Family Day 2017 & Vlog

Happy Monday!
I finally have 10 spare minutes to put this post up from last weekend.
Last Monday we celebrated Family Day and it was an abnormally warm day, so we took advantage of the sunshine and explored downtown Barrie, Ontario.

We filmed it all on our second ever Vlog to document the day.
Click the link above to watch. 

Half-Up Rope Braid Tutorial

  If you've been following me on Instagram, you know that I've been working on a super fun collaboration with Vanessa of Studio V Beauty.
We've been bringing you little hair tutorials via Facebook & Instagram Live each week and hosting a couple of fun giveaways!
I've had a lot of requests to turn the Half-Up Rope Braid Tutorial that Vanessa did on my hair last week into a blog post - so here it is! 

Step by Step 

Half- Up Rope Braid Tutorial 

1

Section off hair from around the temples.

 Divide that into two sections down the top of the head creating a centre part. 

Take one of the sections and divide that into two. 

2

Twist both pieces counterclockwise, then cross the twisted pieces clockwise over each other

 (holding the strands tightly so they don't unravel)
Repeat until the rope braid is as long as desired and secure with an elastic.

3

Once the braid is complete gently pull it to loose it up, creating a softer more full look.

4 

Repeat all steps on other side.
Once both sides are complete you can tie them together with an elastic or pin them together with bobbypins and tease the ends of the ropebraids together like shown in the photo above. 

Add a wave or curl to all the hair not in rope braid.
Complete the look with a texture spray and rock your new look :) 

For all of Vanessa's Services see her website here

LIfe lately

This August my husband and I will have been married 9 years!
Luckily for me, I married one of the most selfless and caring men out there.
He is patient and always puts his family before anything else.
Our marriage has certainly had it's share of Ups and Downs over the years.
We were so young when we married.
I was nineteen and he was twenty two.
The years have just flown by.
This past year of our marriage has been our most challenging yet.

I used to think that as the kids got older, the easier life would become - but any mom of older kids knows the truth to this.
"The bigger the kid, the bigger the problems"
There is so much joy in motherhood but I am constantly learning and being challenged along the way.
There is also a lot more running around for the kids as they get older.

Between their different activities, play dates at friends and homework assignments - this leaves a lot less quality time for our relationship.
This is the first year that we have really had to "work" at our marriage.
Next weekend we are going to Toronto with the kids for a little day trip, and I am so excited to leave reality for even just a day and say Yes to new experiences and adventure!
Louis will be in the recording studio recording his new song while the kids and I attend a photo shoot for an upcoming campaign.
Before kids, Louis played in a band and his passion for music was one of the things that I was most attracted to. 

We used to travel to different cities for his shows and we would find new cafes to try or shops to explore.
I'm excited that as the kids get older it's getting a little easier to go on adventures with them like we used to before we started our family.
Although date nights are important, I'm starting to learn that your marriage grows in all different ways.
Through date nights just the two of us or adventures with our family.

I'm excited for our kids to see their daddy and his passion for music when he enters the studio.

It's totally going to bring me back to 2005 when I used to skip school to go hang out with my future hubby in the recording studio.

Cranberry Wine Tour & Snowshoeing

Winter in Ontario is long and I've never particularly loved this season.
This year I promised myself I would be more open minded and give it a chance.
This year I've given snow tubing and skating a chance and I kind of really love the winter now!

Who knew that winter could be so enjoyable when dressed appropriately.
 {purchased my first ever pair of adult snow pants this year}

When our friends found a WagJag for Johnston's Cranberry Marsh in Muskoka that included a wine tour for two, two glasses of wine and snowshoeing all for $29 I knew I had to give another winter activity a chance.

We dropped our little ones off  {thanks dad!} and headed on the road up North to meet up with our friends.
Unfortunately for me, we drove through a snow storm on the way up which was a little scary to say the least, but once it cleared up the drive was absolutely beautiful.

There is a certain calmness up there, especially in the winter.

 Johnston's has a 1.2 KM ice trail loop around 12 acres of cranberry that you can skate on in the winter, but unfortunately we arrived later than expected so we didn't get a chance to try it out!
We arrived at the Marsh just in time for our 1pm Bog To Bottle Discovery.

The tour wasn't long {which my short attention span enjoyed} but was very informative.
The tour is actually so awesome that Canada Tourism Commission designated it a Canadian Signature Experience.
Our tour guide shared the history of the Marsh and did an excellent job with her words, painting pictures in our heads of how the Marsh looks in the spring since everything was covered in snow.

 At the end of the tour we got to sample all the different wines they make at the marsh.

It was my first time ever tasting Cranberry wine and it definitely won't be the last!
There were several wines to taste from dry to dessert - including a cranberry blueberry wine, a maple cranberry which was very similar to an ice wine and my personal favourite was the warm mulled wine.

We brought our wine outside where they had a little fire pit surrounded by Muskoka Chairs.
They gave complimentary marshmallows and sticks to roast by the fire. {my favourite}

After the wine we went and signed out some snow shoes so we could start our snow shoeing adventure. 

There is over 10KM of trail to choose form but we chose the Orville Lake Nature Trail.
It was 2.5KM winding through the forest.
Along the way there are 25 Eco Fact Signs.

I was a little worried how I would do on snow shoes for the first time but it ended up being another wonderful winter experience!
We had a lot of fun and I will definitely be going back in the summer to see the cranberries and again next winter for some more of that delicious mulled wine!

For more information on Johnston's Cranberry Marsh, visit here!

Fitness Journey Update 2017

{Tank, Leggings & Socks by Cariloha Bamboo Fit Collection} 

 Happy Thursday Friends!
I was originally planning on writing and publishing this post three days ago, but life got in the way.

I would usually stress out about not getting a post out when I said I would, but this year I am trying really hard to slow down and just accept that I am a busy mom of three and sometimes I'm going to fall behind.
I got hit with a wicked nasty cold and chose to go to bed early and take care of myself instead of staying up late to write this post.
This year is all about taking care of myself so I can be a better mom and wife.

I shared a post on instagram with you guys a couple of weeks back and since then a lot of you have been asking how my fitness journey is going.
I had so many DMs and emails asking about the BBG program I was doing.

 I was so excited to take you along the journey with me, but unfortunately, I've already fallen off the program. 

This program requires that you dedicate a small amount of  time every single day to the plan and unfortunately this just isn't something I can commit to at this time.
I still think the program is absolutely incredible and hope to try it again when life isn't so busy.

I am still making it a priority to take care of myself and go to the gym at least twice a week as well as making healthier meal choices.

I've learned a few things about myself over the last few weeks.

One

 I am not interested in cutting out comfort foods. 

Yes, I need to cut back but I am not willing to eliminate them completely from my diet. 

Everything in moderation, right?

Two
I LOVE working out and going to the gym. 

It only took me 28 years to get into the routine of going to the gym haha
 but I've noticed that since I started going I'm in a completely different state of mind.
I'm happier, have more energy and I feel stronger.

 I also love the atmosphere of the gym. 

Seeing other people working towards their goals is just SO motivating.

Three
I'm not interested in counting calories.
It's just takes the joy out of eating.
I figure as long as I am putting healthy foods like green veggies, chicken etc. on my plate there is no need to count the calories.

Are you on a Fitness Journey?
I'd love to hear about it - let me know in the comments below!