Friendsgiving

Hi friends!

Hope you are all having a wunderbar weekend so far :)

I had a great time at the Art of Giving soiree last night - I did my due volunteering at the drink ticket table for a couple of hours, and then had a fun time mingling about with my coworkers. The space at the Museum of Civilization is beautiful for this kind of event, all lit up and whatnot.

There was over a thousand people from our new amalgamated department that came last night. It was a perfect space for it - it never felt too crowded.

Me and my CIDA ladies :)

Friendsgiving

I don't actually celebrate American thanksgiving, but me and my girlfriends decided to have a little pre-Christmas get-together in Kingston tonight to celebrate the season since we will all be crazy busy around the holidays this year. 

One of my friends is house sitting at a place with a hot tub. So excited to hang out with ma ladies with some vino and love life together.

I'm just about to head out, but decided to make some juice for the road. This one had:

2 carrots

broccoli

red pepper

spinach

Oops - got my foot in that shot..

Hope you all have a wunderbar night :)

The Art of Giving: A Soirée

Hi friends!

It's been a while - hope you are all doing splendidly :)

I want to start by giving a hug shout-out to all who were able to make it out last night for Mathare in Focus - it was a huge success! It was a great turn-out, the slam poet ArRay-of WoRds was amazing, my fellow volunteer Jimena did an amazing job of introducing CME Trust to everyone...all around a really inspiring and dedicated group of people - I am so honoured to be able to work alongside you all to raise money for such an important cause, to increase access to education for children who live in the Mathare slum in Nairobi, Kenya.

[Shameless plug: I will be selling calendars, which include the pictures from last night's vernissage - contact me if you are interested in purchasing one or more! $20 each :)]

Bikram Yoga & Workout

I'm probably starting to sound like a bit of a broken record, but I've been a busy beaver lately(!!). What with work, life, and prepping for my upcoming travels - 3 weeks and counting(!!!!!) - my head has been spinning a wee bit.

I actually took a little time out and went to a bikram yoga class the other night and it was exactly what I needed. I forgot how much of a cardio workout it is - it got my heart pumping on top of a full body sweat. I know, it sounds gross, but it is pretty much the most satisfying thing EVER to come out of a hot yoga class. Plus, its good for the pores - a quick way to radiant-looking skin (minus the Covergirl ;)

I am planning on squeezing this Tone It Up workout in tonight after work - let me know if you try it out!

The Art of Giving: A Soirée

I'm heading to the Art of Giving: A Soirée tonight, which is an annual gala hosted by previously-known-as-CIDA-now-DFATD, which is always a fun time to get all fancied up and drink vino with my colleagues. I somehow got suckered into volunteering at the event - I know, volunteering two nights in a row - so you will see me at the drink ticket stand ;)

Here's a group shot from last year, just after the song 'Gangnam Style' played. Turns out government workers LOVE that song.

Hope you all have a wonderful night!

Let It Snow

Morning friends!

Hope you all had a fibbity fab evening :)

After doing a HIIT workout last night, I made some dinner and decided to take it easy and hang out with one of my roomies. I tried a new vino that I found - I'm trying to go with the organic wines lately. Its a bit on the fruity side, but I would def have it again.

Frisky Zebras from South Africa

Let It Snow

If you live in or around Ottawa, I'm sure your fbook, instagram, and/or twitter (maybe even snapchat?) slash social media in general has already exploded with pictures of the recent dump of snow that we got overnight.

Not going to lie, I can't help but love the first big snowfall - especially when I have these bad boys to help me slog through the uncleared sidewalks.

 I'm a big advocate of Sorel boots ;)

I had to be at work earlier than usual for the early shift - we have been doing early and late shifts just in case anything crazy happens in terms of our response to Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, so I was on duty this morning. Made for a bit of a dark walk into work, but a beautiful one nonetheless.

If you're not working today, or have a snow day (which would be SO AWESOME), go out and make some snow angels for me ;)

I'll be back this afternoon with a 'What I Ate Wednesday' post. Because, I mean, it's Wednesday after all!

Lentil Medley with Kale

Hi all, 

Hope your Tuesday is going swimmingly :)

Workout

I just busted through a Bodyrock workout tonight (see workout breakdown here):

Bodyrock Rep Workout

Do each workout set for a total of 10 reps (what counts as one repetition is written below) before moving on to the next exercise

1. 2 Push-ups and 10 mountain climbers

2. Jump squat and 2 forward lunges – alternate legs

3. Elevated bridge – I used a stability ball under my feet

4. Plank rows – alternate arms

5. Crunch and v-abs

I did 5 rounds for a total of 32 minutes - the push-up and mountain climbers were a deadly combo, and those v-abs...brutal, but effective ;)

I was informed that my coworker - who was gone on mission in the Middle East for a few weeks - has resumed the almost daily delivery of freshly-baked bread and baked goods by the printer area for my unit. The email was titled: Bread is BACK!

Oh dear. 

Will def have to try to fit in a few runs at work this week now that a) the ice has disappeared; b) I have been slacking on my after-work workouts since I've been staying late at the office; and, c) the homemade pastries from my coworkers wife, who is taking a Cordon Bleu baking course, have returned on a daily basis. Gotta get myself prepped for bikini weather soon enough ;)

Lentil Medley with Kale

I seriously have no other way of describing the deliciousness that is this recipe other than 'lentil medley' with kale :)

This is the first recipe that I can say is completely my own - I don't have to give credit to nobody. That's right. Han-Solo. Yep, that's a Zoolander reference. No big deal.

I used to make this ALL THE TIME in university - my ex-roomies can definitely vouch for this. It is quick, easy, satisfying and good for you. What more could you ever want in life?!

I used to just cut up peppers and tomatoes and toss it in with the lentils, but I recently tried it with kale - steamed in with the lentils with a pot lid over the pan - and it is by far my fav. Add a little bit of Sriracha and you're good to go :)

Let me know if you try it out! The perfect 'I have no idea what to make and want to eat in about 15 minutes' kind of meal :)

[Bonus points to whoever is able to give me a better name for this]

Lentil Medley with Kale

Makes 3 servings

Ingredients

2 tbsp avocado oil

½ large onion

2 cloves garlic

½ - 1 cup cut veggies (Optional)

1 can lentils

2 cups cut kale

Salt’n’pepper

Sriracha to taste

Directions

Fry onions in a pan with avocado oil (can use your oil of choice) until translucent. Add garlic for a few minutes until flavourful.

Option: can also add in ½ - 1 cup of cut veggies of your choice. I have used a mixture of the following:  red, yellow or green pepper; tomatoes; zucchini; spinach; mushrooms, etc. The possibilities are endless :)

Once garlic is flavourful and any extra veggies are warm, add strained and washed lentils (Note: you can also use dried lentils that have been soaked overnight if you are feeling extra adventurous – I never have very good luck with this technique so I just rinse canned lentils to minimize the sodium). Let cook for about 5 minutes.

Add kale and cover pan and let steam for another 5 minutes or until kale is wilted (sounds gross, but is extra delicious – it also minimizes the taste of the kale for all of those who are hesitant about using kale).

Can eat as it is or over a bowl of rice. Add salt, pepper and Sriracha or Mike’s Red Hot Sauce as desired.

Enjoy!

Sister Spa Date

Morning friends!

It wasn't nearly as freezing cold outside or treacherous to walk down the sidewalk this morning compared to yesterday, it seems like the city of Ottawa has finally busted out the sand and salt. It's about time, really. I was starting to think that I would have to wear skates to work. Which would be kind of cool, I guess.

Breakfast

I actually managed to do groceries this weekend, so I have finally broken my oatmeal breakfast marathon - I think it ended up being over a week in a row - and had a yummy egg breakfast wrap.

Egg, lettuce and spicy salsa in a whole wheat wrap. Easy and delicious!

Sister Spa Date

So, my Mom is pretty much the cutest thing ever. If you've been following this blog for a while, you will know that she has been in Egypt with my youngest sister since August.

Lovin' life.

Anyway, it is slightly embarrassing and makes me seem like a two year old, but I have a confession: I have rarely gone for a haircut without my mother. Seriously, I can count the amount of times that I have booked myself an appointment on one hand. The same goes for my little sisters (who are also old enough to have their shtuff in order to be able to book their own hair appointments). Every once in a while, my Momster will break down and say 'I've had it! We're all going to get our hair done!'

Which is convenient since I would probs go for about a year before remembering to do so. Anyway, when my Step-dad went to go visit my Mom and little sister in Egypt over Thanksgiving, she sent him back with money for me and my little sister to go for a haircut. For serious. Her only demand was that we went together. She is amazing :)

Anyway, we thought about it for about five seconds and decided that the money would be much better spent towards a spa date for the two of us. So off we went on Saturday for a relaxing afternoon at Spa le Nordik in Chelsea.

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 A good friend of mine and her little sister, who is on the same rugby team as my sister, ended up coming with me. It was like a sister double date. Which is pretty much the best thing ever!

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 It was one of the first snowy days in the area (I missed the first snow storm while I was in Toronto - it all melted that time anyway) so it was absolutely beautiful with the steamy air coming off of the baths and the snow coming down - spectacular!

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I think that my favourite time of the year to go to le Nordik is during the winter. Flip-flops are DEFINITELY necessary (my sister and I forgot to bring them - I will never go without my flippy-floppies ever again) but the ambiance is ridiculously amazing. Definitely worth it!

The employees are a bit stickler about the 'no talking' rule, which is a bit tricky to follow when you are a group of ladies, but there are areas that have been designated as 'talking acceptable' so we hung around those areas quite a bit ;)

After spending about 5 hours at the spa, we made some dinner at my parents place and then went to go see Catching Fire. For the record, I have a total crush on Peeta. I guess Gayle is pretty cute too ;)


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Pretty much the best day a girl could ask for!

Question of the Day:

• Have you been to le Nordik? Love it? 

I have been quite a few times, and I keep on going back for more :)

[Disclaimer - I paid for my experience at le Nordik myself (well, with my Momster's funds...but, you know) and all opinions are my own]