Search Results for may (200)
I can hardly believe it! Last week, on May 2, we celebrated living on the road for FOUR YEARS! It’s so fun to look back at where we started and everything we’ve done. And how big that 5th wheel was! Geesh!! I'm so glad we decided to renovate this 47 year old Airstream!
We’ve seen some pretty incredible places, but seeing them with our kids by our side has made this journey the absolute best. And look how much they have grown!
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It’s. A. Struggle!!
Honestly I thought it would be easier to eat healthy on the road. Little did I know that we would fall in love with camping off-grid in remote areas which usually results in a lack of decent grocery stores. I mean, finding out that the local grocery store is also a the hardware store is not something that even phases me now. At first it was shocking, but now I’m like… "Okay, that’s normal."
We’ve relied on granola bars for hiking and way too may processed foods to make it easier for us to spend less time in the kitchen and more time exploring. But that’s about to get flipped upside down. As of April first things are going to drastically change here in this Tiny Shiny Home.
My goal for April is to eat all real food. You heard me right! A long time ago, back in 2014 we did Whole30. I still remember how amazing I felt, but I also remember how incredibly hard it was for me. However, since we’ve been really good at intermittent fasting over the last year, I’m hoping that it won’t be as bad this time around.
Committing to something like this is huge for us. Especially when we’re in a different location each week or two. Finding a good grocery store is hard, food prep in a tiny space is maddening, but I’m determined.
I will make a meal plan each week and do my best to stick with it (something I'm not very good at). I’m hoping to share our journey both here on our blog as well as on our Instagram stories. I’ll be linking to recipes and sharing photos as well as what we thought of each meal. We have one kid who may struggle a bit so finding things that he’ll eat will be a challenge but I’m committed to making sure we have meals that all of us will like. Fingers crossed!
So, if you’d like to join us for the month of April in eating real food, we’d love to have you follow along! Comment below if you'll be joining us, and check out our stories on Instagram for meal ideas and how we'll be prepping food in such a tiny space! Use the hashtag #tinyshinyrealfood when you share your meals and we'll feature your post on our stories!
Since I already have a good idea of what I’ll make the first week, below you’ll find my grocery list and links to some recipes I’ll be trying the first week of April. Let's do this!
Meals
Grocery List
Somethings I need for these recipes I already have on hand. But here's what I'll be buying for the first week.
Meats
- Chicken thighs - lots
- Beef Strips
- Ground Chicken
- Ground Pork
- Ground Beef
- Flank Steak
- Bacon (without sugar and bad stuff)
- Applegate Turkey Lunchmeat
Produce
- Avocados
- Onions
- Sweet Potatoes
- Small Red Potatoes
- Cauliflower - 4
- Bell Peppers
- Limes
- Fresh Ginger
- Pineapple
- Garlic
- Jalapenos
- Cilantro
- Green Onions
- Cucumber
- Zucchini
- Tomatoes
- Basil Plant
- Dill
- Spaghetti Squash
- Broccoli
- Red Cabbage
- Romaine Lettuce
- Sprouts?
- Pears
- Bananas
- Strawberries
Frozen
- blueberries
- strawberries
- mango
Cold Stuff
- Butter - to make ghee
- Eggs
Bottles/Canned Goods
- Coconut Milk
- New Primal Buffalo Sauce
- Avocado Oil Mayo
- Can of Green Chilies
- 8oz Tomato Sauce
- 6oz Tomato Paste
- Pickles
Spices
- Onion Powder
- Garlic Powder
- Parsley
- Pink Sea Salt
- Dried Dill
- Chipotle Chili Powder
- Liquid Smoke
And there you have it! That looks like a lot of stuff! I'm sure our grocery budget will increase a bit, but we'll just dip into our 'eat out budget' since there won't be a whole lot of that going on!
This won't be easy. I'll likely want to punch strangers in the throat the first week, but I won't do it. I'll smile, I'll make delicious, real food and make each meal a celebration of health and happiness. So, who's with me?
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I’ll admit it. I wasn’t super excited about visiting Universal Studios Hollywood. If you know us, you know we’d rather be hiking mountains alone than stuck in a city surrounded by thousands of people. I get anxiety when we have to be in large groups so putting me in the middle of a theme park just sounded like the worst idea.
However, this adventure is not about me! It’s about our family and more specifically, OUR KIDS! We just spent the last several months listening to the Harry Potter audio books with the kids after the older two had both read all the books. Then we watched all the movies so you may say we became Potter Heads. I’d heard great things about The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Hollywood so after much research, we decided to surprise the kids with tickets!
We counted down the days, did lots of research, and we were so excited when the day finally came for us to explore Hogsmeade. We got there right as the gates were open and went straight to Olivander’s Wand Shop. We waited 20 minutes to go to the Wand Experience where you’re in a large group of 20 people but only one gets chosen to get fitted for a wand.
Let’s just say, ours were only our kids in our group, so our chances were pretty good. Ada was chosen and I cannot even tell you how special it was. I teared up as the Wand Master spoke to her so kindly and made the whole experience purely magical, but that was just the beginning. Every interaction we had with the workers there was amazing. Everyone stayed in character and was so friendly and helpful.
After all the kids picked out their wands…or rather, after the wands picked our kids…we went straight to our first ride. The Flight of the Hippogriff. It was the kids very first rollercoaster and a great starter for our day. They LOVED it and were excited to go on the next ride, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. Woah. I wasn’t prepared for how cool that was going to be.
I thought you just sat in a chair that would move a bit in front of a big screen…NOPE! It was so much fun. We really felt like we were flying with Harry and all of his friends. So incredible.
We promised the kids after their first rides that we would grab some Butterbeer. We were told that the frozen kind was the way to go, but we had to see for ourselves. Yep, they were right…however, we got one frozen and one fizzy and drank them simultaneously and our minds were blown! THAT is the way to drink Butterbeer!
After wandering around the shops for a bit we grabbed some lunch at the Three Broomsticks and whoah! I had no idea that a theme park could have such amazing food. Like real, delicious food. We got fish and chips (which were probably the best I’ve ever had), herb roasted chicken, and chicken tenders. Everything was so fresh and good. Oh, and the fizzy pumpkin juice was awesome! Pricey? Heck yes, but you are at a theme park. It was worth it for the experience of the whole day.
We decided to let our food settle as we took the Universal Studio Tour. I didn’t realize that it was also a ‘ride’ of some sort. It was so fun to see a little bit of the behind-the-scenes and see how some of the movies are made. I didn’t expect to get wet on a bus tour, but my pants got soaked in an earthquake! The tour is a must. It’s an hour long but worth it.
After a few more rides we decided to go back to Hogsmeade so that the kids could cast some spells with their magic wands. They had so much fun with those wands.
We bought some postcards at the Owl Post to send to some family and friends. Of course another round of Butterbeer to close out our day.
It was the most incredible day. We couldn’t stop smiling and Ada hugged us every chance she got in between spells and swigs of Butterbeer. She proclaimed it to be the best day of her life, and I may agree.
Thank you Universal Studios Hollywood for making our first visit an experience we will never forget!
Watch the video about our trip to Universal Studios Hollywood! If you liked it, please leave a comment on YouTube after the video and give it a thumbs up! Thanks friends!
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Way back in 2015 we boondocked for the first time and totally fell in love. Out there on the edge of a ravine, surrounded by friends we just met for the first time, the attraction was instant.
Maybe it was the silence, the raw untamed beauty, or the feeling of freedom. Or maybe it was just that it was free! Either way, since that day we made it our goal to boondock more.
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If you’ve already caught our 2018 year end recap, then you may have noticed a little something called #tinyshinyhike.
Last year we set a goal for our family to walk a mile a day - or 365 miles in a year. And now we’re finally able to look back and see how we did.
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Ashley Longnecker / May 06, 2019
Jonathan Longnecker / January 20, 2019
We’re Jonathan & Ashley Longnecker. We love weird ideas, great food, travel, drawing, music, homeschool, tattoos, dreads, woodworking, design and our 4 amazing kids.