Girl Night- Purses/Starbucks/Flowers

Once upon a time, there was a girl (me) who wished for a new spring/fall coat, but thought "I'm going to be losing so much more weight, so I will just wear the one I have until it becomes as big as a circus tent on me- poor red quilted coat". Well I happened to go to my favourite store and saw this awesome Teal coat- my current size with a 'cincher' belt inside so that you can make it smaller (great for my weight loss journey). And it was on sale like 75% off, so I bought it! Here I am wearing it proudly!

The fun part of this story is that because of the 'Law of Attraction', I found this coat. True story. A friend who had a great big Teal purse that I really admired said she wears it with her Fuchsia coat and then I showed her my big Fuchsia purse and she said I needed to get a Teal coat. 2 days later- I found this coat... by chance... but not really... I attracted it to me, cool right?

Ok, so here is the girl night part. My delightful friend Janice and I met up for coffee at her local Starbucks and even got to sit on the patio. Well how amazing was it that she had a gorgeous blue purse - made of the same patent leather-looking material as my fuchsia purse????  Her drink- Soy Chai Tea Latte with a shot vanilla.

Here's me and my purse and my drink, you know- No fat Cafe Misto- thank you very much!

Then we went - as we usually do- to the only Whole Foods in Oakville, in the same plaza... how convenient. She needed bread, and as I'm sure you've done yourself, came out with many other things than bread. We found these products by Sha Sha Co. - I just love their ginger hearts cookies.

They are perfect for Janice's daughter who is a vegan. They are a buckwheat snack and are gluten and wheat free too.

See all the very organic ingredients. It's quite a raw and natural snack.

Packed with nutrients too! And it tastes moist and crunchy at the same time!

But perhaps, the best part was seeing these gorgeous paintings in their 'Eating' area- for sale. OMG, I  just love this one. It's so gorgeous... Charles- are you hearing this???

And this gorgeous Fuchsia Gerbera, yum!

And finally, a firery Orange Cala Lily.

Feeding my Face

Ok, no, it's not what you think. It's not about food, it's about nutrition for my face. You see, my sweet parents gave me a 'Facial' gift certificate for Christmas and I have been dying to use it. Since I have started taking care of my body on the inside, I also started taking care of my body on the outside. I have started wearing makeup and trying to show the world that 'hey, look at me, I am taking care of myself and my pretty, made-up face proves it'. Kind of funny but true. Well, I started noticing that my skin was very dry and I was so excited to get this pampering treatment.

This is the before shot.... very nice salon, one my mom frequents a lot.

Picture me lying here for an hour being cleansed, peeled, masked, picked, rubbed, creamed... you know, a facial! It was wonderfully relaxing, and I found out I have combination skin, with very sensitive cheeks, oh my! 

That's me after my treatment, bare, happy, exfoliated and shinny.

So after my treatment, I was going to Whole Foods and thought I would start taking care of my skin in a 'Whole, Clean' way, no more Pond's cream. Let me then introduce you to the Green Beaver! I had to ask the help of a beauty expert at the store and this is what she recommended for my 'sensitive' skin. Don't you just love the name? It's, of course, Canadian made of 100% natural materials here in Ontario. So I bought the purifying grapefruit cleanser an the aloe and green tea moisturizer. So I like the cleanser's smell, but the green tea mositurizer needs some getting used to, and it's 'thin', I'm used to a thicker feeling cream on my face, but my face is looking nice and shinny, in a good way!

I also saw this lip stuff, don't you love the name 'Kiss my Face'. So I picked up this Amethyst colour and I was excited to read that it had pepperment oil (the stuff that makes your lips tingle) and shea butter and coconut oil, all things that are good for your lips.

Came home and opened up my packages and smelled and tested them.

Oh joy!!! I put my new Kiss my Face lip stuff on and it was 'tingly' and not too dark, but just a hint of Amethyst.

It was a Great Super Bowl Weekend!

Although I am 'soooo' not into watching sports on TV, my husband loves it. It's like me and the Food Network, it's the first thing he turns on!  So this past weekend, as you may know, was the Superbowl. I was in the neighbourhood of a Whole Foods and I knew I wanted to get a little treat this weekend for my family.  Well, check out what I stumbled upon...

FOOTBALL CUPCAKES!!!!

First of all, the price was incredible. These cupcakes were delicious, and the ingredients were pretty much 'clean'- not 100%, but close. And I couldn't resist the cuteness of the footballs, it was a treat.

I bought, a chocolate, a vanilla and another chocolate with chocolate icing for me. They fought for the vanilla cupcake...who fights for vanilla???? Oh yeah, my friend Sam would!  But anyways, mine was delicious, I think it was made in heaven, it was sooooooooo decadent. The chocolate was so deep and dark it was wowarrific! Okay, so when I went to log it onto myfitnesspal.com, I found out it was 420 calories, but I had a very light lunch and nice dinner, so it all worked itself into my daily calorie limit. But let me tell you, the next morning I woke up starving. It was 420 very empty calories, you know, sugar and white flour and butter and sour cream.

I did some food styling here. Brent had the Patriots and Giants hats and so it was an ode to food and football. He wanted the Patriots to win, and is very supersticious about wearing the right shirts and not getting it dirty.... so don't tell him, but I think the Patriots lost because I got icing on his Patriots hat and just wipped it off.



Whole Foods Supporting the Oakville Humane Society

My dear friend Janice, who is a volunteer with the Oakville Humane Society, asked me to let you all know that on Wednesday, November 30, the Oakville Whole Foods will donate 5% of all purchases to the Oakville Humane Society.

So you know I am a lover of pets- in fact that's where Vanilla, my white cat, was adopted from. And you know I am lover of  Whole Foods... so what a good cause!  Shop away next week and help the animals!

Whole Foods- what an inspiration!

During my last visit to Whole Foods I was struck by not only the awesomeness of their Whole Foods and 'Clean' Foods (to coin my friend Jenny's term). But just how amazingly colourful and brilliant they make everything look- and you might know, I am all about loving shinny, colourful things. It almost makes the expensive prices worth it!

The start of the experience....

This is where you come in... all pre-cut ready to eat fruits and homemade salsas and guacamole. We went on a Saturday, so we got the opportunity to sample delicious things... like the homemade salsa.

Look how they display their carrots. It's like a Tower of Beta-Carotene!!!

The prepared Whole Foods section is incredible, look at the gorgeous, healthy, good for you salad....

Doesn't this dish look delicious, and the list of ingredients... I just might make it myself one day... (or go back and buy it when I feel like a 'treat').

Then I got carried away in the flower section. I love flowers, Daisy Gerbers are my favourites. But with cats, I can't have them in my house anymore... they just terrorize them. Look at these gorgeous blooms.

So to all my friends and followers I give you each a bouquet of these virtual flowers!

Trip to Whole Foods – on a Quest for Healthy Lunch Meat

In my quest for healthy, ‘clean’ eating for me and my family, I am trying to avoid chemicals and preservatives in foods. One item that we buy for Melanie’s lunch (when we don’t have ‘leftovers’ for her Thermos) is lunch meat. I had heard before about not buying anything pink – like ham- because it contains nitrates which are bad for you. But check this link out that I stumbled upon commenting on the exact same subject.  http://ca.shine.yahoo.com/choose-healthier-lunch-meat-six-key-ingredients-avoid-040000758.html

Here’s a highlight of what I found most interesting and shocking!

 Q: What ingredients do you think we should be avoiding?

A: Make sure your food always contains ingredients that you know, and can pronounce! Here is a list of ingredients you should avoid:
Sodium nitrate/sodium nitrite: Increased risk of cancers, diabetes and heart disease
BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole): Possible carcinogen
BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene): Possible carcinogen
Smoked/naturally smoked/smoke flavour: Could contain unlisted toxic chemicals.
Corn syrup: Glucose-heavy, and too much sugar can lead to diabetes, heart disease and other health issues
Aspartame: Possible health risks including delayed mental development and seizures

Also, be conscious of excess sodium. For example, Maple Leaf Natural Selections turkey has 570 mg sodium per serving, which is nearly half of our daily recommended intake (1000 to 1500 mg)! And keep in mind that food manufacturers are not required to list all the ingredients if they fall under spices and seasonings -- something to keep in mind when you're eyeballing the Cajun chicken or the honey-smoked ham. If you have common food allergies, check for wheat, soy, or milk products, which are sometimes added to deli meats. If you have digestive problems, it's best to avoid carrageenan, which is a common ingredient.

It’s just proof that people in Marketing get paid to ‘fool’ us really, if you don’t read the fine print and check the ingredients out you would think the Maple Leaf Natural Selections Turkey would be a healthy alternative- but look at the salt!!!!

So when I visited Whole Foods, I went to their ‘Deli Counter’, they seriously had only a few pieces of meat to choose from... and just like the article quoted above mentioned:

Look for roast beef or chicken at the deli counter, where you can actually see that they are cutting the meat from the animal. Avoid the pre-packed stuff if you aren't certain where it comes from, and if you don't see the ingredients listed at the deli counter, make sure to ask the staff.

So look what I found at Whole Foods... Whole Roasted Turkey, Beef and Ham.

And look at the ingredients...

I feel like I have to say 'Ta Da'!

How about, 'Feel good about what you put in your body!'. I should be Whole Foods next Marketing Genius!  So as the article mentioned, I ask the staff how long this 100 grams of turkey will last and she said '3 days Ma'am'. Alrighty then.... Melanie you are having a couple of turkey sandwiches in the next few days my girl!