Tag: Lifestyle

April 2021 Bullet Journal Set-Up

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Hi guys! I’m a tad bit behind on my set-up this month but I’m pretty happy with the way it turned out and can’t wait to share!

I did something that I haven’t done in my journal before- watercolour. I didn’t paint directly into my journal because that probably would’ve bled through and caused some damage, but I painted on small pieces of watercolour paper and stuck them where I wanted on the pages. Combined with my brown kraft paper, it looks pretty sharp!🥰

I decided to paint olive branches because they’re fairly simple, have a nice colour palette and are also kind of special to me because my name is Olivia😂 With some brown watercolour, I painted the branch shape, and then went in with a bunch of different greens for the leaves and some black for the olives. I used my gold metallic marker in these spreads a lot as well!

One thing that wasn’t the greatest was my sticking-in method- I’m out of those glue tape roller things and had to use just regular tape😂 So the paper kind of sticks out a little which isn’t ideal. And the washi tape I used also keeps lifting up because it’s not very sticky. But you know what, it’s ok! I still like how it all looks and I will defintely remember to make sure I have decent glue next time.

These spreads are really simple and pretty and perfect for spring time:) Hope you get inspired!

First up it’s cover page time🙌 We’ve got that olive branch I did in water colour taped into the centre of the page over some torn kraft paper. I drew a diamond over top of the branch with my metallic gold marker and wrote April on top of that, finishing up with my washi tape! On the opposite page I tore out some more paper, drew another diamond, and wrote out my quote for the month. This month I want to work on some meditation and being able to create a place of stillness in my mind- it can be hard not to be thinking all of the time!

Next is my monthly calendar spread! I did a small calendar on one page, and made space for my goals, intentions, events and school stuff on the other. I also included another olive branch painting, and more kraft paper. The quote on the right hand side is “I have enough. I do enough. I am enough.” Which is important to remember🥰

My trackers this month are really simple, just that graph/chart style. I have yet another olive branch, a quote at the bottom, and more kraft paper! I really like how clean this looks, and the gold is so nice🙌🙌

Lastly I have my first weekly spread:) I did do a gratitude and blog planning spree as usual, but I just realized I didn’t take a picture! I’ll definitely post it on my Instagram though, so be sure to check that out. This weekly is super simple for the first three days of the month. I did a “Happy Easter” page opposite which I’ll post on my Instagram as well!

Have an amazing Easter weekend and a great month ahead! Make sure you get your journals ready so you can plan for success🙌

Yours Truly,

Olivia:))

How I Workout

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Hey guys! I’ve never really done a post about my workouts and how I exercise before, but since it’s a really big part of my life, I wanted to write one.

I’m for sure not an expert in the field or anything, but I thought that I’d share what I like doing to stay active, and my general workout schedule. There is SO much info out there on all things fitness, and it can be hard to know where to start. I feel that confused sometimes- second guessing whether I’m doing the “right thing”. But the “right thing” is what works best for YOU and YOUR BODY; fitness is definitely not one size fits all. I suggest trying a variety of different kinds of workouts, from HIIT to straight cardio to strength training to yoga, and find something that works for you and that you enjoy. This post is just to show you what I like doing- and to maybe give you a bit of workout inspiration.

I definitely love lifting weights- I started a couple of years ago and haven’t looked back. Strength training is amazing for building muscle, which translates into being more powerful and stable in sports, other kinds of physical activity, and day to day life! Right now I’m in the midst of a five day training split, with one upper body push day, one chest and bicep day, one upper body pull day, and two leg days. I’ve tried a bunch of different spilts before, including full body ones, but this one works pretty good for me right now! Each workout has around 4-5 exercises, and I complete 4 sets of each. I’m keeping my reps around 8-12 for now, but I adjust depending on how I’m feeling. Lower reps, around 5, and heavier weight are typically better for developing strength, while higher reps and lighter weight, around 15-20, are better for muscular endurance. I’m lucky enough to have access to a great home gym with equipment, so I’ve been able to keep this up throughout the pandemic. I’ll definitely write more on how to build your own strength workouts in a later post.

Along with my strength workouts, I like to do some quick conditioning as well- usually around 20 minutes. I’ve been loving Caroline Girvan’s videos on YouTube- they’re quick and intense! All those burpees and cardio movements are great for staying in shape for sports, and it’s good to have a strong base of cardio for other workout types as well. I feel that my strength training and conditioning workouts compliment each other and help me get the best of both worlds!

Working out 5-6 times a week is definitely not necessary- but I genuinely enjoy moving my body and I honestly don’t have much else to do with COVID😂 However, all movement is good movement and even if you’re getting active just a few times a week, that’s great! Again, I recommend trying out all different kinds of exercise. Find one that you love and can stick to! There are so many things you can do with minimal equipment if you’re looking to move your body and challenge yourself.

Something I’m working on is taking a full rest day- I usually feel compelled doing something all the time. But taking time off for your body to rest is so important to recover so you can give your next workout your all! I’m trying to stretch more on these days as well.

Here’s kind of a general overview of what a week of working out looks like for me:

Hopefully that gives you an idea of the kind of workouts I like doing! I’ll defintely share more about building strength workouts in the future.

Yours Truly,

Olivia:))

January 2021 Bullet Journal Set-Up

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Woot woot! It’s time for my first monthly set-up of 2021! I CAN’T WAIT to move into my new journal- right now I’m in that awkward phase where I need both my 2020 and 2021 journals to plan stuff😂😂 The fresh start and clean spreads will be very welcome, because I’m ready to do some big things in 2021🥳

I really struggled to come up with a theme this month! I wanted something simple because I’m tired from all the drawing I did for my Sound of Music theme, but I still wanted it to be pretty and elegant. I was literally doing research for this because I wanted it to be meaningful as well, so I looked up different New Years traditions around the world and stuff like that. I finally stumbled upon the fact that January is named for the Roman god Janus, who was the god of duality and doors. I couldn’t really see how the duality part would fit into my journal, but I loved the idea of doors!! Doors remind me of new opportunities, and since it’s January it’s kind of like the “doorway” to the rest of the year. So I went with a door theme!

The doodles I did this month are pretty simple, which I love because it makes for quick and easy weekly spreads:) I went with a nice pale, kind of robin’s egg blue, and a pale-ish brown. These colours are kind of winter-y and I think they complement each other really well! I didn’t want to bring in too many colours because I wanted these pages to be fresh and clean. I did try to switch up my font a bit though to a more bouncy style, because if I’m going to do calligraphy every month I want to challenge myself a bit😂

I hope that this set-up gives you some inspiration for the year to come! Let’s get into it:)

My title page is up first! I drew a bunch of different kinds of doors- some rectangular, some rounded, some with a frame, and some without. I coloured them in with that brown and blue combo, and then added some washi tape! And there’s that bouncy font I was talking about. I like it a lot! For my quote page I wrote out a saying from Mary Poppins, which I thought was perfect for my theme, and for the beginning of the year.

Here’s my calendar/monthly dash board spread. Yes, I decided to go back to that one page calendar! I find that I really don’t write things down in my calendar all that much, and would rather use more space for writing down stuff for school and any goals I have. I did a shorter quote below the calendar, used more washi tape, and also drew some more doors.

Next we’ve got my trackers. Ever since last May I’ve taken this layout and ran with it- I love it so much! This month I’m tracking a bunch of habits, my mood, productivity, and workouts. I really want to plan my workouts more this year, so this will help me with that! Just a side note, I’m really proud of how I wrote my k😂 I’ve always struggled with calligraphic k’s so I’m glad I’m finally getting them down👌

This spread is super simple, but I’m glad that it is because I need the space! On the left is my gratitude log, where I drew a few doors and write the title in the middle. Then on the right I have lots of space to plan out my blog stuff! I highlighted the days that I’m actually posting in brown, so it’s easier for me to tell them apart.

Finally I did my first weekly spread! I decided to just combine that first Friday and Saturday with the following week, so I have nine days in here. This is one of my favourite weekly layouts because it’s simple and gives me a TON of space to plan. To spruce this one up, I drew some more doors, used some washi tape, and wrote out the days of the week in that bouncy calligraphy.

That’s all for January!! I love the simplicity of this theme, and am really excited to fill in these spreads with some great plans🙌 Make sure you tune in tomorrow for another instalment in this week of book and bullet journal posts!

Yours Truly,

Olivia:)))

Smoky Roasted Cauliflower Steaks

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‘Sup guys! I’ve done a lot of sweet Christmas recipes so far, but today I have some Smoky Roasted Cauliflower Steaks that are a GREAT vegetarian main or side dish for your Christmas dinner. I also threw some mushrooms on the pan to toast with the steaks because mushrooms are so tasty and remind me of the holidays!

The concept of a cauliflower steak is a thick slab of cauliflower seared or roasted so that it is reminiscent of a steak. I actually love steaks- I’m not vegan or vegetarian, but I love veggies too, and these “steaks” are just so good and perfect for switching it up once and a while.

In this recipe, I amped up the meatiness of the cauliflower by using liquid smoke in the marinade!! My family and I made some homemade beef jerky the other week (it was so good I highly recommend), and an ingredient in the marinade was liquid smoke. It gave it such a good flavour! So I thought, why not add it to my cauliflower? And it worked its magic there too. Liquid smoke is used in a variety of vegan and vegetarian recipes because it does give that savoury, meaty flavour, so it’s worth picking some up. Also in the marinade, we have balsamic, garlic, and a bunch of spices that all work together to create a ziploc bag full of deliciousness😂

I marinaded the steaks for 4 hours- flipping the bag halfway through to make sure that everything got coated evenly. This made the cauliflower so flavourful! I then placed the steaks on a sheet pan in the oven, but not before tossing some sliced mushrooms in the leftover marinade and throwing them on the pan as well.

Everything roasts up SO nicely in the oven, getting crispy and tender and steak-like! These steaks, along with the mushrooms, would be great alongside some mashed potatoes (or sweet potatoes), more roasted veggies, and maybe some vegetable gravy! They’re super tasty and have a wonderful texture.

Hope you enjoy this vegan holiday dish!

Smoky Roasted Cauliflower Steaks

Serves: 3

Total Time: 5 hours

Ingredients:

For the Steaks and Mushrooms:

  • 1/2 a head of cauliflower, washed and cut lengthwise into about 3/4 inch slabs
  • 5-6 white mushrooms, sliced
  • Sprinkle of dried oregano and dried rosemary
  • Salt and pepper to taste

For the Marinade:

  • 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2 tsp maple syrup
  • 1/4 tsp liquid smoke
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1/4 tsp ground pepper
  • Red chilli flakes to taste

Directions:

  1. Combine all of the marinade ingredients in a large resealable bag. Add in the cauliflower steaks and place in the fridge for 4 hours, flipping over the bag halfway through to make sure that the marinade gets to every part of the veggies.
  2. Once the 4 hours are up, preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove the steaks from the marinade and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet.
  3. Toss the sliced mushrooms in the remaining marinade, and then place them on the baking sheet as well. Sprinkle some dried rosemary, oregano, salt and pepper over everything, throw the pan in the oven and roast for 35-40 minutes, until the cauliflower is tender.
  4. Remove the pan from the oven and serves the mushrooms and cauliflower warm.
  5. Enjoy!

Hope you’re all having a wonderful Christmas-week so far! I’ll see you on Wednesday with another holiday recipe🥰

Yours Truly,

Olivia:)))

December 2020 Reading List

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We’ve arrived at the final stretch of the year so this month I’m going HARD to finish all the books that I need to for my 2020 Reading Challenge. I slacked a little in November. Right now I’m reading Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea and it’s a little bit painful, not gonna lie. It’s a great concept and story and everything, but it’s pretty dry! My goal is to finish by the end of this week because I need to start my other books:)))

I’m so glad that I branched out into a bunch of different genres this year though! I feel like up until now I’ve mostly just been reading YA fiction stuff, but I’m actually starting to drift away from those kinds of fantasy books. There are so many cool books out there, from mystery novels to historical fiction to more classic stories, and I feel like I’ve just reached the tip of the iceberg, which is exciting. YA Fiction- especially fantasy- is still very near and dear to my heart, but after a while the summaries on the backs of the books all start to look the same. Last year I remember I was kind of stuck in a rut thinking that I’ve discovered all of the good books there were to be read…. I don’t know how I was so naive but there are SO many good ones out there. If you’re stuck in a book rut try reading something outside of your usual genre! You’ll probably be pleasantly surprised.

The books I’m reading this month definitely showcase a lot of variety and I’m really excited to read all of them! I have a shameful confession to make though… I STILL haven’t read the Guinevere deception (insert yikes face emoji here). I think it’s been on my book lists since the summertime, but I actually only bought it about a week ago and was in the midst of Twenty Thousand Leagues already. So I actually need to read it this month. I’m getting it done first.

Otherwise, the two other prompts that I still need to fill in are a book about food, and a book set in Asia. I have two books that both look AMAZING to hit these categories. Let’s get into my list so you can see what I mean!

The Guinevere Deception

I finally got my hands on a copy and I’m reading this first in December! I’ve given a summary like five bajillion times now, but the premise is that Guinevere is called to Camelot to marry King Arthur- only she has a secret identity. She was actually sent by Merlin to be a guardian of the city. It’s up to her to save Camelot from the dangers lurking both outside and within. This should be a nice light, fun read and I’m excited to dig in.

A Cook’s Tour

This is for my book about food and I’m REALLY looking forward to it. It’s by Anthony Bourdain who is absolutely amazing, and basically it chronicles his quest around the globe to find the perfect meal. International cuisine is super interesting to me, and I love trying new things! So this should be a super cool read. Who knows, maybe I’ll get some inspiration for more good blog recipes:)) Next year I’d definitely like to pick up some more books on food, just to learn more about different cuisines and techniques so I can share them with you guys. If you have any interest at all in food I suggest picking up this book, because it looks like a good one.

Shantaram

Ok, this one is a little iffy because it is THICK. And by thick I mean a whopping 933 pages. Which my be the thickest book I’ve ever had my sights on.

This book fills in my “set in Asia” prompt, but if its looking like I’m not going to finish it, I may have to jump ship. Although usually if I really like a book, I zoom through it, so I might not have an issue. We’ll see! Anyways, this book is about an Australian convict who flees in India and begins to live in the slums of Bombay. He eventually joins the mafia, whose leader becomes his mentor. This book encapsulates a huge range of human experiences and seems like it deals with some pretty deep stuff so I’ll have to put my thinking cap on. But I like books that talk about humanity and have a deeper message, so hopefully I like this one so much that I can finish it in a week!

Those are the books that I’m planning on ending off the year with! I now recognize how important it is for me to finish Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea ASAP because I have waaaaayyy more reading to do than I anticipated. Hope you guys have an amazing weekend! Gotta go read:))