Celebrating National Dog Day!

Today is National Dog Day so we're celebrating the amazing dogs that have been such a huge part of our lives!

Our two Golden Retrievers Genevieve and Murray have certainly been a handful but have brought us so much joy over the past 5 years!

This golden duo is so entertaining there's never a dull moment around here! Thank you Genevieve and Murray for being there through the good and the bad, loving us unconditionally along the way! 

I also don't feel this post is complete without paying tribute to our miniature schnauzer, Maggie whom we had to say goodbye to this past Friday. 

Maggie we love and miss you so much! Thank you for being such a wonderful companion over the past 15 years. I am so glad that I got to share so much of my life with you! xox

Coconut Curry With Tofu & Kale

Sometimes I disappoint myself with the concoctions I create. Other times I'm amazed! Luckily for my starving husband and I, this recipe was the later. In fact we couldn't get enough!

Ingredients:
1 tbsp. of vegetable oil
1 yellow onion diced
1/2 cup of diced extra firm tofu
1 can of kidney beans, drained
1 cup of finely chopped fresh kale
3 cloves of garlic
1 can of coconut milk
3 tbsp. of curry powder
1/2 tsp. of black pepper
2 cups of brown rice
1/4 tsp. of roasted red pepper flakes

Directions:
In a pot cook the brown rice as per package directions. When the rice is about halfway through cooking begin prepping the rest of the meal. Dice the onion, tofu and kale. In a large saucepan heat the oil for a minute or two. When the oil is heated add the onion and garlic. Cook the onion until it begins to soften, usually a minute or two, then add the curry powder, red pepper flakes, tofu and kale. Cook until the kale has weakened, the tofu has browned slightly and the onion has turned an opaque colour. This took about 10 minutes. Now add the can of kidney beans, coconut milk and pepper. Stir well and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Adjust seasonings as necessary. We love flavour so I added more curry powder in at this point. By now the rice should be completed. Add it to the mixture, give it a good stir and cover, letting it simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes or until most of the coconut milk has been absorbed. Serve and enjoy!

Mongolian Grill

The first time we ended up at Mongolian Grill was an accident. We had family visiting and our reservations at another restaurant got mixed up. We were starving and freezing cold (as it was the dead of winter) and trying to figure out another place to eat that would also have vegan options for Hubby and I. Being a Saturday night most places had long lineups or were booked solid with reservations but when we called Mongolian Grill they said they could seat our large party immediately.

What a unique experience! You build your meal in the dining area, top with the sauces and spices of your choosing, then stand around a large circular grill while the cooks prepare it for you! Since you are essentially building your own meal it's easy to veganize. They have tons of great vegan options, some of which include various noodles, lots of veggies, tofu and different sauces and spices for flavour! They also provide a small salad bar.

Your food is cooked with everyone else's on a large grill so we let the cooks know from the start that we were vegan. They immediately scraped and cleaned the grill for us and then sectioned off part of the grill with a separate pair of swords to ensure our food didn't come in to contact with any meat.

Since then Hubby and I return every month or so to enjoy the delicious food! It's the perfect place to eat before heading to a movie or to just wind down after a busy week! The cooks have always been more than accommodating and have never made us feel like we're inconveniencing them with our requests. Our servers have always been very friendly as well! For all you can eat, Mongolian Grill's pricing is more than fair and I loved the relaxed atmosphere - perfect for catching up with family or a date night out! 

You can check out their website here.

There's Always Tomorrow....

I've learnt a few things since leaving my job. One is that I am not a morning person. At all. Even when I wake up early I find I can't get myself moving and often waste those early morning hours instead of taking advantage of the extra time I have.

The other is the struggle of finding time to get things done. Ironic isn't it? I have more time than ever now that I stay at home and yet I can't seem to get my list of chores completed! I'm opening a shop in a few short weeks on my other website but it's been slow moving. I just can't seem to find the time to do it all.

And somehow now the entire summer is almost behind me and I've been left to wonder where the time has gone? Time is a funny thing, that's for sure! Last week I realized I needed to have a plan. I am the queen of list making around here although my husband says I'm always trying to pack way too many things in to my day.

Enter Playbook and Agenda. First I made a list of every household and pet chore I could think of. These could be as simple as watering the house plants or something extremely tedious like scrubbing the baseboards. Next I decided how often I should be completing that particular task. This is where my Playbook came in. I chose different days to perform each chore so that I wasn't loading up all of my chores on the same day (which would make me less likely to do them). One of the great things about digital planners is that they have the ability to set reminders as well as repeat events. I am one of those people that tends to not notice something becoming a mess until it's a full blown disaster so this has been a handy tool for me! Since we have so many pets I'd like to vacuum the carpets twice a week however, me being me, I tend to vacuum and then forget about it until I see little clumps of hair here and there! So I programmed 'vacuum carpets' in to my planner and then set it to repeat every 3 days. I set it to never end and voila! So easy!

Of course I couldn't remember everything I do when I sat down to create this so as something came up that I knew I hadn't logged in my calendar I would do the task, then sit down and add it while also setting my repeat times. You can choose to have your tasks repeat by days, weeks, months and years so it's really easy to customize and I am finding it so helpful! Best of all its helped me stay on top of my housework and block off time to work on my growing business. It's also helped me create a morning routine so I get myself up and moving and starting my day!

For anyone struggling with time management I highly suggest trying out the planner on your phone, tablet or even computer! It's certainly paved the way towards a more productive me!

It's Black Cat Appreciation Day!

Today is Black Cat Appreciation Day! Black cats are often overlooked because of old superstitions which classify them as 'bad luck'. 

Due to this many shelters and rescues have a large amount of gorgeous black kitties that are desperately in need of forever, loving homes! So if you're looking to adopt, please consider a black cat! 

My childhood cat Harrison is one of the most amazing, loving cats around! Does this look like the face of an animal bringing nothing but bad luck your way?

Happiness

Taking a break at the park during one of our walks.

I am in a wonderful mood today! This morning I got on the scale and am officially down 15lbs from June 7th. That was the first day of my new life!

Murray and Me <3

Since becoming self-employed I feel like a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. Stress? Gone. Anger? Gone. Feeling unappreciated? Gone. And along with all of those unhappy emotions, I've lost that need to try and eat those feelings away. I don't crave wine and chips and candy anymore (although once in a while I still need my fix) and have started listening to when my body says it's hungry instead of eating because my mind is telling me to.

They love their morning walks and I enjoy them too!

It also makes it easier not having temptation staring me right in the face. I'm not forced to stare at a vending machine several times a day or walk by a grocery store on my way to and from work. When going grocery shopping, I make my list in advance and stick to it.

Genevieve & Me <3

I find it difficult to do intense workouts because of injuries I sustained a few years ago in a car accident so instead I have taken up walking the dogs around the neighbourhood. I wake up in the morning, feed the dogs, start my coffee and do a 40 minute walk with them. I think it's safe to say all three of us enjoy the fresh air and the exercise!

Toasted Tomato Sandwiches With Hummus & Kale

This sandwich is exactly what the title says - toasted tomato with hummus and kale! We were getting extremely low on groceries in the house the other day but I was determined to make use of the food we had left in the cupboards. I realized I had everything to make a toasted tomato sandwich - my Mom's favourite after a long day of working and coming home to two hungry kids - but I'm not too keen on them. Then I got to thinking - I love hummus and cucumber sandwiches, what about hummus and tomatoes? Even better, I had a bunch of kale in the crisper! And that's how I came up with this delicious sandwich!

Ingredients:

• 2 slices of bread
• 4 slices of tomato
• Hummus
• A leaf of Kale
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

• Toast your bread
• While toast is still warm from the toaster, spread your hummus on both pieces of toast
• Lay your four slices of tomato on one piece of toast with your kale leaf on top
• Sprinkle a pinch of salt and pepper on top of the kale leaf (optional)

Voila! You have a tasty lunch in just minutes!