Sunflower Blogger Award

I was pleasantly surprised to see that I was nominated for the Sunflower Blogger Award by Grace from Every day in Grace today! Grace has a wonderful blog that is filled with great reads, movies, fashion, quotes, inspirations and yummy treats too.

It really is an honor to be nominated for such an award. It must mean I am doing something right in this crazy blog world (wink).

Here are my questions from Grace!
11 Questions for my nominees:

1. What are your plans for summer vacation this year (Or what did you already do?)?

Camping, beach, visits from family and Cape Breton in the Fall. 

2. What are your most used apps?

Ha, believe it or not I am a dinosaur when it comes to technology. I still only own a pay -as- you- go, flip phone.  

3. What is your favorite tourist attraction in your country?

Niagara Falls is pretty cool, although the rocky mountains of Alberta will always have a place in my heart.

4. How many siblings do you have (Tell me their names and age if you do- I'm a very curious person!)? 

6 altogether (5 step siblings)

5. What is your guilty pleasure (Come on, I know we all have one!)

Watching Bachelorette/Batchelor and chips and dip!

6. What are your top three movie recommendations?

Almost Famous, True Romance and August Rush!

7. What do you do when you are stressed out?

CLEAN! (not kidding in the least)

8. What is your proudest moment (Don't be shy!)?

When my babies were born. (amazing moments)

9. Which do you prefer- cookies or cupcakes?

Chocolate chip cookies for sure, yum! (just made some last night)

10. What is your go-to breakfast?

Smoothie, although I do like the occasional greasy bacon and eggs, hash-brown special.

11. Advice for new bloggers?

Be yourself!  Write about things that you like and that interest you.  Make your blog an extension of your personality.  

I am now suppose to nominate 11 others but unfortunately I am a bit stretched for time this evening.  :(  Sorry
Another big huge thanks again to Grace for the nomination.  Be sure to check out her sweet little blog too.

xoAngela

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DIY Pedicures fit for a Queen!

My daughters and I picked up some really cute stickers to use on our toes. I believe I paid $1.97 at Walmart for these two sheets of stickers with jewels. Not a bad price at all if you ask me. I do love a good professional pedicure but when trying to save money improvisation and creativity come in real handy.

Here is what my youngest daughter and I came up with:

You simply paint your nails like you normally would.  Then you gently peel off the sticker and place it on the nail where you want it. (this is the tricky part) Once the sticker is where you want it you apply a clear coat of nail polish to seal the deal!

These were so much fun to do! Who needs a professional anyways (wink)?

xoAngela

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Brownie Strawberry Trifle

When I was young I can remember going strawberry picking with my Mom and Dad.  My Dad would joke and say, they should have weighed me before going in as I would eat more than I picked. To carry on the memory of strawberry picking, I take my daughters picking every year. We don't pick a lot, just enough to eat and make a few recipes.

My in-laws were coming up this weekend to visit so I knew I wanted to make something special for dessert. I had a bunch of strawberries to use up so I started looking on the internet for a new strawberry recipe and this is what I found, Brownie Strawberry Trifle.

I have to tell you this was super easy to make and incredibly delish to eat. We all agreed that this recipe would be a keeper.

Next time you have a bunch of strawberry's and need of quick dessert, this could be your winner.

I found this recipe on Food.com.  Here it is:

Ingredients

• 1 (20 ounce) boxes brownie mix ( I use Betty Crocker)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 quart strawberry, thinly sliced, save one whole for decoration
• 2 (3 1/4 ounce) packages French vanilla instant pudding
• 8 ounces Cool Whip
• hershey's shell chocolate syrup, as needed

Directions

1. To make brownies:.
2. Heat oven to 350°F.
3. Grease bottom of a 13x9 inch pan.
4. Stir brownie mix, water, oil and eggs in medium bowl until well blended.
5. Spread in pan.
6. Bake for 28 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted 2 inches from side of pan comes out almost clean; let cool.
7. While brownies are cooling slice the berries and set aside.
8. Mix pudding with 2 cups of milk and whisk until thickened.
9. Fold in Cool Whip.
10. To layer, put brownie for first layer, add strawberries for second layer, drizzle with chocolate shell and the pudding mixture layer.
11. Repeat layers ending with the pudding mixture.
12. Decorate with the whole strawberry, cool whip and drizzle with the chocolate shell.
13. Chill until serving about 3 hours at least.

xoAngela

Stay Home Days

My daughters and I have got into the habit of calling weekends "stay home days". When the  girls were younger they would have trouble with the names and days of the week so,"stay home days" just stuck.

The girls and I have enjoyed a week long stretch of "stay home days" as I am taking some vacation time. We have been having fun going to the beach and enjoying  lots of ice cream. I can't believe the week is almost over though. Time sure flies when your having fun!

I thoroughly enjoyed staying super casual this week with minimal makeup and with what my daughter called this morning "messy hair". Little does she know I am actually attempting the beach kissed hair look, ha ha.

I have been achieving this "messy" look by washing my hair at night and letting it air dry a bit. Once it is just a bit damp I put it into a french braid and sleep on it all night. In the morning, I take out the braid and run my fingers through it. I then use a comb to tease my roots a bit to add a  little volume at the base. I then distribute a few sprays of Lush Sea Spray throughout my hair.  I kind of scrunch it in with my hands and this is what I get, fuss-free easy hair that only gets better as the day goes on (wink).

Wishing you all many lovely "stay home days"!

xoAngela

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Say Hello to My New Friends

Part of my winnings from the tarte summer contest was a pair of Tieks. I had not heard of these prior to this contest. For those of you like me, Tieks are a high-end "reinvented" ballet flat that can collapse to be the size of a wallet to fit in your purse.  Many of the styles are made from the finest Italian leather and vegan fabrics. Tieks are a favorite of Oprah's as well as many other celebrities.

So... as you imagine these are not cheapy cheapy. Tieks range anywhere from $175 to $300+ for a pair.  This is definitely way out of my price range, so as you imagine, I was thrilled to be receiving a pair.

Here is how they came packaged! Absolutely gorgeous!

Pretty fancy eh? 

So I was really excited and opened them up immediately only to find that they are too small.  I now have to send them back and try a larger size.  

Here they are with my toes squished and all, ha ha!

My mission to see what $175.00 shoes feels like continues. Please stay tuned........

xoAngela

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Weekend Camping Getaway

My family and I unplugged from our busy lives and ventured out into the wilderness to enjoy a few days of camping and spending time at the beach. Camping is something we all look forward to each and every summer. There is just something so peaceful and relaxing about forcing yourself to rough it!

So we arrived after work on Friday evening and by the time we got everything set up it was beginning to get dark which meant campfire time. The kids and I dug out the marshmallows and got the sticks ready as my talented husband built us a fire. We also brought some graham crackers and chocolate which made for some yummy smores. It doesn't get much better than this! I could stare at the fire for hours and this trip my daughter says to me, I just like looking at the fire mommy. Yay, I guess I must be doing something right for a change ha, ha.

We all slept great and woke up to a bright sun shiny day!  We ate our pancakes, fruit and bacon and packed up our things and headed to the beach. We like to hit the beach nice and early so we avoid over crowding and also the suns high intensity in the afternoon.

My youngest was so fascinated with the sea gulls.  She dropped a chip (chips are a must for our beach days) and realized that the birds would eat them. Yes,we were the annoying people on the beach feeding the birds, but she had a ball.

There is nothing more relaxing than being on the beach and watching the boats go by (unless of course you are on the boat, wink).

It's great how fast and easy the kids all make friends. They found some great "beach" friends that they would play with on the beach and had camp friends at the campground. Two little social butterflies they were.

Here is a picture of me and my husband. We were totally photo bombed by my hilarious daughter. She cracks me up! Love it!

I actually don't have many more pics from our weekend. I guess we were having to much fun to remember to even take photos. We made some great memories though, memories we can reminiscence about all Winter long (yuck, can't believe I just said the word). We hope to embrace the wilderness a few more times before the summer is over.

Do you and your family enjoy camping?

xoAngela

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A Hard (but short) Goodbye

My oldest daughter has become really good friends with a neighbor of ours. She jumps at any and all opportunities to play with her. When they are not playing she is busy making her pictures and telling me stories about what the two of them did and what they plan on doing next. My daughter has become slightly obsessed and totally engrossed with that fact that she has a BFF.

(Source)

Now that it is summer, the two of them have been playing outside lots. They spend most days running back and forth from house to house. It's pretty sweet!

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The other day, my daughters friend told us that she was going away for a few days. Although she was excited, she was still sad to leave my daughter. Before coming back into the house for the night the two of them exchanged sobs and hugs and said they would miss each other. I then brought my daughter into the house to comfort her and to help talk her though these emotions. She started to feel better when I suggested we make her a "surprise" craft while she was away.

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I can remember when I was young how difficult it was to say goodbye to someone you cared a lot about, even if it was only for a few days.  Even now I often have a hard time saying goodbye to friends and family whom I won't see for a while. Like mother, like daughter I guess.

It is so rewarding  (and maybe a little selfishly sad) )to see my little "big" girl spreading her wings and forming relationships and becoming the sensitive, loving, caring and kind girl I hope and pray for.

I will never ever forget my first real BFF. It was my first day of kindergarten and the bus driver encouraged me to sit with her. I remember looking over at her sitting alone, her feet dangling back and forth as she waved me over. We were like two peas in a pod from then on. When I look at my daughter and her friend I am reminded of that friendship. It was a pretty special time in my life, and I can see the same in my daughters too.

(Source)
Aren't BFF's the greatest?
Sending lots of love to all my Best'ies!
xoAngela

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