Friday Funny!

A little something to make you laugh this morning.   Clearly it’s 5:00 somewhere!!   *Make sure to turn up the music, it makes it better!

READ THIS FIRST!!

This is a real video, from a French documentary about Africa.
You won't understand a word, but the video is a hoot. There are trees that grow in Africa which, once a year, produce very juicy fruit's that contain a large percentage of alcohol. Because there is a shortage of water, as soon as the fruits are ripe, animals come there to help protect themselves from the heat. What happens next, you can watch for yourselves. You can easily tell who over ate and who didn’t!!

Have a fantastic weekend!!

Operation Beautiful…

  

The Beauty Of A Woman

The beauty of a woman
isn't in the clothes she wears,
The figure that she carries,
or the way she combs her hair.
The beauty of a woman
must be seen from in her eyes;
Because that's the doorway to her heart,
the place where love resides.
The beauty of a woman
isn't in a facial mole;
But true beauty in a woman,
is reflected by her soul.
It's the caring that she cares to give,
the passion that she shows;
And the beauty of a woman
with passing years only grows.

~Maya Angleou

This photo was found at www.operationbeautiful.com 
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A Day at the Beach!

Since I’ve decided to make my blog a “life blog” rather than just a food blog, I have really been enjoying sharing my summer adventures with you!!  I hope you are enjoying it too!! 

This past weekend some friends invited us to hop in their boat and head over to one of the lovely islands we have around us. 

Normally it would take 2 ferries to get here,  but when you hop into a bright yellow speed boat, it only takes 20 – 30 minutes to get to beach paradise!

We took the speed boat, and the other part of the crew took this sail boat! Beautiful hey?

Paradise – I tell ya! 

Now – this may look like a warm tropical beach – but the water was COLD!!   Not freezing, but not Mexico warm, that’s for sure!

But we made the best of it!  Rough life I know!!

On top of the chilly water -  it was FILLED with jelly fish!!  Thankfully not the stinging type!!   Look at my shadow, you can see them!   My friend was brave enough to pick one up…  It was terrible enough swimming through them and having them touch me, I couldn’t imagine picking one up! EEK! Moving on…

Lots of time was spent hanging out at the boat! 

After a few hours in the sunshine,  we packed up and jumped back in the boat.   A few were almost left behind!

Enjoying the ride!   Then we decided to stop at the island’s only restaurant for dinner!

Lovely… they had an all you could eat Deck BBQ But I just had the tuna burger with salad… it was AMAZING!  As was everyone else’s meals!  Then time to hop back into the boat, for the sunset ride home!!

     Seriously?  How amazing is this?

I could never live away from the ocean again, it’s too amazing!

Just about to get off the boat - we are a little sun kissed… but had the most amazing day!!  Not sure if we’ll be able to top it this summer!  Thanks to our lovely hosts!! :)

  Hope you enjoyed!!

Want to come next time??

Thank you and a Blog Award

Well hello there!!

I have to send a shout out to the wonderful Jolene @ Every Day Foodie.  I won a giveaway on her site a few weeks ago, and got the delicious package last week…

Amazing grass, larabar, Burts Bees lip balm, peanut butter, hemp seeds, a face and hair mask , an AMAZING coconut bar (SO AMAZING) and a $25 gift card to Chapters… which I got this book with!!  (SO EXCITED about this book!) I can’t wait to test out all the goodies in this book!!

So sending a HUGE thank you to Jolene for this amazing package! 

_____________________________________

Also the lovely Kris from I Heart Wellness gave me a BLOG AWARD!

There are some Rules and Guidelines for this Award:

1. Thank the beautiful person who presented you with this award

2. Tell 7 things about yourself

3. Pass the award on to 10 bloggers who you have recently discovered, and think are fantastic!

So here it is……….

1. I am a reality TV junkie – Real Housewives, Hell’s Kitchen, ANTM, Bachelorette… love them!!

2. I used to run… I’ve done a 10km, 8km and a few 5km races.  I am SUPER slow, but I did it!!  Now I need to find the inspiration to get back to it again.

3. I am an only child.  Sometimes I wish I had a brother or sister, but then I turn around and think I would be completely happy having 1 baby!

4.  I bought my own condo when I was 27.  It was super cute.  Stainless steel appliances, gorgeous mountain view and funky updates.  I still own it, but rent it out to an awesome tenant!

5. I have been working with kids and special needs kids/adults for over 12 years.  (Besides Dave) It’s the love of my life!  I feel like I come alive around kids!!  It’s a very easy/natural job for me!!

6. I LOVE getting emails!  I check my email a million times per day, just in case I get a good one!! (Facebook too)

7. I broke my front tooth 2 times.  It’s still not fixed properly and drives me crazy, especially in pictures.  But I am trying to embrace it as me.  (Just hoping I can do some photo shopping to my wedding photos)

Now onto 10 bloggers, I love!!!!!! 

One of my newest and most favourite bloggers! Char from Char’s Kitchen! She’s upbeat and has awesome raw recipes on her site!

Simple Daisy – not like any other blog that I read, but she creates such beautiful things. I am inspired by her every time I see a new blog post!  (plus she’s an ocean girl like me!)

Happy Healthy Hottie.  What can I say, sweetest girl around! Her positive body imagine is amazing.  Another inspiration.

Tracey at Tropical Happiness!!  I love Tracey, because I could totally see us being friends in real life!  There are just some people you can tell… she’s one of them!  Plus, she posts some of the most amazing photos of her gorgeous tropicalness! haha

Opera Singer in the Kitchen – amazingly yummy vegan recipes galore! This girl knows how to cook!

The Voracious Vegan -  I respect  the lovely voracious vegan so much,  she is full of amazing feminist and vegan fire which I admire!! Plus, she easily creates some of the tastiest looking deserts in blog world.

Jesse Bites N Pieces – I always look forward to reading Jesse’s posts when they pop into my inbox!  Yummy vegan recipes and great posts about day to day adventures!

Jolene at Every Day Foodie – My longest, most loyal blog reader!!  I always look forward to her comments as well as her lovely blog posts!

Karen at To Be the Whole Package!  Lovely lady,  fellow wedding planner AND we are meeting in 2 – 3 weeks and I am so excited!!

Ali Fat to Fit – Besides being a lovely hearted person, she just bought her domain name, so you MUST go say hi and tell her CONGRATS!!

There you have it folks!! :)   Make sure to check out these awesome blogs!!  They are really all fabulous people who continually brighten my day!!

PS.  Of course there are MANY more of you too, this just merely skims the surface of wonderful blog friends I have! :)

xo

Jess

Perfect Summer Salad

Howdy guys!

Don’t you just LOVE summer!!  I was so excited because I finally made a garden fresh salad!!

The goodies from my garden! 

Rainbow Chard, radishes, arugula, greens,  red kale and black kale!

Teamed up with some goodies from my fridge = delicious fresh salad!

Amazing…

In one of my super cute Gordan Ramsey dishes I got at my shower from my lovely friend Myriah!

Perfection I tell ya!! :)

What is your perfect summer salad?

I also am loving my green (brown) smoothie jam packed with garden goodies… topped with raw treats, served over good summer reading! 

Do ever eat your green smoothies with goodies on top?

MMMmmm..

Another Day in the Mountains

Glad you guys all enjoyed the Brownies!! MMM  Did anyone try it?

Anyways, as I promised Day #2 at the Mountain!!

This is how much stuff we packed for overnight!! Painful hey?

Perfect little seat…

On our little hike… this is one of my favorite places!

We also got to feed the Whiskey Jacks!! 

Chubby little birdies!!

Such a beautiful place!!   And we even ran into SNOW!!!

Then I came home and made a green smoothie topped with Raw Granola and Gogi berries!! mmm

Have a beautiful day and a GREAT weekend!!!  Will be back next week!!

xo Jess

Brownies in a Cup?

Howdy guys,

It’s been forever since I have posted a recipe – so I have a good one for you today!  What could be better than brownies in a cup? 

This recipe is perfect for nights when you are craving something decedent, but don’t want to risk making a whole pan, in case you (by accident of course) sit down and eat the WHOLE PAN – don’t judge,  we’ve all done it!! :)

Vegan (Dairy Free) Brownies In a Cup!    Ingredients:
4 Tablespoons Flour
2 Tablespoons Sugar (more if you need sweeter)
2 Tablespoons Cocoa powder

1 Tablespoon  Oil (think light tasting olive oil, veggie oil or coconut oil)
3 Tablespoons Water
Dash of salt (don’t forget this step, it brings out the sweetness)

Mix all ingredients in a mug.   Pop into the microwave for 60 seconds. (May need more or less time, depending on microwave)

Let sit for a few seconds (I know it’s hard to wait) then top with favorite toppings – Caramel Sauce, nuts, berries, nut butter… yummy!!

Here is mine topped with my homemade caramel sauce, pecans and raspberries! YUM  (it may not look pretty, but it tastes great)

Enjoy!

Jessica

Big Day Up & Giveaway winner!

Hey guys!
Long time no post!!  I had a great one for you, and when I went to post it, the whole thing disappeared!! EEK!  I can’t say I was a happy camper over that!!

But…

It brings me to this post – which is a good one!!   

As for the winner of the giveaway -  Check out the bottom of this post!!! 


So this weekend we heading up to the Mountain for a music festival called “The Big Time Up”! 

There were a total of 9 bands all on an outside stage, with the backdrop being the beautiful mountains!!  We checked into our cute condo…

our condo was right at the ski lift base!!

Then we walked over to the venue!!
  The stage!!

We grabbed our spots, away from the dust pits…  and enjoyed all the bands!! 
It was A LOT colder than we were expecting, especially when the clouds started rolling in….
After a bit, we decided it was time for dinner!!

I got the Vegan plate -  it was just ok… the beans were awesome! Then back to our seats to enjoy the show… 
Once the final band came on (Cat Empire) we headed up closer to the stage!  (AKA the dust pit!) 

All in all it was a great day!!   We were tired and SUPER dirty after, but it was all worth it!!
Stay tuned this week for part 2!!!

GIVEAWAY WINNER -   you should be getting an email shortly regarding your cookbook!!  Congrats Vicky!!

Anywhoo .... How are you guys?  I miss chatting with you on twitter etc… life has just been so busy, I haven’t had a chance to check in!  So tell me how you are,  what’s new!! ETC!! 
xo Jess