Copy that.

Life through the eyes of a copywriter. // MPLS

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Apple Cider Sangria

As I do with all of my recipes, I started with a base and threw in my own additions. I was looking up sangria recipes but ended up finding ones that had cider added. WHAT A GREAT IDEA!

Ingredients 1 orange, sliced1 lemon, sliced 1 apple, cored and sliced 1 cup fresh cranberries 1 tsp cinnamon 2 tbsp honey 1/2 cup brandy Red wine of your choice Hard cider of your choice

1.  Slice orange and lemon 2.  In a bowl, mix orange, apple and lemon slices, cranberries, honey and cinnamon 3.  Depending on the size of the container you're making the sangria in, I would say you should do 1/2 and 1/2 red wine and cider 4.  Add the brandy 5.  Add the fruit mixture, mix and serve!

I think next time instead of the cranberries, I'm going to do pomegranate seeds. This is the perfect drink for say, Thanksgiving celebrations!

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Baked Sweet Potato Fries

I love me some sweet potato fries and making them myself makes them all the more tasty!

Ingredients 2 large sweet potatoes 2–3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 1/4 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp sea salt, more to taste

Instructions

1. Cut sweet potatoes into fries 2. In a large bowl, soak sweet potatoes in cold water for 45 minutes 3. Preheat oven to 375 4. Remove sweet potatoes from water and pat dry 5. Line baking sheet with foil 6. Coat sweet potatoes with oil, cinnamon and sea salt 7. Let bake for 45 minutes, flipping in the middle 8. Broil on high for 5 minutes 9. Serve hot

I sprinkled some Parmesan cheese on top because really, when shouldn't you?

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Cranberry Apple Crisp

I love trying new recipes and when I do, I always end up tweaking them to make them my own. (Or to make up for what I forgot to buy at the grocery store — oops!) My newest adventure is Lexi's Cranberry Apple Crisp. Her version is grain free, but my version isn't. Read more to get my recipe.

Filling 4 apples (peeled, cored, chopped) 1 cup fresh cranberries 1 tsp cornstarch 2 tbsp honey 1 tsp cinnamon Juice of 1/2 lemon

Topping 1 8-oz bag of ground walnuts 1 cup oats 2 tbsp honey 1 tbsp coconut oil 1 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp vanilla extract Pinch sea salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Using apple corer, peel, core and slice apples.

3. In a bowl combine sliced apples, cranberries, cinnamon, corn starch and honey; mix well.

4. Line a 9x13 glass baking dish (I used two small dishes, whatever you have will work great), or a cast iron skillet with apple & cranberry mixture.

5. Place walnuts in a nut grinder or food processor and grind finely.

6. In a bowl combine all topping ingredients and mix with a fork until crumbly. (If your mixture isn't crumbly, go ahead and add more oats.)

7. Pour crumble mixture evenly over fruit mix.

8. Bake until top is golden brown and fruit is hot and bubbly, 40-50 minutes.

9. Devour!

Give the recipe a whirl and let me know how it goes! I think next time I'm going to add a little extra honey to the filling and maybe sprinkle some brown sugar on top. Maybe even some brown sugar in the filling instead of the extra honey. Just to offset the tartness from the cranberries. The possibilities are endless!

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Chicken Fried Cauliflower

Here's what I used. (I did a slightly simplified version of her recipe. Get her full recipe here.) I would say with prep and all this took about an hour to make.

Ingredients     1 head cauliflower     2–3 carrot stalks, chopped     1 cup frozen organic peas, chopped     1 zucchini, chopped     2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil     2 cloves garlic, crushed     Handful of spinach     2 eggs     2 pieces boneless chicken breasts, diced (or protein of choice)     1 tbsp garlic powder     1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (more to taste)     1/2 tsp salt, more to taste     1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

1.  Using your food processor or cheese grater, pulse/grate cauliflower until rice consistency.

2.  Cut up all veggies you're going to use and set aside.

3.  In one pan, heat 1 tbsp oil and sauté 2 cloves crushed garlic and sauté for 5 minutes.

4.  Then add in the rest of your veggies and mix well for 6-8 minutes.

5.  Add in protein of choice and cook until fully cooked.

6.  Add cauliflower rice to the pan and mix well, let cook for 5 minutes, stirring often.

7.  Make a hole in the center of your rice and put eggs in. Once scrambled in the center, mix in completely with the rice.

8.  Add garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper and mix well.

9.  Taste and adjust spices as desired.

10. DEVOUR!

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Last weekend my boyfriend and I drove to Chicago to visit his dad and brother, plus pick up some furniture his dad was giving us. It's about a 7-hour drive ... and to go there and back in one weekend isn't very fun, but we made the best of it.

The plan: leave early Saturday morning and be back Sunday evening. This trip was not for the faint of heart. Packing for only one night should have been easy, but having so little time there made it difficult to choose the perfect two outfits that say "Hi Chicago, I'm not from here, but I'm still cool." Joe and I both have Everlane weekenders and they're perfect in every way. Highly recommended! So once I settled on my outfits, we were packed and ready to go.

We were sure to brew some Signet Coffee Saturday morning. (A must have for road trips and any morning really.) Along the drive, the landscapes were filled with autumn leaves, so that was pretty awesome.

We got into town just in time to get ready for dinner at Del Frisco's, which was incredible. Great conversation, ambiance and food. Needless to say, we were stuffed and that combined with a long day of driving meant we were in bed by 10pm.

We were a little thrown off by our extra hour (Daylight Saving!) and Joe ended up sleeping in. I was up with the sun and enjoyed some coffee while reading the NY Times fashion magazine. Lucky for me, Joe's dad has a guest bedroom and a downtown apartment with an incredible view.

After brunch and some shopping, we were back on the road to Minneapolis. It was a quick trip, but a fun getaway.

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Well, we got our first sprinkling of real snow. The giant flakes stole my heart and made me happy. Plus, I was excited to wear my new warm gear! While scraping my car this morning, I became overwhelmingly aware of part of the reason I dread winter. I still love the peacefulness a blanket of snow brings.

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Last night I did my "what can I make out of the random ingredients I have?" routine and I ended up with some yummy soup!

On a whim, I purchased a ton of mushrooms from the farmers market. So, I cut them all up (it had to have been at least 4–5 cups, chopped) and sauteed them in a little butter. When the mushrooms were about done, I added an entire bag of spinach (after I chopped it up a bit). I didn't have any potatoes or chicken, but I had a package of gnocchi. So, in a big pot I started warming up a jug of chicken broth and brought it to a boil. Gnocchi is easy because you just have to toss it into boiling liquid, wait until they float up and boom. Usually you boil them in water then drain, but I was lazy and boiled them in the chicken broth. Once they were done, I reduced the heat to low. Then, I added my sauteed mushrooms and spinach. I had some fresh garlic, so i pressed one clove into the mixture. (Who doesn't love garlic?) Then I just grabbed some random seasonings, including salt, and sprinkled them in.

Then BOOM! Yummy mushroom, spinach and gnocchi soup! It turned out being a great fall meal.

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I'm excited to check out Lily and Violet tomorrow — come join the party!

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Video progress bar: behind the scenes.

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What's that? Ah yes, winter depression.

Today is the first day that smells like winter. That cold, dry air. With every gust of wind, my face gets colder and my nose number. "Why are you running?" I ask my nose, "You can't escape." But really, I should have worn a warmer coat today.

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Keep.com ... My new favorite pastime.

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Nothing beats fall sweater shopping.

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You guys. I’m a kitchen wizard! Veggie lasagna - zucchini, carrots, spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, basil, marscapone, ricotta and mozzarella … heaven. This is the recipe I used as a base.

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I got my momma a succulent garden for her birthday. I’ve got the favorite child position on lock.

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Every Wednesday is "Working Wednesday" and I get together with my creative partner in crime. This week we went to Glam Doll Donuts — you're looking at our dinner.

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Fall time in the North Loop.

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I’m going to miss this. Nothing beats fresh fruit and veggies every weekend from the farmers market!