DIY Honey Lemon Lip Exfoliant

It's been cold this week. Like, really cold. So cold that Derek's afraid to let the dogs go out for more than 5 minutes at a time because he doesn't want them to freeze....they're our babies ya know :) It's been so cold that I've been sporting fleecy PJs to bed, with polar fleece socks and microfleece sheets. Did you know that there were so many kinds of fleece? I did. And I love it.

I've pulled out my mitts, my scarves and my new winter coat. You can't go out, not even for a minute, without bundling up in your woolies. I know it's January and that I live in Canada, so I really shouldn't be shocked by this weather, but it's been a long time since we've felt such frigid temperatures and I don't like it one bit. I swear to you that I am a true red & white Canadian, but we live in the southern parts of Ontario and you won't catch me moving north anytime soon. Like never.

This weather has been wreaking havoc on my skin. I moisturize every day, but my hands have been feeling drier everyday and my lips....oh my poor, dry flaky lips. They have been in a sad state my friends. No matter how much lip gloss or chapstick I use, I can't keep them soft and smooth. Yesterday was the final straw. I couldn't stand the sandpaper feeling any longer, so I decided to take action.

Several years ago, I bought a lip exfoliant and conditioner from Mary Kay. These products were the bomb-digity of lip products. They kept my lips smooth and soft all year long. The set was a tad pricey, and while I don't mind paying for quality, I have a hard time blowing my skincare budget on something I can easily make at home. I did a little research on what ingredients work best for smoothing and conditioning my lips and I went to work on making my own homemade version of a lip exfoliant.

Honey Lemon Lip Exfoliant
3 tsp coarse brown sugar (I used organic Sucanat)
3/4 tsp lemon juice
3/4 tsp olive oil
3/4 tsp honey

Mix the lemon juice, olive oil and honey together in a small bowl. Add the brown sugar and mix until it forms a wet paste.

Wash your lips and pat dry.

Gently apply the exfoliant to your lips and leave for 20 - 30 seconds. Using your finger, gently rub the exfoliant in small circles around your lips.

Use warm water to wipe the exfoliant off  your lips and pat dry.

Now I had a picture of my lips covered in the scrub mixture, but it looked like I had the plague, so I decided not to bless your eyes with that sight. If you have any questions about application, just drop me a line :-)

smooth, clean, shiny lips...and yes, I am sporting one of my sexiest fleece PJ tops here ;-)

Now it's time to moisturize!!!

Use your favourite lip balm or chapstick to give your lips an extra boost of moisture and shine.

My favourites are Burt's Bees Honey Lip Balm (not pictured), EOS in Strawberry Sorbet or LUSH's Lip Service.

Um, I've gotta say not only does this exfoliant work amazingly well and it also tastes pretty darn good.  :-D

*Note: The skin on our lips is very delicate, so you should not exfoliate everyday. I exfoliate once or twice (if my lips are REALLY dry) per week. If you are going out for a night on the town and are planning to wear a full coverage lipstick, you should definitely use this exfoliant to ensure a smooth coverage.*

What's your favourite lip moisturizer to use during the cold, dry months?

Do you love the Winter or are you just counting down the days 'til the first day of Spring?

Have a great day,

Andrea
xoxo

Tropical Green Salad

At 1:15 p.m. today I got to thinking about my water intake for the day. So far, I had consumed one glass of warm water with lemon and cayenne pepper and a glass of water mixed with 2 teaspoons of Vega Shake & Go (does that even count?!). What??!? And I'm supposed to get 8 glasses of water per day ~ yikes!! This is a continual struggle for me.

Yesterday, I started a fitness journal. Today I decided that I would add a food intake journal to it; including water intake. My goal: to drink 8 glasses of water per day. It will be interesting to see how I actually do. I think it's one of those things that I often think I am doing a great job at, but when it's recorded on paper it ends up being a bit of a different tale.

All afternoon I sipped away at water and I still only got 3 more glasses down. Tomorrow I'm going 8 for 8! I do like my water with lemon or lime and I've heard people talk about using cucumber slices or other fruit to give a glass of water some pizzazz. Do you have a favourite addition to make your water extra special? Do share.

When I got home from work, my running buddy, Dora, and I headed out for our first Spring run. My goal is to run a 5K this year and since I haven't been doing much running, I've decided to follow the Couch to 5K Running Program by Cool Running. Today was our first run outside and I've gotta tell you it was quite cold out there - can you believe we're getting more snow overnight tonight?!? Next time I'll be throwing on a toque and some light gloves.

When I got home from my run, I made yet another amazing salad; it was more fabulous than I could have possibly dreamed. I hope over the next 12 weeks I don't overdose you with salads, but I feel compelled to share the amazing recipes I keep finding and loving! Today, its all about a recipe that I found on How Sweet It Is.

Tropical Green Salad
Recipe for Tropical Spring Greens Salad by Jessica

2 c of your favourite lettuce (I used red leaf lettuce, Jessica used spring greens)

1/2 sweet onion, caramelized

1/4 c mango, diced

1/4 of a small avocado, chopped

2 tablepoons shredded coconut

agave nectar (or honey), olive oil, fresh lemon juice, salt, and pepper

Top your salad greens with the onions, mango, and avocado in a salad bowl. Drizzle with agave nectar (or honey), olive olive, lemon, salt and pepper. Sprinkle with coconut.

I found that you didn't need to drizzle too much of the agave, olive oil and lemon. I would say a tbsp or less of each. The flavours combined with the fresh mango, carmelized onions and creamy avocado is amazing. I would never have put these ingredients together on my own. This is a salad I will be eating alot of this summer!!

The lineup....

..of course this salad goes smashingly well with sweet potato fries :-) 

Another delicious and nutritious meal! I got this one all to myself because Derek doesn't really dig salads especially ones with fruit in them. He also recently let me know that he prefers yellow potatoes and doesn't need my 'fancy' sweet potatoes <sigh> ~ I try, I really do!! If he only knew what he was missing!

So far it has been pretty easy to stick to my workout and food plans. We took my before pictures today and if I wasn't motivated before, I certainly am now; let's just say they are a little scary. I will be having a look at them everytime I crave chocolate or chips because I definitely need some improvement before bathing suit weather arrives!!

Tomorrow is dinner night with my grandparents, so who knows what will be on the menu. I'll be sure to take my camera and report back!

Have a great night!

Andrea

Balsamic Gnocchi with Garlic Butter & Roasted Butternut Squash

Have you ever eaten gnocchi before?

If your answer is no, you better go out to the grocery store right now and pick some up - it's the bombdigity!

I hadn't had gnocchi until recently. I've seen it and always thought the cute little potato dumplings looked appealing, but never got around to trying them. That was until the day I saw a recipe on How Sweet It Is for Balsamic Gnocchi.  This recipe is easy, delicious and Derek said that he would eat this meal every single day ~ this says alot considering no meat was involved.

I am not going reiterate the recipe for Balsamic Gnocchi because I pretty much stuck right to Jessica's recipe. The only changes I made were that I added lots more veggies (sorry Jessica, that might ruin the recipe for you).  I used one pepper, 4 green onions, 1 small zucchini and a handful of crimini mushrooms and I used Earth Balance instead of butter for the basil garlic butter.

This recipe is to die for. It only takes 20 minutes to whip up and would be a great meal to wow your guests with.

As a side, I decided to roast a butternut squash (ok, I admit it....I cheated and I bought a pre-cut squash). Squash is one of my all-time favourite foods in the winter and there is no other way to make it other than slow roasting in the oven. I just wish they would peel like an orange - my wrists are so sore by the time I finish the peeling and chopping, I can hardly use my stirring hand to finish the meal! I could eat a whole roasted squash myself....in fact I probably have :-) At least squash is good for you; that's better than eating a whole cheesecake by yourself .. er, not that I would know or anything.

Roasted Butternut Squash

1 butternut squash

2 tbsp olive oil

1 - 2 tsp sea salt

sprinkle of pepper

Peel and cut the butternut squash into bite size pieces. Place in large bowl. Add the olive oil, salt and pepper and stir to evenly coat the squash. Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 400 for approximately 15 minutes.

 Flip the squash pieces and cook for an additional 15 minutes. I like my squash to come out crispy and starting to brown - the pieces are so sticky and sweet you will understand why I could eat the entire squash myself. If you are like me and you don't time all the components of your meal quite right, you can speed up the baking time by putting the broiler on for just a few minutes per side.

Perfection!

...and in as easy as 1, 2, 3 you have an amazing meal that will wow your family and  friends and even your meat lovin' husband.

Right about now you're wishing you were my friend aren't ya?? :-)

What's your favourite type of squash?

Do you have an awesome recipe of gnocchi you'd like to share?

I hope you all have a relaxing Sunday evening and to my Canadian friends, Happy Family Day tomorrow....and to my American buddies, Happy President's Day! I hope your day off is filled with family, friends and lots of good eats.

Andrea