it's my girls' world

Gretchen Rueben's Happier Podcast recently discussed thinking about the scents in your life and how it can be a happiness booster. Being a very olfactory person myself, I figured a scent snapshot was in order for 2018... Here are the scents that permeate our life currently...

- Bread toasting in the morning. Granted, these days I'm not having any of the said bread but I adore the smell

- Morning coffee that D drinks... tea has no smell :-)

- Laundry detergent during the weekend when I do at least 4-7 loads of laundry most weekends.

- Freshly cut grass when I'm walking to pick up the kids from school

- Chlorine from towels, hair and swim meets.

- The smell of my Philosophy Fresh Cream shower gel.

- Grilling- we've done a lot of grilling for the past five months.

- Voluspa coconut wax candles are my jam these days because of the 'cleaner burn', unique smells, lack of parabens and the more natural wicks. I still don't burn them often though. 

- The gymnastics studio smells like a combination of rubber and shoes.... not the best smell but distinct nonetheless

- Fresh baking either at home or in the market...

- My friend Jenn's house is a very light, warm scent that is very inviting. 

- The smell of my kids' freshly washed hair.

What scents permeate your life these days?

It was HOT this weekend.... and I'm totally not complaining.... we didn't take enough pics but here's what we were up to:

- It was our turn to host our summer neighbourhood happy hour  at 6:30on Friday (BYOB and  everyone brings an app to share) and it was the largest one ever as D invited some other neighbours and friends... think 30 people and 6 kids. The previous owner who designed the house also came (eeeep) so we were nervous as we've changed a few things but he was very complimentary. Our last guests left about midnight so it was more than just 'happy hour' but it was a wonderful time. We cleaned up before bed to wake up to a fresh shiny house....

- Saturday morning was spent doing some laundry and having breakfast outside.

- D's aunt and uncle came to meet us for lunch. It was wonderful catching up with them! We all had meal envy for D's mushroom salad and I'm going to make one this week!

- We tried taking a walk along the river but the extra hot temps did not permit. 

- Very last minute, D invited a friend and his family for a swim and simple dinner. We put some shrimp and chicken burgers on the grill and leftover apps and dessert from the night before. #winning #wastenotwantnot

- Sunday was spent doing some cooking, cleaning, pool time, pizza (cauli crust for me and D) and board games before watching Little House and the Prairie as a family before bed.

Now it's Monday morning and I need to wake up my kids to get ready for school!!!

So many weddings-- I think we saw three... those brides must have been sweating!

Linking up with Biana for weekending~

Yay for Friday!! Here is my five for Friday that have been bringing bits of happy around here.

1- It's been hot then cold then cool and then back to hot again. It was so hot the other day even mama got into the pool.

5- Take a look at my mom's weekly fitbit report. #stepgoals

Happy Weekending! Make it a good one!!

Linking up with

It's still summer around here - figuratively and literally with warm temps and it being before September 21st and all. Though I'm still soaking up all that sweet sunshine, here's a bit of fall and how we do it...

Switching it back to the early morning wake ups, screen time limits, extra curricular and cleaner eating.  Summer is fun but routine is awesome also! 

We are huge fan of the fall produce. From quashes to pumpkins to all apples available, they are all so yummy. I have so many different recipes, most of them from online. My pumpkin poppers are a big hit in this house. I also make huge batches of healthy butternut squash and pumpkin soup with loads of spicy goodness.  I look for all the different types of pumpkins and squash and try my best to make different seasonal recipes- my sausage stuffed acorn squash is also a big hit around here. 

I use cloth scarves whenever cold- even in the wintertime when most people switch to wool. They're such a fun way to dress up an outfit! Fall is the perfect time to bust them out after their summer hiatus. I start wearing them even before I pull out my jackets with just my tunics. 

5- Fall outings

6- Fall Fashions