Homemade Vanilla
November 24, 2019Like I always say, mostly everything that you buy, you can make yourself. When I ran out of vanilla for baking, I decided to investigate how I could make it myself. I was surprised to discover that vanilla consists of two simple ingredients: vanilla beans and alcohol. The majority of the vanilla beans sold today…
Would you eat this apple?
October 20, 2019I always thought that the apple tree in my backyard was an ornamental apple tree. In the five years we have lived in the house, the tree only produced small green apples. I don’t know what happened to my apple tree this year, however, not only do we have a phenomenal yield but the apples…
Thoughts about the Montreal Climate March
October 6, 2019I was one of the 500,000 people who attended the climate march on Friday September 27th. We were fortunate to have a gloriously sunny day with a bright blue sky and a pleasant temperature. It was heartwarming to see so many people from all walks of life attending the march: families, mothers with their…
Summer Capsule Wardrobe: 10×10 Challenge
September 3, 2019While I still have too many pieces for a true capsule wardrobe of 33 or 39 pieces, I enjoy completing the 10×10 challenge. For those of you who don’t know about this challenge created by Lee Vosburgh (aka Stylebee https://www.stylebee.ca/10-x-10-challenge/ ), it involves taking 10 pieces from your wardrobe and wearing them for 10 days. …
How does your garden grow?
August 24, 2019I started another garden this year. Last year was a learning experience for me and I was determined to improve and (pardon the pun) grow. Since cauliflower and broccoli were a disappointment, I decided to try two new vegetables: tomatoes and cucumbers. To my surprise, my strawberry plants came back and I just let them…
Upscale Vintage Shopping for a Black Purse
August 11, 2019Although I enjoyed my experiment shopping at Value Village / Village des Valeurs, this is not a place that I intend to do all my second hand item shopping. I only want to buy items that I love and will keep a long time. I am also not afraid to spend a little more to…
Trying to Make Homemade Apple Cider Vinegar
July 2, 2019Once you get into zero waste/reducing your waste, you realize that everything that you buy, you can probably make yourself. Sometimes it can be something easy to accomplish, and sometimes not. After taking my food waste class, I have become extremely aware of what I put into compost. While composting is a “good” thing, not…
4 Steps to Reducing your waste
June 13, 2019Spring is here and with the arrival of a new season, our thoughts also turn to personal changes. My colleague Fany is a busy, working mother of two young girls. The other day, she asked me to coach her on zero waste/reduce our waste living. It can be overwhelming. I used to be one of…
Rethinking Mother’s Day
May 13, 2019Once a shopaholic, always a shopaholic. Well, mentally at least. Now that I am “allowed” to shop, I often find myself thinking: It’s a nice day and I should go to the store and buy something. But wait, what is it that I need??? We all know that most of the time, the answer to…
Fashion Challenge: Not Wearing Black
May 5, 2019As of March 20th, spring is officially here. Not in my wardrobe though! Perhaps like some of you, I am getting tired of wearing black. Black is slimming, timeless and easy to wear, however, it is easy for it to become your go to when dressing. Now that a new season is upon us, I…