‘Twas The Week Before Christmas…

I know we are all busy this week! Busy seems to be a common thread that ties us all together in the chaos.

I made sure to take time this week for a few important (to me) moments. A few little things that remind me of what this season is all about. Giving, sharing, and enjoying the simple things!

This week I made a point of supporting local businesses and home based business as much as possible! While I shop local as much as possible all year long this week I treated myself to beautiful handmade bracelet by a local artisan, Eva. I bought our cases of Christmas wine from The GrapeVine in Abbotsford. We bought our gorgeous Christmas tree from an Aldergrove family farm. We got our eggs from a nearby farm and made sure to recommend local options to friends and family seeking advice on their purchases. If we all made a point of trying to support home based business, local farmers and our local communities amazing things could happen!

This week I was also fourtune enough to get to spend an evening with some of my amazing girlfriends. We had a fun little cookie swap at my house! We all baked a different kind of cookie and gathered for some snacks, some mulled Apple cider and some much needed relaxing together! It’s tough to get a group together these days but in the last few months I’ve really found my groove of organizing little events. That paired with my friends being extremely supportive of my Epicure adventure I’ve been very blessed with their presence.

Giving…I try my hardest all year to share. I try to share my time, my love, anything I can to help others. I believe a little giving goes a long way. Many people think giving has to be monetary but it doesn’t. It can be time, support, kind words, advice, anything. Every Christmas we try to help somewhere, some how. This week a local need in our own neighborhood was brought to my attention and we made our choice to give our Christmas giving to that cause. It’s not a secret this year has been a tough one for my little family given my health issue and Kevin’s injury so it really made me happy to be able to do something for someone else. I’m not going into detail because I don’t want praise. It’s simply a reminder to myself that even when things are tough I am truly blessed.

I think this week I really made a point of being present, being hopeful, and embracing things.

I love this time of year but this year feels different. It feels like the first time ❤️

Quitting…

Dec9

We all have a thousand things to do this time of year! Lets face it, we have a thousand things to do at all times during the year. Life can be overwhelming at times and for me yesterday was one of those times.

Yesterday I made the decision to quit Weight Watchers. I am both saddened and relieved by this. I am saddened for a few reasons, mainly because I will miss the weekly visits with my meeting friends. I’ve made some strong friendship connections since joining in June. I know I will still see those friends, just not as frequently. I am also saddened because by quiting im losing my built in accountability of a weekly weigh in. Back in 2011 (before my Lupus got bad) I had amazing success with Weight watchers. I lost over 50 pounds in a year with the program! Of course my life was very different then and I had amazing support from a friend, freedom/ability to workout when I wanted, much less responsibility, etc. This time around my success has been much slower. I’ve lost 15 pounds since June 1st. I realize my illness and my new Mom life are both factors in my slow loosing and I accept that. I make a point of eating healthy and doing what I can when I can, that to me in itself is a success! Not all victories are revealed by the number on the scale or the size of my pants!!

You might be wondering why I quit given I just told you all about my success! I quit because I can’t get behind the new program released this week. The changes are substantial and I can’t wrap my head around a program that says I can have a beer for less points than a glass of milk! I can eat heavily processed/ chemical laden brand name potato crisps for less points than a 1/4 avocado. In my opinion the points values of many foods no longer represents their nutrition! I can’t force myself to follow a program that doesn’t give me enough daily points to have oatmeal with milk, 1 tablespoon of peanut butter for breakfast. A green salad with 4 oz of grilled chicken, 1/4 of an avocado, & 1 tablespoon dressing for lunch, and a high fibre wrap with 4 oz lean protein, 1 oz of cheese, veggies and salsa for dinner. Plus one serving of Greek yogurt and berries for a snack! That’s three healthy meals and one snack and according to the new program I wouldn’t have enough points for that.

When a program starts to cause more stress than health benifits it’s time to throw in the towel. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not throwing in the towel on healthy eating! I’m just throwing in the towel on paying $60 a month to be stressed out when making healthy choices!!

Gingerbread Cupcakes

Nov29

I love this time of year! Christmas time is so magical! This year even more so for me thanks to Jacob! Im looking forward to all things Christmas. Next week one of my best friends is hosting a Christmas party and requested I bring gingerbread cupcakes. Not wanting to disappoint I did my research, combined and tweaked some recipes and came up with these moist, delicious cupcakes featuring Epicure’s gingerbread spice!

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/2 molasses
1 egg
1 1/3 cups white flour
1 teaspoon real vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
2 teaspoons Epicure Gingerbread spice

*Allow milk, butter, and egg to come to room temperature before beginning

METHOD

Cream butter and sugar together in mixer. Add in egg, milk and vanilla.

Add in molasses. Mixture will look chunky.

In a small bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and Epicure gingerbread spice.

With mixer running at low speed add dry ingredient mixture to wet. Once added mix throughly on med/high speed for 30 seconds. Use a spatula to scrape down sides and mix for another 10 seconds.

Fill 12 paper lined muffin tins 2/3 full.

Bake for 20 minutes in preheated oven – 350 degrees.

Allow to cool on wire rack before frosting.

I frosted mine with cream cheese frosting and used a tiny fresh baked gingerbread man to decorate!

I hope you enjoy these as much as my friends do! ❤️🎄❤️

We Choose Huggies!

Nov29

I was recently given the opportunity to review Huggies little movers diapers. Influenster sent Jacob a complentary package of little movers diapers for testing and review purposes. It’s safe to say they are now our go to diapers!

When Jacob was born we tried Huggies but found they didn’t work well for him as he constantly wet through the sides! As the months passed and Jacob’s little body shape changed the brand of diapers we were using no longer kept him dry! We were happy to give Huggies another try and quickly learned the Little movers line was exactly what we were looking for!!

I’m happy with these diapers as they lock away wetness and keep Jacob dry during his constant crawling & furnature walking adventures! They also work well at night.

I also appreciate the fact these diapers are unscented and are very gentle on my little ones delicate skin! Jacob never gets redness or diaper rash with Huggies little movers! To me that is a huge factor when making my diaper choice! I also like the fact I can buy these diapers in a huge box at Costco and save a bit of money.

I highly recommend giving these diapers a try if you have a little mover on your hands!! Thanks Influenster for giving us that chance to share our opinion on Huggies little movers!

A Little Life Update

Nov23

Hi friends! I’ve missed you! Jacob is napping so I thought I’d take a few minutes and say hello! I’ve been busy chasing my tiny terror everywhere! He’s small but he can move!!

Last week I did something I’ve been considering for a long time, I signed up with Epicure as an independent consultant. I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I am about this. I’ve been using and loving Epicure products for a couple years now. Any of you who follow me on Instagram know how often I share my creations featuring Epicure spices, blends, and cookware! I love that their products are low/no sodium, healthy, gluten free, and many are certified non-Gmo! I also love that it’s a local, woman run company! I look forward to sharing my Epicure adventures with you all!

Erica McGavin with Epicure – check out all Epicure’s awesome products here!

On the home front we had a koi pond emergency this past Saturday. We aren’t sure what exactly happened but the pond drained from 5 feet to 1 foot over night. Needless to say we had our hands full trying to relocate and save our fish! Between the raccoons, heron and leak it’s been a tough year for those suckers! Rest assure they are safe… They will be spending the winter in our hot tub. We had to quickly seal the jets with pond tape but it’s done and they are as happy as can be! I bet we have the only indoor pond on the block!

I was lucky enough to receive free passes for The Westcoast Christmas show this past weekend. I thoroughly enjoyed browsing, shopping and seeing Santa!

The weekend prior we got to check out the Langley Christmas show and I picked up some great local products!

We’ve also been busy celebrating Kevin’s birthday and our 5th wedding anniversary! Seriously where does the time go??? Wherever it goes, we’re exhausted!

I hope everyone is happy and healthy! ❤️

He Made Me Cry

Nov13

I cannot believe my tiny baby boy is almost walking. I can’t believe how fast he’s learning, growing, and evolving into a little boy. Though he’s 9 months old it feels like he was born yesterday. I blinked and my tiny baby is a power to be reckoned with. He has a mind of his own and keeps me extremely busy!!

On Halloween we realized how excited Jacob was by all the lights. Every time he sees a Christmas tree he gets so excited. Tonight while at Costco he got super excited over a little 4.5 foot tree! Given his reaction we couldn’t not buy him one. So $125 later he has his tree. When we turned the lights on he got so excited he squealed and waved his arms. His reaction made me cry. Happy tears. I love Christmas and I can’t wait to share this amazing time of year with my son! ❤️

Maple Pumpkin Spice Muffins

Oct2

It’s officially October meaning we are fully submerged in Pumpkin everything!! I admit my pumpkin season started in August…don’t judge me!

I decided to bake some maple pumpkin spice muffins because warm fresh baked muffins are a crisp Fall morning necessity. These muffins don’t require a fancy mixer or a lot of time! They taste great with butter or better yet pumpkin butter. Feel free to get creative and toss in a few walnuts, raisins, chocolate chips etc! I left mine plain and served them with pumpkin butter.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup cooking oil

1 cup cooked pumpkin (without spice)

1/4 cup milk

1 tsp maple extract (vanilla also works)

Method

Mix dry ingredients (except sugar) into a large bowl.

Crack egg into small bowl and beat until frothy.

Combine egg with remaining wet ingredients in bowl with sugar, stir to combine.

Once wet ingredients are well combined add them to dry ingredients, stiring to combine.

Once combined divide into 12 standard greased muffin tins and bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees or until toothpick inserted in muffin comes out clean.

Once baked allow muffins to cool on wire rack.

These muffins are quick, easy and bake up light and fluffy. They are not overly sweet and are fantastic with pumpkin butter, peanut butter, jam, etc!

Enjoy!

Naturebox Review

Sep17

I’m a big fan of healthy, fun snacks so when I got my free Naturebox I was super excited to bust into it!

Naturebox is a monthly subscription box that ships right to your door. You can choose 3 or 5 snacks and add on premium snacks like turkey jerky for an additional fee.

Naturebox allows you to pick your own snacks each month from a huge list of snacks. They have something for every type of snacker! Sweet, salty, crunchy, soft. Nuts, cookies, dried fruit, crackers, popcorn, etc.

It took me a while to pick out what I wanted to try but I finally settled on Prailne pumpkin seeds, Peanut butter yum yums, Harvest nut mix, Sweet and Salty nuts, and Whole wheat strawberry fig bars.

It is safe to say I enjoyed all my selections but the Harvest nut mix was my favourite!

I am a huge trail mix fan and the flavours in this mix were delicious! I loved the corn and the cracker sticks! I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is looking for a slightly salty, crispy snack.

My second favourite selection was the Praline pumpkin seeds.

These are sweet little bites of crispy goodness! They are a very Autumn feeling snack thanks to the pumpkin pie spice. They cured my sweet tooth without breaking the calorie bank!

My next favourite snack was the Sweet and Salty nuts.

I am a big fan of nuts on salads and these mixed sweet and salty nuts where perfect for that!! They weren’t overly sweet or salty, as Goldilocks would say “Just right!”

Next I tried the Peanut butter nom nom’s.

Anyone who knows me knows how I feel about peanut butter!! Very amorous is how I feel for those who don’t know!! These were tasty little treats but ring in at 100 calories each! It is hard to eat just one as they are like soft little cookies but 100 calories each seemed high to me.

My final snack was the Whole wheat strawberry fig bars.

I enjoyed these and think they would make a great snack to grab to keep in my bag for those days we are out and about longer than expected. They packed a big fig flavor and the whole wheat made them feel more healthy than a traditional fig cookie.

Over all I really enjoyed my Naturebox sample box and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys healthy snacking. A box of 5 full size snacks will run you $19.99 a month and you can cancel your subscription anytime or order your box more frequently as you choose. In my opinion the price is totally fair given the high quality, full size snack you receive.

I’m definitely looking forward to picking next months snacks!

Check out Naturebox here!!

Pumpkin Spice Cookies With Maple Frosting

Sep13

It’s almost the middle of September! Pumpkin season is in full swing!!! I decided today was a good day for some Fall inspired baking! These cookies are pillowy soft and delicious but the maple frosting is the show stopper!

Ingredients 1 cup canned pumpkin

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup oil

1 egg

1/2 tablespoon instant coffee

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp pumpkin spice liquid flavouring (optional)

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Method

Combine pumpkin, egg, oil, sugar, vanilla, and, instant coffee, liquid pumpkin flavouring in medium bowl.

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and pumpkin spice in another bowl.

Stir wet ingredients together and use a fork or whisk to combine dry ingredients.

Combine wet and dry ingredients, stiring just to combine.

Drop by spoonfuls onto lightly greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 13 minutes.

Remove from oven and allow to fully cool before frosting.

To make the maple cream frosting simply combine the following ingredients.

1 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup light cream cheese

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon vanilla coffee creamer

1 teaspoon maple extract

I used my immersion hand blender outside on the patio but if you don’t have a sleeping baby just toss them in a mixer!

Frost cookies and enjoy!

Note: This is the liquid pumpkin spice flavouring I used. It’s available at baking stores, online and micheals crafts.

My Quiet Friday

Aug28

I’ve decided to get back to sharing more of my life on the blog as well as the recipes and reviews.

I think sharing more about my eating, exercises, and life in general helps keep me more accountable. Plus who doesn’t want to see more of this little charmers face?!?

Today was a quiet day. I cancelled plans with a friend and just embraced the rain and being at home. I got lucky this morning and once again was blessed with a beautiful double yolked farm egg for breakfast.

I long to own my own farm with my own chickens!

This evening I took some “Me time” to make a beautiful Fall center piece for our coffee table. I was inspired by the ones I saw yesterday at Homesense.

While I liked the above store version I felt I could make one myself! My brother helped me build the Wooden box out of reclaimed wood. I love how it turned it!

My other productive activities today consisted of cleaning, vacuuming, and baking a Zucchini chocolate chip loaf.

I love this time of year. Fall is well in it’s way and I long for cozy blankets, candles, cuddles and tea. I adore the fall decor, seasonal scents and the pumpkins everywhere!!

I look forward to sharing my Fall season with you!

Life With The McGavins

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