Wednesday, October 31, 2012

What I Ate Wednesday, Happy Halloween edition


I'm not going to lie to you. Halloween is here, and I'm going to be dipping into some treats.

Okay, truth be told, I have already had a few treats. I might have indulged in a couple of small packets of Swedish Berries...and a couple of chocolate bars.

I'm going to limit myself from eating too much candy though. How am I going to accomplish that? Why, by baking of course. If I have some homemade treats to consume, I won't be so tempted by the chemical-infused packaged goods.

Now for a What I Ate Wednesday look at what I ate on the weekend...besides candy of course.

Monday, October 29, 2012

Thrifting on 10 Bucks, take two


The last time I took $10 to the thrift store, I got lucky. Read about it here if you like. But, that was a different type of thrift store...one that we don't seem to have in my area.

So, today I thought I would experiment by taking my $10 to a chain (read over-priced) thrift store in my area. I decided on the Salvation Army store.

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Lady Soma Skincare Review & Giveaway


Lady Soma, the makers of all natural women's probiotic supplements and skincare, recently sent me a selection of skincare products to review.

As much as possible, I prefer to use natural and organic products for my home, food and skin. I started on this path more than a decade ago. Like many moms, my concerns about our exposure to chemicals intensified when I became pregnant and had children.

None of Lady Soma’s products contain sulfates, parabens, propylene glycol, mineral oils, silicone, synthetic fragrances or dyes. The company’s ingredients are grown bio-dynamically and organically or ethically wild-harvested. They use natural botanical preservatives with appropriate packaging to keep products fresh.

Friday, October 26, 2012

Insta-Friday, family focus edition


Happy Friday! It's time to share cell phone photos once again.

Today, I am organizing my photos in terms of what each of my family members has been focusing on this week. Well, except my husband, because he has basically been working and coaching basketball. I don't have pictures of either of those things!

I spend a lot of time in this room, on this computer, typing and reading. So, I have been thinking about doing some more work on this room. Thinking about it, mind you, not doing it.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

What I Ate Wednesday, Tuesday eats edition


This What I Ate Wednesday, I am looking at all of the food I consumed on Tuesday.

Let's start with breakfast. I just went grocery shopping on Monday, which means there was still fresh fruit in the house. I enjoyed some Nature's Path pumpkin flax granola with peach slices, raspberries and soy milk. I also had water with Emergen-C in it. I have had a crackle in my throat for a few days, so I am trying to ward off any illness. I added a clementine for good measure.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Birthday Wishes


My little girl turns eight this week. Instead of heading to the movie theatre or the bowling alley for her party like we usually do, we decided to party old school this weekend, inviting some of her girlfriends over to our house to celebrate.

When it comes to little girls, the party theme usually starts with the cake. Once she settled on a pumpkin cake, it was all simple from there. There's certainly no shortage of pumpkin-themed items in stores right now!

Friday, October 19, 2012

Oatmeal Everything Cookies - My Fave Vegan Oatmeal Cookies!

Oatmeal Everything Cookies - My Fave Vegan Oatmeal Cookies!

These delicious vegan oatmeal cookies are packed with nourishing ingredients like whole oats, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds and flax. 

I don’t know about you other parents, but I like to send my kids out for their Halloween hunt with a full stomach. Although Halloween often falls on a busy weeknight, I attempt to ensure that they eat a healthy dinner that covers at least three of the major food groups. It might seem counter-intuitive, but how about offering some dessert?

Most kids aren’t going to turn down dessert, and if it’s a homemade dessert filled with some nutritious ingredients, they will have less room to fill up on all the Halloween goodies. (That is, unless your child is like my dog and will eat until they can literally eat no more. But that's unlikely.) That's where this recipe for vegan oatmeal cookies with "everything" in them comes in handy.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

What I Ate Wednesday, Desperate for Chocolate Drops edition


As I said last week, the theme for this month's What I Ate Wednesday is "Spooky Snacks & Healthy Halloween Treats."

Now, I would not want to let our host, Jenn, down. So, I was forced to consume snacks...a lot of snacks...this past week.

If you missed my no-bake chocolate nut butter cereal bars last week, go back and have a look. I cannot recommend them enough.

But I also have a new recipe this week, for the "Desperate for Chocolate Drops" pictured above.

Monday, October 15, 2012

Sentimental Journey


Since I didn`t get my thrift fix this week, I decided to take a trip down memory lane and show you some of my favourite vintage items.

My mom gave me this lovely dish, wish is currently decorating the side of my bathtub. I love the sweet old-fashioned girl.

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Children's Playhouse Giveaway! (CLOSED)


I have lined up a series of fun giveaways, and I am excited to be giving something back to the lovely people who take the time to read my blog.

First up is this fun recycled cardboard children's playhouse from Boutique Cascades. When Cascades sent us the playhouse, I was a little worried that my children, who are seven and 10, might be too big for a playhouse. But, my daughter danced with excitement while we assembled it.

Saturday, October 13, 2012

The Pumpkin Farm


On Thanksgiving Monday, my nieces and their parents decided to go to a local pumpkin farm, and they asked us to come along. I'm glad they did, because we all had a lot of fun (and we would have sat on our butts at home otherwise).

Always nice to see my boy with a smile on his face. I'm sure that smile had something to do with the extra day off from school.

Friday, October 12, 2012

Insta-Friday in real life, simple pics edition


Insta-Friday time! Time to share simple cell phone photos from our week.

Emphasis on the simple this time. I thought that when I got a new cell phone, I would take hundreds of exciting pictures. Turns out, we don't do a lot of photo-worthy stuff on a regular week. We hang out, tidy the house, take the kids to dance and basketball, eat food...not that I'm complaining. It's a nice life.

I take pictures of food, mostly. I made granola bars from my first-ever homemade granola, above. They tasted good, but nobody else ate them and eventually I threw half the pan away.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

What I Ate Wednesday, Thanksgiving Week Edition


This month, What I Ate Wednesday focuses on the theme "Spooky Snacks & Healthy Halloween Treats."

I certainly treated myself (oh yeah, and my family) to some fun snacks this week, including two of my favourite easy and delicious squares. Pictured above, berry oat bars. Yum.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

I Got Bitten by the Blog Bug!


The beautiful and talented Tabetha over at The Closet Intellectual very kindly nominated my wee blog for a Blog Bug! I am honoured that she would pick me. As she said in her nomination, we met via our blogs, but I could surely see myself hanging out with her in real life.

Tabetha is a history professor who lives in a small Tennessee mountain town with her husband and three teens. Be sure to check out her blog and read about her fabulous craft projects, her daily inspirations, her favourite fashions and her lovely family. Can you believe that's where she lives (above)?

Monday, October 8, 2012

Top That


Since my little beauty is home with me today for the Thanksgiving holiday, I asked her to model some of her favourite thrift store tops for me. Over the past few months, we have acquired quite a range of clothing for her from various thrift shops. These tops set us back about 50 cents to $2 each.

My personal favourite is this AC/DC tee. Of course, she probably doesn't know who they are, but she looks cool wearing it, doesn't she? Daddy gave the kids one of his old guitars, and we're thinking she is likely the rock star of the two. The dude is more low key than her.

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving


It's Thanksgiving weekend in this beautiful country of Canada, and I certainly have lots to be thankful for.

My mother-in-law and my sister-in-law are cooking. A big thanks for that! They usually prepare a mix of traditional Canadian Thanksgiving foods with their own special Italian foods. Because I don't eat turkey, the Italian stuff is my favourite!

Friday, October 5, 2012

Insta-Friday in real life, a child's perspective


Happy Friday!


It's Insta-Friday cell phone photo time. I have but one photo of mine to share. Two of our nieces were over last Friday night. We went to play basketball and tennis at a local park. My daughter and my younger niece were playing with the dog, when Jolene managed to escape her leash and take off into the street. Thankfully, she sat down when my husband yelled "Stop!" Do you see the guilty look in her eyes? Naughty.


For the rest of my Insta-Friday photos, I asked my kids to take some pictures with my cell phone. I find that children have a very different perspective on the world, and often they take cool and unusual photos.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

What I Ate Wednesday, new grocery products edition


It's Wednesday. You know what that means. Yes, it's "hump day," and by lunch-time your work week will be half over. But, it's also What I Ate Wednesday!

I look forward to seeing what everybody ate this week, when I link up with the other girls over at Peas & Crayons.

I am sharing some highlights from my eats over the past week, starting with a special treat. My mother-in-law gave us six jars of her homemade marinated eggplant last week, so my Saturday lunch included almost a whole jar, served on rice crackers. It was delicious. I was going to make some myself, but now I don't have to!

Monday, October 1, 2012

Thrifting on 10 Bucks


On my way back from a fun trip to Niagara Falls last week, I stopped in at the Bibles for Missions Thrift Shop in St. Catharines, Ontario. I first wrote about this little gem of a shop in June, when my sister introduced me to it. You can read about it in my Thrifting Sisters post.

I have been trying not to visit thrift stores lately, in order to save money and stop building clutter in my home. But, I was missing the thrill of the hunt. So, I set myself a goal of spending no more than 10 bucks (plus tax).

I knew that if I could achieve my goal anywhere, it would be at Bibles for Missions. I wouldn't come away with much from Value Village or similar places for $10.