Books 💙 Recipes and Staying Creative

With so much going on in the world I want to focus on the positive. I turned the news off. I’m staying home and doing things that keep me happy. I hope to bring some inspiration and positivity to you my friends. Stay happy and do things you love. You now have the opportunity to read, paint, write and do what ever your heart desires creatively. Keep active as much as you like. You can watch movies, meditate, exercise and get fresh air on your balcony or backyard. Cook, clean, organize and dance. Put the music on and sing or play games. Keep smiling, this too shall pass.

Today I would like to share my TBR list for 2020. I’ve selected ten books and I hope I can get through. What are you reading at the moment?

MY TBR LIST 2020

The Cat’s Table by Michael Ondaatje

The Diviners by Libba Bray

Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter

Beartown by Fredrik Backman

A Man Called OVE by Fredrik Backman

The Black Witch by Laurie Forest

A Little Life by Tanya Yanagihara

The Lonely Hearts Hotel by Heather O’Neill

Annabelle by Kathleen Winter

Life of PI by Yann Martel

Today I would like to share my lentil soup recipe with you and I hope you make it at home. It’s so easy and delicious. Do you like lentils?

Spicy Lentil Soup

Ingredients

12 Cups of Chicken or Veg Broth

1 Chicken cube or Veg cube

2 Cups of washed lentils

2 Bay Leaves

2 All spice Balls

1 Finely Chopped Onion

3 Finely Chopped garlic cloves

1/4 Cup olive oil

2 Carrots Chopped up

2 tbs of tomato paste

1 tsp Black pepper

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp fresh thyme

Instructions

Place all the ingredients in pot to boil for 20 min except the tomato paste and olive oil. After 20 min add the olive oil and tomato paste and cook for 10 more min. Enjoy! Let me know if you try this recipe.

Here is a lovely surprise recipe. I was going to post this at Christmas time but I didn’t or maybe I did and I don’t remember. lol 😆 Here is a banana cranberry muffin recipe.

Banana Cranberry Muffins

2 1/2 Cups of Flour

1 Cup Sugar

2 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 Cups Mashed Bananas

3 cups frozen cranberries

2 eggs

1/4 cup oil

1 cup milk

Instructions

Mix all ingredients and bake at 350F for 30min

Stay home and do art!

I hope you had the opportunity to check out my hula hoop skills in the video! lol 😝 oh to be a kid again! Had my girls do some fun art yesterday. I also did some collage journaling and paintings. Here are the lovely pieces.

First one is Abstract art by my eldest.

This piece is an abstract by my youngest.

Here are my pieces.

Collage

I sometimes draw inspiration from colours, patterns and textures when I create collage work.

This piece is a watercolour with ink. It’s my hubby’s favourite painting.

I’m sending you all my positivity and love. I hope you are all safe and healthy. Don’t forget to have some fun at home and stay positive. This too shall pass.

Much Love

Positivity

Strength

Courage

and kindness.

Hello September! Thoughts and Goals

Dear September,

I hope that this month will be a smooth transition for my children. Going back to school can be an emotional time for them. I pray that the weather changes gently and that we continue to embrace each moment with gratitude. This month I want to focus on helping and guiding my children toward building new healthy relationships with their teachers and fellow students. To be positive and steer away from negativity.

My goal this September is to nourish the girls with healthy lunches and offer them new foods as well. I like to get my ideas from Pinterest most of the time. Check out my Pinterest Board SCHOOL LUNCHES. I would like to boost their immunity and help them fight anything that might come their way. I will remind them to wash their hands and also take their vitamins as well. We always start taking a multivitamin and vitamin D in the Fall\Winter. I would like to make my own Elderberry Syrup recipe for the family. It’s a flu preventative. Would you like to see a recipe post? I have two pinned in the Health Pinterest Board and I might try one. HEALTH BOARD.

As the weather changes and we head toward Autumn, I want to clear out clothing that my girls no longer wear and see what I need to replace them with. I usually like to make sure I have rain boots, fall Jackets as well as umbrellas. I also like to make sure each girl has hand sanitizer, backpacks, running shoes that still fit, lunch bags and socks. Yes I said socks. I’m a huge sock lover. lol 😂

September is a month of change do you agree? I don’t want to forget about my self with the changes around me so I want to make it a goal of mine to keep my self happy, relaxed and calm. What are some things that you do when seasons change? I would love to know. Please leave me a comment.

I asked my girls what they look forward to in September they said:

Eleni Age 11 says:

I’m looking forward to the cooler weather and seeing my friends again at school.

Angelina Age 6 says:

I’m looking forward to seeing how grade one will be. I want to explore grade one to see how amazing it will be for me.

Thank you so much for reading my blog post.

Have a beautiful September!

Previous Blog Posts

Fall Blog Post Ideas

CHANEL EYES COLLECTION 2018 #CREATEYOURSELF

Favourite Summer PR Samples

NEW!

I opened up the ETSY Store for the Fall and Winter. Check it out if you like.

METAMORPHOSISBYMARIA

ART STORE — METAMORPHOSISBYMARIA ON ETSY

Celebrate Love! Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas

Feeling the love! Not just on Valentines Day but everyday! LOVE makes the world go round, makes people happy and we need more love. Hugs, cuddles and kisses. Positive and beautiful words of kindness. Sweets, lights and happy desserts. Flowers and things that are PINK and RED. Share love with friends and family. L O V E is beautiful thing that radiates and brings joy and positive energy.

Valentines Day is everyday for me. I love that we have that one specific day to share how we truly feel about loved ones which include family and friends. Can’t forget your pets as well. If you have a pet, show them extra love! I would! Hugs, kisses, cuddles and kindness. Love and positivity. I love anything romantic. Romance and love is so healthy for us. Why deny it? Allowing the flow of energy from your heart to radiate is the most beautiful thing!

Here are some beautiful gift giving ideas:

As you know by now my favourite fragrances are by CHANEL. You can find the following CHANEL Products starting February 2nd on http://www.Chanel.ca or at CHANEL Beauty Counters. I adore CHANCE CHANEL EAU TENDRE Touch-up. It is a super cute compact with a soft rubber pad that you dab fragrance on your body. EAU TENDRE IS MY FAVE! I adore this because if you are at a party or public place with a lot of people you don’t have to spray fragrance everywhere. This is such a clever idea. You can dab it in the areas you want and it also has a mirror. It’s pink and adorable. I love it!

CHANCE EAU TENDRE Touche de Douceur Perfume/Delicate Fragrance Touch UP

* Limited Edition $86.00

CHANEL CHANCE EAU Huile pour Le Corps/Body Oil and CHANEL Eau ViVe Huile pour Le Corps/body oil are so beautiful! After taking a shower I love applying this luxurious dry body oil. They are both so beautiful on the skin and leave the skin feeling so silky, smooth and soft. I absolutely adore the body oil sprays. I find the scent is long lasting the formula not greasy. Absorbs beautifully and smells so fresh!

CHANCE Huile pour Le Corps/Body Oil* 100ml Limited Edition $66.00

CHANCE EAU VIVE Huile pour Le Corps/Body Oil* 100ml Limited Edition 100ml $66.00

How cute are these sweet red and pink valentine’s gifts by AVON.CA!

So adorable!

AVON JUST KISS ME LIP BALM Cute lips-shaped case holds a kiss of tinted balm. Flavourless Comes in a gift box. $10.00

Lots of Kisses Journal 90 lined pages. Faux Leather. $7.00

Home Fragrance Collection CELEBRATE LOVE CANDLE Notes of sparkling citrus, tart berries, effervescent musks and rose petals. $12.00

Have a beautiful Valentine’s Day! Much love and happiness!

xoxoxo

Thank you so much to AVON.CA and to CHANEL.CA for the amazing PR Samples.

SHARE THE LOVE

Valentine’s Day Heart Brownies

Being Different is Wonderful!

I got my nose pierced! I’m very excited and happy that I finally did it! For the longest time I’ve wanted to pierce my nose. There’s a story behind why I did it. I not only did it because I love nose rings but here is why…

Growing up I was bullied and called many hurtful names because of the shape of my nose. I was called horrible hurtful names and I was so devastated and felt so bad. I wanted to change my nose many times and get surgery. I didn’t like my nose at all. In fact I hated it.

I slowly learned to love and appreciate having a different nose. I’ve grown to love it now and I’m so happy. I no longer focus on the bullies and the hurtful words. I focus on how much I LOVE my nose. I focus on the positive. I really LOVE my self now more then ever. I love my nose because it is different. Being different is a WONDERFUL thing to me. Every flower, every leaf is beautiful and unique in its own way. That’s how I look at it.

Children can be mean because they don’t know better. They don’t understand or haven’t been taught that everyone has a different shape nose, lips, eyes and everyone is beautiful in their own way. I tell my girls everyday they are beautiful inside and out. I tell my girls everyday that everyone is unique and very special in their own way and we must love and appreciate these differences. Respect each person and treat each person with care and kindness.

I will continue to teach my daughters about being kind to themselves and to others. We are not perfect and learning is a part of life. It’s okay to mess up sometimes. Every time a mistake is made we learn from it.

I’m not upset or mad at the people who called me names. I learned from my experience. I feel we should talk about these issues more and also talk to our children about being kind and not using hurtful words.

Respect, kindness and love!

Words hold more power then we think.

Focus on the positive, speak from the heart.

Empower and strengthen with positivity and don’t be afraid to speak up and Share your story! Lead life with your heart!

BEING DIFFERENT IS WONDERFUL!
BEAUTIFUL!

CELEBRATE IT!
DRESS IT UP AND LOVE IT!

SHAKE WHAT YOUR MAMA GAVE YOU! 😀

VLOG

Have a look at my latest newsletter! I have a code for 50% OFF My ARTWORK!

Happy News! Featured in a Magazine!

Happy Tuesday! I hope you are all well my friends. I have some amazing and exciting news! I’ve been featured in BUZZ MAGAZINE 2017 Fall Edition!

I am so EXCITED!

WOWZA!

I’m super excited and very honoured to be in a magazine that celebrates people with a #BODYPOSITIVE mindset. I’m genuinely overjoyed and very grateful.

“REAL PEOPLE, REAL BODIES, REAL MOVEMENT” -Elizabeth Pfeiffer

Thank you so much to the lovely Emily Mitton who approached me for this lovely feature. I’m truly grateful and very excited. I think that Emily Mitton is a BRILLIANT Graphic designer by the way. Check out her work on her website.

Thank you so much Emily and to Buzz Magazine for including me amongst all the lovely inspirational and beautiful people. You are all Truly beautiful inside and out!

BUZZ ON TWITTER