April Favourites | 2015

Other than fighting off a nasty spring cold, my April has been fairly nice! My husband and I bought a patio set this April. I am so excited to finally sit out on my deck and soak up the weather! As well, this will allow us to finally host dinner parties with our family and friends.

As you can see, I have been loving a variety of items in April and I am excited to share with you of all of my findings!



Favourite Beauty Product

Josie Maran Coconut Watercolor Cheek Gelee - Poppy Paradise. I've been using this product a lot this month and I really like how it looks very natural and plus it stays on all day! I love how it brightens my whole face. I use my fingers to apply and blend. The coverage is sheer but is buildable.




Favourite Hair Products

Live Clean Keratin Oil Thermal Protective Spray. This was definitely a drug store buy. Surprisingly, it had caught my attention and I bought it out of curiosity. As any other protective spray, this spray protects your hair from damage caused by heat-styling tools. The formula contains Keratin botanical blend to restore health, sleekness, and shine in hair. What caught my attention (as always), is that Live Clean uses natural, plant sourced, and non-petrochemical based ingredients in their products. Overall, I really like this product and plus, it smells very tropical!

Cricket Ultra Smooth Detangling Brush. I've always wanted to try this kind of brush to see if it would actually detangle my impossible knots in my hair. After using this brush every single day in April, i am happy to say that it does a really great job getting rid of those painful knots without any hassle or pain! It saves me a lot of time, especially for wet hair. This brush actually has a blend of Argan, Olive Oil, and Keratin protein to help smooth and add shine to your hair.




Favourite Lifestyle Product

New Chapter Woman's Daily MultiVitamin. If you are looking for a multivitamin that doesn't upset your stomach, this is the one to buy. I really like this MultiVitamin because each pill contains an array of certified organic foods and herbs that are specifically designed for women. Since they are whole food, they can be taken on a empty stomach.




Favourite Food

Nature's Bakery Fig Bar. These bars are so addicting. We buy a large pack of them at Costco and they sure don't last long in my household. These bars are soft with a sweet fig filling inside of them. They make a great snack for work.


Favourite Tea

Clipper Organic White Tea. I've never had white tea before I bought this and I quite like the delicate taste of it! My husband originally told me about the health benefits of white tea while we were in the grocery store and thought I would give it a go. White tea contains a significant amount of antioxidants which can help boost your metabolism and curb your appetite. It can also fight the effect of aging and has many other health benefits. I definitely recommend you to read and research more about it!


Favourite Clothing

Flower Blouse from Dynamite. I have wore this blouse a lot in April and I really like how versatile it is! You can really dress it up for work and dress it down for the weekends.

What have you been loving in the month of April? Have you tried any of my favourites? If not, is there anything that you would like to try?

Talk to you soon,

Homemade Pop Tarts | Recipe

This is a take on a childhood favorite, but not so healthy breakfast treat. My husband has a Pop-Tart addiction and I didn't like the idea of all that processed stuff in him daily so I thought why not bake some healthier and homemade fare?

For the jam, I used Crofter's Strawberry and Raspberry Organic Jam. This recipe will taste good with any flavor or brand of jam that you wish to use. I have also added Whole Wheat Flour to the recipe to increase the fibre content. Fibre is always good!

My husband absolutely loved it and you will too!

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Homemade Pop Tarts

Author: Slightly adapted from Cooking Classy 

Recipe Type: Breakfast / Snack

Yield: 8 Tarts

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour + 1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp granulated sugar

1 cup unsalted butter, cold and diced into 1/2 inch cubes

4 - 5 Tbsp water

3/4 cup jam of your choice

Icing

1 cup powdered sugar

2 Tbsp milk or cream

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

In a food processor pulse together one cup of all purpose and one cup of whole wheat flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter and pulse mixture until resembles coarse meal. Add 4 Tbsp water and pulse several times. If it doesn't come together, add remaining 1 Tbsp of water. Drop mixture onto a clean surface, gather dough into a ball then divide into two portions. Shape each portion into about a 5 inch disk. Cover each with plastic wrap and chill 1 hour.

Working with 1 disk at a time, roll dough out onto floured surface to a rectangle. You will need to trim the edges to get it into a large rectangle shape. Then cut into smaller rectangles. You can determine how wide and long you would like to have each pop tart to be. Continue the process until you no longer have any dough left. 

Arrange the rectangles, spaced evenly apart on prepared baking sheet. Spread 1 1/2 Tbsp of jam evenly down the center of each rectangle. Top each with another rectangle, then seal edges with a fork or your fingertips. Poke the top center of each tart about 4 times with a toothpick. 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake tarts until golden for about 25 - 40 minutes. Allow pop tarts to cool.

For the icing:

In a mixing bowl, whisk together all icing ingredients and then add milk or cream about 1/2 tsp at a time to reach desired consistency. Spread over tops of cooled pop tarts, leaving a small rim uncoated around all sides. 

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Talk to you soon,

Origins Drink Up 10 Minute Mask | Review

I don't know about you but I tend to search for specific products on blogs before I consider to buy them! Therefore, I am going to try my best to do reviews on my most recent purchases and let you know if they are worth the buy. Without further a do, lets get right into it. 

I've been using the Origins Drink Up 10 Minute Mask for about a month now and it was definitely not what I expected a facial mask to be like. I was expecting this mask to have a thick texture and to dry hard on my face. Boy, was I ever wrong.

This face mask is designed to hydrate and provide moisture with the use of Algae Extracts and Apricot Kernel Oil. When you apply this product, it comes out white but turns transparent as you spread a thin layer on your face. The consistency reminds me of a very thin lotion. When I apply this product, I tend to forget that it is actually a mask since it is so light! I usually keep this mask on a little bit longer than 10 minutes and then I rinse it off. My skin feels so much softer and hydrated after applying the mask. As well, this product literally smells like peaches! 

Overall, I think this a great facial mask to have in your skin care collection especially when you have dry skin like myself. I really like how it actually nourishes your skin. I am very particular about what brands I choose for skincare. I based my decisions on what is in the ingredients and try to pick a brand with the least amount of nasties such as parabens, phthalates, and etc. What drove me towards Origins is that their products are formulated with natural and certified organic ingredients.   

Have you tried any of the Origins products and what are your thoughts about them?

Do you have any recommendations of other hydrating facial mask brands? 

Talk to you soon,

 

Fresh Basil Pesto | Recipe

I've always wanted to make homemade pesto instead of always buying the store-bought. I remember making homemade pesto in my foods class in Junior High and absolutely loved it. Unfortunately, it has took me 10 years to rediscover it again! 

I must say that I will never go back to buying it at the store after this recipe! It is so easy to make and is a great sauce for pasta and chicken. If you happen to have any leftovers, add it in a jar and put it in your fridge for other dinners.

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Fresh Basil Pesto

Author: Slightly adapted from Food Network Kitchen

Recipe Type: Dinner

Yield: 1 Cup

Ingredients:                                                                          

2 cups fresh basil leaves

2 cloves garlic

1/4 cup pine nuts

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup freshly grated pecorino cheese

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions:

1) Combine the basil, garlic, and pine nuts in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add the oil and lemon juice. Process until fully incorporated and smooth.

2) Transfer the pesto to a bowl and mix in the cheese.

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Talk to you soon,