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.

Spooktacular Reading! TBR

Happy Friday! I hope you all had a beautiful week! I wanted to share my Fall Reading List. I’m not sure I will finish all the books but I’m going to try. I would love to know what’s on your TBR List this Fall. I enjoy scary and haunting books. I also enjoy mystery and romance. How about you? Here is my list.

City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab
Frankenstein Mary Shelly
Witches of New York by Ami Mc Kay
The Black Witch by Laurie Forest
Dracula Bram Stoker

Would love to know what you’re reading. I love to add more books to my TBR List. Are you on Goodreads? Would you like to be friends on there? Let me know.

MARIA GOODREADS

Reach Up To The Sky! Life is Beautiful!

It’s cold and it’s beautiful! January has so many beautiful things. Look around you and you will see. Look at the details. Small things matter! I’m so very happy. oh so many reasons. First I will say that my heart is filled with so much joy and love for my family and people around me. I’m feeling relaxed and calm. I have GRATITUDE for everything in my life. Life is a gift and I’m so very happy inside. I’ve been truly enjoying little things to the maximum, like a lovely cuppa coffee that my husband made. It is so special when he makes me a drink. I cherish special moments like this, do you?

I love a good fireplace. Last weekend I spent time at my sister in laws and they have a really amazing fire place. I’m so grateful that I was able to sit in front of a cozy fire and spend time with the family. I cherish moments like this. I feel so positive lately. Everything is amazing, beautiful and I’m so blessed. I feel fulfilled and very happy. I’ve stopped complaining. I’ve stopped thinking about what I don’t have and I think about how grateful I am with what I do have. Does this make sense? I’ve erased the internal fight within my self. I’ve diminished criticizing, comparing and worrying in my own mind. I am now calm and happy. It is such a waste of time to complain all the time. I love the place I’m in right now. It feels very soothing and calm.

This is the book I’m currently reading. “A Little Life” by Hanya Yanagihara. Last week I mentioned this book to my hubby and he went out and bought it for me. I’m so grateful. He remembers things I like and surprises me with gifts. It’s the little things that truly matter. He’s always been observant and a good listener. He really knows me like no other person. I love the way he makes me laugh.

I’ve been enjoying cooking lately and I contacted Hello Fresh Canada to try out their meal plans and I absolutely LOVED the experience. Here is a vlog I made with the entire cooking segment. Would you like to see more? Let me know. Feel free to use my code BESTDAYBLOGGER40 for 40% off your 1st Meal. Not Sponsored and Not and AD. I also did many IG Stories during the cooking which was so much fun.

Cooking with fresh and bright coloured ingredients makes me feel really happy and energetic! I really had a lovely experience with Hello Fresh Canada and I thank them so much for the meals. Truly amazing!

Today I posted an Instagram Photo and have written a little bit about me. I feel a lot of people don’t know who I am so I hope you check it out. Here is the IG Photo.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BeFzRa2jddJ/?hl=en&taken-by=bestdayblogger

The makeup that I used in the above picture is CHANEL NEAPOLIS Collection.

CHANEL NEAPOLIS: NEW CITY SPRING SUMMER 2018 COLLECTION FEATURE

Purple is one of my favourite colours. Purple also plays a huge role with AVON. They kindly sent me beautiful set of glasses with stunning butterflies on them. Truly Magical! Goes with what I’m feeling lately. I feel very free and at peace at the moment. Free flowing and going a long with the movement of life.

“Butterflies are eternal symbols of freedom and peace” -AVON

Since 2004, the Avon Foundation has helped to educate nearly 30 million women about domestic violence and served over 11 million women globally, guiding them to self-sufficiency. Avon will donate 10% of the sale price from domestic violence fundraising products to the Avon Foundation for Women Canada to support speak out against domestic violence programs across the country.