Woman in Real Life

Our powder room makeover is complete! I'm pretty sure our tiny bathroom space couldn't look any more different from the bland, purely functional original space it was. Before, the powder room didn't have much to say about the family who lives here or the things that bring us joy. (I know, enough with the Marie Kondo already!) Now, when I open the door to the powder room, it sings to me. It reminds me of spring, good cheer and, quite frankly, my younger days.

You see, we got a bit "safe" in this home. The tiny Toronto apartment we lived in before kids had three rooms and three different vivid colours - deep green in the kitchen, sunny yellow in the living room and dark blue in the bedroom. And we loved it. Although we won't be getting that "colour brave" again, I think we are finding our way back to colour, this time with a more sophisticated approach befitting our ages and tastes. Clearly our most bold choice for the powder room is the Eden Orange/Grey/Cream wallpaper by Graham & Brown at The Home Depot Canada.

The weather is warming up significantly around here. We were promised some sort of record-breaking warm day today. I'm not sure we're quite going to make it, but the temperature is expected to go up to 13 degrees Celsius this afternoon. It's warm for February, but today it's also accompanied by dense fog. With most of the snow melted, the yard is just plain ugly. But I'm not complaining (okay, I'm complaining a bit) because spring is surely on the way!

This What I Ate Wednesday, I'm looking at highlights from the last couple of weeks. I don't seem able to post as regularly as I used to, but I hope spring takes care of that too. More energy, more ambition, all that good stuff. As I said on Instagram, between sick days, PA Days, exam days and snow days, I had one or both of the kids with me quite often over the past month or so. That has limited my creative time and also my time spent experimenting in the kitchen. Once the kids were finally back at school for a stretch, I decided to make a special breakfast just for me. The kids aren't hot on the idea of coating French toast with coconut, so I made one of my favourite quick, easy and delicious breakfasts - the coconut French toast from the incredible Isa Does It: Amazingly Easy, Wildly Delicious Vegan Recipes for Every Day of the Week.

If your Valentine is still full on with his or her new year's health kick, this Beet-ing Hearts Blood Orange Smoothie is a great option for saying "I care." It's delicious, smooth, creamy and a bit sweet, while containing health-protective ingredients like beets, blood orange, strawberries, chia seeds and coconut oil.

A couple of weeks back, I shared a recipe for warm, buttery Peach Perfection Vegan Scones. Today I'm sharing another easy baking recipe that takes advantage of canned peaches. I like to use canned California cling peaches in baked goods because they are convenient to keep in the pantry no matter the season and the peaches are already peeled so you can sweep them into a bowl and have a delicious treat on the table faster than you can get to the coffee shop.

The key advantage to baking your snacks and desserts at home, besides better flavour, is knowing exactly what you're eating. No mystery additives or artificial flavours. Just pure, natural ingredients that come together to make a tasty and wholesome treat. Like these Peach Oatmeal Snack Bars.

The third Monday of February is Family Day here in Ontario, Canada. A quick look at Wikipedia tells me that the same is true in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island (PEI) and Saskatchewan. It also coincides with Presidents' Day in the US. In Manitoba, Nova Scotia and PEI, the holiday is called Louis Riel Day, Nova Scotia Heritage Day and Islander Day, respectively. British Columbia (BC) observes Family Day on the second Monday of February.

If Valentine's Day seems a little trivial to you right now, a bit selfish, I say that Valentine's Day celebrates what we all know is best and most important in this world - our family, our friends, our neighbours, our peeps, whomever they may be - our loved ones. Valentine's Day celebrates love. And we can all use more of that.

If you object to the crass commercialism of Valentine's Day, why not celebrate your loved ones with homemade, inexpensive gifts that come straight from the heart? Something made with chocolate never hurts. Plus, check out the 24 creative Valentine's Day project ideas from other Canadian bloggers at the end of this post - there are treats, crafts, cards and even a cocktail (that I really want to try).