It’s Monday, so it’s time for another Inspire Me Monday post! I’m sharing stuff/peeps that inspire me and if you’re a blogger, you can also link-up things that will inspire others.
Inspirational Blends
(Blend = Blogger + Friend)
Hiya, friends! How was your weekend?
I had the privilege of hanging out with some lovely women on my side of the twin cities in Minnesota. Three of us met at Chipotle (yes, I know it’s a chain and a tad cliche for foodie/fitness bloggers, but there is seating outdoors with a view!) and had a great time chatting about life, television shows we obsess over (Parenthood!!!) and of course blogging. 🙂
(left to right: Amber, Emily and Me. Thanks to Mr. Dave for being our official photographer!)
Then Amber had to head out to pick up her little ones (she has 4 under 4!) and we met up with Allison at Nadia Cakes. This cupcake shop opened in our area a few months back and it typically has a line out the door! They were on Cupcake Wars (and won) and were voted Minnesota’s best cupcake shop. Obviously we had to check it out. 😉
Everything was super adorable and decadent (and delicious)…there are even huge pink couches to sit on.
(top left to right: Emily, Allison and Me; bottom left to right: Cookie Dough Torte, Berry Furries [berries used in the cupcake AND frosting], cookie sundae I split with Dave–not pictured: delish brownie cupcake I snagged for later)
These ladies are all super passionate about spreading the semi-healthy word in the blogland.
You should definitely follow them:
Emily: More Than Just Nutrition (has a doctorate in nutrition and I could listen to her for hours on the subject. she is so passionate and it inspires me to take my own nutrition more seriously)
Amber: Mommy’s Me Time (just as sweet as she seems on her blog/social media. I’ve been stalking her awhile now and I’m so glad we got to meet in person!)
Allison: With Faith and Grace (lovely gal who was also kind enough to invite me to her holiday party this past winter. I’m also fascinated when she talks about her experiences as a diabatic)
[Tweet “Lovely, passionate bloggers to follow! #fitfam #blogging”]
You may have seen on Instagram, but the weekend before I hung out with some other blog friends at a blog friend’s wedding in Iowa! (<- it is possible slash very likely that most of my current friends have been made through blogging…)
(left to right: Katie, Calee, Alex and Me)
(left to right: Sam, Katie and Me)
Follow these lovely ladies as well:
Katie and Sam are part of 50 States in a Year, an awesome charity project where they are traveling the US raising money at various Crossfit boxes. (She wrote this post for DSHN explaining it here.)
Calee blogs at Life Plus Running (she is a super creative graphic designer and I love just reading about her life)
Alex blogs at Alex Tries it Out (currently she is on a Crossfit streak, but we also both share a love of running. her wedding was also super awesome because her now-husband is from Kenya and there were tons of songs and traditions I got to experience)
Okay I really didn’t plan on gushing over my blog friends today, but they definitely inspire me on a daily basis, so why not give them shout-outs??
Random note: I’m on the right side of all of these photos…weird, no?
Homemade Fruit Snacks Inspiration
I was super inspired by a project I did for Mode Media last week where I decided to find different fruit snacks you could make at home with fresh fruit. And where did I start my search? Pinterest, but of course. I wanted some pretty pictures! And it never hurts to beef out my existing Fruits and Veggies board. Which I definitely did.
(PS I owe you bloggers out there a how-to Pinterest post because I told myself that when I got to 2k followers—which was double what I had last July– I would write one up and I’m now at 3k followers—eep! Thanks for everyone who follows me!! I did a happy dance when I saw that stat writing up this post!!)
Some of these ideas totally blew my mind…like did you know you could make your own gummy bears?? I mean it makes sense since I know you can make fruit leather at home…but I just never thought to attempt such a thing. So much inspiration was found rounding up these homemade fruit snack posts!
Basically, I love you Pinterest (and you creative souls who pin there) and here are some cool things I found you can make with fruit at home.
7 Homemade Fruit Snacks Ideas
A little note: I’m also going to list below each photo where they were pinned, so pin from that link as opposed to the automatic button that shows up under each image. A little Pinterest etiquette for ya in advance. 
1. Healthy Mixed Berry Gummy Bears via The Skinny Fork
2. Applesauce Fruit Leather via Simply Healthy Made
3. Homemade Fruit Lollies via Color Wheel Meals
4. Homemade GoGurt via Passion for Savings
5. Homemade Mango Fruit Roll-Ups via Just A Taste
6. Plum Fruit Leather via Natasha’s Kitchen
This plum fruit leather was one of the first to inspire my own fruit leather recipe below!
7. Raspberry Homemade Fruit Roll-Ups via Diary of a Semi-Health Nut
Yup, I’m tooting my own horn on that last one!
[Tweet “7 Healthy Homemade Fruit Snack Recipes #fruit #nom #fitfluential”]
More Inspiration from Diary of a Semi-Health Nut Last Week
We lost a very special man a couple of weeks ago and it made me do some deep thinking.
This is a delish smoothie packed with antioxidants you should try. (I also have another smoothing coming for ya this week!)
Inspiration from Last Week’s Inspire Me Monday Link-Up
I really want to try these out!
Ummm…yes please!
Most Clicked Link from Last Week’s Inspire Me Monday Link-Up
The Biggest Decluttering Mistakes You Don’t Know You’re Making
This was super interesting. We definitely need to do some decluttering around here soon!
Welp, that’s all from me! Check out some of the inspiring links below and add your own!
Don’t forget to follow your lovely hostesses and check out their favorite posts:
Erin from Table for Seven || Facebook | Twitter | Google+ | Pinterest
CJ from Morsels of Life || Facebook | Twitter | Google+ | Pinterest
Emily from Simple Life of a Fire Wife || Facebook | Twitter | Google+ | Pinterest
Kori from Just Another Mom || Facebook | Twitter | Google+ | Pinterest
Janice from Reflections || Facebook | Twitter | Google+ | Pinterest
Brandi from Being Fibro Mom || Facebook | Twitter | Google+ | Pinterest
Bridget from The Recipe Wench || Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest
recipes, workouts, tips + exclusive content…right to your inbox!
Linking up to:
Thank you for the love!! The feeling is mutual. I’ll be in mn after finals so we have to hang out before y’all leave. Xoxoxo
Yay!! Yes we should definitely hang out after you’re done with finals!
Can I just say that I really commend you and give you a round of applause for spreading the blogging love and appreciation the way you have been with these Inspire Me Mondays! I know I’m not the only blogger who’s said this but my favorite part of being a blogger is the blogging community I’m involved with and all of the blogging buddies I have made. Definitely the best part!
Thanks, friend! Spreading the blogger love is part of blogging in my opinion! 🙂
I said this in the post, but a lot of my current friends I’ve met through blogging! Especially moving to a new place it was really awesome to be able to join a blogger group and jump into the get-togethers. I’ve mostly had positive experiences, so I agree the community aspect is awesome!
Looks like you had a blast on Sunday! I’m so bummed I missed it (and trying Nadia’s Cupcakes!).
I’m bummed you missed it too! We need to plan our next shindig soon! 🙂
these fruit snacks look so delicious! thanks for sharing ♥
stop by and chat 🙂 http://storybookapothecary.com
Thank you, you are so welcome! 🙂
So, don’t judge me because I’ve basically fallen off the blogging world (my summer semester ends after this week so hopefully that’s soon to change) but that pic of all of us from the wedding is so cute! I’m so happy you guys were able to make it down :).
Also creeping on the rest of your blog but … I probably won’t make any more comments today cause I guess I have to work and stuff … #dayjobproblems. It’s looking super cute btw! This might be the first time in forever I’ve been on your site while not on Bloglovin, so I’m noticing all your nifty little layout things.
Well obviously I’m going to judge you because blogging should be number one on your to-do list. 😉 😉
Thank you for the compliment! It makes my day when a designer compliments my design because I basically make things up as I go along. 😉 AND I just refreshed my header today, so you should let me know what you think when you get back into the blogging world again!
So many winky faces in that response..haha