Back at it

 Finally back from the land of the sick. I pretty much slept for the entire weekend, and by Sunday afternoon felt well enough to go for a walk, do the laundry and do some little things around the condo.
Last week, by the time I left work on Friday I had a fever, my body felt bruised everywhere, I had the chills, pounding headache, congestion, even my teeth hurt from the sinus blockage ... I'm not actually sure how I managed to function. I took a nap in my car on my lunch break, and I'm the kind of person who cannot sleep anywhere but my own home. It was ridiculous. So once I got home I took a bath to try and regulate my body temp and get rid of the body aches. It worked temporarily, and then I slept oh how I slept. Hours upon hours and hours. They aren't kidding when they say sleeping cures all ailments. I dosed myself up with Nyquil, used my essential oils blend on my spine and feet both morning and night and must say that this is the fastest I have ever gotten over the flu. I've been unfortunate enough to get the flu three times in my adult life. The real flu -- not just a bad cold. Most times it takes over a week to get back to life and this time it was just a weekend. So I'm guessing it was a combination of sleeping and essential oils that did the trick. My new favourite blend - FLOOM - give it a shot! I used this alongside some infused Breathe.


Frankincense - 6 drops
Lemon - 12 drops
Oregano - 6 drops
On guard - 6 drops
Melaluca (or tea tree) - 6 drops


-Add this into a 10 ml rollerball bottle, top up with fractionated coconut oil and roll onto your spine and the bottoms of your feet twice a day. I smell like oregano right now, but aside from a cough and some lingering congestion, I feel pretty good! Thanks Beka for introducing me to doTERRA and for this blend! If you want to get in on this awesome-ness, feel free to connect  with me or visit this link

Picture from here

Now onto this week. Tonight I am making the "Autumn Harvest Skillet" from Speedy Spatula. It's easy, customizable and looks delicious! (The link is her summer version, but you can easily edit the veggies for fall).
I have to go grocery shopping after work, so figured I would do some meal planning this weekend before I went. We have decided that this will be our last week of the CSA produce. Now that the temps are getting cooler, a lot of what we get is going to be greenhouse grown anyways. We are still going to make an effort to eat organic and as local as possible (given our cold winter climate approaching), but we are ready to go back to choosing our veggies rather than being surprised each week. I didn't take a picture of last weeks (I was already feeling pretty sick by that point and didn't even have the energy to put it in the fridge. However, we got purple grapes, cucumber, tomato, watermelon, onion, garlic, green peppers, carrots, beets, green beans, blueberries, apples and pears. I think we have already eaten most of it. Except for the carrots. We have gotten 2lbs of carrots for the last four weeks. It is ridiculous! Thankfully carrots, even organic ones, have a long-ish shelf life, because we are still working our way through the second bag. Needless to say, there will be carrots in our skillet tonight.
Since this week will be our last CSA, we have added eggs and 2 lbs of potatoes to make it count. The potatoes have been our absolute favourite thing this summer - the flavour is unreal! Baking them with a bit of olive oil. salt and pepper has just been divine! I will miss those for sure! It will  be much easier to meal plan once I actually visit the grocery store (because I haven't really gone real grocery shopping in around 3 months - which I haven't missed AT ALL) so I'm hoping Fall can feel a little more organized!

Well, this has been a long rambly post. I am so sad that I missed out on Friday favourites, but there will be lots this week to make up for it!

Happy Monday!

Friday Favourites!

 

 I just love Friday Favourites. Linking up with the bloggers above just like every week!
 Today has been a crazy crazy day so my favourites are going to have to be speedy!

#1 Pumpkin Spice Lattes are back!!

 

 

 

Couldn't even wait until I took the pic to dig into the whipped cream

Okay, so it's only for a few days (4 to be exact), but you better believe I had one today and it was delicious. It was so chilly that I needed a coat outside, so I felt perfectly validated in having my PSL.



#2 This dress

Friends, I'm so ashamed. This is an Ivanka Trump dress.
But it's so beautiful and I love it and it's a perfect fall dress. Sigh. I feel like I need to go to confession or something.

 

#3 CSA delivery!

Yes, this week I actually remembered to take a photo. It was definitely a delicious delivery. The watermelons (while seeded - blech) are by far the sweetest most delicious watermelons I have ever tasted. Ever. I seriously had to take a moment while I was eating it. If it weren't for those darn seeds (first world problems), they would have been the most perfect watermelons ever. It was a good week!

#4. These shoes

Damn you Kate Spade for creating the most beautiful red heels ever. I didn't buy these (yet), but even at Winners they were still way expensive. But tell me those wouldn't be the perfect shoe for the dress above. Amiright?!

 

#5. Friday of the long weekend!

 

I am SO ready to have a long weekend. Even though I've taken off almost half of this month ... I'm still ready. There's just something so good about a long weekend, and it's not just that my fave radio station plays only 80s music all weekend.

Happy Friday everyone! We made it!

Friday Favourites!

My first ever Friday Favourites!
I'm linking up with some of my favourite blogs to take part in a post I've loved to read every week!


#1 Mix and Match Mama's Honey Pecan Chicken recipe
I had this last night for dinner for the second time and I just can't get over it. It is SO fast, so easy and so gluten free. I went with Shay's use of both white and dark meat and it was fantastic! I removed the thighs after 25 minutes and cooked the chicken breasts for another 15. It all came out wonderfully. This is definitely a favourite from our dinners this week! I'm not posting my own picture (because I forgot to take one), but I'll leave you to click the link. Her picture is amazing anyways :)

#2 My Lululemon Glide and Stride shirt
This shirt is so comfortable, so cute and I just can't get enough of it. I was able to get it for $39 from the sale instead of its original $74, which just adds to my enjoyment. I love that it comes with a built in bra, and I can't get over the sides. Sometimes I need to take a minute to just flit around in front of a mirror and look at it's adorable-ness. Hmm, that might be weird.
I also found it was true to size, and bought it in my usual 6. I wear a 6 in bottoms and tops religiously and have only deviated when I've read enough reviews to know I need to size up or down. Love those reviews.

 Images from here

#3 CSA Produce Day
I signed our home up for a CSA produce package that we pick up weekly from a home nearby. Unfortunately we don't live in one of the cities with delivery, but it's not much of a hassle to pick it up. It's actually on my way home from work. Each week we get a selection of local veggies and fruits, plus I added a $10 fruit basket. It's all organic and sooo fresh and delicious. It also forces me to think outside of the box for my meals, because I need to use up the produce! So far we have really cut down on grocery shopping. I still buy berries, watermelon and peaches/nectarines/plums, but I never really buy veggies anymore. It's been awesome! We have had some items that we aren't so inclined to use, luckily I can give those away to willing co-workers and friends who are only too happy to accept :) Case in point - those limes went to my co-worker today (he got them last time too!)
If you have a local CSA, I would highly recommend signing up. It is so worth it!

 

 

#4 teapigs Tea
This stuff is like the holy grail of tea to me. The chai masala and morning glory are my favourite flavours and I cannot get enough. I've seen them pop up here every now and then, but they never stick around in stores. They actually had it at picklebarrel the last time I went, but the morning glory was called English breakfast and didn't taste the same.

The tea temples have full tea leaves in them and are full of flavour like you wouldn't believe. My friend sent me some from the UK once, and now includes them every time she sends me a package, because she's just the best! If you ever see this tea - buy it. You won't regret it!! I am literally enjoying a cup of morning glory as I type this.

Images from here

 

Well, that's it for today. I'm sure that there is more I have loved this week, but these are the top 4!

Happy Friday!