When The Big 15 Paleo Cookbook was first coming out, I reached out to some of my food blogger friends to see if they'd be interested in whipping up a few of my recipes, and I was so incredibly blown away by their enthusiasm. It's been so fun hearing from you guys when you receive your book or cook a dish you love from one of my chapters (seriously, if you're on Snapchat (flynnmd), Twitter, or Instagram keep sending 'em my way)!

So anyway, today I wanted to share some posts from my sweet friends who were kind enough to blog about my book over the past few weeks. You can click through the photos above to get to the original post, but a more extensive list is included below.

Paleo Ginger Beet Sorbet on Feast + West

Paleo Barbecued Chicken and Kale Salad on Seven Layer Charlotte 

Broccoli Salad with Almonds and Pancetta on Tag & Tibby 

Paleo General Tso's Cauliflower on Plaid & Paleo 

Banh Mi Tacos on A Mind "Full" Mom

Paleo Meatballs on Off the Eaten Path 

Chili-Lime Sweet Potato Fries on Unshelled

Baked Eggs on Pantry Doctor

Zucchini Noodle Lo Mein with Shrimp on The Mexitalian

That's all for now! If you've made something from the book, please feel free to share a photo on social media and use the hashtag #Big15Paleo so we can all see it! And if you haven't left a review on Amazon yet, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

PS It's only $10.92 on Amazon right now if you haven't snagged a copy yet!

I wake up every morning at 6:30 AM and feel three hours behind, right away.

Part of it is because my friends on the East Coast are go-getters, and most of them are active on social media; so my habit of scrolling through my Twitter feed with one just eye open in the dark of morning really throws me off. There are newsletters and Instagram notifications and somehow not enough emails because I haven't written today's blog post yet which means I'm probably even more than three hours behind, and should I just wait until tomorrow again? In an ironic twist, social media is making me feel less connected than ever.

The other part of it is because we live really far away from "home," and I feel the distance every day. I look forward to hearing her voice every time, but it disorients me to talk to my mom at 9:00 AM--I'm just finishing my coffee or taking Ender for a morning walk, and she's telling me about lunch and the things she needs to do that afternoon.

It's only three hours but it feels a lot longer--a lot further than that.

Sleeping in a bit on a Saturday morning and waking up to feel like you missed everything. Saying "just one more" to an episode of Gilmore Girls on the couch after dinner but then realizing it's only 7:30. Unpacking (more) boxes at 8:53 PM Pacific Time when the majority of the people you know are already asleep in their beds on another coast 2,700 miles away. 

At times it has felt like an adventure, and other times it has felt so lonely that it makes my head spin.

But we're only a week and a half in, and I know I need to be patient. The windows are open, and the night is bright and clear and it's 55 degrees every morning. There are beaches and vineyards to explore and new people to meet. There are book clubs to join and cousins to meet for impromptu dinners. And most importantly, there's a tall man asleep beside me every night who no longer has to catch a Thursday red eye to wake up with me on the weekends.

Life is so strange sometimes but I don't think I'd take it any other way.

Happy Friday! This week has been such a weird one as we've been unpacking and getting to know our new neighborhood a bit. Yesterday my friend Alli was in the area from San Francisco and stopped by for an hour--I didn't realize how much I needed to see a familiar face until she was sitting in my living room with me. 

This weekend we're going to try to finish most of our unpacking and then do a little shopping. We also want to find a dog park for Ender to play, since he had to give up his backyard to move here! If any of you South Bay friends have any recommendations, I'd love to hear them!

Before I dive into more clothes and kitchen stuff, I wanted to share this list of links I put together:

• Josh Groban sings Donald Trump tweets. Amazing.
• Is anyone using a beauty blender instead of a makeup brush? I think I want to try one.
• Love this bit of perspective when it comes to the curated shots we see (and post) on Instagram. I know this is absolutely true behind the scenes of my feed, as well.
• Why I Decided to Stop Writing About My Children. As someone who blogs a lot and would also like to have kids one day, I appreciated this.
• Seriously lusting after this wrap coat.
• In America, gun rights are for whites only. An important thought that's been on my heart lately, especially after the recent events that have taken place in Charlotte (a city I love and miss dearly). 
• This is the most incredible dry shampoo I've ever used and it's worth every penny.
• I feel like this is the perfect tee shirt. I need one for every day of the week.
• Tom Hanks showed up at this couple's wedding photo shoot and probably made everyone's life (including mine, and I wasn't even there). He seems so nice.

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I'm hoping to get back to a more regular posting schedule now that my book is out and we're finally all moved in! It's been a crazy few months, but I don't know if I'd have it any other way. Thanks for sticking with me, you guys! It really means the world to me.

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