Fall 2014 Fashion Picks

I can't believe it's September already and I am so ready for Fall. Lately, we seem to being having some last minute summer hot weather. I think Mother Nature has mixed up July with September.

Today it's breezy, so I thought I would share Fall 2014 Fashion Picks. These are easy items you can pick up at any price point to add to your wardrobe. You can add just one item from a category or something from all four.

360 Sweater turtleneck sweater / Tory Burch square toe boots / Express gold flat / MICHAEL Michael Kors satchel style purse / Hervé Van Der Straeten herve van der straeten jewellery / Michael Kors stainless steel jewelry/ Aurélie Bidermann gold jewelry

Categories (counterclockwise)

1. Oversize Turtleneck Sweater always says cozy to me especially when were are transitioning into Fall. The trick this season is for the turtleneck to be oversized and for the sweater to be done in a chunky knit. I can't wait to find mine.

2. Gold Accessories. For a couple of seasons, there has been a resurgence of gold jewellery and accessories. Frankly, I am excited as I love how gold jewellery looks with the jewel tones of Fall. Pick your favourite whether it be costume jewellery or the real deal.

3. Shoes or Boots. These Oxfords are a nice ode to back-to-school feeling we get in Fall and what what makes them special is that they are metallic. They would look great with your new chunky turtleneck and favourite jeans. Little ankle boots can do wonders to dress up those casual items of Fall. I love the gold heel on these boots from Tory Burch.

4. Great Structured Handbag. This structured bag is a good contrast between the less structured pieces of the season. I'm also in love with the navy colour. Maybe because it's a favourite staple colour here in Canada or maybe it's because it looks so great with gold accessories.


What would you choose for your Fashion 2014 updates?

Nursery Option #2

So I am having a really hard time narrowing down what I would like the nursery to look like. I know the last time I posted  I was leaning towards a robot theme but I want to explore some other options.

Here's what I came up for option #2.  You can check out my Nursery Option #2 board and where to find the items.

Nursery Option #2 

Which option do you like better? How long did it take to narrow down your nursery options?

Baby #2 Nursery Inspiration Search

I am almost in my third trimester so the great nursery inspiration search is on. I now know we are having another boy which means I don't really have to do much to the nursery decor. But since I love decorating and changing things up I thought this baby deserves a new design. I will be reusing the brown wooden crib and change table and the rest will be a blank slate.

I have been gathering inspiration from some of my favourite websites such as Project Nursery and Pinterest. The theme that I seem to gravitate to for this baby has been robots and below is my inspiration board.

HARLEQUIN blue area rug, 275 CAD / Ferm LIVING wall art, 61 CAD / Modern Moose red wall art, 16 CAD / Orange home decor, 2.16 CAD / Mini Dora Convertible Crib Espresso, 165 CAD / South Shore Savannah Collection Changing Table, Espresso / Robot Baby Costume - Baby Clothes, 52 CAD / Hanna Andersson Organic Cotton Two-Piece Fitted Pajamas (Toddler Boys,..., 26 CAD / Lolli Living Baby Bot Character Pillow Robot, 27 CAD / That's Not My Robot (Usborne Touchy Feely Books): Amazon.co.uk: Fiona..., 8.26 CAD


Where did you find inspiration for your nursery?

Family Travel Essentials

It's officially Summer which means family travels. I have complied my list of all the essentials you need for your next family trip.

Converse rubber sole shoes, 105 CAD / Asics footwear, 165 CAD / Gap woven tote, 38 CAD / Yves Saint Laurent acetate glasses, 330 CAD / Travel Journal Recycled Map Notebook - I Read More Maps Than Books -..., 11 CAD / Map home decor, 5.46 CAD / Metal home decor, 11 CAD / Boy's Shoes: Dress Shoes, Sandals, Boy's Toddler Shoes | Payless Shoes, 16 CAD / Canon EOS Rebel T3i 18.0MP Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm..., 575 CAD / Toy Car Garage with Road, 17 CAD / HOUGHTON MIFFLIN HARCOURT 'A Treasury of Curious George' Book, 12 CAD / Review, 7.91 CAD / Disney Monsters University Sulley Cuddle Pillow - Blue(12x10"), 20 CAD

My Family Travel Essentials

-Great, Comfortable yet fashionable Shoes for the entire family.
-Fabulous Sunglasses.
-Stunning Tote to carry all your new finds as well as snacks and water.
-SNACKS! A must when travelling with kids.
-Fun Reads for at the beach or on the plane.
-New Toys, Movies and Books for long car rides, plane rides or rainy days.
-Camera for catching all the travel memories and a travel journal & pen so you don't forget anything.
-Paper Road Maps for just in case you get lost or the GPS gets you lost :)
-Sunscreen (oops I missed that one in my picture)

What's your favorite family travel essentials?

The Try, Try, Try Again Dessert : Jell-O Cheesecake Dessert

Some of you may remember my post about the cherished dessert that my grandmother used to make that I tried to recreate several times but something always went wrong. So I put it on the back burner and decided to try the recipe again in a bit, also so we wouldn't get tired of the dessert.

A couple of weeks ago, while at the grocery store I spotted Cool Whip Whipped Dessert Topping with a picture of what looked to be my grandmother's dessert, or a close version, so I bought it. On the back of the picture was the recipe. Now armed with the recipes and directions I knew I was going to master this dessert.

As promised, I tried it again but this time with the "found" recipe. There were a couple of things that were different: instead of the recipe using Dream Whip like my grandmother's recipe it used Cool Whip, and this new recipe adds sliced strawberries to the Jell-o. Though I could have added the strawberries I wanted it to be as close as I could get to my grandmother's recipe as I could without her here. This time I had success and the recipe turned out exactly the same except for the bumpy Jell-O. The reason for the bumpy jell-o was that I let the Jell-O set for too long in the fridge.

What Not to Do - Lessons Learned

1. Do not cook the crust because it changes the texture of the crust. My first two tries I baked the crust.

2. Not let the crust and the cream cheese layer chill long enough. This caused the cream cheese mixture to melt slightly.

3.Not letting the Jell-O set up long enough (which happened in the first two tries) but not too long as I learned this 3rd try. Getting the time right prevents the more dense cream cheese layer from floating to the top like in this picture.

Though it doesn't turn out as perfectly as I wanted,  I definitely learned that practice gets you closer and keep trying, again and again until you succeed.

Here's the Recipe from Kraft Canada that was on the Cool Whip Lid.

Strawberry Delight Dessert

Ingredients

1 1/2 c. Honey Maid Graham Crumbs

1/4 c. non-hydrogenated margarine, melted

1 1/2 pkg. Philadelphia Brick Cream Cheese Spread Light, softened

2 tbsp. skim milk

1 c. thawed Cool Whip Light Whipped Topping 

2 c. boiling water

2 pkg. (85 g. each) Jell-O Strawberry Jelly Powder Light 

1 1/2 c. cold water

1 qt. (4 c.) strawberries, sliced 

Directions

Mix graham crackers and margarine, press firmly onto the bottom of 13x9 inch pan. Beat cream cheese spread and milk until well blended. Stir in whipped topping. Spread over crust . Refrigerate until ready to use. Stir boiling water into dry jelly powder in a large bowl at least 2 mins. until completely dissolved. Stir in cold water. Refrigerate 1-1/2 hours or until thickened (spoon drawn through leaves definite impression). Stir in strawberries. Spoon over cream cheese layer. Refrigerate 3 hours or until firm. Store any leftover dessert in refrigerator. 

Have you had any recipes you had to try several times before getting them just right?

Exciting News

I have some exciting news to share: I am pregnant with my second child and just over halfway through. We are so thrilled to be blessed with this baby and soon have a playmate for our son.

Both my pregnancies have been pretty good with only a little bit of nausea during the first trimester. But with my nausea comes some food aversions and that is why you have noticed not very many food posts for a while. Along with the food aversions, I didn't realize how truly tired I was going to be pregnant and trying to keep up with my almost three year old. I knew I was going to be tired but not this tired. DIY projects have fallen a little off the radar but hopefully for not too much longer.

Right now, I am trying to figure out how to balance everything. I still want to keep blogging so I am working out the details on how I want to make that happen. How to keep blogging, find time to do creative projects, and create new recipes.

I guess I am on a search to find a life/creative balance so stay tuned.

How do you find your balance?

Father's Day Gift Ideas

Today I was out shopping with my son and it got me thinking about what I was going to get my husband for Father's Day.

Here are some ideas I came up with:
    - Assorted Beer Glasses which is always a big hit with a beer drinker.
    - Cologne. Love a guys who smells good.
    - Pjs. I choose pj shorts because my husband hates being hot but these are nice when we travel.
    - Great Sunglasses
    - Cool Sneakers. Converse are a classic that have been around for a long time.

Converse sneaker / Fossil eyewear, 76 CAD / Dior Homme Eau for Men (EDT, 50ml – 100ml), 88 CAD / Sant And Abel Clive's Eye Men's Sleep Shorts, 48 CAD / Luigi Bormioli drinkware, 27 CAD



 What do you like to give for Father's Day?