tuesday tune: pink - just give me a reason

It's the night before we leave on our trip to England, and here I am, unpacked, writing a blog post. Where has the time gone?!?! So much to do! But the night is young, it's only 8 pm...lots of time to finish packing, do our taxes, pay the bills, etc. At least our house is clean, or it was, before I decided to cook spaghetti sauce from scratch for dinner because I needed to use up all our tomatoes and veggies before we vacate. I'm supposed to be a grown up and responsible now. I have a baby for crying out loud. And I use the term "for crying out loud". I'm old, yet time and again I have not learned this lesson, and here I go procrastinating further. (luckily we leave tomorrow evening, so I can procrastinate a little more...I have allll day tomorrow).

So, here you go. This is what I'm listening to. It's Pink feat Nate Reuss from FUN and the song is "Just Give Me a Reason". I have no idea if it's been out forever and I just heard it yesterday, or if it's new. I could do my research, but I'm running out of time. Although the 33 million views is hinting that it's not brand new....Anyways it's one of those songs that I want to sing really loud to while I'm driving, or cleaning, or packing for that matter. What do you think?? (if the video doesn't work click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpQFFLBMEPI)

I'm thinking I will have a chance to post again from England, so hopefully "talk" soon! Wish us luck tomorrow, 9 hours on a plane with an almost-8-month-old is a terrifying prospect....but it will be so worth it when we get there!

XO

a trip to brighton and tuesday's tune

Who watched Walking Dead this week?? Wasn't the song at the end perfect? It fit the show so well. I looked it up and it's by Fink. It's a good chill out song, just what I am in the mood for today...

Apparently he is based out of Brighton, UK, which just so happens to be where we are headed next week to visit my family. Westley gets to meet his Grandpa for the first time and see his Auntie, as well as all of my extended family over there. I can't wait!! If you've never been to Brighton it is one of my favourite places. We spent every summer there growing up - swimming on the rocky beaches, playing on the pier, shopping in the lanes (it is hands down my favourite city to shop in), stuffing our faces with banoffee pie, and getting into trouble with our cousins. Such good memories there!

Here's a few pics from past trips:

fridge love

TGIF! Westley discovered himself in the fridge yesterday. I think it's safe to say he's in love. 

Wouldn't it be great if we all had this reaction when we saw our reflection in the mirror? (I'm referring to the smiles and happiness, not the making out with yourself part....that could get awkward in public bathrooms, and it would be unsanitary). 

I know I could use a little: "Hey beautiful, how YOU doin? Oh wait, we're the same person? Lucky us!" Instead of "what is up with my hair?!" and "Really? I'm almost 30, why do I still have skin like a prepubescent??" (my reaction to the mirror this morning)...I think the babies have it right. The world would generally be a better place if we all reacted to our images like they do, don't you think? 

Happy Weekend!

XO

ben howard: call me maybe

Have you seen/heard this? Ben Howard covered Carly Rae Jepsen's Call me Maybe, and in my opinion killed it. And even though I've heard the original thousands and thousands of times over the last year, I'm not so sick of it that I don't love this version. Then again, Ben Howard could sing anything and I would love it.

chewy ginger chocolate chunk cookies

These aren't your average cookie. They are a pumped full of better-for-you ingredients....and these cookies are so good you would never know they are also good(ish) for you! If you like ginger cookies, you have to make this recipe! No sugar, eggs, or butter. They are basically vegan, minus the chocolate. They aren't so healthy that you should go eat the entire batch in one sitting (even though they are that good and if you dared me I could and would), but it's nice to eat a cookie where all the calories aren't totally empty.

This time I used whole spelt flour, which gave the cookies a bit of a nuttier texture than the last time I made them. Personally, I don't mind that, but you can also find white spelt flour that has been processed like a regular wheat white flour. Or, if you don't have spelt flour, you can switch out the flour at a one to one ratio with whole wheat flour. Spelt has a few more health benefits though and some people who have issues with wheat can process spelt more easily. Here is some info, if you're interested on Anita's Organic Mill website.

Chewy Ginger Chocolate Chunk Cookies
minimally adapted from Slice Health Inspired Foods by Barb Davies & Jennifer Rallison

Ingredients:
2 cups spelt flour
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp each: cloves and nutmeg
1/2 cup coconut oil (or butter)
1/2 cup molasses
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
3/4 cup dark chocolate cut into chunks (or chips)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F

1. In a bowl, combine flour, cocoa, cinnamon, baking soda, ginger, cloves and nutmeg.

2. In a separate bowl, cream coconut oil (or butter) until smooth on medium. Beat in molasses, maple syrup and fresh ginger until combined.

3. Reduce spead to low and gradually beat in dry ingredients until blended. Fold in chocolate chunks with a spatula.

4. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hour, or until dough is firm enough to handle.

5. Remove from refrigerator; roll into 1 inch balls and drop, 2 inches apart, on an ungreased cookie sheet.

6. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until surface begins to crack. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.


According to myfitnesspal.com, and here is the nutrition info (per cookie):

151 calories / 20 g carbs / 8 g fat / 2 g protein

Let me know what you think if you try them!

XO

wes at 7 months

This post is a little delayed, Westley has been 7 months for almost 2 weeks now, but better late then never, right? Anyways, this is such a fun age, he makes us laugh all the time and is becoming such a little social creature. 

For the most part he is a happy boy, and the things that make him happiest these day are: animal noises, dancing, his reflection in the mirror, the wheels on the bus, seeing his food come out of the fridge, Daddy coming home from work, being tossed in the air and spun around, bath time and getting sprayed with the shower wand, opening his dresser drawers and pulling out all of his clothes, and seeing the cat, the remote or a cell phone within his reach. He also thinks it's hilarious when we laugh, so he laughs too. Times when he is not happy: when he is being subjected to the cruelty of a diaper change, being forced to get dressed, he's hungry (I can relate!), or he's frustrated (usually when he wants to get somewhere but can't, i.e. he can't squeeze his body through the small space between the chair and coffee table, life is so unfair!).

We haven't been incessantly taking photos for the last month like we did for the first 6...but here are a few new ones (4th one from the bottom is Wes and his girlfriend Amara)...

Hope you're having a great week so far! 

XO

tuesday tune: katie herzig - wish you well

Happy Tuesday! I have been housebound for the last couple of days with a sick baby (yes, again!) and no car. Going a little stir crazy. Probably not a terrible thing to be stuck at home though, so many unfinished projects, so much laundry. Sometimes I feel like I'm in a hamster wheel, every time I get something done, cleaned, etc...it has to be done all over again! All I really want to do is play with Westley, why do grown up responsibilities have to get in the way?

Anyways, I've had this song on repeat, it's not a new song, but it doesn't seem to matter how many times I listen to it...I love it:

grandma & her chocolate sandwich cookies

Yesterday our family received the very sad news that my Grandma had passed away during the night. It came as a bit of a surprise to all of us, although she had slowly been going downhill for a while. She was a beautiful woman inside and out and this morning when I woke up our world was missing one of its very best and I felt the need to talk about her.

When I was 5 years old we moved in with my stepdad, Glen. I have a very clear memory of the day we met his family, including his parents and his brother and his wife and girls (my amazing cousins).  I remember Glen's parents inviting us to call them Grandma and Grandpa and how warm and loving they were right from the start. From that very first day we were accepted as a part of the family by all of them and treated as if they had known us all our lives.

At the time I thought they were great fun, our visits were always filled with lots of laughs and Grandma's amazing baked goods (and we all know that is the way to my heart...). My brother and I loved the weekends we would spend with them - they would take us to Dairy Queen, we would play Chinese Checkers and Yahtzee, do crafts with Grandma, bake with her, and eat, eat, eat. Now, as an adult, I am overwhelmed by the generosity of their love. There was no question that we were their grandchildren and we were so incredibly lucky to have them in our lives. I was lucky to have 3 sets of grandparents (all of whom were wonderful), but Glen's parents were the ones that lived closest to us. They were the ones we saw for most holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, Mother's Day), the ones who came to watch our sports games, or Christmas concerts, or spent time with us when we were sick. I can't imagine growing up without them in my life, and I feel amazingly lucky to have known and loved them. There are countless good memories of times spent with both of them and our lives were so much richer for it.

In honour of my Grandma, I thought I would post the recipe for one of my favourite treats that she would make: Chocolate Sandwich Cookies. She would make dozens and dozens of these cookies and store them in the deepfreeze in an ice cream bucket...we knew her secret and we would sneak off and eat them whenever we had the chance. They are so easy with the packaged cake mix, but addictively good!

Chocolate Sandwich Cookies
- by Grandma (Margaret) White

2 packages (515 grams each) chocolate cake mix
4 eggs, slightly beaten
2/3 cup oil

- Beat 1 package of chocolate cake mix, eggs and oil until well blended; stir in remaining package and mix well. Roll into 1" balls. Leave room for them to spread. Bake 12 minutes in 350 C oven, until slightly cracked on top. Cool and fill with icing.

Cream Cheese Icing
8 oz softened cream cheese
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
3-4 1/2 cups of icing sugar (depending on the consistency you like)
colouring (optional, hers were usually red and green)

- Mix, then beat until smooth consistency.

Eat, Eat, Eat.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend. I plan to go to Dairy Queen and eat lots of ice cream because that's what Grandma would want :)

XO