Amanda Stivers

Hi! I'm Amanda Stivers, and I am a 200 Hour Registered Yoga Teacher. I live in Illinois with my husband and our rescued greyhound, Lucy. When we aren't taking day trips, playing with Lucy, or checking out the arts, you can find me teaching yoga, cooking vegetarian meals, baking, crafting, or hunting down treasures at second hand stores.

[amandastivers]

Absolutely beautiful crisp morning for yoga at Anderson Japanese Gardens. #yoga #yogini #yogalove #yogaeverydamnday #yogainstructor #yogapractice #asanapractice #andersonjapanesegardens

[amandastivers]

Throwback Tuesday to 2012 to my Hatha Yoga Teacher Training Retreat. I'm smack dab in the middle. See me? I was pretty nervous and scared throughout this whole weekend. I remember we were divided into small groups and we were supposed to teach one pose. My pose was Marichyasana C. I got so nervous and flustered while I was trying to teach that pose, the teacher excused me from teaching. I felt so discouraged and deflated after that incident I remember that night calling my husband from my dorm room crying and panicking that I didn't think I was going to be a good yoga teacher and what the hell was I thinking. After that incident I worked my butt off practicing my outline I would be teaching to my fellow classmates for my final. I practiced a whole month before my final date. Everyday I worked on my outline memorizing it. All my practice paid off and I proved to myself that I can do anything I put my mind to and fear is all about how you choose to look at something. I had a teaching position even before graduation and I've been teaching ever since. #tbtuesday #yoga #yogainstructor #yogapractice #asanapractice #believeinyourself #yogaretreat

[amandastivers]

My cake I was planning on making stuck to the bottom of the pan. 😩 So I thought screw it, I’ll make a trifle instead. This is vanilla cake chunks, lemon curd, whip cream, raspberries, and blueberries. It was delicious. 😊 #desserts #triffle #raspberries #blueberries #lemon #cake #food

[amandastivers]

Veggie kabobs minus the skewer part. Since I mostly only cook for my husband and I most nights it just seems silly to fire up the grill. I can’t believe I haven’t thought to just toss the veggies on a cookie sheet and forgo using the skewers all together until now. 😏 A little extra virgin olive oil salt and pepper, and some Italian Seasoning. Roast for 35 minutes at 450 degrees F and you are good to go! #quickandeasy #veggies #eatyourveggies #vegan #vegetarian #quickandeasysidedish #vegetables

[amandastivers]

Cherry Limeade Cupcakes

I had family in town over the weekend and brought these cupcakes over to my parents house for everyone. They were a hit! Well with the adults they were anyways. I guess lime frosting isn’t high on kids favorite frosting flavor lists. Lesson learned.

I used a box cake mix for the cake part of this recipe making this recipe super simple. This recipe makes enough for 24 cupcakes. I used some sprinkles on top of my cupcakes. The frosting is pretty enough with the lime zest flaked throughout that it is pretty on its own though. Give it a try! They are a perfect summertime treat.

Cherry Cupcakes

1 box of cherry flavored cake mix( follow ingredient list on the box)

Limeade Frosting

4 sticks of room temperature unsalted butter

Zest of 4 limes( there’s only 3 limes in my picture I realize but I used 4)

3 Tb lime juice 2 cups of sifted powdered sugar

To make the cupcakes: Follow the directions on your box cake mix. Allow cupcakes to cool COMPLETELY before frosting.

To make the frosting: In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the unsalted butter, lime zest, lime juice on medium speed until creamy. Gradually add sifted powdered sugar until blended and frosting is smooth. If frosting is too thick add more lime juice, tsp by tsp for desired consistency.

Frost and sprinkle(if using sprinkles) the cupcakes! Be generous with the frosting. This recipe makes plenty so don’t be stingy with it. If you are planning on bringing these cupcakes to a summer outdoor function, I would recommend keeping them inside where it’s cool until you are ready to serve them. If you are making these cupcakes ahead of time, store in refrigerator and let set out for at least 20 minutes before enjoying. This will let the frosting soften up some.

[amandastivers]

Bathing beauty. #darlingweekend #weekend #sunday #sundaymorning #greys #greyhounds #sighthounds #dogs #dogsofinstagram #greyhoundsofinstagram #needlenose #rescuedog #rescuedgrey

[amandastivers]

#blackandwhite #blackandwhitephotography #greys #greyhounds #dogs #dogsofinstagram #greyhoundsofinstagram #reacuedog

[amandastivers]

Sleepy greyhound.

[amandastivers]

#yoga #asana #yogini #yogi #dancerspose #natarajasana #yogaeverydamnday #redheadedyogi #redheadedyogini #yogateacher #docktime #laketime #asanapractice #yogapractice

[amandastivers]

#yoga #headstand #sirsasana #yogini #yogaeverydamnday #docktime #yogateacher #redheadedyogi #redheadedyogini #vacation #summer #cabintime #laketime #summervacation #lake #echolake #om #namaste

[amandastivers]

After being in the car for 8 hours a nice long walk and some yoga on the dock was called for. These three yoga poses(pigeon, cow face, and wide legged standing forward fold) are great to do before and after if you will be sitting for extended periods of time. #wi #vacay #yoga #yogini #yogateacher #asana #yogapractice #asanapractice #yogaeverydamnday #pigeon #cowface #standingwideleggedforwardfold #gomukhasana #prasaritapadottanasana #ekapadarajakapotanasana #laketime #looncapital

[amandastivers]

Side crowing it up. This pose for me is one that is constantly challenging. #crow #yoga #yogapractice #asana #asanapractice #yogini #yogateacher #darlingweekend #nspiredyoga #parsvabakasana #yogaeverydamnday #armbalance #focus #concentration

[amandastivers]

How perfect is this photo bomb courtesy of Ms. Lucy?! 😂 #greys #greyhounds #greyhoundsofinstagram #dogs #dogsofinstagram #photobomb #dogphotobomb #sighthounds #rescuedog #porch #porchtime #summer #thatsdarling

[amandastivers]

Bakasana, Crow pose. #yoga #yogapractice #asanapractice #asana #yogaeverydamnday #looneybin #latergram #laketime #loons

[amandastivers]

Claire's doing her best Tadasana while I try my best attempt (tight pants) Svarga Dvijasana. #loons #looneybin #latergram #laketime #lake #yoga #yogapractice #asanapractice #birdofparadise #yogalove #yogaeverydamnday

[amandastivers]

Not that sweet and innocent. She decapitated her frog this morning. #headhunter #greys #greyhounds #greyhoundsofinstagram #dogs #dogsofinstagram #sighthounds #needlenose #crosspaws #ladylike

[amandastivers]

Super Simple Craft Project I thought it would be fun to create some cute shirts to wear while I was teaching and/or doing yoga. I was right! This was fun and very inexpensive. This project took me probably less than an hour to make. I was really pleased with how well my shirts turned out. I can't wait to wear mine! I'm thinking of what else could use some iron on lettering. A tote bag with my sparkly letters may be in my near future. I like getting my tank tops that I wear for yoga at Old Navy. They fit great, are inexpensive (I bought my tank tops on sale for $5!) and they are made nice and long. To save money, you could obviously use a tank/shirt that you already had. I bought my iron on letters at Micheals craft store for around $5. They had many different styles of font to choose from. You can't really tell from my photos but my letters have a bit of sparkle to them. After purchasing your shirt and letters all you do is follow the directions on your packaging of letters. See I told you. Super simple craft project.