Wednesday 24 December 2014

Christmas Eve Wishes.

It's Christmas Eve so let me say, preparations at our home are well underway! 

The stockings are hung and the presents are wrapped, the cookies are made for ol' St. Nick's snack. Joey's nachos are made for the festivities tonight and the eggnog french toast is ready to bite. The kids are bouncing off the walls fueled by sweets, they are looking forward to many more treats. Today is the day we say goodbye to our elf, the dust will continue to collect on the shelf. Although he has put smiles on our kids faces he has caused my husband and I to get on each other's cases. Chinese food tonight and turkey tomorrow, we'll be feeling like we are on top of mount Kilimanjaro. 
Wishing you all a wonderful night, enjoy this heartwarming season of love and light!
Merry Christmas!

Tuesday 23 December 2014

Nice Buns!

This weekend we treated some of our friends, family, co-workers and neighbors to some delicious freshly baked cinnamon buns. We set up shop and pumped fifty of these suckers out of my little kitchen. My oldest called it "the cinnamon bun factory". The funny thing is that I have never made these or any kind of roll/buns before. Never say never.....
I was inspired by the pioneer women’s blog last week. She created a post solely about these sticky gooey delicious buns. I thought to myself why can’t I do that too?
I am a giver. I much prefer giving than receiving. I always try and encourage my kids to do kind things for others and to try and teach them the joy in giving. They were my little helpers this weekend and assisted with the deliveries. I think this will become a tradition in our home for years to come. 
The recipe is from the "The Pioneer Women Cooks".  She includes fantastic step by step pictures and instructions on her blog. 

Saturday 20 December 2014

Living in the Moment

I recently went Christmas shopping with someone I deeply care about. We hop into the car, I help him get his seat belt buckled and we're off. We listen to familiar Christmas music. I sing and he hums along. We arrive at the mall and I take him by his arm and help him to the door. We walk around the mall, our list in my hand. After some gifts are bought we usually break for dinner. Conversation is limited but the company and the caring eyes make it alright. We finish our meal and continue on with the shopping. We buy everything we need and have a few chuckles and smiles as we go. He likes to play "tricks" on me and goes the other way when I turn my head for minute. I make a joke,take his arm, offer a comforting smile and continue on.
Since my stepfather was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease almost five years ago, I have taken him Christmas shopping each year. Although he does not remember a lot of  events of his day now, he was asking about our shopping trip, specifically when we would go. When my mom told me this I was thrilled. I really wasn't sure if he would be up to going this year.

I am writing this as a reminder to myself of the wonderful tradition we share. It is a gift I give to myself. He thinks I am helping him but he is really helping me.

I have learned to live in the moment with my stepfather. "The moment" seems to be a comfortable place for him. Some people are scared by "the moment" but not me. I will continue to cherish every "moment" we have.

We do not remember the days, we remember the moments.

Enjoy the moments. 
xoAngela

Wednesday 17 December 2014

DIY Soothing Bath Gift

I recently gave this gift to a very special and dear friend of mine. It was super easy to make and I just happened to have all these ingredients on hand.

The "Soothing Momma"bath kit contains lavender bath salts, coconut body butter and a bar of Kiss My Face olive oil soap.

For the bath salts I used Epsom salts and a few drops of lavender oil. I mixed it all up and put it into a nice jar.

The body butter is made with coconut oil mixed with a bit of Aveda's Beautifying Oil. (I used this on my growing baby belly when I carried both my little ones and was left with no stretch marks at all, BONUS!)

The olive oil soap is a staple in our home. I believe the ingredients are olive oil, water and salt. Pretty simple, just how I like it (wink). My kids and I have used this for years.

Our bodies absorb 70% of what we put on our skin so it is important to be aware of what ingredients are in the products we use. I know I am consciously reaching for more "healthy" products for me and my family. Why not give the gift of safe handmade bath products?

SEVEN more days to go! Are you ready?

Monday 15 December 2014

Black Friday Sephora Haul!

It's been while since I have posted a makeup haul and let's just be honest and say it feels good! With x-mas around the corner I have been trying to save some cash and stay away from Sephora (wink). So far my plan has worked, well... until black Friday rolled around. You see, my problem is that I'm a complete sucker for a deal. I got all caught up in the glitz and deals of BF and couldn't wait to see what the 12 for $12 deals would be for Sephora. I know it sounds crazy but I woke up half an hour earlier for work and hit the Sephora website for the deals like a crazy BF shopper. Here is what I bought.

The gloss set from Make Up For Ever contains two full sized lip glosses. One is a nude color and the other a light pink. Both are super shiny and sheer. I think these were valued at $38 regular price so I was thrilled to get these for $12. They have a great little brush instead of your typical sponge tip so it allows you to paint the gloss on more precisely. Great deal!
The second was the Buxom kit containing a full sized "sculpted" mascara and a waterproof eyeliner. The mascara wand is a bit of an odd shape and is very large but the formula is great. What I like about it is it's not over the top or too much. It also does not clump or flake. It really gives me that "real" but better daytime look. So far it's a thumbs up from me.
Lastly, I picked up the Too Faced  shadow primer duo. This kit contains two tubes of eyeshadow primer, one a nude color and one a shimmery color. You have to be quick and apply your shadow before the primer dries which is a bit tricky but once you get the hang of it, it works great. This "insurance" makes your shadow more vibrant and last all day and night.

What were your BF finds? Any 12 for $12? Some were even sold out by the time I hit the site (crazy hard core shoppers, wink)

Friday 12 December 2014

The Switch-A-Roo

Those of you that follow my blog know that we recently made some changes to our living room. We painted the wooden wall white and we added some shelves above our couch to display pictures. I am extremely happy with the results although there was a small space between the shelves and the kitchen area that was just begging  for a tiny bit of attention. I had a gorgeous framed print that I loved although it just did not seem to go with our updated decor. I loved the black frame so I thought why not order a new print for it? I started looking online at zazzle.ca and was amazed by the amount of art and prints available on there. I did have an idea of what I wanted so after sifting through twenty + pages of chandeliers (I kid you not) I decided on this one.


This was the before. Sorry about the poor quality of the photo.

This is the after.
Do you see any chandeliers in your future?
xoAngela

Wednesday 10 December 2014

Quartermain House B&B Baby Shower

Very good friends of ours came to visit last week. They left to head back to PEI on Monday (sob). We had a wonderful visit as usual. My bestie is very pregnant (woohoo) and expecting her second child in February.

This past week we celebrated Christmas as well as had a baby shower for her while they were here. Let's just be honest and say we stuffed ourselves silly with all the festivities. Pregnant friends are so much fun to be around for this reason (wink).
The baby shower is actually the reason for this post. It was amazing! Like none I have every attended. She choose to have it at a beautiful heritage B&B over looking the picturesque Saint John river. We had full access to two lovely sitting rooms as well as a dining room where the lunch was provided. One word to describe it would be stunning. The owner's have it all decked out for the holidays so no need for any decorations here.





These are some of the bedrooms used for the guests of the B&B. Now that is a bathroom I think I could live with (wink).
I want to also take this opportunity to congratulate the proud parents to be. Judging by how well you have raised your first I know the new baby is going to be welcomed into a very loving and caring family.
We wish you all the best with gift number two! 

Sunday 7 December 2014

Winter Boots

It a known fact that Canadian East Coast winters can bring with it lots of snow, freezing rain, slush and ice. The harsh weather conditions and extreme cold temperatures make commuting not so ideal. Every Canadian needs a good pair of winter boots. Here are some of my favorite practical yet very fashionable winter boots.

When life gives you lemons make lemonade and when winter gives you snow bundle up!

Friday 5 December 2014

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Christmas preparations are in full swing around our house. A Swiss Chalet festive special has been consumed and last weekend we attended the annual Christmas parade. The morning after the parade we awoke to find our elf on the shelf had returned. While we were asleep the elf decided to set up our Christmas tree (minus the ornaments & lights of course). We spent last Sunday afternoon nibbling candy canes and listening to Christmas music while decorating the tree."This is the best day ever," my youngest said.
The advent calenders have been opened which means the official countdown is on.  
Since I was little I can remember going to Swiss Chalet for the holiday festive special.This is a tradition I will never let go of.
Our Christmas tree is very kid friendly. I have tucked my fancier decorations away for when the girls are much older. What is the sense in having a tree if you can't enjoy it and the kids can't play with it right?

Hope you are all enjoying your preparations for the holidays!
Remember it's not about the stuff, it's about the feelings and the memories you create.

Tuesday 2 December 2014

DIY Window Frame Mirror

A few years back we switch out most of the windows in our 70's bungalow home. A few of them were the old wooden frames so we hung onto them. It was not until recently that we decided to actually do something with one of them.

This is our masterpiece:
We did this by using the rust-oleum mirror effect spray paint. You begin by taping the backside of your project so you don't get paint on the wooden part. With this paint you spray the opposite side that you want to show.


In a well ventilated space apply several thin coats of paint letting it dry for a couple minutes in between.The directions say to apply 5-6 coats and it also recommends to finish with a matte black afterwards. We did this but I do not think we had enough coats on because it created an antiqued effect when we did this. I actually like the effect that happened by accident, but if you don't want this I recommend skipping the matte black step (wink).

Here is a window similar to the one we painted it:

Here is a picture of the product we used. The only place I could find it was Home Depot.
Have you done any projects with this mirror paint?

Monday 1 December 2014

Peanut Butter Coconut Macaroons

Here is another goodie I tried from the "Girl who ate everything" blog. This recipe is best described as a combination of a peanut butter butter ball and a macaroon. These are very good and extremely easy to make. This recipe will stay in my rotation for sure and my peanut butter loving hubby agrees. These would be a great addition to any Christmas cookie plate.

Ingredients
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
5 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups creamy peanut butter
1 (14-oz) can sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoons vanilla (or 1 tsp vanilla and 1 tsp almond)
Drizzle:
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon shortening (I used coconut oil for mine)

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment paper. This is a must!
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, coconut and salt. In a separate bowl, combine the peanut butter, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla. Pour mixture over coconut and use your hands to combine.
Use a cookie scooper to scoop balls onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about golf ball size.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until coconut is toasted.
For the drizzle: In a small microwave safe bowl add the chocolate chips and shortening. Microwave in 30 second increments until melted, stirring in between. Using a fork, drizzle the macaroons with the chocolate. Let chocolate set or speed it up by placing in the fridge for a couple of minutes.
(source)

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