Valentine’s Day

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Granola

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Hi y’all! If you know me you know I’m OBSESSED with 2 things, chocolate covered strawberries AND granola. I would BE granola if I could😂. I thought about combining the two and the result was better than I imagined! This stuff is so good. Fun fact I thought about selling my granola because it’s that good. I would have some regular flavors and then a flavor of the month like ice cream. This would definitely be the flavor for the month of February!

Here’s how the recipe:

Ingredients:

3 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup dark cocoa powder
1/4 cup brown sugar
¼ cup honey
2 Tablespoons coconut oil, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup of chocolate chips) I used a mixture of milk and dark chocolate)
1 bag freeze dried strawberries
Chocolate candy melts (optional)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper or a Silpat.
Stir together the oats, pecans, cocoa powder and brown sugar in a large bowl.
Melt the coconut oil and then whisk in the honey and vanilla while still warm. Pour over the dry ingredients and stir until everything is coated.
Pour the mixture evenly on the prepared tray. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool completely.
Add the chocolate chips and freeze dried strawberries to the cooled granola.
Melt candy melts and drizzle all over granola. Then let chocolate set. You can place in fridge for a few minutes but don’t forget about it.
Break up granola and stores in a tightly sealed container.

I bagged this up in these little bags and added a heart sticker from Hobby Lobby to gift to my loved ones. This is the perfect Valentine treat! Hope you enjoy

Love Ricki

Semi-Homemade Red Velvet Cake

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you.

Hi y’all! I recently posted on Instagram my Doctored Cake Mix Red Velvet Cake Recipe and I wanted to share the recipe here for you all!

Here’s how to make it:

Red Velvet Cake
1 box of German chocolate cake mix (I’ve only used Betty Crocker for this but I’m sure Duncan Hines will work too)
1/2 cup of Buttermilk or make your own
1/4 cup oil or 1 stick of melted butter
3 eggs
1 cup of sour cream
1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
1 tablespoon of red velvet emulsion (optional)
1/2 to 1 bottle of red food coloring (they usually come in 1 oz size)

Preheat oven to 350 (I personally bake my cakes at 325 but my oven baked faster so know your oven) To a bowl or stand mixer combine cake mix, buttermilk, and oil. Then mix in eggs one at a time just until combined. Add flavorings, food coloring and sour cream. Mix until incorporated (try not to overmix if you think you may over mix do it by hand or else your cake will be tough). Pour in pans and bake for the time according to pan size you are using on back of box. Frost with cream cheese frosting on previous video. Enjoy!

Love Ricki

Red Velvet Waffles for the Month of Love!

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you.

Brunch is always a way to my heart & the perfect option to add are these Red Velvet waffles! These are super easy to make because they use cake mix! I prefer Duncan Hines but any red velvet cake mix should work!

Here’s the recipe:

Red Velvet Cake Mix Waffles

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup of red velvet cake mix

2 tbsp of sugar (optional)

1 cup of buttermilk or milk (I used halfu milk, half buttermilk)

1 cup of flour

2 tbsp melted butter

2 eggs

1 tablespoon of vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix for about 2 minutes. Batter will have a few lumps. Pour in greased waffle iron. Cooks about a minute in my dash heart waffle iron♥️ Enjoy!

Here is a short video showing how to make the waffles.

I used my favorite heart waffle maker to keep with the Valentine’s Day theme!

Make someone feel special not just on V Day but all year round with this super easy and delicious treat!

Love Ricki

Seasoned and Sexy

Seasoned and sexy and loving it!

ZarahereBy now everybody knows (In my Phaedra Parks voice) that I absolutely love being a Seasoned Woman!!! It really does feel good to love yourself, have confidence and know what and who you want in your life. One of the things I have learned from being seasoned is the way you carry yourself is important! Growing up my mother ALWAYS emphasized that as a woman you should carry yourself a certain way. As a child I never quite understood what that meant but now I understand completely.

The way you look, speak, treat other people makes up the way you carry yourself. I think the way we look is very important whether we want to admit it or not. It is not how other people should define us but our image is what gets us through the door whether its business or personal. And I am not talking about beauty. I am talking about class. Are you neat and clean? Are your clothes ironed and pockets tucked into your jeans (my pet peeve with my kids!)? Is your hair combed or out of place? Are your fingernails dirty? Do you smile or frown? All of these are things people see and make a determination as to whether they want to get to know you better.

Another thing which may be a touchy subject for the ladies is are you showing too much? I’m not talking about a little cleavage here or there or wearing a crop top. I’m talking about the barely there painted on dress. Don’t be shamed because I have done it but now I understand that leaving something to the imagination is way sexier than baring it all. Some celebrities and even influencers think it’s cute to show us everything they’re working with, but I am here to tell you it is not. Leave that for your man, woman or whoever you are dating in 2018. I’ll tell you another thing Sallie has said. If I can already see your whole city, state and country- why would I want to travel there anymore?

That was one of the main reasons I chose this dress as my Valentines look. I am almost completely covered but I am still SEXY (If I do say so myself). This dress is midi length which I love and has an open knit fabric which has a slip underneath but still shows just enough skin (size down for a more form fitting look cause the dress has a nice stretch). I don’t have to worry about tugging and pulling a dress down, scared I’m going to show all my mama blessed me with. I don’t have to think about a boob popping out or sliding up under my bra (Yes that has happened smh). I am still SEXY and SEASONED without giving everybody a peep show.

Don’t be scared, tell me how you really feel about women showing a lot of skin? Do you agree with what I said or think I’m too old school?

I pray you have an awesome Valentine’s Day whether you or boo’d up or single and satisfied. Remember to love yourself first because that’s how people will love you in return!

Love Ricki

My Story

My story of how I finally learned to love myself.

Yup we are going to talk about Self-Love. I know you are like GIRL I love me! And if you do then great! This post isn’t for you then. But for those who are still learning to love their selves you are welcome to read my story.

This post was originally a Galentine’s Day look. You know to hang with your girl crew. Maybe a quick happy hour or gabfest over dinner. The top is cute and comfortable (size down!) and snatches that waist! And because I intend to get a lot of wear out of all my clothes and shoes the red boots are back and I feel they are appropriate for this type of event (hello Valentines = Red).

Even though I bought a new wig hot flashes (at least I thought they were lol) kept me from wearing it. I decided to try out a natural hairstyle instead. You see my 12 year old daughter entered 6th grade which is considered middle school here in TX and the growing pains have arrived. She no longer loves and embraces her beautiful thick long and curly natural hair. And that saddens me. She wants her hair straightened and worn long (I’m thinking someone commented on her having short hair but we all know the shrinkage struggle) and even though I’ve done it for her I’ve explained this can’t be a frequent hairstyle because of the heat damage. I could see the disappointment in her eyes and Lord knows I want to make her happy but I’m also her mother and must do what’s best. So I decided to wear my natural hair to show her Mama loves being natural too. Now even though my youngest two daughters are natural and have never had relaxers and I can say I style their hair pretty well, mine ain’t like that! It’s gonna take some getting used to but I’m confident I can learn my hair.

BUT HUNNY!!! If you knew me say 4-5 years ago I could not have stepped out in public with my natural hair EVER!!! I would have felt ugly. Period. I had low self esteem and hardly any self confidence. I looked haggard (my sister and mother actually told me that ugh) and I was about 225 lbs and you could have easily thought I was 10 years older than I actually was. It was sad. I was sad. And you could actually see it from the way I carried myself, talked, my activities EVERYTHING! My life was my kids and my marriage was not good. I just wasn’t in a good place in life. I considered suicide. Again. But I promised myself I would never leave my children motherless. At least not by my hand. I’ve always struggled with depression most of my life. When I was 4 & 5 years old I was molested. I don’t remember all of what happened but I knew what was going on wasn’t right. My mother found out what happened and actions were taken and people went to jail. But unfortunately I went with them to my own personal jail. It’s something about having your innocence taken away that makes you feel dirty, tainted, and unworthy. I can say my Mama did the best she could to make sure I went to therapy and group sessions but this was all while I was still very young. See you don’t really feel the effects of what abuse does to you until you are older. Until you are growing up and your body changes and you experience love or what you think is love and deal with the stresses of adulting. All of that took a toll on me. However I survived those things but I wasn’t living life. I was cold, mean, not affectionate, and confusing to people that loved me. The tiniest thing would depress me and I never ever felt someone would truly love me because of what I had been through and therefore I never let anyone be close to me. In October 2001 I attempted suicide after a break up. I took as many Xanax pills as I had which were quite a few and decided to leave this earth. I’m not sure if I really wanted to die but at that time I didn’t feel worthy enough to stay here. Fortunately I was awakened by family members and an ambulance and I was not too far gone so my stomach didn’t have to be pumped but I did have to drink that nasty charcoal (y’all you will have that stuff in your system for months!) and I was committed to a psych ward for 2 days. It was an experience I never wish to have again. Years later I wanted to live but I still wasn’t enjoying life because of the depression. I still was looking for love that I didn’t give myself. BUT GOD!!! He will let you know you are loved. I can’t say it was a church that helped me specifically it was just my prayers and I’m sure the prayers of others that were interceding on my behalf but I decided I wanted to love me. I wanted to love me like God loves me. I wanted to enjoy my life as Rickey Nicole. Not a wife or mom or daughter or sister. Just as me. And then the transformation began. Was it overnight? Of course not. But little by little I started discovering who I was and what I liked and didn’t like and what I enjoyed doing and started living a little. I experimented with new clothing. I discovered make up and hair tutorials on YouTube and I tried everything whether it worked or not lol. Those things might seem superficial but discovering my beauty and worth filled me with happiness and people could tell. I’m still an introvert (ha I bet you don’t believe that) but I talk to people now instead of hide. I laugh, I smile, I’m even a bit of a flirt (with my husband of course *wink*). Life has changed drastically since I’ve learned to love myself. And even though everyday isn’t peachy I still remember where I was and I’m grateful because I’m here to experience it all the good and the bad. This is also why I celebrate being a seasoned woman because I got better as I grew older and I hope to inspire other ladies that aging can be THE best blessing (I mean a birthday means you are still living right!) So I guess I’ll leave you with a tip to the secret of how I discovered self love. Remember you were created in His image and He even knows the number of hairs on your head. Tell me who knows that!!! God! And through Him ALL things are possible even loving yourself almost as much as He loves you. I mean cause you can’t out love God but you can come pretty dang close!

Love Ricki