Friday, 29 March 2013

Easter Eggs










 People in Eastern European countries have a long tradition of elaborately decorating Easter eggs.( hard boiled chicken or duck eggs). Polish, Lithuanians, Slavic and Ukrainian people create amazingly beautiful designs on the eggs.They draw lines with a hot wax pencil or dip the egg in colour. Many of you probably heard about more natural ways to dye the egg,- onion peal and beetroot juice. Easter morning is a big family event and Easter egg rolling game is popular not just in Europe. In America The White House Easter Egg Roll is an American  tradition since 1878. However here in England egg decorating traditions is not as popular, and Jason always finds interesting thing that we do paint eggs! Shops sell various big and small chocolate eggs and Easter egg hunt is a popular game for families with kids.
Every Easter I usually decorate my house with some Easter accessories, but after our house move my all decorations have been hidden away somewhere in the box in the garage. So maybe next year I will dig them out :)

Have a wonderful and sunny Easter holidays!
With Love.

Thursday, 28 March 2013

Home Made Oatmeal Bars (No Sugar)


  • 3 cups of large flake oatmeal ( I use organic whole rolled jumbo oats)
  •  1/4 cup Dried Cranberries
  •  1/4 cup Raisins
  •  1/4 cup of Dry Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
  • 1 cup of Unsweetened Organic Applesauce(you can also use an apple jam with no sugar)
  • 1/2 cup of Skim Milk
  • A dash of Salt
  • 2 tbs of Vanilla Extract
  • 2  eggs
  • 2 very ripe bananas (cut into little pieces)
  • OPTIONAL:
    • Walnuts, almonds, seeds etc 
    • Sunflower Seeds – small handful
    • Some Flax
    • Feel free to interchange the fruit. Cranberries and raisins aren't the healthiest, but I love them….everything in moderation
1. Pre-heat the oven to 400°F ( 200C )
2. Add all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well
3. The consistency should be well blended; not too wet or too dry
4. For this recipe, I use a 11″ x 9″ glass baking dish. If you want to make more or less, simply adjust the ingredients respectively
5. Spray the dish with some cooking spray and then line it with some parchment paper. I use the cooking spray to ensure the parchment paper adheres. (TIP: Parchment paper is an amazing way to save yourself from having to use sprays or grease when baking)
6. Bake for 25 minutes or until it is light golden brown
7. Let cool for about 15 min
8. Cut into desirable squares
9.  Pack them away into a Tupperware  or plastic bag with a zip while they’re still slightly warm. This will ensure they stay soft.
10. I usually leave them on the counter with the lid on over night and then refrigerate starting the next morning. I have found them to be delicious for up to 5-6 days.

P.S. It's the best Bars I have ever tasted! They are just so addictive! It is the best healthy snack at any time of the day. Feel no guilt having them in your handbag or taking them to work for a light snack.Easy to make and incredibly delicious. All credit to this recipe goes to an amazing and very inspirational blog called HAUTE PNK. This blog have lots of amazing tips on good diet and fitness.Take a look. 
With Love,
Daiva 

Sunday, 24 March 2013

Keep Fit and Carry On



So here is my first post on my fitness workout update.  Started 3 weeks ago. results : dropped 2 inches of my waist line :) Not much, but I'm intended to stay focused and continue my workout even on my ''lazy''days. So here what I do at my local Gym complex. Firstly I start with my warm up - that's 10 min.walk from my house to the Gym, which is very helpful as by the time I arrive for my workout I'm fully ready to start. Then I do some Cardio for about 30 -40 min. and then some squats ( 2 sets of 25). I do some very light weights too and 30 min. on a bicycle. I also started pilates and planning to check on swimming classes :) Not BAD at all :)

But the main reason of my energy levels coming back is the transformation of my diet. I don't follow the exact count of calories and don't watch how many carbs I have eaten today. I just simply decided to take away some bad habits of mine......like eating cakes and desserts :) or having full fat cappuccino's every day .I actually stopped baking :( which I do miss badly, but there is no room in my diet plan for a naughty cake or doughnut anymore. I also started to drink my tea with out the sugar! And voila! I do love it! My morning coffee still have one spoon of brown sugar.( sorry but I just can't drink coffee with out the sugar ) I skipped potatoes completely and so far I don't really miss them. Instead I opted for sweet potato as they are high in vitamin 'A' -making it a super food for my skin.
My breakfast is almost the same everyday apart from  the weekends when I do have an omelet or scrambled egg. Every morning I do make myself a porridge with almond or soya milk, topped with blueberries or bananas. Oatmeal is my staple breakfast and it gives me the most energy, low in calories and keeps me full for longer.
If I feel I bit peckish before lunch time, I usually have a home baked No Sugar Granola Bar ( recipe to follow soon  ) or some fruits. Eating grapes, oranges and pears reduces my cravings to reach for something sweet as those fruits are pretty sweet anyway. In moderation is good to snack on almonds too. And my all time favourite is apples! I just love them! My house is rarely ever with out apples.
At lunch time I usually fix myself an easy salad. I use whatever I have in my fridge at the time: carrots, celery, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, parsley, red onions and avocado. I use avocado as a spread on sandwiches instead of butter. yummy.
Not always I do cook a dinner in our house. Depending on a day, we sometimes make separate meals, Jason would have something like a sandwich or just beans on toast, and I will make myself something very light : wholemeal cracker with smoked mackerel and dills. We do love fish. Especially salmon. It is so easy to prepare, it is uber fragrant and tastes delicious. Fish on our menu is at least once a week.

It takes a lot of motivation to encourage myself to keep this way and stay positive. And I do this not because I can't fit in any lovely wedding dress, I do this just because I feel better and my skin looks much more refine, but also it is important to remember that to start bad habits it is  easy, to skip them it is so much harder. I finally stopped drinking soda and all other fizzy drinks. Instead I choose  green tea - full of antioxidants and soooo good for you! Try green tea with peppermint !

And just to remind myself, that life is too short, and if you will have a piece of chocolate or will munch on the popcorn at the cinema, there is nothing wrong to that at all. Nothing at all. As long as you don't feel guilty :) Which I never do....well i usually say to myself : it's my last spoon...


Salmon cooked in foil with courgettes and bell peppers

Scrambled egg on toasted rye bread and avocado

Grilled Chicken salad with Mango and home made mustard dressing

Turkey breast ham on wholemeal cracker with avocado, tomatoes and dill

Dragonfly organic moroccan mint green tea

Just a few lovely healthy meals and snacks we have been eating lately.
have good and healthy week everyone !
xxxxxxx





Monday, 18 March 2013

The Wedding To-Do List - 4 Months

I can't believe how fast these past few months have gone by! And finally our wedding To -Do list is gradually shrinking down :)

1.Soon we have to book our Engagement Photoshoot with our lovely photographer Beverley. Can't wait!
Go and check her beautiful website and Ahhhh and Ooooo over her gorgeous pictures.
Beverley Harrison Photography.

2.The stationary bits are all coming along nicely. I came across at this wonderful idea( With Love from Seattle blog) of using an engagement photo on Canvas and have your guests sign as your wedding Guest Book. I'm definitely having this at our wedding!




3.Jason helped me out with the  Seating Plan and I'm hoping to turn this into something like this:


4.And today ....... I officially asked Jason's Mum to bake our wedding cake :) I'm over the moon as she said Yes! We still have to decide on the cake decorations and here are some of my favorite ones:




5.We have to finalise the Music List for the Disco dancing in the evening and give it back to our Musician. Here comes the 90's tunes :)
6. The venue has been booked one year ago, and we look forward to celebrate our intimate wedding with  family and friends, it's going to be a long weekend, as we are staying at the barn  for all 3 days! WooHoo!





Only few things left on the List - Rings, Shoes, Flowers and .......the Dress! Yes, still no Dress...I'm probably right now the only bride in the world who have no dress 4 months before the wedding date :) 
But this is  just Me......
With Love x













Thursday, 7 March 2013

Wedding Ideas












My days are now mostly occupied by sourcing and planning the rest of the wedding decor for our venue.
And I know its actually fun and interesting thing to do, but sometimes I just wish I never started to plan all by myself. As Spring is fast approaching, I sometimes do get a little panicky about all those ideas sitting in my head, but in reality they are not there yet. I have countless of files and paperwork, and looks like I'm pretty organised...still... everything is about the detail, and with me it has to be perfect :)
All wedding invitations are sent out already, table decorations, vases, candles and accessories are patiently waiting in a box. Jason even got his wedding shirt! Soon will be time to plan our Hen and Stag Due....Time is flying by.....only 136 days to go! 
xxxx








Friday, 1 March 2013

Bits & Pieces and the Donkey......











just a few captured photos from our new house.I'm still moving things around and searching for a new decor ideas, but all other house jobs have to stay on hold for now. Its only 4 months left till our wedding, so lots of planning needs to be done. I'm gradually turning into Bridezilla. Still NO DRESS, and hundreds of other stationary things have to be sorted out....wish I have a wedding planner to help me out. Anyway, things are all good here and I promise to find some more time to do blogging, dress hunting, jogging, regularly visiting gym, and planning the wedding.

And now about the Donkey......who came right on our land near the house and managed to eat half of my bamboo tree! I'm not happy with that Donkey. But Jason things he is cute little thing and gave him some carrots to eat.Watch out my dear, our garden is going to be attacked by cute Donkey! 

Happy Spring  to everyone and have a lovely weekend...xxx