Easiest Pasta Primavera

Pasta is one of the easiest things to cook, and it is so versatile! I love improvising my pastas primavera with any and every vegetable I can find in my fridge. For the one below I washed, cut, and stir fried some snow peas, carrots, celery, mushrooms, red peppers, and onions, and then added them to my cooked pasta with a bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper! Done!

Dewdrops

Ten Ways to Good Health

Found the best advise in this cup of tea!

Toronto IDS 2015

After a long weekend at the Toronto Interior Design Show I came home exhausted but also exhilarated and excited, my mind full of new ideas. Beautiful and modern kitchens and bathrooms occupied a lot of the booths, as well as intricately designed furniture. Gorgeous tiles and hardwood floors in every shape and colour also made an appearance, and wood played a star role in decorative items and furniture. Here are just a few of all the creative things that made this event a success:

1. The booth of Netthaus Design-Build (www.netthaus.com) wowed with it's splash of black and gold. 

2. This colourful installation welcomed its guests into the show, already preparing them for a day of design.

3. As a Dr. Who fan, I couldn't resist getting this Allons-y print from Lint and Honey (www.lintandhoney.com), a home decor firm that specializes in chic pillows and prints.

Exploring Reykjavik

My fiance and I decided to take a short pre-honeymoon to Iceland for a week back in April. Reykjavik is a beautiful city filled with colourful houses, sea side views, and kind people. We found the cutest café with vegan food (yummy chili and carrot cake for dessert), which made our first day even more special.  Below are some Instagram photos from our first day, but I'll be sure to post some more!

Niagara Falls

These are just some beautiful photos I took last summer when visiting Niagara Falls. We had a gorgeous day, and I managed to take some great shots, especially just before sunset, of course!

Avocado Blackberry Salad

This was my super delicious vegan and healthy lunch today, which I made in 5 minutes, literally. To make it, just make a baby aurugula base (which you can replace with baby spinach, lettuce, mixed greens, etc), add 1 yummy sliced avocado, 1 sliced mini cucumber, and blackberries, almonds, and toasted sunflower seeds to your taste. Finish with your favourite dressing, I used a raspberry infused vinagre, and you're done. Enjoy!

Walking Dead Workout

Ok, this I just had to share. I don't know how long these awesome workouts have been going on for, but they're an amazing way to keep active, especially when you're spending an hour in front of the TV for most shows nowadays. I've seen some Game of Thrones and True Blood workouts on the internet, but the Walking Dead one is my favourite. You can probably google your favourite show and the word workout and find one of these, or you can create your own and up the ante every episode (10 squats to 15), you'll be super fit in the season finale!

Four Seasons Inspired Vegan Lunch

Today I had a delicious, healthy, and colourful vegan lunch that was also super easy to make. There's four parts to it inspired by the different seasons. Here's how to make each of them.

Spring - Cucumber Avocado Rolls
Slice a regular size cucumber lenght wise with a potato peeler to get those thin long layers. On the side, smash one to two avocados and add lime juice, salt, chopped parsley, and pepper to taste. Mix it all together and spread on the long cucumber layers individually. Roll them up and enjoy!

Summer - Tomato and Peppers Salad
This one is the simplest part of the dish but it adds a pop of colour and a lot of freshness to your meal. Simply chop two tomatoes and four sweet peppers of different colours and mix. They're so good by themselves, no dressing is needed!

Fall - Fried Tofu with Sea Salt
Slice tofu in small cubes, about half an inch in height and one inch on the sides.  On a frying pan at medium heat, add some canola oil so it covers the whole surface. Wait until the oil is hot to pour the tofu pieces. Wait between 10 to 15 min on each side or until golden before taking them out to dry on a paper towel. I like pressing them against it to remove the extra oil. Sprinkle with some sea salt to finish!

Winter - Lemony Mushrooms
Pour a bit of vegetable oil on a frying pan and add sliced white mushrooms. Let them cook for about 5 to 7 minutes. Squeeze a medium size lemon on top (or half if its really big), and sprinkle some salt, pepper,  parsley, basil, and onion powder to taste. I also add a little bit of olive oil at this point. Mix and let it continue cooking on low for another 5 to 7 minutes. You can serve them with a lemon wedge on the side.

Bon appétit!

Yummy Breakfast

Nothing makes me happier in the mornings than having a delicious healthy breakfast after my workout. This delicious vegan bowl of goodness is super easy and fast to make, plus it tastes like heaven.
I pour soy milk on top of half a bowl of oats and put it in the microwave for a minute and a half. In the meantime I wash about four strawberries and a handful of blueberries. I stir the oats after they're done heating and put a layer of cereal crumbs (my favourite is bran flakes), a spoonful of chia seeds, and another of flax seeds. To finish up, I cut up half a banana, and place them evenly along with the strawberries and blueberries.  Yummm!

Managing Chores

When my husband and I moved to our new house we spent about a month renovating it and turning it into a place we could both call home. After all that hard work, we also wanted to make sure we would keep up with our chores so all our effort was not in vain. I created these simple, yet cute and practical, versions of a to-do list in order to keep up with all the stuff to do around the house, including watering the plants, laundry, and taking care of the cats. It now hangs on our fridge door and our goal each week is to make sure all the chores on the To Do section are posted on the Done one.

Emma's Fantastic Adventures

Last September my friend Emma from England came to visit me in Toronto for my wedding. When we went to visit Niagara Falls she got the cutest travel journal to write all her thoughts on, and she asked me to decorate it (in Spanish)! I said yes, of course, and this is what the cover page now looks like. I hope it inspires you as well!

Happy New Year!

It's a new day and a new year to start fresh! Among my resolutions I've included eating healthier and donating more, watching less television and also getting more creative. I find that I doodle a lot during my time off, just absent-mindedly, and most of those doodles will eventually end up in the garbage bin because they were unlucky enough to be drawn on a receipt or the back of a napkin. No more, I say! On top of carrying a new notebook in my purse, I will attempt to keep a scrapbook journal with all of these loose notes of creative work... who knows where they might lead? I will also document them on my phone, just like this cute sign I made celebrating the new year. So here's to a productive, successful, and creative 2015!