an attitude of gratitude

Today we are thankful for...

• The beautiful sunshine! All the leaves have popped, the lilacs are growing, spring is HERE : ) We survived another Canadian winter.

 
• A weekend of showering love on two special women in our lives..a good friend's baby shower, and our sister Elese's first wedding shower! So much fun girl time spent with our mom and grandmother.

• This artist Rob Ryan and his:out-of- this- world paper cut outs. Each one is so amazing! 

• The Tulip Festival! Here in Ottawa tulips are everywhere, and we love them.They are so pretty and the fact that our city has a whole festival dedicated to a flower..big love.

• for the Lawn Bowling Yard sale, and the lovely seniors who organize it every year.

• for the Lumineers and their happy song: Ho Hey It makes us smile. 

• The fact that it's the Month of May and it's dedicated to Our Lady

•  Watching our little seedlings come to life. Hello summer squash!

• The way the new leaves on the maple trees look like they are covered in little light green pompoms. 

• Charlotte was accepted again into the New Art Festival  Yay!! : ) 

• The Amazing win by the Ottawa Senators last night! :) Go Sens Go!!

•  And of course our beloved mom whom we are excited to celebrate this weekend! We love her and are so grateful for all that she has taught us. 

Ten second twist

What to do with the middle of the week hair?

If you straightened your hair on the weekend, let it loose for a couple days and now it's Wednesday..what to do with it? Or another scenario we suffer from..it's hot, your hair is heavy and you don't want to just do another ponytail..what to do?

Thankfully Charlotte came up with a very easy, super cute twisted ponytail. And the best part..it's only three steps!

The Ten Second Twist 

Step 1: Put your hair in a side ponytail

Step 2: Poke two fingers in the middle, creating an opening..

Step 3: Flip the hair through the opening and tighten your ponytail. 

Big Love for the Yard Sales!

When we were little girls, Saturday morning was saved for garage sales. We loved going with our mama in high hopes of scouring major deals. She taught us to look, look and look some more. You never know what hidden treasure you might find, and at what price you can negotiate : ) Every year now in the early spring we get excited for a major sale in Ottawa: The Lawn Bowling Yard Sale! It is a combination of baking, books, and old odds and ends. We thought today we would share with you a few of our great finds. If you happen to be in Ottawa in the Spring, check it out. It's definitely worth your time.

 

What did we pick up for ten dollars?

 

We love vases of all shapes and sizes! 

 

Books! Books! Books and more Books! Leah and I found a few really neat old children's books, and a copy of old folk hymns from 1959.

Art for the artist! Charlotte found a great copy of Warhol's cat print. 

Baskets for flowers, baskets for buns, baskets for...you fill in the blank : ) We love baskets and use them to hold many things. 

and...my favourite find is the tall silver pot. On first glance I had no idea what it was, but inside is a perfect strainer..it is an asparagus pot! Doesn't every girl need an asparagus pot? 

 

A Friday Ritual

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

Happy Friday!

A Mint Green Love Affair

We have a confession to make: we are seriously, hands down, over the moon in love with everything mint green. It is considered a cool colour, and studies have shown that it is soothing and peaceful for our eyes. For kids learning to read, teachers can print out text on light green paper.

This amazing colour has been popping up everywhere lately, and so today we want to share the love.

How do you wear mint green?

It is a great accent colour and we actually found that many of our favourite shirts have subtle mint green details. 

You can also wear it on your nails for a subtle spring look

Or you can find a pair of mint green shoes, like these ones that are on our dream to buy list:

If wearing mint green doesn't work for you, try accenting it around your house..

like the fabulous mint green candle we bought at the Madonna House gift shop..

or this amazing mint green retro fridge-also on our dream list or a mint green kitchen aid mixer.

Have some fun, soothe your eyes and find something mint green. 

Pretty Lips

Lipstick can be a girl's best friend and saving grace. If you are having a bad day, and feel a bit blah a bright lip can be an instant fix. At least for us, it is. Our mom taught us the basics when we were young: mascara, cover up, a light blush, and some gloss. It was when we were older that we discovered and learned the following lipstick tips. Now we love playing with different colours, and experimenting with many shades.

Here are a few lipstick tips that we have discovered along the way:

To prepare your pretty lips:

Tip 1: Use a tbsp of honey, and mix it with a tbsp of sugar. Add 1/2 tsp of olive oil and 1/2 tsp of Vaseline.
Mix together. Use your fingers and dab a bit onto your lips. Use an old toothbrush and gently ex foliate your dry lips. Rinse with warm water and layer on some lip balm.





























Tip 2: You can outline your lips with a liner, starting at the cupid's bow, working your way around the lips. If you are doing a bright lip, make sure you tone down the rest of your face, have a neutral eye, less blush etc.

Tip 3: After applying your lipstick, add a tiny bit of highlighter to your cupid's bow. This makes your mouth pop.

Tip 4: To get a matte lip, apply a light layer of light blush to your lips. This tones it down, and makes your pucker less shiny.





























Tip 5: Add some sparkles!

Tip 6: Experiment with a nude lip. If you want to look nice and tanned like Charlotte, try a neutral tanned lipstick.





























Tip 7: When in doubt, gloss it up!


Tip 8: If you get your lipstick smudged, use a bit of concealer and correct the edges.

French Toast

In our home we are breakfast eaters. We love waking up and smelling homemade pancakes, waffles and especially French toast. When we switched our diets we discovered that day old spelt or kamut bread, works amazing in our favourite French Toast recipe.

Our favourite French Toast:

Ingredients:

4 eggs
1/2 cup soya milk
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tbsp of orange juice
1 tsp of vanilla
1/2 tsp of grated orange rind (don't omit this, the orange rind makes it so delicious!)
1/4 tsp of nutmeg
pinch of cinnamon
1/4 vegan margarine
 8 slices of spelt or kamut bread
maple syrup

Step 1: In a large bowl whisk together eggs, soya milk, brown sugar, orange juice, vanilla and cinnamon; set aside.
Step 2: In a large skillet over medium heat, melt 1 tbsp of the margarine. Dip 1 slice of bread at a time into the egg mixture, press down and let soak for 10 seconds, turn and press again for 10 seconds.
Step 3: Fry the soaked bread in the hot pan for 1-2 minutes on each side, until it is golden.

Pour on the maple syrup and enjoy!