Crab tacos

Crab Tacos + How to Catch a Crab

EAT, family meals By September 14, 2020 12 Comments

Taco Tuesday? Fajita Friday? Or simply an excuse-for-a-fiesta-Saturday. All summer long I’ve been tending to the garden as the kids help me water and weed. We’ve tried our hand at growing vegetables and have been thrilled with the results. In addition, my family and I have the good fortune of owning a crab trap. So…. when I mastered the summer challenge of catching crab in the Pacific Ocean, I was very proud. The only obstacle is when I catch too many. Seriously. Listen to myself! Feeling inspired and using my new pastimes to source fresh ingredients, I got our family and friends out of a serious dinner rut with crab tacos.

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Getting the Stink out of Laundry

Getting the Stink out of Laundry

LIVE, wash By September 10, 2020 1 Comment

Now that we are all home – a lot, there seems to be a never-ending laundry stream. Being super-concerned with bacteria and pathogens, it can be terrifying when the ‘clean’ laundry comes out a bit rank. Why does this happen? Bad news, friends – bacteria + sweat + oils mean that clothes will need special treatment. Dampness is the big culprit, and when left for hours or days (ewwwww), your items will need some TLC. Here are a few ways to get the stink out of typically stinky items like hockey gear, yoga mats, workout clothes and mattresses. We also have some great stain tips for red wine, grass, oil and dirt in this article.

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Learning From Home

Must-Haves for Learning From Home

GEAR, home By September 9, 2020 No Comments

Well, the time is here. For weeks, parents, teachers and school boards have been fretting about how to proceed. A back to school pandemic plan is a tough one. While many students head back to a modified classroom in person, there are thousands of kids who will opt for homeschooling, distance or online learning.

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Prince Edward County Roadtrip

A Prince Edward County Roadtrip

Canada, ROAM By September 9, 2020 1 Comment

When offered the opportunity to do a day trip or two in the new 2020 BMW X3 30e, our family was giddy. OOOH the possibilities! The whole province could be our oyster! Where to first? We decided to take at least one night away. Not having been to a hotel since March when the world changed, this seemed like a brand new stage for us. Super-careful since being whisked home from Florida before more cancelled trips, a getaway seemed so foreign. We didn’t count on the idea being so widespread when we decided to explore Prince Edward County!

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2020 BMWX3e

Ontario Roadtripping in the BMW X3 30e

auto, GEAR By September 9, 2020 1 Comment

Pandemic life has bestowed blessings as well as challenges. Working and schooling from home for over six months hasn’t been the easiest, but our family unit is certainly closer. What we have missed deeply is a change of scenery. When BMW reached out to have the family test out the 2020 BMW X3 30e for a couple of day trips, we jumped at the chance!

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Diastasis Recti

FAM, pregnancy By September 4, 2020 Tags: , , , , 1 Comment

During pregnancy, increased pressure on the abdominal wall can cause a condition called diastasis recti. I wish it had a less scary name. Diastasis recti looks like a gorge running vertically down the middle of the belly area. It stretches from the bottom of the breastbone to the belly button, and increases with muscle straining. The middle muscle, the ‘linea alba’, is where our 6-pack usually lies. Chuckle. When the muscles on either side of this line pull apart, women may develop 2 finger’s width of separation (2.7cm or greater) of the abdominus recti muscle (down the centre line of the belly). The area between these two muscles may stick out like a vertical pouch. It’s important to realize that this area is not torn – just temporarily separated.

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Mahone Bay Nova Scotia

A Covid Home Renovation from Afar

GEAR, home By September 4, 2020 No Comments

I know. We are all renovating and beautifying our spaces right now. Because we will be at home FOREVER it feels like. And ever, and ever. Sorry – ‘Hamilton the Musical’ reference, because isn’t everyone watching it twice a day on Disney Plus? I digress. After my Mom passed away, I inherited a 1780’s farmhouse in Nova Scotia. I got married there, daring Torontonians and Floridians to shell their own lobster dressed in wedding finery whilst looking out at the 365 islands of Mahone Bay. As a charming two-bedroom cottage filled with asbestos, mice and rot, however, it needed some work.

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Stain Removal Tips for Clean Freaks

LIVE, wash By August 14, 2020 1 Comment

Laundry can feel like an Olympic event. In my house, laundry is like my inbox – it’s never quite at zero. While we can teach kids to re-use towels and make sure clothes are ‘actually’ dirty before tossing them in the hamper, there will always be stains that need a bit of extra time to deal with. With the right tools, stain removal tips and Bill Nye the Science guy techniques, though, stains shouldn’t slow you down too much. If you deal with stains right away, you save a ton of time. Another trick is to mark stains with a clothes peg so that you don’t accidentally miss them and (worst possible outcome) put them in the dryer to really set the stain. We have a great LAUNDRY LABELS for common laundry room stain removers so you can make gorgeous jars. If you have to do laundry anyway you should be surrounded by beauty!

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Sourdough Brioche Bread

Sourdough Brioche Bread

EAT, family meals By August 4, 2020 No Comments

One of my big pandemic activities (like everyone else!) has been developing a sourdough starter, and playing around with bread making. With little yeast or flour in the stores, I went directly to a local flour mill, then spent hours learning how to develop a good sourdough starter out of simple flour and water.

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