New life, hope and joy-what we experienced this Easter. We commenced the weekend with a special Maundy Thursday lamb dinner, attended a poignant Good Friday service and then scooted out to our beach house for a piece of the weekend, returning bright and early Easter morn for a glorious celebration. The fall was an especially tough time for our family but we persevered through winter and now spring has arrived as it always does.

We are a family who loves traditions and our annual Easter get-together is a highlight. Dinner provides the two families of our daughter-in-law J2 to sup together. She and J1 do such a marvelous job of hosting. Their mutual attention to detail makes my heart sing! There were three spring cocktails to choose from (in addition to his home crafted beer and plenty of contributed wine). This basil, amaretto, spiced rum and lime juice creation being just one.

Appetizers included guacamole & salsa, brie baked with slivers of garlic, pesto and red pepper jelly. The Wee One joined in with gusto.

Dinner items were contributed by all in attendance: a spiral ham, cheesy scalloped potatoes, pecan sweet potatoes, sherried mushrooms & green beans, stuffed mushrooms, maple brussel sprouts roasted with pancetta and from-scratch Caesar salad! Our dessert tradition is pavlova and this particular year, it was stellar.

The Wee One patiently waiting for one of her beloved Poppas to serve up hers.

The Wee One’s reading chair set by the fireplace, reminded me anew of the simple pleasures and blessings of life: a basket of books, a cozy throw, warm lighting and a family who thinks that she is the bee’s knees! What else could a 20 month toddler need?

We hope that you experience new life, hope and joy this Easter.

Kath’s quote: “Spring being a tough act to follow, God created June.”-Al Bernstein

Live simply, laugh often, love deeply.

Like me, if you’re someone who enjoys anything and everything food related, we shouldn’t have to feel guilty about it, right? Right. But, as much as I love my food, it does mean that I have to try and maintain a balanced diet and eat as healthy as I can. This also means that with all the savoury foods, I enjoy, I have to keep physically active and fit.

The winters can reach extreme temperatures where we are which sometimes means it’s advised that we don’t leave our homes. This then becomes an easy excuse (if ever I needed one) to not go walking or to a fitness class. Well now I actually don’t have an excuse because it’s recently dawned that I can bring the gym to me. Ok well not a gym exactly, but definitely part of it. In this case, I have been thinking of investing in a treadmill to keep me active during the cold nights. Not knowing the first thing about treadmills or where to even start looking to purchase one I came across a website that has been a great resource, providing in-depth reviews and information they from experienced treadmill buyers. What’s great for fellow food lovers is that Treadmillreviews offers information to help us understand the numbers that make up our bodies, and helps to calculate the figures in helping to lose weight! There’s also a section on the website where you can answer a few questions and it will work out which treadmill is best suited to you. How cool is that?!

With that all said and in mind, I thought that if I’m to make changes to my body, it needs to start with my diet. To begin with, my diet isn’t bad, but like anything there’s always room for improvement. I started doing some research on “healthy eating,” although that didn’t prove to be much help because it only showed me what I already knew; eat your fruit and veg, drink more water, cut out junk food, and so forth. What I was really looking for was some in-depth information that was going to make me want to drink a kale and spinach smoothie in the mornings and be satisfied with a chicken breast for lunch, something inspiring and motivating. That’s when I came across this Super Salads blog post.

At first thought, a salad can seem boring. However, after doing some research into super salads I found that boring is the last thing they are and it is the perfect way of staying fit and eating healthy, but tasty food. Nutritional, great for detoxing, tastes fantastic and benefits your body. Of course, you still need to be wary of the ingredients you’re mixing together in a salad, but with the endless options and choices, lettuce has never tasted so good!

What I have learned is that working out actually makes me want to keep healthy eating. And healthy eating is doing so much not just for my body, but my skin, my mood and overall lifestyle.

These gorgeous photos are from my niece and Goddaughter’s Joyful Vitality Facebook page. Check it out and then “like” it.

Kath’s quote: “We have said how necessary it is that in the composure of a sallet (salad), every plant should come in to bear its part, without being overpower’d by some herb of a stronger taste, so as to endanger the native sapor and virtue of the rest; but fall into their places, like the notes in music, in which there should be nothing harsh or grating: And though admitting some discords (to distinguish and illustrate the rest) striking in all the more sprightly, and sometimes gentler notes, reconcile all dissonances, and melt them into an agreeable composition.”
-John Evelyn, ‘Acetaria: A Discourse of Sallets’ (1699)

Live simply, laugh often, love deeply.