High Five for Friday

Howdy folks! Welcome to Friday. We made it --- another work week is almost complete.

High five to that!

So, what's been making you grin from ear-to-ear this week?

Here are a few things that have sent me to my 'happy place' ~

okay, that kinda sounds dirty, or maybe it's just me & my dirty l'il mind....
anywho, you know what I mean!

Jack's Special Medium Salsa from Garden Fresh Gourmet.
This salsa is the best! It is so fresh.  I got it at Costco for under $5.

My new fave breakfast: slow cooker steel cut oats

I made my first batch yesterday - apple cinnamon oats to be exact -  and I've been daydreaming about all sorts of new combos that I'm going to try --- I'm thinking peaches & cream and then a savoury version are in my very immediate future.

My Husband

We've been through good times and hard times, stressful times and joyful times.
No one said life was easy, but it is so much better when I'm with my man!

Life has been crazy and hectic and we've barely had time to say hello as we've passed
each other in the door --- I felt like he deserved a little love this week ~ xo




Sunflowers

My favourite flower as Fall approaches. I love a bouquet of sunflowers in the kitchen this time of year.


Source: Pinterest via Suzanne Freitas

This DIY tutorial for a racerback tank.

I did it, I loved it, I'm gonna do it again!

If I can do it, anyone can because I don't have a crafty bone in my body!

When I workout, I want to be a schweaty mess when I'm done. I don't need to spend $50 on a tank for that --- this homemade version is awesome! I'm planning to pull out some old vintage rockband tees and turn them into something fun (& useful!)


Check out the tutorial here from Blogilates.

So these are just a few things that are making me smile this week. I was lucky because I've had a really good week and there were lots of things I could have shared today!

Thanks to Lauren for continuing to host this weekly link-up party!

What are some of your high five highlights from the week?

Have an excellent day and a most fabulous weekend!

Ciao for now,

Andrea
xoxo

High Five for Friday

TGIF everybody!

This week flew by and as usual I am welcoming the weekend with open arms. Tomorrow I have plans to meet my friend Krista for yoga and hopefully coffee afterwards and that is absolutely it! The feeling of having an open schedule for the next two days feels freakin' fantastic!!!

I'm hoping I'll find some time to tinker around in my garden, start on the vision board I've been talking about for months, perhaps try my very first vlog (?!), do a little meal planning and hopefully squeeze in a little snuggle time with my sweeties!

Derek hates having no plans (opposites definitely attract in our case!), so I can see that there may be an impromptu barbecue or bonfire in the works as well, which works for me on this last weekend of July --- crazy, right?!

Do you have anything exciting planned for the weekend?

To start this weekend off right, I'm going to share my five faves of the week.

#1

My Garden!!! I love, love, love seeing everything grow and change from day to day!

We had a great rain Wednesday night and Thursday, so I am really excited to see the changes this week!

#2

This was posted on the Fitfluential Facebook page yesterday. I <3 it!

#3

Perfect workout for a gorgeous day that can be done in your own backyard or at a local park.

(I've done Booty Camp before ~ it's a challenging, boo-tay kicking workout!)

#4
One of the keywords searched that attracted the most traffic to my blog this week was...

"Channing Tatum naked"  what?! ....LOL

This totally cracked me up. I recently talked about the movie Magic Mike, which is how this must have come about, but sadly you won't find any naked pics on this here site!
I think some people might have been disappointed haha!


#5
Words to live by.


Source: Pinterest via Whitney Hardin

 

Thanks as always to Lauren for hosting this weekly shindig.

Have a great day and an even greater weekend!

Andrea

xoxo

High Five for Friday

Oh happy day---- this short week has flown by and I am really looking forward to having a fun, relaxing weekend!! As far as I'm concerned, summer = happy, so it's really easy to put together a post of smile-inducing things today.

 

Here are a few of the highlights from my week:

LOL:

~ courtesy of Kris at iheartwellness.

This is for all you nut butter lovers out there!

Fave Sandwich Combo:

Sprouted 16 grain bread, smashed avocado, tomato and tempeh bacon.

This is definitely going to be my summer 'go to'.

'Must-Have':

I'd really like to get my rotties a Varsity Ball. These claim to be indestructible and if I can find something to stand up to my 120 lb rottweiler then I am sold!  If these can stand up to lions

& tigers, I'm thinking it just might stand up to our guy!

Motivation:

Jamie Eason and her LiveFit Trainer are motivating me to meet my fitness goals.

Source: Pinterest via LauraAnn Hanson

Anticipation:

Now this may be a little premature because we're not going to see Magic Mike until tomorrow, but I've heard good things and I am really excited to check out a half-naked Channing Tatum this fabulous movie with my girlfriends tomorrow!

 

What's making you smile today?

Have a great weekend!

Andrea

xoxo

High Five for Friday

Why hello there Friday. So nice of you to show up. Thanks for bringing a long weekend with ya! That's right, today is the start to our Victoria Day Long Weekend....aka May 2-4 (yeah, you can imagine how it got that name!). Work has been extremely busy and I'm trying to get ready to go on a mini vacay to see my family next week, so I've been workin' my little buns off.

Thank you to Lauren for hosting this High Five for Friday party. This week I really needed to look back at some of the things that I've been lovin' to remind me that it wasn't ALL work and no play :)

So here's some things that have made me smile this week...

Source: via Lacota Eaglin (Pinterest)

Garlic Roasted Asparagus

This is a repeat pic, but I love my husband for getting it for me :)

This 40 Minute Walking Mixed Interval Treadmill Workout.

Kicks my butt but seems to be okay with my sore knee!

Hellz Yeah!

Have a great day!

Andrea
xoxo

High Five for this Short Week Friday!

Have I told you how much I LOVE short work weeks?! Friday came so quickly. I swear it was just Tuesday, then I blinked and here I find myself at the end of yet another week.

Here are some highlights from this super quick week of mine:

1. Fave (Must Try) Pancake Recipe

Red Velvet Pancakes

I really don't think I need to give any explanation on this one :)

(recipe & pic by Chocolate-Covered Katie)

2. Fave Must-Have Dress

I've recently discovered Dress 911.

I. WANT.

3. Fave New Bar - Superfruit Nutty Crunch Bar

This bar is amazing! I received a bunch of Pure Bars in the mail last week and this is hands down my fave (with chocolate brownie coming in as a very close second). I have to admit that I kept the wrapper because I have plans to try to recreate this bar into a homemade version that I can have at home when I need a high protein snack.

Make sure you enter my giveaway for a 6 pack of Pure Bars. The giveaway closes tomorrow night and the winner will be announced on Monday.

4. Inspiration

I've had a few days lately where I've really needed this to push me to get to the gym!

source

5. Tulips

What can I say? I have a serious case of Spring fever.

source

What's made you smile this week?

Do you have Spring fever yet?

Thank you Lauren for continuing to host this high five par-tay!

Have a great weekend!

Andrea

xo

It's Friday....& we have a winner!!!

{Drum roll please..}  

And the winner of my first ever giveaway is.....

suburban prep who said...

I love pomegranate seeds (especially fresh from the Pomegranate). To me they are like candy. Love love them and have a few spoonfuls each morning.

Woot Woot - congratulations!!! I'll be emailing you for your mailing information later today.

Thank you to all of you for your love and comments - I am really excited to see what this next year has in store for this vegalicious little blog of mine!

Now I had full intentions to share my banana bread recipe with you today, but then I realized it was Friday and I had to share some of my favourite things :) I don't know about you, but as a Pinterest addict, it is really hard to cut it down to five things!! 

High Five for Friday

Thanks again to Lauren for hosting this link up shindig! I'm loving my new Friday tradition.

Ruffled Camera Strap

as seen on Pinterest

I got a new Canon Rebel T3i camera for Christmas.

I NEED one of these ruffled camera straps.

Blood Orange, Butternut Squash, Avocado Salad by Michelle at Peachy Palate

Does this not look incredible? The salad looks amazing and her photos are gorgeous!

Who doesn't love these Starbucks LOVE cups?

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Vegan Dark Cherry Chocolate Truffles
Anything Angela makes is the bomb!!! I am going to attempt these this weekend. Stay tuned...

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George Canyon....yummy.
If you're a fan of Canadian country music, you know this man.
We love him and have been to see him lots of times.
Derek surprised me last weekend by taking me to see him perform in a gorgeous little theatre.
It was a wonderful surprise. Happy V-Day to me!

I<3 COWBOYS :)

source

So this is what's made me smile this week. What have you been lovin' lately?

Have a great Friday and enjoy your weekend.

....and make sure you check back for that banana bread recipe. I promise you'll have it Monday!

xo

Andrea

Weekend Recap

Holy schmokes! Where has the weekend gone --- two days simply don't give us enough time off before the next work week begins. I think I need to start a petition to start having 3 day weekends with only a 4 day work week - who's with me?!

I don't talk alot about our lives outside of our foodie adventures, but I thought it'd be fun to start sharing a little peek into how we live by giving you a weekend recap every now and then.

On Saturday morning, I met up with my friend Jenn to attend a kundalini yoga class. I'd heard of kundalini yoga before, but never really understood what it was. Last week was our first week out to class and we loved it so much that I think it's going to become a Saturday morning tradition.

Kundalini Yoga is the yoga of awareness. It's purpose is to unite the body, mind and soul. It involves sets of chanting, breath awareness, exercise, relaxation and a meditation at the end. What I like about it is that each week is different. There are thousands of different sets each with a specific purpose. Last week we worked on our upper body and this week the focus was on the spine. The meditations have been focussing on prosperity and who doesn't want a little of that! By the end of our 90 minute class I feel stretched out, refreshed and like my lungs and my mind are wide awake and open. It's a really cool experience!

After yoga, a bunch of the students and our instructor head out for coffee and some chatting. For those of you who know me,  you know that coffee and conversation are two things I do very, very well. I love meeting new people and there is rarely a moment when I'm lost for words :-) I had my first ever Skinny Chai Latte this week and it was AWESOME!

After coffee, I had to get a move on because I had the usual weekend errands to get done before Derek & I headed out to our friends' cottage for the night. Dora went to my in-laws and Hankster went to the boarding kennel and Derek & I were looking forward to a fun night with friends and  a 'dog-free' night of sleep!

Have you ever been up to a cottage in the winter? I loved how quiet and peaceful it was. We've finally gotten a little bit of snow and it was so pretty driving up. You would've gotten to see it with your own eyes if I'd remembered to bring my camera! D'uh --- I left it sitting on the kitchen table; right where I'd left it so I wouldn't forget it. The cottage was super cozy and we spent the night enjoying yummy appetizers, great conversation, red wine and some wild games of Euchre. I think my card games skills have gotten a little rusty since university because Derek & I stunk it up. I think I got blamed but how much can you really do when your hands consist primarily of 9s and 10s!!!!

After an amazing sleep (sans dogs!), we packed up our stuff this morning and went to a small little diner for breakie. I LOVE GOING OUT FOR BREAKFAST! Homefries, toasted tomato sammies and coffee --- the best way to start a Sunday if you ask me!

I was planning to spend the rest of today relaxing in front of the TV, but something came over me when I got home and I was drawn to the kitchen. I started out by making two huge batches of chili - a veggie chili for me and a meaty chili for Derek. By 5 p.m., I had picked up Hank from the kennel, packed away our Christmas tree and ornaments, made both pots of chili, made our lunches for work tomorrow, washed 2 sinkfuls of dishes and cleaned up the mess that Hankster made when he got home. Our house was neat and tidy when we got home this morning but Hank managed to trash the living room within about 5 minutes of arriving home <sigh>...

The series of events went something like this.... 

running and jumping on the couch with a very dirty outside toy....

teasing and luring Dora into a wrestling/tug of war match....

leaving the scene of the crime in total disarray!

 Hank is having a very looooonnnnnggg adolscent period. We're hoping he grows up to be a "big boy" very soon LOL!

Now that I've been able to catch you up on all the fun I've been having, I'm off to pamper myself with a mini-manicure. I just bought a new bottle of Essie nailpolish in the colour 'eternal optimist' which is a gorgeous nude shade.

The rest of the night is going to be full of nail painting, chocolate chai tea and hopefully some good TV! I also have some posts I need to start working on because I've got some fun and healthy stuff in store for you this week!!!

So what was the highlight of your weekend?

Enjoy the last few hours of our glorious weekend!

Andrea

Lots of Lovin' Wednesday - Birthday Edition

So usually you would get to see a 'day in the life of my eats' on Wednesday, but I've been a little bit lazy in the cooking department and really didn't have any phenomenal foodie adventures to share with you. I promise that my next WIAW post will come after my trip to Tennessee and Kentucky over the Thanksgiving Weekend because from what I hear, our eats are going to be amazing. My dad is the best holiday meal maker on the planet!

Snce we're skipping the eats today, I thought I'd share some of the things that I've been lovin' since we got home from our Vegas vacation. My 34th Birthday was on November 6th, so I thought it was appropriate to share some of my fave birthday things.

My birthday fell on a Sunday and when I arrived at work on the following Monday, these were on my desk. I am loving these gorgeous flowers (which are still alive and well on my kitchen table!) and the boss who bought them for me. I'm a pretty lucky gal! 

I also received a some pretty cool gifts.

My grandma gave me this gorgeous turquoise necklace. Ever since I got it, I've been trying to plan my outfits around it, so that I can wear it every single day :-D

Yesterday, I got a package from my mom in the mail. Included were these 2 Vera Bradley makeup bags.

I. LOVE. VERA. BRADLEY.

I've never seen her products in Canada, but I see them everywhere around my parents and I love them!

And finally, Derek gave me some American moula. I love money and I love shopping, so this was the perfect gift to give a girl who's planning some serious retail therapy on Black Friday.

So there you have it. I had a pretty rockin' birthday and I was spoiled, as always.

What is a gift that you've recently received that you absolutely love?
I need some inspiration, so tell me what your best eats were this week. 

Enjoy your Wednesday!

Andrea

Monday Lovin'

Happy Monday! Hope your day was super fantastic! My post is a little late, but hopefully you had as much sunshine as we did today to keep you smilin' :-D

I have so many things that I've been lovin' lately that I have been having a hard time deciding what to share, but I've managed to narrow it down to a few awesome things:

First of all I am totally and completely in love with this costume site. As you may remember, Derek & I are heading to Vegas for a Halloween wedding, so we've been looking for the perfect costume. Check out BuyCostumes if you're looking for some Halloween inspiration. I can't reveal what I chose just yet, but here are a few of my favourites for both Derek and I!



As you can see, I'm going for something a cute and sexy and Derek's going for something that'll get a good laugh from our friends.....



I'm also totally lovin' ZUMBA! I started a class back at the beginning of September and I am head over heels in love! I really look forward to Tuesday nights and even though it's probably my easiest workout of the week, I love, love, love every minute of it!

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Another thing I'm lovin'??? Hmmm, I'd have to say this cute little insulated lunch bag I picked up last week.Not only do I love it's cuteness, but I really love that it was a $30 bag on sale for FIVE BUCKS!!! 

...and finally, it can't be an ode to things I love without one foodie mention. I have been craving soup since the nights started getting cooler and I went back to an old fave, which was something I posted very early on. My Comforting Cauliflower Soup is the absolute bomb-digity of soups! Try it if you're looking for a soup that feels like a warm fuzzy blanket cuddling around you on a cool Fall night.

This pic is recycled from my original post,

but I love how my camera captured all that steamy deliciousness!

So what are you lovin' today??
Do you have a Halloween costume picked out yet?

Have a great night!!

Andrea