Tuesday 6 March 2012

Words of Wisdom - Week 7

“To lose balance sometimes for love is part of living a balanced life.” 
 Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia



I am lucky to feel so balanced in my life :) 


I'm very very busy at work this week - working 11 hours days because I have group in till Friday.  It's nice to feel balanced.

Saturday 25 February 2012

Closet Dreams - Simple pieces in BRIGHT colors

I am loving winter however those dreams of adding to my spring wardrobe are starting! I am inspired these days by adding a bright coloured piece to a simple outfit.  
Think white or black with green, bright red or cobalt blue (drool!)
See my inspirations below..






I'm thinking a cobalt blue blazer.....

Wednesday 22 February 2012

Healthy Lunch

I got home from the gym today and felt like have a nice light healthy lunch.  Here is what I came up with:
Whole Wheat Pita
*Sliced Red Cabbage
*Banana Peppers
*Thinly sliced cheddar cheese
*Thinly sliced white onion
*Cilantro
*Hummus Dip (Homemade Dip I made the other night which included Homemade Hummus, Peppers, Cucumber, Fresh Dill & Feta Cheese)


Yummy!


Tonight I tackling homemade lasagne - wish me luck!

Tuesday 21 February 2012

Words of Wisdom - Week 6



My new obsession is 'Pintrest'.....it is amazing! Such a good way to organize wedding ideas, recipes, home inspirations etc.  Found this quote on there :)

Wednesday 15 February 2012

Day of Love

Yes yesterday was Valentines Day aka. Lovers Day as I like to call it.  Kevin and I however do not celebrate Lovers Day on the 14th we celebrate it on the 13th as that is the day that he proposed to me (last year).  I quite like this new tradition of spending February 13th just the two of us at home (much like other nights just with a little extra effort put into telling each other how special the other one is and putting on a little extra makeup :) ) I love an excuse to dress up!


I spent the day in the kitchen making these delicious Black Forest Cupcakes - they were a lot of work as there are many steps however they were worth every second!  I sent them to work with Kev for the boys the next day so I didn't have to eat them for the next week
http://gracessweetlife.com/2010/07/martha-stewarts-black-forest-cupcakes/




How did everyone else celebrate Lovers Day? I would love to hear about it!

Monday 13 February 2012

Words of Wisdom - Week 5

Oh boy another week has passed and I have been slacking on the bog posts.  I will try to be better this week


Might as well start the week off right with a a quote/photo about love.  One year ago today the man of my dreams got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife! I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to get to spend my life with my best friend and my true love.  Today I have the day off from work so I am making us a wonderful dinner and dessert to celebrate our day of LOVE! 




Love to you all! xo

Monday 6 February 2012

Words of Wisdom - Week 4

"If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, "thank you," that would suffice."  
~Meister Eckhart


I am so thankful for the wonderful life I have.  This life is so wonderful due to the many amazing people in my life.  I start my busy week by saying thank you.


Have a wonderful week everyone!

Photo of the Week "Hoar Frost"

Photo taken at Falcon Trails Resort
The beautiful hoar frost that most of Manitoba got to experience the past few days - one of the many beautiful things about winter!

Tuesday 31 January 2012

Healthy Monday night dinner

Well I outdid myself in the kitchen last night.  Just another busy Monday around here however I felt very inspired to be adventurous in the kitchen!  This was one of those dinners where Kevin looked at my wide eyed and said "Wow-you spoil me".  It's true - I do have my moments!


My mouth is watering just looking a this picture!

Menu:
*Michele's Chicken Charmoula with Cucumber yogurt sauce & Chipotle Harissa - Whitewater Cooks with Friends
*Quinoa with Sundried tomatoes and parsley 
*Mixed Green Salad with 'Super Healthy Vinaigrette'

Super-Healthy Vinaigrette Recipe
Cookbook: The Very Best Healing Foods by Rachel Fontaine
*Bought this book at Costco and love it*

1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 tsp honey
2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley (leaves & stems)
2 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small shallot, chopped
1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger
a pinch of cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a blender or shaker.  Mix for 1 minute.
YUMMY!

The Chicken Charmoula was to die for.  It was chicken skewers with lemon wedges and onions marinated in a delicious charmoula sauce and then BBQ'd.  So juicy and delicious with the tzatziki and chipotle sauce to dip.

Okay I think I need to go to bed before I decided to make a midnight snack.

Bye for now

Monday 30 January 2012

Words of Wisdom - Week 3

"Do not follow where the path may lead.  Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."~Harold R. McAlindon~

Sunday 29 January 2012

Photo of the Week "The Shoes"

Finally found my wedding shoes!! These are worth being the photo of the week!


Bought at: Le ChĆ¢teau


Now to start wearing them in! 

Friday 27 January 2012

Greek Lemon and Orzo Soup



My all time favourite soup is the Greek Lemon and Orzo soup from the 'Plaza' in Kenora, Ontario. So unbelievably yummy! I was craving this the other day so I experimented with a recipe I found online.  It was not nearly as good as the Plaza's but it was still very tasty! We enjoyed it with toasted Nann bread and a side of sliced tomatoes with goat cheese, fresh basil and a balsamic reduction drizzle.

Greek Lemon and Orzo Soup
http://www.rachaelraymag.com/Recipes/rachael-ray-magazine-recipe-search/rachael-ray-30-minute-meals/greek-lemon-and-orzo-soup

INGREDIENTS

  • 64 ounces (8 cups) chicken broth
  • One 2-inch strip lemon peel and juice of 1 large lemon
  • 1 bay leaf
  • Pinch saffron or saffron powder
  • ½ cup orzo
  • 2 large eggs plus 3 large yolks
  • 2 drops hot sauce
  • Flat-leaf parsley, chopped (a couple of generous handfuls)
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper
  • Pita chips (any flavor), for serving

DIRECTIONS:

  1. In a soup pot, bring the broth, lemon peel, bay leaf and saffron to a boil. Stir in the orzo and boil for 5 minutes. Cover, remove the pan from the heat and let the orzo steep for 5 minutes. Discard the lemon peel and bay leaf.
  2. In a bowl, whisk the eggs and egg yolks, lemon juice and hot sauce. Whisk in ½ cup soup to temper the eggs, then whisk the egg mixture into the soup. Cook on low heat, whisking, for 5 minutes. Stir in the parsley; season with salt and pepper. Serve with pita chips.


Monday 23 January 2012

Words of Wisdom - Week 3

"Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough." -Oprah Winfrey

Saturday 21 January 2012

Photo of the Week - "The Abominable Snowman"

Kona the "The Abominable snowman"

One of my favourite things is taking my dog out to play in snow - after a week of -30 we really appreciated the "warmer" temperatures today! This is what his face looked like after 20 minutes of frisbee playing down on the ice

Wednesday 18 January 2012

Artichokes

Homemade Spinach Artichoke Drip
  • 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1/4 cup grated Romano cheese
  • 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
  • 1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
  • 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a small baking dish.
  2. In a medium bowl, mix together cream cheese, mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese, Romano cheese, garlic, basil, garlic salt, salt and pepper. Gently stir in artichoke hearts and spinach.
  3. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish. Top with mozzarella cheese. Bake in the preheated oven 25 minutes, until bubbly and lightly browned.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/hot-artichoke-and-spinach-dip-ii/

This recipe was so easy to make and was beyond delicious!!

Monday 16 January 2012

Words of Wisdom - Week 2

I'm back from NYC - cannot put into words what a fabulous time I had and how much I loved the city (Full post about my adventures to come soon).  This little mini adventure has got me so excited to do some major travelling for our honeymoon to a more far away location than NY!

This quote really moved me.....

“Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” – Miriam Beard

Tuesday 10 January 2012

Goat Cheese + Sun-dried tomatoes = tastebud explosion!

Tonight started out like most normal nights.  Hungry and no inspiration for dinner. However my craving for goat cheese and tomatoes lead to the creation o a truly fabulous, flavourful dinner for two!


Steak, Goat Cheese, Sun-dried tomato & Garlic Nann Bread Pizza
Green Beans and Quinoa Salad with tomatoes, peppers, onions, jalapeƱos with homemade greek dressing


Let's just staying Kevin will miss my cooking when I leave for New York tomorrow!



Monday 9 January 2012

Words of Wisdom - Week 1

“Quality is more important than quantity. One home run is much better than two doubles.” - Steve Jobs – Businessweek


Steve Jobs...what an inspirational human being.  His legacy will live on forever.  This is so true in many aspects of life - with material possessions, friends, experiences. I will try to keep this in mind while shopping in NYC this week :)



Sunday 8 January 2012

New Year new blog ideas

Hello Friends
So I have been slacking on my blog posts lately as life has been busy! However I have been coming up with some great ideas for my blog (I come up with my best ideas when I'm busy!)  
Since my blog represents my life and I am a pretty organized person I want to organize my posts a little bit.  


Weekly Posts
*Favorite quote, word or inspirational sayings for the week
*Recipes and random cooking/baking fun from my kitchen to yours (with pictures of course!)
*My top photograph from the week - I love taking pictures and want to share my top photo of the week
*Weekly Fashion Inspiration - Person, style trend, item of clothing that is currently inspiring me


Monthly Posts
*I have decided that I am reading 1 book per month this year so I will be doing a monthly book review
*Monthly house projects or crafts that I'm working on


Random Posts
*I will of course still have my completely random posts as I am a organized yet random person :)


Random things on my mind right now include: My girls grip to NYC in 3 days!!!, x-country skiing, travel and honeymoon planning, wedding details (5 months and counting), setting business goals for the year, home renovation planning....wait a minute this list is never ending!!





Bye for now (Dreaming of NYC)

Tuesday 3 January 2012

New Year new beginnings!!

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a fabulous holiday season. I sure did! I love the start of a new year because it is a time to reflect on life and make positive changes for the future.
A few of my 2012 goals I wanted to share:
1-Plant a vegetable garden in my yard
2-Experiment with bread making (I've already been making homemade pizza dough and cinnamon buns). I would love to stop buying bread from the store all together
3-Focus on my Arbonne business and become an Area Manager by May 2012
4-Focus on my health as much as possible- healthly choices make all the difference
5-Marry the man of my dreams (5 months 6 days and counting :) )

I wish everyone a fabulous first week of 2012- May this be the best year yet!!

Xo