*SNEAK PEAK* Truly Charlotte!

The month of June for Charlotte equals Art Festival time! She has been busy all year coming up with new stuffies, shirts, designs etc to feature at her upcoming shows. In two weeks she will be at the New Art Festival  which is a fabulous art show in the middle of the city. It is in a very pretty park in central Ottawa, and is free admission. Over a hundred artists are there from Sat-Sun rain or shine. This is Charlotte's third year, and we are all very excited as her creations just get lovelier and lovelier!

If you are in or around Ottawa come by 38 Patterson and say hello to Charlotte (and us :) and check out her wares! We will be there all weekend.

A few cool facts about Truly Charlotte:

• All of Truly Charlotte's stuffies are eco-friendly as they are made out of recycled wool and are stuffed with a hundred percent sheep fleece. The fleece is purchased from our friends at Madonna House.
• Truly Charlotte's t-shirts are hand painted and are one of a kind. They are a hundred percent cotton and are original designs. 
• The play mats are hand felted and made out of a hundred percent wool. Little people (and adults too!) love playing with them.
• Truly Charlotte's paintings are a creation of wet felted wool and embroidery.
• Hand painted and dyed baby onesies will also be for sale. They are a hundred percent cotton and each one is an original piece of art.
• Prices are super affordable and all proceeds are going towards Charlotte's Art School fund! : )

COME and VISIT!

Classy Summer Hair

Summer time is the best for rocking the different updos. We tend to stop blow drying/ straightening our hair in the summer, as it is just too hot. Also Ottawa is too humid, and by the time we step outside the hours spent straightening our locks, feels like a big waste as the summer frizz sets in.

 

In the past, women wore their hair up all the time. Elaborate updos and twisty knots were an expected part of a woman's dress. The lovely 1800-1900 ladies had updos that kept their necks cool, their hair clean, and also gave them classy silhouettes.

Instead of giving into the voices of the scissors that say: chop, cut, lighten your load of heavy hot hair, we listen and look to the voices of the classy ladies from the past. Women who rocked gloves, top knots and curly twisty, pretty updos. 

Charlotte loves a high bun, as it keeps her hair off her neck and dresses up her look. To switch the look up a bit, Leah did a simple French braid underneath and came up with the: 

The Classy Zipper Bun!

 

 

 

(You will need a friend, roomie, sister, mother to help you with the first part)

Step 1: Flip your hair upside down. Have your designated braider-friend plait a French Braid starting at the nape of your neck, upwards.

Step 2: Braid as high as your would like your bun, leaving the ends loose. Secure in a ponytail.

Step 3: Wrap your ponytail around a couple of times and secure in place with a few bobby pins. 

 

Ta-da! Finished! 

How to handle the humidity hair!

Whew I don't know about you, but for us this past week was sweltering hot. Ottawa was rushed into summer with days of thirty-seven degrees Celsius and hello humidity!
During these humid days hair can often be uncooperative and let's just face it: frizzy, slick, sweaty, stuck to your neck, heavy, hot, semi-curly/ straight-monster on your head..and that's when we get tempted and wonder why do we have such long hair? Should we chop it off and go for the retro bob?

Thankfully Leah's updos save our manes and our hair sanity!

Here is a simple humidity-beater updo, that requires absolutely no bobby pins!You only need a stretchy, elastic headband. It looks great in curly, straight and the best in semi- frizzy/sweaty hair! Give it a shot.

The Headband Updo

Step 1: Place the headband over your hair and push it down.

Step 2: Starting above your right ear, take two inch pieces of hair and flip them under the headband.





























Step 3: Holding the ends of that section, pick up another two inch piece of hair and flip under the headband. Repeat until you get to the middle/back section of you hair. Leave those pieces and start twisting/ flipping on the left side of hair.































Step 4: When you reach the back section, twist and flip in two inch  sections. Keep twisting the hair around until you get a messy bun. Voila! If your headband feels like it is falling you can secure it in place with a couple of bobby pins.

A Friday Ritual

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

Happy Friday!

Our Dad's Dhal

Our dad is from Alberta, which makes him a natural meat lover. He was born in the land of Beef and that is his first love. We are grateful though, that our dad didn't balk when we told him we loved dhal.  When our mom became a huge fan of dhal, he decided to make his own creation. We love him and we love it when he makes dhal! When dad cooks it means there is lots of leftovers, and that means food for lunches.
So today we are sharing with you our Dad's Dhal! It's delicious and a perfect way to bring lentils into your diet.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup coconut oil (or butter)
2 ribs of celery chopped 1/2 inch pieces
3 medium carrots chopped 1/2 inch
2 white onions chopped 1/2 inch
4 cloves garlic coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons cumin ground
2 tablespoons curry powder
2 tablespoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper ( optional for heat)
6 cups water
2 cups red lentils rinsed and drained
2 teaspoons sea salt

Instructions:

Place lentils in strainer and rinse for a minute in cold water, then let them drain.
Place sauce pot on stove over medium heat and add coconut oil. When oil is shimmering in pot, (this is when the oil gets nice and shiny) add celery, carrots, onions and garlic. Stir while letting them sweat for a couple of minutes then add spices. Stir all ingredients for a minute or two. This will bring out the aromatics of the spices. Add the water and lentils, stir gently and bring to a slow boil. Once the dhal starts to boil, reduce heat to simmer and cook for 20 minutes, stirring often. When finished remove from heat and serve with Jasmine Rice.

Enjoy!

Letting your Hair Go

Following the trend of the No Poo Movement we thought we would share our favourite way of letting our go a long time without washing.
The secret is: French Braids!





























Channel yourselves back to your eight year old self, to a time when your mother used to braid your hair so tight, and then to when you started braiding your Barbie's blonde locks. Now remember how healthy your little eight year old hair was!

Even though the look of sleek, straight hair is lovely, it does damage and dry out your locks. We only like to straighten ours once in a while, and definitely not in the summer. We find the hot weather is perfect for romantic looking, natural wavy hair.






























To get the waves:
Wash your hair and French braid it as tight as you can. Try to do in the evening and sleep with it braided. If you aren't good at braiding, get a friend or your mom to do it for you. We still love it when our mom can braid our hair, she is the Queen of super tight braids!
To relearn your French Braiding skills check out this video





























If the braids aren't your thing, try washing your hair and then twisting it into tiny buns. This way works too, but we find it more uncomfortable to sleep in. In the morning, undo your hair and let it go!
Voila the beachy hair!

What are your secrets to letting your hair go? Share with us! : )

So Thankful!...

"Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience the world"  John Milton

Amen John Milton! During the middle of a bad day, a sad moment or a stressful work hour, it is so easy to let the overwhelming feelings of pain take over and rule. Cultivating a spirit of gratitude is hard, but helps fight those bad days and keeps us smiling. It is a life lesson our mother always taught us and one we will remember forever. Be grateful. When life seems horrible you can either let it be like that, or look at the bright side. We agree with you mom and choose to look at the Sunny Side of Life :)
And so we give you..

A List of Thankfulness

we are thankful for...
After a busy weekend of family events, we are grateful for the opportunity to sit around the dinner table Sunday evening with our family, eat our mom's delicious pizza and just talk. Share about our week, our lives, our plans, our summer vacation. No one was in a rush, and everyone enjoyed the other.

we are thankful for...
Our beautiful city Ottawa and all who made Race Weekend a success.It is a gift for us to live in the most boring city of Canada ! We love our city and are grateful!

we are thankful for...
The Companions of the Cross  and their Yes to the Lord. We  love our priests and are so thankful to be members of their parish. After an inspiring homily this Sunday that left us all thinking about the Trinity and Dante together, we realized (again) that we are all SO grateful for the Companions.

we are thankful for...
This interview featuring our dear friend Father Simon Lobo, take a few minutes and watch it! His openness to the Holy Spirit and to the Lord makes you just want to smile.

we are thankful for...
Being able to read and watch the story of Zach Sobeich. We are grateful to Soulpancake for recording his story and sharing it with the world. It will make you cry but also make you think about living your own life.

we are thankful for...
Physicians Formula Fake Out Very Black Mascara. Our sensitive lashes have never looked or felt so naturally great!

we are thankful for...
Our almost new brother Shaun and being able to get to know his family more. Only 39 days until their wedding!

we are thankful for...
Walking the dogs and smelling the sweet fragrances of  lilacs, irises, lilies of the valley, cherry trees..oh Spring we love you!


we are thankful for...
This weekend we looked through old photos for a certain wedding slideshow and we laughed, ohhh-ed, ahhed and said lots of 'remember that'? We realized how thankful we are for our family, and the relationships our parents worked hard at instilling.

What are you thankful for?