My name is Tessa. I'm married and a mom of two grown children. I‘ve always been a working mom. This isn’t necessarily a mommy blog, although I plan to write about food, my life in general, the boring mundane parts, and the wonderful, precious moments and memories that the average every day is made of. I’ll share my DIY moments as a novice beginner
Watermelon and Feta Salad with Oregano and Balsamic Vinaigrette
It is the pinnacle of summer and if you live in the Toronto area, the heat is REAL. So, it comes as no surprise that it feels great to sit down and eat a nice refreshing Watermelon Salad.
If you’ve never heard of Danielle LaPorte, you are missing out on some serious soulful empowerment tips, inspiration delivered right to your inbox, and daily encouragement should you so desire. She also engages readers and fellow bloggers in Burning Questions, which is what this is: How do you say what you do? As in, when someone asks you, what do you do for a living, how do you respond?
Politicians are an interesting breed. Pick a country, and they’re likely to fit a general mold, at least in one sense — they often move from position to position, laterally or climbing the ladder, making connections and using the relationships they build in order to strengthen ties and ensure a bigger paycheck. Sounds pretty smart, at least on the surface; but when it comes to how this plays out in the food industry it’s downright unappetizing.
One of my absolute favorite fruits is Pomegranate. I love delicately removing all the plump seeds, and then enjoying their crunchy juicy goodness on a hot summer day! Growing tired of the everyday salad, I thought to myself “These little guys would add such great flavor and texture to a salad!” And so, the Pomegranate Kiwi Salad was born. I just make up a big bowl of this nutritious salad and eat it throughout the week. It’s perfect for summer, just for yourself, or as an accent to that barbecue or garden party you’ve been meaning to host!
A recent review of an article from one of my favorite blogs (arguably my favorite) made me realize something I’d never quite put my finger on before: A lot of my decisions in life — heck, a lot of my thoughts — come from a place of fear. Are based on the premise of fear. Are constructed and formulated, to a large extent, on any number of fears:
It’s Saturday, today we have one of my son’s little buddy’s birthday parties, Sunday is Easter and a big family dinner also means leftovers. (Not to mention I’m pregnant, emotional, hormonal, and exhausted.)
I can’t even start writing this post without sighing in shame and discouragement.
Ah, how times have changed.
Are you a museum-goer? Do you appreciate the finer things in life, like old oil paintings, black and white photography, American history? I’ve never been too big of an art buff, but one thing is clear and often cited when looking back over the life works of portrait artists from around the globe:
Plants love hypertufa because the porous material provides great drainage. Making a hypertufa planter has been on my list of want-to-dos for a while now, maybe years. But I still haven’t tried it. I have no good excuse because it’s reportedly pretty easy and really fun. The only kicker is the setting time — it takes several days — so hypertufa isn’t as much about instant gratification as it may seem. What it is about? It’s about creating a planter or garden ornament that looks like stone but is light as air, and as a bonus, is porous enough to provide great drainage for plants. Genius.
I have to be honest, I did not deliberate much (this morning) when deciding that this year would be my Year of Peace. As you may remember from previous posts, each year I pick a theme on my birthday for the following 12 months. In the past its been such things as the Year of Me, when I focused on taking care of my body, the Year of Opposites when I tried to come out of my shell more and think outside of the box, the Year of Health when I was pregnant and trying to eat well for the baby. The Year of Peace seemed rather obvious, not just in light of this site but generally speaking in terms of my real need for calm and peace in the home, with my child, in heated or hectic moments and trying to stay relaxed, focused, and centered concerning all elements of my life — spirituality, nutrition, friendships, finance, whatever it may be.