then, for $1 each mix in or topping more, the ice cream creations begin. You can have Captain Crunch in your Captain Crunch so that you can crunch while you captain your ice cream experience. If you're more of a skipper type, there are combinations that you can just order without having to make those pesky toppings decisions.

I should also note that this method of nitrogen freezing ice cream really keeps the mix-ins crunchy, unlike premade ice cream where the mix-ins have melded and softened. Like with Oreos, or the aforementioned cereal.

I took a video to share with ya'll because the dry ice smoke is what puts the -istry in Creamistry. There is glass between the "lab" and the customers but right by the nitrogen mixers, there are gaps between the counter and the glass so that every time a mixer gets opened, the fog drifts out of the bowl, past the glass and over the counter. It is a very cool visual effect.


It was so impressive that I felt for sure the ice cream would not be good because it looked like a huge gimmick. The ice cream, however, was surprisingly good. The vanilla was among the best I had ever had (and the best my son had ever had since he's never had any ice cream before), the Dole pinapple sorbet was as good if not better than the Dole whip found next to the Tiki Room and the coffee was just perfect.

This is definitely better than Cold Stone as the ice cream stayed extremely cold for a long period of time without being hard, while Cold Stone's ice cream is always instantaneously mushy because it's been pulverized while the mix-ins are added.

It is on par with homemade ice cream, in a fraction of the time, without having to buy all the ingredients. Even with the long lines and the long wait for the orders to be completed, it's still faster than making my own.

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