Weekend Recap: The One with Mother's Day

On Sunday, we surprised my Mom by taking her to the Tulip Festival in Ottawa. And, it worked - we really surprised her. My Mom is not easily surprised. She notices every little change and so easily picks up on minute details that she can be rather difficult to surprise. That being said, I made it my personal mission to surprise her this Mother's Day.

My Mom's favorite flowers are tulips and I have often heard her talk about the tulip festival in Ottawa that happens every Spring. As this year's tulip festival was approaching, I kept my eye on the dates and was happy to discover that they perfectly lined up with Monther's Day! I commissioned my Dad's help to iron out the details, but we pulled it off! We drove to Ottawa to walk around the tulips in the morning then met with my uncle and aunt for lunch at a local pub. If you are ever in or around Ottawa during the tulip festival, I highly recommend checking it out - it's pretty spectacular!

Trader Joe's Haul - February 2018

I don't get to go to Trader Joe's often (because there are no Trader Joe's in Canada), but when I do go, I love to share some of my favorite finds with all of you! I haven't been to Trader Joe's since this whole clean eating venture, but I had heard that they offer great gluten free & vegan options. I was excited to check out their stock and they did not disappoint. Here are some of the highlights from our most recent Trader Joe's trip...

I have to start with 2 things that we ate before even even leaving the store -

They had this Amba Mango Sauce available as a tester with some grilled chicken and it was love at first bite. Mango has always been one of my favorite things and it is perfect in this sauce. It is just the right combination of sweet and spicy. I can't wait to use this at home!

Let's Chat: Teeth Whitening (& OIl Pulling)

A couple of weeks ago, I was out for lunch with one of my friends and she asked me how I keep my teeth so white. We ended up spending most of our meal talking about teeth, and thus a blog post was born! A lot of my blog post ideas come out of conversations with friends and I am so excited about this little 'Let's Chat' series. I have a few ideas for posts, but if there is anything you would like me to post about - let me know! 

I definitely wouldn't consider myself an authority on teeth whitening - it has been a lot of trial and error over the years. So, I will walk you through my 'teeth whitening journey' (ha! It hasn't really been a journey) and I will share what I am doing now to keep my teeth white!

Clean Eating - One Year Highlights

One year ago, I took the IgG food sensitivity test and found out I was intolerant to more foods than I can even list. And, I was devastated. I took a whole week off blogging because I was so frustrated with food. What was once a outlet of creativity had become restrictive and discouraging. I cut out gluten, dairy, eggs, refined sugar and other random intolerances like almonds and oranges. And, I did not take it well. I like to think that I am pretty good at handling myself with grace in all situations, but gosh, I didn't take this with grace.

I remember sitting over a bowl of soup last February and crying because this all felt so hard. It felt impossible and sometimes, it still feels impossible. But, 99% of the time I am so grateful and proud of the decision I made. Yes, there are challenges, but there are challenges in everything we do. Giving myself grace through these challenges has been a point of growth for me this year.

Last year, right after cutting out all of these foods I got a text from one of my friends who gave me the best advice. She told me to grieve it (like any loss) then move on and find the good in my current situation. I remember reading that text and thinking well as if it's that easy. I can never have birthday cake again. But it really was that easy. Sure, I shed my fair share of tears over the loss of birthday cake (I am nothing if not dramatic) but then I moved on and I have found SO MUCH good in my current situation! Today, I'm sharing some of my favorite recipes from this year. I'm starting with dinner recipes then I'll move on to dessert (the best part!). All of these recipes are completely free of gluten, dairy, eggs and refined sugar.

The Crazy Montreal Weather :)

I had every intention of posting a recipe for these cookies today:

These are gluten free, vegan & refined sugar free versions of Thin Mint Girl Guide cookies! Thin Mint Girl Guide cookies are hands down, my favorite not homemade cookies. I'm partial to homemade cookies and have never loved store bought cookies but I've always been a sucker for Thin Mints.

California Days 5 & 6

Hi friends! I'm back for another recap from my trip to California and we're getting close to the end. I have one more recap post and that's it! It's been fun to look back through pictures from the trip and share them all with you. Today, I'm sharing what we did on days 5 and 6 of our trip. A little heads up - these were our most quiet days.

We kicked off say 5 with a big sleep in. I say sleep in lightly because I did not deal with the time difference well! I never slept passed 7:30 (which is 10:30 Montreal time) except on New Years Day when I slept in until 8:00. After a late (late!) night at Universal, we all needed a slow morning to refresh. We kind of used all of New Years Day to recuperate.

We did some shopping and had my Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas for dinner (recipe HERE). I was excited to check out Carrie Underwood's athletic line. I'm not actually that into celebrity merchandise but I have heard great things about her athletic wear! And, it so did not disappoint! I picked up a couple things that have been great to skate in. She has great layering options and her whole line transitions well from workout to everyday wear.

Anticipation & New Year Thoughts

While in California, we picked up a Magnolia magazine by Joanna Gaines at a local Sprouts. It was the holiday issue and it was pretty heartwarming. The magazine is organized around the theme of anticipation. For the most part, it focuses on anticipation associated with the holidays, but there are some articles about anticipation in general.

This magazine really spoke to me because anticipation is not my forté. I love having something to look forward to but waiting drives me a little nuts. I have the tendency to wish time away when I'm looking forward to something. For instance, in anticipating going to California, I lost sight of all the fun that happened before our trip because I just want to go so bad! It kind of feels like I rushed through Christmas because I was anticipating December 27th and as a result, the holiday break seems like a great big blur!

Merry Christmas!!

I am sitting down to write today as I usually do on Fridays but instead of talking favorites, I'm doing something a little different. Today, I'm coming to you with some holiday wishes and a little update for my blogging plan in the upcoming weeks.

First, let me officially announce that I am taking the next 2 weeks off blogging. You will not find me anywhere near blog world in the next 2 weeks. I'm going to unplug and enjoy the holidays with my family. As much as I love my little online space, I think I need to take a step away for a little bit. I still love sharing fun recipes and crafts but I have been feeling like I need a break lately. This semester was a tough one and I am due for some down time!

So, 2 weeks off from blog land. But, 2 weeks full of family time, Christmas traditions, delicious food and a highly anticipated trip. I will do my best to post updates on Instagram. I am not great at keeping up with Instagram but I will try to post some little peaks into my holiday fun over the next 2 weeks. You can follow along on all of my holiday ventures HERE.

And finally, before singing off I want to wish all of you the happiest of holidays! I hope this holiday season brings you time to connect with loved ones and oh so much peace! Thank you for taking time to read my blog - I wish I could thank you all in person! I can't wait to share more in the future!

Merry Christmas! See you in 2019!

Quebec City Trip Recap

Last weekend, my family took a little road trip to Quebec City. The main intent of our road trip was to see the Thank You Canada Tour, but we squeezed a little sight seeing too! Quebec City is the capital of the province of Quebec and it serves as a main topic of discussion in local history classes. There is so much history rooted in the streets we walked and it was fun (but oh so cold!) to hit the old town with my family!

I was last in Quebec City 12 years ago! It was a grade 5 school trip and I had the best time on the bus with my friends, but that's really all I remember about the trip. I wish I could tell you that I remember the important historical monuments, but my fondest memory is listening to Sweet Escape by Gwen Stefani on the bus with friends. I was so glad to make some new memories and shop some fun local shops!

Let me start by saying - it was full blown winter in Quebec City. Winter has since hit Montreal in full force too, but last weekend it was still fall in Montreal and we were surprised to find snow in Quebec City. So, here I give you potentially the dorkiest picture of me that exists - does it get much more Canadian? Here I am in a bunch of Canada gear in front of a pile of snow, eh!

Pumpkin Picking 2018

The alternative title for this post was The Great Pumpkin Fail of 2018. Which is actually a more appropriate title but I didn't want to choose a totally negative name for this post. We did not actually get to pick pumpkins out of a patch but we still got to choose some pumpkins and we had a great day! Today, I'm sitting down to share a few pictures and stories from our pumpkin picking day!

We pulled up to the little pumpkin patch only to find out that there had already been a frost up north - so all the pumpkins had frozen. Fabulous, right? The field of pumpkins was bare as can be. There were a few smashed pumpkins and otherwise, just rows and rows of nothing.

O-Venture Key Ring Review

Let's start this post with a back story about me - I carry everything that should go in a purse in my hands. Yes, I carry a purse but especially when I'm running into a store or to work, you can find me with my keys, my wallet and my phone in my hands. I hate digging around in my purse while people are waiting on me (whether I'm paying for something at a store or opening my car for friends to get in). So, I often keep everything in my hands just in case.

On several occasions, my friends have asked why I bother carrying a purse when I carry everything anyway. Good question! I saw Andrea from Momfessionals carrying an O-venture key ring earlier this year and I knew I had to have one! My key ring arrived a couple of weeks ago and I couldn't love it any more!

Top 5: About Me

Today, I'm sitting down to wrap up 5 posts that share a little glimpse into me as a person. Where my blog's main purpose is to share recipes and talk food, I've ended up sharing little bits about me along the way. I've discussed this before, but I really work hard to find a balance between sharing enough to keep readers interested but keeping my life personal. For the most part I blog about food and I think my personality comes through in writing style, but every once in a while I go wild and share a more personal post. So, here are 5 posts that have nothing to do with food and everything to do with me...

Yoga with Baby Goats!

You likely guessed the topic of today's post based on the title - I'm talking about yoga with baby goats! My Mom has wanted to do yoga goats for a while, so for her birthday this year, we surprised her and took her to goat yoga! Baby goats are just as scrumptious as they sound - they're clumsy and affectionate and who knew they loved yoga so much? Today, I'm recapping our experience with goat yoga!

We went to a local farm called Ferme Quinchien and they had many animals other than goats. Before starting the yoga we got to walk around and enjoy some of their many rescue animals -

Blueberry Picking 2018

A couple of years ago, my family went blueberry picking and we loved it so much we couldn't wait to go again! When we went in 2016, we picked 7 pounds of bluebrries - crazy, right? Well, this year, we went and picked 18 pounds. How? How on earth did five of us do that kind of damage in just 1 hour? On our way to go picking we dropped my Auntie Norma's birthday present and picked up her daughter to come with us. So, not all 18 pounds were for us, we did share some. But still, crazy! I took some pictures of our adventures in blueberry picking and today, I'm sitting down to share them all with you!

We go blueberry picking in small town Quebec and their property is huge! They have some flowers planted near the parking lot, but then the rest of their fields are berries as far as the eye can see! We pick blueberries but they also have raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, blackcurrants, prunes and cherries. We've only ever been when the blueberries are ready to pick, we've never gone at the right time of year to pick all of the other fruits!

Homemade Non-Greasy Lotion

I've had this little DIY project in the works for a while, but I'm just getting around to posting it now! Who knows why I stalled on posting this tutorial for so long, but I'm glad to be posting it now because we have been loving this cream in my house! In February, we made a major move towards eliminating toxins from our house. We are definitely not toxin free, but we have done our best to eliminate where we can! This cream was part of that movement. We tried many homemade creams and this is the one we love the most!

Many homemade creams that we tried were greasy as can be. I mean I would put lotion on after my shower and then get stuck in the bathroom because I couldn't turn the doorknob. And yes, in hindsight that is pretty funny but I was on the look out for a less greasy cream and this one fit the bill! This lotion is still hydrating an luxurious feeling, but it soaks in just like real cream from the store! The recipe is from Frugally Sustainable. You can find the original HERE.

Beach Stuff

I arrived at the beach last Saturday, and I was struck my how perfect this place is, I always am. Our little beach town is like stepping back in time, everything is so quaint! It really is my place. I just love it here! This town that we stay in has such a small town feel and I thought I would share some of our beach-y fun!

First of all, this view! This is where you can find me everyday; by the waves! Everything is better by the ocean! The water was freezing last week so I didn't go in once, but it really warmed up this week so I've gone in a few times!

Meal Planning on Vacation

I've gone back and forth about this post - to post or not to post? I've had this idea on other vacations and I've always opted not to post it. My hesitation comes from knowing that not everyone chooses to eat like this on vacation. I know that there are many different ways to feed a family on vacation, and I don't in any way want to discredit people's choices. I'm simply sharing what works best for my crew and how we do it.

We have done vacations where we eat out for every meal, and that is just about our least favorite thing. We all love home cooked meals and we try to maintain that as much as possible while we're on vacation. We typically rent a place that has a kitchen so that we can buy food and cook meals for the week.

All of that being said, we do eat out some meals while we're on vacation! We love a good restaurant meal, we just don't do that every night! Also, when I say home cooked meal, I don't mean elaborate dining. We tend to go for the simplest of meals when we're on vacation! No one wants to be spending half the day in the kitchen when they could be on the beach! We choose quick and reliable meals while we're away!

Friday Favorites: Beach Week!

Happy, happy Friday everyone! I hope your week was so full of happy! Mine certainly was! It was so hard to choose favorites to share this week, but I had to narrow it down knowing that there's always next week! I have some fun favorites to share in the upcoming weeks! Let's get to it!

22 facts for 22 years!

Saturday is my twenty second birthday! What!? You better believe I will be blasting Taylor Swift's '22' all day and potentially all year! Is there a better anthem for this age!? I think not! So since I am almost 22 (and I don't blog on Saturdays), I thought I would share 22 facts about me! I did this back on my 20th birthday (you can read that HERE) and it was a challenge to come up with more random facts!

Molly's Best Gluten Free Granola

Today's post is all about a fabulous gluten free granola called Molly's Best! This company is owned by Harvey, who has been in yoga class with my family for several years. Harvey started Molly's Best wanting to provide a nutritious, natural and delicious snack and he named the company after his granddaughter! I love that this granola uses natural sugar as a sweetner (honey!), I love that the ingredients and straight forward but I especially love that this granola is gluten free! Gluten free snacks are difficult to find (especially good ones) and this granola is SO good!

A little while ago, Harvey was giving out some bags of Molly's Best Granola after yoga class and he gave a couple bags to my Mom and I. We got to the car, tore open the granola and tried it right away! We were so impressed! It was tasty and it made the most perfect snack after yoga! I went to yoga the next week and asked Harvey if I can talk about Molly's Best on my blog. He was so gracious and even offered me more bags of granola to share with some of my readers!

I was so excited to share Molly's Best with some fellow gluten free eaters, friends and loyal blog readers! I shared the Molly's Best granola with my Auntie Norma, my cousin Andrew, my family friend Sarah and my friend Katya! I asked them to try the granola and let me know what they thought! I was so excited to receive the reviews and I can't wait to share them with you today!