My Go-To Healthy Snacks

I'm guilty of snacking WAAAY too much. It's an impulse to me to just be constantly eating something, even if I'm not hungry, and just bored. So, I've been slowly getting rid of all of the unhealthier snacks in my house and replacing them with healthier alternatives that taste just as good, if not, better.

[To be quite honest, I got most of these from the dollar store because that's just how cheap I am].

BANANA CHIPS
These are amazing for snacking on because they hit so many cravings at once. Sweet, very slight salty taste, crunchy, and delicious. These are an amazing alternative for chips!

NUTS & SUNFLOWER SEEDS
During the day, if I'm feeling snacky but I need to get up and get stuff done, I go for a little extra energy boost and I grab every kind of nut I can find, and some sunflower seeds. Not only are these good for you but they can give you that little bit of energy you need to go out and finish your day with a bang.

OATMEAL / GRANOLA / HONEY NUT CHEX
Oatmeal is great for the winter because it's a warm snack, and it feels like a hug with every bite. It is fairly light so if you're looking for a more filling snack I suggest adding some nuts, yogurt or fruits to it.
Granola I will either eat with milk [like cereal] or, again, with fruit and yogurt. Most granolas already have either nuts or some dried fruit in it. Mine has pomegranate and blueberries.
Honey Nut Chex [or any healthier cereals really] are a great snack especially for before bedtime because it's not a heavy snack so it won't disturb your sleep.

PRETZELS
Whenever you're craving something salty I suggest grabbing a handful or two of pretzels.
**NOTE : For a sweet and salty snack make peanut butter and jam pretzel 'sandwiches'. This can be a bit tricky since pretzels have holes in them, but the peanut butter is sticky enough that it creates a hammock for the jam.

ALOE DRINK
This stuff is amazing! I like to drink it when I'm craving something sweet, because I find it tastes freakishly like gummy bears [in a good way]. The drink comes in two flavours, that I know of, original and pomegranate.

Lemme know in the comments what your favourite healthy snacks are and I'll give them a try!

xoxo - Gouu

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March Favourites!

Woot! I'm not as late this time around, I thought ahead. YAAAAAYY!

^ I tried . . . Maybe next month it will be true, but for now here are my March favourites !

BEAUTY

Olay Fresh Effects Moisturiser

I use this stuff every morning before I put my makeup on, it works as a primer as well as a lotion. It's great because it doesn't leave my face feeling extremely oily. [check out my product review for this moisturiser here! ]

St.Ives Body Lotion

Since winter is [hopefully] almost over and I needed a new body lotion I decided I wanted to get a summery scented one. This one is PERFECTION. I have the coconut and orchid one and it's hydrating, it doesn't leave my skin feeling oily or sticky and it smells amazing - and the scent lasts.

ENTERTAINMENT

Dancing With The Stars

I watch this show every season, but I'm especially excited for this season because Riker Lynch [from R5 a.k.a THE BEST BAND EVER] joined the cast. If you haven't checked the band before, I suggest you do. All in all, I love this show because it gives viewers a chance to get to know their favourites stars a bit better.

The Walking Dead

The season finale aired about 2 weeks ago, and I was freaking out about whether or not my favourite characters would die. If you watch this show then you know the period between new episodes can get to be pretty stressful. This show is honestly so good, I never want it to end.

OTHER

Rubber Ducks

I'm sure this seems weird, but there's a story behind it. I had three rubber ducks that I kept in the family shower, which my grandfather does not really like [although I'm sure secretly he loves them]. I could never find a classic yellow rubber duck though, or at least a cheap one. And of course, one day I found a bunch of yellow rubber duck stuff in my local dollar store. I have now filled the bathroom with a toothbrush holder, bath mat stickers, a drain plug with a floating duck and a floating, light up duck. Mission accomplished.

I have a bunch more, I just couldn't fit them all into one photo .

FOOD / DRINK

Granola

I found a pack of granola that comes with pieces of pomegranate and blueberry in it. I love it because I don't really like eating plain granola so this is a great option.

Sunflower Seeds / Nuts

These are a great snack if you're in need of more energy, or even just for snacking. I like to have something to eat when I'm watching TV so this is a way for me to make sure I can eat a bunch without feeling too bad about it.

Lemme know in the comments what your favourites last month were!

xoxo - Gouu

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How To Get Out Of A Winter Slump!

So, yes, I realise that winter is technically "over". But there is still a bit of snow outside, therefore, it is still [kind of] winter.

The majority of people are DONE with winter, and feel as though the snow cannot be gone soon enough. So I have come up with a few ideas / tips / tricks to help you push through this next little while.

#1 - Grab Some Friends And Head To Your Local Indoor Pool

It's usually fairly warm inside, and it'll let you swim around like you would in the summer. You can pull out your cutest bathing suit and hang out with your friends in the water. I prefer heading to a wave pool, because the one in Kanata has a hot tub, sauna and an indoor slide. It's a great way to forget about the snow outside and get moving.

#2 - Go Shopping

Buy something that you can use or wear in the spring / summer [something you'll really look forward to using or wearing]. I recently got a new pair of super cute wedges. It works as an incentive and gives you something extra to look forward to. It's like a gift to reward yourself for getting through the winter! There's some pretty great sales going on right now too.

#3 - Use A Scented Hand / Body Lotion

Choose something where the smell reminds you of spring and summer. I switched up my body lotion to the St.Ives Coconut Milk and Orchid Extract Naturally Indulgent body lotion. This one specifically reminds me of sunscreen with a hint of flowers. It's amazing, and to be honest, I put this on my hand and wrists before bed and the scent actually relaxes me and helps me sleep a bit better.

#4 - Have A Tropical Fruit Salad

Nothing says "goodbye winter" like filling up on summer fruits. My top three favourites are probably mangos, pineapple, kiwi. Add some fruit juice [apple or orange works best] so your salad doesn't get all dry and stuff.

#5 - Take A Trip To The Park

Find a relatively warm day, throw on a thick sweater, boots and gloves [and pants please] and head to a park. Swing on the swings and slide down the slide, be careful if you plan on going on the structure, I don't want anybody getting hurt! What I like to do is play in the snow. A warm winter day at the park is great for practising handstands and cartwheels because the snow is a bit softer to land on than a grass and rocky ground.

The day that I went it had just recently rained, which is why there is a giant puddle in the first picture. Not to mention someone didn't clean up after their dog and I almost walked in it . . .

Hang in there, the snow, clouds and rain will be gone before you know it [*knocks on wood*]!

What are you most looking forward to in the warmer weather ? Let me know in the comments !

xoxo - Gouu

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DIY Magical Egg

I got this idea after seeing a post on Pinterest a while ago, and I have been DYING to try it ever since, so I figured Easter would be an appropriate time to give it a shot.

I just want to be clear that I did not come up with this idea, I just changed a few things to make it easier for me and thought I would share! I'll have a link to the original one that I got the inspiration from down below in case you want to check that one out too.

You will need;

• plastic egg[s] [light colours are best]
• glue gun and glue stick
• metallic paint [gold and / or silver]
• paint brush
• paper towel or newspaper

NOTE: Using a white glue [like elmers, etc] doesn't work. It runs very easily, especially considering the egg has a bent shape,  it takes way too long to dry and it doesn't give the puffiness that the hot glue gun does. I have nothing against white glue, it's just not very appropriate for this DIY. :)

If you want the inside of the egg painted [if you're planning on putting chocolates or small gifts inside] you can do that either first or last, it doesn't really matter. And I honestly think this would be perfect for an Easter proposal if you were to put the ring inside the egg and have a scavenger hunt type search for it. Talk about a magical egg!

STEP ONE -

If you think it will be easier you can cut the little bit holding the two parts of the egg together so that you have two completely separate parts, but you don't need to do that if you don't want to.

I'm not good at free styling designs so I sketched on the egg with a pencil.
Using your hot glue gun create or trace the pattern you would like. I find this DIY works best with spiral or floral designs, but I think it might even look cute using a classic egg design.

STEP TWO -

Once the glue is dry [which is in less than a minute], you can start painting. You'll want to use a fairly small brush to be able to get in all the creases and crevasses. And BONUS, there is no need to use a plat or cup or anything to pour the paint onto, just squirt a bit straight onto the egg and add more as you need it [if you consider that a bonus].

One coat is enough if you don't mind some faint colour poking through. It looks pretty cool, but I wanted the full metallic colour, so I did two coats for the silver and four coats for the gold [ it was on a darker colour egg so it required more paint].

one coat

two coats

    

 three and four coats

TA-DA-DA-DAAAAA

These eggs would be great to hide in a tree or in a bush with a special gift inside of them.

I used the lid from my carrot containers [the ones I used in my treats / gift posts] and I realised if they were painted white they would make a great stand for the eggs, unfortunately I didn't have any white paint on me when I thought of this, but just imagine how cute it would look.

Check out the original, where I got my inspiration here at MagiaMia !

Tag me in your recreation photos on Twitter / Instagram!

Comment below where you would hide the egg, what you would put in it and who you would want to find it!

xoxo - Gouu

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Easter Egg Nails!

To make hunting for Easter eggs easier and cuter try out these super cute Easter egg nails! I've done each nail with a different design, just to keep it interesting.

The nail polishes you will need are, [names of the ones I used are captioned below the photo]

• pastel blue
• pastel purple
• pastel yellow
• pastel pink
• white
• top coat

You will also need at least five toothpicks.

Sally Hansen Blizzard Blue, Covergirl Lav-Endure, KIT Sunshine On My Mind, KIT First Kiss, NYC French White Tip, NYC Matte Me Crazy Top Coat

STEP ONE -

To begin, you just need to paint each of your nails a different colour. I did blue for the thumb, yellow for the index, pink for the middle, white on the ring and purple for my pinkie [although maybe I should have done pink on the pinkie ;) pun intended].

STEP TWO -

Now, you just need to paint Easter egg designs on each nail. I find it easier to use a separate toothpick for each colour of nail polish [fold a kleenex and have it nearby so you can rest your toothpicks on them without getting nail polish everywhere].

Thumb; Make small mountains near the bottom of the nail with yellow nail polish on a toothpick. Because it's such a small amount it dries quickly so you can go ahead and do the same with the pink right above it.

Index; Create horizontal lines starting from the top to bottom with pink, purple, white and blue. You're going to want to be careful with how much nail polish you get on your toothpick because it can spread fairly easily making a blob.

Middle; Create a thicker blue line [about the thickness of two on the index finger] horizontally in the middle of your nail. I finished painting my last two nails before finishing this one off, just to make sure it had extra time to dry so the blue and yellow don't bleed into each other. When it's dry make 4 yellow dots going across the blue line.

Ring; Follow the same process as the index finger, but this time creating vertical lines with pink, blue, yellow and purple.

Pinkie; This one is the easiest, you simply need to create random dots with the white, yellow, pink and blue. I did three dots of each because I didn't want the nail to look too crowded since the pinkie is a small nail.

STEP THREE - 

Finish off with a matte or glossy top coat and you are good to go!

Have a great Easter. I hope you find a magical egg that leads you on wonderful adventures to bunny land! <3

xoxo - Gouu

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