There is nothing more satisfying than planting some seeds, watching them grow, harvesting the veggies and then eating them for dinner. Farm to table life is not only good for your health but also your wallet and the environment. This idyllic lifestyle might seem like an unrealistic dream for those that live in cities, work a 9-5, have a family or simply don’t have the time to “farm” their food. The good news is there are plenty of veggies that are easy to grow and that don’t require much space.

Tomatoes
The great thing about tomatoes is they can be grown on a balcony or in a garden. If this is your first time growing tomatoes we recommend buying starter plants rather than growing them straight from seeds. This will give you a good idea of how much water and sun they need and then the following year you can try growing them from seeds.

Onions 
Onions  grow very quickly and are easy to take care of. Plant them in a row and you will be able to harvest some green onions in a couple weeks. There is very little care required for onions, simply plant the bulbs, water and enjoy! Once harvested, onions like to be kept in a cool, dry place.

Peas
The best time to grow peas is right now, so here’s how to do it so you can start today! Peas like to be grown upright and on a climber so they can have something to wrap their vines around (a wooden ladder or metal pole would work well). They thrive in cooler weather so it’s best to grow them in the spring rather than the summer, time to get growing!

Lettuce The difference in taste between store bought lettuce and homegrown is staggering. Homegrown lettuce has a rich, fresh taste that store bought can never compete with. To grow lettuce, simply just sprinkle the seeds into your garden ( or garden box if you don’t have a backyard) and pick the lettuce once it comes up to promote new growth. 

Basil
Basil can be grown pretty much anywhere. It not only tastes amazing but it will make your whole house smell heavenly (if you are growing it inside). Basil can be either potted or grown in a garden bed depending on the space available to you. Pluck leaves and use immediately, you can also dry the herb and use it in cooking all year round.

This past year, CENTURY 21 Canada companies raised an incredible $704,152.19 for Easter Seals camps.

 

“The unconditional love of a pet makes it hard to place a value on a cute little puppy or kitten. But according to a recent RateSupermarket.ca study, the cost of a pet in its first 12 months of is approximately $2,600 for a puppy and $1,900 for a kitten.” https://www.ratesupermarket.ca/blog/the-cost-of-owning-a-pet-in-canada/  

Get a dog, they said. It will be easy and not that expensive, they said. Just some food, treats, a leash and some shots right? The cost of pet ownership is a sneaky thing, so it’s important to budget and plan ahead for unforeseen expenses.

Here’s the breakdown of the unexpected costs for your first year of pet ownership:

Adopting/ Purchasing your pet

• $500.00 (minimum)– purebread (cat or dog)
• $85.00- $100.00– adoption (cats)
• $135.00-$275.00 – adoption (dogs)  

Training and licencing:  $800.00 (average for a dog)   $400.00 (for a cat)  

Puppy classes can run anywhere from $100.00- $500.00 depending on the class and duration.

If you opt for pet insurance, budget approximately $500.00 per year for a puppy, and $357.11 for a kitten.

Essentials: $1000.00  (dog) $900.00 (cat)

Leashes, bowls, toys, crates, litter boxes, etc. can really add up. To keep costs low, try to find as much as you can from second hand stores before buying everything new.

Vaccines: $650.00 approximately (puppy and kittens)

The preliminary vaccines are very expensive but highly necessary. This cost includes microchips, getting them spayed or neutered and heartworm prevention.

Injuries/ Illnesses : $200.00-$800.00

As much as we all hope it never happens, it’s important to consider possible injuries and illnesses. A broken bone can cost a minimum $200.00 to fix it.

Chewed/ damaged furniture and clothes : $250.00- $500.00

Cheeky little puppies are very cute but can also be highly destructive. Try to puppy-proof as much of your house as possible before brining the pup home to avoid possible destruction. As much as we prepare, there will be messes and chewed up belongings. Hide all expensive bags and shoes so they will escape the innocent but deadly jaws of your pup.  Oh the joys of pet ownership!

Source: https://www.ratesupermarket.ca/blog/the-cost-of-owning-a-pet-in-canada/ 

 

« Non seulement le surcyclage bénéficie l’environnement, il alimente l’économie en favorisant de nouveaux processus de fabrication novateurs et ouvre de nouveaux marchés ». — Surcyclage : de déchet à trésor

Vous connaissez sans doute le dicton « les vidanges des uns sont les trésors des autres ». Dans ce blogue, il ne s’agit pas de transformer les déchets proprement dits en trésor, mais plutôt de réadapter de vieux meubles négligés. Avez-vous des meubles qui accumulent de la poussière chez vous? Voici trois façons inventives de les transformer :

 

 

1.                   Transformation de table d’appoint en pouf :   

Avez-vous une vieille table d’appoint rangée dans un coin oublié de la maison? Vous pouvez la transformer en un beau pouf fonctionnel! Voici comment faire :

Matériaux :

— table d’appoint

— mousse

— couteau tout usage

— scie   

— tissu

— pistolet agrafeur  

Instructions :

Mesurez et coupez la mousse

Après avoir mesuré la table, trouvez un morceau de mousse pour poser sur le dessus de la table. À l’aide du couteau, coupez la mousse pour correspondre aux dimensions de la table.     

Ajustez la hauteur du pouf en coupant les pieds de la table  

Comment déterminer la hauteur d’un pouf? Asseyez-vous sur le divan, étirez vos jambes et demandez à quelqu’un de mesurer la distance entre vos jambes et le plancher; ce chiffre représente la hauteur approximative du pouf. À l’aide d’une scie, coupez les pieds de la table pour obtenir la hauteur désirée. Et n’oubliez pas de couper uniformément!

Apposez-y du tissu

Coupez un morceau de tissu un peu plus grand que les dimensions de la mousse. Apposez le tissu sur la mousse, agrafez le tissu à la table et taillez le tissu restant. Voilà, vous avez un super meuble pour reposer vos pieds!

 

2.            Vieillissement des meubles

Bien que cela puisse sembler contre-intuitif, vous pouvez donner un aspect moderne à un meuble en le vieillissant. Pour les meubles qui ne respectent plus le style de décoration de votre habitation, il existe d’innombrables façons de les réadapter. Voici une méthode simple ainsi que les matériaux requis :

Matériaux :
— papier abrasif
— peinture
— pinceau
— diluant pour peinture
— paille de fer
— teinture (facultative)
— toile de peintre/papier journal

 

Instructions :

Dégagez un espace de travail

Nous vous recommandons de faire ce travail à l’extérieur, dans la mesure du possible. Si vous ne pouvez pas le faire à l’extérieur, préparez un espace de travail à l’intérieur. Posez des toiles de peintre et retirez tout objet ou meuble qui peut être endommagé pendant les travaux.

Peignez le meuble et vieillissez-le à l’aide du papier abrasif et de la paille de fer

Vous pouvez ajouter une deuxième couche de peinture si vous voulez un style bicolore (la première couche se fera découvrir à mesure que vous vieillissez les meubles). Peignez le meuble et laissez-le sécher pendant la nuit. Maintenant, passons à la partie la plus amusante! Prenez la paille de fer et le papier abrasif, et frottez à cœur joie! Frottez autant que vous voulez selon le niveau de vieillissement désiré.

Touches finales

Ajoutez de la teinture si vous voulez un style classique. Lorsque vous êtes satisfait de votre travail, appliquez un revêtement au polyuréthane pour sceller le meuble et protéger la couleur. Laissez-le sécher et attendez les éloges de vos amis!  

3.            Transformation de miroir en tableau noir

Les tableaux noirs sont très utiles. Vous pouvez faire votre propre tableau noir à l’aide d’un vieux miroir et de la peinture de tableau noir. Voici comment faire :

Matériaux :
— miroir
— nettoyeur de verre
— chiffon en microfibre
— ruban de peintre
— apprêt en aérosol
— peinture en bombe pour tableau noir
— papier journal

Nettoyez et apprêtez le miroir

Utilisez un chiffon en microfibre pour nettoyer la surface et séchez bien. Couvrez les parties du cadre apparentes avec du papier journal ou de serviettes en papier et fixez le cadre. Apportez le miroir à l’extérieur, posez-le sur du papier journal et couvrez les parties du miroir que vous ne voulez pas peindre. Ensuite, appliquez l’apprêt au miroir.

Peignez le miroir

Laissez sécher l’apprêt; ensuite peignez-le avec la peinture en bombe pour tableau noir. Utilisez deux couches et laissez-les sécher.

Amusez-vous!

Laissez sécher la peinture pendant 24 heures avant d’utiliser le tableau noir! Il ne reste plus que d’écrire votre liste de choses à faire!

 

“In Canada, the peak times for colds are at the start of school in the fall, in mid-winter, and again in early spring. Adults catch approximately 2 to 4 colds a year, and children catch even more.”

 

Coughing, sneezing and fevers- oh my! ‘Tis the season to get sick, no matter how hard you try to prevent it, the winter cold takes no mercy. Between chugging cough syrup to eating nothing but lozenges it can feel like nothing will work. Ready to try something a little different? Take a world tour of some weird and wacky cold remedies from around the globe.

Snail Syrup, Germany 🇩🇪

A little different to maple syrup, snail syrup is used in Germany to soothe sore throats. The syrup is made of snail extract (not the whole snail), just the slime from the trail. You’ll never know if it works if you don’t try!  

Raw Garlic, Russia 🇷🇺  

If you are about to go on a date, then maybe don’t try this one! Eating raw garlic or having plates of chopped garlic around the house is a common cold remedy in Russia. Parents will put garlic cloves in their children’s pockets to fend off colds (and vampires, of course).

Salty Liquorice, Netherlands 🇳🇱

The Dutch have a special salty treat called “salmiak liquorice” which has surprising healing powers. The salt and the liquorice root mix together to make a soothing throat lozenge. Plus, if you like liquorice then you’re basically just eating candy while curing your cold!

Dried lizard soup, Hong Kong 🇭🇰

What do you get when you mix dried lizards, yams and dates? You get a popular cure for the common cold in Hong Kong. The catch is you have to both genders of lizard in one soup for it to work. Would you give this a try?

Turmeric Milk, India 🇮🇳

This is like hot cocoa but different in almost every way. Add turmeric, ginger, honey and peppercorns to some warm milk and say bye-bye to your cold. Turmeric is a super food so if you like the taste sprinkle it on pretty much everything (maybe not ice cream but you get the idea).

 “According to a recent Ipsos poll only three in 10 Canadians will set a New Year’s resolution, and of those, 73 per cent eventually break them.”*

Every year it’s always the same struggle of setting goals, losing motivation and then inevitably your goals slip by the wayside. If you set goals, the best way to achieve them is to make small changes over time to ease into your new healthier lifestyle. Stay on track by planning, prepping and cooking meals for the week.

Follow these 3 step recipes for healthy and quick dinners that everyone has time to make.  

Veggie Tacos

No one can say no to tacos! These healthy tacos are packed with all the good stuff to keep you looking and feeling good!

Prep Time: 10 mins     Cooking time: 40 mins 

Ingredients (4 servings):

• 2 large sweet potatoes (diced and drizzled with cooking oil)
• 1 large white onion
• 1 can black beans
• 1 can navy beans
• package of 8 taco shells (hard or soft, you decide) 

Garnish: avocado, cilantro, tomatoes, shredded cheese (anything else your heart desires)

Directions:

1. Cook sweet potatoes in the oven at 425°until they are soft and cooked.

2. Fry onions and mix in beans and sweet potato

3. Serve in taco shells and garnish as you wish 

 

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Turmeric Chicken Salad 

Turmeric is a superfood that will keep your immune system up this winter. So shake a load of it on your chicken and fight those colds!

Prep Time: 10 mins      Cooking time: 15 mins 

Ingredients (serves 4): 

• 4 chicken breasts
• 2 teaspoons of turmeric
• cooking oil
• 1 onion
• 2 bunches of spinach
• 1 can of chickpeas
• 1 tomato
• 1 cucumber
• 1 red pepper  

Salad Dressing: 

• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• Salt and pepper (a sprinkle)

Directions

1. Sauté chicken in oil and sprinkle with turmeric
2. Once chicken is cooked all the way through, let it cool and mix the remaining ingredients in a salad bowl.
3. Mix together the salad dressing ingredients, pour over the salad and bonne appétit! 

 

---

 

Portobello Mushroom Burger

Show off to your family and friends with this healthy twist on a classic!

Prep Time: 10 mins            Cooking Time: 10 mins

Ingredients (serves 4):

• 4 Portobello mushrooms
• Pesto
• Burger buns (to be extra healthy switch out the bun for lettuce)

Garnishes: lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, cheese (anything else your heart desires) 

Directions:

1. Coat mushroom in pesto
2. Broil in the oven on high for 5 minutes each side (be careful not to over broil as they cook quickly)
3. Remove from the oven, bun them, garnish and enjoy!

 

*Source: https://globalnews.ca/news/2429731/less-than-a-third-of-canadians-make-new-years-resolutions

 

 

Get creative this Christmas and try making your own holiday decor/gifts. These three DIYs are easy and quick to make, plus they will make you look a Pinterest master! Are you ready to impress your friends and family? Let’s get started!

1. Homemade wrapping paper 
With wrapping paper this cute, you could wrap up a lump of coal and people will still love it!
Materials:

1. 1 roll of craft paper (whatever colour you like but we recommend brown for a rustic look)
2. Potatoes (we will explain later)
3. Paint
4. Any stencils or designs you would like to use ( leaves, doilies, etc.)

Directions:

1. Lay out your craft paper on a long table or on the floor
2. Cut potatoes in half and the cut out the design you want on the potato so it acts like a stamp (stick to simple designs like stars and hearts)
3. Choose your paint colours and dip the potato stamp in the paint to decorate the paper
4. Get as creative as you like, you can write messages on the paper or just do simple designs
5. Wrap up your gifts and don’t forget a cute bow!

(Image: https://blog.etsy.com/en/make-your-own-potato-stamp-gift-wrap/)

 

2. Mitten Advent Calendar
How is it that, by the end of winter, you somehow end up with at least 5 mismatched mittens? This idea let you take all these sad, single mittens and put them to good use.
Directions:

1. Collect all your old mittens (with any luck you won’t have to buy a few more pairs!).
2. Once you have your 24 mittens, number them and hang them along a railing or bannister.
3. Put a little gift or chocolate in each mitten for an advent treat each day! 

​(Image: https://www.rhbabyandchild.com/catalog/product/product.jsp?productId=rhbc_prod482007)

 

3. Wine Bottle Holiday Lights 
This cute wine bottle light makes for a beautiful decoration– plus it is a great excuse to drink wine!
Directions:

1. Peel the labels off an old wine bottle and clean the bottle ( we recommend using a mix of green and clear bottles as it looks very festive).
2. Place battery operated fairy lights in bottles
3. Group the lights together and enjoy a beautiful, cheerful glow.

(Image: Image by Tim Mary Vidra)

 

 

Week One:
The countdown is on and this week is all about prep! The more you can do to prep for the holidays the more you can sit back, relax and enjoy time with your family.

 

Send out Cards/gifts: Before everything gets too crazy, send your holidays cards out to tick one thing off your to-do list.  Prioritize which gifts to send off based on how far away they are, send out all international gifts this week to make sure they arrive on time.

 

Food Prep: Save yourself a lot of stress and plan your meals for the next few weeks. Plan meals that can be made ahead of time and can be frozen for a few weeks. Then all you have to do is thaw, reheat and enjoy, giving you more time to binge on Christmas movies!

 

Festive Finishing Touches: The time has come to deck those halls and get your house looking holiday ready. Dig out those dusty decorations from last year and get everything set up just how you want it before the guests pour in!

Week Two

There’s two weeks left until the holidays, it’s time to get your house ready for guests and all the holiday madness.

Cleaning: Although this might not sound like the most glamourous part of the holidays it is integral and your future self will thank you. Prioritize the big projects like the oven and the fridge, these will both get a lot of use over the holidays so give them a deep clean before you start your cooking and cleaning. 

 

Guests: Get all your guest bedrooms organized with extra towels and bedding so you don’t have to rush around finding everything when the extended family arrives. You and your guests will feel much more relaxed!

 

The arrival of kids: Be prepared this Christmas by buying extra batteries for kids toys so there won’t be any disappointed kids who can’t play with their new toys.

Week Three

It’s only crunch time if you haven’t been following our Holiday Chore Countdown. This week all you need to do is set the table, right? Gifts are wrapped, cookies are baked, and halls are decked! Enjoy this wonderful time of year.

 

Set the table: Check to make sure you have enough place settings for everyone at the table. Get the little ones to help with making a centrepiece for the table. Many hands make light work! 

 

Post-Holiday

Clean, nap, repeat! After all the gifts have been opened and before falling into a chocolate infused coma, get everyone to spend 10 minutes cleaning up. Wash all dishes after each meal so they don’t pile up and leave you feeling overwhelmed. When the time comes to pack up decorations, go through any that broke during the season. Take the time to put away the decorations properly and label boxes to make decorating next year a piece of cake!  

It's great that these trends are still in style almost 8 years later. You do see a lot more white…

Sind es die vielen spannenden Games, die extrem hohen Gewinnchancen oder der perfekte Support.

Deshalb müssen wir uns immer im Park treffen.

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