Getting Back In The Swing Of Things

After almost a year of not blogging (and probably alienating my thousands of weekly readers), I am ready to get back in the swing of things!

It has been a pretty tough year in our family and that is pretty much what stole me away from all my blogging fun. And all though it may be a bit personal many of you have followed me on the internet for so many years and shared so many events in my life with me. Be they good or bad and I feel like I owe you all a little explanation for my sudden retreat from the web.

During the holiday season last year my father fell ill. Shortly after we found out he had pancreatic cancer and did not have very long to live. He went faster than any of us imagined and within 8 weeks of starting to feel ill he was gone.

8 weeks is barely enough time to accept you have cancer let alone say the things that need to be said or tie up loose ends. My fathers passing at the young age of 56 left a huge hole in all of our lives as he was the life of the party, the performer and the best friend that held us all together during our struggles in life. He was always there to give you a huge bear hug, discus hard topics over a scotch or sing you your favorite song with his trusty guitar.

Since I was little I was for sure a daddy's girl. Following him to his baseball games to be the bat girl, or going fishing at the crack of dawn at the cottage. So I stayed strong for him through his short illness. Dressed nice for him for every visit to the hospital, kept a smile on my face for him and kept him laughing right till the end.

I have never been one to sit around feeling sorry for myself or wallowing in sadness. So after my father passed I gave myself 2 weeks off from life. 2 weeks to be a sloth in my pjs all day and eat all the junk food and cry my eyes out. But once those 2 weeks were up I went back to work and went back to all my normal routines. Sure certain situations still bring me to tears, and the sound of his favorite songs in the background while out in public makes me want to run and hide. But these are all things I would have to get used to. 

Its been 8 months now since my handsome and wonderful father Donald J Robichaud passed away. Nothing will ever ease the pain. But with each passing day it becomes a little easier to see his photos, and to smile when I hear his favorite songs(he was really in to music) instead of crying.

I would give anything for one more year, month, week or even day with my day. But I feel so glad that knowing there was nothing the doctors could do for him, my father passed so fast and was not made to live months in the excruciating daily pain he felt. 

I gave been so lucky to be supported by my husband, family and extended surrogate family (you all know who you are) this past year and cannot imagine getting through any of this without you guys.

So with all that being said and off my chest, I am now back! We bought a house this year so be expecting a million house reno and deco updates. And thanks to all of you for the emails over the past year. Some worried some letting me know how much you missed my posts. It truly meant a lot to know you guys even noticed I was gone lol.

Knitted Love Giveaway!

A friend of mine has recently started out on a new online knit shop! Her name is Angel and she is an incredibly sweet girl I have known since high school. We are both super excited to bring you this awesome January giveaway!

She learned to knit basic garter stitch as a child but always made mistakes and never really put any effort into trying to perfect. She picked up needles again a few years ago and was given a book and was able to make a pair of leg warmers. Last December she saw a friend knitting really nice scarves and I decided to give it a go again and with the help of the Internet and she hasn't been able to stop since. Her favorite place to knit is in my bed while watching tv lol. Nothing like a good little mental escape before bed!

Now a year into her knitting addiction she has decided to open up a little Etsy Shop to share all her knitted treasures with you guys! Here are some pieces currently up in the shop.

Alright now for the fun part! Giveaway time! She has been sweet enough to offer up this gorgeous infinity scarf that you will all have the chance to win!

She is currently trying to come up with a suited name for her Etsy shop so I thought it would be fun to make it a part of the giveaway!

Here is how you can enter to win:

1.You can get one entry to this contest by simply commenting " I Love The Knitted Love Giveaway" along with your idea for a name for her knit shop on this blog entry

 2.You can also get an entry by following us both on Twitter and tweeting " Dearest @MissWrenxo  and  @LoveBugAngel  I want to win the #Knitted Love #Giveaway"

3. Third way to enter: Post the giveaway photo on Instagram along with  "@misswrenxo  #knittedlovegiveaway "

*plz make sure you guys are leaving me a way to get a hold of you if you win*

You can also find Angel on Facebook or by following her on IG @lovebugangel

Good luck everyone, I will be drawing for the scarf next Sunday!

Sorry For My Lack Of Blogging!!

Lets just say my new year isn't off to a good start. I've been wallowing in my own sorrows a bit and not in the mood to blog.

 But I haven't forgotten about you all! I promise to get back on my blogging roll soon! Also I have a fun giveaway coming up this week for you guys so keep your eyes pealed!

The Christmas Round-Up

We had a perfect Christmas here at the Silverii household filled with lots of family traditions and great company!

First on the traditions list was spending Christmas eve at our family friends house who we have a seafood feast with every year on Christmas eve for as long as I can remember! This year we added in a dirty gift exchange! it made for more laughs than usual to say the least lol. I ended up with a fun gift but nate brough home a bottle opener that makes orgasm noises when you use it.... yay! NOT lol though he is pretty amused by it! Also there were stress ball boobs and penises lol, beer opening rings, penis pasta and lots of other weird wonders

 (apparently there were sperm inside the stress ball penis...)

 (beer bottle opening rings super powers!)

(LOL)

Needless to say we all got off to a semi late start Christmas morning. This was our first year being able to host Christmas morning at our house! It feels so nice to have a home you want to share with other people. We were a small group this year just us the dogs and my parents but it was a perfect day. We opened gifts, relaxed and watched It's a Wonderful Life ( a must in my family for the holidays) while the turkey cooked. Then settled in for a nice little Christmas dinner!

We spoiled each other a bit this year cause it was the first Christmas since we have been married where we could afford to! So we got a new 40 inch flat screen as a present to the both of us. Nate got me an amazing bubble bath set from fruits and passions, the raddest leather purse from beaded dreams a local native store along with a rabbits paw and fox tail! Also two shirts n9ot pictured that I am in love with. I am a lucky lady!

 (the boys couch lol)

Hope everyone got to enjoys their holidays as much as we did, and that you all spend your new years with the ones you love!

Tis' The Season!

The Silverii household has been getting extra festive lately. We had a Christmas party at the house this past weekend and we're hosting our family Christmas here next week so we got extra stoked on the holiday decor this year. I wanted to share it with you guys !

We got crafty and made lots of fun little holiday banners for the house, even Nate got his hands dirty and made his own banner! Here is what the house looked like for our party over the weekend.

The amazing little mini cheese cakes in the photo above were from Sugar&Sugar an awesome little local baker who is a friend of mine and makes loads of delicious flavours!  For the party we had Lemon and Eggnog Latte everyone loved them and it saved me the pain of adding one more thing to my to do list for the party.

We had a great party, so great that I may have spent all of Sunday hungover lol. Can't wait to spend Christmas day here with my family for presents and an epic feast!

What are you guys doing to get in  the festive mood this year?

Recipe: Cauliflower Bacon Cheddar Chowder!

I made this soup a few weeks back for me and Nate, we loved it so much that I made it again this past weekend when we were up at the cottage for a family gathering. Everyone seemed to love it as much as us so I wanted to share the recipe here for you guys!

It takes a bit of prep and you'll have to be in the kitchen the whole time you make it. It's not a prep and relax kind of recipe but it's well worth the efforts in the end!

Ingredients

8 slices of bacon, chopped (half used for garnish)
1/2 of a large white onion chopped
2 celery stalk, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
salt & pepper
4 cups shredded or grated cauliflower (1/2 large head)
2 Tablespoons water
2 Tablespoons flour
2 cups chicken broth, divided
2 cups 2% milk
3-4 dashes hot sauce (or more or less)
2-1/2 cups (12oz) shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided (half used for garnish)
2 green onions, chopped (optional)

Directions

1. Whisk together flour and 1/4 cup chicken broth in a small bowl then set aside.
2. Saute bacon in a large soup pot over medium heat until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. Keep all bacon drippings drippings in the pot. Add chopped onion, celery, and garlic to the pot then season with salt and pepper and saute until vegetables are tender, about 4-5 minutes.
3. Add shredded cauliflower to the pot then stir to combine. ( if you do not have a food processor to shred the cauliflower shop VERY small)Add water then place a lid on top and steam cauliflower until tender, stirring a couple times, about 5-7 minutes. Add remaining chicken broth and milk then turn up heat and bring to a boil.
4. Slowly whisk in flour/chicken broth mixture while stirring, then turn down heat and simmer for 3-4 minutes, or until chowder has thickened. Turn off heat then stir in 2 cups cheddar cheese until smooth, then stir in half the cooked bacon. Taste and adjust with salt, pepper, and hot sauce. Serve topped with remaining shredded cheese, cooked bacon, and green onions, if desired.

$240 Beauty Product Giveaway withThe Make-Up Maeven!

Well hello there. I’m Maeve and I am stoked to be coming at you via this lovely blog, by my good lady friend Miss Wren. Wren has invited me to be a reoccurring guest blogger to give you my professional thoughts and opinions on all things beauty. Now you may be wondering what qualifies my professional opinion, other than me claiming it so. I am a certified Esthetician and Cosmetician (diplomas in both!) who has spent the last 6 years of her life making the world a better place, one makeover at a time. I have worked exclusively for brands such as Cargo, Clarins, Shiseido, Biotherm and Elizabeth Arden. I currently work for an unbiased national retail chain with brands like Bobbi Brown, Chanel, Stila, Guerlain, Lancome, Estee Lauder and Nars to name a few. My job mainly consists of esthetics such as facials, facial waxing and nail painting but I also do makeup applications and makeup/skincare sales. In my own time I also do freelance makeup services, mainly for weddings but also the odd fashion show/shoot. I am lucky to work in an industry I adore and will be using this blog space to share my passion with you all.

Now, I receive an exorbitant amount of free swag from the brands at my store. Perhaps for a future post I’ll snap some pics of my collection, which literally is in the tens of thousands of dollars range (look at me bragging). People that I like benefit from this as well, as I am constantly giving my hauls away. With that said, I have put together a few things to give away to one lucky person reading this. Sorry this haul is pretty much all skincare, but that’s what I’ve got at the moment. With the holidays coming up, aka gift time from all the brands, I am sure I’ll have a more makeup-y prize lot next time.
On to the giveaway!

B.Kamins Nia-Stem Eye Cream $90 CAD
B. Kamins is a brand you may not have ever heard of. They’re a Canadian spa brand that focuses on result driven products. Meaning they actually do what they claim. They’re well known for their multitude of treatment products that deal with concerns for everything (aging, sensitivities, menopause, acne, eczema , extra dry and normal skin types). They’re also a very innovative brand that features their patented Bio-Maple complex that is derived from maple sap, which hydrates, exfoliates and protects the skin. The Nia-Stem eye cream features niacin, plant stem cells, hyaluronic acid and the Bio-Maple complex. Basically this cream will hydrate, soften lines, and tighten skin for a lifted effect.

Eve Lom Hand Cream $38 CAD
Another spa brand, this one from the UK. Eve Lom is known for their award winning cleanser, called ‘probably the best cleanser in the world’ by Vogue magazine. Eve Lom is an actual person, a fellow esthetician, who opened her own beauty biz in the 80’s. This brand is new to me, but I like what I’ve tried so far. This hand cream not only hydrates, it also brightens and evens the skin tone, plumps the skin (so hands don’t look too vein-y), and has an SPF of 10 to protect from sun damage.

Caudalie Teint Divin Tinted Moisturizer $39 CAD
I love Caudalie. This French brand began on a vineyard in the early 90’s when a doctor mentioned to the winemaking family, that they could use the leftover grape scraps to create skincare. Caudalie has since gone on to patent grape seed Polyphenols, Resveratrol and Viniferine all of which combat the aging process in a natural way. In fact if you’re looking for natural skincare this is the brand for you as they don’t use the majority of harsh chemicals found in most skin care brands. This tinted moisturizer gives the look of tanned, glowing skin without having to wreak your complexion with an actual tan. The shade in this giveaway is the light as I’m a pasty Irish gal and am always given the lightest of light shades.

StriVectin Replenishing Cleanser $33 CAD
Hailing from the states, StriVectin is known for their NIA-114 concoction, which is basically a derivative of niacin. Niacin is excellent for anti-aging purposes and is suitable for almost all skin types including sensitive. This cleanser is excellent for everyone as it is gentle yet deep cleansing and is especially great in the winter time as it is extremely hydrating.

Cargo Jet Lag Concealer $32 CAD
Canadian company based out of Toronto, known for their innovative packaging and professional quality. This undereye concealer not only conceals but highlights. It is also a makeup/skincare hybrid as it helps to tone down puffiness and decrease dark circles while concealing. Once again the shade is light (sorry if whoever wins this is not as pale as I!).

SpaRitual Nail Polish in ‘Effervescent’ $11.95 CAD
Like all decent polish brands these days SpaRitual is free of DBP, Toleune and Formaldehyde. On top of that they are also 100% vegan. This shade is a very sheer red that I find looks cool on top of darker shades.

And those are all the wonderful full size items that could be yours (value of $243.95!!!). I’ve also thrown in some deluxe samples/travel sizes of the following products. Clinique Moisture Surge Intense, 7 ml. Darphin (love, love, love this brand) Intral Toner, 50 ml. Bioderma Light Cream, 15 ml.

 Here is how you can enter to win:

1.You can get one entry to this contest by simply commenting " I Love The Make-Up Maeven!" on this blog entry

 2.You can also get an entry by adding me on Twitter and tweeting the following " Dearest @MissWrenxo  and @The_Maeve I want to win the $240 #MakeUp Maeven #Giveaway #Contest"

3. Post the giveaway photo on Instagram along with " Dearest @MissWrenxo  and @The_Maeve I want to win the $240 #MakeUp Maeven #Giveaway #Contest"

*plz make sure you guys are leaving me a way to get a hold of you if you win*


That gives you all 3 chances to win this awesome little bundle of goodies!! We will be drawing for this on December 11th! Good luck everyone!

For this first post I just wanted to introduce myself and give one of you a treat. In the future I will be providing more specific reviews and perhaps the odd tutorial. Speaking of which, if anyone has any makeup/skincare related queries don’t hesitate to ask in the comments or shoot Miss Wren an email.
Check out my pro site www.makeupbymaeve.com and my blog that I constantly neglect at themaevemc.blogspot.com