Weekly Photo Dump

Posted on November 7, 2016 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Whoa, Halloween was a week ago already? Last week marked my first full week attending classes at Oranj fitness (more on the studio to come!) and I have been loving them. I’m still trying to take a ton of different classes to see which I like best and what I can fit in my schedule: It’s been everything from tabata to bootcamp to kickboxing to hot barre…. the list goes on!

I’ve also been really loving that they offer free childcare so I made sure to dress Wes a bit festive for the occasion..

(Pants: Munchkin & Sprout Creations)

I actually had Wes wear his pumpkin costume that I got for him last year. He was still teeny tiny then and we didn’t go trick or treating, so it was money well saved. He had a blast going from house to house collecting candy and waving to the people as we left. I managed to stay out with him for an hour before it got dark and chilly out.

Most of the houses in our neighborhood have young kids, so tons of houses just left buckets of candy on their porches. It sorta defeated the purpose of the evening, but for Wes it was still exciting!

He used my trick or treat bag from when I was little!

The dogs kept a close eye on our candy sorting.

Bath time is fun time! Especially to warm up after a nippy walk around the block.

^^^ 1-800-GRUMP. Man oh man was he fussy that day. It stinks when it’s too cold to go outside (cough cough SNOW) so we really only went to the gym and ran a bunch of errands. Cabin fever is a really stinker when you’ve got a crank pants toddler.

Getting ready for Thanksgiving!

(Dino pants: Munchkin & Sprout Creations)

Friday after the gym we went to the Airdrie Christmas Market. It was pretty small, but there was some neat vendors and I managed to get some early Xmas gifts.

Luckily, there was a playground nearby so we stretched our legs outside a bit.

Saturday morning we were up and at ’em early and headed down to Bowness Park for a mini family photo shoot! Our photographer sent us a sneak peak and I am anxiously awaiting to rest. It was cold out which made for a bit of a challenge when trying to keep Wes happy, but I think it went really well and we ended up having a lot of fun with it.

I’m hoping to check back in again this week to share some beer…or some other goodies? Who knows. See you then!

Latest Faves

Posted on November 1, 2016 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Hey friends! Happy Tuesday:) I have been so crazed lately with our trip, work, and everything with the new house that I seem to have neglected my little internet space a bit. I have made sure to make super quick check-ins with my weekly photo dumps and beer talk, but that’s about it.

SO, today I want to share with you some cool stuff. Jumping right in…

A couple of months ago I got in touch with Jordana who just launched her small shop WildRootsandCo. She’s based out of Calgary (yay local!) and when I got to snooping through her Instagram account, I quickly got hooked on her handmade cosmetic bags.

We got to chatting, and once her shop launched in September, I was able to get my hands on the starburst print bag!

Ok, that’s a lie. Wes got his hands on it first. Then proceeded to pack/unpack all of my makeup into it.

I absolutely love the color and that it’s not super stiff so that I can smoosh it into my luggage while traveling (and smoosh it I did on this most recent trip!) Best part? It’s easily washable. No wait, best part? It’s made locally. Yep- I love to support local whenever I can.

A bit about Jordana-

She’s a mom to 3 girls
She teaches the 2nd grade
She has a BFA in technical design aka: sewing
She has a super supportive hubby and opened the shop to show her girls they can go after anything they want in life
She wants WildRootsandCo to represent her… a mom, wife, woman and life learner!

Since launching her shop on Etsy, Jordana has expanded her product line to incorporate loop scarves, slouchy beanies, paci clips, burp cloths, and the list goes on…

Be sure to also check out her Instagram page for products and upcoming markets!

I also came across another small shop while at the Airdrie Farmers Market a while back: Munckin & Sprout Creations. Corrie makes some of the most adorable maxaloons (and other kids clothing). I had never heard on maxaloons before, but they’re basically pants that have extended cuffs and waistband so that as the child grows, you can gradually unroll the material and they still fit! Great idea for my little sprout 😉

The fabric is so soft and she does custom orders so I quickly got three pair. Can you guess which fabric Tyler chose?

Yep, he chose the Avengers.

I’ve washed them quite a few times already and they’re still super soft and stretchy. There’s only one trick with these pants though- being able to properly roll the cuffs and waistband when you’ve got a squirmy toddler on your hands!

Be sure to check out Corrie’s Facebook page (where you can contact her to place an order and see her upcoming markets) and check out her Instagram page as well!

Alright, last up: Kismet Essentials Coco Rinse. I don’t know if you follow me on social media (you don’t?! Shame on you! Here’s some links–> twitter, instagram, snapchat: nutcaseinpoint) but a while back, I posted some photos and videos of this stuff. And I loved it.

What is Coco Rinse? It’s cool, that’s what it is.

All joking aside, it’s an oil-pulling kit which uses DME, virgin, organic coconut oil (that’s also certified fair trade!). Apparently this method is an ancient dental procedure that has been used to pull toxins from the body. To be honest, I hadn’t heard of it until a couple of years ago, but never thought to try it myself.

Some of the benefits include: fresher breath, reduced plaque, whiter teeth, smoother skin, better digestion.

cocorinse

The kit is pretty easy to use: empty one packet into you mouth and swish the contents around for 10-20 minutes. Then you spit it out and brush your teeth as normal.

I made it a point to do this every morning while I got my coffee ready, prepped breakfast and mentally prepared for the day ahead (before getting Wes from his crib). After doing this for 14 days, I did notice that my breath was minty fresh- thanks to the mint flavor of the coconut oil- and my teeth felt as clean as if I just went to the dentist. You know, the best feeling ever.

Oh hey, look at that empty box. I was so excited to use the kit, that I forgot to save any photos. Whoops.

Interested in trying Kismet Essentials Coco Rinse for yourself? Check out their site here to order. The company is based out of Vancouver, BC BUT they ship worldwide!

Also, don’t forget to visit their Instagram page and follow them on Twitter 🙂

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So that’s it from this end… A big thanks to Jordana, Corrie, & Kismet for their wonderful products!

Weekly Photo Dump

Posted on October 31, 2016 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Wait wait wait, I think I said I’d start doing a bit better by actually writing things rather than photo dump. BUT GUESS WHAT?? Here we are, and I have no time for words. Just photos. Maybe some words…scroll on to see what we’ve been up to over the past week!

Last Monday was our lat night in New York. We hung around most of the day before heading out to a delicious dinner that included GUAC. One of Wes’s tricks includes going into downward dog every time I ask him to do yoga. Good kid.

The tacos weren’t anything to write home about, but the guac was the bomb dot com. And man do I miss home now that the city has been revamping itself over the past few years. It has such a great some town feel. And mom and dad.

Tuesday morning Wes and I headed back to Calgary. He did great throughout both flights- slept through the first one then patiently snacked and played for the second. Plus, we were back home by noon so it made for a relatively painless trip while still having some of the day to enjoy.

Home! I missed it a bit.

And in true family fashion, we headed to Costco to stock up on all the staples. (How Tyler lives on takeout while I’m gone I’ll never know. I.Can’t.Do.That.)

Reunited with his best friend. I can tell Layla missed Wes. Reggie, though…not so much. He is a pain in the butt beagle that needs all the attention!

Back home means I’m back to baking.

I’m a terrible memory-making parent because I haven’t purchased any Halloween decor for the house, so we made a quick trip to the store to grab just a couple of things to get in the spirit. To be honest, I don’t think Wes will remember Halloween this year, so it’s mostly for the pictures…but again, terrible parent over here because I’m putting him in the same costume as last year.

I made some homemade granola which I’ve been using for my latest yogurt bowl obsession. It’s the best batch of granola I’ve made- simple and tasty. Wes loves it too!

This colder weather is making it a bit challenging for me to come up with activities for us to do during the week. We can’t go for walks as much (uhhhh it SNOWED on Friday), there’s only so much mall-walking that’s tolerable, and he’s still a bit too small to really participate in toddler classes. So….we headed to the library! I’ll have to trek back into Calgary to visit our old library because it’s so much bigger and newer and nicer than the one now closest to us..

My new gym membership started this week! I’m really excited to start taking all these new classes and figuring out which I like best. The facility is brand new and super cool WITH FREE CHILDCARE so I’m all HEYYYYYYYY.

The first class I attended was called Pound Light Show. We used drumsticks for the entirety of the class and the black light/disco ball was on making it for a really fun and high-energy atmosphere.

I came home from the gym to find this guy in his jammies and cabin booties! Funny kid.

Saturday was one of those days where we blinked and it was over. I know Tyler and I both long for the weekends to come because it means a tad more sleeping, lounging, and family time. I picked up a day shift at work and once I was done and Wes was up from a super long nap, we headed out to a couple of breweries. Because that’s how we roll. Then pick up pizza on the way home.

I’ve realized that we’ve spent so much money on furniture (not including the couches pictures above..those are some oldies we’re hanging on to until we find new stuff) and we all mostly sit on the floor. Whattheheck.

BROWNIES. I finally made the most perfect brownie that is super easy to make. It’s fudgy and perfect. Only trouble is that I want to eat the whole pan of them ASAP.

Ok, so….TOMORROW I’ll be checking in again and sharing some of my latest favorites! Please don’t forget to stop by and check them out.

Weekly Photo Dump

Posted on October 25, 2016 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

PHEW. Where the heck did the past week go? I have been jumbling days and barely sleeping and go-go-going that I’m almost relieved it’s all coming to a close. No wait, I don’t really mean that. Well, yes I do. Wes and I are both itching to get back home to see Tyler and the doggies! Here’s just a snippet of what we’ve been up to lately:

All this kid has wanted to do this whole trip is go outside and explore. Nonstop.

Tried to teach him how to smell the flowers, but…..he eats them.

I’m gonna have to buy one of these gliders for home because it keeps Wes entertained for hours. Mostly the gliding ottoman. For what reason, I do not know.

The beginning of last week was crazy hot and I hadn’t packed any warm weather clothing for us, so naked it was!

My workouts have been all random things I’ve thrown together. My external hard drive wasn’t working (operator error, I’m sure) so I couldn’t do any workout DVDs. I opted for running, AMRAP workouts, tabatas, and circuits. They’ve been a wonderful change-up for me and I’m hoping to keep it up when I’m back in Calgary.

One of my besties (AMY!!!!!) got married on Saturday so it was a whirlwind of a weekend. The rehearsal dinner was YUMMY and it was fun to meet her hubby-to-be’s side of the family. PS: I loved the dress I wore, but it look terrible in the above photo. Grrr..

Not the most glamorous food photo, but it was chicken cacciatore and acorn squash. And the CAKEEEEE. OHMYGOD THE CAKE. It was so tasty I think I scarfed it in two bites. Chocolate on chocolate on chocolate.

Some of us bridesmaids stayed in one of the townhouses on the grounds of where the wedding was and we all crashed within 10 minutes of getting there. The dinner went so late and we had to be up at the crack of dawn (actually, we were up when it was still dark out!) to get ready for the big day!!!!!

Ha…my mimosa is the only mimosa sans any juice 😉

Fake eyelashes for the win!

The ceremony was great, we took some amazing Gatsby-eeque photos (her theme), and the reception was a PARTAY. I haven’t danced that much in ages and have a god awful blister to prove it. I feel like there’s so much I want to tell about the whole wedding weekend…it was such a blast! Congrats to Amy and Lo and have so much fun on your honeymoon. PS: bring me back some wine?? 😉

This kid has been somewhat of a handful lately.. between not seeing me much over the weekend + teething like a sonofabitch + whack sleep pattern + missing daddy & doggies + learning to say the word ‘no’ to everything = disaster. I’m hoping our flight home won’t be too bad and everything settles back to normal once we get back into our routine.

Pizza and beer are my favorite things. And naps. But you can’t take pictures of naps.

The cooler weather came back, but Wes was still determined as ever to pack in as much outside time as possible. I also got in one last run and really enjoyed it.

HOLD THE PHONE.

I enjoyed my run. I’d love to continue incorporating some runs into my routine once home, but anything colder than the 55 degrees it was today and it’s just not my jam. We’ll see.

And on a final note: I’ve noticed that ever since I updated my iPhone last, it shuts off just about every time I bring my phone outside for more than a few minutes. I had to burrow it in my jacket so that I could still listen to music while I ran today…anyone have this problem?

Ok, so maybe going forward there won’t have to just be PHOTO DUMP posts…gotta work on that.

Weekly Photo Dump

Posted on October 17, 2016 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Wow, we did so much this past week! Wes and I even drove out to Salem, MA and had fun exploring (Wes) and drinking (me). Here’s a ton of pictures from the week..