In honour of the 4th season of Arrested Development, I made some banana treats to enjoy while watching the new episodes! All it took was slicing a couple bananas, dipping them in melted semi-sweet dark chocolate, half were topped with toasted coconut and the others were left plain. They are such a tasty treat, I will definitely keep a stock pile in the freezer for hot summer days.
After coming home to a beautiful but dry Canmore, I needed something to rejuvenate my skin. I find it’s difficult to argue in favor of spending a lot of money on body scrubs, they are on the skin for a few seconds and wash off immediately. After exfoliating, you apply other products, rendering an expensive scrub relatively pointless (brand name sand). I am a big DIY fan of beauty products and when I saw this particular scrub I immediately ran to the kitchen to gather the necessities. I have heard many great things about using coffee as a beauty treatment including; skin refreshing antioxidants and firming properties resulting in the appearance of less cellulite (90% of women have cellulite) . Be prepared to get a little gritty and grimy, but trust me it leaves your skin feeling silky smooth and refreshed.
Ingredients:
-3/4 cup of ground coffee
-2 tablespoons of Cardamon
-1/4 cup of brown sugar
-Shea Butter
Method:
Mix the dry ingredients all together in a mixing bowl, add the Shea butter until you get a dough like texture.I found this organic shea butter from amazon
In my early years I would spend every summer at my cottage on lake superior. Our place is about four miles off the trans canada and where the road meets the highway there is a delicious ice cream store to help combat northern Ontario’s surprisingly hot summers. With a little convincing my mother would drop my friends and I off to enjoy a frozen desert followed by a walk/run back to the cottage. On one of these excursions we passed some neighbors having a garage sale. My mother is always up for treasure hunting so we pulled over to take a gander. The sale had your usual plastic figurines, exercise equipment and tacky placeholders but we were immediately drawn by two pre second world war cruiser bikes. Five dollars each and they were ours! Excited we set off on our newfound toys while dreaming about how many more ice creams we could devour with our prehistoric wheels! No sooner had we reached our top speed, the pedals locked and both bikes coasted to a standstill. We now were stranded with two heavy pieces of metal to drag for the remaining three and a half miles home. Struggling to reach the next milestone and Ill admit lacking the grit of a war hero we were forced to ditch them off the side of the road. Upon arriving empty handed my mother had no sympathy, making us return to retrieve the bikes from their premature grave.
The following summer I was bored and looking for a summer project. Remembering the old cruiser bikes, I set out on a mission to restore and beautify one. My Father and I set off for town to pick out some paint, a pretty basket and some WD40 to free the seized drive chain. By the time I was finished with the bike it was a matt shade of bubble gum pink and I was in love. I rode the bike all summer long commuting between the neighbors house, ice cream store and the beach. I had put the bike to such great use and couldn’t bare the idea of going a day without it. Luckily my uncle, a truck driver, offered to transport my pink bike from ontario all the way to Canmore, Alberta. Since its arrival it has provided me with countless summer memories and experiences all the while reminding me of my childhood on lake superior.
I took the pink bike out for a spin today. I am happy to say it is still going strong, although it may be time for a fresh coat of paint.
Some friends were heading down to Canmore for the weekend so I literally made a last minute decision and caught a ride with them. I never pack much when I visit Michaela because I know I’ll be living in her clothes the entire time anyways! She put together this adorable outfit and I loved wearing it! This Jean vest is the new favourite and I can’t wait to get one for myself. I’ve already worn it a couple times this weekend!
On occasion for a weekend treat I love to go for a classic Chocolate croissant and a latte from our delicious french bakery in town. This morning we picked up some plain croissants and decided to add our own combination of savoury bacon, basil and brie. Croissants can win the heart of anyone and with this tasty combination, it could be easily welcomed as a sunday ritual.
{Croissants should be flakey, light and have that special crackle sound when you bite into them}
{Slice the croissants in half, melt the brie in the oven and add your bacon and basil to finish}
{enjoy!}
On our way home from Hawaii, we broke up the trip with a 24 hour stopover in Seattle. My brother and I have always wanted to visit this beautiful costal city so it was something to anticipate after having to leave paradise! We arrived at night, headed to our hotel after grabbing a late night dinner at iHop. The next morning we went down to Pike place and thoroughly enjoyed exploring the bustling market. We sipped morning lattes at the very first Starbucks; something that has been on my bucket list for a while now… I was pretty stoked! We also visited the aquarium, contributed to the famous Gum Wall, rode the Ferris Wheel and enjoyed a lunch of fish and chips at Lowell’s in the Market. Seattle is such a wonderful city full of art, history, and the steady, energetic hum of everyday life. You get the erie feeling that extremely creative people live here. The sea is only a few steps from the market, street musicians and entertainers occupy every corner and you hardly see a person without their precious cup of coffee. I think this is my kind of place!
One of the main reasons I love skirts and dresses so much is the feeling of freedom you get from wearing them. I bought these Free People shorts at the beginning of my Maui trip and have been living in them for the past month! They are a nice alternative to a skirt, although they still have the same free feeling. I hope that everyone has a wonderful Mothers day, I love you mama.
The ocean has shown me some serious love this holiday. Most days are spent living in our swimsuits, wearing no makeup and o-naturel hair. We sipped our coffees a little slower in the mornings and we never kept track of time on the water. At the end of the day we had sand in our swimsuits, sticky-salty faces and tanned sunburnt legs. The living here is easy and I dont want to leave.
On my quest for health and wellness I have tried very hard to drink commercial coconut water. Despite knowing all the health benefits I just could not choke it down. It wasn’t until I saw a Maui surf babe drinking from a real coconut that I attempted to try it again. I stopped at a roadside stand with a truck filled with coconuts and a man with a machete cutting them fresh. I was surprised how much I enjoyed the refreshing water and after a full day spent in the sun and in the salty ocean I felt as if I was instantly recovered! My skin is going to love me now:) xx
Classes are now over and the last stretch of finals have begun! I can hardly wait to be in Hawaii but in the meantime, I’m putting in some good hours studying while treating myself to oat fudge bars and lattes from Starbucks. The libraries and study areas of the university are packed with students and the coffee shops are enjoying good business I’m sure!
ashressaday
