Runs on Coffee and Cream

Fall is upon us! Pumpkin everything is everywhere and Halloween decorations are popping up. I recently received an email from Davids Tea about their new collection and I'm in LOVE. 

The weather changed very quickly here. One day it was summer and the next day we had to dig out our pants because the weather had turned cool. I'm not going to lie, I'm loving it. September is the beginning of my favourite seasons - fall through Christmas. 

The evenings and nights are quite cold already. I'm finding myself pulling out hoodies to wear on the couch and warmer flannel pajamas for bedtime. With cool evenings comes hot drinks while I watch TV or work on the computer. Since I'm no longer pregnant and avoiding herbal teas, I've been drinking through my tea collection. I thought I'd share my favourite hot teas to drink during the cooler months.

Spring has finally shown up. The days are warm and the sun is shining. I've been going for multiple walks each week with Emma. Having a routine for my walks has been key to going out more. I load up the stroller with Emma, a water bottle, and my cell phone. Then we head out to walk around the neighbourhood. We have a certain route we take and we always hit up the mailbox half way through our walk. It's been great to soak in the sunshine and feel the fresh air on my skin. After a long winter being very pregnant, and then 6 weeks of being stuck in the house during my c-section recovery, these walks are very therapeutic. I need to move and feel warm, fresh air. It's a bright spot in my day.

I'm excited for summer. I have so many plans for us... hangouts in the yard, walks, picnics at the park, afternoons at the beach. I'm excited for these family days and moments with Emma.

There's a few things I'd love to pick up to get ready for summer.


Clockwise from top right:
Iced Tea Pitcher - I have the personal iced tea press and I love it! I want the pitcher for when we have company over.
Ice Cream Notebook - I love this print and I think this notebook would be great to carry in my bag to write down random thoughts, to-dos, and shopping lists. Mommy brain is real!
Summer Dress - How comfy does this dress look!? And it's super cute. It's so needed for hot days.
S'ip Bottle - I've been trying to drink more water and a stainless steel bottle would be great to keep my water cold during hot days.

What's on your summer wish list?
xo Jen

I've been a huge fan of Davids Tea for years now. In the last couple of years I started to make my own iced tea with loose leaf tea from Davids Tea and now I have the ease of taking iced tea on the go with me.

I'm talking about Davids Tea Iced Tea Press. I've been coveting one since they released their new design this year and I finally picked one up!



The directions are super easy:

how to use

Step 1

• In the outer sleeve, add tea and hot water to the fill line. Fill the inner compartment with ice.

Step 2

• While your tea is steeping, slide the inner compartment down into the outer sleeve, stopping before the fill line.

Step 3

• When your tea has finished steeping, slowly press the inner compartment all the way down. Enjoy!

Because I'm going to be addicted to my Iced Tea Press, I need to stock up on teas that are perfect iced!

I've been hitting up my local Davids Tea store to taste all the new teas being sampled and I've fallen in love with a few that I desperately need to pick up:

From top to bottom:
1, Sour Watermelon
2. Rainbow Sherbet
3. Raspberry Mojito - by far my FAVOURITE!

I'm sure this list will get longer as they keep releasing new flavours for summer. I'll be sure to taste test as many flavours as I can! What tea do you recommend iced?

xo Jen

So, um, where did April go? It's like I blinked and all of a sudden the month is almost over. April was full of cozy things at home; Easter, Adam's birthday, and lots of kitty snuggles.

Logan adores Adam. I love getting photos of them together.

Natural lighting is always best.

They used to snuggle like this and they stopped for a few years. They're back to snuggling together at Adam's feet while he plays video games. It melts my heart.

My amazing husband found a local place that makes macarons and they were heavenly!

My hair's straight! Only because a hair stylist did it.... I need to invest in a hair straightener and then actually straighten my hair because I like it straight.

Of course I had to try the Unicorn Frappuccino but they were out of sour syrup and sprinkles! So I ended up with a pretty mango flavoured frapp.

I think my newest obsession is showing in my most recent purchases.

Since I'm on a unicorn kick, as well as the fact that we have spring weather finally, I'm obsessed with colours - pastel, bright, tropical. All the colours! I bought a sweater last week and it's coral! This is odd for me since I tend to fall into the grey/blue category with most of my clothing. I will more than likely pair that coral sweater with a grey tank. But it's such a bright, happy colour and I'm excited to wear it.

I've been drawn to colours everywhere. These are a few of my favourite colourful things right now:

1. Tarte's Make Believe in Yourself collection. I want it all.


2. Starbucks' spring cups. They're too cute.


3. Davids Tea Summer Collection. I plan on picking up an iced tea press for myself to have fresh iced tea all summer!


All these colours put me in such a happy mood so I plan on surrounding myself with them.

xo Jen

Clockwise from top right:
1. Guava Pink Gold Hearts Nordic Mug
2. Oversized Teacup
3. Heart & Dots Mini Pillow
4. Kate Spade Roses bag
5. Coffee Love Tee

I have a few baking plans for this month that involve hearts and some chocolate recipes too. I'll be sure to share the finished pictures!

xo Jen

I ended 2016 in a donut onesie, playing Sushi Go with Adam, and joking around with him and my Instax camera. It was a great way to start the new year.
 

Over the holidays I was able to try the eggnog and gingerbread frozen yogurt at our local froyo place. The eggnog one was incredible!

We have been getting snow regularly since 2017 started. Living in this city really is like being inside a snow globe.

I received a ton of tea for Christmas but I'm not complaining. I've been having a cup of something new every night and I've already found a few new favourites.

It's been cold but it hasn't stopped us from venturing out for walks to local coffee shops and catching Pokemon.

How's 2017 been treating you so far?
xo Jen

December is a hard month to find time to read or catch up on television shows. There's always something to do to get ready for Christmas and if I have some time, I end up pulling out Christmas movies to watch.

Stars Above

However, I was able to finish up the Stars Above audio book between cleaning the house and baking cookies. It took a little bit to get into it since it's a compilation of short stories surrounding the characters of The Lunar Chronicles. But by half way through I was hooked on the short stories, especially the last one - Something Old, Something New. I actually teared up a few times during this story. I guess it's from the attachment I have with these characters from reading all the other books in the series.

Source

Green Tea

I've been trying to incorporate at least one cup of green tea a day. I figure this month is full of sweets and alcohol so I should squeeze in extra fruits, veggies, and healthy drink alternatives when I can.

Source

Right now my favourite green teas are:

• The Spice is Right 
• Movie Night
• Mom's Apple Pie (which is now discontinued)

Fall is great for all the yummy limited edition food!

Bath and Body Works is my weakness all year round but their cold-weather scents (pumpkin, apple, peppermint) are my absolute favourite.

I finally purchased Movie Night tea from Davids Tea and I love it!

Coffee all the time to keep me warm.

Smoothie from Tutti Fruitti

Sour Pumpkin Saison that was so tasty!

Now that fall is over I'm officially in the holiday spirit! My house is almost completely decorated for Christmas, a good chunk of my gifts have been purchased, and I'm starting my baking list this week to plan out all the holiday cookies I want to bake.

How's November been treating you?
xo Jen

It's the weekend before Halloween! Time for pumpkins, mini candy bars, and dressing up!

To celebrate this holiday, I put together some of my favourite Halloween things right now:


Clockwise from top left:
1. Spell on Wheels - a new comic book series that just sounds absolutely fantastic. It's described as "Supernatural meets Buffy and The Craft".
2. Dark Night Leggings - I think this pattern from Sweet Legs is gorgeous and would be perfect to wear with a witch costume and then with every dress I own.
3. Haunted Castle Mug - Davids Tea released a great Halloween collection this year and I'm so loving the Haunted Castle mug and travel mug.
4. Current Mood: Halloween Pullover - As usual Look Human has some fun Halloween-inspired designs which are perfect for this time of year. I would definitely wear this sweater throughout October.

What tops your favourite Halloween things now?
xo Jen

Yes, it's still August. However, companies are already promoting the Pumpkin season and it makes me so excited! Starting next week I'll be able to drink weekly pumpkin spice lattes and look for pumpkin treats in the grocery store (Canada has a pathetic selection in comparison to the U.S. though).

I know new items will pop up this year but these are my favourite pumpkin treats that I'm looking forward to.


Clockwise from top left corner:

1. Tim Horton's Pumpkin Pie Iced Capp. It came out last year and I only had the one but it was really good. I've noticed it popping up on U.S. friends' instagrams so I'm assuming it'll be showing up at Canadian locations again.
2. Pumpkin Pie Blizzard at Dairy Queen. This has been coming out year after year for as long as I can remember and it's one of my favourite things! The graham cracker bits throughout the blizzard are perfect.
3. Pumpkin Chai tea from Davids Tea. I've said it again and again, but this is one of my favourite teas. Pumpkin spice and chai are the perfect combination.
4. Pumpkin Spice Oreos. These finally showed up in Canada last year and they're so tasty. I'm sure I'll be stocking up again this year
5. McDonald's Pumpkin Spice Latte. I like it better than Starbucks' version. It's less sweet and more spicy. I will be consuming this pumpkin treat the most during the upcoming months.

I also really like the Pumpkin Pie Pop Tarts and Pumpkin Spice M&Ms but these aren't available in Canada and I've only been able to try them a couple times.

What are you favourite pumpkin treats?
xo Jen

Woodland Bear seems to be the theme of the packaging and mug designs and I'm loving it all. The urge to buy this travel mug is strong and I might have to add a new mug to my already overflowing collection.

The tea flavours sound amazing too:
- Pumpkin Chai
- Blueberry Muffin
- Carrot Cupcake
- Pom Cider
- Nutty Granola Crunch

Pumpkin Chai comes out every year at Davids Tea and it's by far one of my favourite teas. I drink it all year round because I buy enough at the end of winter to get me through until it's out again. But I'm so curious to try the Carrot Cupcake and Pom Cider. They sound right up my alley.

Once I try some of the new teas I'll be sure to report back on how they are!
xo Jen

Happy first day of Summer! This past weekend has been a scorcher. We spent Saturday evening eating ice cream and hanging out at the beach. I went into the lake, but only up to my knees because the water is still incredibly cold.

With Summer here, I decided to make up a Summer wish list - s'mores, sunglasses, iced tea, cross-body bags, and flower vases definitely top my list right now.


1. S'mores tank from Look Human
2. Sunglasses from Kate Spade
3. Vase from Chapters Indigo
4. Ceramic mason jar from Davids Tea
5. Star Wars purse from Dooney & Bourke

What tops your Summer wish list?

xo Jen

If you follow any IGGPPC social media you would have seen I made an Earl Grey Tea and French Vanilla Cake for the IGGPPC birthday. You can find the recipe here.


Turtles!



I'm finally seeing some hair growth (and I had the a-line fixed up and my hair is now all one length, except for normal layering) which makes me happy. I just need another 6 months of hair growth before I'm content!


Strawberries have been absolutely delicious lately. I can't stop buying them at the grocery store.


The cutest little Ewoks that Adam surprised me with for Valentine's Day.



I found the cutest cupcake liners the other day and now I'm super excited to make cupcakes. What flavour shall I make...


How has March been for you?
xo Jen