What do you do when you’ve gotten use to your massive parkas, hats, gloves and gazillion layers? All of a sudden the weather is screaming Spring, with sun and rain in the forecast, what do you wear?
FIRST
Get rid of your heavy jacket. Replace it with something light, but not too light. March/April can still be a bit chilly. Usually windy and raining. On sunny days I go for a trench coat and windy/raining days a wool coat and umbrella if needed.
SECOND
Pick accessories that welcome Spring. Pastels, fleur and happy colours and print in general.
THIRD
Pick an outfit according to your day. I went with simple black leggings and a T since I was running errands.
LAST
Your choice of foot wear should be based on the weather. If you’re in and out of a car, it doesn’t matter so much but if you’re out and about. Choose accordingly. I stuck with my combat boots knowing it would rain, which means it would get muddy. Plus, to be honest, I’m not ready to part with them yet. Loved wearing my combat boots from the beginning of Fall, through the entire winter season.
Every baby is different. Transitioning for your baby might be easier or worse than my experience. I hope to shed some perspective and light on this topic for those mama’s who might be going through this or are thinking about going back to work.
Transitioning Day 1
We were both up really late last night and although my husband gently woke me up this morning, we hit the snooze and slept in just a little bit more. Transitioning days at baby D’s daycare are 930 – 1130am for three days. We arrived for day 1 around 10:05 ish. During the visit I hadn’t seen any cool toys or books laying around so I was a bit hesitant on choosing the place but as soon as we entered the infant room, we could see lots and lots of cute stuff. As usual, baby D was a little shy at first. Scoping out the room and looking at his new playmates. I had fun talking to the caregivers and also sat there and observed baby D to see whether he was enjoying himself, scared or did he have an idea of what was to come on day 4. He played shy for a bit but every time someone acknowledged him or when other babies would come to talk, touch or play with him he’d turn to me and smile. After 30 minutes he was slowly and cautiously walking towards other babies and different toys. He would then come walking back and give me a big hug (maybe in case I was feeling scared) and quietly babble stuff to me. He’s so loving. Come 11 am I noticed they started to have their lunch so we left early and planned that tomorrow we’d come for 9 am – 11 am. So I think even though it was just an hour, I feel like he’ll enjoy his time there. He loves other babies and he’ll love making new friends. *fingers crossed*
TIPS: I held him at first and then every few minutes tried to move away and let him explore. Also, when I was playing and talking to the other babies I think it made him feel more comfortable with them and curious.
Transitioning Day 2
Today baby D warmed up to the new environment in 5 minutes! Which is pretty awesome considering he was woken up from his nap. He walked around the room and played with the other babies and all was great! Everything was great until I found a staple on the ground and that really concerned me. Considering how baby D is going through a stage where he puts everything in his mouth, this was scary. I gave the staple to one of the caregivers in the room. I scanned the room to see where it came from and noticed that they use staples to put up “group work” on a board right above where the babies play. I thought about this when I went home and I really don’t like “complaining” because I’m afraid it comes off rude or bitchy. I asked my mommy friends what they would do and they had a good point when they said bring it up as a suggestion rather than a complaint. So, tomorrow I’m definitely letting them know.
Transitioning Day 3
Baby D and I woke up late today so we only went for 30 minutes. Plus tomorrow is his birthday and I have some last minute things to do. It took him just a few minutes to warm up to everyone again and once he was cool with everyone he was playing, walking, talking.. doing his thing. I think he’s going to be okay! On my way out I let the manager of the daycare know about the staple board. I suggested maybe they could use tape to put things up instead and how baby D puts everything in his mouth so I was just concerned about him getting a hold of a stray staple. She was very appreciative of my suggestion and told me she was glad I told her. Phewf. His full day of daycare without me starts after the weekend and I don’t think I’m ready to part with him for that long but it must be done. I’m really nervous.
Full Day One
I was feeling brave as I left him at daycare. He looked like he was having fun too. I went downtown to see my mom and I logged on to the live streaming video of him and first think I see is him crying. My heart broke in a million pieces. Bittersweet having this extra service to be able to watch him whenever I want. It was a busy day for me so I didn’t get many chances to watch him. There was a snow storm so I was running late to pick him up, so D (husband) picked him up. When he brought him home baby D just ignored me. He was definitely upset with me and kept giving D hugs and lots of attention. I tried to redeem myself with games of peekaboo and cookies. Finally he forgave me and I got those hugs I longed for all day.
Full Day Two
I’m depressed. I ran some errands at wal-mart and some other stores and saw so many babies and I started missing him really badly. His smell, his cute smiles and everything about him. I just keep thinking this isn’t right. I can’t do this. I just want to break down and cry but I’m holding back. Because I know if I do, I’m going to be even more miserable for the rest of the day. Logging in to watch him on the live stream and he’s being rocked. I can tell he’s sad. Probably thinking he can’t believe I did it again. I don’t think I can do the full day, so I’m going to pick him up in a few hours from now. In total I think after I pick him up he would be there for five hours. That’s enough for today, because I really need his hugs right now.
Full Day Three
He was so good today! I watched him explore the room, eat lots of food and give hugs to the caregivers. I think he’s starting to build trust with the environment and the caregivers.
Day One (back from the weekend)
It’s like starting all over again. He cried so much when I left him and he’s been crying since. It’s now lunch time and I’m watching him on the live stream and he’s eating a little bit but crying. But there’s hope. After lunch he took his nap, hopefully a good long one to recuperate from all the crying.
The best thing to do before you decide if daycare is the right approach so you can go back to work is list out other options and the pros and cons of each one. That’s what I did and I found daycare would be best for baby D. Some of my pros were his early interactions with other babies, having a fixed schedule and the location being very close to home. Also, if you’re starting your baby in daycare a little bit before you go back to work (highly recommend) you can have some time to adjust, get yourself together and get all those things you’ve wanted to do around the house, done. If your daycare doesn’t offer live streaming maybe you can suggest it to them for an opportunity to make more money and just keep yourself busy and ask lots of questions when you go to pick your child up. I saw some moms even stay by the door so they can peek and know what’s going on. Whatever you have to do to get comfortable with everything.
What do you find the most challenging about this change? Let me know below!
Weekdays are generally a very busy time for families. Going to work, appointments and for the stay at home mommies or those on maternity leave, taking care of your little one(s). I get excited when I find a really good quick and easy recipe, and folks..this recipe by Chef Michael Allemeier is definitely one of those recipes! It’s almost time for me to go back to work and this recipe fell into my lap at the right time. Just when I started searching for more ideas and created my new board on Pinterest labeled “Week night dinner ideas“. I feel like I’ve exhausted all the usual dinners I make and really needed a reboot. If you totally get me right now, then check out that board after you’ve read through this recipe. 😉
You might have watched my snapchat videos of how I went on and on about #CatelliFamilies and what I used, so I’ll get straight to the point. Prep time for this recipe will be anywhere between 5-7 mins, cook time 15 mins woohoo! and will make 4 servings.
What you need
1 Pkg Catelli Smart® Spaghetti
375 mL
whipping cream
2 cups (500 mL)
peas, fresh (or frozen optional)
1 cup (250 mL)
shredded parmesan cheese
1/3 cup (80 mL)
green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp (3 mL)
ground nutmeg
Salt to taste
Instructions
Add 4 litres of water to a pot and add 1 tbsp (15 mL) salt to water. Bring to a boil.
Heat a large pot or frying pan over medium heat. Once the pan is hot add cream and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 4 minutes to slightly thicken. Keep warm.
Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions. Add peas to the hot cream and return to a simmer. Once pasta is cooked, drain well and add to the hot sauce.
Add Parmesan cheese, nutmeg and sliced green onions and bring to a simmer. Adjust salt to taste and serve at once.
I never thought a simple Alfredo with peas would taste this good! My husband is a huge meat eater so I made some spicy ground chicken for him to mix in with this recipe. Chefs tip is to try adding mushroom and/or tomatoes. On that note, I think I’ll try to add zucchini next time! What will you make with your Catelli pasta? Use the hashtag #CatelliFamilies to share your awesome recipes.
I’ve tried two different carriers before the hotslings one. The first one I had was one from wal-mart that you have seen me wear on snapchat and some of my posts on instagram. It was good but very bulky looking. It definitely wasn’t my favourite accessory when I wore it during our trips to Mexico and Italy. But carriers are different from slings. A sling looks like a hammock. When your baby is a newborn up until they are ready to sit, their spines are best supported in slings. This is because their weight is distributed along the length of the spine. Most carriers that hold the baby in an upright position with their legs hanging down, can stress the spine because they put all the baby’s weight at the base of the spine. I wish I had the hotslings when we were travelling. It would be perfect for that! Especially if you pick out one with a pattern that would go with most of your wardrobe, you’re pretty much set! Not bulky,easy to fold to put into your handbag and super light!
Baby carriers usually have all of those ribbons hanging down and you have to snap it on in more than one place. It can be really discouraging and annoying. On the hotslings, the adjusting ribbons are all hidden but easy to find. Here’s a video of exactly how you would use hotslings:
So how do you know if you really need one or if this will become one of those never used items? You can start off by answering these questions:
Does your baby like being held?
Does he/she enjoy watching you cook/clean?
Does he/she sleep better close to your chest (skin to skin)?
Do you hate being bothered with taking out a stroller every time you go shopping or for walks?
If you answered YES to almost all of those questions then honey, you need one! Have you tried the fabric sling that has no adjustments and it’s basically just fabric? Well I also had one of those too and I had zero patience in putting it together to use. I tried it once and it was cool and comfortable but one day when I was in a rush, going in and out of the car at an outdoors mall/plaza, I was so annoyed that I didn’t have something easier to throw on to put baby D in. Instead I just kept him in the car seat and held that! And you know how heavy those car seats can be. True story. But thanks to my new hotslings, that will never happen again! Yay!
Side note: Here’s a good read on some of the many benefits of holding your baby more often that you can check out, by James Prescott, Ph.D.
One of the most helpful times to use the hotslings in my opinion is at home when you’re trying to get chores done. Especially when folding clothes! He loves watching me put clothes away and a little part of me hopes he retains what I’m doing.
What baby carrier/sling are you using now? Do you prefer one over the other? Leave a comment below.
You may have seen the womens necktie at Zara(Which was first $20, then $10 and now on sale for $3.99), magazines and dare I say, the Kardashians. Aside from those places, I’m sure if you asked your mom, aunt and any working woman from the 70’s/80’s, she’ll tell you that the womens necktie is a spin off of the pussy bow blouse. So these ties we’re rocking in 2015/16, are really a tribute to the boss ladies of the 80’s. Nice.Check out the documentary – Makers: Women Who Make America, a three-hour documentary on the history of modern feminism that aired on PBS. Meg Whitman, CEO of Hewlett-Packard said:
“We used to dress in suits with a skirt and a jacket with button-down shirts and a little bow tie, because that was sort of our interpretation of the man’s tie…It was our attempt to be feminine but fit into what was then a male world.”
Now, here are 5 ways to wear a womens necktie:
Straight like a man
Under any button up collar shirt this looks exactly like a regular tie for men. Skinny tie actually.
2. Tie it in a bow Style it this way with pretty much anything!
3. Wear it like a choker
Wearing it like a choker is a statement look. It looks best with a dress that has less fabric at the top. Whether it’s strapless, sleeveless or boat neck. You can get fancy by tying it in a bow at the back. (This is my favourite!)
4. Keep it loose
5. To the side
Wear it to the side with a blouse or a dress.
The necktie worn above was made by my talented friend Sharadha Ramjit. You should check out her blog post where she rocks the necktie and some of her other beautiful creations! *GIVEAWAY ANNOUNCEMENT* I’ve teamed up with Sweet Shard to giveaway a necktie and I’m throwing in a Shoppers Drug Mart gift card for $50 so you can finish the look with new beauty products! Head over to my instagram and follow the instructions on how to enter to win. Good luck!
If you haven’t heard already, the makers of the famous beautyblender…..”you know that pink sponge that looks like an egg?” are coming out with a new product called Liner.Designer this March 2016! I love the beautyblender. I truly believe it makes a huge difference applying your foundation with a damp sponge vs a dry one. Love the shape as well.
So let’s talk about the Liner.Designer. It’s suppose to get you the perfect eyeliner look with no mistakes. It comes in a small case with a mirror and has three different sides you can use. One side is straight, one round short and another curvy edge. It reminds me of a guitar pick. Which I have tons of sitting in my guitar bag at home. After seeing this I’m considering taking one of them and placing it in my make-up bag. Why not?
These are the eyeliner looks you can achieve with the liner.designer. Pretty cool. However, I think it isn’t worth $16. You can save yourself $16 and use hacks like a guitar pick, paper or tape.
So if you have money to blow, go for it. Otherwise you can easily get the above results with things you probably already have at home.
Do you have an obsession with coffee? If you do then you’ll want to read this post about Sorry Coffee Co and check out some of my other posts of my favourite Toronto coffee shops.
Second Cup – King Street (Image from my Twitter Account)
Sorry Coffee Co believes thatbig things happen in coffee shops. I agree! If I take a look back at where most of my meetings for brainstorming sessions, study sessions or great ideas were formed, they were all in a coffee shop. Even now when I need a new environment to work, I always go to a coffee shop. Toronto has so many to choose from now. Just five years ago there were more Tim Hortons, Starbucks and Second Cups than all these new cute, edgy and modern coffee shops that you can check out today. Sorry Coffee Co, when you first enter looks a little small with minimal seating but they have a cozy area with couches inside their attached Kit and Ace store. I didn’t get a chance to check out the clothes in Kit and Ace but I would definitely go back! It’s also great that they have an online store!
You might recognize this alley in Yorkville. It extends to Bloor St and not too far from Kate Spade in Yorkville. 102 Bloor Street to be exact. On bloor street between pottery barn and jcrew. As you walk down this alley you’ll see signs saying things like “This year I’ll wake up early, before 11am” or something about “I’ll start flossing”. Then right before the Sorry Coffee Co entrance there’s a sign that ends with Sorry Coffee Co. Otherwise you’re just reading these signs trying to guess what store or brand they belong too. Great marketing! Definitely peaked my interest. *Thumbs up*
And how’s their coffee? Perfect. And their service was even better. Very welcoming and alert. It was a busy day inside Sorry Coffee and looked like there were no seats left but the Barista noticed me and let me know there were more seats inside Kit and Ace. I love that and appreciate it when services aren’t only about cashing you out and giving you a coffee. Thank you.
This cup was designed by graphic designer Ben Johnston.
Let me know if you’ve enjoyed a frothy cappuccino at Sorry Coffee Co in the comments below!
This is my first baby related post under my baby series! Yay! I received a Huggies little movers diaper pack complimentary for testing purposes, so I figured I’d take this opportunity to really dive in on my opinions, reviews and stories on baby related things.
If you’re a part of any mommy groups in the real world or online on Facebook etc you’ll see occasionally posts pop up regarding diapers. The most popular diaper post being the famous question: Pampers or Huggies?
As a new mom I was clueless on which brand to go for and I know some people say Pampers are better for boys and Huggies for girls or vice versa. But really there’s no right or wrong diaper brand. It all comes down to what works best for your baby. I’ve been using Pampers diapers on Daniyal (my now 10 month old son) since day one. The baby dry ones for overnight and regular during the day. I’ve had a few messy leaky ones but just thought that’s just the way all diapers are. I like to fold the top inwards and then seal the sides. When I don’t, 70% of the time I get a leaky diaper to change. In that case, I always fold in the top.
He’s now crawling, standing and getting into all kinds of adventures. Definitely a little mover 😉 Love the name of these huggies diapers by the way. My little mover put these huggies diapers to the test and here’s what we found:
About Huggies Little Movers Diapers
Designed specifically for the way your baby moves.
DryTouch® Liner: absorbs moisture on contact, providing comfortable movement for your baby Contoured Shape: ensures the diaper stays in place and moves with your baby Double Grip Strips: Use your baby’s weight and movement to help keep the diaper in place and fasten at four points to provide your little one with an outstanding fit.
The Results (from using the diapers for 2 days)
DryTouch® Liner: There were no leaks, so it definitely does absorb moisture. Contoured Shape: The shape is perfect! No need to fold in the top and tuck in. Stretches out enough to go around the waist. Double Grip Strips: These strips are awesome! Not the regular strips that lose their stickiness when you accidentally stick it to the wrong place. Guilty.
So, will I purchase these diapers again? Yes. #IChooseHuggies
It’s Christmas Day and you’re with your families thinking of activities to do together. Maybe? Well if you are, this is a lot of fun to do and not as much mess because the gingerbread houses are a lot smaller. Once you’re all done decorating and voting for the best one, you can all sit down by the fireplace with hot chocolate and your little gingerbread houses. Sounds good? Let’s get started!
You’ll need
3 1/3 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoon of cinnamon
2/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon of ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon of Himalayan Salt
1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
3/4 cup of corn syrup
1/2 cup of butter
So just in case this happens to you, my brown sugar was a little dry (due to me not soaking that clay thingy terracotta clay disks into my brown sugar canister to keep it moist) and I think because of that my gingerbread dough became crumbly and dry. I just added water and it was all good! So if that happens to you don’t worry. Also the gingerbread result after they are baked and cooled down was not too hard. I know some gingerbread recipes turn out really hard, but this was hard enough to make a house, but soft enough to bite into and enjoy.
What to do
Stir all of the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Then combine the corn syrup, brown sugar and butter in a saucepan and keep stirring constantly over medium heat until butter is melted. Pour this liquid into the flour mixture and stir.
Mix it all together to make the dough and don’t be afraid to use your hands to mix it together. The dough will get stiff and a spoon won’t do. I let the dough sit out on the counter for half an hour but you can refrigerate it as well.
As you can see my dough here was a little dry so I added water. If you have any suggestions please share below!
I used this template for cutting the pieces out. Use parchment paper under the dough to roll and work on.
Bake the pieces for 15 minutes or until they’re golden brown at 350 degrees. Make sure they are completely cooled before icing/decorating.
Also, some of my pieces were uneven so I couldn’t use them. It is really important that the pieces are precise because when it comes building time they will not stick. P.S This was my first time baking gingerbread houses from scratch!
With any left over dough you can either re-roll it and make more mini houses or do what I did and make some side cookies for your friends. :”)
I haven’t done a Friday Faves post in awhile! Truth be told, when I woke up this morning and noticed #NationalCookieDay trending, that was all I could think about. So made sense to share with you my three related faves.
Make Your OwnI love this recipeI found on The Girls on Bloor‘s blog for mint chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches! If I hadn’t made cupcakes last night I’d be in the kitchen right now baking this. Pinned it for later.
Bobbette & Belle – 1121 Queen Street East I’m pretty sure you wont leave here with just a cookie! I had their gingerbread cookies and they’re SO good.
If you haven’t heard already, the makers of the famous beautyblender….
These are the eyeliner looks you can achieve with the liner.designer. Pretty cool. However, I think it isn’t worth $16. You can save yourself $16 and use hacks like a guitar pick, paper or tape.
I haven’t done a Friday Faves post in awhile! Truth be told, when I woke up this morning and noticed #NationalCookieDay trending, that was all I could think about. So made sense to share with you my three related faves.
