High Five for Friday!

It's Friday!

Got anything exciting on the agenda this weekend? I'll just be outside cleaning up our garden, setting up our patio furniture and taking my toddler to the park (probably multiple times).

But nevertheless, it has been a great week. Here are my top five highlights from the week.

1. My new makeup palette - NAKED by Urban Decay.

This cost way more than I usually spend on make-up but let me just tell you that it is completely worth it! The colours are amazing, plus it comes with a high-quality brush and shadow primer. Simply amazing. A separate post on this will be coming soon.

2. My son has been asking for a baseketball net for weeks now and I finally bought him one. I feel like the Mom of the Year with this one because he simply loves it. He keeps telling me, 'Thank you so much for my basketball, Mommy!'. He's super excited and that makes me very happy. The second best part about this one is that it was on sale at Toy's 'R Us for only $29.99! Score one for mom!

3. My husband and I recently finished our basement and the last item has finally been completed - carpet install on the basement stairs. This means the basement is officially complete! Now all we need to do is finish setting up our furnature and then we're good to go. Basement warming party anyone?

4. I have just signed up for a boatload of training sessions. The month of May is jam-packed full of sessions and I'm really excited about it. I've struggled to lose the last 10 lbs of baby weight for almost three years and I know with the motivation and help of a personal trainer, I will be able to reach my goals. I just hope he doesn't kick my butt too hard!

5. The weather this week has been fantastic! Up to 20 degrees C each day. Who doesn't love that?!


I hope you had a great week too!

Linking up with Lauren for H54F today!

Tutorial: How to Clean Your Make-up Brushes

Like many other women, I wear make-up on a daily basis. I'm one of those people who won't leave the house without at least some make-up on my face (foundation, mascara and eyeliner are a must for me). Because of this it's very important to have clean make-up brushes at my disposal.

Why clean your make-up brushes? There is an easy answer to this question, and it's because as you use your brushes, the make-up you use can build up on the brush which can cause bacteria growth that you would eventually put back onto your skin. Yuck!

What's the good news? They are so easy to clean. Here's how.

Supplies:

• Bowl of luke warm water
• Small cloth or towel
• Brush cleaner (I use Quo Brush Cleanser) or you can use gentle/mild soap.
• Your brushes (thank you captain obvious)

Instructions:

1. Spray the cleanser on your brush and rub it in with your fingers.

2. After a quick rinse, gently swirl your brush into the palm of your hands and then dip the   brush back into the water rinsing back and forth with the sides of the brush. Do not push the brush down straight into the bowl as this could ruin the bristles.

3. Remove your brush from the water gently squeeze out any excess water back into the bowl and pat the brush gentle on the towel.

4. Reshape the brush and lay it flat to dry.

After you wash your brushes, your water may look something like this. Gross isn't it?

However, then you'll see how awesome your clean brushes look. And trust me ladies, much like fresh sheets on the bed, fresh clean brushes are just as nice. Keeping your brushes clean also help preserve them as they can really last a long time. I would recommend cleaning them every couple of weeks if you can or at least on a monthly basis if time is tight.







Sunday Funny

I don't know about you, but I am a big fan of watching funny cat video's on YouTube. Actually I bet a lot of people can endlessly spends hours watching video's like that (although I won't admit it at this point).

Well, this brings me to the point of this post. I had friends over this weekend and they showed me this hilarious video that I just had to share. I literally laughed the whole way through, although it's probably not really as funny as I think it is!



*I love how the cat is wearing a shark costume.

*I wonder why the cat is in a shark costume.

*I love that he just sits there the whole time.
*I wonder why they have a duck.

*I wonder why the dog is in a costume.

*Near the end of this video the dog looks like it's the saddest day of his life. Complete humiliation.



Lemon Chicken, Green Bean and Potato Bake

My husband and I have been trying to eat a little healthier so I've been experimenting more with our dinner options. Now we're not too adventurous with food, and in fact, our normal dinners consist of a lot of fajitas, grilled cheese and soup, and pasta. Very exciting stuff folks.
So what is my solution? Well, I came up with a one-dish lemon chicken, green bean and potato bake. I remember seeing something like this somewhere but for the life of me I can't remember!

It was quite delicious - and it's healthy too!

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breast,s cut in halves
• 1 lemon, sliced
• 1 1/2 cups of green beans
• 1 lb of red potatoes
• 1/2 tsp of pepper
• 1/4 tsp of salt
• 2 tbs of olive oil
• 1 - 2 gloves of garlic, minced 

Directions:

1. In a medium prep bowl mix olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper until well combined.
2. Place sliced lemon in the bottom of a lightly greased 9 x 6 pan. You do not need to cover the whole bottom, just spread the slices throughout.
3. Place green beans in the middle of the pan and on top of the lemon.
4. Dip the chicken in the olive oil mixture, making sure that it's well coated. Place the chicken on top of the green beans.
5. Dip the potatoes in the rest of the mixture and spread the potatoes on the sides of the pan.
6. Drizzle the remaining mixture over everything.
7. Bake at 350 for about an hour or until chicken is cooked through and potatoes are soft.

Let me know what you think of this. I hope you enjoy!



DIY Valentine's Day Gift

This year I decided to make my own Valentine's Day gift for my 2 year-old son's daycare. I chose something that wasn't candy because I didn't want to step on any parent's toes in case they don't allow their children to have any. Instead, I went with the almighty Goldfish. A favourite toddler snack in my opinion. I've never met one who didn't like them!

This particular gift is so easy and very cheap to make. I think altogether I spent about $3  - $4 on each one.

Here is a list of supplies you'll need:

• Cracker Goldfish
• A small take-out container from Michael's (only $1.29 each), or a small container of your choice.
• Glue or double-sided tape
• Printer
• Scoop/Spoon
• Ribbon
• Bowl

I find that the take-out containers from Michael's work best because they have handles that are perfect for little hands.

Using MS Publisher, I made 1.5 inch label rounds in blue that say "will you o'fish'ally be my Valentine?". If you would like the template, you can access the blue one here. I also made it in pink, which is available here. You will notice that on my son's gift that I typed in his name, but I left that part blank in my templates so you can input any name.

Now for the very easy instructions:

1. Print the templates above (or use your own); cut them out.
2. Wash out your take-out box (or other container).
3. Glue your printed rounds onto the front of the take-out box. Let it sit for a few seconds to ensure it doesn't fall off.
4. Fill the container with Goldfish. Have your kids to help - they will love it!
5. Once the box is closed, wrap a ribbon around it and ensure there is a bow on top.

That's it! How easy is that?

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and that it inspires you. If you have any idea's you'd like to share, let me know and maybe I can feature them on the blog.

Oh, and just remember - try not to eat all the Goldfish before you have to use them!





Homemade Spaghetti Sauce Recipe

In my household, we're big pasta fans. Any pasta will do really, but we're pretty big on homemade sauces. I found a recipe from www.allrecipes.com, but after making it a few times I've finally adapted it to our taste.

This recipe makes a large batch; enough for an army of 8 to 10. We are a family of 3. We eat a lot of pasta - just don't tell my new personal trainer that.

Having said that, it is pretty healthy. It has a ton of veggies and we use ground turkey instead of ground beef. Delish.

Here is the recipe (from memory :) )

Stove top: Use a Wok or other large skillet, cook time: 1.5 hours

2 tbsp of oil
1 whole green bell pepper
2 cups of chopped celery (about 4 stalks)
2 cups of chopped carrots
2 cups of chopped mushrooms
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 450 g pack of ground turkey
Pinch of thyme
Pinch of basil
1 can of stewed tomatoes, 14.5 ounce/796 mL
2 cans of tomato sauce, 15 ounce/680 mL
2 cans of tomato paste, 5 ounce/156 mL

1. In a large skillet over medium heat, saute carrots, celery, green bell pepper and garlic in oil until the peppers are tender. Add the mushrooms, ground turkey, thyme, basil and ground black pepper; fry stirring frequently until the turkey is done.

2. Add the can of stewed tomatoes with liquid and reduce heat; simmering until the tomatoes are soft and begin to fall apart. Add the tomato sauce and stir; add tomato paste to thicken. Simmer on very low heat for about 30 minutes or longer depending on how crunchy or soft you like your vegetables, stirring occasionally. Serve over you favorite pasta.

Preparation is key!

Fresh vegetables, yum!

After adding the stewed tomatoes.

Finished product.

I really hope you like this as much as we do. Of course, it can be made without meat and you can use any vegetables you would like. This also freezes well so if you only use it for one meal, freeze the rest for later use.

Enjoy!

My Crazy Cat

I'm sure everyone who has a cat thinks that their cat is some form of crazy, and mine is no exception. I've recently start going to university part-time (on top of my full-time job and my two-year old; yikes!), and when I have the opportunity to work on school work, I will take it. This past Sunday was that day as my husband Doug took our son to two birthday parties. I was sad I couldn't attend, but I really needed to do some school work. Because I procrastinate. A lot.

Well, since our basement renovations are in the last stages (including my new office!), I have to work at our dining room table in the meantime.

Now I love my cat Inca (pronounced Ink-a), not because he's black and was born on Halloween, but because he loves to cuddle and sleeps right next to me. However, he sure does love to get in the way sometimes. Case in point:

 Why aren't you paying attention to me?

Within minutes he was asleep on my text book and I always feel bad for moving him because he looks so cute. Can I blame my procrastination on my cat?

Hey, at least I'm not saying the dog ate my homework!

 Do you have any fun or cute cat stories?