‘Whiskey in a Tea Cup’ by Reese Witherspoon Book & Tote Giveaway! #GIVEAWAY

I’m very excited to be bringing you this lovely giveaway. Reese Witherspoon is a shining star! She is inspirational and I adore her so much. I love all her films and lately I’ve been loving her book club and her online presence. She is an Academy Award-winning actress, producer and entrepreneur.

Reese Witherspoon invites you to her world with her new book Whiskey in a Teacup. She shares the joy of southern living and she says:

I hope you’ll see how easy it is for you to bring a little bit of the South to your home, no matter where you live. After all, there’s a Southern side to every place in the world, right?

I’m very lucky to have a advanced copy and I’m excited to share this giveaway with you too. The book is absolutely stunning and filled with lovely recipes and stories about Reese Witherspoon’s life growing up in the South. It has everything I love in this book. It talks about empowerment, strength and family. It talks about the simple pleasures of life, and how taking care of your self is important. It has a little bit of everything from beauty, lifestyle and also great tips for dinner parties. I absolutely love the chapter about monograms. I never really appreciated monograms until this chapter. I really love all the special details in this book. It’s an incredible coffee table book. You really want to display this beauty!

Everything in this book looks very classy and elegant. Reese is so radiant and her personality shines through the pages. Love how she looks in the “Making Special Occasions Special” Chapter. I really love her book and all the photos are breathtaking.

She has a thirst for life and I adore that about her. All the recipes look delicious and are bound to make you hungry. They look super easy to create! I created a few and love them.

I created Dorothea’s Sun Tea on Page 22. A really delicious and refreshing iced tea.

My family really loves the Pecan-Crusted Chicken Skewers recipe on page 24. The chicken turned out moist and crunchy at the same time. Really delicious.

The frozen fruit salad is out of this world. So simple and refreshing. Really yummy. Frozen fruit salad is on page 28.

Another delicious recipe is on page 196 and it is Dorothea’s Corn Salad. So easy to make and very delicious.

I have teamed up with Simon and Schuster Canada to bring you a giveaway! How exciting right?

You can win a beautiful copy of Whiskey in a Teacup by Reese Witherspoon and a lovely tote. All you have to do is:

Follow Simon and Schuster Canada on IG. @simonschusterCA
Follow me on IG @bestdayblogger
Tag 3 friends under the GIVEAWAY POST on IG.
OPEN TO CANADIANS ONLY

Super easy right? I will choose a winner on September 28th and message the winner via Instagram.

Another way to win? YES!

Check out Julie’s Lovely Blog Post! -> TRYSMALLTHINGS

Good Luck!

Family Fun Apple Picking Day

On Saturday it was a cool morning and I thought “this is a perfect day to go Apple Picking!” We’ve never been apple picking before so this was a very special outing for us. We went to Applewood Farm and Winery.

Applewood farms is about 35 min away from us. It’s a cute farm that is very well maintained. The apples that we picked are ginger golden apples. They are absolutely delicious, sweet and crunchy. The girls had so much fun as you can tell in the vlog.

We didn’t realize that the apple trees are low enough that kids ages 2 and up can enjoy in helping pick the apples. What a great way for having the kids involved in apple picking! The Farm also has a little playground and picnic tables. They also have a cute little market and winery.

A long with entering the farm they give you a ticket per person so that you can leave with a pumpkin or a squash of your choice. You get to take a tractor ride to the pumpkin patch and pick your own.

We came home with a big bag of apples, three pumpkins and one huge squash. I’ll be sharing my Butternut squash soup recipe in the next post. I’m really excited that I can cross off one thing from my Fall Bucket List. Would you like to see a list of things to do in the Fall? I’m designing one very soon. Hopefully I will have it up this week.

What did you do on the weekend? Have you ever been apple picking? Would love to hear all about it. Please leave me a comment below.

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

Fall Blog Post Ideas

Fall begins on September 22nd and I wanted to help out bloggers with ideas and inspiration for Fall. Fall is one of my favourite Seasons and I wanted to create content that is full of Autumnal bliss. I hope this blog post helps. Feel free to share this post with other fellow bloggers and I would love to read your posts once you are done. In the fall I always come up with a list of blog ideas and it really helps with my creative process. Sometimes I don’t get to all of them but it’s nice to have a list and plan.

Write things you like to do in nature during Autumn. It could be a bike ride, walk, picking pumpkins, apple picking or anything that involves nature.
What are some of your favourite reading materials in the Fall? Books, magazines, articles or someones blog. Let us know! Sharing is caring.
Write about a yummy fall recipe that you love. It could include breakfast, lunch, dinner. You don’t have to create your own recipe, you can share one that’s already out there. Just remember if you mention other recipes to link to the original creator.
Your favourite Fall film or shows.
Favourite Skincare product and how does your skincare routine change in the Fall?
A Fall Lookbook. Show us pieces of your favourite clothing for Fall. Would love to know what you love to wear. Is it a sweater or a special scarf? Let us know how amazing you feel and show us how fabulous you look!
What are your favourite Fall Fragrances? Why? What are the notes that make it special to you? Is it cinnamon? Cardamom? share the details and secrets that make it special.
What are your wellness and health changes in the Fall? Do you go for a run? Is it yoga in the park? Do you go to a special class? How about vitamins or essential oils? Baths and massages? Share with us how your health and wellness changes with the season.
With fall comes new decorations, colours, patterns and beautiful shapes. Share your home decor! Do you change things in the Fall? Do you decorate with Autumnal foliage? Share your space with us and give us some inspiration!
Do you have Fall family traditions? Would love to read more about them. Share your story and some images that bring your story to life.
Fall Makeup and makeup tips. Share your makeup look and what you’ve used.
Fall DIY. It could be your handmade Fall decoration, Fall journaling, Fall scrapbook page any Fall craft or even knitting and costume making. Share that DIY!
FALL ART if you create art share it!
What are some things you do with your children in the Fall? Do you go apple picking? Do you gather leaves and paint with them? What are some things the kids love to do in the Fall?
Make a Fall wish list.
Make a Gratitude blog post. What are things you are grateful for?
Slowcooker recipes. I love my slow cooker so please share your recipes!
Fall Soup recipes.
Places to Travel in the Fall. I love traveling and we are all from different parts of the world so it’s amazing to see photos of your special place and especially what it looks like in the Fall. Please share your special Fall travel places.
Favourite Fall nail polishes.
Create a Fall Bucket list.
A Fall poem. If you don’t write poems challenge your self and write one. Share it with an Autumnal photo.
Fall Hairstyles.
Fall Photography. Challenge your self and take a Fall photo. It could be nature, still life, flowers or food. Have fun.
Share your Fall favourite accounts! It could be on any social media platform.
Collaborate with other fellow bloggers and create a challenge or simply work together and create! It’s so amazing to get to know others and share what you love and have in common. Or you can even learn from your differences. Working with others can be so fun and rewarding.
Create a mood board. It could be on line or with actual paper and magazines or photo collage.
Create a Pinterest Board and share it in your blog post. Tell us all about it! Check out mine if you like. FALL IN LOVE.
Write a post starting with Dear August… or Dear September… or Dear October…
Write a post reflecting back on your Summer and what you look forward to in Autumn.
What’s in your handbag in the Fall? Does it change? What products do you carry with you?
Favourite Fall Drinks.
Favorite Fall desserts.
Top Five Fashion Accessories.
Favourite Scary Movies.
Favourite Fall Scents and why are they your favourite? Does it bring up a memory? Share that Childhood memory. Explore it.
A list of things that make you happy in the Fall.
Write about a Day in Your life in the Fall.
Write about a special memory you have of Fall.
Write about your Thanksgiving Dinner Traditions.
Write about Halloween and how you celebrate it.
Create a Fall wallpaper for the computer and share it with your readers.

I hope this post was helpful to you and I hope it brings you some inspiration. Can’t wait to read your posts! Happy Blogging!

Hello September! Paint Party Friday!

It’s been a long summer and I had so much fun with my girls. We went to so many places around Toronto and they loved it. We went to the Art Gallery of Ontario, The Museum, the Science Centre and the CNE. We also saw two movies this summer. We saw Despicable Me 3 and the Emoji Movie. We had a lovely lunch date with my cousin and God Mother to my eldest daughter. Anna took us to see the emoji movie and to an amazing lunch at Swiss Chalet. Anna probably won’t read this but I want to thank her so much because she always makes time for us and takes us out around this time every year. She is truly incredible and has a big heart. We love her so much. If you’re reading this Anna, I love you and thank you!

The girls and I had fun and they are ready to go back to school. They are looking forward to it and I’m very happy for them. I’m not ready for school lunches though. It is such a huge challenge to make school lunches. But thank goodness for Pinterest.

I would like to say thank you to Five Star Canada for the pencil case. I won it on instagram @bestdayblogger.

My daughter loves it and it’s perfect for back to school.

Speaking of back to school, I bought the girls backpacks, lunch bags and containers for their snacks and food. I also bought water bottles, binders, pencil cases, markers and pens. I think that covers it for school supplies. I still haven’t bought Fall clothing. They have fall jackets thank goodness and hopefully their winter boots will still fit this year. It’s so crazy how they grow out of their shoes and clothing every year.

Speaking of back to school how cute are these QUO Beauty Kits? I wish I had these when I was in high school or university. They are so cute and I love how colourful they are. These are available at Shoppers Drug Mart. This is not an ad. I kindly received these as samples and I love them! Super cute for back to school.

*Quo Total Beauty Kit $45.00

A curated kit of Quo Cosmetics makeup for a complete, fresh beauty look. Each product is packaged in an eye-catching black and white design. Included in the kit: 4 eyeshadows, 1 lipstick, 1 lipgloss, 1 eyeliner, 1 cream blush and 1 cream highlighter.

*QUO “MY MAKEUP” Notebook Palettes, $32.00

Set of 3 Palettes Perfect for creating different fall beauty looks. Each palette contains 4 eye shadows and 1 blush.

*QUO Brush Set, $38.00

This limited-edition brush collection features 5 beautifully crafted quo cosmetics brushes with custom coloured handles. The set comes with a cosmetic bag to store and protect your brushes and makeup. Brushes included: Powder Brush, Contour Brush, Eyeshadow Brush, Crease Blender Brush and Liner/Brow Brush.

LINKING UP TO PAINT PARTY FRIDAY!

I’m linking up to PAINT PARTY FRIDAY today! I’m so happy and overjoyed that I’m painting again. It is so incredible and I really want to continue.

ACRYLIC PAINT ON A BOARD

Autumnal Lanscape

I really love Autumn and love landscapes so much. I love to take drives with my husband and kids and look at all the beautiful trees changing colour. Canada is so beautiful in so many ways.