{Gluten Free} Pineapple UpsideDown Cake

Earlier this week I was at a lunch play date and the host (aka. a wonderful BFF) absolutely spoiled us with the perfect, summery dessert! And to boot, she made it gluten free!! (This is when you KNOW its true love, when she never lets me go without the amazing yumminess!!)

I could hardly wait for an excuse to recreate this divine little cake, so I didn't! I made it the following evening for dessert! What a hit! Its moist, perfect, delicious and so crazy easy to make. Its the perfect potluck dessert, too... just be prepared for the invitations to come rolling in once you share this with your friends!

Jamberry Application Tips & Tricks

Since I started using Jamberry wraps a few months ago, I have definitely improved my application technique and I'd like to share some of the tips I've picked up that make the process so much easier! If you haven't checked it out already, head over here to check out my new obsession & find the link to the Jamberry Application video.

Jamberry Journey

Its been a while (yet again) but I am finally getting a few minutes to sit down and share. We've been spending most of our time outside in the nice weather. Its almost impossible to get the boys inside long enough to eat a meal before they are gone again! I can't complain though, I was sooooo ready for coats & boots season to end. 

I'm really excited to share with you that I have joined Jamberry Nails. I have been using them for a few months now and decided to take the plunge and see where it takes me. I'd like to take the opportunity now to share a little bit about these trendy, fun nail products and to share why I'm so in love!

Jamberry is a family-based business. Briefly, three sisters came up with the idea to create these durable, easy-to-use nail wraps in beautiful colours and designs to appeal to nails everywhere! The nail wraps are non-toxic and can be applied right to your nail with heat and pressure.

I'm a nail polish-aholic, and I love doing my nails so I couldn't wait to try these wraps! There are many benefits to using them, including the ease of application, no dry time, and no chipping! This is super exciting for me as a busy Mom of 4 little boys. I rarely ever have time to paint my nails and have them dry without someone needing something and the consequence is always bumped and flawed manicures. Also, within a day or two, polish always chips, and that's a real bummer.

Once I learned the proper way to apply Jamberry, I was hooked! They last on my hands up to 16 days (I might have been able to leave them on longer, I was dying to change it up!) I've done my toes as well, and I got well over a month on my first attempt! 

There are more than 300 nail wrap designs, solids and tips to choose from so no matter what your preference, we've got you covered. If you can't narrow down the choices, don't worry! Wraps are Buy 3 Get 1 FREE!

The nail wraps come with enough to do 2 complete manicures & 2 complete pedicures, with enough leftover for a bunch of accent nails.

Here are a few pics of my recent Jams.  

Lovely Spring Shamrocks & Rainbows

Even did a Toe-Jam!

These Get Hoppy Easter wraps were so sweet!

Gelato & Rose Gold Sparkle

And finally, Desert at Dusk!

I would love it if you would check out the styles over on my site, and let me know with a comment here about what designs you LOVE! Everyone who comments will be entered to win a sheet of accent wraps!

Check out the application video!

Let me know your fav design!

{Gluten Free} Mini Snack Bars

Hello All!!  Its been so long since I've posted that I hardly know what to start with! How about, Happy New Year! Its still technically the new year and I think its still allowed right? Since just before Christmas, things have been crazy around here with two boys in hockey,  a major holiday, school commitments, etc. Its sometimes hard to come up for air! So I apologize for my blog neglect, and I hope that this doesn't happen again (at least for a long time...).

I'm excited to share this amazing recipe! It happened because I messed up another recipe and didn't realize until I had half of the bars pressed into the Perfect Petites mould. So then I thought, rather than scoop it all out and start again, I'd just give it a go and see what the results would be. Well I'm thrilled to report.... they. are. DELICIOUS! And for a gluten free treat (especially a homemade one) no one else even noticed! They are the perfect consistency, kind of like a granola bar with a soft centre. How EXCITING!! So then I thought to myself, "YAY! Lunch treats!". Except then I thought to myself, "you DOPE! You put pecans in the recipe!". So I'm making the pecans optional and saying use either that or double the dried fruit for gluten free, nut free yumminess!

{Gluten Free} Mini Pumpkin Pie Cakes

It feels like FOREVER since I've shared a recipe! I'm not even going to look back and see how long its been! This one is better-late-than-never, but I have a few reasons for that.... Its been crazy busy here this fall. So that's one. The second reason is that I have tested this recipe several times and its finally tweaked to perfect (if I do say so myself!). The third and most important reason is my little bambino who just absolutely loved to be held (by me) pretty mush all the hours that he is awake.... And he's not a fan of sitting still for me to blog. 

In case you didn't know it, I'm a pumpkinaholic. I love pumpkin almost as much as my kids and chocolate and so I have been seeking really good pumpkin recipes that are gluten free. For those of you who eat a gluten free diet, you will understand just how important 'good' recipes are. There are a lot of different products out there, and recipes, but its hard to find DELICIOUS ones. I have pretty much perfected this recipe and I am excited to share it!

Tutorial: Get your lashes on! (Quick & Easy!)

If you want the secret to long, full, beautiful lashes in minutes, you've come to the right place! As you can imagine, with the busy schedule that comes along with having four boys, I don't have much time to dedicate to anything else. Occasionally I get the chance to clean up a mess before the next one lands, but in general its go, go, go! So when I discovered the 3D Fiber Lashes from Younique, I was sold on everything about them! My absolute fav feature is how quick you can apply the lashes! It only takes minutes! 

Here's a quick step-by-step tutorial on applying these great lashes! (I did this in the car with the kids loaded because we were early for the bus! I figured I might as well make good use of the time!)

Easy Homemade Strawberry Jam

Strawberry season is here (well I guess its almost over)! We took our little men and went picking last week. We also brought the neighbour kids. Can I just suggest that you do this when you're planning to go picking? I didn't have to do anything! I just gave all the little people little baskets and set them loose in to the patch. They were competing to see who could fill their basket faster and that worked out quite well! They had a blast and I got 8 litres of fresh strawberries in under 45 minutes.

It didn't look like a lot at the time but when we got home and I got to washing them I quickly decided that we couldn't possibly eat all of the berries before they went bad. So we started jammin'. Hahaha... I really find myself entertaining at times. (Sidenote, its hard to type entertaining. Or is that just me? My fingers got all messed up both times there. Try it.)

Simple DIY Washi Tape Greeting Cards

Happy Weekend!  I'm excited to say that I survived the week! This is very exciting for me because this was the week that my hubby went back to work after a wonderful three weeks off. It was busy, but the adjustment of 3 to 4 boys went way smoother than I could have anticipated! 

Now that we are in more of a permanent routine, I'm happy to have some time to post! (Well I sort of have time... This is my third attempt at finishing this post...)

Without further ramblings (and in case any of the four little people that I share the house with require something), here are the fun and easy Washi Tape Greeting Cards I've been itching to share!

Washi Wreath Night - Washi Anonymous

This week was very exciting for some friends and I. We have decided to start a craft group and we are going to have either monthly or bi-monthly get togethers where we will create something wonderful. We decided that for our very first event, we would plan a craft that we would all do and see how it went. In future, we will probably do some nights with a plan and some where we just bring whatever we are working on and go to town!

Since a few of us are totally addicted to washi tape, we called our little group Washi Anonymous. We even made a Facebook group to organize and plan and inspire each other. I am so happy that we have started this group for a number of reasons. Now that we have had our first event I am pretty sure the #1 reason I love it is for the awesome girl time! We crafted and chatted and ate yummy snacks! It was so refreshing!

10 Easter Crafts for Kids {Perfect Pins}

After a couple of weeks off from Thursday's Perfect Pins, I'm excited to share this week's awesome finds! With everything that was going on in my pregnancy, I slacked a bit...

So, are you getting ready for the Bunny's big visit?? Here are a list of 10 of the very cutest kids' crafts I could find for Easter! I am excited to try a few of these on the upcoming weekend (we'll have a backup plan in case the weather is rainy).

I'm totally loving the handprint/footprint ones that would be perfect keepsakes!  There's quite a few of them in various forms.  Hope you enjoy these and find something to do with your own little ones!

Simple Easter Centrepiece

I'm getting things ready for Easter, and I realized that I had been wanting to make a centrepiece for quite some time now. With all the nesting I had been up to, I had stashed away a lot of my crafting goodies to get the house organized. Earlier today I remembered about the idea I had a few weeks ago and so I picked up the rest of the supplies I needed from the Dollarama and got to it this evening!  And wow, I'm super glad I did! This project turned out so great!

The boys helped a little with the washi tape (they love it as much as I do!), and they love the finished project. The couldn't wait to show Dad!... And I think he secretly loves it too. Hehe!

DIY Baby's Nursery Sign

Here's a cute and easy little project that my wonderful friend and I made during my exciting hospital stay! She brought all the supplies and surprised me with this project.  It couldn't have turned out cuter!  What a better way to put in an evening than with washi tape and a glue gun?!

I really hope that when we use this on the baby's door, the boys get the message! Maybe we will start hanging it in preparation and they can practice...

DIY Bassinet Makeover

I've been getting ready for baby... cooking, baking, filling the freezers and nesting around the house. Things are really starting to come together here, especially with the motivation that comes along with this condition that I have been diagnosed with.  I have been really trying to get ahead of things just in case. If you haven't already read them, I've posted a couple of recent updates here and here. Things are moving along, and I can't believe its only a few short weeks until baby arrives!

I've been finding it hard to decide on what new things this baby needs, as we've already got most of what we need from all these other kids, and I am not into doubles of items. I also like to reuse what I've got, no need to update with each baby. I have to say that even after three boys, most items are holding up quite well!

I had a wonderful idea a few weeks back, and I purchased the supplies I would need to make it happen. In typical me fashion, I put it off until just last week (nothing like waiting til the last minute for these things). I am so excited to share this project and I am happy to report that it was way easier than I had originally planned on, which was a total bonus!  I had anticipated a few days worth of work and time but had it completed in one afternoon!

Slow Cooker Italian Ranch Beef - Prepped in 2 Mins or Less!

I have to share this recipe for two reasons. 1) Its the most delicious recipe of my whole life I'm pretty sure and 2) it takes less than 2 minutes to prep. I am so happy that a girlfriend shared this with me, and that I was able to try it at her house so that I was extremely motivated to make it. I actually called my hubby on the way home and asked him to pick up the stewing beef so that I could make it the next day! Now I have to say that the original recipe called for three different envelopes of mixes (can you say SODIUM OVERLOAD!), but my brilliant friend modified the recipe to include the delicious Epicure products that we love.

10 St. Patrick's Day Treats {Perfect Pins}

St. Patrick's Day is a school day this year!!  YAY!!  I hope that I'm going to be able to make one of these treats below to send with the boys to school.  It will be an exciting day as its the first day back from March Break.  I can't believe how fast this week is going by. Its almost over & I'm sad!

I'm thinking that maybe Sunday I will try to get treats made, and maybe make it a team effort and the boys can help...  It will be a fun way to end the weekend and they will (hopefully) be just as excited as I will be to send some fun treats to school!

Tomato Zucchini Soup

Recently I have been trying to fill the freezer with meals that will be handy for when I'm in the hospital, and for once we are home with this new baby.  I'm all about convenience and fast meals.  

Here is the easiest soup recipe you have ever made. Well, its not quite as easy as opening a can... but its pretty darn close!

10 Shamrock Crafts for Kids {Perfect Pins}

I'm always looking for crafts for my boys. I especially love doing holiday & special occasion themed activities with them. This winter has been long and cold, and its always nice to have a stash of ideas ready and waiting for the days that are too cold for a lot of outdoor play.

Here are the very cutest shamrock crafts I have come across for St. Patty's Day that's fast approaching (Who else CAN't believe its already the first week of MARCH?!?!)

Chocolate Peach Smootie

I've been getting a lot done around the house these days, and I have been trying to sneak in quick meals during the day so as not to interrupt the flow! I get easily sidetracked and so stopping to make lunch will usually end in me sitting on the couch for the rest of the afternoon catching up on my recorded shows. Did I mention this is week 32 of pregnancy? I think its a good enough excuse!

The To Do List for today has been shortened (due to my probably overdoing it a little yesterday) but I really hope to get through most of it. Wish me luck!

I slowed down to make some lunch, and with a lot of things being far less than appealing, I decided to make a smoothie. Now, this recipe might not sound delicious as I was just looking through the fridge and threw in whatever looked delicious. It turned out so tasty! I can't even believe it. Even now as I write this recipe out I feel like it looks like a strange combination. Give it a try though. Its so yummy!

10 Free Character Crochet Hat Patterns {Perfect Pins}

As I'm (finally) getting some crochet projects finished, I thought I would share with you 10 of my favourite character crochet patterns! I have tried all of these patterns and they turn our FABULOUS! (Two of them are mine... I'm allowed to toot my own horn from time to time... Right?!) Check out some of the projects I've done here.


These are all easy to follow and quick to make. I hope you find something you love and share what you've made here in comments!

Rise & Shine: Healthy Breakfast Omlette

Mornings are always a crunch around here trying to get everyone organized and ready for the days.  Today we were off for Family Day and it was nice to have the extra day with no plans, no school, no work & no hockey!  I took the opportunity to put together a delicious breakfast.  I LOVE really good breakfast.  Who am I kidding?... I love food in general.  But there is something about a big, healthy breakfast that makes me extraordinarily happy.  

This morning I played a little game of "What's in the Fridge", and here's what I came up with!  It was SOOOOO tasty & filling.  The boys chose to go for boiled eggs & bacon.  I enjoyed this fabulous omlette to myself.  I can't say I'm sad that they didn't want to share!