Healthy Chickpea Salad

Spring is finally here so I thought I'd share one of my favourite salad recipes. It's healthy, delicious, and it just screams Spring (and Summer!). The original recipe is from allrecipes.ca but I have modified it and made it my own. 

The best part? It only takes 15 minutes to make!

Servings: 6

2          (19 ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1          pint of cherry tomatoes, halved
1          cucumber, cut into small chunks
2          tbsp. of basil
2          tbsp. of honey
3          gloves of garlic, minced
3          tbsp. of red wine vinegar
3          tbsp. of olive oil
½         tbsp. of pepper
¼         tbsp. of salt
Other fresh vegetables of your choice

Directions:

1.     In a large bowl, combine the chickpeas, tomatoes, cucumber, and basil. If you are adding any other vegetables you can add them here as well.

2.     Put honey in a small glass bowl; heat in microwave for 30 seconds. Stir garlic, red wine vinegar, olive oil, black pepper, and salt with the honey to make a dressing; pour over the chickpea salad and toss to coat. 

Be careful when removing the honey from the microwave; it’s hot!

3.     Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate for later use. This salad will keep for up to three days.

It's oh-so-delicious - I hope you enjoy!

Hot Wheels Birthday Party

Eric turned four this past July and this year he had a Hot Wheels themed party. We had a racin' good time (see what I did there?).
It turned out really well; and though I used a lot of Pinspiration for this I made all the decorations on my own with the exception of the water bottle labels - I bought those from Etsy (whose shop no longer exists unfortunately). For the race cars I used for the food tent labels, I bought the clip art here. 
I'm super happy how it turned out and the birthday boy definitely had an awesome day. His three hour nap afterwards proved it.
Enjoy!

High Five For Friday

Happy Friday! I am so glad the weekend is here, but what an eventful week it has been! 
Here's a look back at some exciting things that happened this week.
1. I went to Chicago last weekend and came back on Monday! My Aunt and Uncle live in Chicago and my relatives from England were visiting, so my mom, brother and I took a road trip to visit everyone. It was amazing; Chicago is truly one of my favourite places to visit. I just love visiting and spending time with family.

2. I did my first ever guest post! Be sure to check out my Summer Healthy Chickpea Salad recipe on Tattered to Taylored. You should also follow her blog - it's pretty cool.

3. Work has been very busy this week and that has made the time time just fly by - sometimes that is a wonderful thing!

4. I have been making a dent in my son's fourth Hot Wheel's birthday party decorations and I'm so happy with them so far. I can't believe Eric is turning four; crazy!

5. My husband and I are heading out for my birthday dinner tonight. My actual birthday is next week but we'll be up at our cottage so we're celebrating tonight. I can't wait for a date night; it's been too long!

How has your week been? Be sure to link up with Lauren Elizabeth to tell us about it!

Summer Punch

I threw a mini Birthday/Bachelorette Party for my sister who just turned 30 and is getting married next month. We had a mobile spa come to our house where we got manicures/pedicures, had some drinks and appetizers. We then went out for dinner and then headed to Splitsville, our local bowling alley that also an arcade and bumper cars (so fun!).

For drinks during the day, there was some alcohol involved, but I also made a nice Summer punch, inspired by a recipe found on Pinterest, for everyone to enjoy. It's very refreshing and light; a nice party punch.

(The punch is much lighter than this, it just looks darker because of the bowl I used, Tupperware Chip & Dip)

Ingredients:

• 1 sm. carton (approx. 900 ml) of chilled pineapple juice
• 1 - 1.75 L of chilled lemonade
• 1 litre of club soda, or more to taste
• Ice cubes
• Fresh assorted fruit (strawberries, orange slices, etc.).

Directions:
In a large pitcher or punch bowl, mix together juices and add club soda and mix slightly; add ice and fruit. Serve and enjoy!

You can also serve with individual fruit skewers if desired.

If you happen to have the same bowl I used, you know it comes with two small containers that attach to the side. I used these containers for ice and it worked beautifully to keep the punch nice and cold without diluting it.

Happy Summer!

- Lisa