Liebster Award

Ok!...here goes nothin'! I've been nominated by Emily who is another lifestyle blogger over at 

underthescottishrain.blogspot.co.uk 

I'm just becoming acquainted with Emily recently, and I'm so flattered that she has nominated me. I've been sort of daunted by this whole experience wondering how I'll get through writing this blog, so I've decided to Just do it like I usually do. If I put too much thought into it -something I tend to do- I wouldn't do it, so here we go!

    1. Thank/ link the person who nominated you
        Thanks again Emily!

    2. Answer the 11 questions they have written for you

      1. If you could be any animal, what animal would you be and why?

I would be a cat. I would be a cat because they're pretty smooth in the way they move, always landing on their feet (my only wish because I'm such a klutz lol!), and the best part is they can sunbathe any time they choose. This is partly why I blog. I can stay home and wait for the sun to shine on me :)

      2. Which country would you most like to live in?

Anywhere warmer than here really... I've been called a gypsy my whole life because I move a lot. For now, lets say Australia!

      3. Why did you start blogging?

Ooo! I like this question! I started blogging because I LOOOVE to write! I never thought anyone would want to read my words, and before I started blogging I thought "who reads blogs anyways? Who reads about other peoples lives?". But in all truth, I was doing that. I just didn't see it in the cards for myself until I just decided "you know what? who would this hurt if I tried?". The answer? No one! And I love every minute of it.

      4. What is your blogging goal?

Another juicy question! I like it Emily! My blogging goal is to become a monetized business, and live a lifestyle where I don't have to worry about money or wanting to travel. 

That being said, I want to share more travel blogs, and I'd like to get into fashion and beauty in the future, but- at the moment- with a toddler I can barely get a slick of lipstick on! He's a handful, but a lovely one and I enjoy teaching him things everyday. Raising him is the most important to me right now so this is partly what I'll share amongst life adventures with my family.

      5. If you could go to a different time period, which one would you go to?

I am obsessed with the Gatsby time period! The lavish style just has me hooked! I would've been very happy there dancing the nights away in amazing dresses :)

      6. If you were on a deserted island, what 3 items would you bring with you?

I would bring my computer so I could blog about it, a blender to make margaritas with, and sunblock. I don't burn, but sun protection is the key to life...and is the main item for a sunbather to bring to the beach.

      7. What do you want the future to hold for you?

Continued and unending happiness with the 2 loves of my life; my fiancee and my baby boy. May the future bring continued success and happiness to us all!

      8. What is your favourite film and why?

Ooo, this ones a toughie. My fiancee will tell you that I'm so bad with names and titles. I never remember anything! I am however, a movie buff, and the last great movie I saw was "Rise of the planet of the apes". Great cinematography! I highly suggest seeing it in theatres if its not too late.

      9. What is your biggest fear?

One of my biggest fears was deep, dark water. My dad watched one too many scary films for a young child's liking when I was little! I (embarrassingly to this day) still think there are underwater lake monsters, and sharks all over the ocean lol! But I just recently went to Mexico and snorkelled with sea turtles! Best experience of my life! 

      10. What is your wardrobe must have?

MY wardrobe must have?....hmm.. a good pair of skinny jeans :) 

      11. If you could change one thing about yourself, would you? And what would it be?

What would it be.. It would have to be my hyper sensitive body. Anything I put in or on will have a dramatic effect on my health. I would change that in a heartbeat, but I am an incredibly thoughtful person because of it... so now I'm stuck.. yes I would change it..no I wouldn't lol! Ah! I'll leave it at that!

     

     3. 11 random facts about myself

      1. I'm a lover of the sun! Put me in a floaty on a lake, or on a white sandy beach and I'll be happy forever!

      2. I've been engaged for 3 years...enough with it already! Its time to get married! :)

      3. I'm an introvert.

      4. Secretly, not so secretly I want to move away from Canada and blog about my travels

      5. I still need a new engagement ring lol! Yes, a NEW one! Wanna come shopping for one with me? I keep putting it off!

      6. I'm a perfectionist

      7. I've gone back to university and college a total of 3 times for 3 different careers (completed every single one), not once to become a writer though, but here I am writing for a living :)

      8. I don't regret anything. All life experiences are made to help us grow into the person we are today. Remember that!

      9. I'm a nerd. A book nerd. A life nerd. I love learning!!!!!

    10. Now that I'm blogging I sometimes forget to eat...yes, I do.

    11. I cannot lie worth a damn!!! If you suspect I'm lying, watch my face. I'm probably cracking a smile! 

     4. Nominate blogs with under 200 followers, who you believe deserve this award

•  Heledd at Running in Lavender
•  Sarah at Crowded Closet
•  Nicki at Nicki Kinickie
•  Laura at My Wee Sweet Pea
•  Michelle at Michelle Louise Love

     5. Leave a set of 11 questions for those blogs to answer, and let them know they've been nominated

      1. What is your all time favourite food?

      2. What is at the top of your bucket list?

      3. What does the perfect date look like to you?

      4. What is your current favourite outfit?

      5. Do you like cooking? If so, what is your favourite meal to cook?

      6. What does your apartment look like right now?

      7. Have you travelled? If so, what was your favourite destination, or where would you love to go?

      8. Are you a cat, or dog person?

      9. What do you do on a rainy day?

      10. What is your favourite type of music?

      11. Are you living your dreams? If so, why, or why not?

Emily, thanks again for the nomination! This wasn't as hard as I assumed it would be, it took some thoughtfulness, definitely worth it to nominate some other rad bloggers who deserve it ;)

Come learn more about Emily here. She has some really great sights and experience she shares on her blog!

Feelin Good

I was watching Kris Carr's Crazy Sexy Cancer trailer today. She is an incredibly resilient survivor of an apparent incurable stage 4 cancer. Most people will know someone who has either dealt with it, IS dealing with it, or may encounter it in the future. Apparently 45% of men and 41% of women will deal with this sometimes life threatening disease in their lives. 
(Stats here at Cancer.ca)

This is something I believe that with the right diet, lifestyle and mindset can either be completely bypassed, or overcome. I really want to see Kris Carr's documentary- just the trailer itself drew me in. I am not personally dealing with cancer, but I know, have known and will know someone who is dealing with it. Her mindset got her through and above any other method of treatment- she decided that she was going to live. I love that! 

But why does it take disease for some of us to begin to wake up to life? I don't want to have to wait for something detrimental to happen to me for my eyes to open. Why do I bring this up? Because how many of us have that unwritten or unspoken bucket list we've always dreamt about? Or that hobby that we just love to do that we "just don't have the time for"? 

Why wait? I've watched more than my share of her inspiring videos on YouTube (more of her that I will share in the future). Why wait until tomorrow to live your life? Why is "another day" just better than right NOW? 

I say, let's stop. Breath, and do it. Just do it! That's what I'm all about. 

What if we don't have tomorrow? In a way, it's a blessing to think like this, because if we're always waiting for tomorrow, when will our lives ever be fully lived?

You may think what I'm about to say is a bit silly- but I LOVE dancing! That's all I want to do. And from the Crazy Sexy Cancer trailer it has inspired me to make time to just dance, even if it's to ONE song daily! That's it! That's my goal right now is to get back in touch with that ultra creative, physical side of me and just let loose- even if it's just with my son. He's much more entertaining to dance with then bumping into drunk people at a club anyways :)

What is it that you've been wanting to do, but just haven't given yourself permission, or simply just the time to do?

This is the life

Yes, it's that time of week again!

What did you do over the weekend?

On Friday evening we made our way to my grandparents once again- I think I told you before how much we enjoy visiting them. We have been busy all week showing our place to potential new tenants... oh ya! Have I told you that 

WE'RE MOVING AGAIN

Yikes, right? Didn't I tell you that I would rather stay put for a while since it was rather hellish moving to my current dream apartment in downtown Vancouver not even 2 months ago? We haven't had a chance to fully move into my dream apartment because we know we'll be leaving soon. Its sad, but at the same time exciting as this time we'll be getting super cozy (which means shopping for comfortable furniture and accessories!) as a means to stay put for longer than a year in one apartment. 

My Uncle offered us his larger apartment for a really good price that we just couldn't say 'no' to. It is far from the downtown life, but it is something that we are so grateful for! Not only is it bigger, but we'll be able to really save up for this darn wedding that feels like will never happen! Finally! So over the next couple of years I'll have plenty to write about :) This next little while is a bit of a sacrifice in location and lifestyle (oh God, how we love the downtown life! But the downtown life is expensive!). 

So get ready for some home decoration blogs in the very near future! I'll take you along on the trips we make, and ask for some advice on what I should buy. I'm not an interior decorator by any means so let me know what you think works, and what are just weird quirky mismatches ok? 

So, this is what we did- RELAX and we couldn't feel more recharged for the week!

Daddy and I started our Saturday at the lake, sadly leaving our baby at home with the grandparents as he caught a strange little cold (remind me to get him back on his probiotics!)- he is better now though thankfully.

I spent a lot of time in the 30+C weather with my Gramma reading a really great book for my blogging career while jotting down a LOT of notes! I'm immersed, and half done the book now! Once again I mixed a wonderful 

Wine spritzer 

1/3 c wine
1/3 c coconut water (hey, I needed hydration somehow!)
1/3 c club soda
4 ice cubes

Let me tell you it was much better with a touch of coconut water for sweetness :)

Do you think I'm a bit insane for moving again? Sometimes I feel like this life of mine is a never ending adventure! 

Let me know what you were up to! I'd love to hear! 
Comment below the post by either signing into your gmail account, or use the openID :) 

Thanks for stopping by!

Green Glow Smoothie

We are back for the next addition of Good Food Fridays, where I share not only time saving recipes, but healthy at that! 

I've been working on this one for a while now, so I hope you enjoy it- not only for the taste, but the amazing health benefits. There's a plethora of good fats in this smoothie- which is good for keeping a slim waist line as well as a healthy nervous system- and good greens to amp up your energy levels, and alkalize the body (which is very much needed these days). Also, I've added ginger to this smoothie to rev up your immune system, metabolism and it's also anti-inflammatory in every way possible.


Green Glow
Step 1:

Gather all of your ingredients!

• 1 cup frozen blueberries (I prefer frozen over fresh for this recipe, but if you want to add fresh blueberries add some ice cubes!)
• 1/2 banana
• 1/2 avocado
• 2 big handfuls of spinach
• 1/4 c hemp hearts
• 2 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 tsp spirulina
• 1 tsp matcha powder
• 1-2 tsp coconut oil
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2- 1 inch of ginger (depending on your taste)
• 1-1 & 1/2 c of water (depending on how thick/ thin you like it)

And sweetener of choice if needed. I personally find this is sweet enough with banana and blueberries.

Step 2:

Put all ingredients into blender. Look at that deliciousness!

Step 3:

Enjoy! Pretty simple, right? 

Come check out these 2 links for more information on healthy fats, and ginger benefits!

• The big fat truth
• Ginger health benefits

Just do it!

This photo is courtesy of thinkforphotop/ freedigitalimages.net

Today I'd like to share with you a little part of my life. I like to read- did you know that? I'm a major geek at heart, and its something my sweetie loves about me. Apparently he's 

"the cool one" 

and I'm 

"the geek"

My way of enjoying life is singing, dancing, reading and writing. All of which require me to never have to leave the confines of my cozy little home. I love my home. Its not like I stay home a lot, as living in the city makes for such a busy lifestyle. 

I'm out and about with my son constantly. But as an introvert my way of recharging is being at home- its something I've recently accepted about myself 

I am me 

Big revelation, right? Not really. I can't change me. 

This was taken on a road trip with a friend along the Oregon coast

Accepting this has given me more opportunity to figure out what works for me. I love writing. And apparently it shows. I've been approached for the third time to write a book. Its nerve racking! Its nerve racking because fear gets in the way. But if I really think about it, I blog. I share myself with people all over the world every week. So I'm negotiating with myself on a daily basis 

"If I can do this, I can write a book!". 

My goal is to sit down and make a game plan. I have no idea where to start. But I'm just gonna do it. That's what I live by 

"Just do it" 

If you've been reading my blog for a little while, you must know this about me by now.

I went to Mexico recently and in the spur of the moment I decided to jump in- literally. I have a severe fear of dark water. I have an issue with not having control over situations around me. But an opportunity came up where I was able to go snorkelling. I said "why not?". If I even thought about it for a moment I wouldn't have done it. What I'm doing with my writing career is I'm thinking too much about it- wondering how I'll "make it perfect", and where I'll find the time to do it. Not only did I snorkel once in Mexico, I did twice more after that, and my last trip before leaving was with sea turtles- the most magical experience of my life! If I had reached my arm out I could've touched that big, beautiful majestic creature in front of me. Its something I will remember for the rest of my life, and its because I took the leap. I will now jump into the sea of writing where I feel happy, and content. I love connecting with people through my writing, and I love talking to you. 

I guess this is also a thank you. Thank you for reading. Please follow me on Bloglovin'. There is a button on the left side of the page, right under "All about me". You can receive emails right to your inbox anytime I write new content. I'll keep you posted on the book writing too! With such a little ball of energy (aka: my son) I'm going to assume that my book will take some time to get through. I'm already working on my blog on a daily basis, and its not something I'm willing to put on the back burner, as blogging is my fuel for creativity.

Please keep reading, and I will keep writing. You have no idea how wonderful it is to have such a great, supportive audience. Thank you!

A day out with my toddler

Bah! Another one of those days. I was so bored I felt like I was going bonkers! Usually my son and I are set up daily with classes, or dates with friends, but because our summer schedule consists of a lot of family time we are sort of at wits end when left to our own devices. I should say I'm at my wits end. I felt isolated, and bored yesterday. But that's all about to change. I saw boredom as a great opportunity to change things up, so here we go on another adventure!

To shake things up, today we left the lacklustre routine of ours to take a ferry across the water to Granville Island and take a stroll through the Kids Market. I've been looking into activities to do in Vancouver, and my son loves boats so I thought he would just be thrilled! 

Even though we both felt the pinch of boredom yesterday, he still managed to make me smile.

Here he is in his Dada's stylish sunglasses :)

It was about time this duo got their groove back! 

Even though it was a rainy day, we still made the best of it.

If your looking for some activities to do in the Vancouver area check these out!

• Toddler orientated activiities
• All ages events

Now I'm ready to tackle the rest of the summer with my son- even if we hit another slump in activities.

What did you do over the weekend?

Before I get started with my blog today I just wanted to let you know that I spent the night updating the blog page. Hopefully it will be easier to navigate from here on. At the top left there are tabs for; All About Me, Lifestyle, Healthy Food, and Motherhood & Relationships. So if your looking for something to read in particular like an easy dinner, smoothie or lunch recipe you can go straight to Healthy Food and look through the recipes. I hope you enjoy the new look!

All About me is a new section I added and is a bio for none other than- myself. I want you to get to know me a little bit better, as well as for those who are joining my blog more recently.

This will also be my official announcement of what the blog week will look like; 

• Tuesday: What did you do over the weekend?
• Wednesday: Lifestyle
• Thursday: Lifestyle
• Friday: Quick and healthy recipe day to cap off the week

Every so often I will blog about relationships, organization and reviews of restaurants and whatever else I fancy to review (like a new bike for my son, or makeup that I bought) but it won't be too often because I'm noticing that you enjoy more of the pure lifestyle posts right now. Please let me know if there is anything you'd like to see as this blog is for you. I love writing it, so if I can go over something you would like to see (like more reviews for example) now is the time to say so :)

Because I have more viewership every week I also want to let you all know that you can follow me on Bloglovin'. If you don't know what Bloglovin' is, it's a great site where you can follow your favourite bloggers (aka: me), and they will send you emails to your email address  of my blogs when they are posted on a daily or weekly basis. I've made it very convenient to follow my blog. If you look to the top left of this page there are a few buttons; one called "Bloglovin'" click the button, and it will set you up for an account quite quickly. Also there is a Twitter and Facebook share button right underneath "Bloglovin'". If you enjoy my posts, please share them with others to help me to continue to grow my readership. Thank you! Now on to my regular blog for Tuesday!

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Here's the second addition to "What did you do over the weekend?". You all seemed to really enjoy this topic, as did I. I would love to know what you did too, so let me know in the comment section below the post!

This weekend our son was with family again so Dada and I had a chance to sleep in, and reconnect. Our life wouldn't be balanced if we didn't fit in some adventure to the relaxation would it? We started off the weekend by once again heading off to White Cliff Park- somewhere that we're very fond of going to to watch sunsets.

This picture was taken a few months ago at White Cliff Park

We then came home where my sweetie had a chance to produce some music while I flexed my blogging muscles and learnt how I could improve this blogging career that I love so much. I ended up finding this very cute blogger from the UK named Zoella. After watching some of her more recent work as a Vlogger I couldn't help but watch more than a few of her videos here. If your into fashion, beauty and lifestyle blogs- check her out. The reason I bring up Zoella is because I want to get into Vlogging in the future, so finding someone who is successful with it is someone I was on the lookout for.


We slept until 11 am on Saturday and made our way on a very unexpectedly long hike to Lynn Valley Headwaters. I've done this hike once before a year ago. Our  "light hike" ended up being a 4 and a half hour long hike with the last half being "intermediate". As in, "wear the right shoes". Well, I wish I could tell you I have hiking boots. But I don't. I used some running shoes that have been sitting in my closet for well over a year now. I'm not a runner (I try to be sometimes). I'm a biker. I love biking. Running just seems.. a waste of energy personally. I love going fast!

I digress- usually this happens. I should also let you know how clumsy I am. Of course I fell into the water with my lovely pavement running shoes! All in all, I got a bruised toe, but the show continued. I walked it off, iced it in the water and enjoyed my time in the woods.

Once we finished the unexpectedly long hike we were hungry! And I think we deserved some good food, don't you? I want to rate this restaurant in the near future as the eating experience itself is a blog post. For now, pictures will have to do over this drool worthy food at Bin 941. I must say that we entered this tapas bar muddy, and sweaty- too hungry to get ready! I felt a little more than underdressed but this restaurant was more than willing to serve us :)

So, how was your weekend? I'd love to hear! Leave me a line or 2 below in the comment section :)

All about me

Firstly, I would like to introduce myself before my titles in life.

My way of living is simple, gentle, and I am constantly finding more happiness in life, but you'll also find the flip side of me who is constantly seeking adventure and I absolutely love travel (watch me through this coming year as I hit up some rad countries- 'travel blog' section to come very soon!).

Living a simple life is not always easy, but that's what life is for- learning. I tend to see the glass half full- meaning I can see things from a lighter perspective on most days- and I think that's a great quality to have. I love writing and after 29 years I have finally started delving into this aspect of my life.

Some of my titles include; mother, fiance (of 3 years and counting), and student of life. I dropped out of school at around the age of 15 and lost my way, but I've been building my own foundation since then. 

I like to think my lighter perspective has taken me out of some pretty deep holes in life. I call them "my light bulb moments". These have been pivotal moments that changed my life forever. 

Since the age of 15 I graduated high school, became a cosmetologist- meaning I am a fantastic hairstylist, and used to do some pretty killer facials and massages in my time. I then took half a year off after realizing what a shallow life I was living. I wanted something deeper, something really meaningful, but I ended up going so stir crazy from boredom that I jumped into university to try and make a career out of my outdoor hobbies. So I completed a sport & recreation management diploma. Don't ask me what I would've done with that, I didn't know. If you were to ask one of my siblings, or my father they still wouldn't remember what the hell I went to university for. I loved river rafting, adventure, water sports but I just didn't know what to do with myself.

Thank God for honesty. I had a professor and teacher who guided me to the light. They told me to complete my diploma, but to look in my actual field.. what was my field? 

Wellness. Wellness is where my life changed drastically. I attended a private wellness college and became a certified life coach and wellness counsellor. What I got out of it was a better me.

I stopped taking shit from everyone around me. Built boundaries, and created a life that I wanted for myself.

Since then my life looks brighter, happier and more profound everyday. I am so blessed to be able to follow this blogging career while raising my son at home. The balance isn't always easy, but I like to follow my sons lead as much as I can. 

I strive for health, happiness, lots of adventure and travel when I can find it and healthy life hacks all over the place, and I want to share all of that with you.

Quick, healthy pizza

As promised, here is the pizza recipe I was talking about earlier on in the week.

Once again, I'd like to add that you can modify any of my recipes with what suits your needs. I have a highly restricted diet that keeps me away from a lot of unhealthy options. So a part of my journey is finding quick, but also very healthy food that I can eat.

I started off with a pre-made pizza dough by Sans Gluten Free. I've used so many different types of pizza crust, and this one is by far my favourite because it caters to all of my needs.

Gluten, corn, egg, gmo, tomatoe, and dairy free. Who would think that someone could make a good pizza crust without all of those ingredients? (P.S. This package is a "pizza kit" so it does include tomato sauce if you want to use it for this quick meal). 

You can opt for any other healthy, whole grain pizza crust at your favourite grocery store if that suits you, and just buy pizza sauce for this recipe.

Next on the list is the ingredients:

• A handful of spinach
• 1-2 handfuls of mushrooms
• Pesto sauce (or tomato paste)
• Coconut oil
• Goat cheese (or cheese of your choice)
• Salt and Pepper

And sometimes I like adding turkey bacon if I have it in the house. I'm in love with turkey bacon :)

Preheat the oven at the temperature suggested on the package.

Slice up the mushrooms and cook with oil, salt and pepper. After mushrooms have cooked for about 8 minutes or so, add the spinach, season again, and cover for 2-3 minutes to let spinach wilt (I found if I just add the spinach to the pizza in the oven it doesn't taste as good so I like pre-cooking my vegetables so it tastes better).

Prepare the pizza crust with

1. Sauce
2. Spinach (should be under other ingredients so it doesn't dry out
3. Mushrooms
4. Cheese

Cook for a few minutes in the oven, and viola! Add a glass of white wine (I had Lindemans 2013 Chardonnay) for hot summer days- you've got yourself a perfect, healthy dinner that takes about 15 minutes to make with very little mess!

6 steps to organizing the perfect day

Photo is courtesy of 2nix/ freedigitalphotos.net

Well, I decided to take back the reins of my life yesterday after what felt like a mini meltdown. It was great to do a self-care night with healthy food, a good book with wine after my day.

Before I hit the sack that night, I decided to get my life back on track by organizing a perfect day. It was quite a simple one at that (you can also check out more information on organizing your life in a later post I did called To do list)

1. Make a green- fatty smoothy for breakfast- I'll recipe this one at a later date and give you more details on the 'fatty' aspect of it- also, prepare my sons breakfast
2. Clean my house
3. Have a cup of coffee and blog for an hour
4. Get outside with my son 
5. 5 minute meditation (with my 5 min relax app)
6. Exercise and read my new book while my son takes his afternoon nap

And I accomplished every single one if those! My silent chant after I finished my list (silent because the last of it had to be accomplished while my son Toli slept) was "I did it, I did it, I did it!!" And boy was I a happy camper! I felt good about my day. I got my sweat on with this HIIT workout that I talked about recently, got all my work done and most importantly-contributed to natural stress relief with meditation which is very calming, and also got some endorphins running through my body again. I like to think that I'm very proactive when it comes to getting out of a funk. I don't like staying down very long, even if its only a day I go a little bonkers- so I'm glad I had my 'to-do' list ready.

I find that writing things down on paper helps so much when we need to get stuff done. Just the act of scratching it out makes me feel accomplished. What helps you get through tasks of the day?

Paying attention- in Relationships

Photo courtesy of Photostock/ Freedigitalimages.net

One of those 'off' days. A day you wish would just end so you could start over again tomorrow..

That's how it felt. I was reading an article yesterday called The shape of days. It discussed how we can graph the way our days turn out. Some days we can start on a high, or wake up on the wrong side of the bed, and it goes on from there.

Yesterday I started off by managing my social media, along with reading articles, and blogging. It was a pretty good start to a relaxing day with a nice cup of java in hand. I also had coconut yogurt, local raspberries and hemp hearts for breakfast. I could say I was having an awesome day- starting on a high. Then, one event tumbled into the next where things just weren't going my way at all. Appointments had to be cancelled, dates rescheduled. My relaxation quickly turned into stress (or the low end of the graph as discussed from The shape of days) before noon even hit.

Thank god for an awesome relationship! I was supposed to go to Whitecliff park (see photos in this post where I talk about the Sunset at Whitecliff Park) with my fiance when he arrived home from work, but to top off my already crappy day he had a work event he needed to attend. 

I felt like the wave/ shape of my day just hit its lowest at that moment. It was at what I called the trough of my day, and I made it known. But something so wonderful happened. 

He listened

I forgot before that moment came just how powerful being heard is. In that moment I was able to pour my heart out, get rid of every little nuance of my day, and the most fascinating thing happened right after that 

I took a deep breath.. and everything was OK

He asked me if I wanted him to come home, or if I wanted to join him. I said 'no'. 

He said "have a glass of wine", and I did. 

It was beautiful! How my day had shifted back into peacefulness after just being heard. Thankfully I had already begun making my favourite comfort food :) Gluten/ egg/ tomato/ dairy/ gmo free pizza with spinach and mushrooms, and a glass of chilled white wine.

I'll post my recipe at the end of the week if your looking for a quick, healthy pizza idea. My son loves it- as do I (it can always be used with wheat/ dairy/ tomato if your not on a restricted diet like I am).

When your having a crappy day, what do you do? 

In this article One of those days I talk more about different ways to get through a crappy day if your looking for more ideas!

What did you do over the weekend?

This past weekend was full of relaxation, excitement, new creative cold drinks for the lake, followed by more relaxation.

My grandparents house was packed full of family in an air conditioned home as the heat reached 42 degrees this weekend- yes it was a HOT one!

We started our extended weekend off by driving to Lytton, BC on Thursday night with our toddler. Let me just say, travelling with a 2 year old is much more challenging than it has been- he no longer sleeps the 3 hour trip there but wants to be entertained the whole time. Luckily, this mama is an avid Pinterest follower so I'm always finding new ways to keep him occupied (or he's just dancing to the music), and if all else fails we have a couple of toddler apps on my phone that I keep handy.

Friday was lake day for this mini fam jam. We have a 5 person raft, which has suited our needs perfectly, with an electric motor and speakers for music. It has been a BLAST!

Saturday was a Mama & Dada adventure day where we finally made it back to my current favourite river run The Nahatlatch with Fraser River Raft Expeditions which I talk about in River Rafting in BC. 

To finish off the weekend we chilled in the backyard with Toli where he watered plants for his Great Gramma aka: "Gramma", and played around his mini park. I also made my own wine spritzer which I sipped on while watching my son play which only consisted of half red wine, half club soda and a few ice cubes to keep chilled in the blistering heat.

How was your weekend?

River Rafting in BC

We'll, I'm sure glad I apologized in advance about not posting much this week. Thank you for being patient with me! The move went as smooth as it could've, and now we are making our way to Prince George to drop off Toli to stay with my parents while we go to Mexico. 

I've been thinking about posting for days but with no internet you can imagine how hard that has been. So here I am sneaking in a post before a long and treacherous road trip with Toli and my Gramma (who volunteered herself- she likes road trips, and Toli especially so she really wanted to come).

Since it's been so long I wanted to start off my week with a bang. If you're into adventure like I am, I'm sure you'll appreciate this post/ story- it's a good excuse to get out of the city, and try something new. 


Some of the most relaxing times I've had are at my grandparents. We drive 3 hours out of the city, and into the mountains to Lytton, BC.

This photo is extracted from an earlier post Wishing, hoping daydreaming...

Lytton is nestled in between mountains, and my grandparents just happen to have the best view from their house (I also talk a little more about Lytton in Wishing, hoping, daydreaming) of the Thompson and Fraser river, which join into one big river flow- called a confluence. The cool thing about having the two rivers come together is the colour difference. When your close enough you can see which river is which- one is a very pretty blue contrasted by a muddy green'ish colour. Many a time have I gone down this river flow in a river raft (one of my absolute joys in life!).

Coming to Lytton is something I've done ever since I was born. My great grandmother 'Nanny' used to have house in town here, and my brother and I would spend our time running around in the garden, or playing in a little pool to cool off. Lytton is known to some as "God's pocket". Why you may ask? Well, because it gets so darn HOT during the summer- it'll usually come up as the 'hot spot' on local BC news channels.

It's almost been 6 years since I introduced my fiance to my joy in life- river rafting. There are a few things in life that can keep a perma- smile on my face; biking, river rafting, and most recently snowboarding now that I'm getting the hang of it again. 

I'd been 'dating' Rom a total of 3 months, and within that time, we barely spent a minute apart aside from him working. Those 3 months were full of adventure, and lots of surprises. We loved surprising one another. 

Here's a bit of back story to connect what I'm about to say; my family gets together every year at the end of summer for good food, tomato jarring, card playing, and lots of laughs. Rom hadn't met my family yet, and wasn't really thinking about it either. I had planned a surprise rafting trip (which he'd never done before), but it was near my grandparents place. So I thought "well, why not bring him into all the fun?". It seemed like a really awesome 2 for 1 deal. Meet my family, AND go river rafting! Lets just say he was more than surprised to find out he was walking into- a family get together. And it wasn't just my grandparents. It was my step mum, father, uncle's and aunts.. probably would have been good to have a heads up now that I think about it, but at the time I thought it was a fabulous surprise!

This is a flashback photo of Rom and I on one of our rafting adventures with Fraser River Raft Expeditions

And one of the most recent photos from last year with Kumsheen 

Kumsheen is one of the very first rivers I've ever been on, and great for any beginner who is looking into trying it out. 

But I decided 6 years ago that I would take Rom on one of my favourites the Nahatlatch River run with Fraser River Raft Expeditions, this run is a class 4+ in July (meaning fast, fun, and just plain awesome!).

Here's short video of the Nahatlatch run that's putting a smile on my face, and goosebumps on my skin- I need to get back out there! 

So if your looking for something awesome to do, or are looking for a new river to try out, I'd highly recommend coming to the interior of BC. Fraser River Raft Expeditions is based out of Yale, BC. They run the Nahatlatch river between May and July, and it's considered one of the best runs in the province. It's been a couple years since I've been on this one (having a youngling in the household has made it difficult to be here in time for the run), but I haven't been disappointed yet!