hot ginger pear cider

While we were in Canada, I got an amazing ginger pear cider in Calgary and wanted to duplicate it at home. A little experimentation in the kitchen happened, and this drink came out awesome! It's perfect for autumn too... (if only we had some cold weather here!) I had to share!!

what I wore // botanical gardens

vegan Moroccan-spiced red lentil, chick pea and kale soup

This soup was simply delicious and definitely something I will make again! 

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil (coconut oil or avocado oil will work too)

1 large onion, diced

4 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 tablespoon turmeric

1 tablespoon cumin

1 teaspoon sea salt or more to taste

1 can coconut cream

1 cup red lentils, rinsed

4 cups chick peas (I used canned) 

2 large tomatoes, diced

4 or 5 cups vegetable stock, or according to your preference

2 cups roughly chopped lecanto kale

Instructions

In a large stock pot, sauté onion in oil. Add chopped carrots and spices and cook 5 minutes over medium low heat. Add vegetable stock all other remaining ingredients except the kale. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in kale and continue simmering for another 5 minutes or until kale is barely tender. Remove from heat and serve. 

our Canadian adventure, part II: Jasper

our Canadian adventure, part I: Banff

Montessori style color mixing

Lately little A has been fascinated with transferring water between containers, so I came up with this project to let her practice transferring and mixing colors at the same time...and I loved how it turned out to be a colorful flower! 

You will need:

3 small bowls

Red, blue and yellow food coloring

Flower shaped tray (I got ours from Hobby Lobby for $2)

An eye dropper 

Water

What to do:

Put some water in each of the three small bowls and add 2-3 drops of food coloring to each one. Encourage your child to mix the colors using the eye dropper and make each petal a different color. 

This project kept my 3 1/2 year old busy for at least 40 minutes, we would dump one "flower" out and she would fill them again and again with different variations of each color. We added in some plain water at one point to make a more pastel looking flower. Have fun! 

Fab Etsy Finds

Some of the lovely handmade goodies I've stumbled upon as of late:

face pot by GusandRami

on to our next adventure tote by WinterCabin

tiny book ladder by BrookeWay

bird king ring by RockCakes

Goodnight cushion by studiomeez

book washi tape by danika58

bits and pieces

Since I've started homeschooling little A, I've found less time for blogging, but I'm hoping to still pop in from time to time to share updates and recipes, etc. Here are a few pics from the last few weeks:

warm turmeric milk tea

I wanted to share one of my favorite recipes today. This soothing, slightly spicy tea is so nice for sipping at night before bed or in the morning instead of coffee. It is also excellent for reducing inflammation and pain. 

Product Review: Love Mae bamboo dinnerware set

night walks + long exposures

This weekend we took a late night walk with some friends to see fireflies and experiment with some long exposure photos. These were all taken around 11 pm with the shutter left open around 10-30 seconds on each one. I'm diggin' the ethereal effect...

DIY Rosemary Lemon Kitchen Spray

I've been phasing out all chemicals from my house cleaning products for the last few years, and while I have found some natural cleaners that I like, they are a little on the pricey side. Since I got the Everyday Oils collection from Young Living for my anniversary gift from hubs this year, I've really been getting into using these essential oils as many different ways as I can. I made this counter top cleaner recently and I loove the way it makes my kitchen smell. I also love how inexpensive it was to create! Keep reading for the recipe I used...

Bits and Pieces

A few photos from the last week...

I gave my hula hoop a makeover by wrapping it in strips of vintage fabric, love how it turned out!

 taken at a pool party we went to last week with frineds

 I love century plant blooms!

from our family brunch outing, we saw a volkswagon show on the way

Shop Update

I finally got some time to add some new goodies to the shop!

ginger peach smoothie

Not only is this icy treat refreshing, it's very soothing if you have any tummy troubles! On to the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 cup frozen peaches
1 banana, fresh or frozen
1" fresh ginger root, peeled
1 cup light coconut milk
1 tablespoon honey

Instructions:
Add all ingredients to your blender and blend on high until smooth.

serves 1-2

What I Wore // Sunday Brunch Date

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend. Yesterday hubs and I went out for a brunch date and tried out a restaurant we hadn't been to yet. It was a breezy, not-too-hot day and perfect for strolling around downtown and by the water too.

Book Love

These are some of our current favorites:

 

1/2/3/4/5

Vegan Black Forest Cake Smoothie

We got a huge bag of frozen organic cherries from BJ's the other week, so they've been making a regular appearance in my smoothies :) Who says you can't eat clean and treat yoself at the same time? This cake-inspired smoothie is a delicious treat and it's packed with antioxidants...yay!

Vegan Black Forest Cake Smoothie

Serves 1-2

Ingredients:

1 cup frozen cherries

1/4 cup dairy-free dark chocolate chips

1/4 cup cashews

1 cup coconut milk (I used the So Delicious culinary lite coconut milk)

1-2 tablespoons maple syrup

Instructions:
Blend cashews and coconut milk until smooth. Add all other ingredients and continue blending. Enjoy!

DIY Sleepy Cat Air Freshener with Essential Oils

I recently did a thorough cleaning of my car. While it was nice to finally have it clutter-free (I hate to admit the thing had been neglected for months :/), it still wasn't smelling as fresh as it could...So I came up with the idea to make my own air freshener with essential oils since they are way better for you than the artificial chemicals used in the store-bought car fresheners. I wanted something with some personality, so I decided on this patchwork kitty :) This project is a good way to use up any felt and fabric scraps you have laying around. It also makes a great gift, I made one for my hubby and mom as well. Each cat takes about 30 minutes to complete. 

Shop Update

These pieces were added to the shop recently: 

Koala Crate Review

Last month we signed up for the Koala Crate. It is a subscription box for 3-4 year olds. It includes all the materials needed for three hands-on projects. Every month is a different theme, this crate was colors.

 This is everything that came in the box:

• jumbo crayons
• watercolors
• banner and cord
• soft color dice
• color sheets
• coloring flashcards
• instruction booklet
• Imagine magazine (partner with Highlights)

First we played the "color scavenger hunt" where your child rolls the dice, then finds the color sheet to match the color rolled, then searches for an item in the house of that color and places it on top of the color sheet. Little A loved it! 

Next, we decorated our banner triangles with crayons and watercolors...

Then we experimented mixing colors by holding two of the color sheets up to the light to see what color is made.

Then we used the watercolors again to paint the flashcards.

I loved that the magazine was reminiscent of Highlights magazine, because I used to read that as a child :) Little A spent quite some time paging through it, we have yet to finish all the activities inside.

Bottom Line: I definitely recommend this subscription. I felt that the materials are high quality and it is a great hands-on learning tool. We love getting surprises in the mail and the Koala Crate doesn't disappoint! You can find a coupon for your first box here. This company also has subscription boxes for older children as well, so be sure to check them out!

Have you ever tried a children's subscription box? What did you think?