Missoni for Target?

 31.8.11

Yep it's true. You read that right.

Mid-September, Italian fashion powerhouse Casa Missoni is introducing a collection for my favourite store - TARGET.

The entire collection is stunning and features my beloved CHEVRON pattern {swoon!}. The colour palette is perfectly Fall 2011, with bold jewel-tone colour, black & white, & autumnal orange, yellows & browns.

I'm practically GIDDY like a school-girl for the release of the collection on September 13th!
Here's a few items for my wishlist!
All images from Pinterest

HOME & FUN:










FASHION:


 

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Pretty Vegan

 30.8.11

Pretty Vegan


Black cropped jacket
$82 - lulus.com

Steve madden shoes
130 CAD - gravitypope.com

Cri de Coeur wide boots
$66 - endless.com

Chelsea crew shoes
$65 - threadsence.com

Big Buddha gold ballerina flat
$39 - shoostore.com

Zip bag
$76 - shopruche.com

Bow belt
$15 - modcloth.com

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My Transition to the Big V

image from her
 Back in July I watched an interesting episode of Oprah {what am I going to do when her show goes off the air?!}, called "Food 101" featuring Michael Pollan and Alicia Silverstone.  I had previously seen this episode when it originally aired back in January 2011, and was semi-interested in learning more. But for some reason when I watched it this time - I was transfixed and transformed.

Basically, the episode discussed where the food we eat actually comes from and highlights the documentary "Food Inc." {which I highly recommend watching!}. How the food we consume has changed in the last 50 years is shocking.

Something that really struck me in this episode was Michael Pollan's simple and powerful mantra:

Eat Food. Mostly Plants. Not too much.

These 7 words make so much sense. I was hooked. I immediately started researching more about Michael Pollan and his books. I decided to order his latest book, "Food Rules" from Amazon. I'll blog about his book later.
Then when Alicia Silverstone was interviewed about her book "The Kind Diet" - something else inside really struck a chord with me. For some unknown reason, in my world full of fast food, junk food, convenience and ease, I was ready to go VEGAN.

Yes you read that right. VEGAN. Not vegetarian, but full-on VEGAN - like no meat, dairy or eggs. Seriously. 

The Vegan Diet is simple: You don't eat anything with a face or a mother.

This actually isn't such a shocker because I've flirted with veganism for a while. Last year I found some amazing vegan, healthy living blogs that really inspired me to try new foods {Oh She Glows is my all-time favourite!}. There was always a dischord within me about my consumption of meat, dairy and eggs. But never before had I *ever* considered that I was capable of the level of discipline required to convert to veganism -- having failed every fad diet on the market!

Anyway, I ordered my books back in late July and started researching veganism, connecting with vegans online, trying out substitutes for things like cream cheese, yogurt and finding out where to get the vegan staple "nutritional yeast." I was pleasantly surprised that everything I needed to fully convert to veganism was close at hand and the transition would be simple. 

So one day I did it. I gave up meat, dairy & eggs - COLD TOFU! It's been a couple weeks now and I feel amazing. I haven't found it difficult AT ALL and I have tons of energy.

Since becoming vegan, I was happy to find out about all the famous vegans including former President Bill Clinton {recently featured on CNN's "The Last Heart Attack"} and Ellen DeGeneres & Portia de Rossi -- Ellen just launched a vegan website - check it out here!  And there's a whole magazine dedicated to veganism - VegNews! The vegan community is expanding and is very welcoming. The resources are amazing.

Don't worry I'm not trying to convert anyone to veganism.  Big A and the kiddos are definitely not full vegans {yet!}, but we try to make kid-friendly vegan meals for family suppers and no one's complained yet. I'm eating a whole, healthy and {mostly!} organic plant-based diet. You can't go wrong with that!

I still have a lot to learn about being a vegan and this is definitely a huge transformation for my lifestyle. If anyone has any feedback or  suggestions, please leave a comment or email me at: mummymaggie.blog@gmail.com

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Weighing In: The Most Talked-about Children's Book of 2011

 25.8.11

Has anyone been following the controversy surrounding this new children's book entitled "Maggie Goes on a Diet"?  

I have been contemplating whether I was going to mention it here on my lil' bloggy blog because I don't like to give unnecessary attention to such drivel.  But the fact of the matter is that this issue is too important to NOT speak up. And frankly, it has my name in the title of the book, so I really feel like it's begging me to weigh in on the subject!

You can find many other {and BETTER} commentaries than mine, but I really feel compelled to say something about what I think about this book.
So despite the fact "Maggie Goes on a Diet" doesn't go on sale for another couple of months, but it has definitely stirred up some controversy. The book essentially follows a story of an overweight young girl who realizes that she's fat and takes control of her weight by exercising and eating healthy food {and abstaining from "bad" food}. So that sounds alright, doesn't it?  Where is the harm?

For me, the harm lies in the following ways which I will outline below {you can stop reading here if you don't want to read my rant! I just feel really passionate about raising happy and healthy children!}.

Ok, so first, here's the cover of the book.
Pretty awful right? A puffy little girl in pig tails {because they would never put a husky BOY on the cover!} looking longingly, dreamily of her skinny self wearing that tiny pink princess dress.  OY! How many things are WRONG with the cover?!?!?!

MARKETING TO CHILDREN:

In terms of marketing this book, Maggie's age is supposed to be 14. But the sad reality is that this book is targeted to girls as young as FOUR! YES. You read that right - 4 years-old - and already society is dumping on them to lose weight! I mean, just look at the cover - that Maggie doesn't look like a teenager - she looks like a little girl. We definitely don't want little girls identifying with "Maggie," thinking they want to go on a diet too!

This is truly disgusting.  You can just imagine a clueless parent, grandparent, or aunt buying this book and reading it with their little girl, emphasizing that the power is within them -- the little child -- to lose weight, if they only had the self-control; and if they want to be popular in school, all they have to do is lose weight!

What a sad and FALSE message this is to young girls. Skinny-ness {at the cost of deprivation!} never was happiness.  Hey, I'm all about getting healthy in the right way - but demonizing food and glorifying thinness just leads to poor self image, disordered eating and over-exercise.  Trust me, these kids have the their WHOLE lives to be messed up with that stuff - why start them at age 4???

Frankly, the name of the book irks me too. The word "diet" in our culture has little do with real healthy living and definitely has a negative connotation. Diets are generally a fad-related, short-lived, crash methodology to lose as much weight as possible, as quickly as possible regardless of any adverse consequences. The content of the book is still disturbing, but it would be better off titled, "Maggie Gets Healthy"or something less threatening than a diet book aimed at children!

THE GENDER PROBLEM:

Why is the main character in this book female? Don't men go on diets? Yes, but in my experience {and I have A LOT of experience in this area!} is that women are bombarded by images of the perfection that we all want to aspire to. I'm not blaming the media because I myself  buy magazines {fashion, health & fitness, trashy celebrity rags} that constantly mock and criticize any body type that isn't runway-ready for Fashion Week. I see and hear intelligent grown women, and dare I say SKINNY WOMEN {again myself included!} agonize that their legs are too wide, their tummies aren't flat enough, and their nail beds are so ugly {yes, I've uttered that phrase!}.  

We all have stuff we want to improve upon, but the constant picking on ourselves for that last 5 lbs or whatever your "stuff" is, isn't lost on our little girls. They model our behaviour. The fact that this diet book for children is even being published because there appears to be a market for diet books for young girls -- it's a sad state of affairs.  

This now delves into the concept of young girls needing to be "cute" or "attractive" or "hot" -- the hyper-sexualization of young girls is becoming an altogether common reality. You know what I mean.  Remember a few years ago a major store started selling thong underwear marketed to 8 year olds?! I'm no expert in gender studies, but I doubt a 4 year-old boy would be thinking he's not "hot enough" when he's a little chubbier than other kids. His idea of self-worth doesn't come from "being attractive".

Books like this just plays into that stereotype that being thin makes you happy.  It's not true. Ask any girl with disordered eating habits. She may be thin, but it's an all-consuming obsession of deprivation and self-hatred to maintain that twig-like figure. I'm not saying that natural skinny people {women in particular!} are unhappy -- my point is that one body type shouldn't be promoted over another. The goal should overall health and wellness -- a glowing child beaming with happiness and optimism, regardless of whether their body type fits into the popular media's image of idealized perfection.

PARENTAL CONTROL:

THESE ARE CHILDREN. In my respectful opinion, it is a parent's responsibility to help small children make and provide healthy food for children.  Also, it's a parent's role to support and guide their children towards a healthy, balanced lifestyle; to encourage the children to exercise and play and be children. An environment that includes the mocking words "fat", "chubby", "lazy" and the like, then reading a diet book marketed for children is unhealthy.

In conclusion, there is a fine line between teaching your children balanced and solid principles of health and wellness and teaching 4 year-olds that being overweight makes you ugly, unpopular, un-athletic and unworthy. This book crosses that line.


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Dear Scale...

 23.8.11

Dear Scale,

I never thought this day would come, but we have to break up.  I can't put up with your ups & downs, and you not showing me what and who I really am. 

You make me feel bad about myself when I'm up 1/2 lb {which is like drinking a glass of water}, then that spirals into a week-long pity party binge-fest of self-loathing and uncontrolled eating because I let YOU tell me that I'm not good enough. Even though I do everything right, you rarely live up to my expectations. You always let me down and feel bad about myself. I'm tired of feeling this way.

I understand that some people are motivated by you, but you just propel me into drama and fuel my own inclinations of self-doubt.  I can't stand living chained to you anymore.

The numbers you show me don't really tell me anything about my overall health. If my clothes are fitting better, if I can run 5K without stopping, if I can make it through yoga class without fainting, if I feel great and full of energy -- your number doesn't define my personal health. So I'm not going to obsessively use you any more to try to make myself fit into your number defining my healthfulness. 

Years ago, even when you showed me how low my number would go, I wasn't truly healthy because I was obsessed with your number and seeing how fast I could get it low. I starved myself, took diet pills and worked out for hours a day just to see a little number on the scale. But I wasn't inwardly healthy and I didn't really learn anything about life-long healthy living.  I was obsessed with your ups and downs, and my happiness would depend on the number you gave me. I'm sick of being your slave.

True health isn't about numbers. It's about feeling good and making consistent choices. Yes, I will falter but that's ok. I want to be committed to overall and long-term good health and not committed to my $30 scale from Wal-Mart. I'm better than that, and my health is worth more than that. And frankly, I don't want to pass my obsession of numbers and weight onto my children. So we are officially done.

That's it. It's over. Good bye, scale. I'm free now.

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Monday Morning Photo-Op :)

 22.8.11

I thought my little kiddos looked pretty cute this morning, so I figured it's the perfect time for an impromptu photo shoot!

EZ snuggles with his "baby sisa" - "Viva cuuuuttee!", says EZ.

Happy kidlets on mummy's nice settee <3

Little A spied EZ's banana...
EZ actually snapped this photo of Little A - we have a budding photographer on our hands!

He's growing into such a little man.  He loves to carry his cars around in the Hot Wheel case he got from his cousins :)

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Mirror Makeover Monday!

Happy Monday folks!  

We had a busy weekend here - I've got my creative mojo back, so that means projects are on the go! 

This past weekend we tackled TWO projects: 1) Painting the large mirror in the dining room, and 2) Painting the front door exterior.  

First, let me show you the MIRROR MAKEOVER.  It's pretty dramatic...in an understated way.

Let me first remind you what the mirror used to look like!
This mirror is MASSIVE and I love me some black in my decorating, but the dark black frame was too overwhelming for the space. Plus my vision was for a white & gray, tone on tone room. The big black mirror was distracting.
Here it is all taped up with newspaper taped to the wall to avoid the inevitable paint drops!

The primer took a LONG time to go on.

So we decided to use spray paint to get the job done fast. We put plastic on the mirror and the wall to prevent over-spray.
Of course, we used my FAVOURITE go-to spray paint - RustOleum's Ultra Cover in Gloss White. Image from here. I did 3 coats just to be sure we got the right coverage and sheen {and because I'm crazy like that!}

And here's the end result! Isn't it FAB?  It's a mega transformation, but subtle right? I like the white frame against the white wall - shades of white and the different sheen give the room more texture.


Another close-up because I love it so!

 Our 2nd project of the weekend was painting the front door. 

After months {yes, literally months!}, I decided on a paint colour. BLACK - Benjamin Moore 2132-10 - yep, just BLACK - no fancy name. We tried grays, but I could never get the right colour. I figure you can never go wrong with black.  

I see a red door and I want to paint it black...No colours any more I want them to turn black.

So here it is!! What do you think?

Just to remind you, here was my front door before. It was a dark brown {but I'm not a "brown" kind of girl. I like black, white and gray. That is all}. Oh I had the brass door handles, which I subsequently replaced with satin nickel handles from Home Depot - reduced from $150 to $39!

Here's the after again - I just noticed that it's not "perfect" just yet. Definitely some touch up to do, and removing the green painters tape might class it up too.  We'll see...

Again, I'm so thrilled we had a productive weekend! What projects were YOU working on this weekend?  Show me what you got!!!

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Run Club Review

 19.8.11

I just wanted to say a BIG THANK YOU to my friends & followers for all of your support from yesterday's post. You know how to make a girl feel good!

I think that every day that I run - regardless of speed or distance - I am conquering that beast inside that tells me that I'm not a "real" runner. Lacing up my shoes and pounding the pavement every day makes me a runner. No one can take that away from me.

Thanks again for the outpouring of love & support. I think we all struggle with issues, and it's great to know I have such a network of encouragement and inspiration around me!

-----------

As mentioned, I did go to the run club yesterday for my Learn to Run - basically a 10 week program to train to run 5K. Before I left, the winds picked up and the wicked summer rains swelled, but luckily we didn't get hit with the worst of the thunderstorm & hail. But I would have went anyway :)

There were 4 people at the running clinic & 2 instructors. Everyone was welcoming and encouraging.  We did 1 min running, then 1 min walking for a total of 16 mins. On our short run, I had a chance to talk with one of the instructors who looks like a runner - lean and NO body fat. I asked him what marathons he'd run and was surprised to learn that he just took up running over a year ago and has just completed one marathon. I've done more marathons than this guy - not that it's a competition, but it showed me that one cannot judge a book by it's cover.  I think he too was surprised that I had run long distance races in the past. He also gave me some good advice about stretching {active stretching pre-run and static stretching post-run}.

It was nice to be in a community of runners, and I look forward to next week. 

But 16 mins of "running" wasn't good enough for me, so I called my girlfriend and we did almost 4K in the evening. That was a better workout for me!  


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The Long Run

 18.8.11

Tonight I'm starting a "Learn to Run" program at our local running store and I'm SO excited!  I kind of feel like I know how to run, but I'm excited to re-learn, refresh my memory, and get active with like-minded people.  

Running isn't new to me though.

I never ran a day in my life up until about five years ago. Running helped me achieve the best shape of my life. I was running 10-15 km per DAY, eating clean foods that helped my training, and I was going to the gym regularly.  This routine had helped me lose 70 lbs and I was thrilled.  I loved running. I was a FAST runner with boundless energy and endurance. I was a machine! I was training for races and thought I could conquer the world.

My first half marathon! The longest distance I had run prior to this race was 10km -- the day before! I figure if I can run 10km, I can surely run 21K!

Running the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in 2005. I had just started a new job earlier that month. I went home after the race, showered and went to work. I'm still a legend in my old office!

Finished the Chicago Marathon in 2006.

Then in November 2006, I ran the Chicago Marathon and it literally changed my running life forever.  I had a bad race. I bonked at 13K, and dug DEEP into my soul to finish the 42 km race. And I mean DEEP. Places in your mind that you don't want to go as a runner, especially during a MARATHON!

Throughout the entire marathon, my mind was racing -- I questioned my sanity running marathons; I kept telling myself that I was fooling myself into thinking that I'm actually a runner; I told myself that I was a joke and that I was the fat runner that everyone was laughing at. It was a dark run, that's for sure.

I finished the 42 km trek {and I wasn't LAST by a long stretch!} -- which is a huge accomplishment -- but all I felt was disappointment and despair. I had failed to meet my target time and I was miserable.

I never really ran again after this race.  It still haunts me.

Recently I started running in the evening alone and sometimes with a friend or two. I'm still haunted by those demons that tell me that I'm not good enough to be a runner.  Logically, I know I've completed two full marathons, a few half marathons, & various 5Ks & 10Ks -- that makes me a runner.

I recently read an amazing article in the current issue of Canadian Running Magazine written from an overweight runner's perspective. It inspired me to just get running, regardless of what anyone thinks or says -- myself included! It's a great article -- be sure to check it out.

I'm not sure what is going to help me to conquer these demons of self-loathing & my pity party low self-esteem. But what I know for sure is that the answer won't be find at the bottom of a bag of chips when I sitting on the couch -- it will be when I'm running. 

I hope this Run Club will help inspire me to find myself again.

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Scheduling Kiddos

As September is looming and my first born is getting older {2 1/2 years old already! Oy!}, everyone seems to be registering their kidlets in various activities. 

EZ is OBSESSED with playing in his backyard. He loves to play hockey, soccer, baseball, basketball -- anything that has a ball of some sort.


So far, I have my son registered in a Sportball program on Saturdays for 45 mins. I also plan to register him for swimming, skating and indoor soccer.  

But as I calculate the time spent on these activities, let alone the cost, it begs the question - how much is too much? 

I have to say that my son has a natural talent for sports that I want to encourage and develop, and he's a smart kid {I'm his mummy so I can say such things :) but he will also tell you he's smart because he has "big brains". I kid you not, ask him!}.  

So my not-so-melodramatic dilemma is do I let him try activities what he wants to try? Do I let him choose just one sport?

I'm a newbie at this, so I'm willing to take any good advice anyone has got to offer!

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The One Got Away: Home Edition

 17.8.11

Did you ever fall in love head-over-heels with something, then kick yourself for NOT getting it?

I found this at HomeSense {my favourite place in the world!}.  It's BIG - I didn't have a measuring tape but surmised it to be 3 1/2 cubits long.  Yes I very accurately measured it with my forearm.  Seriously.

Anyway, on the day I saw it - my heart skipped a beat and I had a VISION for my living room re-design.  But there were other factors to consider: 1) It was late in the day and I was tired from a long day of shopping; 2) I had the baby and I didn't think it was going to fit in the Flex-y; 3) I just didn't feel like forking out the money for it at that point - it had already been a successful shopping day for me and I didn't want to over-extend myself.

So all I did was take a photo of it and I walked away.

Now I just can't get it out of my head {just like that song - you're welcome by the way!}.

The colours aren't great on my iPhone photo, but it's a creamy background with a silver-y, pewter metallic circle. I imagined it over my piano.  Now it's gone. But it's HomeSense, so maybe I'll find it again if it's meant to be.  You hear that, Universe?

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Not Mad for Plaid

As the kidlets were playing together this morning, I realized they were dressed very similarly -- and VERY un-Mummy Maggie like! Both were wearing PLAID!

Those that know me well understand that I usually abhor anything plaid, but for a few minor exceptions - classic red plaid in  a cool way {like these Minx nails!} or a fun colour combination with modern style.  

I decided that the plaid shorts on both kids met the criteria for acceptable plaid, and therefore decided to take a photo. Or seven.

Taking photos of my 2 kiddos together is like herding cats.
I'm camera-ready! Look at me? Little A who?

Mummy, how many pictures are you going to take? BORING!

EZ says, "What doin' Viva?" as she stuffs her face with some unknown object.

Finally - a half-decent, albeit fuzzy photograph of the kidlets in their plaid shorts!


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New Entry Way Light! FOR FREE!

 16.8.11

As I mentioned earlier, I'd like to give my entry way a little makeover.  

The plan is to paint the interior side of the front doors BLACK - I've already got the paint, just need to find the time to "git 'er done!"
 But in the meantime, my FREE solitaire pendant from Niche Modern arrived!!

Remember this post when I mentioned that I WON this light {a retail value of $475!!!} in their summer giveaway?  Well, it arrived last week from the US with no problems {aka no expense to me in Canada!}, and I'm in LURVE!

It's perfect. It's about 10 inches diameter, and we hung it just a couple of inches to accommodate our 8 foot ceilings. We kept the cord length in case we want to move it somewhere else later on.  

And I'm SO happy I ordered the "Crystal" clear colour. The other colours are VERY hip, but I like the simplicity and long-term usability of the clear glass colour.

Here's a close-up!  And it came with a FREE Edison light bulb. So wicked cool!

Here's how it looks in the space {with our unpainted doors!}
It also goes SO well with the dining room/conversation area which is what the entry way opens into!


I'm a lucky Mummy! Thanks NICHE MODERN!

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