REAL TALK TUESDAY + SOME PRETTY PICTURES FOR YOU

It's Tuesday. Tuesday calls for sunny spring walks, chocolate and pretty pictures that make you smile.

Ok and speaking of sunny spring walks, the strangest thing happened on my walk home last night...A STRANGER TALKED TO ME and we walked and chatted for FIVE BLOCKS. 

Ok, I have to admit it, I did find it rather annoying at first. See, I was hurriedly (did I just use the word hurriedly?? who does that??) walking home carrying my heavy purse, groceries, another bag and this awkward shaped Staples box that held my blueprint copy size of a wedding picture that I had printed. My headphones were in and I was hustling. Then all of a sudden, this guy passes me and says hello. Ok, get this straight...I smile and say hello to a fair amount of people, but very rarely do people say hello back. Back to the story...I heard the guy and said hello back and instead of passing me, he then asks me about the awkward shaped Staples box. I told him what was in it and instead of him hurrying ahead, he proceeded to talk to me. Like I said before, I was annoyed, but then my annoyance turned to worrying...worrying that I had to think of stuff to keep saying to this guy because obviously we were going the same direction but then what do you know...conversation flowed! I told him about GT and he told me about his 14 years of travelling. It was actually nice to know I could have a conversation with a stranger for ten minutes. 

So often I find myself putting my extroverted personality into "work mode". I can make  conversation easily with people coming through the doors at church, I can totally talk to at risk teen girls at the community centre but a random human being in the real world? Ahhhhhhh. You know what that is? It's plain ridiculous. It's me being selfish and staying in my comfort zone. And I'm pretty tired of staying in my comfort zone.

So hey there strangers, I'm ready and waiting to chat to you!!

Ok, onto the pretty pictures... :)

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Peonies are out! I'm so buying one on my lunch tomorrow :) 

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My friend Kristy sent me this beet crust pizza and we're going to attempt it!

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I wish our house was painted white so we could throw in a pop of peach.

stay golden and TALK TO STRANGERS!

xo,

s.s.♥︎.

ONE WORD 2014 // JULIA

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Today's one word is from one of the lovely youth girls that I lead. I've known Julia for almost two years and I can say for sure, that she knows and loves God. It makes my heart sparkle to see young girls live out their faith. She wants to be a pastor and I truly believe she will be one. (She's one of the reasons why I'm so passionate that about seeing women empowered in the church!!) Take it away lovely Julia...

Laura is an amazing role model to me. I have loved having her guide me and lead me these past couple of years. When I first heard about Laura’s one word idea, I thought it was an interesting approach to goal setting. I’m the kind of person that will write lists upon lists of goals for myself. When reading Laura’s blog, I found it challenging to pick just one word, but before finishing her post, a word popped into my mind instantly. Passion.

I have always seen passion as an amazing characteristic, something people are drawn to...that spreads like a wildfire.

“Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you.”– Oprah Winfrey

I’ve seen what passion does to people, it makes them uniquely excited about a certain thing and it’s impossible to hide. Passion shapes our lives, and when you find someone else that shares the same passions as you, you fit together like a puzzle. Recently I had to memorize a speech from one of Shakespeare’s plays in English class, and I found myself complaining to my brother. He asked me what the difference is between memorizing Shakespeare and memorizing biblical scripture, and I replied, “Because God’s word is what I’m passionate about”. He told me that that makes all the difference. People sometimes say that they ‘wish they could find their passion’, but passion comes when you’re being your authentic self and embracing your heart’s true desires. I feel very fortunate, being a high school student and having so much passion towards what I was created to do. I thank God regularly that I am able to live out my passions every single day. By doing so I feel joy, excitement, and anticipation for what God has in store.

We are so far from perfect, we face trails, heartache and pain, but take a second to praise God that He gave us passion. He blesses us with the opportunity (though sometimes it’s hard) to live every day for Him. God gives us passion in our hearts, and we need to share them with the people around us. That’s what I’m inspired to do

Wow, Julia. So beautiful! And wise beyond your years (she's in grade 10 people!!!) Thank you for sharing your heart and your passion!!! Love you :)

Previous one words- Amy | Sarah | Tiffany | Danae | Nadia | Micaela | Kristy | Me

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Mine consisted mainly of homework and running and a few good coffee dates squeezed in, ptL.

Happy Monday!

xo,

s.s.♥︎.

FIVE THINGS ON FRIDAY // 1

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Welcome to my first weekly feature... Five things on Friday. Come creep here every Friday to see what's making this ol heart sparkle.

So today I'm talking one of my favourite things, BLOGS! Get this straight...I love reading blogs. I follow quite a few (understatement lols) but here are my fave five.

1. Design love Fest- DLF is a blog by the talented Bri Emery. She's a pro graphic designer/mama to an incredible blog. At DLF I find constant inspiration. She has incredible style graphically and I also enjoy creeping her life...

2. Bleubird- This blog is by a girl named James. She's a mama to four beautiful kiddos and mainly documents their life but ads in a few recipe/style/beauty posts here and there. It's kind of weird to follow lifestyle blogs as you get a good glimpse into people's lives. I see it as watching tv, except the episodes only take me about 30 seconds to finish.

3. Style By Emily Henderson- Ok my biggest blog crush goes to this girl. She has the best home sense I've ever seen, has a super cute baby AND is freaking hilarious. There have been multiple times when I've been reading Emily's blog and have found myself laughing out loud. AND she met Snoop Dogg and he called her baby 'Cousin Charlie'..HOW COOL IS THAT...I basically want to be her when I grow up...

4. She Loves Magazine- Here is my daily faith inspiration. She Loves Magazine is an online collective of a bunch of different women (and a few guys) who write to inspire women. I'm blown away by the talent collected on this site and I look forward everyday to reading the new She Loves post!

5. Joy the Baker- Because I like to bake and cook I read A LOT of food blogs but Joy the Baker is my fave. Through her incredible writing, I'm feel as though I'm sitting at her table while she tells me how to bake her latest creation. She makes me laugh and bring depth to doughnuts...what's not to love about her?

I read all the blogs through a website called BLOGLOVIN. If you do not have bloglovin, GET IT. GET IT GET IT GET IT GIRL. Honestly, it makes blog reading soooooo much easier. Instead of going to multiple blog sites to see if they've updated, you just go bloglovin and you can read all the new posts there...in ONE spot.

Oh and after you get bloglovin, please follow ssheart on it by clicking the Eiffel tower below (or searching my blog on bloglovin)

Well there you have it...my 5 fave blogs to browse. I'd love to know what are your favourite blogs? Let me know below in the comments!

HAPPY FRIDAY!

xoxo,

s.s.♥︎.

THINGS FOR SPRING

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Spring is in the air and obviously all I want to do is paint my nails nude, smack on baby pink lipstick and buy a bunch of new pastel clothing....oh spring, I like you a lot.

1. Marc by Marc Jacobs Tote

2. Bando Sip Sip Tumbler

3. Zara Cross-Over Dress

4. Rifle Paper Phone Case

5. YSL Rouge Volupte Lipstick

6. Aldo Ulirari Flat

7. Essie Spin the Bottle

Are you gaga for pastels as well? What's your favourite spring look?

xoxo,

s.s.♥︎.

KALE CRANBERRY SWEET POTATO SALAD

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Sometimes enough is enough and you just got to put the mini eggs down. Or the cream eggs. Or the Reese's peanut butter eggs. I know them being on sale doesn't really help things, but there comes a time when you just can't continue having chocolate for meals. And I hope you know I'm preaching 100% to myself here. But maybe some of you are experiencing chocolate overload too. Well today's salad will help curb that craving (hopefully) and will fill your tummy up with deliciousness. 

Kale is massaged and then quickly pan fried to make it not so intense kale-y....

Sweet potatoes and yams are roasted to bring out natural sweetness.

And pecans and cranberries are added just because.

|   KALE CRANBERRY SWEET POTATO SALAD   |

Ingredients:

2-3 Sweet potatoes/yams

1 tsp Paprika

3 tbsp Olive Oil

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 bunch of Kale

Juice from half a lemon

Handful of cranberries

Handful of pecans

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Wash and peel potatoes and yams then cut into 1/2-1 inch pieces. Place in bowl and toss with paprika, 1/4 tsp of kosher salt and 1 tbsp of olive oil. Lay out on baking tray and bake for 40-45 minutes making sure to flip 20 minutes in.

3. Wash and de-stem kale leaves. Tear into strips then place in salad bowl. Drizzle 2 tbsp of olive oil, 1/4 tsp of kosher salt and lemon juice over the kale. With both hands, massage the kale for 3-5 minutes, until the kale is wilted and soft. If the kale is still too intense for you, cook for two minutes on a skillet over medium heat.

4. Add roasted potatoes to the kale and sprinkle cranberries and pecans on top.

5. Enjoy!

Not only is this salad delicious, it's also bright and beautiful...double win. AND if you eat a salad for dinner, you'll entitle yourself to mini eggs for dessert.

xo,

s.s.♥︎.