Month: May 2015

Five things

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Flowers are blooming, birds are singing, the sun is shining — it’s what we’ve been waiting for, isn’t it? And yet this time of year I find it especially hard to fight the urge to crawl into bed and shut out the world. Spring has sprung! We’re supposed to be happy! But what if you’re not? If you struggle with anxiety and depression or something else crappy, you might feel a little (or a lot) guilty. A little (or a lot) out of place. A little (or a lot) like something is wrong with you. Maybe all of those things. That’s how I feel a lot of the time, but I keep trying small things to lift myself up. Here’s what I’ve been up to lately.

1. My kiddos just turned 6 and 8. We’ll celebrate with their friends next month when we’ve had a chance to get ourselves organized (one year we didn’t get around to it ’til October and had a joint Halloween-themed birthday party), but on their birthdays each got to pick what they wanted to do and we did it together as a family. For James it was dinner at McDonald’s and playing on the lighthouse and the steam train outside the Science and Tech Museum. Lily picked bowling and lunch at the Dairy Queen. What do the littles in your life like to do for their birthdays?

2. I’m pretty sure there are fairies hiding in here somewhere.

3. Random House sent me a copy of Tara O’Brady’s Seven Spoons: My Favorite Recipes for Any and Every Day and it’s a treasure. The food stylist and blogger shares over 100 recipes inspired by a variety of influences, including her family’s Indian, English and Irish roots. If it’s true that we eat with our eyes, readers will be just as nourished by the gorgeous photographs and stories as they will by the dishes. I’ve made the roasted red pepper, almond, and feta salad and the trail mix snack bars several times (new family favourites!) and can’t wait to try O’Brady’s seeded boule, Vietnamese-inspired sausage rolls and za’atar chicken and roasted vegetable salad.

4. Saturday we happened across a fair when we were out doing errands. We didn’t go then (heavens, we don’t do things spontaneously!) but promised to return on Sunday as long as everybody was being good. Lily and I went on the ferris-wheel-type-spinny-ride you can see in the sky behind the ticket booths and thought we were going to die, then Lily joined her brother on a couple of the tamer rides. I’d love to share some pictures here if we did that sort of thing, but Hubs is most comfortable keeping the kids’ identities on the down-lo. You’ll see a lot of feet and hands and backs-of-heads here on the blog and on my Instagram, Twitter and Facebook accounts.

5. Do you like entering contests? Here are some (Canadian) giveaways you won’t want to miss: Hélène is offering a one-year subscription to Ricardo magazine, Monica has a contest for a $100 Visa gift card, and Chris wants you to win a butt-load of Pringles.

Have a great week everybody! Maybe try some small things along with me?

Lampe Berger’s New Home Fragrance Collection + A Giveaway!

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“Keep only the things that spark joy.” It’s the philosophy of a wee gem I’m reading (maybe you’ve read it too?) called The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. It’s got me looking at the stuff in my home in a new light and wondering how much lighter my spirit would be, how much brighter my outlook, if I did just that? Some things would be soooo hard to pitch (hello favourite jeans that haven’t fit in ages); others so obviously joy-sparking and easy to keep. Like my Lampe Berger! (And good thing too, since I’m a Lampe Berger Brand Ambassador.) As useful as it is beautiful, my air-purifying lamp is right at home with my favourite books and homemade cards and stand mixer — all things that evoke happy memories, lift my spirit and bring me comfort here at home.

Do you have one? You need one! And you can win one right here! (Woot!)

What makes Lampe Berger different from any other air freshener is its patented burner, originally developed over 100 years ago in France to help disinfect hospitals. The burner purifies and perfumes the air, destroying the molecules that make undesirable smells and diffusing one of over 50 scents of your choosing, including a fragrance-free So Neutral blend to use on its own or dilute another scent. (You can read more technical stuff about how it works here and how easy it is to use here.)

Lampe Berger sent me a selection of their new home fragrances to try.

Magnificent Vetiver is fresh and woodsy and masculine, like your hubby fresh out of the shower.

Fruit Melody is fruit and flowers and sunbeams all mixed together, like there’s a place for everything and everything is in its place.

Forest Mist is fresh grass underfoot and a babbling brook in the distance, a scent that brings the outdoors in.

Sensual Bouquet is bubble bath and candles and your favourite book — light and clean and all-is-right-with-the-world.

Amber Elegance is spicy, warm and pretty, like a hug from your vivacious mother.

With over 50 fragrances to choose from, you’re sure to find a few favourites. Oh, and if you’re still looking for ideas for Mother’s Day, Lampe Berger makes a great gift!

Giveaway!

To win a Lampe Berger starter set like mine (that’s a lamp, a burner, a 180 ml Home fragrance and a 180 ml So Neutral fragrance –a $48 value!), enter your contact information here, then come back and tell me something in your home that sparks joy, or a Lampe Berger fragrance you think you’d enjoy. You must leave a comment here on the blog in order to be eligible. The giveaway is open to Canadians 18+ (excluding Quebec) and ends May 28, 2015 .

You can learn more about Lampe Berger on their website, Facebook page, Instagram account and on Twitter and follow them everywhere at #LampeBerger. Lampe Berger products are widely available across Canada.

Good luck everybody!

Update May 29: Congratulations to Cheryl Poore!

Five things

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You know those weeks when you feel like you can’t get anything done? I’m having one of those. Well, a couple of them actually. The house is upside down and I don’t know where to even begin to put it right side up, and the whole mess has got me feeling terribly unorganized and unmotivated to do anything. But then I look at pictures from the past couple of weeks and think wait a second! I have been doing things. I may not be ripping through my to-do list, but these things still matter.

1. For special occasions, I love the Chateau Laurier. (Seen here from the Alexandra Bridge, which we walked along after a trip to the Museum of History.) It’s where we gathered for lunch the day I graduated from university, where my girlfriends surprised me with a baby shower when I was pregnant with my son, and where we celebrated my daughter’s fourth birthday with afternoon tea. Ah, so fancy! What’s your special occasion place?

2. I love whiling away the lunch hour at a favourite coffee shop with a girlfriend. That’s Kirsten’s sleeve up there. We met at work nearly 20 years ago and have been friends ever since.

3. A lesson from Austin Kleon’s Steal Like an Artist: Ten Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative. It’s one of the books I turn to for inspiration when I’m feeling stuck or stale. What books inspire you?

4. My entry for Chatelaine’s April cooking club challenge, classic vanilla cake. Each month the magazine invites readers to make and photograph a particular recipe for the chance to win a prize (this month it’s a set of bakeware — right up my alley!). The winner was announced today. And it’s me! Woot woot!

5. And tomorrow I’m off to the second annual BConnected blogger conference, just across the river in Gatineau. I know it takes an army of dedicated people to pull off an event like this and I’m grateful for the opportunity to learn from so many of my talented peers. But if I could do it from home I totally would. I’m nervous to meet everybody and feel way more comfortable here at home behind my computer than I do out there in the world. I feel so vulnerable admitting it. Aren’t you supposed to never let ’em see you sweat? I am sweating here, people!

That’s all for today. Have a great weekend, everybody. I’ll be back soon with another fantastic giveaway!