The Perfect Snack

I just finished reading A Year in Provence by Richard Mayle. It is a glorious read and through him (ex-patriot Brit) we learn the joys of Provencal French cuisine and way of life. It inspired me to write about one of my yummy favorites to eat.

My delicious snack/lunch came to me today at 10:45. I have to grab food while the baby is sleeping so I never quite know when that will be. And since we will be going to Whales Tales this afternoon I wanted to make sure I was fortified for the journey.

My mom has recently lost a bunch of weight in the past month and a bit (20+ lbs! Go mom!) and she did it through regular workouts at Curves and watching what she eats (not really counting calories...but kind of).

She is the one who introduced me to the glories of Wasa bread and with the addtion of low-fat herb & garlic cream cheese, sliced dill pickles, avocado, tomato and a sprinkle of pepper I have created a delicious treat.

The whole glorious gourmet moment makes me think of Adam Sandler's amazing sandwich in the movie Spanglish. The one he doesn't get to enjoy because of his kids, etc. Hmmmm...sounds familiar.

And what could be better than a sweaty bottle of San Pelly? I read in a magazine that Gwyneth's favorite trainer/friend Tracy Anderson always carries a bottle with her as she hates regular water and has a big appetite. This way she gets her 8 cups and curbs her appetite. It just makes me feel fancy!

Speaking of fancy, aren't my R table by Rosanna plates amazing. They have little cupcakes on them and say things like "sweet cake" and "doll cake" and most importantly they don't get brittle in the dishwasher. Hear that IKEA?

Bon Appetite!

Cookies!

My 3.5 year old daughter and husband went to the movies today and left my 6 month old son and I with nothing to do at home.

After watching Phantom Gourmet I needed something sweet and baked so opened the freezer and pulled out the packages of Terry's White Chocolate Orange and white Lindor balls left over from Christmas and got to stepping. (Somewhere along the lines my mom found out that I didn't mind white chocolate and since then I've been the happy recipient of every line of chocolate that comes in white...love ya mom!)

I found an easy chocolate chip cookie recipe and just substituted my chopped up white chunks for the semi-sweet tollhouse. And I added some yummy walnuts I had laying around. (Now I kind of have a hankering for trailmix cookies...especially since the day before I tried to get one in the Tim Horotn's drive-thru and they were out).

Basic Cookie Recipe (add what you like...or have lying around):

3/4 cup sugar

2/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup softened butter

2 large egs, beaten

1 tsp. vanilla

3/4 tsp. salt

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 cups chocolate chips

1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350

Mix first 6 ingredients together in a large bowl (no need for electric mixer)

Stir in remaining (but not your "special ingredients")

Now stir in chocolate/nuts/whatever bit by bit to ensure they really get mixed in well

Bake 7-10 minutes depending how soft you like them (keep your eyes on them or they'll get over-baked fast!)

Let cool

Enjoy!

Check out my latest submission to Island Child magazine (before it's even published!)

So, what did you do all day?

The question I loathe to be asked and loathe even more to answer. How can I describe to the insensitive cad who has asked it, that I have accomplished many miniscule miracles, but none that might impress them.

Being a stay-at-home mom, even for a finite period of time (Mat leave) is a tough job. We have all heard that. Most of us moms know that. But what about everyone else? What about the dear spouses, who ought to know better, but who still come home after their day of work and conversationally ask for a list of today’s activities. Or the ever-hopeful, "What’s for dinner?” Ha!

And then there are the family members, co-workers, friends...who insist you regale them with an extensive list of your goings-ons. Because, what could you possibly be doing all day while the rest of the world actually works? Well, if you must know, the baby ate peas for the first time, I avoided ten possible stains on the carpet, we actually ate lunch around noon for once and (drum roll please), I finally got to have a shower! Alone!

Okay, maybe this doesn’t sound so impressive to the average Joe, but to any mom, it’s going from base camp to the snowy peak of Mount Kilimanjaro in 8 hours. In flip-flops.

Getting anything of note done, amoungst feeding, pureeing, bathrooming, rocking, sanitizing, cuddling, singing, bathing and never-ending diaper changing would be a wonder. Heck, I’m proud if I can run a vacuum cleaner over our foyer or find a second to respond to an email.

And all joking aside, I am truly happy and lucky to be able to stay at home with my kids, for any amount of time, because I learn more from them than any class or any job could teach me. And it is probably just frustration and lack-of-sleep that makes me hyper-sensitive to the ignorance of others. There’s probably a bit of guilt in there too. Why don’t I get more done?

The most dangerous thing I can do is compare myself to others and their impeccable homes and well-mannered children. Their babies who sleep on a schedule and toddlers who love spinach. But, I am intelligent (really, I am!) and I do know that comparisons aren’t fair because everyone is different and appearances can be deceiving.

To heck with anyone who looks at my busy day and finds it lacking! (Including myself).

And the next time someone asks me what it is I do all day, I’ll simply drop my kids by their place for a weekend, and then they’ll really know.

Whiskers On Kittens

I'm on Mat leave which means I am at home...a lot. It takes me a long time to relax in the evenings as that is when I am go-go-go, trying to make up for the time when I am single-handedly putting out a 3-year-old and 3-month-old's fires. So once my husband comes home, I take times to get things done and I also take time for myself. This may mean painting my nails, having a bath, returning my emails...but, more often than not, it means going on Facebook and checking out the newest updates to my favorite sites. Here are a few of my faves: 1) The Selby: http://www.theselby.com/ (Awesome photography of famous/cool peoeples places. Gives me something to aspire to). 2)The Sartorialist: http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com/ (Fabulous photos of street style from the most stylish cities around the world). 3) Style.com: http://www.style.com/ (My favorite thing about this site is the pics of style icons and celebs at ridiculous NY/LA parties and the Look of the Day that enables you to make your style vote count). 4) Lainey Gossip: http://www.laineygodssip.com/ (Celeb gossip with a Canadian twist). 5) Funny or Die: http://www.funnyordie.com/ (Hilarious sketches by our favorite comedians and some surprising celebrities). 6) And of course Goop: http://goop.com/ of which my little blog is inspired from. (Gwenyth Paltrow tells us how to live. If I had money, I'd like to think I'd be half as stylish & cool as she is). Enjoy my pretties and have a wonderful new year.

Roxanne

Here's my submission for the latest issue of Island Child. Enjoy Yummy Mummys!

Bringing Sexy Back A couple months ago, when I was still a working mom, it seemed everywhere I turned I was hearing people talk about a “work-life balance.” Now that I’m a stay-at-home mom on my mat leave, I am more concerned with a mom-hot lady balance. I love being at home with the kids, I really do. I mean, I’m only 3 months into this year long mat stint but the bloom is still fully on the rose. The kids and I have a blast at play groups, on walks to the park, or cranking some tunes at home and staying in our jammies all day. But, there are some days, when I lurk out of bed, stare at my closet and think, “What’s the point?” What point is there to carefully selecting my most adorable outfit if it’s only going to get puked on? What point is there to plastering on my make-up if there is no one around to appreciate it? The point: self-preservation. When I was on my first Mat leave, over 3 years ago, I felt alone and isolated. I baked cookies and ate them all miserably in front of the TV. I rarely felt like I had time to shower and I never dressed nicely. As a result, I put on weight, had a bad attitude and barely left the house. Looking back, I probably had some symptoms of post-partum, but I really feel doing some things a bit differently could have made the world of difference. So this time around, I had a game plan. This time I am taking time for myself, making sure to shower and dress everyday (even if that means showering at night and laying my clothes out for the next day). I almost always put on my face now, and although I may not always have time for the best hair-do I have invested in some excellent hair bobbles and cute hats so I can at least fake it. (And if there’s some extra cash at the end of the month, mama’s getting her hair done!) I’ve donated or stored any clothes that “used to fit” and have picked up some flattering, comfy, cute clothes that make me feel good about getting up in the morning. Seems like such silly, easy things but they have given me the confidence to want to go out and do things outside the house. And heck, I look great doing it and isn’t that the point?

All the Pretty Things

I absolutely love online shopping. It fills me with unbridled excitement to scan through pages and pages of gorgeous clothing, shoes and accessories. I love the thrill I get out of clicking "Add to my Shopping Bag" and when the box comes in the mail? Well sometimes that's just better than...well, you know. But I am not on Net-a-Porter or Gilt Groupe. Nope, I need a deal. I want a deal. I love a deal. I LIVE for a deal. So my three new favorite sites are as follows: Charlotte Russe (http://www.charlotterusse.com/) This site is the cheapest of the cheap. LOVE! We also don't have the store here in Canada so that adds an extra wow factor. I got 4 pairs of RAD boots, a studed clutch, a belt, a vest and some other general bric-a-brac all for $180 including S&H. OMG! The boots abobe are one of the pairs of boots I got. Major! Not real leather but that's ok because I won't feel bad about tossing them at the end of the season. Which I totally will. Forever 21 (http://www.canada.forever21.com/) Another store that is nowhere near where I live. I got some adorable stuff on sale from summer for my impending trip to Hawaii in January. A maxi dress, a couple of shirts & tanks, a great tunic and a belted brown dress shirt that has become part of my fashionable/functional mom uniform. All the stuff was good quality and totally worth the small amount I paid for it. I love that the site lets you see things in zoom and in the various different colours that it's available in and I also adore the fact that S&H is free. FREE! They have various "lines" through them as well from the teeny-bopper look to the more mature Contemporary 21 line. Covering all facets of my life and personality. Other sites I have found in my online voyages but have not YET ordered from: 1) Chadwicks (http://www.chadwicks.com/). Looks a little mommsy but there are some deals to be found. 2) JC Penny (http://www.jcpenny.com/) which has a link at hte top to some awesome deals through Sephora 3) Landsend (http://www.landsend.com/). I have numerous friends who swear by their bathing suits (AND of course monogrammed beach bags!) 4) Kensie and KensieGirl (http://www.kensie.com/). Really cute stuff but a tad pricey. 5) And of course the old stand-bys: Gap/Banana Republic/Old Navy/Piperlime which I can all be accessed from same site and I actually have ordered from. (http://www.gap.com/)

Sirens Call

Wow! Long time, no write. I guess I can blame that on on having a baby, changing careers, moving? But it's been over a year or something and to tell you the truth, I forgot how to sign in to my Blog and things like that just frustrate me into immobility. Sheesh...

But I'm back. Mostly because I have been so inspired by other blogs I've been on lately (a list of which are coming soon) and also because I now am on Maternity Leave which means I a) am not on a computer all day at work and enjoy my leisure time on it much more and b) I actually have time to go on the computer.

My second child, a son, Jack Dallas was born October 2, 2010 and he's such a prince. Ava, Jack, and I have a great time doing absolutely nothing on rainy BC November days together. We are all snuggle buddies and reslish our time inside.

That being said, I need some connection to the outside world and the realms in that world that I love: fashion, art, design.... And so, like a sirens call, I am back to navel gazing.

Fabulousness to follow...

Roxanne