Happy Easter, friends! I hope you are having a lovely long weekend. We have been plunged into another lockdown after a scant few weeks of freedom but easing into it with Easter long weekend makes the medicine go down a tiny bit more easily. I have been debating what to do with the lemon slices preserved in syrup that I wrote about here and thought that the aromatic and zingy zest would be wonderful in scones.
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Sunday, 4 April 2021
Lemon Zest Scones
Tuesday, 30 March 2021
Diving into Slow Living with Lemons in Sugar Syrup
Hello Friends! We are all spending more time than ever in our kitchens and homes in general. It took a while for me to fully embrace my home and this new state of being as there was so much fear and uncertainty in the early days. But now I have come to accept it as a blessing in disguise. I am so much more intentional with my actions these days and have a newfound appreciation for food and where it comes from. I have been trying to pick up new skills such as preserving food which I believe to be an integral part of the slow food and slow living movement. I have always been scared of preserving what with having to faff about with a giant pot of boiling water and countless jars to sterilize. As well, this was a skill that I had never been taught or exposed to when I was growing up. But one way to get around this fear is is to do small batches, just one or two jars at a time. I had been gifted a bag of lemons so this was the perfect opportunity to try preserving lemons in sweet syrup.
Thursday, 4 March 2021
February 2021 Monthly Favourites Apple Pen and Lamy Fountain Pen
Hello Friends! Welcome to another Monthly Favourites. Let's jump right in. I had been wanting an Apple Pen for a while so when I saw a sale on Amazon, it didn't take long for me to place it in my shopping basket.
Thursday, 4 February 2021
January 2021 Monthly Favourites The Boy The Mole The Fox and The Horse and Erbario Toscano Reed Diffuser
Welcome Friends! Time for another monthly favourites. It is the start of a new year and yet it seems like it is just a continuation of 2020. Do you feel the same way? Because I spent so much time at home, I really dove deep into my heart and soul. I worked on myself and came to a few fundamental truths about dealing with toxicity in my life. I will deal with that in a separate post because the topic needs a post of its own. I am sure that, like many people around the world, 2020 drove home to us what really matters in life. And if you have toxic people in your life who, after 2020, still cannot find it within themselves to exercise a modicum of kindness and generosity to the people around them, then you are permitted to shield yourself from people like that. 2020 shone a spotlight on the few people who were true friends in my life. Speaking of friends, a good friend of mine sent me this wonderful book after she heard me raving about it.
Sunday, 31 January 2021
The Weekly Roundup The Ordinary Concealer Review
Welcome to another Weekly Roundup. It has been a slow start to the year. We are still in lockdown 3.0 in the Big Smoke. I think I went a wee bit overboard with the cleaning. I added in a common laundry additive that was supposed to boost the cleaning and brightening power of my laundry detergent. Unfortunately, my zealousness resulted in a horrid case of hives that covered me from the neck down to my ankles. I have used a hypoallergenic detergent for decades without any other additives so I am not sure what I was thinking. As we have been sheltering in place for almost a year, I think I have become a tad OCD with housework. If you suffer from allergies, then you can understand that for the last 3 weeks, all I have had on my mind is managing the itching and trying to bring the hives, swelling, and rash under control.
Never mind, enough of my woes. I do have something new to take my mind off the ever present desire to scratch at the hives which is the long awaited release of The Ordinary's concealer. Currently, I am using Jouer's concealer which I talked about here. I do like it but I am not in love with it as it dries down incredibly fast so there is no blend time at all.
At 8 ml and an incredibly affordable $5.80 CAD, one can try it out without worrying about wasting a heap of money if the shade is not right. It is always a bit tricky when trying to choose the right shade online, however, The Ordinary offers an impressive 36 shade range. I chose 1.2N. which is a fair shade with neutral undertones. I think I could have gone a step darker but I think a light shade is fine for covering up dark undereye circles. I don't have a lot of opportunity to wear much makeup these days but having a concealer that makes me looks somewhat healthy and alive on Zoom meetings is a must.
The concealer is described as "high coverage." It does a very good job of covering my dark undereye circles. There is enough slip so that it blends easily. I would say that it sits somewhere in the middle of a matte and a dewy finish. I used Hylamide SubQ Eyes serum before using the concealer. However, the concealer still settled into the dry patches and fine lines so I might need a more intense moisturizer in the future. On the plus side, the concealer is alcohol, oil, silicone, nut, gluten and cruelty free and is vegan.
Thursday, 14 January 2021
Making the Most of 2021 New Stay At Home Exercise Routine
Happy New Year and welcome back! I really needed a break after doing Blogmas. The province that I am in declared a State of Emergency this week (again) and issued a Stay at Home Order starting today. Every time this happens, my emotional state tends to dip down a bit. It's a bit of a rough start to the year but I am determined to make the most of 2021.
Thursday, 24 December 2020
Blogmas Day 24 Christmas Eve Preparations
Welcome to Blogmas Day 24! Only one more sleep to go, yay! I truly can't believe I made it to the last day. Truth be told, there were a few instances when I thought of skipping a day or two. I am so glad that I persevered.
Blogmas Day 23 Last Minute Gifts for Children and Tweens
Welcome to Blogmas Day 23! Every Christmas, I always promise myself that I will be more organized and not get sucked into a shopping frenzy but inevitably, at the last minute, I get a case of nerves and worry that I didn't get the right gift or the perfect gift or that whatever I did get just isn't good enough. If anything, this year has taught us what is really important in life. But still, I was beset by doubts. This is what happens when you are surrounded by extra demanding people. It doesn't help that we are in lockdown. Even doing curbside pickup is fraught with difficulty because although the website may say something is in stock and is available for pickup, when you go to checkout, the pickup time is weeks away because the store has to ship it over from another store or warehouse.