Author: cvegnad

May 8, 2014

Mother’s Day Books: Small Space Garden Ideas #DKCanada

Some of the best gifts that I have ever received have been books. I love to read (no question about it!) – it allows me to escape for that time period, browse and learn new ideas and so much more!

We moved into our new home about a year ago and since we moved in it has been my goal to create not only a vegetable garden but a proper flower bed (where the flowers grow and don’t wither like they usually do for me – my boys still tease me about managing to let a Bonsai tree die!). Last year we did a lot of work on removing items and re-sodding as well as making room for my garden. We just never made it to the actual garden part (I guess I was a bit chicken?!).

For Mother’s Day this year, I have asked my boys to make me a raised garden bed so that I an plant some vegetables. Since I am not the best gardener out there, I want to start small! When I was given the opportunity to review Small Space Garden Ideas I was anxious to get my hands on this book thinking how helpful this would be for us.

Small Space Garden Ideas is full of creative ways to use the smaller areas around your home to create a wonderful garden whether it be a wall, balcony, porch or window sill! They thought of every type of space in this book and used it so well. Some of my favourite features of this book were the easy to read instructions (great for this beginner gardener!), the material needed, large photographs (not to mention a great amount of photographs for each activity) that really helped me to visualize my project from start to finish as well as pro tips. I found the pro tips to be quite useful and have to started to implement them for my first garden project. The projects ranged from easy to difficult and the same with price range. There is a great variety of both and lots of middle ground for more advanced beginners. You will not be bored with the variety of projects in this book!

I started off small and using their directions planted Rosemary for our window sill which I am hoping to transplant into our garden when the weather becomes nicer. I had no idea I was supposed to be putting rocks in the bottom of the pot so that the roots don’t sit in water (oops – maybe this is the cause for all of my dead plants??). I am keeping my fingers crossed for good results and I have high hopes this time! I am determined to have a green thumb this year.

Do you have a book lover in your house that would love books for this Mother’s Day? Make sure to check out the Mother’s Day Boutique to receive 30% off your order!

What kind of books would your Mom love to receive for Mother’s Day?

Disclosure: I received the above mentioned book free of charge in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

May 8, 2014

Mother’s Day books: Family Cookbook #DKCanada

Ensuring that I have healthy, good quality meals on our table every night is extremely important to me – my only problem? Coming up with a good variety of healthy meals that everyone in the family will like! Some days I feel like I am in a cooking rut – what do I cook, what will be the easiest to get into my boys and not to mention what is going to be the quickest to cook (can’t believe I just admitted that to you all!).

DKCanada’s Family Cookbook is the perfect solution for those stuck in the recipe rut. With more then 700 recipes (yes- 700!) this recipe book is full of delicious and nutritious recipes. The recipes are easy to prepare and easy on the budget. The ingredients were simple and easy to find in the pantry. DKCanada’s Family Cookbook includes recipes that are perfect for all taste buds – from the picky eaters all the way to foodies. They even had a section for making your own baby food (so helpful!).

Some of my favourite features of the Family Cookbook includes the variety of the recipes, large photographs to showcase the recipe, easy to read directions (no small print here like I am accustomed to in so many cook books) and helpful tips that follow each section. I found some excellent freezing tips and tricks on seasonal cooking which I can not wait to put to use this summer!

The cookbook is divided into several sections including (but not limited to!) fish, poultry, meat, side dishes, rice, pasta, desserts and baking. There are plenty of recipes in each section to add plenty of variety to your family’s diet. We started off with the chicken stock (photo below) and used it in several of the recipes that are included in the cook book – pretty awesome right?!

Do you know a Mom that is a foodie? Or a Mom who just really loves to cook and try new recipes? Right now DKCanada has a 30% off sale at the Mother’s Day Boutique! You can save on books for your Mom just in time for Mother’s Day.

Disclosure: I received a copy of the above mentioned book free of charge in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

May 6, 2014

Spring Hikes #WW w/linky

The sun is finally shining and the temperature is warming up! We have been able to get out hiking more often now. We took a wonderful hike down by the waterfront and managed to snap some photographs.

Make sure to link up your own Wordless Wednesday post so that I can stop by and visit!

Have a wonderful day!

April 30, 2014

Mom Seeks God #review

Motherhood is full of joy, love, happiness but also full of challenges. Especially during those first few months of motherhood when we tend to lose all sense of ourselves not to mention our faith.

Those first few months (not to mention years!) can be the challenging not only in the home but in your faith. When you are surrounded by the happy chaos of children (not to mention the noise!) how do you spend quiet time with God if the only quiet time you get is while you are asleep? How can you demonstrate a solid spiritual life to your children if you don’t have the time to pursue one yourself?

When Julia Roller discovered that her spiritual growth had been stunted by the busyness of life with her toddler, she embarked on a year long journey through ten spiritual disciplines: prayer, submission, study, simplicity, silence, worship, fasting, service and celebration. As she focused on each discipline, she discovered practical way to observe them – even in the every day chaos of her life.

From the very first page of Mom Seeks God you could tell it was going to be great. Julia has a way of writing that makes you feel like you are speaking with your best friend. Julia shares personal stories that as mothers we can all relate to (the dreaded cold with work deadlines, feeling isolated, tired and never finding enough time for yourself let alone God). Her stories made me laugh and cry at the same time as many moments in my life I have become impatient with the last minute potty horror moments, feeling overwhelmed with deadlines and this has helped me to feel not so alone with this.

Julia also shares the wisdom of other mothers and well known authors and figures to help illustrate her points. It helps to remind me that at the end of the day we are all the same. Julia also offers excellent “non-expert” tips at the end of each chapter to help us incorporate faith in to our everyday life.

One of my favourite parts of the book was learning about the Examen. I felt like I knew a lot about my faith but this was new to me. I have been incorporating this type of prayer into my every day life and this has made a huge difference. I like the reflection of my day to see where I can find Christ in it and where did I stray away from Christ. It helped me see all the good that is in my life especially when I have had a bad day!

I really loved Mom Seeks God. It has helped me not only on a spiritual level but also on a personal level. Helping me to unwind and appreciate all the good things in my life. You can find more reviews of Mom Seeks God on the Litfuse Blog tour here. You can purchase a copy of the book here.

Rating: 5/5

Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

April 29, 2014

Growing with #MotherHen

Mother Hen (one of my favourite sources for home style infant and toddler food) has recently launched a fantastic new program, Growing With Mother Hen.

Growing With Mother Hen will provide families with organic seeds to help grow their child’s first organic garden along with a chance to win a $1,500 RESP. This inititative aims to help spread the word about the health benefits of eating natural food from the start and getting families involved with growing their own gardens.

In order to participate, families can order their own garden starter kit from the website here. This program is offered free to parents! Plant your garden or potted garden.

If you want a chance to win the $1,500 RESP, make sure to like Mother Hen on Facebook and then show of your little one in their Mother Hen garden by uploading your photo to their page! The deadline to submit photos is August 31st, 2014. The winner will be randomly drawn on September 2, 2014.

Get growing and Good Luck!