First Pool Day!

Ahhhh! I CANNOT believe I am posting a picture of myself in a bikini. I remember when I first started this blog I didn't even want to post a picture of myself fully clothed! But I am really proud of the progress that I have made with eating healthier and even though I am certainly not where I want to ultimately be, I am compelled to celebrate how far I have come. If I can do this, you mostly definitely can!

The other reason for the bikini picture is that this weekend was all about the pool and taking in some much needed vitamin D of the natural variety. I am so fortunate to live in a gorgeous home (not mine) that has a spectacular pool. Now I know some of you will not approve of laying in the sun due to skin cancer but there is something to be said about being in the sunlight and fresh air that is good for the soul. I did wear sunscreen but probably didn't apply it as often as I should have.( I know naughty, naughty!)

I love having flowers in my bedroom and these happy little fellows enjoyed the bright sunlight almost as much as I did.

I hope everyone had an amazing weekend! Did anyone else get outside and garden, tan, exercise?

Casual Friday

 Shoes: Aldo, seen HERE as well

 Shirt: Dynamite

White Tank: Unknown

Jeans: Jessica Simpson Kiss Me Jeggings, seen HERE

Necklace: Dynamite seen HERE

Side View

Look down from above

How awesome is it that the weather is finally sunny and warm! If you are reading this from Colorado or Minnesota I am very sorry to say that it is tremendous outside here in Ottawa and most of Ontario. But don't worry, your summer will come just as ours did :-)

With the warmer weather here, we just had our Summer Dress Code email come out (I work in an office). It stated that Gentlemen could not wear Shorts or Sandals and that the women could not wear Spaghetti Straps or Flip Flops (women can wear shorts). Ummmmmm... WHAT?

First I would think that women wearing shorts is at much higher risk if violating the appropriate barrier as we often would wear short Shorts. Men however often wear longer shorts so what is that about?

I do agree with Men not wearing Sandals. Sorry Guys but the majority of you are about 10 years over due for a pedicure.

And no FLIP FLOPS! Now I do wear some form of dress high heel or wedge most days but sometimes a girl needs to give her feet a break and that's where I have a problem with no Flip Flops. 

Come on!  Flip Flops = Summer

Does your work have a Summer Dress Code? If so, do you agree with it?

Current Obsessions

I go on kicks. Clothing brand kicks, food kicks, exercise kicks. I obsess and then as quickly as it came, the obsession is gone and I am on to the next.....

My current obsessions are these oatmeal packs from Sally's cereals. I store at my desk at work and eat them every morning. They come in amazing flavors such as Cinnamon Plum, Chai Spiced and Dark Chocolate, they are organic and have flax which is so good for you! They keep me feeling full for the morning and the flavors satisfy my taste buds completely! For any of you following Weight Watchers, they are 4 points per serving which isn't bad. I found these at Wal-Mart for $1.77 CND for 5 pouches. I actually think this kick will be here to stay, at least for a little while :-)

For when I am having a food craving I have been turning to Icebreakers Sours by Hershey's. For some reason if I am craving sweet or savory, these little powerhouses really kick my craving to the curb.

What do you turn to when you are having a craving?????

Dig It

I am so digging the color green right now, more specifically an emerald green. I came across this dress on ASOS.com and immediately loved it. It is the ASOS Skater Dress With Ballet Wrap And Short Sleeves in green and it is $38.29 CDN. I find v-necks very flattering for us bustier gals and the wrap dress is the perfect figure flattering shape if you are a more boyish body type.

I have SO MANY dresses already that I really shouldn't get this but I likely will :-)

Artichoke Bruschetta

Good Day! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.
It was my God Daughter's 1st Birthday Party this Sunday and today is her actual Birthday! There were about 30 people at her Birthday Party so it was a busy weekend cleaning the house, getting the backyard ready and cooking tons of yummy food. Some may think it is strange to have such an extravagant event for a 1 year old, but I see it as a good reason to get together with the people you care about to eat, drink and be merry! I can't believe that one year has past since she has been born, time really does go by so quickly.

I was asked to make Artichoke Bruschetta as an appetizer as it is ALWAYS a crowd pleaser. So I wanted to share this dish with you to try at home or to bring to your next Pot-Luck. Everyone loves these hot, dreamy Bruschetta bites and they are really easy to prepare so let's get to it!

You will need:

• 1 (6 1/2 ounce) jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped ** If you live in Canada, get the Artichoke Hearts from Costco, they are the BEST**
• 1 medium tomato, seeds removed and diced
• 1/2 cup grated romano cheese or 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion or you can use a couple Shallots for a different flavour
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed ** I use more, I like these garlicky (sp?) **
• 5 tablespoons mayonnaise ** Hellman's is the best **
• 1 French baguette, cut into 1/3 inch thick slices * * Slice these diagonally **

Directions:

1) Preheat the broiler.
2) Place the bread slices on a baking sheet and toast lightly under the broiler.
3) In a medium bowl, mix marinated artichoke hearts, Romano or Parmesan cheese, red onion, crushed garlic, diced tomato and mayonnaise.
4) Top the lightly toasted French baguette slices with equal amounts of the artichoke heart mixture being careful to spread the mixture over the entire surface.
5) The edges of the bread will tend to burn if not covered by the artichoke mixture. * this is important*
6) Arrange slices in a single layer on the baking sheet.
7) Broil in the preheated oven 2 minutes, or until toppings are bubbly and lightly browned.

You can view the recipe from Food.com HERE

Here are the decadent little bundles of heaven..... Also I will post more pictures of the event soon!

Dress I wore to the party, sorry for the poor quality. I bought this in the Turks & Caicos. So glad that the weather is warmer so I can wear it!

Dressy for a Friday

Happy rainy Friday!

Blazer: Le Chateau

Tube Top: American Eagle

Jeans: Seven for all Mankind, seen here

Necklace: Cleo

Rings and Earrings: From Mexico

Nails: Sally Hansen Insta Gel Strips (more to follow!)

 Down from above

Shoes: Aldo seen here

I love getting my nails done, Acrylic, Gel, regular Mani...I love'em all! But what I don't like is the time that it takes to drive to the salon and sit there for an hour or more. It just seems to take so much time and we all don't have enough of that. So when I came across this product from Sally Hansen, I thought I would give it a try. Here's what you do:

1. Push your cuticles down 
2. File your nails 
3. Apply the gel strips & file those to the shape of your nail 
4. Apply the gel coat and place your nail under the LED light to cure
5. Wipe off the access with an alcohol pad that is provided and voila! 

Now the applying and filing of the nails with the strips can be tricky. I found some YouTube videos that were super helpful:

The Sally Hansen video from their website
This one with a review
And this one I really liked

My verdict, I loved the way they turned out, they are shinny and with the help of the videos, weren't as hard to apply as I thought. It was my first time applying these so I am sure I will get better the more I do it.
My criticisms of this product is that on the box it says "2 Easy Steps"..... ummmm no. There are several steps so the box is a little misleading.
Also not ALL of the strips will fit your nails so I would maybe try Sally's gel polish to get a better gel manicure. I already know how to apply nail polish pretty well so it will just be easier overall.
But I would use this product again!

Polka Dot Continued....

Wanted to follow up on this post for the Polka Dot Dress that I purchased at Cleo over Easter Weekend in Kingston, Ontario.

 Fully Polkie!

 Love the detail of the fuchsia lining.

Down from above. Shoes are Nine West.

Eat Here Before You Die!

Hello and Happy Wednesday! This Eat Here Before You Die! post will feature a Sushi Restaurant from Montreal, Quebec.

I LOVE SUSHI....like love,  Love, LOVE it. I consider myself a bit of a Sushi snob when it comes to this Japanese cuisine. Being from Vancouver and eating superb Sushi freshly caught that day is a very hard standard to live up to. Most Sushi restaurants that I go to in Ontario are kinda meh!? Don't get me wrong, there are some great places to get your Sushi fix inland and I have had some really great Sushi all over Ontario. However once you have had the best of the best in Vancouver where the fish is fresh, the Chefs are world renowned and you have access to cutting edge flavor combinations for this creative delicacy, it's like comparing apples to oranges.

On a trip to Montreal several years ago with my old Roommate from University we were hankerin' for some Sushi and the Concierge recommended we go to Shodan, located on Metcalfe Street. From the moment we walked in, we were impressed. The decor was modern and stylish, funky house music was playing but at a volume where you can still talk comfortably. The staff were very friendly and like any good Sushi establishment, the Chef's assemble their dishes for all the restaurant to see.

The Chefs will prepare dishes that are off the menu, kind of like a see-what-you-get dish with your favorites as a starting point, if you wish. The fish is fresh tasting, the dishes are incredibly presented (it's like art) and the service was efficient and friendly. This is a great place to start your night out at before you hit the club scene or you can have a romantic dinner for two as well.

 The Pheonix

 Rose Maki

 Specialty dish. Yes that's watermelon you see there. You really never know what you will be surprised with!

 Beautifully modern, funky decor

 Martinis YUM!

 Me the first time I visited Shodan in 2008.

Me again the last time I was there in 2011. It's time to go back!

There is a wall of celebrities that have eaten there, including Ms. Britney Spears, back before she went off the rails :-)

Even if you don't really like Sushi or haven't tried it before, I really think you will enjoy eating here. Please, if you are in Montreal check this place out!

Neutrals

You have heard about my new obsession with Jessica Simpson jeans and how I love the way they fit. I had picked up a pair of the Jessica Simpson Forever Skinny Jeans in White and today being the gorgeous day that it was, I thought it was time to break them out of hiding! I love the look of white Pants or Capris  There is something so crisp and polished about a fresh whites, before I go spilling food all over them of course!

 Sorry for the lack of clothing brands! The top was purchased long ago in Virginia, cardigan was also bought long ago and I can't remember where. The Bracelet is from Ricki's and the Necklace is from Dynamite (love this, wear it all the time and get tons of compliments on it). 

 Down from above

Shoes: Aldo beige heels

Some Progress

I have mentioned before that I have been doing Weight Watchers since early January and I wanted to share a quick post of my progress with the hopes that it will inspire others to start/continue/contemplate a weight loss program of their choosing. Now first I must say that Weight Watchers has not sponsored this post or given me any compensation to endorse their program. I have participated in WW before a few years back and it worked so I chose to use it again. That's it, plain and simple.

Also I don't want to get into my struggles with weight, body image, self-esteem or anything about my "journey" to my goal weight. It's not that I don't want to share that with you.There are SO many of these stories out there, you've heard it a thousand times on Oprah or the Biggest Loser, Ricky Lake (haha, "Go Ricki!"), any magazine and countless blogs. I think we are saturated with the reasons why people choose to change their eating habits but it all comes down to one thing, the need to change. That's what it was for me and that's all there really is to it. 

So I have been slowly loosing weight and have been keeping it off for 3.5 months and I feel much better overall. Again I say I have slowly lost weight and I think this is part of the success and why I want to keep going. I do indulge now again with my favorite guilty foods and I do still drink alcohol from time to time. But now I plan for those splurges by eating better the rest of the time. Before, every day was a splurge!  I saw a commercial for WW the other day with Jennifer Hudson and she said something along the lines of that she has been successful with the program not because she doesn't indulge in her favorite foods, it's because she does indulge that she is successful (in moderation of course). 

Here is a before and after. I am not sure if you can really tell that I have lost weight but I am down 17 lbs so far. I am tall-ish 5"7, so I can gain and lose a few pounds without others really noticing; but I notice!

Before

This was taken right before Christmas 2012, when I saw this picture all I could think was "what the hell happened!"

After

This was taken Friday April 19th 2013. Now I know I am posing more to the side in this picture compared to the before but I still think it shows the progress I have made.

I should say that this weight loss is entirely diet driven. I have not done regular exercise this entire time. But I will begin to walk/run again as the weather is getting nicer. I am more of an outdoor activity person then a gym person. I took the dogs for a walk on Sunday and it was so fun! I will do that more often now as I have plateaued and I will need to burn more calories then I am taking in to get over that hump.

If you wish to share your thoughts on weight or struggles that you have had please leave a comment or send me a message. Just because I have chosen not to divulge my history with weight (I may at some point) doesn't mean I don't want to hear yours!