DIY easy, gorgeous, and cheap green decor

Happy Wednesday folks,

           This week is flying by! Hopefully you are getting to see some Spring weather in your area. It's stunning here today but then it's supposed to rain, rain, and rain. I've decided to skip the gym and get in a good run instead!

Okay now onto some decor DIY. I love watching shows where they take simple, everyday items and make  beautiful decor pieces out of them. I visit craftgawker and dwellinggawker often as they have amazing ideas that you can complete on a dime.  Lately I've been seeing a lot of terrarium and sedum rock garden ideas and knew I wanted to try making one. With $20 I was able to buy 5 plants (each with multiple plants themselves that I split apart), decortive rocks, and a couple vases. I went to my local garden center and picked up some easy maintenance, rock garden approved, and low watering plants.

These included:

Sedums

Hen and chicks (a commercial name for a variety of Sedum)

ferns( needs a little more water than the sedums)

Black Clover

Cacti

Pilea

Here is what I ended up with......

Fun, hey?

Okay so how can you do this at home. SIMPLE!

1. Gather a bunch of glass vases or bowls, making sure they are clean. I bought a purple plastic bowl for $1 to see how it would work. You can see it in the 7th picture. It works great!

2. Pick out your plants. Any sedum or hen and chick variety would work great. These produce shallow roots and need little soil to work with. My local nursery has a section for rock garden plants which is where I picked up most of pretties I used above. I am trying a fern species to see how it works in this environment and I'm sure it will work fine, your soil will just need to be a bit deeper.

3. Gather some rocks. I picked through my garden beds and found some large rocks to line the bottom  of the container. You could use decorative rock here if you wanted.

4. Add in some potting soil, cactus soil, or use the soil the plants came with. I used the soil that the plants came in and used some of my garden bed soil if I needed to add more to cover the roots. Some websites recommend activated charcoal if your terrarium is going to be closed in order to prevent it from smelling.

5. Add in the plant(s) and cover with decorative stuff like the colored rocks I used or you could go with moss (see picture #4). You can buy moss but I live on the West Coast so I don't need to go very far to find it. ***cough*** my yard ***cough***.

6. Enjoy! These make a fabulous gift or just place around your house or office for a fun living piece of decor.

Have you even made your own pieces of decor? I'm planning on making some wall art soon with either fabric or paint. It's a lot of fun and makes your house look fab!! The best part is you don't have to spend your whole paycheck to get that stylish look. Cha-Ching!!!

Have a great day everyone!!

Black Magic

Hello all,

           Happy Tuesday! Hope you had a swell weekend. Mine was filled with lots of fun projects and even a little sunshine:) I cleaned up my back yard as I had given up racking leaves since my neighbor's tree kept blowing them into our lawn all fall. Now that the trees are barren, it was my chance. My compost bin is loaded and my lawn waste bin is overflowing. But the grass is finally free of debris and so maybe it can fill in a bit more!

I also dug a little spot a couple feet wide and about 12 feet long where I planted my hostas! It felt great to get my hands in the soil again. Let's hope the hostas like their new home! Just as I had finished up it started to hail out..heavily. Love it when timing just works out:)

I'll be sharing another project I did involving some sedums and a little DIY modern decor. Just need to take some more picts!


I also finally found the blade for my blender which was MIA for quite some time. So, it was time to get back on the green smoothie bandwagon.

This smoothie named "black magic"  was filled with blueberries, frozen banana, chocolate Vega powder, a little raw cacao, almond milk, 3 large lettuce leaves, and lucuma powder. Dee-lish!

Lucuma is actually a fruit found in Peru, Chile, and Ecuador.

According to Navitas Naturals site they state that :

Lucuma is considered a healthy alternative sweetener as it lends a sweet taste to recipes, but is very low in sugars. With naturally occurring beta-carotene, niacin, and iron, lucuma powder is a welcome antidote to notorious “empty calorie” sweeteners.

It's a very unique product with a unique taste. I liked it in my smoothie but I'm excited to try lucuma ice cream which apparently is a big hit all over Europe.

What recipes have you used lucuma in?

Of course can't leave out my current obsession! Over the past few months my juicer has seen lots of action. It's a great way to get in your daily dose of true plant blood.

I have been keeping a close eye on the nuclear events in Japan as the West Coast of BC in in the direct path
of trade winds from Japan. Meaning that if the nuclear power plant were to experience a meltdown, a lot of radiation was going to hit BC.

There have been a lot back and forth going on in the media saying not to fear but I'm not that trustworthy of the news. I listened to a great interview that David Wolfe did on the topic of radiation and ways to protect yourself just in case.

I went to my local health food store to stock up on some of the products David recommended.

My list included:
Iodine - protects the thyroid and glandular system from radiation damage

From Natural News:

Dr. Brownstein is one of the top experts on iodine. About radiation exposure, he explains: "If there is enough inorganic, non-radioactive iodine in our bodies, the radioactive fallout has nowhere to bind in our bodies. It will pass through us, leaving our bodies unharmed. It is important to ensure that we have adequate iodine levels BEFORE this fallout hits." (Source link below, from the IMVA website.)


Astragralus - Protects and supports the immune system
Reishi mushroom - "mushroom of immortality" helps radiation-damaged immune systems Ginseng - Treat bone marrow suppression caused by radiation and protect the thyroid

These little guys are actually quite tasty! And you drink them with a straw which is fun.

Reishi tincture, bladderwrack tincture (a seaweed high in iodine), and astragalus!

Now on to dessert!

I made this awesome vegan cheesecake that I saw on Lori's blog. It's crumbled goji berry and apple flavor! This was super delish and easy peasy! Lori said her version wasn't that sweet so I added in some maple syrup:) Mmm I think the taste got better after a day as the flavors had a greater chance to mingle.

 Mmmmm! And I'm not even a super fan of cooked apples but the combination of filling, crust, and baked apple with gojis was actually really, really good!

Alrighty folks I'm off to the dentist so have a great rest of your day! Coming up later on I'm going to share about awards, decor, crafts, yogurt, kefir, and more! Chow!

PS Happy Spring:)

Animal rescue of loyal pal in Japan

This video brought tears to my eyes. What loyalty and love this dog shows to his ailing friend.
I'm happy to see the update that both dogs are receiving care in nearby clinics.




I know there are many more animals to be rescued so I pray for them just as I do for the whole of Japan.

I hope you enjoyed seeing some GOOD news this Friday morning! I'll be back later on today!! Chow.

My story 27 years in the making

Happy Tuesday all!!

          Hope you had a great weekend. I was geeking it up this weekend for my exam that was on Sunday. The exam was easier than I thought it was going to be so that was nice:) I feel so free now, a natural high! Just in time for my birthday week:) Ha! Well my birthday is today but I'm celebrating all the rest of the week too! You have to do that when your birthday falls mid-week, right?

I don't have any crazy plans for tonight. Might just go out for dinner and have a couple glasses of wine:) A good friend of mine has his birthday tomorrow so we might be planning a joint venture for the weekend. Should be great times either way!

I've had this tug on my heart that I should tell you my story of where I came from and how I've evolved. Including a huge realization that came to me only yesterday!!!


The beginning

I was born on March 15, 1984 in Vancouver, BC. At 6 months of age my mom packed up her life and moved us to Penticton, BC. This is the place I call home. I was fortunate enough to have many family members close by and that meant oodles of cousins to play with since I didn't have any other siblings at home.

Me with my cuz!

Another cuz! We were very close and always got into trouble played together

I was a beach lover from the start:)

And this was where my love for sugar began....

Give me more!!!

Crash and burn!!

My aunt also ran a daycare so my mom and I would visit often and it was awesome to have a ton of play buddies.Since the cousins close to my age were boys I tended to join in more cops and robbers, tree climbing, and fort building adventures than playing with barbies.

But one thing was clear, I loved animals and would hang out with them any time I got.

I swear I saw an adult version of my dress at Betsy Johnson on Sunday:)

For those of you who don't know my story, I have never met me dad. He doesn't know I exist actually. I never asked about him when I was growing up or wondered why other people had Dads and not me. I was content and was loved by so many family members that I never felt a void.  I do want to find him eventually but I've held off because it's not an easy thing to tell someone straight up that they have a child they never knew about. I don't want anything from him, just for him to know that I'm out there. One day!

My mom, grandma, and me! Three generations:)

As I got older and became more aware of my mom and her struggle with chronic pain, I tried to take on some of the stress that seemed to plague her. I turned my feelings inward and tried everything to make the pain go away for her. Instead of showing love, I tried to be a logical, protective 8 year old. My stress had become so bad that we had to move out of our low-income housing. I had not only taken on the health stress that my mom faced daily, but also the financial. I felt judged on so many levels and saw the whole world pointing its finger at me and seeing me as "poor." It was then that we moved and my mom enrolled me in a program called Big Brothers and Big Sisters. My world was forever changed. I was able to experience things that my mom wasn't able too physically and financially. Annette had a hobby farm with a bunch of horses and a couple bassett hounds. It was heaven visiting her place! She even had some contacts and was able to get me some riding lessons!



It was lots of fun but my trainer was very serious!

Yet being on a horse with the wind in your hair felt amazing!

She took her niece and I to Disneyland too!

Life kept going! I got older and at the same time my self worth declined. I began being hard on myself and comparing my body and looks to other women that I considered prettier than myself. I found one picture in a magazine of this girl who I thought looked amazing in these designer jeans and that was the tipping point.



My last year of high school and the first year of university were some of the saddest times of my life. I totally withdrew from the people are me. I broke the heart of my high school boyfriend, stopped hanging out with friends when it involved food, hid and threw away food, exercised excessively, and stopped going to family dinners. It was a very lonely and exhausting time for me.

I never got dangerously thin but I was getting there. When I finally gave in and started eating something besides dried fruit and wine gums, I became angry. I thought I was failing myself. This led to entering a relationship that was severely controlling yet somehow supportive in my struggle, at least in the beginning.

I went through a hard adjustment period where I went from severe deprivation to overindulging. The same out of control behavior but in the opposite direction. I began to soothe my worries with food and this created a very powerful bad, emotional habit.

I was in my third year of university when I split up with Mr.Controller and he had me so wrapped around his little finger that he basically convinced me to get back together with him. After a month or so I finally came to my senses and left for good. It was very hard as we attended the same small university and even commuted together for awhile after we broke up. Let's just say it was a confusing time for me. He helped me to eat somewhat normally again but in an instant he could tear my self esteem apart with his words.

With time I gained the confidence to ignore him and not feel guilty. But I did this by drinking and partying a lot more than usual. I wasn't going completely party crazy but I felt free and partying made me forget everything that had happened over the past 6 months.

It was during my 4th year university that I met Ryan right smack in the middle of the party phase. I was getting a better grip on my eating and figuring out how to eat in a balanced way.

Ryan's first visit to Kelowna where I was living and attending UBC Okanagan

I moved to the coast after dating 1.5 years long distance. I finished up the remaining art credits online and finally graduated in 2007 with BSc. in biology.

Life was pretty good after I graduated . I found a descent job, lived near a vibrant downtown, and my relationship was becoming pretty serious.

Then this....

We got engaged on September 1st 2007 and then August 30th 2008 we got hitched

After we got married there was another adjustment period and times were rocky for awhile. Eventually we both adapted and learned a few things about ourselves along the way.

I became vegetarian in October 2008 and found myself withdrawing like I did when I was suffering from my disordered eating. I didn't want the questions or the looks when I had to explain to others that I didn't eat this or that. I basically was afraid to be myself and thought others wouldn't accept me.

I really struggled with my fears and shed a ton of tears because of it. I truly thought I couldn't be different.  Again I slowly came out of my shell and began joining friends in situations that involved food. I learned how to respond kindly to questions or reactions.

I had never felt more free than when I stopped resisting who I was!!

My bestie and me on a lake near Edmonton Alberta in March

We bought a house, Ry went to school, and work chugged on. My confidence levels were pretty high during this time and life was good. Once we returned from the Nelson, BC where Ry went to school, there was this shift that started out slowly but has built. I began focusing on my weight and how I looked in the mirror. I was disappointed and saw every flaw possible.Yet, I knew that going the deprivation route was not going to happen, I wouldn't allow it. So, I ate more to soothe my emotions which has led to where I am now. This vicious cycle where the mirror looks okay one day, another day not so much.

Always telling myself I didn't look good enough.

Then yesterday I received three separate emails that basically said the same thing.

 It was like a slap in the face, an instant wake up call.

"When we tell ourselves that we are a certain way, we synergistically do things to keep ourselves in that box in both negative and positive ways. Our body will believe ANYTHING we tell it. So someone who tells herself: “I cannot lose the fat on my stomach” will also do things to fulfill that prophecy." Jenna Phillips

This is me to a T! When I read Jenna's words it hit home big time.

I had fallen out of love with MYSELF. I had separated my body from my mind and made it seem like that was another person staring back at me in the mirror. I judged like no tomorrow. Yet I kept myself in this place for some reason.

After reading those three emails I felt lighter, like a weight had been lifted off my shoulder and the pressure was off. I had my weight on my mind so often that I wasn't enjoying life like it should be enjoyed. After witnessing the tragedy in Japan I felt embarrassed that I was focused on something so minuscule in this life.

I feel like this was a huge turning point for me! Life changing for sure:) 



So there's my story in a nutshell:) Hope you didn't mind such a long read:)

Have you ever read something or seen something that caused an ah-ha moment? 

 

Have a wonderful day everyone! I'm off to get my sweat on and then it's dinner. I'm thinking Indian:)

Tragedy in Japan

Hello Everyone!

            I'm sure you know by now the devastation that has and is still hitting Japan. If you have not heard, a shocking 8.9 magnitude earthquake rocked this island nation. This in turn cause a tsunami to pound the shorelines and cause enormous destruction. Not only has Japan had to face the tsunami, a tsunami warning was sent out to the entire Pacific Basin. Even in Tofino which is on the west side of Vancouver Island, a weather watch was posted.

I watched a few videos of the tsunami and it's destructive path. The quake and the tsunami so incredibly powerful. Mother nature makes us look so small in comparison to her strengths.

I reach out and pray for Japan and all the nations affected by the tsunami. For those that have family and friends in Japan, I pray they are safe.

Angela mentioned how events such as these put things in perspective for us. The guy who cut you off this morning, your boss pissing you off, the kids making a mess...these are all so small in the scheme of things.

Now I don't usually bring up spirituality on my little blog but I feel the need to say something.

I believe that good can come from this suffering Japan is facing. I believe they can come together as a nation and help those in need. I believe they can rebuild and replace the material things that were lost. I believe those that passed away will not be forgotten. I believe it helps the world to be more compassionate. I believe it unites the world and shows love for a nation that we most likely don't even think about.

I know I don't need to say it but this is my little space to say what's on my mind. If you don't agree that's fine and I respect that but please don't hate, okay?


Have a great weekend everyone! I'm off to study and then write my exam on Sunday. Wish me luck:)

To all the ladies plus weekend eats

Happy International Women's Day and Mardi Gras!!

         2011 marks the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day!! This years theme is :

Equal access to education, training and science and technology: Pathway to decent work for women

I am so fortunate to live in a country that respects women and provides us with equal rights. Some would argue that statement but I feel compared to many other countries, women have it pretty good in Canada (for the most part).

I am not afraid to express my religious beliefs
I'm not afraid to disagree with my husband
I can apply for any job that I want to
I can go to school to become anything I want to be
I can express my views publicly as I do on this blog

You forget sometimes how different things could be for you as a women in another country that does not have equal rights. Yet, I'm not naive enough to think that abuses against women don't exist where I live, because they do and it's absolutely terrible.

So, to all my ladies out there I love you all!! You bring such light to the world. You bring strength, beauty, and wisdom. You have so much to give...and you deserve to live a life full of love and respect!

And pass that respect on to other women. Women can be cruel to each other!! We compare ourselves to others, hate others who have more ____ (insert: money, success, sexy body, happiness etc). Then we commit something terrible..we abuse ourselves! We hate on our bodies, we tell ourselves terrible things, we instill fear. I know because I do this myself!

I have no problem respecting and loving all the women in my life yet, I have a hard time building myself up. Ironic wouldn't you say?  I think it's time I buy myself some post-its and start operation beautiful in my house!

Anyone celebrating Mardi Gras? Oh how I would love to be partying it up in New Orleans. One year I will have to make my way down there. I think it would be a blast!

Okay so now onto the weekend! It was pretty good. Hung out with friends Friday night and Sunday. Saturday ran errands and watched a movie. Sunday we also went to the BC Home and Garden Show which was a lot of fun. Lots of dreamy ideas for renovating and styling your home and garden. One of the coolest ideas was a pond pool. It's a pool that looks like a pond but has no added chemicals. Their booth had some pretty impressive designs.

Now looking back at the treats I've indulged over the past couple weeks..eek!

This cake was made by my aunt and it's called blata kuchen or layer cake!

 

Oh my this was so good!!! In between layers of dough is a pudding. Mmm mmm!

 

These were Meghan's crispy brown rice treats. Although basically it is a mix of rice cereal, pumpkin seeds, shredded coconut, chia seeds, almond butter, and honey. I didn't have any chocolate..boo! Still some great crunch. This would have been awesome on banana softserve:)

I served it with some turmeric tea, another Meghan Telpner creation.

I added coconut milk to my tea but any nut milk would be great!

Sprinkled with some cinnamon and you are good to go!

Turmeric is an amazing spice! Check out my post on it here.

 

Then came the homemade apple sauce. That I made in...ooh..a minute! Just take a couple apples, place them in your food processor, blend away adding water as necessary, sprinkle with some lemon juice (prevents browning) and cinnamon, and that my friends is apple sauce! I'm not a huge fan of eating apple sauce on it's own but I love using it in baking as it helps reduce/replace fat in a recipe.

Then I used the apple sauce in Nelly's banana bread recipe! Yum!!! I added chocolate chunks and then had a warm piece with coconut butter. Divine!!

Just to be clear I didn't eat all that this weekend. The goodies have been spread out over a few weeks:)

Shopping! Saturday I ran around to 4 different stores to gather some staples.

The goodies in the green box was from Costco. We recently signed up for a Costco card and are going to try it for a year to see if it's worth it.

This week I picked up Bob's Mill spelt flour, frozen blueberries, and a tub of dates (Thanks Kris)

Some other items I sometimes pick up are packs of sprouted bread, quinoa, organic greens and spinach, organic tofu, frozen veggies, and movie passes)

Do you have a Costco card? Do you think it helps with your food budget?

It's too early to tell for me.

Second stop! Local health food store where I get the best deal on Vega Whole Foods Optimizer.

 I also splurged on some Daiya cheese, miso, and coconut milk:)

Third stop! My favorite grocer, 2 EE's Farm Market. This week it was 4 bags of veggies and fruits!!

 I don't shy away from buying reduced veggies and fruits. I got a full bag of apples for $1.60 that I used for apple sauce and juicing. I make a judgement call if it's worth it or not. Bananas are always a great deal when they are over-ripe. I bought a bag, took the peel off, and placed them in the freezer for softserve. It probably costs me $ 0.50 to make softserve. I don't think Ben and Jerry's can compete with that:)

The fourth stop was to pick up kitty litter and food so nothing exciting to show you there.

Speaking of kitties, the boys wanted to say hi!

Oddie's getting big, big, big

Oddie is going to approach at lightening speeds..soon. Hence the yoda ears!

Such a little monkey!!

I also wanted to share a little about what my better half does for work. He works with a lot of wood and metal creating beautiful staircases like the one below. This was his first spiral work and I think it's so stunning I just needed to share|

This has taken weeks as he had to measure every angle in order to make it fit perfectly. No pressure, hey?

I'm so proud of him for conquering his fears and taking on such a tricky project!

Have a wonderful Tuesday everyone!! I'm off for a train run then it's study time for me.

PS My girl Nelly is having a CSN stores giveaway so be sure to check it out!

Fueling up!

Happy Friday everyone!

 Long time no see, hey? This week was intense for me. So much going on!!

Doctor visit (it had been two years since I had a date with the blue paper robe..eek!)
Blood testing/skin testing for school ( Serious testing including TB, HIV, Hep C, and Hep B)
Travelling to the US for work
study, study, study

Deep down I do kind of like the craziness but only for a little while:)

Yesterday I made a commitment to myself to leave the house and go to the library to study where there would be no distractions. I'm finding myself giving in to watching TV with the hubby or cook or do anything else BUT study. Library to the rescue!

I managed to get in 3 1/2 hours of solid book time. I left with a bounce in my step! It felt great to really grind through some of the dry material. Plus after 7pm I was pretty much the only person in the library.

But before I took off to the library I had to get my nutrition in! I made a quick stop for some dates and then got down to business.

Remember my wheatgrass babies?

All grown up:)

I used one whole tray of wheat grass (not as thick as the stuff in the pict), carrots, celery, cucumber, parsley, apple, and ginger. Awesome!! I'm very obsessed with juices lately.

My juicer doesn't do a great job juicing the wheatgrass so I think it's time I invest in a separate juicer specialized for wheatgrass, Any suggestions?

Chia pudding with 1/2 banana, a few cashews, chocolate hemp protein powder, splash of mylk, and cinnamon

And these chocolate covered carrot cake protein bars. Recipe to come! I just need to tweak it a bit.

Out the door with delicious food in hand in under 30 minutes:)

This morning I switched schedules and started at 9am instead of 7am. So I took advantage of the extra time and snuck in a workout. First I had a date with Jillian and then ventured outside to the beautiful, but frosty morning. I walked to the nearby elementary school and ran intervals on the crispy field. The sun came out for a brief visit too which I LOVED.

Oh morning workouts how I love thee! It was a great way to start a Friday.

Have a great weekend everyone! One more week of craziness and then I can relax a little. I sure hope to increase my 1 post record from this week though:(

XOXO