Two of these posts in less than 1 month? I’m on a roll. Spring, I love everything about you.
Let’s get right down to business!
1. Desert Essence Body Wash. This is my new favourite body wash – well, I can’t decide between the Vanilla Chai and Almond scents because they are both delightful. The lather is quite foamy too which is a big plus for me. It’s 100% vegan, cruelty-free and free of parabens, SLS, phthalates, artificial fragrances or colors, silicones, EDTA, glycol, or petroleum-based ingredients. Bravo, Desert Essence.
2. Frozen Chickpeas. Lately, I’ve been looking for alternatives to canned goods and I came across this line of frozen legumes and vegetables from Stahl Bush Island Farms. Cooking from scratch is always the cheaper option, but let’s face it; sometimes we need something ready in a flash. I just thaw the bag in the fridge overnight and they are ready to be added into dishes or made into hummus. This company has a variety of frozen products from butternut squash to lentils as well.
3. Theobroma Chocolat – Mint Leaves. This is a new-to-me chocolate and I’m hooked. Some days I have to hide it from myself which works for about 3 minutes. If you are a chocolate + mint fan, you will love this bar.
PS- Don’t you love when one square of chocolate is double the size of normal squares? I’m betting a woman designed this bar.
4. Strawberries. Topped with Coconut Whipped Cream for dessert. I’m also playing around with a strawberry vanilla and strawberry orange chia seed jam recipe. Yum, yum, yum.
5. Gabriel Mascara. When I had a nasty skin reaction earlier this year, I really had to overhaul the chemical-laden products I was putting on my skin each day. Luckily, there are so many choices out there these days, but it can be overwhelming trying to navigate it all. Gabriel Cosmetics is a line of vegan and gluten-free cosmetics using 100% natural ingredients that are fragrance-free. This mascara is what I would call a basic, no frills mascara. It gives a very natural, light feel without being heavy or overdone – perfect for what I’m looking for in my normal life. It almost looks like an eyelash stain and while it lengthens, it does not build much volume. I can get a tiny bit of smudging here and there, but it’s minimal and I haven’t noticed any flaking yet. I might explore other natural mascara brands in the future (have any to recommend?), but I can see myself coming back to this one for sure.
6. Sephora Eyelash Curler. I love this pretty curler! It gives a great curl that lasts all day and it comes in a wide range of fun colours. I love seeing the pop of colour in my make-up bag…never gets old.
7. PLAYOFF HOCKEY! Ahhhhh. I’m a hockey girl through and through thanks to growing up with a fanatical hockey fan for a father. It’s in my blood. Can I just say how happy I am to see the Leafs in the playoffs after nine painfully long years? The last time we watched the Leafs in the playoffs was during undergraduate university times. Crazy. I just can’t get enough of the playoffs this year and I’m following as many different series as I can find on TV. Oh, the drama that’s going on! It’s intense. I don’t know how these guys do it. The only thing better would be to score some tickets to see a playoff game in person, but sadly I don’t see that happening any time soon unless I can bribe someone with a home cooked vegan meal. Other things on TV I can’t get enough of are: The Mindy Project and Chicago Fire, but I think the season is winding down quickly.
8. Lightened Up Summer Granola. I’ve been on a big Vegan Overnight Oat kick lately and I love topping it with my favourite light summer granola. Nothing like a 2-minute breakfast.
Other things I’m loving lately? Neon clothing of any kind (I’m an 80’s child, what can I say?), wearing a t-shirt and shorts outdoors for the first time in months, and baby geese (goslings) by the water.
That’s a wrap. Hope your week is off to a great start!
New to your blog and love it! Go Leafs Go!!!!
Love that this post reminded me of overnight oats!! I used to have them ALL the time and then fell off the oat-bandwagon. Definitely will be having them tomorrow :D
Aw, I love the baby geese, so precious! And I made cupcakes with strawberries and coconut whipped icing that were amazing. Thank you for your coconut whipped cream tutorial, it was so helpful! :)
That sounds lovely – glad it was helpful!
I always have a bottle of Desert Essence Hand Lotion in my purse, I love the Almond scent!
Theobroma chocolate I haven’t seen anywhere around here in NC. Hmmmm….
That granola looks delicious!
Hello,
I am a huge fan! I love to cook and have enjoyed many of your creations in my own kitchen. Thanks for sharing. Your cookbook will be incredible!
I will have to check out that mascara!! Thanks for the reminder about vegan and gluten free skin care products…….it can be so easy to just focus on making what we eat be clean and healthy and totally forgetting to consider what’s in the products we apply daily! Eek…at least for me it is haha :) Thanks for the great post!!
Love these posts..always inspires me to add 8 new things on my “must-try” list! I love thickening my oatmeal with chia..the strawberry chia jams would be an amazing addition, can’t wait for that post!
Yea!! I am glad you are finding some products that work for you. I haven’t tried the Dessert Essence body washes, but the hand cream is amazing. I was just looking at that eyelash curler, too! I’m probably going to try Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes next, http://tartecosmetics.com/tarte-item-lights-camera-lashes-mascara, but I can’t vouch for it as of yet. I, too, saw goslings this weekend! I couldn’t remember if they were called that or not, so I kept calling them Ryan Goslings. Thanks for sharing what you’re loving! These posts always make me happy.
If you search gosling in google images all you see is Ryan’s picture! hah
I’m now on the hunt for frozen chickpeas and Theobroma chocolate. And yes – double square size is so wonderful. It’s so much easier to justify eating the whole bar when it’s half the number of squares…right? ;-)
I came across green garbanzos in the frozen section yesterday but wasn’t sure if that’s genetically engineered or are green garbanzos a real type of bean.. anyone happen to know?
I never knew they existed until now – just googled them! Crazy stuff. Maybe try emailing the brand and asking how they are produced?
I’m going to have to try that chocolate. I love anything with mint and that chocolate sounds amazing.
I love the series of things you’re loving.
That’s great to hear about frozen chickpeas- I usually buy canned because dried are such a pain in the a$$ but frozen sounds like an even better alternative!
And I agree on the strawberries- I bought a 10 pound container of them over the weekend….so excited to just snack on them non-stop over the next few days.
Since you asked, Ava Anderson’s mascara is simply the best natural item I have tried. Simple and long lasting, free of all the chemical no-no’s. It does add bulk, doesn’t smear, and can top off both a simple look and an evening out look. Ava prides herself on providing a full line of toxin free products, and they are all amazing. I have been a consultant for some time and just love it. I’m happy to answer any questions. Check it out!
Thanks for the tip, I’ll have to check it out sometime!
I adore the Desert Essence brand… I use the raspberry shampoo and conditioner, and it keeps my dry, curly, red hair from being horribly unmanageable.
I use “100% Pure” mascara, which I love. It’s fruit and flower based, all natural. It even smells sweet! It lengthens and darkens my lashes, but is not waterproof!
Geeze, I’m surrounded by Leafs, Sens, and Oilers fans up here. I stand solo in my celebration for the Pens and Canuks!!
I’ve heard great things about that brand too. I’ll have to check it out.
I have a soft spot for the pens too…yesterday’s game was pretty exciting!
I have to second that recommendation for 100% Pure. I only use their makeup as I haven’t found anything else that comes close to the purity of their ingredients. The only problem I have with their stuff is that they don’t exclusively use essential oils. Sometimes it’s limonene or geraniol or some other “component” of essential oils, but this is just me being super picky. The rest of their ingredients are awesome…almost too awesome to where I think they are leaving things off their label, but I certainly hope they are not doing that. Anyways, I love both the brown and black mascaras they have and I have to say that the mini mascaras are easier to use. They dry out less and the wand is better. Their other makeup products and bodycare products are great as well. Let us know if you try it out :-)
I love 100% Pure’s mascara! I use the Blackberry color, it’s a dark purple that’s softer than black. It never flakes or smudges (even through hot yoga!)!
Love this post, always nice to get inspired by new ideas!
I actually run my own home based business and am an Independent Consultant for a line of beauty and health products that are Vegan, cruelty free and free of harmful ingredients.
If you want more information feel free to drop me a line!
i’m currently in love with the desert essence coconut body wash. i <3 all things coconut (:
I love BareMinerals Flawless Definition Mascara – they says it’s 100% all natural (I may have to look into it further), but it is incredible. The brush is small and easy to use and it adds volume without looking like you have a lot of makeup on. I love it and will never try anything else!
Great post! I def want to try the Desert Essence products. They sound great! Also, that chocolate…yummy! Need to give that a try too!
That chocolate sounds amazing!!
I really dig Desert Essence products! They all smell so good!