Giving Thanks

This past weekend we celebrated Thanksgiving (for us Canadian folk), and it was absolutely wonderful. We had a lot of family fun that included the pumpkin patch, a fire station tour, Springridge Farms, and a lot of family time. This time of year always makes me happy. It's filled with pretty fall colours and great weather, and is perfect for those nice Fall boots and scarves, among other things!

Though Fall boots and scarves are nice, Thanksgiving always reminds me how lucky we really are. I often think about how people around the world (or even people in our own city) are less fortunate then we are; with little to no food, no shelter, and in some cases no family. We take everything around us for granted, without even thinking about it. We turn on the faucet for a drink of water, we eat the food on our table, we have shelter, clothes, public education, etc.

There are many variables that affect the situation people are in, but I truly feel blessed for what I have and for what I am able to give. For example, just a few months ago my husband Doug and I spent around $100 on baby food items and donated it all the our local Food Share, and we make it appoint to donate to the Salvation Army every Christmas. We even had our three year old go through his toys so he could donate them, "to other little boys and girls who don't have any toys" as he put it. I also just donated blood for the first time last month.

If you have the capability to give in any way, whether it be a food, toy, or other donation, I encourage you do to so - every little bit helps.

I feel so blessed that I have the friends and family that I do. I really give a lot of credit to my parents for raising three kids with the values of helping other's and giving back to the community, while also providing us with the best childhood as possible while oftentimes struggling financially. Hard work, kindness, and  respect were driven into us and I only hope that I have taught Eric some of these values already and that I can continue to do so in the future.

I am thankful for my husband and son. My husband and I have had some rough times together but he's always there for me no matter what. His love and support has really helped me at times when I've needed it most and I am so thankful for that. My son is my rock. I love him more than he will ever know. He's my sunshine, my little man, my everything. I am so lucky to be his mom.

I am grateful for friends who have been there for me for many, many years. While either helping me with my personal demons or for simply lending an ear when I needed to vent. You guys are my rock and I probably can't ask for anyone better.

So this Thanksgiving, I am thankful for family, friends, freedom, choice and all that I have.

- Lisa

Homemade London Fog

Okay, so back in the summer I was introduced to a drink called London Fog; you may have heard of it. It's an earl grey tea latte with steamed milk and vanilla syrup. I was a bit hesitant  to give it a try at first because I am not a big risk taker when it comes to drinks, and I'll be honest, I love my Tetley Tea! However, while away one weekend with my girlfriends I finally decided to give it a try and I've been hooked ever since. Not good since a Grande at Starbucks will cost you $4.80.

So after enough nagging from my husband to stop spending so much money on drinks, I scoured the internet for homemade recipes (and when I say scour, I mean I went to Pinterest and searched Google). After a little experimentation I have finally made the recipe my own. It's quick, easy and my husband likes it too!

Let's get started.

You'll need:

• Earl Grey Tea Bag
• 1 tbsp. of vanilla syrup
• 1 cup of boiling water
• 1/2 cup of heated milk
• Cinnamon (optional)

Directions:

1. Put the vanilla syrup in a mug and add the tea bag.
2. Pour in boiling water and let the tea steep for 5 minutes.
3. In the meantime, heat the milk in the microwave for 55 seconds and froth with a milk frother (works best) or a whisk.
4. Using a spoon to 'hold' the froth, pour the milk in the tea and add the froth on top.
5. Add a dash of cinnamon on top if desired.

That's it! There is really nothing to it. If you're going to make these often, I would invest in a hand held milk frother. I bought mine at Home Outfitters for only $9.99!

This latte also pairs nicely with homemade apple cinnamon muffins - but that' a post for another day.

Enjoy!

- Lisa

DIY Fall Wreath

Fall is here; or is it? With this weather we've been having I think Mother Nature is a little confused. But who can really complain about 25 degree weather in October? Not this girl - I will take as much of this as I can get. Though, I have enjoyed wearing my nice scarves on the coolers days we've had in between.

However, it is Fall and this is often the time I start doing a lot of DIY and crafting projects, and this year I've really started things off nicely with my Fall Wreath.

Here's what you need:

• Twig Wreath ($4.99 at Michael's)
• Assorted artificial leaves ($1.50 for a 25 pack at Walmart)
• Assorted Fall Berries/Accent Décor (between $1.99 - $3.99 at Michael's)
• Letter ($6.99 at Michael's)
• Hot Glue Gun

Directions: Arrange the leaves in the wreath as you see fit using the hot glue to keep them in place. Add the fall berries and accent pieces as appropriate and hot glue the letter in place (H for my last name).

This project was so easy and only took me 20 minutes. It also only cost me about $20 to make since I already had a few things on hand.

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!