A Friday Ritual

One photo without explanation. A moment captured- a time to be still, to breathe and remember.

Happy Friday! :)

A Purple Monster

If you follow the blog Oh She Glows, you will know that she makes a lot of different smoothies and drinks. One of them she calls her Green Monster. It's a green smoothie that's full of so many good things that it's just a beast. While we are still warming up to green drinks (it's so hard to make them taste less lettucey) we definitely love a great breakfast energy booster. Lately our Mama has been whipping up what we call now the Purple Monster. It's a breakfast smoothie full of so many delicious ingredients and actually tastes pretty good. The best part is that instead of needing toast, cereal etc. we just down this beast and we are full! Which is kinda crazy because normally we are three- snacky- kind -of girls.

What's in this beast of a drink that keeps us full?































Hemp Hearts In each 30 grams (2 tablespoons) there is 10 grams of protein and 10 grams of Omegas!!
Flax has been popular for awhile. It is full of fiber, Omega 3's and also helps balance hormones.
Chia seeds also have fiber, Omegas, are good for hormones, diabetes etc.





























Our Purple Monster

Ingredients

1/2 cup of frozen berries
1/2 cup of frozen pineapple
3 tbsp of hemp hearts
3 tbsp of ground flax seeds
1 tsp of chia seeds
1 tbsp of maple syrup
1 cup of water or almond milk

Add all ingredients in blender and blend until desired consistency. Usually a few minutes or so to grind the hemp hearts. Enjoy!!

We have an obsession with..

Cookbooks!

If you were to visit us most likely we would be around or near the kitchen. Even though it's definitely not the largest room in the house, it's one our family loves. All of us being food lovers, our kitchen is the place we go to for substance and creativity. We love perusing online for recipes and have so many printed-scribbled -down notes everywhere. The bigger issue though is our cookbook obsession. We have a little shelf over our sink that is the home to our most loved cookbooks and then the rest live on a bookcase in our family room. We are always shuffling them around and when we go on holidays, the cookbooks come too.



Paleo loaf of bread

Here's three of the new cookbooks we are loving:

The Oh She Glows Cookbook by Angela Liddeon



We have been following Angela's blog for awhile now and are so excited to see her recipes in print! They are all vegan and almost all of them can be made gluten free. The best is that they taste delicious! We are especially excited about the vegan cheese ball : ) : ) YUM! Her pictures are gorgeous and we wish she had prints for sale. They would look so pretty in white frames! This is a great cookbook if you are interested in a more vegan lifestyle.

Against All Grain by Danielle Walker


We have been experimenting alot lately with baking grain free. Spelt is a good alternative for us, but not always the most healthy. Our Mama has been reading about the benefits of eating grain free and so we have started incorporating a few new recipes here and there. This cookbook is Paleo, and while we aren't eating a Paleo diet, we do appreciate the grain free aspect. The author of this cookbook had battled an autoimmune disease for years and decided after awhile to heal herself through food. She has many great ideas and suggestions.

Grain-Free Gourmet by Jodi Bager and Jenny Lass



This cookbook has many of our classic carb favourites but the authors have converted them to be grain free. While they do use dairy products, many of the recipes can be altered for a dairy less option. They have so many great reciepes like tasty biscuits and homemade almond bread. We like all the research that they provide about the different flours and ingredients needed.

What about you? Do you have a favourite cookbook? 

A Speech on Beauty Every Girl Should Hear

"Since love grows within you, so beauty grows, for love is the beauty of the soul." St Augustine.
We have quoted this one before, but it's one of our favourites.

Last week there was a popular video circulating Facebook. It was a speech delivered by the gorgeous Oscar winner Lupito Nyong. She spoke on her experience of dealing with  body issues and what it truly means to be beautiful.

Take a few minutes and go watch this video here. It is worth watching again and sharing with every girl.




























In her speech Lupito quotes her Mama and her wise words have stuck with us all week:
 "You can't eat beauty..it doesn't feed you."
No matter what you like or don't like about yourself, in order to feel and be truly beautiful comes from the inside. The desire to have perfect hair, skin, body will never quench that thirst for more. What does it mean to be beauty? For us and Lupito it is:

 A loving heart. A heart that serves. A compassionate person.


One like our beloved Pope Francis here:






























or this beautiful lady: Gianna Jesson
She is an abortion survivor and uses her story to witness about the sanctity of life. The movie October Baby was based on her experience. Check out her website here



 and our inspiring Blessed Mother Teresa who loved at all costs





And if you want to check out a new doll that could change the Barbie world forever..check it out here

Her name is Lammily and her inventor decided to make a doll with real woman proportions. We think she is gorgeous and plan on buying a few. Isn't it time we had a real representation for our girlies to play with? We love Lammily and can't wait to see her on the shelves.

Is there someone you look up to as an image of beauty?  Share with us, we would love to hear from you.

A Baby Shower Full of Love *Plus 4 baby shower ideas*

On Saturday we celebrated a special event: The First of the Baby Showers! In our family two babies will be born in less than six weeks and we just can’t wait. The First of the Showers ( yes it's in bold, but it's just to emphasize how excited we are : ): )  marked that it is now countdown time. The babies are coming soon!!! 

 

The shower we took part in this weekend, was for our sister Veronica. We were so excited and thrilled to be a part of the lovely party! If you are looking for a few baby shower ideas, we thought we would share today what we did. 

Our Baby Shower Suggestions:

1. Decorate outside the box 

Veronica loves detail and so we knew she would love and notice lots of tiny special touches. Charlotte made tissue paper balls and our brother Zach hung them from the ceiling. They are an alternative to balloons and reminded us of fluffy white clouds. We also made a teeny tiny paper bunting for the cupcakes. Check out how to make it here

2. A Keepsake for Mama 

 

We wanted to make something that all the ladies could sign/stamp/etc as a keepsake for Veronica from the shower. Our talented Charlotte painted the cutest baby and we all took turns stamping our thumbs to create balloons. We picked up a white frame and gave it to Veronica at the end of the shower. It is a great reminder for the Mama of all the ladies who love her and baby.

3. Fun Games 

 

Showers can sometimes be awkward at first, but a few fun games can be great to break the ice. Our go to favourites are: The Clothespin Game, a fun Trivia game, Guess how Big her Belly Is and Gift Bingo. If you are looking for game ideas, check out our Pinterest boards here

4. Party Favours 

Everyone loves receiving a little gift or prize. We wanted all the ladies from the shower to leave with a little something special and so we made: He or She chocolate bars. Veronica and Zac are waiting to find out the gender, so we had guests pick a chocolate bar on their prediction. Our brother Zac purchased the chocolate bars at Costco and we coloured the He or She with sharpies. They were a cute addition to the favour gift bags Veronica's mother and sister prepared.

All in all we are so grateful to be included in such a fun and lovely shower. We are so excited to meet our little niece or nephew.

What's your favourite shower ideas? Anything you like or dislike? Share with us!


(Here's Veronica opening our Mama's gift: a gorgeous, one of a kind, oh so soft baby quilt)

 

A Friday Ritual

One photo without explanation. A moment captured- a time to be still, to breathe and remember.

Happy Friday! :)

DIY Crossover Ponytail

Among us girls, Charlotte rocks the ponytails. Her fine hair looks so pretty all pulled back. It's straight, smooth and falls perfectly. She is always looking for different variations and so asked Leah for a new look. Thankfully Leah is creative and in just a few minutes came up with a new version. We call it: The Crossover Ponytail. It's easy, fast and looks lovely.
 By just doing a few steps you can jazz up your ponytail and make it go from boring to sophisticated!

 

The Crossover Ponytail

Step 1: Separate hair two inches above the ears on either side.





























Step 2: Gather the middle section and all the hair left and bring into ponytail






























Step 3: Take one of the two inch section, comb it and cross it over to the opposite side of the ponytail. Secure underneath with a bobby pin





























Step 4: Take the other section, comb it and cross it over the ponytail, wrap this section around the tail once and then bobby pin into place underneath.





























Optional: You can tease the hair in the front to add more volume.






























Voila! Give it a try! If there is a hairstyle that you are eager to learn and unsure, let us know and Leah can give it a shot.